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This study investigated total carotenoid content, comparative carotenoid composition, vitamin C content, and total antioxidant capacity of three citrus varieties which are Yuza ( Citrus junos Sieb ex Tabaka), Kjool ( Citrus unshiu Marcow), and Dangyooja ( Citrus grandis Osbeck). Seven carotenoids were identified, with β-cryptoxanthin, astaxanthin, and zeaxanthin being predominant in citrus varieties. Ripening increased the total carotenoid in three citrus varieties. Individual carotenoid of canthaxanthin, astaxanthin, and α-carotene in citrus varieties decreased with maturation, whereas the others increased with ripening. Yuza exhibited the highest total antioxidant capacity in 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays, with VCEAC values of 582.9 mg/100 g and 451.5 mg/100 g, respectively. The relative VCEAC values were vitamin C (1.00) > lycopene (0.375), α-carotene (0.304), β-carotene (0.289), β-cryptoxanthin (0.242), and zeaxanthin (0.099). These results indicate that Yuza contains higher amounts of total carotenoids, individual carotenoids, and vitamin C than other Korean citrus varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventeen edible mushrooms commercially available in Korea were analysed for their umami taste compounds (5′-nucleotides: AMP, GMP, IMP, UMP, XMP; free amino acids: aspartic, glutamic acid) and subjected to human sensory evaluation and electronic tongue measurements. Amanita virgineoides featured the highest total 5′-nucleotide content (36.9 ± 1.50 mg/g), while monosodium glutamate-like components (42.4 ± 6.90 mg/g) were highest in Agaricus bisporus . The equivalent umami concentration ( EUC ) ranged from 1.51 ± 0.42 to 3890 ± 833 mg MSG/g dry weight; most mushrooms exhibited a high umami taste. Pleurotus ostreatus scored the highest in the human sensory evaluation, while Flammulina velutipes obtained the maximum score in the electronic tongue measurement. The EUC and the sensory score from the electronic tongue test were highly correlated, and also showed significant correlation with the human sensory evaluation score. These results suggest that the electronic tongue is suitable to determine the characteristic umami taste of mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shikonin, a napthoquinone pigment in the L. erythrorhizon (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) plant, is used as a functional food to promote blood circulation and detoxification in Asia. We investigated the effect and molecular mechanisms of shikonin on high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice. C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet, a high-fat diet, or a high-fat diet supplemented with shikonin for 8 weeks. We measured body weight change, adipose tissue weights, and biochemical markers. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of shikonin on diet-induced obesity, western blotting and quantitative real time PCR were performed. Shikonin reduced high-fat diet-induced increases in body weight, white adipose tissue mass, serum triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels. Blood insulin and leptin levels were significantly decreased by shikonin supplementation. Shikonin supplementation reduced protein content and mRNA expression of adipogenesis-related genes in white adipose tissue and lipogenesis-related genes in the liver, along with hepatic lipid content. Moreover, shikonin increased mRNA expression of the β-oxidation genes PPAR-α, PGC-1α, and ACOX1 in liver and skeletal muscle. Shikonin prevents high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice and may be a novel therapeutic approach for obesity prevention by modulating adipogenesis, lipogenesis, and fatty acid oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increasing interest in the use of natural plant materials as alternative food preservatives. We examined the antimicrobial effects of natural plant materials used as additives against foodborne pathogens in laboratory media and Sulgidduk, oriental-style rice cakes. Cinnamon, mugwort, and garlic powder solutions (3%) were tested for their antimicrobial activities against pathogens in laboratory media. Sulgidduk prepared with different amounts of cinnamon powder (1,3, and 6%) was inoculated with a Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus cocktail. The samples were air or vacuum packaged and stored at 22 ± 1°C for 72 h, and microbial growth was determined. Cinnamon powder showed more inhibitory properties against pathogens such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, S. aureus, and B. cereus than did mugwort or garlic powder. The populations of S. aureus and B. cereus in Sulgidduk containing cinnamon powder were significantly lower than in the control during storage time. Different packaging methods did not result in a significant difference in pathogen growth. In a sensory evaluation, Sulgidduk containing 1 and 3% cinnamon powder did not significantly differ from the control sample in any of the attributes tested other than flavor. These results indicate that natural plant materials such as cinnamon powder could be used as food additives to improve the microbiological stability of rice cakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cancer immunotherapy, chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) targeting specific antigens have become a powerful tool for cell-based therapy. CAR-natural killer (NK) cells offer selective anticancer lysis with reduced off-tumor toxicity compared to CAR-T cells, which is beneficial in the heterogeneous milieu of solid tumors. In the tumor microenvironment (TME) of glioblastoma (GBM), pericytes not only support tumor growth but also contribute to immune evasion, underscoring their potential as therapeutic targets in GBM treatment. Given this context, our study aimed to target the GBM TME, with a special focus on pericytes expressing CD19, to evaluate the potential effectiveness of CD19 CAR-iNK cells against GBM. We performed CD19 CAR transduction in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NK (iNK) cells. To determine whether CD19 CAR targets the TME pericytes in GBM, we developed GBM-blood vessel assembloids (GBVA) by fusing GBM spheroids with blood vessel organoids. When co-cultured with GBVA, CD19 CAR-iNK cells migrated towards the pericytes surrounding the GBM. Using a microfluidic chip, we demonstrated CD19 CAR-iNK cells' targeted action and cytotoxic effects in a perfusion-like environment. GBVA xenografts recapitulated the TME including human CD19-positive pericytes, thereby enabling the application of an in vivo model for validating the efficacy of CD19 CAR-iNK cells against GBM. Compared to GBM spheroids, the presence of pericytes significantly enhanced CD19 CAR-iNK cell migration towards GBM and reduced proliferation. These results underline the efficacy of CD19 CAR-iNK cells in targeting pericytes within the GBM TME, suggesting their potential therapeutic value for GBM treatment. [Display omitted] • Glioblastoma-blood vessel assembloids recapitulate the tumor microenvironment expressing CD19 positive pericytes. • CD19 CAR-iNK cells specifically target pericytes within glioblastoma tumor microenvironment, resulting in enhanced migration and toxicity. • Glioblastoma-blood vessel assembloids can be loaded onto a microfluidic chip or xenografted to model the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds formed when cooking meats, such as chicken and pork. In this study, the effect of different cooking methods (air frying, infrared cooker, pan frying, and electric oven) and spices (rosemary, turmeric, and garlic) on the formation of 11 HCAs (IQ, MelQ, MelQx, 4,8-DiMelQx, PhIP, AαC, MeAαC, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, Harman, and Norharman) in chicken wing and pork belly were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography−triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, and the physicochemical characteristics of the cooked meats were compared. The effect of air frying temperatures and times on the 11 HCAs formation was also investigated. Pan-fried chicken wing and pork belly lost less moisture and weight than the other samples. Air frying resulted in the lowest contents of 11 HCAs compared to pan frying, cooking in an electric oven, and infrared cooking, regardless of meat type. For example, 11 HCAs levels in air-fried chicken wings were 4.35 μg/kg, with the inhibition rate of 75.29% comparing with pan-fried chicken wings (17.61 μg/kg). HCAs formation depended on air frying temperatures and times. For example, the HCAs contents in chicken wing air-fried at 200 °C for 20 min (2.98 μg/kg) increased by 2.8 times compared to chicken wing air-fried at 140 °C for 50 min (1.08 μg/kg). Additionally, all spices showed an inhibitory effect on HCA formation. Especially, turmeric exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on the formation of HCAs by 50.67%. These results indicate that air frying and spices could inhibit the formation of HCAs during the thermal preparation of meats. • The use of new cooking appliances (e.g., air fryer) has increased recently. • Cooked chicken wing and pork belly were analyzed for heterocyclic amines (HCAs). • Pan frying and air frying led to the highest and lowest HCA levels, respectively. • HCA formation depended on temperature and time. • Adding spices (rosemary, turmeric, and garlic) lowered the HCA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• • This study investigated the formation and reduction of furan in pumpkin puree (PP). • • Among various precursors, β-carotene was the most effective for furan formation. • • The effects of antioxidants on the reduction of furan in PP were determined. • • During sterilization, heating temperature was critical to the formation of furan. • • The reheating procedure, especially, open-pot one, can reduce residual furan in PP. The formation and mitigation of furan in pumpkin puree (PP) were studied during the complete process of producing PP. The content of furan was determined using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined by GC–MS analysis. Various PP samples added with precursors (glucose, fructose, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, β-carotene, ascorbic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, and serine) showed increased furan formation (30.81 ∼ 94.45 µg/kg) compared with the control (30.81 µg/kg), with β-carotene resulting in the formation of the largest amount of furan. The effects of antioxidants, such as caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and butylated hydroxytoluene, on the reduction of furan in PP containing β-carotene were also investigated. All antioxidants showed significant reduction of furan. During sterilizing, the content of furan was considerably affected by temperature but not heating time. Reheating PP samples using a microwave oven, water bath, or open pot, revealed that open-pot reheating was the most effective for reducing furan (10.28 ∼ 11.72 µg/kg). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we used response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the extraction conditions for recovering lutein from paprika leaves using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). The lutein content was quantitatively analyzed using a UPLC equipped with a BEH C18 column. A central composite design (CCD) was employed for experimental design to obtain the optimized combination of extraction temperature (°C), static time (min), and solvent (EtOH, %). The experimental data obtained from a twenty sample set were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis. The adjusted coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) for the lutein extraction model was 0.9518, and the probability value ( p = 0.0000) demonstrated a high significance for the regression model. The optimum extraction conditions for lutein were temperature: 93.26 °C, static time: 5 min, and solvent: 79.63% EtOH. Under these conditions, the predicted extraction yield of lutein was 232.60 μg/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red pepper oil is a flavored oil produced at home and in restaurants. Most red pepper oil is manufactured by extraction at a high temperature, which can produce harmful substances, such as acrylamide. Acrylamide, a toxic substance classified as a probable human carcinogen, is formed when foods are cooked at high temperatures above 120 °C. In this study, we aimed to propose the optimal method to produce red pepper oil with a decreased amount of acrylamide while maintaining quality characteristics. The conventional cooking (CC) method (160, 180, and 200 °C) and microwave cooking (MC) method were used to make red pepper oil. The acrylamide, carotenoids, and capsaicinoids contents increased with temperature and time. The maximum and minimum acrylamide content of red pepper oil was 3,494.00 ± 147.81 ppb after CC at 200 °C for 5 min and 131.78 ± 2.93 ppb after CC at 160 °C for 1 min, respectively. The total carotenoid contents of the CC samples ranged from 3.74 ± 0.01 to 4.47 ± 0.04 mg/g. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin contents of CC samples ranged from 3.03 to 4.44 and from 1.33 to 1.92 mg/g, respectively. The total carotenoid and capsaicinoid contents of the MC sample were significantly higher than that of CC samples (p < 0.05). In the results of sensory evaluation for 4 samples (CC at 160, 180, and 200 °C, and MC), the sample with the highest score for all attributes was the MC sample. Based on the results of this study, the MC method is considered as an optimal condition for producing red pepper oil with a low acrylamide content and desirable quality characteristics. • Red pepper oil is a flavored oil produced at home and in restaurants. • Red pepper oil is produced by hot oil extraction, which can produce acrylamide. • Conventional and microwave cooking method were used to make red pepper oils. • Acrylamide, carotenoid, and capsaicinoid in oil increased with temperature and time. • Microwave cooking was considered as an optimal condition to make a red pepper oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four types of powder were prepared from freeze-dried fruiting bodies of the edible mushroom Hericium erinaceum by 2 different methods-conventional roll milling and the superfine grinding method of jet milling-at 3 different speeds, to compare their physicochemical properties and extraction of proteins and polysaccharides. Jet-milled powders prepared at 16,000 rpm (JMP1), 9000 rpm (JMP2), and 5000 rpm (JMP3), and roll-milled powder (RMP) had an average particle size of 5.5, 12.9, 25.2, and 243.6 μm, respectively. The reduction of particle size resulted in increased specific surface area, porosity, and bulk density. Among the 4 powders, JMP1 showed the highest bulk density (0.17 g/ml). The water solubility index of H. erinaceum powder increased from 35.2% in RMP to 53.1% in JMP1. Similarly, the swelling capacity of JMP1, JMP2, JMP3, and RMP was 11.28 ml/g, 7.36 ml/g, 6.26 ml/g, and 5.9 ml/g, respectively. The extractions of proteins and polysaccharides from H. erinaceum powders were also improved by the application of jet milling. These results suggest that the superfine grinding method of jet milling could provide more opportunities for mushroom powders to be incorporated in a wider variety of functional food applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Many studies have been carried out on bioactivities of individual herbs, however, no collective study on their comparative antioxidant and cytoprotective activities against oxidative damage has been reported. We selected 17 common commercial herbs and studied their relative phenolic contents, antioxidant activities, and cytoprotective activities on gap–junction intercellular communication and antioxidative enzymes in vitro under the same conditions. Total polyphenol content ranged from 464 to 870 gallic acid equivalents (GAE) mg/100g and total flavonoid content from 212 to 494 catechin equivalents (CE) mg/100g. Among the samples, chamomile, rosehip, hawthorn, lemon verbena, and green tea contained relatively high total phenolics (769–844mg GAE/100g) and flavonoids (400–4mg CE/100g). Chamomile also showed the highest antioxidant activity with 960mg/100g of vitamin C equivalent (VCE), followed by hawthorn (929mg VCE/100g) and black tea (916mg VCE/100g). Total phenolic and total flavonoids showed a higher correlation with antioxidant activity. Most of herbs enhanced cell viability and showed protective effects against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79-4) cells. Furthermore, herbs used in this study showed higher protective effect on gap–junction intercellular communication (GJIC) as compared to gallic acid and catechin, and also enhanced activity of the antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in a dose-dependent manner. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a carcinogen mostly found in fermented foods and alcoholic beverages. In Korea, the consumption, as well as domestic production and import of alcoholic beverages, has increased over the past decade, thus increasing the risk of EC exposure. In this study, we estimated the EC content of 145 alcoholic beverages using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and optimized the hydromatrix method for solid-phase extraction with improved absolute recovery of EC and better repeatability than the Chem-Elut method of AOAC. The margin of exposure (MOE) approach and cancer risk assessment were performed to assess the risk of EC from alcoholic beverages in Korean. The EC content in some of the alcoholic beverages was not detectable; however, the maximum value was 329.7 μg/kg. Moreover, alcoholic beverages with stone fruit as a component revealed high EC contents. The daily intake of alcoholic beverages by the Korean population of alcohol-drinking adults ranged from 184.2 to 237.1 g/day, depending on gender and age groups. Of the 145 alcoholic beverages, the contributions of soju and beer to the exposure of EC in the Korean population were found to be maximum. MOE and cancer risk for the Korean average drinker were 14,874 and 1.01 × 10−6, respectively, whereas in drinkers of the 95th percentile (P95), they were 2951 and 5.08 × 10−6, respectively. This study indicated that the risk of exposure to EC is of lower concern in average drinkers than in heavy drinkers in the Korean population. • A modified AOAC method for ethyl carbamate (EC) analysis was optimized. • 145 alcoholic beverages available in Korean market were analyzed for EC exposure. • Samples with stone fruits had high EC content. • Soju and beer were the major contributors to EC exposure. • MOE approach and cancer risk assessment showed higher risk for heavy drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]