Young Apples Research Articles

Anti-inflammatory potential of mycoprotein peptides obtained from fermentation of Schizophyllum commune DS1 with young apples

Fermenting edible filamentous fungi with food industry by-products, such as young apples, shows promise for producing mycoproteins and functional peptides. This study aimed to evaluate the production of mycoprotein by fermenting different edible-grade filamentous fungi using young apples as a substrate. Schizophyllum commune DS1 (DS1) demonstrated significant potential for generating mycoprotein, yielding 33.56 ± 0.82 %. From the hydrolysis of DS1 mycoprotein, three polypeptides were identified with the capacity of inhibiting nitric oxide synthase (iNOS): DNIQGITKPAIR (DR12), SDNAFGGR (SR8), and ASDPSGF (AF7). Computational analysis, including bioinformatics and molecular docking, indicated their high affinity for inhibiting iNOS, with binding energies of −452.8157 kcal/mol, −388.0222 kcal/mol, and −323.8843 kcal/mol, respectively. This binding was facilitated through various interactions such as electrostatic forces, π-π interactions, hydrogen bonds, and non-covalent interactions, resulting in potential anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, cell experiments using RAW264.7 macrophages demonstrated that these peptides effectively suppressed nitric oxide production in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, they reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), inducible iNOS, and cell apoptosis. In conclusion, this study presents a novel approach for developing plant-based mycoproteins and a new source for discovering food-derived bioactive peptides.

Characterization of Eurotium cristatum Fermented Thinned Young Apple and Mechanisms Underlying Its Alleviating Impacts on Experimental Colitis.

A hundred million tons of young apples are thinned and discarded in the orchard per year, aiming to increase the yield and quality of apples. We fermented thinned young apples using a potential probiotic fungus, Eurotium cristatum, which notably disrupted the microstructure of raw samples, as characterized by the scanning electron microscope. Fermentation substantially altered the metabolite profiles of samples, which are predicted to alleviate colitis via regulating inflammatory response and response to lipopolysaccharide by using network pharmacology analysis. In vivo, oral gavage of water extracts of E. cristatum fermented young apples (E.YAP) effectively alleviated DSS-induced colitis, restored the histopathology damage, reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines, and promoted colonic expressions of tight junction proteins. Moreover, E.YAP ameliorated gut dysbacteriosis by increasing abundances of Lactobacillus,Blautia, Muribaculaceae, and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 while inhibiting Turicibacter, Alistipes, and Desulfovibrio. Importantly, E.YAP increased colonic bile acids, such as CA, TCA, DCA, TUDCA, and LCA, thereby alleviating colitis via PXR/NF-κB signaling. Furthermore, a synbiotic combination with Limosilactobacillus reuteri WX-94, a probiotic strain isolated from feces of healthy individuals with anti-inflammatory properties, augmented anticolitis capacities of E.YAP. Our findings demonstrate that E.YAP could be a novel, potent, food-based anti-inflammatory prebiotic for relieving inflammatory injuries.

Ultrasound-assisted alkali extraction of RG-I enriched pectin from thinned young apples: Structural characterization and gelling properties

RG-I (rhamnogalacturonan-I) pectin has recently gained growing interest owing to its diverse physiological activities. Nevertheless, exploration about its functional properties such as gelling and rheological characteristics is still lacking. In this study, RG-I enriched pectin was extracted from thinned young apples (Fuji) using an ultrasound-assisted alkaline method. The physical-chemical and gelling properties of the extracted pectin were investigated. The results revealed that thinned young apple pectin (TAP) was low methoxy pectin (LMP, DE = 17.94%), and rich in RG-I structural domain (86.5%). Moreover, TAP exhibited great thermal stability, high gel strength and water-holding capacity (90%). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrated that TAP gel possessed a stable mesh-like structure characterized by small and densely packed voids. These findings provide valuable insights into the development of RG-I pectin gels and suggest that TAP extracted with the ultrasound-assisted alkaline method has significant potentials to be applied as gelling agents in the food industry.

Polyphenols from Thinned Young Apples: HPLC-HRMS Profile and Evaluation of Their Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities by Proteomic Studies.

The qualitative profile of thinned apple polyphenols (TAP) fraction (≈24% of polyphenols) obtained by purification through absorbent resin was fully investigated by LC-HRMS in positive and negative ion mode and using ESI source. A total of 68 polyphenols were identified belonging to six different classes: flavanols, flavonols, dihydrochalchones, flavanones, flavones and organic and phenolic acids. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were then investigated in cell models with gene reporter for NRF2 and NF-κB and by quantitative proteomic (label-free and SILAC) approaches. TAP dose-dependently activated NRF2 and in the same concentration range (10–250 µg/mL) inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation induced by TNF-α and IL-1α as pro-inflammatory promoters. Proteomic studies elucidated the molecular pathways evoked by TAP treatment: activation of the NRF2 signaling pathway, which in turn up-regulates protective oxidoreductases and their nucleophilic substrates such as GSH and NADPH, the latter resulting from the up-regulation of the pentose phosphate pathway. The increase in the enzymatic antioxidant cellular activity together with the up-regulation of the heme-oxygenase would explain the anti-inflammatory effect of TAP. The results suggest that thinned apples can be considered as a valuable source of apple polyphenols to be used in health care products to prevent/treat oxidative and inflammatory chronic conditions.

Thinned-Young Apple Polyphenols Inhibit Halitosis-Related Bacteria Through Damage to the Cell Membrane.

The thinned young apple is a by-product and is generally discarded in the orchard during fruit thinning. The polyphenol content of thinned young apples is about 10 times more than that of ripe apples. In our study, the antibacterial effect of thinned young apple polyphenols (YAP) on the halitosis-related bacteria including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedius, and Fusobacterium nucleatum was investigated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of YAP against P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, and F. nucleatum were 8.0, 8.0, and 12.0 mg/ml, while the minimum bactericidal concentrations were 10.0, 10.0, and 14.0 mg/ml, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses showed that after YAP treatment, the membrane surface of halitosis-related bacterial cells was coarse and the cell wall and membrane were separated and eventually ruptured. The integrity of the cell membrane was determined by flow cytometry, indicating that the cells with the integrity membrane significantly reduced as the YAP concentration treatment increased. The release of proteins and nucleic acids into the cell suspension significantly increased, and the membrane potential reduced after the YAP treatment. This research illustrated the antibacterial mechanism of YAP against halitosis-related bacteria and provided a scientific basis of utilizing the polyphenols from the discarded thinned young apples.

Alkaline-extracted thinned young apple polyphenols as an effective scavenger against nitrite in pickles: A comparative study with ethanol-extracted polyphenols

Pickles are popular fermented vegetable products worldwide. However, nitrite residue in pickles has caused a major safety concern. In this study, we adopted 80% ethanol solution (v/v) and 4N NaOH solution as solvents to extract polyphenols from thinned young apples, and the resulting polyphenols were designated EEP (ethanol-extracted polyphenols) and AEP (alkaline-extracted polyphenols), respectively. The results showed that AEP had a higher extraction yield than EEP, and the main individual phenolic components in AEP and EEP were different. Additionally, the DPPH scavenging capacity (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical) of AEP was slightly higher than that of EEP, indicating that the antioxidant activity of AEP was better than that of EEP. Further experiments suggested that both AEP and EEP exhibited good nitrite-scavenging capacity under simulated acidic conditions (pH ~3.8, close to the pH of real pickle products), with AEP showing a more pronounced effect. Moreover, in a real pickle system, the nitrite-scavenging capacity of AEP was also better than that of EEP, possibly because AEP contained a higher caffeic acid content, which was proven more effective in reacting with nitrite than chlorogenic acid (the main individual polyphenol in EEP). In addition, the EEP and AEP addition did not significantly affect the original flavor and taste of the pickle, which highlights the potential application of thinned apple polyphenols in pickle production.

Fusion of the YOLOv4 network model and visual attention mechanism to detect low-quality young apples in a complex environment

Fusion of the YOLOv4 network model and visual attention mechanism to detect low-quality young apples in a complex environment

Using a red‐fleshed and six varieties of thinned young apple to make juice and their phytochemicals characterization

Finding an environmentally friendly way to utilize thinned young apple (TYA) fruits is of great interest in food industry since they were found rich in functional phytochemicals. Making TYA juice is an excellent way but very limited knowledge has been acquired. The juice-making procedures optimization of a red-fleshed and six varieties of TYA fruits were performed with/without steam sterilization before juicing, and the color index, phytochemicals particularly including phenolics and aromas were detailed characterized. Results showed that steaming sterilization of seven TYA were observed conducive to color stability and maintenance, higher sugar contents, comparable acid contents, but lower juice yield and total polyphenol in TYA juices. Moreover, similar polyphenol profiles were detected. Typical 22 aroma compounds were characterized with different profiles and trends in TYA juices. All these findings provide scientific basis for TYA juice making, and demonstrated that TYAs are of great value to develop seasoning juice products. Practical application Fruit thinning is a necessary measure to improve fruit quality in apple production. Thinned young apples can expand the fruit gap through thinning, which is convenient for fruit expansion.The abandoned TYAs in the orchard are posing a risk of environmental pollution, or become host of pathogens to accelerate the spread of fruit diseases. Moreover, discarding the TYAs is a waste of agricultural and food resource since the content of total extractable polyphenols in TYAs is as high as 10 times that in ripe apples. More optimization of processing techniques such as making juice were suggested to improve TYA utilization including the extraction of polyphenols, polysaccharides, and aromas. More food or cosmetics products are expected to be developed based on the TYA juices to improve the commercial value and find an environmentally friendly way to make use of the thinned young fruit.

Something is rapidly killing young apples trees in North American orchards. Scientists are stumped

Something is rapidly killing young apples trees in North American orchards. Scientists are stumped

Apple detection during different growth stages in orchards using the improved YOLO-V3 model

Real-time detection of apples in orchards is one of the most important methods for judging growth stages of apples and estimating yield. The size, colour, cluster density, and other growth characteristics of apples change as they grow. Traditional detection methods can only detect apples during a particular growth stage, but these methods cannot be adapted to different growth stages using the same model. We propose an improved YOLO-V3 model for detecting apples during different growth stages in orchards with fluctuating illumination, complex backgrounds, overlapping apples, and branches and leaves. Images of young apples, expanding apples, and ripe apples are initially collected. These images are subsequently augmented using rotation transformation, colour balance transformation, brightness transformation, and blur processing. The augmented images are used to create training sets. The DenseNet method is used to process feature layers with low resolution in the YOLO-V3 network. This effectively enhances feature propagation, promotes feature reuse, and improves network performance. After training the model, the performance of the trained model is tested on a test dataset. The test results show that the proposed YOLOV3-dense model is superior to the original YOLO-V3 model and the Faster R-CNN with VGG16 net model, which is the state-of-art fruit detection model. The average detection time of the model is 0.304s per frame at 3000 × 3000 resolution, which can provide real-time detection of apples in orchards. Moreover, the YOLOV3-dense model can effectively provide apple detection under overlapping apples and occlusion conditions, and can be applied in the actual environment of orchards.

Antibacterial activity and preservative properties of thinned young apples extracts for fish flesh

The content of polyphenols from thinned young apples (TYA) is higher than that in ripe apples. Polyphenols have been reported to show a variety of biological activities. Antibacterial activities were tested at three different percentages of TYA extracts of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2% on 53 bacterial strains, and the validity of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was investigated. To evaluate preservative properties of TYA extracts for fish cubes at 4 °C in refrigerator, fish cubes were treated with 0.1% TYA extracts and potassium sorbate (PS) solution (0.075 g/kg fish flesh). Results revealed that TYA extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against 18 strains out of selected 53 bacterial ones, with MIC values ranging from 256 to 2,048 µg/mL. The 0.1% TYA extracts can inhibit the increase of pH value and control malondialdehyde more efficiently than PS at the same concentration. Interestingly, The 0.1% TYA extracts also suppressed total volatile basic nitrogen value and reduced total bacteria counts only in storage for 2 days than PS. Practical applications China Association for Ethical Studies has approved the study, and all experiments were performed per the approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Thinned young apple polysaccharide improves hepatic metabolic disorder in high-fat diet-induced obese mice by activating mitochondrial respiratory functions

Apple polysaccharides have been previously demonstrated to have beneficial effects on hepatic metabolic functions. Approximately 1.9 million tons of young apples are thinned and abandoned annually in China, and whether the polysaccharide derived from these thinned young apples has metabolic benefits lacks evidence. Thinned young apple polysaccharide (TYAP) has been investigated in high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice for its effect on metabolic disorder. Water-soluble TYAP was isolated from thinned young apples and chemically characterized. TYAP administration at dosages of 400mg/kg/day and 800mg/kg/day significantly rescued HFD-induced hepatic metabolic impairment, reduced body weight gain, and ameliorated hepatic oxidative stress induced by HFD. In a palmitate-loaded HepG2 cell model, TYAP protected the cells from palmitate-induced insulin resistance and viability loss, suppressed mitochondrial ROS and improved the mitochondrial respiratory function impaired by palmitate. These findings suggest that TYAP could successfully attenuate obesity-associated hepatic metabolic disorder possibly by activating the hepatic mitochondrial respiratory function.

Interactions between polyphenols in thinned young apples and porcine pancreatic α-amylase: Inhibition, detailed kinetics and fluorescence quenching

Young apple polyphenols (YAP) and nine types of phenolic compounds were investigated regarding the inhibitory activity against porcine pancreatic α-amylase (PPA) in vitro. Tannic acid, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in YAP showed relatively high inhibition with the IC50 values of 0.30, 1.96 and 3.69mg/mL, respectively. A detailed kinetics of inhibition study revealed that YAP and tannic acid were competitive inhibitors of PPA, whereas chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid were mixed inhibitors, exhibiting both competitive and uncompetitive characteristics. The fluorescence of PPA could be significantly quenched by YAP and the three polyphenols, and their quenching constants were determined. The results showed that for the polyphenols investigated, the order of the apparent static quenching constants (KFQ) was in agreement with that of the reciprocal competitive inhibition constants (1/Kic) (tannic acid>chlorogenic acid>caffeic acid>epicatechin); both of the parameters were contrary to the order of the IC50 values. Thus, combining detailed kinetics and fluorescence quenching studies can be applied to characterise the interactions between polyphenols in young apples and α-amylase.

Effect of Different Drying Processes on the Physicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Thinned Young Apple

Abstract In China, there are about 1.6 million tons of thinned young apples (TYAs) every year after blossoming and fruit thinning. These resulting fruits, in reality, could be utilized as agricultural and food resource. This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence on physical properties, bioactive attributes of TYAs that were subjected to chosen drying techniques. In general, significant differences (p < 0.05) exist in physical appearance and polyphenol. Antioxidant capacity was also investigated on the basis of assay for Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) by 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), reducing power and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging ability. Judging from the results, it was concluded that hot air drying at 60℃ is appropriate for large-scale production; furthermore, vacuum freeze drying tends to manufacture high-value up-market TYA products that are available to give the best results for dehydrated fruits. It is suggested that TYA has great potential in the food industry as functional ingredient.

The galaxy ancestor problem

HST finds galaxies whose Tolman dimming should exceed 10 mag. Could evolution alone explain these as our ancestor galaxies? Or could they be representatives of quite a different dynasty whose descendants are no longer prominent today? We explore this latter hypothesis and argue that Surface Brightness Selection Effects naturally bring into focus quite different dynasties from different redshifts. Thus the HST z=7 galaxies could be examples of galaxies whose descendants are both too small and too choked with dust to be recognizable in our neighborhood easily today. Conversely the ancestors of the Milky Way and its obvious neighbors will have completely sunk below the sky at z>1.2 although their diffuse light could account for the missing Reionization flux. This Succeeding Prominent Dynasties Hypothesis (SPDH) fits the existing observations both naturally and well,including the bizarre distributions of galaxy surface brightnesses found in deep fields, the angular size ~ inverse (1+z) law,'Downsizing' which turns out to be an 'illusion' in the sense that it does not imply evolution, 'Infant Mortality', i.e. the discrepancy between stars born and stars seen, and finally the recently discovered and unexpected excess of QSOAL DLAs at high redshift. If the SPDH is true then a large proportion of galaxies remain sunk from sight, probably at all redshifts. We show that fishing them out of the sky by their optical emissions alone will be practically impossible, even when they are nearby. More ingenious methods will be needed to detect them. It follows that disentangling galaxy evolution through studying ever higher redshift galaxies may be a forlorn hope because one will be comparing young apples with old oranges, not descendants with their own ancestors.

Simultaneous separation and purification of total polyphenols, chlorogenic acid and phlorizin from thinned young apples

An efficient preparative separation of polyphenols from thinned young apples (TYA) has been developed in the present study. X-5 resin was verified to offer the best adsorption capacity and desorption ratio for total polyphenols among the eight macroporous resins investigated. Influential factors, such as pH value and concentration of feeding solution, strippant, and adsorption isotherm to the separation of total polyphenols, were successively investigated on X-5 resin. After one run treatment, the phenolic content was increased 2.12-fold from 35.17% to 74.64%, with a recovery yield of 89.35%. Chlorogenic acid and phlorizin were selectively purified using X-5 and polyamide resins. The contents of chlorogenic acid and phlorizin were 15.20% and 97.52% with recovery yields of 89.16% and 64.95%, respectively. The method developed will provide a potential approach for its wide industrial and pharmaceutical use.

Phytophthora root and crown rot on apples in Bulgaria

Phytophthora is a genus of Oomycota responsible for some of the most serious diseases with great economic impact (Judelson and Blanco, 2005). While 54 species were found in the 20th century (Erwin and Ribeiro, 1996) another 51-54 new species have been identified (Brasier, 2008) since the year 2000. They are spread worldwide and have broad range of host plants - fruit trees, citrus, forest and park species. Phytophthora can cause serious damages in orchards and nurseries of apples, cherries, etc. In Bulgaria they have been found first on young apples and cherries (1998-1999) in Plovdiv region (Nakova, 2003). Surveys have been done for discovering disease symptoms in Plovdiv and Kjustendil regions. Isolates have been obtained from infected plant material (roots and stem bases) applying baiting bioassay (green apples, variety Granny Smith) and/or PARP 10 selective media. Phytophthora strains were identified based on standard morphology methods - types of colonies on PDA, CMA, V 8, type and size of sporangia, oogonia and antheridia, and oospores. Cardial temperatures for their growth were tested on CMA and PDA. For molecular studies, DNA was extracted from mycelium using the DNA extraction kit. DNA was amplified using universal primers ITS 6 and ITS 4. Amplification products concentrations were estimated by comparison with the standard DNA. Sequencing was done at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI, Dundee, Scotland). Phytophthora root and crown rot symptoms first appear in early spring. Infected trees show bud break delay, have small chlorotic leaves, and branches die all of a sudden. Later symptoms are found in August-September. Leaves of the infected trees show reddish discoloration and drop down. Both symptoms are connected with lesions (wet, necrotic in appearance) at stem bases of the trees. Disease spread was 2-3% in most gardens, only in an apple orchard in Bjaga (Plovdiv region) it was up to 8-10%. Morphologically, the isolates acquired from the apple trees were identified as Phytophthora cactorum, P. citrophthora and P. cryptogea. Cardial temperatures for their growth were tested on CMA and PDA. PCR tests with ITS primers 4 and 6 generated a band at about 800 bP. Consequent sequencing showed that 2 strains, Bg 1/1 and Bg ?, belong to Phytophthora cryptogea.

Spur Leaves Increase Calcium in Young Apples by Promoting Xylem Inflow and Outflow

The effects of spur leaf removal on xylem sap flows and calcium accumulation in fruit of apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh. `Royal Gala') were determined 56 to 61 days after full bloom. Fruit calcium concentrations were reduced but fruit size was not influenced by partial spur defoliation at bloom. Apples exchanged xylem sap with the tree in daily cycles of flow reversal. The presence of local spur leaves promoted this exchange by accentuating the xylem sap drawn out of the fruit during the day, requiring more to flow back into the fruit at night to replace it. Calcium concentrations were lower in the xylem sap leaving the fruit than in that entering it. The reduced calcium accumulation in the fruit borne on defoliated spurs can therefore be attributed to the reduced volume of xylem sap exchanged between tree and fruit.

Induction of Nectria galligena Mutants Resistant to Benzoic Acid and Study of Their Aggressiveness Towards Immature Apples

Summary: The isolation of Nectria galligena mutants resistant to benzoic acid (BA), the phytoalexin of immature apples, is reported. Those in which pathogenicity on mature apples was similar to the wild-type were inoculated in immature fruits. One mutant resistant to BA was more aggressive than the wild-type in young apples at the end of their maturation cycle. Aggressiveness of this mutant and the wild-type could be increased by growing the fungus before inoculation into the fruit on a medium supplemented with BA. Amounts of BA in mutant-infected and wild-type-infected tissues were similar. We conclude that BA is involved in the resistance of immature apples infected by N. galligena.

Cytokinins from Apple Extract and Coconut Milk

Cytokinin containing extracts of young apples and of coconut milk were purified and subjected to chemical treatments designed to modify the chemical natures of the cytokinins. Chromatographic comparisons were then made between the cytokinins of the treated and untreated extracts and zeatin and zeatin nucleoside.