Natural Health Food Research Articles

Selenochemical modification of low molecular weight polysaccharides from Grifola frondosa and the mechanism of their inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cells

An important micronutrient involved in immune response and antitumor is selenium. LMW-GFP, a polysaccharide extracted from Grifola frondosa seed bodies, has a relatively weak antitumor effect on BGC-823 and MFC cells in vitro, whereas selenium binding to LMW-GFP can significantly increase the in vitro antitumor activity of LMW-GFP. In this study, Se-LMW-GFP was prepared by the HNO3-Na2SeO3 method, and the structures of LMW-GFP and Se-LMW-GFP were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy of absorption, FTIR spectroscopy, and electron scanning microscopy, and these structural analyses showed that selenium was successfully complexed to LMW-GFP. The selenium content of Se-LMW-GFP was measured to be 2.08 % ± 0.08 % by ICP-MS. The anti-tumor activity of LMW-GFP before and after selenium modification was compared by cellular experiments, and the findings indicated that the anti-tumor activity of Se-LMW-GFP was considerably improved over that of LMW-GFP, and inhibited the proliferation of BGC-823 cells and MFC cells through a combination of the Fas/FasL-mediated exogenous death receptor pathway as well as the endogenous mitochondrial pathway. Our results suggest that Se-LMW-GFP not only has great potential for natural health food and anti-gastric cancer drug development but is also a good selenium supplement.

Effect of Potentilla anserina L. powder on gel properties and volatile flavor characteristics of silver carp surimi.

Potentilla anserina L. is rich in various nutrients, active ingredients and unique flavor, comprising a natural nutrition and health food. However, its application in aquatic food has been rarely reported. Therefore, the effects of Potentilla anserina L. powder (PAP) on gel properties and volatile flavor profile of silver carp surimi were investigated. The gel strength and water-holding capacity of the surimi gels were significantly improved (P < 0.05), and the whiteness and cooking loss of all the samples decreased slightly with the increase in PAP content. The addition of PAP shortened the relaxation time (T2) of the surimi gels and converted some of the free water into immobile or bound water, which resulted in a better immobilization of water in the surimi. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated that the network of surimi gels with PAP added was denser and had a smoother surface compared to the control. Volatile components (VCs) analysis showed that 33 VCs were identified in the surimi gel samples with different additions of PAP, among which aldehydes, alcohols and esters were the major VCs, accounting for more than 50% of the VCs in the surimi gels. PAP addition reduced the fishy and rancid flavor compounds in surimi gels, such as 1-propanol, 1-octen-3-ol, etc., and promoted the production of aldehydes, alcohols, esters and other flavor substances. These results of the present study provide theoretical support for the investigation and development of new nutrient-health-flavored surimi products. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Structural characterization, molecular dynamic simulation, and conformational visualization of a water-soluble glucan with high molecular weight from Gastrodia elata Blume

Polysaccharides have been widely used in the development of natural drugs and health food. However, polysaccharide characterization lags due to inherently complicated features and the limitations of existing detection approaches. We aimed to provide new insight into the fine structure and conformational visualization of polysaccharides from Gastrodia elata Blume, a medicinal and edible plant. A water-soluble polysaccharide (GEP2–6) with the high molecular weight of 2.7 × 106 Da was first obtained, and its purity reached 99.2 %. Chemical and spectroscopic analyses jointly revealed that GEP2–6 was a glucan linked by α-(1 → 4) and α-(1 → 6) glycosidic bonds. After enzymolysis, the local structure of GEP2–6 included α-1,4-Glcp, α-1,6-Glcp, α-1,4,6-Glcp, and α-1-Glcp at a molar ratio of 31.27∶1.32∶1.08∶0.93. The glycosidic linkage pattern of repeating units was further simulated by a glycan database and spatial examination software. The good dissolution performance was interpreted by dynamics simulation and practical molecular characteristics. Spherical flexible chains and the porous stable conformation were corroborated using atomic force microscopy. In addition, GEP2–6 could effectively scavenge DPPH and hydroxyl radicals as a promising natural antioxidant. These efforts will contribute to the expansion of clinical applications of this G. elata polysaccharide and the structural elucidation for macromolecular polysaccharides combined with traditional and modern analysis techniques.

Anti-Obesity Effect of Daidzein Derived from Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb. Extract via PPAR Pathway in MDI-Induced 3T3-L1 Cell Line

Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb. is a tropical perennial vine plant native to southern Mexico, Southeast Asia, Central America, and Africa. In this study, we analyzed and identified various polyphenolic compounds and isoflavones present in ethanolic P. erosus root extracts and investigated their potential anti-obesity activity as a natural health food resource. The extraction process involved drying the yam bean, followed by extraction with 70% ethanol, evaporation, and freeze-drying. Fractionation was achieved through layer separation using n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), butanol (BuOH), and water. The EtOAc fraction exhibited the highest antioxidant activity among the experimental groups, with an IC50 value of 531.77 µg/mL for ABTS radical scavenging. In α-glucosidase and lipase inhibition assays, IC50 values were determined to be 873.07 µg/mL and 915.02 µg/mL, respectively. Using HPLC and LC-MS/MS, we detected isoflavone components in P. erosus root extracts, identifying daidzein, genistein, and rotenone among them. Daidzein was the most abundant isoflavone in P. erosus root extracts. To validate the anti-obesity activity in the EtOAc fraction and daidzein, we used 3T3-L1 preadipocytes treated with MDI (3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, insulin) for 8 days. Oil Red O staining experiments demonstrated a concentration-dependent reduction in lipid content in the EtOAc fraction and daidzein treatment groups. Additionally, we examined the expression pattern of proteins related to the leptin-PPAR-FAS Pathway, revealing a concentration-dependent decrease in obesity-related proteins.

A comparison of nutritional components and memory enhancement effects of HongJam prepared from different silkworm varieties that weave yellow-colored cocoons

Hongjam (HJ) is a natural health food made from mature silkworms, and various health-promoting effects of HJ have been reported. Recent studies have reported that the health-promoting effects of HJ vary depending on the color of the cocoon of the silkworm variety used for its production. Recently, we reported that Golden Silk (GS), a variety of silkworm with yellow cocoons, exhibit superior memory improvement effects when HJ derived from these silkworms is compared to other varieties. However, breeding lines used to produce silkworm varieties are maintained through inbreeding, which can lead to serious side effects in the case of the GS variety. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the nutritional components and health-promoting effects of Daehwangjam (DHJ), a recently established yellow cocoon silkworm variety.A comparative study was conducted on the nutritional components and memory-enhancing effects of GS and DHJ-HJ. We found no significant differences in nutrient composition between GS- and DHJ-HJ as determined through proximate analysis, amino acid composition analysis, fatty acid content analysis and other methods. Additionally, in a rodent model of mild cognitive impairment, DHJ-HJ proved to be equally effective as GS-HJ. Since DHJ produces larger mature silkworms than GS, it will be possible to efficiently produce HJ for the purpose of creating memory enhancement health food.

Qianhu (Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) Improves exercise capacity in mice by regulating Nrf2/HO-1 oxidative stress signaling pathway

This study assessed the effect of Qianhu (Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) on the recovery of movement in mice with D-galactose-induced dyskinesia. The evaluation of the ability of mice to exercise revealed that Qianhu increased the running and swimming time to exhaustion in mice with dyskinesia. In addition, measurement of biochemical indices in mice showed that Qianhu altered the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood lactic acid (BLA), malonaldehyde (MDA), liver glycogen (HG), muscle glycogen (MG), while the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) remained normal. Additionally, Qianhu regulated the mRNA expression of copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), catalase (CAT), heme oxygenase 1(HO-1), nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor (Nrf2) and syncytin-1 in mice and also protected mice against D-galactose-induced oxidative stress. The analysis of the chemical composition of Qianhu revealed that it mainly contains isochlorogenic acid B, myricetin, baicalin, luteolin, and kaempferol, which are known excellent antioxidants that protect against tissue damage due to oxidative stress and have anti-aging properties. Thus, these compounds may be the active components in Qianhu that improve the ability of mice to exercise, and may also represent the key compounds for its use as natural medicine or health food.

Antioxidative Recovery Responses of Germinated Rough Rice (GRR) and Germinated Brown Rice (GBR) from Various Solvents and Their Potential towards Reactive Oxygen Species Quenching Capacity

Introduction: Health promoting properties which generated worldwide interest in germinated rough rice (GRR) and germinated brown rice (GBR) are attributed largely by the bioactive compounds in the rice bran. Therefore, in the present study, antioxidant activities from gradient methanol and ethanol solvents followed by fractionations were evaluated. Methods: GRR and GBR crude extracts were successively obtained from two concentrations of methanol (80% and 100%) and ethanol (50% and 70%). They were further analyzed for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assays. From the potent crude extract dissolved in water, they were sequentially subjected to fractionation using solvents with increasing polarity pattern, namely hexane fraction (HF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and water fractions (WF ). Results: WF belonging to both GRR and GBR generally possessed better antioxidant characteristics, demonstrated high TPC with GBR; 101.9 ± 0.2 mg GAE/g and GRR; 63.7 ± 1.2 mg GAE/g. GRR-WF exhibited high DPPH and TEAC with 63.68 mg TEA/g and 80.30 mg TEA/g respectively. GBR exhibited high DPPH in WF with 46.17 mg TEA/g but demonstrated high in ABTS in EAF fraction with 71.60 mg TEA/g. Both GRR and GBR showed high FRAP values in WF with 45.31 and 19.68 mg GAE/g respectively. Conclusion: Hence, it is proven that GBR and GRR owing to their antioxidant activities possess potential benefits which in turn has increased their competence as an emerging natural and valuable health food.

Prophylactic Effects of Purple Shoot Green Tea on Cytokine Immunomodulation through Scavenging Free Radicals and NO in LPS-Stimulated Macrophages

Polyphenols and flavonoids from non-fermented green tea and fully-fermented black tea exhibit antioxidant abilities that function as natural health foods for daily consumption. Nonetheless, evidence regarding prophylactic effects of purple shoot tea on immunomodulation remains scarce. We compared the immunomodulatory effects of different tea processes on oxidative stress and cytokine expressions in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages. Major constituents of four tea products, Taiwan Tea Experiment Station No.12 (TTES No. 12) black and green tea and purple shoot black and purple shoot green tea (TB, TG, PB and PG, respectively), were analyzed to explore the prophylactic effects on expressions of free radicals, nitric oxide (NO), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in LPS-activated RAW264.7 cell models. PG contained abundant levels of total polyphenols, flavonoids, condensed tannins and proanthocyanidins (371.28 ± 3.83; 86.37 ± 1.46; 234.67 ± 10.1; and 24.81 ± 0.75 mg/g, respectively) contributing to excellent free radical scavenging potency. In both the LPS-activated inflammation model and the prophylactic model, all tea extracts suppressed NO secretion in a dose-dependent manner, especially for PG. Intriguingly, most tea extracts enhanced expressions of IL-6 in LPS-stimulated macrophages, except PG. However, all teas disrupted downstream transduction of chemoattractant MCP-1 for immune cell trafficking. In the prophylactic model, all teas inhibited inflammatory responses by attenuating expressions of IL-6 and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner, especially for TG and PG. Our prophylactic model demonstrated PG exerts robust effects on modulating LPS-induced cytokine expressions of MCP-1, IL-6 and TNF-α through scavenging free radicals and NO. In light of the prophylactic effects on LPS-related inflammation, PG effectively scavenges free radicals to modulate cytokine cascades that could serve as a functional beverage for immunomodulation.

Consider the Coconut: Scientific Agriculture and the Racialization of Risk in the American Colonial Philippines

This article invokes the “molecular intimacies of empire” to illuminate the links between the superfood status of coconut oil and plantation labor in the American colonial Philippines. Prior to the American occupation in 1898, coconuts were a local crop that offered small growers a degree of protection from capitalist agriculture. A mere two decades later, coconut plantations occupied more than two million acres of land; copra – the dried kernels from which oil is pressed – was the archipelago’s third major export industry; and the industry employed at least four million people along a commodity chain that included prisoners, landed planters, and oil refiners. Transimperial tropical research stations, economic botany, and penal farms propelled this change. US-run prison plantations in the southern Philippines served as living laboratories for the racial management of labor and the bioengineering of trees bearing fruit all year. Though the copra trade comprised production of modern extractive capitalism, American dairy farmers and vegetable oil producers racialized copra imports as a tropical threat to the white body politic during the global Great Depression. Yet this conflation of coconut oil and the imagined tropical primitive positioned coconut oil for its rerendering as an unrefined natural health food. By connecting the colonial planation to the coconut’s superfood status, the article shows how discourses of risk are racialized and consumed. Indeed, is not the body of the laborer who risks exposure to fertilizers and pesticides nor the loss of biodiversity that North American consumers consider when asked if coconuts are a health food.

Human &amp; Disaster: Analysis of the Actual Use of Northern Bamboo in Folk Remedies

Purpose: Northern bamboo is an evergreen broad-leaved shrub. It reaches 1~2m in height and 3~6mm in diameter, spread throughout Korea. Northern bamboo leaves, also called bamboo leaves, have been used to treat children s convulsion, vomiting blood, and severe thirst in fever. Women with repressed anger illnesses boiled bamboo leaves covered with frost and drank the water. Therefore, this study investigated the folk remedies relat-ed to Northern bamboo. The researchers tried to analyze the studied data and examine the possibility of using northern bamboo as a multi-purpose natural health food. Method: This study investigated and analyzed the folk remedies related to northern bamboo at herbal medi-cine stores, herbal medicine pharmacies, and medicinal herb decocting shops in Daegu metropolitan city and Yeongcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Researchers also searched and collected valuable materials in the Naver blog. This paper conducted a Frequency analysis on the collected data with several categories, such as the collecting season of bamboo, the usable parts of it, the processing ways of it, the ingestion types of it, and the frequency of its utilization by disease. Results: In analyzing the use of northern bamboo to folk remedies, cardiovascular disease was the most fre-quently used for each related disease. The frequency of use for cancer-related diseases, diabetes-related diseases was also high percentage. Bamboos were collected regardless of the season, but most were collected during the spring when new shoots were born. All bamboo parts were usable, but leaves were used the most. Bamboos were used in various processing ways, but ‘drying’ regardless of sunlight and shade was the most common method. As for the ingestion types, tea was the most common style. Conclusion: Northern bamboo has been used for various diseases in folk remedies, and it is easy to obtain be-cause it grows anywhere in the country. Eggplant seeds, jujube, licorice, and others are added when processing or ingestion, but in many cases, it is consumed alone without adding anything else. As a result of investigating and analyzing the folk remedies related to northern bamboo, the researchers reaffirmed the value of bamboo through this study. This paper evaluated that northern bamboo has the excellent potential to be used as a multi-purpose natural health food.

Tenderness

Tenderness Mary Milstead (bio) I return to the image of her bare feet—they are small and white, and I am drawn to her softness, which is familiar to me. Telling my mother's story requires this sort of time travel. I know her well, from her silver-white hair down to her painted toenails, but I didn't know her when it happened. It would be another four years before I was born. On a recent summer visit to my home in Portland, my very Texan mother and I sat on my back porch in the afternoon sun. I offered her a foot rub and she accepted, sliding off her flip-flops. She loves the heat, and is always cold when she visits, but we were lucky enough that August visit to be bathed in sunshine—finally, it was warm enough. It was our last afternoon before she flew back home, so we were savoring our time together. She reached down and showed me with her fingers where the pressure point was for her lungs, just below the bone at the ball of her foot. ________ That night, before anything happened, she had been sitting on a low wall looking out at the city lights. Legs crossed, flip-flops dangling from her toes. Her hair was long and black, wavy and parted in the middle. It was mid-January, but a warm night. 1972. She was a nineteen-year-old out on a date with her boyfriend, and she doesn't remember what they were talking about. They hadn't been there long, and it was nice out. [End Page 59] Earlier they'd been at a potluck with a group of friends, and when they'd left, Michael suggested they stop for a while at Mt. Bonnell, a popular overlook with a view of Lake Austin and the city lights in the distance. They'd never been there together before. My mother told me that when he first suggested it, she felt nervous. She was clear that it wasn't any kind of premonition—she never sensed the impending tragedy until it was upon them—just a general sense that it was getting dark. And of course good girls avoided places that might be dangerous at night. But she was with Michael, and he was a great guy: she was safe. She thought, really, that just being with a man meant being safe. It usually did. She and Michael were newly dating, but they'd known each other for a while. He worked as a manager at a natural health food store and was part of her tight circle of friends—mostly young, mostly college students, people interested in spiritual growth and love and peace. She and Michael had talked about marriage, and she thought she might spend the rest of her life with him. So she had a momentary twinge of fear, but it didn't last, and by the time she was walking up the stone steps toward the top of Mt. Bonnell, she was mostly calm and happy, enjoying the night. They sat and talked on a low stone wall with a perfect view. It was just the two of them up there that night, at least as far as they could tell. There was a parked VW Bug in the clearing, but no other people. And so, when one of her flip-flops fell into the dirt just below, she didn't reach down to get it. She heard it land with a soft thud and figured she'd just grab it when they left. Instead, they were soon interrupted by a voice in the dark behind them. "Turn around, and don't make any trouble." Two men, a gun. My mother was not the type of girl to make trouble. And she knew instantly that this was not a joke, not some kind of prank or mistake, no matter how surreal it felt. She would do everything they told her to do. Within a few minutes, one of the men was holding her off to the side of the clearing by her long black hair. The other man was standing by the parked...

Rapid discrimination and quantification of kudzu root with its adulterant part using FT-NIR and a machine learning algorithm

Kudzu root (KR) is regarded as a natural health food with high medicinal value, and is commercially available in dietary supplements that are primarily marketed for women’s health. The nutrient and functional substances are mainly distributed in the root; and moreover, the appearance and taste of Kudzu stem (KS) are both similar to KR. Thus, the ability to differentiate KR and KS and to detect adulteration of KR with the addition of cheaper KS is important in preventing the possible commercial fraud that adversely affects both the food industry as well as the consumers. With this assumption, the present work had two different goals of developing a rapid, simple and accurate method to distinguish KR from KS, and to test the feasibility of quantifying the adulteration ratio of KR to KS. To achieve these goals, NIR spectroscopy was coupled with 4 different algorithms including the principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), partial least squares (PLS) test, and least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM). The results showed that PLS-DA achieved 100 percent classification accuracy for both KR and KS. The LS-SVM model had superior capability than did the PLS model in predicting the adulteration ratio between KR and KS. It has provided excellent predictive performance with a high Rp value of 0.9972 and a low root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) value of 2.1724. These observations revealed the potential of NIR spectroscopy combined with machine learning methods as effective approach in distinguishing possible adulteration of KR.

Protective Effect of Lemon Peel Extract on Oxidative Stress in H9c2 Rat Heart Cell Injury.

AimLemon peel, a traditional Chinese medicine, was tested in this study for its novel application in inhibiting cellular oxidative stress, and the effect of lemon peel extract (LPE) on protecting H9c2 rat heart cells from oxidative stress was investigated.MethodsThe scavenging effects of LPE on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals were measured in extracellular experiments. The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolinyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-h-tetrazolylammonium bromide (MTT) assay was used to detect the cell survival rate. The cell supernatant and intracellular oxidation-related indicators were detected by a kit, and the mRNA expression in H9c2 cells was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The chemical substances of LPE were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).ResultsThe results showed that LPE exhibited better DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging abilities than vitamin C. Compared with the cells in the normal state (control group), the cell survival rate in the model group decreased, and the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increased, the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) decreased, and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased. Compared with the control group, the expression of Bcl-2-related X protein (Bax), caspase-3, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the model group was increased, and the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) was reduced. Compared with the model group, LPE treatment improved the cell survival rate, reduced the levels of LDH and MDA, increased the levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH, downregulated the expression of Bax, caspase-3, Nrf2 and HO-1, and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2. The composition analysis showed that LPE contained catechin, rutin, naringin, quercetin, and hesperidin.ConclusionThe results indicated that LPE could protect H9c2 cells from oxidative stress through five active components. LPE has the potential to be developed into natural medicine or health food for the inhibition of cell oxidative damage.

Antioxidant Properties of Single Garlic (Allium sativum) Pickle

Single garlic is a type of garlic that has a single clove, also known as single clove garlic, monobulb garlic or single bulb garlic. Traditionally, single garlic was used as medicinal based on its properties as antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, antimutagenic, antiplatelet, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant. The Alliin substance was presumably as an antioxidant, but it was changed easily to unstable allicin caused by Alliinase enzyme activity which is increased when garlic was chopped, crushed or processed. The change of Alliin to allicin will reduce the antioxidant activity of single garlic. A treatment that reduces the Alliinase activity will retain the Alliin substance and the antioxidant capacity could be maintained. The fermentation process will give a low pH as the result of carbohydrate metabolism in a fermentation medium, and reduce the alliinase activity. The aims of this research were to evaluate the growth of Lactobacillus plantarum B1765 as a starter culture in single garlic, pH and the effect of fermentation time process (3, 6 and 9 days)to antioxidant activity on single garlic pickle. The growth of L.plantarum B1765 was measured as Total Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) by Total Plate Count (TPC) using the MRS medium, and antioxidant activity was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging methods, expressed as inhibition activity (%). Fermentation process along 9 days showed that&amp;nbsp; L.plantarum B1765 growth on single garlic pickles for 1 log cycles from 106 CFU/mL to 107 CFU/mL, pH reduces from 5.6 to 4.4, closely related to increasing of TAT&amp;nbsp; from 0.16 % to 0.28%. The fermentation process also showed an increase in the inhibition activity along the fermentation process from 10,67% to 11.17% and showed a higher inhibition than control (3.88%- 7.39%). Single pickled garlic can be potentially developed as natural antioxidant health food.

Anti-Cancer Effects of Panax ginseng Berry Polysaccharides via Activation of Immune-Related Cells.

Panax ginseng has long been used as natural medicine and health food all over the world. Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide and its prognosis likely depends on the immune system during tumor treatment. In this study, ginseng berry polysaccharides were evaluated for their immunostimulant and anti-cancer effects. Ginseng berry polysaccharide portion (GBPP) was used to investigate its effects on anti-complementary activity, peritoneal macrophage activation, and natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, both intravenous (i.v.) and oral administration of GBPP prior to B16-BL6 melanoma implantation in mice was evaluated. GBPP significantly increased the anti-complementary activity and cytokine production including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, dose-dependently. Splenocytes obtained after i.v. administration of GBPP showed cytolytic activity in Yac-1 cells in proportion to the E/T ratio. In addition, GBPP enhanced the production of interferon (IFN)-γ and granzyme B of NK cells. For the experimental lung cancer, compared with control mice, GBPP delivered by i.v. suppressed cancer by 48% at 100 μg/mouse, while a 37% reduction was achieved by oral administration. Deficient of NK cells in animal model demonstrated that the anti-cancer effect of GBPP was through NK cell activation. Results of this study suggest that ginseng berry polysaccharides, owing to their modulation of the immune response, can be a potential curative applicant for the prevention and treatment of tumors.

Physicochemical properties and bioactivities of original and Se-enriched polysaccharides with different molecular weights extracted from Pleurotus ostreatus

Three polysaccharides (WZP1, WZP2, WZP3) and their Se-enriched products (SeWZP1, SeWZP2 and SeWZP3) were obtained from Pleurotus ostreatus using a simple, rapid method and HNO3-Na2SeO3 method, respectively. The molecular weight distribution profiles of all samples except SeWZP2 showed double peaks. The average molecular weights (Mw) of WZP1–3 were 48.6 kDa, 20.2 kDa and 11.8 kDa, respectively, and of SeWZP1–3 were 19.6 kDa, 37.7 kDa, 14.5 kDa, respectively. The complexity of monosaccharide composition of WZP1–3 was inversely proportional to the ethanol concentration used in the ethanol precipitation process. Additionally, the results of biological activity tests indicated that α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of WZP1–3 was related to the molecular weight and the monosaccharide composition complexity. The selenized modification can improve the α-glucosidase-inhibiting, hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity of P. ostreatus polysaccharides. Therefore, by improving their bioactivities by selenization, the polysaccharides of P. ostreatus could be utilized as a natural health food supplement.

1H NMR-based metabolomic analysis coupled with reversed-phase solid-phase extraction for sample preparation of Saposhnikovia roots and related crude drugs.

1H NMR-based metabolomics has been applied in research on food, herbal medicine, and natural products. Although excellent results were reported, samples were directly extracted with a deuterated solvent (e.g., methanol-d4 or D2O) in most reports. As primary metabolites account for most of the results, data for secondary metabolites are partially reflected. Consequently, secondary metabolites tend to be excluded from factor loading analysis, serving as a significant unfavorable feature of 1H NMR-based metabolomics when investigating biologically active or functional components in natural products and health foods. Reversed-phase solid-phase extraction column (RP-SPEC) was applied for sample preparation in 1H NMR-based metabolomics to overcome this feature. The methanol extract from Saposhnikoviae radix (SR), an important crude drug, was fractionated with RP-SPEC into 5% methanol-eluting fractions, and the remaining fraction was collected. Each fraction was subjected to 1H NMR-based metabolomics and compared to results from conventional 1H NMR-based metabolomics. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the 5% methanol fraction and conventional method reflected the amount of saccharides such as sucrose on the PC1/PLS1 axes, and wild and cultivated samples were discriminated along those axes. The remaining fraction clearly distinguished SR from Peucedanum ledebourielloides root. The compounds responsible for this discrimination were deemed falcarindiol derivatives and other unidentified secondary metabolites from the s-plot on PLS-DA. The secondary metabolites from original plants were, therefore, presumed to be concentrated in the remaining fraction by RP-SPEC treatment and strongly reflected the species differences. The developed series is considered effective to perform quality evaluation of crude drugs and natural products.

Bioinformatics-Based Tools and Software in Clinical Research: A New Emerging Area.

Nowadays, drug discovery is a long process which includes target identification, validation, lead optimization, and many other major/minor steps. The huge flow of data has necessitated the need for computational support for collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, and correlation of data sets of complex information. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was cumbersome to elaborate the experimental findings in the form of clinical outcomes, but current research in the field of bioinformatics clearly shows ongoing unification of experimental findings and clinical outcomes. Bioinformatics has made it easier for researchers to overcome various challenges of time-consuming and expensive procedures of evaluation of safety and efficacy of drugs at a much faster and economic way. In the near future, it may be a major game player and trendsetter for personalized medicine, drug discovery, drug standardization, as well as food products. Due to rapidly increasing commercial interest, currently probiotic-based industries are flooding the market with a range of probiotic products under the banner of dietary supplements, natural health products, food supplements, or functional foods. Most of the consumers are attracted toward probiotic formulations due to the rosy picture provided by the media and advertisements about high beneficial claims. These products are not regulated by pharmaceutical regulatory authorities in different countries of origin and are rather regulated as per their intended use. Lack of stipulated quality standard is a major challenge for probiotic industry; hence there would always be a possibility of marketing of ineffective and unsafe products with false claims. Hence it is very important and pertinent to ensure the safety of probiotic formulations available as over-the-counter (OTC) products for ignorant society. At the same time, probiotic industry, being in its initial stages in developing and underdeveloped countries, requires to ensure safe, swift, and successful usage of probiotics. In the absence of harmonized regulatory guidelines, safety, quality, as well as the efficacy of the probiotic strain does not remain a mandate but becomes a choice for the manufacturer. Hence there is an urgent need to screen already marketed probiotic formulations for their safety with respect to specific strains of probiotic. Various conventional methods used by the manufacturers for the identification of probiotic microbes create a blurred image about their status as probiotics. The present manuscript focuses on a bioinformatics-based technique for validation of marketed probiotic formulation using 16s rRNA sequencing and strain-level identification of bacterial species using Ez Texan and laser gene software. This technique gives a clear picture about the safety of the product for human use.

Comparative analysis of the biological components of pomegranate seed from different cultivars

ABSTRACT Three pomegranate clutivars (Tunisia soft seed, Taishanhong, and Qingpiruanzi) were used to evaluate their seed germination percentage, potential, germination time, and shoot growth indices along with antioxidant capacity, bioactive components (i.e., oil, crude fat, soluble sugar, protein, total phenolic and flavonoid, and Vitamin C (VC) content, and mineral element contents of their seeds and sprouts). ‘Tunisia soft seed’ exhibited the highest germination percentage (86.33%) and potential (39.33%) while ‘Qingpiruanzi’ had the shortest germination time (15d) and lowest rate (23.33%). Soluble sugar content of sprouts (16.93–25.81 mg/g) was 1–2-folds that of seeds (8.29–14.06 mg/g). The soluble protein content of seeds (102.05–161.37 mg/g) was 10-fold higher than that of sprouts (14.71–21.46 mg/g), while the VC content of sprout (29.11–32.83 mg/100g) was more than 10 times higher than that of seed (1.89–3.25 mg/100g). Oil content of three varieties's seeds ranged from 164.44 to 183.52 mg/g. Pomegranate seed oil contains 14 fatty acids, the most abundant of which is punicic acid (71.85–77.78%). Pomegranate seeds and sprouts are also rich in mineral elements (calcium 99.49–238.25 mg/100g) and magnesium (97.41–187.59 mg/100g). Total phenols (14.68–16.29 mg/g) and flavonoids (1.97–2.48 mg/g) content in sprouts were significantly higher than that of seeds (3.88–4.96 and 0.51–0.68 mg/g). Antioxidant capacity detected by ABTS and DPPH, FRAP assay was positively associated with total phenolic (ABTS: r = 0.946, DPPH: r = 0.977, FRAP: r = 0.985). These preliminary results were essential to investigate the possibilities of commercial natural health food utilization of pomegranate products in China.

Polysaccharide-Enriched Fraction from Amillariella Mellea Fruiting Body Improves Insulin Resistance.

Despite the edible fungus Amillariella mellea possessing a variety of biological activities, its effects on diabetes are still unclear. Polysaccharides are the main bioactive ingredients. In order to destroy the cell wall to obtain more polysaccharides, we used NaOH solution to extract Amillariella mellea fruiting bodies. The alkali extraction (AAMP) was identified as a polysaccharide-enriched fraction. Using type 2 diabetic rats induced by co-treatment of a high fat diet (HFD) and dexamethasone (DEX), we evaluated the hypoglycemic effects of AAMP. The results showed that oral administration of a high dose of AAMP markedly lowered fasting blood glucose, improving glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. AAMP also enhanced the level of LPL and the expressions of two critical lipases ATGL and HSL, leading to a decrease of serum triglyceride. In addition, AAMP specifically suppressed the expression of SREBP-1c, resulting in AAMP observably inhibiting lipid accumulation in the liver. These findings demonstrated that the improvement of AAMP on HFD/DEX-induced insulin resistance was correlated with its regulation of lipid metabolism. Our results indicated that AAMP could be a novel natural drug or health food used for the treatment of diabetes.