Major Color Research Articles

K-means 알고리즘을 기반으로 한 야오족 자수 색상 추출 및 가상 캐릭터 의상디자인 응용

To promote the digital preservation and transmission of traditional cultural elements, this study focuses on Yao embroidery as a case study, combining digital technologies and algorithms to extract and analyze its color characteristics. These extracted color features were applied to the design of virtual character clothing. First, a bilateral filtering algorithm was used to preprocess the images of Yao embroidery, reducing noise while preserving intricate details. Subsequently, Euclidean distance was calculated in the Lab color space, and the OSTU adaptive binarization method was employed to separate the image from its background. Additionally, K-means clustering was applied multiple times to the color data, and the optimal result was achieved when the number of clusters was set to eight. Through this process, eight major colors of Yao embroidery were extracted. Based on these extracted colors, 3D point cloud analysis was conducted to study the three-dimensional spatial distribution of color points, and a color combination model based on hue, brightness, and saturation was constructed. The results revealed that the color composition of Yao embroidery predominantly consists of high-saturation colors, with strong color contrasts and distinct ethnic characteristics. Ultimately, this study demonstrated the applicability of integrating the color model and design patterns of Yao embroidery into virtual character clothing design, showcasing the potential for incorporating traditional embroidery into digital design. This contributes to the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage and serves as a valuable reference for further research on the color systems of traditional ethnic costumes.

Developed metabolomics approach reveals the non-volatile color-contributing metabolites during Keemun congou black tea processing

While key aroma and taste compounds of Keemun Congou black teas (KCBT) form during aeration and thermal stages, it is still unknown whether these processing stages also produce non-volatile color-contributing metabolites. Through integrating metabolomics with correlation and ridge regression analyses, 190 metabolites were identified as marker compounds that reclassified 15 KCBT samples collected from five processing stages into four groups. Meanwhile, the results of quantification and heatmap analysis showed that the concentrations of theaflavins and theasinensins significantly increased, as catechin decreased, after rolling, while flavonoid aglycones and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased throughout drying. Regression analysis between marker compound levels and total color difference values (∆E) revealed that the major color contributors were 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, glucosyl-dehydrodigallic acid, theacitrin A, kaempferol-O-robinobioside, and (−)-epigallocatechin, with regression coefficients (absolute value) exceeding 4 × 10−2. Overall, the present study confirmed that rolling and drying were the two vital stages responsible for the color formation of KCBT.

Audio augmented reality using sonification to enhance visual art experiences: Lessons learned

Augmenting visual art in art galleries can be an effective Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) application for indoor exploration. In the current study, eight paintings from four genres were augmented with audio through their sonification. Basic Audio was generated using a sonification algorithm by identifying the major colors of the paintings, and Enhanced Audio was generated by a musician enhancing the Basic Audio; these were presented with the paintings to compare against No Audio. Twenty-six participants viewed each painting in all three conditions; eye gaze metrics, and qualitative data were collected. Results showed that Enhanced Audio led to significantly greater engagement and positive sentiments, compared to Basic Audio. Thematic analysis showed semantic and syntactic relationships of the audio with the paintings, and a tendency to guide users’ gaze over time. Findings from this study can guide future AAR developments to improve auditory display designs to enhance visual experiences.

A mechanistic insight into the structure, conformational dynamics, affinity profile and energetics of Metanil yellow- serum protein complex

Metanil yellow (MYL) is a toxic azo dye extensively used in food preparations and in textile industry as major colorant. It affects important biological processes leading to development of toxicity in different organ systems. Toxicological profile assessment has also revealed its potential for multi-organ toxicity. This work investigates the affinity, energetics, and structural dynamics of MYL binding with Human serum albumin (HSA) in Thyroxine binding site using multi-spectroscopic techniques and molecular simulations. Fluorescence spectroscopic studies of MYL-HSA complex at different temperatures revealed that MYL binds with HSA with stronger affinity (∼27 kJ/mole). The overall binding showed significant static quenching and was entropy driven. Circular dichroism studies showed that the secondary structure of HSA remained predominantly alpha helix. To accommodate within the Tr5 region of HSA, MYL underwent minor alterations in its conformation and position facilitated by the subtle expansion of the binding site (∼2 Å). The role of water in providing stability to the complex via water bridges and hydrogen bonds has also been investigated. Quantum Mechanics studies further revealed that the minor strain observed in the pyramidalamino nitrogen assisted MYL in the complexation.

Characterization of soda–lime silicate glass bottles to support recycling efforts

AbstractIn 2022, 150 million tons of glass was produced globally, and approximately 47% of that amount was glass hollowware for tableware and food, beverage, and cosmetics packaging. Glass is considered one of the most recyclable materials as its properties and performance do not degrade upon reheating and reforming; yet only 21% of global production is recycled. The most recycled type of glass is soda–lime silicate bottle glass based on its widespread availability and its ability to accommodate higher levels of contamination compared to flat glass and specialty glass. Bottle glass manufacturers melt glass batch that is 10%–60% recycled glass cullet, limited only by the availability of pristine glass cullet that is free of contaminants such as plastic, metal, and organic material. Increasing rates of recycled content in glass manufacturing is stymied by the lack of a supply chain to deliver high quality glass cullet to manufacturers, as well as risk of material incompatibility and contamination. In this work, post‐consumer glass bottles of different colors, shapes, and brands were analyzed for chemical composition and thermal properties to quantify variation across five major color families: clear, blue, amber, forest green, and emerald green. This work shows that post‐consumer bottles of different colors and brands can be remelted without risk of material incompatibility and presents various processing methods to control color homogeneity in glass produced exclusively from mixed color cullet from recycled glass bottles.

Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics pollution in tropical agricultural soils in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Presently, microplastic pollution has emerged as a growing environmental risk around the world. Nevertheless, knowledge of the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in tropical agricultural soil is limited. This study investigated the pollution of surface soil microplastics in two agricultural farms located at Klang Valley, Malaysia. An extraction method based on density separation by using saturated extraction solution (sodium sulfate, ρ = 2 g cm-3 and sucrose, ρ = 1.59 g cm-3 with a ratio 1:1, v/v) was carried out. The study revealed the mean particle size of soil microplastics with 3260.76 ± 880.38 μm in farm A and 2822.31 ± 408.48 μm in farm B. The dominant types of soil microplastics were fragments and films with major colors of white (59%) and transparent (28%) in farm A, while black (52%) and white (37.6%) in farm B. Representatives of soil microplastics detected polymers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polycarbonate (PC), and polystyrene (PS). The sources of plastic products were black and white plastic pipes, black plastic films for vegetation, fertilizer bottles, plastic water containers and polystyrene storage boxes, and the breakdown processes, contributed to the microplastic pollution in these farms. The outcomes of this study will establish a better understanding of microplastic pollution in tropical agricultural soil in the Southeast Asian region. The findings would be beneficial as supportive reference for the endeavor to reduce microplastic pollution in agricultural soil.

Graph-Based Generalization of Galam Model: Convergence Time and Influential Nodes

We study a graph-based generalization of the Galam opinion formation model. Consider a simple connected graph which represents a social network. Each node in the graph is colored either blue or white, which indicates a positive or negative opinion on a new product or a topic. In each discrete-time round, all nodes are assigned randomly to groups of different sizes, where the node(s) in each group form a clique in the underlying graph. All the nodes simultaneously update their color to the majority color in their group. If there is a tie, each node in the group chooses one of the two colors uniformly at random. Investigating the convergence time of the model, our experiments show that the convergence time is a logarithm function of the number of nodes for a complete graph and a quadratic function for a cycle graph. We also study the various strategies for selecting a set of seed nodes to maximize the final cascade of one of the two colors, motivated by viral marketing. We consider the algorithms where the seed nodes are selected based on the graph structure (nodes’ centrality measures such as degree, betweenness, and closeness) and the individual’s characteristics (activeness and stubbornness). We provide a comparison of such strategies by conducting experiments on different real-world and synthetic networks.

Seasonal variation in the abundance of microplastics in three commercial bivalves from Bandon Bay, Gulf of Thailand

This study investigated the abundance of microplastics in three commercial bivalves found at Bandon Bay. Spatial-temporal differences in the concentration of microplastics were evaluated during the dry and wet seasons. The results showed that the highest abundance of microplastics in oysters, blood cockles, and green mussels was observed in fishery and aquaculture areas during the dry season, with 1.42 particles/g (w/w), 1.01 particles/g (w/w) and 0.87 particles/g (w/w), respectively. Microplastics were more abundant during the dry season compared to the wet season (p < 0.05), with fibre being the predominant shape and black being the major colour of particles. Cellophane was the most common type of polymer in all bivalves. This result is an important reference for understanding the status of microplastics in three commercial bivalves during different seasons and in different human activities, which should aid in understanding the sources of microplastics in Bandon Bay.

The Significance of Colour Symbolisms in Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber (1979)

The paper seeks to critically explore Angela Carter’s use of colour symbolisms in her short story “The Bloody Chamber” (1979). By focussing on the recurrent invocation of three major colours, namely red, black and white, the paper studies how chromatic coding becomes a potent rhetorical device through which the psychological and physical implications of gendered violence are negotiated in Carter’s story. Paying close attention to the protagonist’s interaction with an aesthetically stimulating narrative world, steeped in visceral colours, the paper attempts at problematizing the politics of victimisation and female agency that underlies the entire narrative. Carter’s deployment of colour symbolisms has a quasi-theatrical dimension that tends to visualise the subversive implications of the text. Keeping that in mind, the paper seeks to crack the chromatic codes at multiple levels; for instance, red is studied in context to patriarchal violation of female bodies, as an embodiment of female desire and a manifestation of female bonding. Black is read through the lens of motherhood where it becomes a visual trope that deconstructs the prototype of an ideal mother and individualises her as a redemptive and rebellious figure. Finally, by paying attention to Carter’s use of the colour white, the paper seeks to trace its dual purpose in perpetuating invisibilization of female desire and charging the act of seeing with an agential import.

Recovery of Pulp from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch and Used Paper for Sustainable Paper Production

Agricultural waste residue such as empty fruit bunch (EFB) has great potential as an alternative feedstock in pulp and paper industry. This study provides insights into the use of EFB as an alternative non-wood fibre resource for pulping and papermaking. EFB was mixed with used paper (UP) according to the ratio of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 on dry basis. The hemi-cellulose and lignin contents in EFB was removed by soda-pulping using 15% w/v sodium hydroxide for 30 minutes at 100°C. Chemical analyses were performed to determine the ash content, lignin content, and the cellulose content (Rowel method). Physical and mechanical properties of the EFB/UP paper were characterised according to the TAPPI Standards including grammage, porosity, moisture content and tensile strength. The average fibre length of all EFB/UP papers showed different fibre length ranging from 1.0 to 1.2 mm. EFB25 (25% EFB) was found to have the least moisture content of 7.28% meanwhile EFB100 had the least ash content of 2.28% and the highest cellulose and lignin content of 45.22% and 26.5%, respectively. EFB25 demonstrated the highest tensile index of 2.01 Nm/g. There are no major colour changes and no trace of fungal growth on the surface of all paper samples after 4 weeks of storage without temperature and humidity control. It was found that paper with EFB25 displayed good physical appearance with grammage of 59.8 g/m2 that is almost comparable to commercialised paper of 70 g/m2 and suitable for writing.

Phenotypic and genomic dissection of colour pattern variation in a reef fish radiation.

Coral reefs rank among the most diverse species assemblages on Earth. A particularly striking aspect of coral reef communities is the variety of colour patterns displayed by reef fishes. Colour pattern is known to play a central role in the ecology and evolution of reef fishes through, for example, signalling or camouflage. Nevertheless, colour pattern is a complex trait in reef fishes-actually a collection of traits-that is difficult to analyse in a quantitative and standardized way. This is the challenge that we address in this study using the hamlets (Hypoplectrus spp., Serranidae) as a model system. Our approach involves a custom underwater camera system to take orientation- and size-standardized photographs in situ, colour correction, alignment of the fish images with a combination of landmarks and Bézier curves, and principal component analysis on the colour value of each pixel of each aligned fish. This approach identifies the major colour pattern elements that contribute to phenotypic variation in the group. Furthermore, we complement the image analysis with whole-genome sequencing to run a multivariate genome-wide association study for colour pattern variation. This second layer of analysis reveals sharp association peaks along the hamlet genome for each colour pattern element and allows to characterize the phenotypic effect of the single nucleotide polymorphisms that are most strongly associated with colour pattern variation at each association peak. Our results suggest that the diversity of colour patterns displayed by the hamlets is generated by a modular genomic and phenotypic architecture.

Cytogenetics Meets Genomics: Cytotaxonomy and Genomic Relationships among Color Variants of the Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus.

Scleropages formosus (Osteoglossiformes, Teleostei) represents one of the most valued ornamental fishes, yet it is critically endangered due to overexploitation and habitat destruction. This species encompasses three major color groups that naturally occur in allopatric populations, but the evolutionary and taxonomic relationships of S. formosus color varieties remain uncertain. Here, we utilized a range of molecular cytogenetic techniques to characterize the karyotypes of five S. formosus color phenotypes, which correspond to naturally occurring variants: the red ones (Super Red); the golden ones (Golden Crossback and Highback Golden); the green ones (Asian Green and Yellow Tail Silver). Additionally, we describe the satellitome of S. formosus (Highback Golden) by applying a high-throughput sequencing technology. All color phenotypes possessed the same karyotype structure 2n = 50 (8m/sm + 42st/a) and distribution of SatDNAs, but different chromosomal locations of rDNAs, which were involved in a chromosome size polymorphism. Our results show indications of population genetic structure and microstructure differences in karyotypes of the color phenotypes. However, the findings do not clearly back up the hypothesis that there are discrete lineages or evolutionary units among the color phenotypes of S. formosus, but another case of interspecific chromosome stasis cannot be excluded.

A diagnostic model based on color vision examination for dysthyroid optic neuropathy using Hardy-Rand-Rittler color plates.

To investigate color vision deficiency and the value of Hardy-Rand-Rittler (HRR) color plates in monitoring dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) to improve the diagnosis of DON. The participants were divided into DON and non-DON (mild and moderate-to-severe) groups. All the subjects underwent HRR color examination and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. The random forest and decision tree models based on the HRR score were constructed by R software. The ROC curve and accuracy of different models in diagnosing DON were calculated and compared. Thirty DON patients (57 eyes) and sixty non-DON patients (120 eyes) were enrolled. The HRR score was lower in DON patients than in non-DON patients (12.1 ± 6.2 versus 18.7 ± 1.8, p < 0.001). The major color deficiency was red-green deficiency in DON using HRR test. The HRR score, CAS, RNFL, and AP100 were found to be important factors in predicting DON from random forest and selected by decision tree to construct the multifactor model. The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the HRR score were 86%, 72%, and 0.87, respectively. The HRR score decision tree had a sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of 93%, 57%, and 0.75, respectively, with an accuracy of 82%. The data of the multifactor decision tree were 90%, 89%, and 0.93 for sensitivity, specificity, and AUC, respectively, with an accuracy of 91%. The HRR test was valid as screening method for DON. The multifactor decision tree based on the HRR test improved the diagnostic efficacy for DON. An HRR score of less than 12 and red-green deficiency may be characteristic of DON.

Microplastics in Widely Used Polypropylene-Made Food Containers.

As a potential threat to human health, ingestion of microplastics (MPs) has become of concern. Limited studies have carefully characterized the occurrence of MPs in polypropylene-made takeout food containers (TOFCs), which have been widely used in China. In this study, TOFC samples (n = 210) were collected from seven Chinese cities (Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xining, Chengdu, Qingdao, and Dalian) and analyzed for MPs. All the TOFC samples contained MPs, with an abundance of 3−43 items/TOFC. The TOFCs from Chengdu (25 items/TOFC) contained the highest mean abundance of MPs, which is significantly (p < 0.01) higher than that from Shanghai (8.7 items/TOFC). Fiber accounted for 66−87% of the total for the shape of the MPs in the TOFCs from the different Chinese cities. Most of the MPs in the TOFCs from the different cities had a size of 201−500 μm and accounted for a mean 34−42% of the total MPs in the TOFCs. The major color type of the MPs in the TOFCs was transparent, accounting for a mean 39 (Qingdao)−73% (Hangzhou) of the total MPs. Polymer compositions of the MPs in the TOFCs were consistently dominated by polypropylene, which represented a mean 56−73% of the total MPs. The estimated daily intake of MPs for the general Chinese population through using TOFCs was in the range of 0.042−0.14 items/kg bw/day. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive study investigating the occurrence of MPs in TOFCs from China, which contributes to a better understanding of the sources of human oral exposure to MPs.

Investigating temporal changes in Jupiter’s aerosol structure with rotationally-averaged 2015–2020 HST WFC3 images

Annual imaging observations of Jupiter from 2015 onward by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program (Simon et al., 2015) have provided a valuable data set from which Jupiter’s temporal variability can be characterized and modeled. Spectral samples at discrete filter bands from the UV to short near-IR wavelengths also provide an opportunity to connect temporal changes in reflectivity with temporal changes in cloud structure. To improve constraints on that cloud structure we used center-to-limb variations that were noise-reduced by rotational averaging during each annual OPAL observation sequence. Fitting observations at multiple and distinctly different observer zenith angles helps to make up for the lack of multiple methane-band filters in discerning the vertical distribution of aerosols. The short-wavelength limit of the OPAL observations also provides better constraints than ground-based observation on the properties of Jupiter’s chromophore, i.e., the compound that creates Jupiter’s variety of red colorations to clouds and hazes composed mainly of colorless condensates. We chose four latitudes to investigate with radiative transfer models based on a simple 3-layer aerosol structure consisting of a deep putative NH3 cloud layer, with a physically thin chromophore layer that has a fitted location at or near the top of the deep cloud, and an overlying stratospheric haze layer. Our chosen planetocentric latitudes were 5.5°S (Equatorial Zone South,EZS), 0° (Equatorial Zone, EZ), 10°N (North Equatorial Belt, NEB), and 21.75°N (North Temperate Belt, NTB). Two major color transformations occurred during the 2015–2020 period we analyzed. One is a dramatic dimming of the center of the Equatorial Zone at short wavelengths, especially after 2017, and a significant reddening of that region. The second is a significant reddening of part of the North Temperate Belt (near 22°N) between 2016 and 2017. Both reddening events can be modeled by doubling of the optical depth of the chromophore layer during the transitions. Comparison with prior 2017 model results for the NEB, EZ, and NTB have revealed agreement with Braude et al. (2020) on the vertical location of the chromophore layer but disagreements on cloud-top pressures and the vertical distribution of stratospheric haze particles. We identified what seems to be common tendency of models based on HST/WFC3 observations to either infer very little stratospheric haze opacity or to put that opacity at too high a pressure.

Abundance, Composition, and Potential Ecological Risks of Microplastics in Surface Water at Different Seasons in the Pearl River Delta, China

In this study, microplastics in the surface water in the Pearl River Delta during different seasons were studied to analyze their temporal and spatial distribution, morphological characteristics, related socio-economic indicators, and potential ecological risks. Based on an analysis of surface water samples from 13 sampling sites, we found that the temporal and spatial distribution of microplastics in the Pearl River Delta were unbalanced. The microplastic abundances at the Qingqi, Chencun, Zuotan, and Beijiao sites were tremendously higher than those at other sites. Nevertheless, the abundance of microplastics at most sites was tremendously higher in the rainy season than dry season. Meanwhile, the morphological characteristics of microplastics had a strong correlation with the changes of season and site location. During the rainy season, the major color, shape, and size distribution of microplastics were gray (38.64%), strip (78.29%), and 100–500 μm (57.38%), respectively. The most usual color, shape, and size distribution of microplastics in the dry season were black (38.64%), granular (78.29%), and 0–100 μm (70.29%), respectively. As for the socio-economic indicators, including the degree of afforestation as well as the extent of industrial, transportation, and other human activities, all had varying degrees of impact on microplastic abundances. The potential ecological risk assessments demonstrated that most sites in the Pearl River Delta had a high potential for ecological risk related to microplastic pollution, which should be given more attention in the future. In summary, our investigations offer a theoretical basis for research related to microplastics in the Pearl River Delta and can further improve our understanding of the need to protect aquatic environments by exploring the overall ecological risks posed by microplastics.

47‐4: Color Acceptability Threshold for Mixed Display Technology Automotive Cockpit

The number of displays inside an automotive cockpit is increasing, and so is the possibility to tap into new technologies. CuJTently, LCD displays are used in most of the mid to high price range cars, but OLED displays have also started making their appearance in cars like Audi E‐Tron, Cadillac Escalate, Mercedes EQS etc. There can be scenarios where the cockpit might have displays with mixed technologies, for example, one display can be an LCD and the other can be an OLED. In this paper we have evaluated the color difference acceptability threshold for such a mixed technology scenario (an LCD and an OLED). A detailed workflow to study the acceptability of users from different age groups through a psychophysical experiment is designed and documented. The acceptability threshold is published using the major color difference formulae available in literature, i.e., CIEDE2000, CIEDE76, CIECAM02‐UCS, DI99d, OSA‐GP and CAMI6‐UCS. This study acts as the first pilot study in the series of studies where several other factors affecting this acceptability threshold will be studied.

Morphological Characteristics of Pati Duck

Background: The favorable climatic condition and fertile land resources of Assam plays a significant role for agricultural and livestock production in the region. Assam is one of the regions of north-eastern India, famous for different varieties of indigenous ducks reared by farmers under traditional system. Due to hot-humid climatic condition of Assam along with extensive availability of resources like ponds, river, marshy wet lands etc. provides a suitable natural habitats for duck rearing in rural areas of the states. Pati Duck was recognized as a breed by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources in the year 2017. Methods: The study was conducted at Govt. Duck and Poultry Farm, Joysagar, Sivasagar district of Assam. Ducklings were hatched at the Hatchery unit present at the farm. Eggs were been collected from different farmer’s house where they reared ducks in the backyard systems. Ducklings born were been studied for the different morphological characteristics and their body weight were been measured in weekly interval. All ducks received adlibitum feed from day one onwards. Result: Pati ducks were divided into five major groups based on their body coat colour. They are Whitish light brown, White, Blackish brown, Black and white and Khaki coloured. The different body measurement shows the male to be superior to the females in different parameters with different coat colour. The major colour pattern of bill, shank and feet was found to be yellow, whereas skin was mostly white in colour and plumage colour pattern found to be white, black and brown in different parts of the body.

High Resolution Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping and Whole Genome Sequencing Enable the Design of an Anthocyanidin Reductase-Specific Homoeo-Allelic Marker for Fruit Colour Improvement in Octoploid Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa).

Fruit colour is central to the sensorial and nutritional quality of strawberry fruit and is therefore a major target in breeding programmes of the octoploid cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa). The red colour of the fruit is caused by the accumulation of anthocyanins, which are water-soluble flavonoids. To facilitate molecular breeding, here we have mapped with high resolution fruit colour quantitative trait loci (QTLs) (COLOUR, scored visually as in selection programmes) and associated flavonoid metabolic QTLs (5 anthocyanins compounds together with 8 flavonols and flavan-3-ols) to specific subgenomes of cultivated strawberry. Two main colour-related QTLs were located on the LG3A linkage group (Fragaria vesca subgenome). Genetic mapping, transcriptome analysis and whole genome sequencing enabled the detection of a homoeo-allelic variant of ANTHOCYANIDIN REDUCTASE (ANR) underlying the major male M3A COLOUR and pelargonidin-3-glucoside (PgGs) QTLs (up to ∼20% of explained variance). Consistent with previously published functional studies, ANR transcript abundance was inversely related with PgGs content in contrasted progeny individuals. Genetic segregation analyses further indicated that a molecular marker designed using an 18 bp deletion found in the 5′UTR of the candidate ANR homoeo-allelic variant is effective in identifying genotypes with intense red fruit colour. Our study provides insights into the genetic and molecular control of colour-related traits in strawberry and further defines a genetic marker for marker-assisted selection of new strawberry varieties with improved colour. The QTLs detected and the underlying candidate genes are different from those described to date, emphasising the importance of screening a wide diversity of genetic resources in strawberry.

Degradation of black tea theaflavin through C-ring cleavage by gut microbiota

Increasing evidence has shown that gut microbiota plays important roles in metabolizing large molecular polyphenols to bioavailable and bioactive microbial metabolites. Theaflavin (TF) is one of the major color compounds in black tea and has demonstrated anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and anticancer effects properties. However, little is known about the metabolism of TF by gut microbiota in vivo. In this study, following the administration of TF to mice, the C-ring cleavage metabolites, dihydro- and tetrahydro-theaflavin (DH-TF and TH-TF) were detected in mouse feces by LC-MS and validated by authentic standards from in situ chemical reaction. The observation of the C-ring cleavage metabolites in TF-treated conventionalized mice but not in germ-free (GF) mice confirmed the role of gut microbiota in cleaving the C-rings of TF. The detection of DH-TF from the anaerobic incubation of TF with catechin-converting gut bacteria, Eggerthella lenta (Eggerth), suggested that the microbes with the capacity to cleave the C-ring of catechins were able to metabolize TF following the same mechanism. Additionally, three small phenolic metabolites were detected in mouse feces, and one of them was primarily detected in SPF mice not GF mice, which revealed that TF, subsequent to the cleaved C-ring, can be further metabolized into smaller phenolic metabolites by gut microbiota. Dose-dependent production of these metabolites were observed from the administration of 100 mg/kg to 400 mg/kg body weight of TF. In conclusion, gut microbiota can metabolize TF to the open-ring metabolites and the phenolic metabolites through the C-ring cleavage in mice.