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The study of drugs of natural origin that increase endurance and/or accelerate recovery is an integral part of sports medicine and physiology. In this paper, decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) and two ammonium salts—chloride (ACL) and carbonate (ACR)—were tested individually and in combination with GTE as stimulants of physical performance in a forced swimming rat experimental model. The determined parameters can be divided into seven blocks: functional (swimming duration); biochemistry of blood plasma; biochemistry of erythrocytes; hematology; immunology; gene expression of slow- and fast-twitch muscles (m. soleus, SOL, and m. extensor digitorum longus, EDL, respectively); and morphometric indicators of slow- and fast-twitch muscles. Regarding the negative control (intact animals), the maximum number of changes in all blocks of indicators was recorded in the GTE + ACR group, whose animals showed the maximum functional result and minimum lactate values on the last day of the experiment. Next, in terms of the number of changes, were the groups ACR, ACL, GTE + ACL, GTE and NaCl (positive control). In general, the number of identified adaptive changes was proportional to the functional state of the animals of the corresponding groups, in terms of the duration of the swimming load in the last four days of the experiment. However, not only the total number but also the qualitative composition of the identified changes is of interest. The results of a comparative analysis suggest that, in the model of forced swimming we developed, GTE promotes restoration of the body and moderate mobilization of the immune system, while small doses of ammonium salts, especially ammonium carbonate, contribute to an increase in physical performance, which is associated with satisfactory restoration of skeletal muscles and the entire body. The combined use of GTE with ammonium salts does not give a clearly positive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institute on Aging Interventions Testing Program (ITP) has so far identified 12 compounds that extend the lifespan of genetically heterogeneous mice using the log-rank test. However, the log-rank test is relatively insensitive to any compound that does not uniformly reduce mortality across the lifespan. This test may thus miss compounds that only reduce mortality before midlife, for example, a plausible outcome if a compound only mitigates risk factors before midlife or if its efficacy is reduced at later ages. We therefore reanalyzed all data collected by the ITP from 2004–2022 using the Gehan test, which is more sensitive to mortality differences earlier in the life course and does not assume a uniformly reduced mortality hazard across the lifespan. The Gehan test identified 5 additional compounds, metformin, enalapril, 17-dimethylaminoethylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin hydrochloride (17-DMAG), caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), and green tea extract (GTE), which significantly increased survival but were previously missed by the log-rank test. Three (metformin, enalapril, and 17-DMAG) were only effective in males and two (CAPE and GTE) were only effective in females. In addition, 1,3-butanediol, which by log-rank analysis increased survival in females but not males, increased survival in males by the Gehan test. These results suggest that statistical tests sensitive to non-uniformity of drug efficacy across the lifespan should be included in the standard statistical testing protocol to minimize overlooking geroprotective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the potential preventive properties of white tea extract, a potent antioxidant, against cisplatin-induced damage to the cerebral cortex. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were distributed into healthy control, sham, (only White tea), cisplatin, and cisplatin+White tea groups. After white tea alone was administered per oral at a rate of 1.5 % for twelve days in experimental group rats only a single dose of 7 mg / kg cisplatin (CIS) was be administered intraperitoneally. We observed that oedematous areas in degenerative neurons in the cisplatin administration group. However, we monitored that degenerative neurons and oedematous were decreased in the white tea treatment group compared to the cisplatin group. In addition, we found increased in MDA and Caspase-3 levels in the Cisplatin application group compared to the control group (p<0.05). On the contrary, we found decreased in GSH levels in the Cisplatin application group compared to the control group (p<0.05). On the other hand, we found decreased in MDA, Caspase-3 levels and increased GSH levels in the Cisplatin application group compared to the control group (p<0.05). White tea has shown therapeutic effects on cisplatin-induced cerebral cortex injury via decreased oxidative stress and Caspase-3 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a persistent and recurrent inflammatory skin condition with a genetic basis. However, the fundamental reasons and mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain incompletely understood. While tea extracts are known to reduce histamine-induced skin allergies and inflammation, the specific mechanisms by which various types of Chinese tea provide their protective effects are still not fully elucidated. In this study, a model of skin itching induced by histamine is used to explore the functions and mechanisms of three types of tea extract (Keemun black tea (HC), Hangzhou green tea (LC), and Fujian white tea (BC)) in alleviating histamine-induced dermatitis. The components of three tea extracts are identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and we found that their main components are alkaloids, fatty acyls, flavonoids, organic acids, and phenols. The inhibitory effects of three types of tea extract on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in skin injury are investigated by MIC and flow cytometry. The three types of tea extract have an inhibitory effect on the growth of bacterial flora, with HC showing the best inhibitory activity. The effect of the three types of tea extract on histamine-induced dermatitis is also evaluated. Furthermore, itchy skin experiments, HE staining, toluidine blue staining, and immunohistochemical staining of mouse skin tissues were performed to determine the variations of scratching, epidermal thickness, mast cell number, IL-1β, and NGF content after the administration of the tea extracts. The three types of tea extracts all alleviate and inhibit skin itching, epidermal hyperplasia, and allergic dermatitis. BC effectively alleviates epidermal hyperplasia caused by skin allergies, and LC significantly downregulates NGF. HC reduces histamine-induced mast cell infiltration and downregulates IL-1β to alleviate skin itching. Consequently, tea emerges a potent natural product that can inhibit the growth of skin wound bacterial flora and exhibit skin repair effects on histamine-induced allergic dermatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellow tea (YT), a slightly fermented tea with a unique yellowing process and mellow taste, is becoming widely popular. Currently, the YT includes bud yellow tea (BYT), small-leaf yellow tea (SYT), and large-leaf yellow tea (LYT) based on maturity of raw materials. Previous studies have shown that YT has outstanding potential in preventing metabolic syndrome. However, the distinct effects and mechanisms of different types of YT on ulcerative colitis (UC) are still unclear. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of continuous or intermittent intervention of three yellow tea water extracts (YTEs) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in CD-1 mice. The results showed that YTE intervention significantly improves the syndrome of DSS-induced UC in mice. Mechanistic studies reveal that YTEs increase the expression levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins and reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the colon by inactivating TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3. YTE treatment protected intestinal barrier integrity and reduced serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels. Interestingly, our results indicate that large-leaf yellow tea (LYT) has a better alleviating effect than BYT and SYT. YTE intervention before DSS administration has a certain degree of preventive effect on ulcerative colitis, while continuous YTE intervention after DSS induction has a significant reversing effect on the damage caused by DSS. Our results indicated that drinking YT may have preventive and therapeutic effect on UC, especially drinking LYT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scented green tea (Camellia sinensis) is a type of reprocessed green tea produced by scenting with flowers. To investigate the differences in the volatiles of scented green tea processed with four different flowers (Jasminum sambac, Osmanthus fragrans, Michelia alba, and Rosa rugosa), gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC–IMS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were employed to detect and identify the volatile compounds in the four types of scented teas. GC–IMS and GC–MS identified 108 and 101 volatile compounds, respectively. The key characteristic volatile compounds, namely indole, linalool, β-myrcene, benzyl acetate, and ethyl benzoate (jasmine tea); cedrol, (E)-β-ionone, γ-decalactone, and dihydro-β-ionol (osmanthus tea); geraniol, phenylethyl alcohol, jasmone, methyl jasmonate, hexadecanoic acid, 4-ethyl-benzaldehyde, 2-methylbutyl hexanoate, and indole (michelia tea); and 3,5-dimethoxytoluene, (E)-β-ionone, and 2-methylbutyl hexanoate (rose tea), were identified through chemometric analysis combined with relative odor activity values (ROAVs) and sensory evaluation. This study provides new insights into the formation of aroma molecular fingerprints during green tea scenting with flowers, providing theoretical guidance for infusing distinct aroma characteristics into green tea during scented tea processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Feline Herpesvirus type-1 (FHV-1) is a worldwide spread pathogen responsible for viral rhinotracheitis and conjunctivitis in cats that, in the most severe cases, can lead to death. Despite the availability of a variety of antiviral medications to treat this illness, mainly characterized by virostatic drugs that alter DNA replication, their use is often debated. Phytotherapeutic treatments are a little-explored field for FHV-1 infections and reactivations. In this scenario, natural compounds could provide several advantages, such as reduced side effects, less resistance and low toxicity. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential inhibitory effects of the green tea extract (GTE), consisting of 50% of polyphenols, on FHV-1 infection and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Results: Crandell-Reese feline kidney (CRFK) cells were treated with different doses of GTE (10–400 µg/mL) during the viral adsorption and throughout the following 24 h. The MTT and TCID50 assays were performed to determine the cytotoxicity and the EC50 of the extract, determining the amounts of GTE used for the subsequent investigations. The western blot assay showed a drastic reduction in the expression of viral glycoproteins (i.e., gB and gI) after GTE treatment. GTE induced not only a suppression in viral proliferation but also in the phosphorylation of Akt protein, generally involved in viral entry. Moreover, the increase in cell proliferation observed in infected cells upon GTE addition was supported by enhanced expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL anti-apoptotic proteins. Finally, GTE antioxidant activity was evaluated by dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays. The ROS burst observed during FHV-1 infection was mitigated after GTE treatment, leading to a reduction in the oxidative imbalance. Conclusions: Although further clinical trials are necessary, this study demonstrated that the GTE could potentially serve as natural inhibitor of FHV-1 proliferation, by reducing viral entry. Moreover, it is plausible that the extract could inhibit apoptosis by modulating the intrinsic pathway, thus affecting ROS production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the biodegradation behaviour of starch/nanocellulose/black tea extract (SNBTE) films in a 30-day soil burial test. The SNBTE films were prepared by mixing commercial starch, nanocellulose (2, 4, and 6%), and an aqueous solution of black tea extract by a simple mixing and casting process. The chemical and morphological properties of the SNBTE films before and after biodegradation were characterized using the following analytical techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The changes in soil composition, namely pH, electrical conductivity (EC), moisture content, water holding capacity (WHC), soil respiration, total nitrogen, weight mean diameter (MDW), and geometric mean diameter (GMD), as a result of the biodegradation process, were also estimated. The results showed that the films exhibited considerable biodegradability (35–67%) within 30 days while increasing soil nutrients. The addition of black tea extract reduced the biodegradation rate due to its polyphenol content, which likely resulted in a reduction in microbial activity. The addition of nanocellulose (2–6% weight of starch) increased the tensile strength, but decreased the elongation at break of the films. These results suggest that starch nanocellulose and SNBTE films are not only biodegradable under soil conditions but also positively contribute to soil health, highlighting their potential as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic films in the packaging industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oolong tea was highly favored by consumers for its rich aroma. However, there was significant loss of fragrance in Oolong tea products during processing and storage, urgently necessitating the development of corresponding technologies to stabilize aroma molecules. Addressing this, this study investigated the stabilization of aroma compounds in Rougui Oolong tea. Employing spinning cone column distillation, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were extracted from the tea. The effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin on inhibiting the aromatic loss of these extracted VOCs during storage was assessed using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry. Results showed that after 7, 21, and 42 days of storage at room temperature (25 °C), the samples treated with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (experimental group) consistently contained significantly higher quantities of VOCs compared to the untreated controls (P<0.05), which were 39, 37, and 35 types, respectively. Notably, 21 VOCs, including trans-2-hexenal, 2-heptanone, and 2-hexanone were present at more than double the concentration in the experimental group relative to the control. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analysis indicated that hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin encapsulation slowed the loss of key aroma compounds, specifically 2-methylbutanal and hexyl acetate, and enhanced the thermal stability of α-pinene between 30*100 °C, suggesting its protective effect on aroma molecules during thermal processing of Oolong tea. In summary, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin would be an effective fragrance preserving agent for aroma molecules in water-based products of Rougui Oolong tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the influence of raw materials from different cultivars on the quality of Sichuan dark tea, the raw materials of 4 tea cultivars were used in this study. The main chemicals and aroma components were analyzed by sensory evaluation, chemical analysis and gas chromato graphy-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) . The main components of Sichuan dark teas made from different tea cultivars were significantly different. The contents of water extract, tea polyphenols, catechins and caffeine of Sichuan dark teas from 'Zijuan' were the highest, which were 49.45%, 18.54%, 4.77%, and 4.21%, respectively, followed by Sichuan dark tea processed with 'Huangjinya' cultivar, all of them were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the Sichuan dark tea processed with 'Fuding Dabai' and 'Baiye 1'. The contents of L-asparagine, L-theanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid were the highest of Sichuan dark teas from 'Huangjinya', which were 115.78, 279.86, 154.47, 70.76 mg/100 g, respectively, significantly (P<0.05) higher than Sichuan dark tea processed with other cultivars. Aroma analysis showed that main aroma components were alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons and esters, accounting for more than 80% of the total aroma. The similarity rate of aroma between 'Fuding Dabai' and 'Baiye 1' was 0.98, and that of 'Huangjinya' and 'Zijuan' was 0.99. The Sichuan dark tea processed with the 'Baiye 1' had floral fragrance, and the Sichuan dark tea processed with the 'Zijuan' had ''stale flavor''. Sensory quality analysis showed that the comprehensive qualities of Sichuan dark teas from 'Fuding Dabai','Baiye 1' and 'Huangjinya' were the better, with a score of more than 82, while the Sichuan dark tea from 'Zijuan' had the lowest score. The Sichuan dark tea processed with 'Huangjinya' materials was rich in substances and had good comprehensive quality. The Sichuan dark tea processed with 'Baiye 1' material had floral fragrance, which could be used as a variety for processing advanced special Sichuan dark tea. The Sichuan dark tea processed with 'Zijuan' materials had high content of water extracts and tea polyphenols, with ''stale flavor''. It was suitable for blending and processing with other cultivars of low polyphenol content, and could be used as a blending variety for dark tea products with ''stale flavor''. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color characteristics are a crucial indicator of green tea quality, particularly in needle-shaped green tea, and are predominantly evaluated through subjective sensory analysis. Thus, the necessity arises for an objective, precise, and efficient assessment methodology. In this study, 885 images from 157 samples, obtained through computer vision technology, were used to predict sensory evaluation results based on the color features of the images. Three machine learning methods, Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Decision Tree-based AdaBoost (DT-AdaBoost), were carried out to construct the color quality evaluation model. Notably, the DT-Adaboost model shows significant potential for application in evaluating tea quality, with a correct discrimination rate (CDR) of 98.50% and a relative percent deviation (RPD) of 14.827 in the 266 samples used to verify the accuracy of the model. This result indicates that the integration of computer vision with machine learning models presents an effective approach for assessing the color quality of needle-shaped green tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The preservation of semen quality and kinematic characteristics during cryopreservation is crucial for the reproductive success and genetic management of livestock, particularly in Bali bulls. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of adding purified green tea extract antioxidant Epigallocatechin-3- gallate (EGCG) in tris egg yolk diluent on the quality and kinematic characteristics of frozen semen from Bali bulls. Methods: Fresh and frozen semen samples were obtained from Bali bull and divided into four different treatment groups. P0 contained semen samples + diluent, while P1 to P3 consisted of semen samples + diluent supplemented with EGCG levels of 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2 mg/100 ml, respectively. Data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA and followed by Duncan’s test if significant differences were found (p<0.05). Parameters observed included the assessment of fresh semen quality, kinematic analysis, post-thawing sperm viability, and abnormality. Results: The results indicated that the assessment of fresh semen quality showed macroscopic and microscopic semen quality according to SNI 4869-1:2021. Kinematic analysis revealed significant differences in DSL and STR parameters between P0 and P3 (p<0.05). EGCG supplementation also caused significant differences in motility between P0 and P3 (p<0.05). Viability and spermatozoa abnormality with EGCG supplementation did not show significant differences (p>0.05). Conclusion: The best results for motility, kinematics, and sperm morphology variables were found in P1 as it did not exhibit a decrease in motility, kinematics, and sperm morphology. Viability did not show significant differences between P1, P2, and P3, but the best results were found in P2 as it did not exhibit a decrease in viability with mean and standard deviation (66.84 ± 7.88). Abnormality variables also did not show significant differences between P1, P2, and P3, but the best results were found in P2 as it did not exhibit a decrease in abnormality with mean and standard deviation (23.80 ± 7.36). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kombucha is obtained by fermentation of tea and sugar by bacteria and yeast. This beverage has several beneficial effects, including antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of Kombucha extracts against dermatomycosiscausing fungi. Different types of Kombucha (black, white, green tea) and times of fermentation (10, 20, 30 days) were evaluated. Kombuchas were filtered, and extracts obtained by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined against clinical isolates of dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes by broth microdilution. Toxicity tests and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were also performed. MIC ranged from 62.5-2000 µg/mL. Green tea Kombucha and 10-days fermentation extracts showed the best results. Toxicity was observed only for white tea Kombucha. Despite the chromatographic profiles, further studies are needed to characterize the active molecules. However, Kombucha extracts may constitute a viable alternative for new treatment strategies against dermatomycosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia sinensis L. (Theaceae), is the most frequently consumed beverage worldwide, due to its human health benefits. The antioxidant compounds are known to act as a protective barrier of cell membranes against oxidative injury caused by various free radicals as well as by reactive oxygen species. Additionally, even phenolic compounds have pharmaceutical effects on oxidative injury from diverse causes. Therefore, the present study was conceived to establish the phytochemical screening, as well as the physicochemical profile of an ethanolic extract of aerial parts of Camelia sinensis L. acquired from a local authentic herbal distributor. In this respect, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were investigated, as well as the antioxidant capacity of the green tea ethanolic extract obtained. For the physicochemical profile, the organic functional groups present in the green tea extract, and their thermal behavior were identified. Moreover, a preliminary in vitro biological assay was performed, through the evaluation of the antitumor potential of the green tea ethanolic extract obtained on the colon adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) compared to a healthy cell line, HaCaT (human immortalized keratinocytes). The results after the biological assessment suggest that the extract decreases the viability of HT-29 colon tumor cells (67% at a concentration of 100 µg/mL), showing a lesser effect on HaCaT cells; this being a first step in exploring the anticancer properties of the obtained extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke causes neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity, which correlates with smoking withdrawal-induced anxiety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anticipated involvement of antioxidant-rich nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by oxidation-triggered polymerization of green tea catechins in impacting these effects in a rat model of tobacco smoke exposure. Exposure to tobacco smoke was carried out for 2 h a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 36 days. Weekly behavioral tests were conducted prior to recommencing the exposure. Following a 20-day exposure period, rats were administered either distilled water or green tea (GT) NPs (20 mg/kg, orally) for an additional 16 days. Our findings revealed that tobacco smoke exposure induced anxiety-like behavior indicative of withdrawal, and this effect was alleviated by GT NPs. Tobacco smoke exposure caused a marked increase in the relative mRNA and protein expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and reduced the relative mRNA and protein expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus (HIP) and hypothalamus (HYP) brain subregions. The intervention of GT NPs effectively inhibited these effects. Our findings demonstrate the potent protective role of GT NPs in reducing withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behavior, neuroinflammation, and neuroplasticity triggered by tobacco smoke exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Oral diseases are among the most prevalent diseases globally. Accumulating new evidence suggests considerable benefits of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) for oral health. This review aims to explore the role and application of EGCG in main oral diseases. Methods: This narrative review thoroughly examines and summarizes the most recent literature available in scientific databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) reporting advances in the role and application of EGCG within the dental field. The major keywords used included "EGCG", "green tea extract", "oral health", "caries", "pulpitis", "periapical disease", "periodontal disease", "oral mucosa", "salivary gland", and "oral cancer". Conclusions: EGCG prevents and manages various oral diseases through its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor properties. Compared to traditional treatments, EGCG generally exhibits lower tissue irritation and positive synergistic effects when combined with other therapies. Novel delivery systems or chemical modifications can significantly enhance EGCG's bioavailability, prolong its action, and reduce toxicity, which are current hotspots in developing new materials. Clinical significance: this review provides an exhaustive overview of the biological activities of EGCG to major oral diseases, alongside an exploration of applications and limitations, which serves as a reference for preventing and managing oral ailments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture contributes to soil, water and air pollution, biodiversity loss, and injury to non-target species. The European Commission has already established a Harmonized Risk Indicator to quantify the progress in reducing the risks linked to pesticides. Therefore, there is an increasing need to promote biopesticides, or so-called low-risk pesticides (LRP). Tea tree oil (TTO) is known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. TTO has been extensively studied in pest management as well as in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry; there are already products based on its active substances on the market. This review focuses on the overall evaluation of TTO in terms of effectiveness and safety as a biopesticide for the first time. The collected data can be an added value for further evaluation of TTO in terms of the authorization extension as a fungicide in 2026. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology. In the present study, copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were synthesized using white tea leaf extracts. They were then characterized for their chemical structure and evaluated ability for the methylene blue (MB) degradation in the adsorption system with H2O2. XRD and FTIR analyses revealed that the CuNPs were present as an amorphous phase, with the O-H polyphenol compound bound to the Cu ion. The XPS deconvolution indicated the presence of Cu2+ and Cu+ in the CuNPs. TEM images revealed that the average particle size was less than 10 nm. The CuNPs synthesized using different precursors exhibited effective ability for the MB degradation in the adsorption system. Based on the adsorption theory, the pseudo-second-order model fitted well with the experimental data, and the thermodynamic calculation suggested that the reaction was endothermic, and spontaneous. The CuNPs synthesized using the CuSO4 precursor exhibited higher antibacterial activity compared to those synthesized using Cu(NO3)2. In conclusion, white tea leaf extract is an inexpensive and easily available precursor for the biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles. Further analysis based on an assumed degradation work will be considered in future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the influence of different tea extract substrates on the biological activities of kombucha beverages was investigated. The variations in bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids and their potential health-promoting properties represented by antioxidant activity were analyzed. Our findings shed light on the diverse effects of tea substrates on the production of bioactive compounds and their subsequent impact on the biological activities of kombucha, providing valuable insights for optimizing kombucha production and its potential health benefits. The new tea substrate for kombucha, called horchata, an Ecuadorian tea, shows a similar trend but with a low content of phenolics (4.511 ± 0.111 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW)) and flavonoids (1.902 ± 0.0455 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g DW), and antioxidant activity (DPPH—33.569 ± 1.377 µmol TROLOX/g DW, ABTS—20.898 ± 2.709 µmol TROLOX/g DW, FRAP—34.456 ± 2.0618 Fe2+ mM/100 g DW compared to black and green tea as substrates for kombucha. Through HPLC-DAD, several polyphenols were registered, and homovanillic acid showed the highest concentration (74.45 mg/100 g). Horchata kombucha scored the highest in sweetness and smell, reflecting its popularity among the tasters, making it a valuable candidate as a kombucha substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional tea CFT-1 has been introduced into China as a nutraceutical beverage according to the "Healthy China" national project. The effects on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unclear and were investigated with the functional tea extract (purity > 98%). The morphological changes in the cells were observed with microscopes. Cell proliferation, migration, cycle distribution, and apoptotic effects were assessed by MTT, Transwell assays, and flow cytometry, respectively, while telomerase inhibition was evaluated with telomerase PCR ELISA assay kits. The CFT-1 treatment resulted in cell shrinkage, nuclear pyknosis, and chromatin condensation. CFT-1 suppressed the growth of Hep3B cells with IC50 of 143 μg/mL by inducing apoptosis and G0/G1 arrest in Hep3B cells. As for the molecular mechanism, CFT-1 treatment can effectively reduce the telomerase activity. The functional tea extract inhibits cell growth in human HCC by inducing apoptosis and G0/G1 arrest, possibly through a reduction in telomerase activity. These results indicate that CFT-1 extract exhibited in vitro anticancer activities and provided insights into the future development and utilization of CFT-1 as functional foods to inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, Camellia plants are widely used to reduce atopic dermatitis and inflammation-related diseases, but their protective mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated the anti-allergic dermatitis, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation effect and underlying mechanism of five Camellia species, including Camellia ptilophylla Chang, Camellia assamica Chang var. Kucha Chang, Camellia parvisepala Chang, Camellia arborescens Chang, and C. assamica M. Chang. A total of about 110 chemical compositions were detected from five Camellia teas extracts. The level of mast cell infiltration in the model mice skin was determined by HE (Hematoxylin and eosin) staining and toluidine blue staining, and the level of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and nerve growth factor was detected by immunohistochemistry. The five Camellia tea leaf extracts have histamine-induced allergic dermatitis. Lipopolysaccharide (Lipopolysaccharide)-induced murine macrophage RAW264.7 inflammation model was found to secrete NF-κB factor, as shown by immunofluorescence, and reactive oxygen species secretion and related cytokine levels were detected. The results suggested that Camellia's five tea extracts had the ability to resist cellular oxidative stress. In addition, the results of cell inflammatory cytokines including fibronectin (FN) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) suggested that the five tea extracts of Camellia had anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, it is suggested that five Camellia teas may possess inhibitory properties against allergic reactions, oxidative stress, and inflammation, and may prove beneficial in the treatment of allergies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In order to improve the comprehensive utilization of oil tea seed meal and increase the comprehensive economic benefits of the oil tea industry. In this paper, the low eutectic solvent was used as the extraction system, and the ultrasonic extraction method was combined with the enzymatic method to jointly extract the tea saponins. It was further purified with a large-pore adsorption resin to develop a set of environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and efficient tea saponin extraction and purification processes. On this basis, the tea saponins extracted from oil tea seed meal were further analyzed for antioxidant capacity and bacteriostatic activity. The results provided the scientific experimental basis and theoretical support for the efficient use of oil tea by-products. Tea saponins have high surface-active and biological activities and are widely used in chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. Tea saponins are usually extracted using ethanol or water, but both methods have their disadvantages, including a negative impact on the environment, high energy consumption, and low purity. In this study, we explored an effective process for extracting tea saponins from tea meal using deep eutectic solvents combined with ultrasonic extraction and enzymatic techniques. The experimental results showed that a high extraction efficiency of 20.93 ± 0.48% could be achieved in 20 min using an ultrasonic power of 40% and a binary DES consisting of betaine and ethylene glycol (with a molar ratio of 1:3) at a material–liquid ratio of 1:35 and that the purity of the tea saponins after purification by a large-pore adsorption resin reached 95.94%, which was higher than that of commercially available standard tea saponin samples. In addition, the extracted tea saponins were evaluated for their antioxidant and bacteriostatic activities using chemical and biological methods; the results showed that the tea saponins extracted using these methods possessed antioxidant properties and displayed significant antibacterial activity. Therefore, the present study developed a method for using deep eutectic solvents as an environmentally friendly technological solution for obtaining high-purity tea saponins from tea meal oil. This is expected to replace the current organic solvent and water extraction process and has great potential for industrial development and a number of possible applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed a weighted sampling hierarchical classification learning method based on an efficient backbone network model to address the problems of high costs, low accuracy, and time-consuming traditional tea disease recognition methods. This method enhances the feature extraction ability by conducting hierarchical classification learning based on the EfficientNet model, effectively alleviating the impact of high similarity between tea diseases on the model's classification performance. To better solve the problem of few and unevenly distributed tea disease samples, this study introduced a weighted sampling scheme to optimize data processing, which not only alleviates the overfitting effect caused by too few sample data but also balances the probability of extracting imbalanced classification data. The experimental results show that the proposed method was significant in identifying both healthy tea leaves and four common leaf diseases of tea (tea algal spot disease, tea white spot disease, tea anthracnose disease, and tea leaf blight disease). After applying the "weighted sampling hierarchical classification learning method" to train 7 different efficient backbone networks, most of their accuracies have improved. The EfficientNet-B1 model proposed in this study achieved an accuracy rate of 99.21% after adopting this learning method, which is higher than EfficientNet-b2 (98.82%) and MobileNet-V3 (98.43%). In addition, to better apply the results of identifying tea diseases, this study developed a mini-program that operates on WeChat. Users can quickly obtain accurate identification results and corresponding disease descriptions and prevention methods through simple operations. This intelligent tool for identifying tea diseases can serve as an auxiliary tool for farmers, consumers, and related scientific researchers and has certain practical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to increase the functionality of rice starch by modifying matcha tea extract and to determine the effect on some physicochemical properties and starch digestibility. According to the data analyzed, treatment with matcha extract was effective in increasing the nutritional value of native rice starch. At the highest level of extract addition, total phenolic and flavonoid content reached 129.54 mg/100 g and 40.16 mg/100 g, respectively, as no phenolic or flavonoid content was detected in control. In addition, the highest DPPH and FRAP values were determined to be 296.62 μmol TE/100 g and 814.89 mg/100 g, respectively, at the highest extract addition level. Treatment with matcha extract significantly reduced the eGI of native rice starch from to 94.61 to 64.63, while resistant starch was increased from 0.90 to 33.43%. According to the physiochemical analysis, there was a positive correlation between the extract ratio and the water‐holding capacity of rice starch due to the high hydrophilic capacity of the phenolic compounds. In addition, the solubility and swelling power of starch were increased by treatment with matcha extract, but high temperatures had a negative effect on these physicochemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This research presents a new, eco-friendly, and swift method combining solid-phase extraction and hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DES) with high-performance liquid chromatography (SPE-DES-HPLC) for extracting and quantifying catechin and epicatechin in Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV). The parameters, such as the elution solvent type, the XAD-2 macroporous resin dosage, the DES ratio, the DES volume, the adsorption time, and the desorption time, were optimized via a one-way experiment. A central composite design using the Box–Behnken methodology was employed to investigate the effects of various factors, including 17 experimental runs and the construction of three-dimensional response surface plots to identify the optimal conditions. The results show that the optimal conditions were an HDES (tetraethylammonium chloride and octanoic acid) ratio of 1:3, an XAD-2 macroporous resin dosage of 188 mg, and an adsorption time of 11 min. Under these optimal conditions, the coefficients of determination of the method were greater than or equal to 0.9917, the precision was less than 5%, and the recoveries ranged from 98.8% to 118.8%. The environmentally friendly nature of the analytical process and sample preparation was assessed via the Analytical Eco-Scale and AGREE, demonstrating that this method is a practical and eco-friendly alternative to conventional determination techniques. In summary, this innovative approach offers a solid foundation for the assessment of flavanol compounds present in SAV samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The anti-inflammatory effect of green tea extract (GTE) has been confirmed in asthmatic mice, however, the pharmacological mechanism is not fully elucidated. Methods: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of GTE in asthma and identify specific pathways, murinemodel of allergic asthma was established by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and the challenge for 4 weeks, with oral treatment using GTE and dexamethasone (DEX). Inflammatory cell counts, cytokines, OVA-specific IgE, airway hyperreactivity, and antioxidant markers in the lung were evaluated. Also, pulmonary histopathological analysis and western blotting were performed. In vitro, we established themodel by stimulating the human airway epithelial cell line NCI-H292 using lipopolysaccharide, and treating with GTE and mitogenactivated protein kinases (MAPKs) inhibitors. Results: The GTE100 and GTE400 groups showed a decrease in airway hyperresponsiveness and the number of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) compared to theOVA group. GTE treatment also reduced interleukin (IL)-13, IL-5, and IL-4 levels in the BALF, andOVA-specific immunoglobulin E levels in the serum compared to those in the OVA group. GTE treatment decreased OVA-induced mucus secretion and airway inflammation. In addition, GTE suppressed the oxidative stress, and phosphorylation of MAPKs, which generally occurs after exposure to OVA. GTE administration also reduced matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity and protein levels. Conclusion: GTE effectively inhibited asthmatic respiratory inflammation and mucus hyperproduction induced by OVA inhalation. These results suggest that GTE has the potential to be used for the treatment of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel green tea/Mg-functionalized magnetic nano-adsorbent, denoted as GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs, was developed and applied to the extraction of Methylene Blue (MB) from water-based solutions. The GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized by incorporating green tea extracts (GTE) and Mg species onto the surface of Fe3O4 nanoparticles using a hydrothermal method. Characterization analyses corroborated the successful functionalization of the Fe3O4 surface with GTE and Mg species, resulting in a superparamagnetic adsorbent equipped with abundant surface functional groups, which promoted MB adsorption and facilitated magnetic separation. Batch experiments revealed that different operating parameters had an impact on the adsorption behavior, such as adsorbent dosage, pH, coexisting ions, contact time, the initial MB concentration, and temperature. The investigations of adsorption kinetics and isotherms emphasized that the MB adsorption onto GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs was an exothermic process dominated by chemisorption. The experimental adsorption capacity of GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs for MB surpassed 174.93 mg g−1, markedly superior to the performance of numerous other adsorbents. Ultimately, the utilized GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs could be effectively regenerated through acid pickling, retaining over 76% of its original adsorption capacity after six adsorption–desorption cycles, which suggested that GTE-MgO-Fe3O4 NPs was a suitable adsorbent for eliminating MB from effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that uses radiomics data to assess recurrence and predict survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods: A total of 57 patients with treatment-naïve HCC or recurrent HCC who were eligible for TACE were prospectively enrolled in this study as test data. A total of 100 patients with treatment-naïve HCC or recurrent HCC who were eligible for TACE were retrospectively acquired for training data. Radiomic features were extracted from contrast-enhanced, liver computed tomography (CT) scans obtained before and after TACE. An AI algorithm was trained using the retrospective data and validated using the prospective test data to assess treatment outcomes. Results: This study evaluated 107 radiomic features and 5 clinical characteristics as potential predictors of progression-free survival and overall survival. The C-index was 0.582 as the graph of the cumulative hazard function, predicted by the variable configuration by using 112 radiomics features. The time-dependent AUROC was 0.6 ± 0.06 (mean ± SD). Among the selected radiomics features and clinical characteristics, baseline_glszm_SizeZoneNonUniformity, baseline_ glszm_ZoneVariance and tumor size had excellent performance as predictors of HCC response to TACE with AUROC of 0.853, 0.814 and 0.827, respectively. Conclusions: A radiomics-based AI model is capable of evaluating treatment outcomes for HCC treated with TACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the supplementation of energy drinks with green tea extract on abrasive and erosive dentin wear. Materials and Methods: Six groups, each comprising 15 bovine dentin samples, were prepared, yielding a total of 90 samples. Erosion was performed by immersing the samples in Red Bull and Red Bull light with and without green tea extract. Tap water with and without green tea extract was used as the control groups. The samples were subjected to abrasive/erosive cycling for five days. The following cycling was performed daily: toothbrush abrasion (20 brushstrokes; 2.5 N); eight erosive cycles (2 min storage in the respective solutions); in between the erosive cycles, storage in artificial saliva (60 min) and again toothbrush abrasion (20 brushstrokes; 2.5 N). During the night, samples were again stored in artificial saliva. Abrasive/erosive dentin wear was measured using a stylus profilometer (μm, accuracy = 40 nm). The measured dentin loss results from the vertical position shift on the y-axis from base to final profile after the wear process in 2D. Pairwise comparisons between the groups were carried out using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The following dentin wear (median [IQR]) was measured: Red Bull: 1.9 μm (0.5); Red Bull Light: 1.3 μm (0.3); Red Bull with green tea extract: 0.8 μm (0.3); Red Bull Light with green tea extract: 0.3 μm (0.5); Tap water with green tea extract: -0.2 μm (0.7); Tap water: -1.0 μm (1.2). The comparison of all tested groups to each other proved to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The supplementation of energy drinks with green tea extract provide a protective effect against erosive/ abrasive wear in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenols, the main antioxidants of diet, have shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities. Here, we compared the effects of four polyphenolic compounds on ROS production and on the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9, which represent important pathogenetic factors of breast cancer. THP-1 differentiated macrophages were activated by LPS and simultaneously treated with different doses of a green tea extract (GTE), resveratrol (RSV), curcumin (CRC) and an olive fruit extract (oliplus). By using the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, we found that all of the tested compounds showed antioxidant activity in vitro. In addition, GTE, RSV and CRC were able to counteract ROS production induced by H2O2 in THP-1 cells. As assessed by a zymographic analysis of THP-1 supernatants and by an "in-gel zymography" of a pool of sera from patients with breast cancer, the antioxidant compounds used in this study inhibited both the activity and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 through different mechanisms related to their structures and to their ability to scavenge ROS. The results of this study suggest that the used antioxidants could be promising agents for the prevention and complementary treatment of breast cancer and other diseases in which MMPs play a pivotal role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of edible packaging films to delay food spoilage has attracted widespread attention. In this study, partridge tea extract (PTE) was added to cassia gum (CG) to prepare CG/PTE films. The microstructure, optical, mechanical, barrier, and antioxidant properties of CG/PTE films were investigated, and the effect of PTE on CG films was shown. The films had high transparency and smooth surface structure. Additionally, PTE significantly improved the elongation at break and antioxidant activity of films. At 2.5% of PTE, the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging rate of the film was 46.88% after diluting 50 times, indicating excellent antioxidant property, which could be applied to food preservation. After 9 days of storage, the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values (TBARS) of chicken jerk packaged with films containing 0% and 2.5% PTE increased from 0.12% to 1.04% and 0.11% to 0.40%, respectively. This study suggests that CG/PTE films can be used to preserve cooked meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBLs), which comprise many phytoconstituents, also contain a toxic substance named ginkgolic acid (GA). Our previous research showed that heating could decarboxylate and degrade GA into ginkgols with high levels of bioactivity. Several methods are available to measure GA in GBLs, but no analytical method has been developed to measure ginkgols and GA simultaneously. Hence, for the first time, an HPLC-DAD method was established to simultaneously determine GA and ginkgols using acetonitrile (0.01% trifluoroacetic acid, v/v) as mobile phase A and water (0.01% trifluoroacetic acid, v/v) as mobile phase B. The gradient elution conditions were: 0–30 min, 75–90% phase A; 30–35 min, 90–90% phase A; 35–36 min, 90–75% phase A; 36–46 min, 75–75% phase A. The detection wavelength of GA and ginkgol were 210 and 270 nm, respectively. The flow rate and injection volume were 1.0 mL/min and 50 μL, respectively. The linearity was excellent (R2 > 0.999), and the RSD of the precision, stability, and repeatability of the total ginkgols was 0.20%, 2.21%, and 2.45%, respectively, in six parallel determinations. The recoveries for the low, medium, and high groups were 96.58%, 97.67%, and 101.52%, respectively. The limit of detection of ginkgol C13:0, C15:1, and C17:1 was 0.61 ppm, 0.50 ppm, and 0.06 ppm, respectively. The limit of quantification of ginkgol C13:0, C15:1, and C17:1 was 2.01 ppm, 1.65 ppm, and 0.20 ppm, respectively. Finally, this method accurately measured the GA and ginkgol content in ginkgo leaves and ginkgo tea products (ginkgo black tea, ginkgo dark tea, ginkgo white tea, and ginkgo green tea), whereas principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to help visualize the association between GA and ginkgols and five different processing methods for GBLs. Thus, this research provides an efficient and accurate quantitative method for the subsequent detection of GA and ginkgols in ginkgo tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and prevalence of drug-induced liver injury appear to be increasing globally, for example, with the introduction of checkpoint inhibitors. Several reviews have been published in the last decade on the epidemiology of DILI, both among hospitalized patients and in the general population, as well as from retrospective and prospective studies on DILI. Most of these reviews have not focused on newly recognized agents that have recently changed the landscape of DILI. Apart from liver injury associated with antibiotics, oncological agents, particularly checkpoint inhibitors, are increasingly being recognized as causing liver injury. The type of liver injury associated with these agents is not idiosyncratic but rather an indirect type of injury. Furthermore, recently, COVID-19 vaccines and green tea extract have been found to lead to liver injury. Checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of many malignancies, such as malignant melanoma, lung cancer, and renal cancer. Via the activation of T cells, they can increase immune activity against malignant cells, but at the same time, they can decrease immune tolerance and therefore lead to immune-related adverse effects in many organs. The most common adverse effect in clinical practice is liver injury. A recent prospective study demonstrated an 8% frequency of DILI due to the use of checkpoint inhibitors among patients with malignant melanoma and renal cancer. This rate is much higher than observed with drugs, leading to idiosyncratic liver injury. Shortly after the implementation of the worldwide vaccination program against COVID-19, several case reports were published on suspected vaccination-induced autoimmune-like hepatitis occurring shortly after the vaccination. At first, these reports were met with skepticism, but currently, around 100 reports have been published, and cases of positive recurrence have been reported. The clinical, biochemical, immunological, and histological features are indistinguishable from classic autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). These reactions are very similar to drug-induced autoimmune-like hepatitis (DI-ALH) due to drugs such as nitrofurantoin, minocycline, and infliximab, which do not relapse after a short course of corticosteroids, which is the general rule in classic autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Green tea extract has been found to be a well-documented cause of acute hepatocellular liver injury with jaundice. A strong HLA association has been reported, showing a high prevalence of HLA-B*35:01 among patients suffering from green tea-induced liver injury. Overall, 3% of patients recruited in the DILIN study were supplemented with green tea extract as one of the ingredients. In a prospective population-based study from Iceland, green tea was implicated in approximately 8% of patients with DILI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program (CITP) is an NIH-funded research consortium of investigators who conduct analyses at three independent sites to identify chemical interventions that reproducibly promote health and lifespan in a robust manner. The founding principle of the CITP is that compounds with positive effects across a genetically diverse panel of Caenorhabditis species and strains are likely engaging conserved biochemical pathways to exert their effects. As such, interventions that are broadly efficacious might be considered prominent compounds for translation for pre-clinical research and human clinical applications. Here, we report results generated using a recently streamlined pipeline approach for the evaluation of the effects of chemical compounds on lifespan and health. We studied five compounds previously shown to extend C. elegans lifespan or thought to promote mammalian health: 17α-estradiol, acarbose, green tea extract, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, and rapamycin. We found that green tea extract and nordihydroguaiaretic acid extend Caenorhabditis lifespan in a species-specific manner. Additionally, these two antioxidants conferred assay-specific effects in some studies—for example, decreasing survival for certain genetic backgrounds in manual survival assays in contrast with extended lifespan as assayed using automated C. elegans Lifespan Machines. We also observed that GTE and NDGA impact on older adult mobility capacity is dependent on genetic background, and that GTE reduces oxidative stress resistance in some Caenorhabditis strains. Overall, our analysis of the five compounds supports the general idea that genetic background and assay type can influence lifespan and health effects of compounds, and underscores that lifespan and health can be uncoupled by chemical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glutinous rice starch (GRS) regeneration process could lead to decreased product quality and shorter shelf life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of an ethanol extract of tea (EET) on the regeneration properties of GRS. The microstructure of starch was determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to determine the microstructure of starch-polyphenol molecular groups, an X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument was used to determine the starch crystal structure, a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used to determine the thermodynamic properties of starch, and the inhibitory effect of EET on GRS regeneration was comprehensively evaluated. The effect of EET on the in vitro digestion properties of GRS was also determined. The results showed that the addition of EET in GRS resulted in an increase in solubility and swelling power and a decrease in crystallinity and ΔHr. Compared to the control group, when retrograded for 10 days, the ΔHr of GRS with 1%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10% addition of EET decreased by 34.61%, 44.53%, 52.93%, and 66.79%, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of EET resulted in a decrease in the content of RDS and an increase in the content of SDS and RS in GRS. It was shown that the addition of EET could significantly inhibit the retrogradation of GRS, improve the processability, and prolong the shelf life of GRS products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present work is to biosynthesize Chitosan nanoparticles (CTNp) using tea (Camellia sinensis) extract, with potent antimicrobial properties towards phytopathogens of rice. Preliminary chemical analysis of the extract showed that they contain carbohydrate as major compound and uronic acid indicating the nature of acidic polysaccharide. The structure of the isolated polysaccharide was analyzed through FTIR and 1H NMR. The CTNp was prepared by the addition of isolated tea polysaccharides to chitosan solution. The structure and size of the CTNp was determined through FTIR and DLS analyses. The surface morphology and size of the CTNp was analysed by SEM and HRTEM. The crystalinity nature of the synthesized nanoparticle was identified by XRD analysis. The CTNp exhibited the antimicrobial properties against the most devastating pathogens of rice viz., Pyricularia grisea, Xanthomonas oryzae under in vitro condition. CTNp also suppressed the blast and blight disease of rice under the detached leaf assay. These results suggest that the biosynthesized CTNp can be used to control the most devastating pathogens of rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate identification of small tea buds is a key technology for tea harvesting robots, which directly affects tea quality and yield. However, due to the complexity of the tea plantation environment and the diversity of tea buds, accurate identification remains an enormous challenge. Current methods based on traditional image processing and machine learning fail to effectively extract subtle features and morphology of small tea buds, resulting in low accuracy and robustness. To achieve accurate identification, this paper proposes a small object detection algorithm called STF-YOLO (Small Target Detection with Swin Transformer and Focused YOLO), which integrates the Swin Transformer module and the YOLOv8 network to improve the detection ability of small objects. The Swin Transformer module extracts visual features based on a self-attention mechanism, which captures global and local context information of small objects to enhance feature representation. The YOLOv8 network is an object detector based on deep convolutional neural networks, offering high speed and precision. Based on the YOLOv8 network, modules including Focus and Depthwise Convolution are introduced to reduce computation and parameters, increase receptive field and feature channels, and improve feature fusion and transmission. Additionally, the Wise Intersection over Union loss is utilized to optimize the network. Experiments conducted on a self-created dataset of tea buds demonstrate that the STF-YOLO model achieves outstanding results, with an accuracy of 91.5% and a mean Average Precision of 89.4%. These results are significantly better than other detectors. Results show that, compared to mainstream algorithms (YOLOv8, YOLOv7, YOLOv5, and YOLOx), the model improves accuracy and F1 score by 5-20.22 percentage points and 0.03-0.13, respectively, proving its effectiveness in enhancing small object detection performance. This research provides technical means for the accurate identification of small tea buds in complex environments and offers insights into small object detection. Future research can further optimize model structures and parameters for more scenarios and tasks, as well as explore data augmentation and model fusion methods to improve generalization ability and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by skeletal and brain structural malformations, cognitive impairment, altered hippocampal metabolite concentration and gene expression imbalance. These alterations were usually investigated separately, and the potential rescuing effects of green tea extracts enriched in epigallocatechin-3-gallate (GTE-EGCG) provided disparate results due to different experimental conditions. We overcame these limitations by conducting the first longitudinal controlled experiment evaluating genotype and GTE-EGCG prenatal chronic treatment effects before and after treatment discontinuation. Our findings revealed that the Ts65Dn mouse model reflected the pleiotropic nature of DS, exhibiting brachycephalic skull, ventriculomegaly, neurodevelopmental delay, hyperactivity, and impaired memory robustness with altered hippocampal metabolite concentration and gene expression. GTE-EGCG treatment modulated most systems simultaneously but did not rescue DS phenotypes. On the contrary, the treatment exacerbated trisomic phenotypes including body weight, tibia microarchitecture, neurodevelopment, adult cognition, and metabolite concentration, not supporting the therapeutic use of GTE-EGCG as a prenatal chronic treatment. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal experiments assessing the co-modulation of multiple systems throughout development when characterizing preclinical models in complex disorders and evaluating the pleiotropic effects and general safety of pharmacological treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disease, but most of its current treatments come with a high risk of side effects. As one of the world's top three beverages, tea has a traditional history of being used as a treatment for skin conditions due to its high safety profile, anti-inflammatory and other properties. In this study, we investigated the anti-psoriasis effects of ethanol extracts of black tea, green tea and white tea from southeastern China. The compositions of the tea extracts (TEs) were first determined by UPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS and then genetic analysis, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immunocompetence assays were performed. Imiquimod was used to establish a mouse model of psoriasis-like dermatitis and treating with the extracts to examine their efficacy. A total of 88 chemical components, mainly phenols and organic acids, were identified from the TEs. These TEs ameliorated skin damage and they all reduced the expression of cytokines IL-17 and TNF-α. By analyzing the genes, TEs may affect the inflammatory signaling pathway by regulating the metabolic changes. In addition, TEs can significantly scavenge ROS, NO, and inhibit cellular inflammation. In conclusion, this study examined the inhibitory effects of three TEs on psoriasis and their potential as nutritional supplements for the treatment of skin inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsaicin and curcumin, the active components of chili and turmeric, are prone to instability when exposed to light. Therefore, this research aimed to enhance the photostability of both extracts via the use of antioxidants, natural sunscreen, and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). NLCs were chosen for this this study due to their advantages in terms of stability, drug loading capacity, occlusive effect, skin penetration, and controlled release. The photostability of each extract and extracts mixed with antioxidants, including grape seed extract, tea extract, and chlorogenic acid, were determined. Chlorogenic acid can enhance the photostability of capsaicin from 6.79 h to 16.50 h, while the photostability of curcumin increased from 9.63 h to 19.25 h. In addition, the use of natural sunscreen (sunflower oil) also increased the photostability of capsaicin and curcumin. The mixed extracts were then loaded into NLCs. The particle size of the formulation was 153.73 nm with a PDI value of 0.25. It exhibited high entrapment efficiency (more than 95%). In addition, it effectively reduced the decomposition of capsaicin and curcumin. Importantly, the natural stabilizers chosen for NLC fabrication significantly improved the photostability of curcumin and capsaicin by 600% and 567% compared to the unstabilized counterparts. This improvement contributes to the sustainability and bioavailability of these compounds in both cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. The treatment plays an important role in influencing the patients' quality of life. The basic management consists of appropriate skin cleansing, including bathing and eventually using bathing additives. Recommendations regarding frequency and duration of bathing, water temperature and usefulness of bathing additives are widely different, often leading to confusion among patients. This review aims to give insights into the best bathing practices and the use of bathing additives in atopic dermatitis in children. Several bathing additives, including bleach baths, commercial baby cleansers, bath baby oils and bath salt, appear to be promising adjunctive therapies for atopic dermatitis due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-pruritus and skin barrier repair properties through different mechanisms of action. However, their efficacy and safety are not fully understood in some cases. The usefulness of other bath additives, such as acidic and more natural substances (green tea extracts, pine tar, sodium bicarbonate), is still under investigation. Further studies are needed to determine their optimal use to achieve clinical benefit safely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although tacrolimus (TAC) significantly reduces allograft rejection incidence in solid-organ transplantation, its long-term use is associated with an increased risk of TAC-induced nephrotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the renoprotective effects of green tea extract (GTE) with or without the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, gemigliptin, by assessing serum creatinine levels, the amount of proteinuria, and histopathology in TAC-induced nephrotoxicity. TAC-induced nephrotoxicity was induced by intraperitoneal TAC injection, GTE was administered via subcutaneous injection, and gemigliptin was administered orally. Mice with TAC-induced nephrotoxicity exhibited a significant increase in both serum creatinine levels and 24-hour urine protein. However, when treated with GTE via subcutaneous injection, mice showed a decrease in serum creatinine levels and the amount of proteinuria. When GTE was combined with gemigliptin, further renoprotective effects were observed in biochemical assessments, consistent with the attenuation of TAC-induced nephrotoxicity in histopathology. The expression of p53 protein was lower in the mice treated with the combination of GTE and gemigliptin compared to mice with TAC-induced nephrotoxicity. Our results demonstrate that the combination of GTE and gemigliptin treatment reveals synergistic renoprotective effects by decreasing the expression of p53 protein. These findings suggest that the combination of GTE and gemigliptin could potentially be used as a prophylactic or therapeutic strategy for TAC-induced nephrotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of tea utensils used for brewing significantly impacts the sensory and chemical attributes of tea. In order to assess the influence of various tea sets on the flavor and chemical composition of different tea varieties, a combination of sensory evaluation and high-performance liquid chromatography was employed. The results showed that the content of amino acids in the tea liquid brewed with tin tea utensils was relatively higher, which could exhibit freshness in taste, thus suitable for brewing green tea and white tea. The content of polyphenols, soluble carbohydrates, and water extract in the tea liquid brewed with a porcelain tea set was relatively higher; the sweetness and thickness of the tea liquid were increased, so it was more beneficial to brew black tea. The purple sand tea set was suitable for brewing oolong tea and dark tea, and could endow their respective quality characteristics. Ultimately, these research findings provide a scientific basis for the selection of tea utensils tailored to different types of tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the prevalent issues concerning the mechanical grading of fresh tea leaves, characterized by high damage rates and poor accuracy, as well as the limited grading precision through the integration of machine vision and machine learning (ML) algorithms, this study presents an innovative approach for classifying the quality grade of fresh tea leaves. This approach leverages an integration of image recognition and deep learning (DL) algorithm to accurately classify tea leaves' grades by identifying distinct bud and leaf combinations. The method begins by acquiring separate images of orderly scattered and randomly stacked fresh tea leaves. These images undergo data augmentation techniques, such as rotation, flipping, and contrast adjustment, to form the scattered and stacked tea leaves datasets. Subsequently, the YOLOv8x model was enhanced by Space pyramid pooling improvements (SPPCSPC) and the concentration-based attention module (CBAM). The established YOLOv8x-SPPCSPC-CBAM model is evaluated by comparing it with popular DL models, including Faster R-CNN, YOLOv5x, and YOLOv8x. The experimental findings reveal that the YOLOv8x-SPPCSPC-CBAM model delivers the most impressive results. For the scattered tea leaves, the mean average precision, precision, recall, and number of images processed per second rates of 98.2%, 95.8%, 96.7%, and 2.77, respectively, while for stacked tea leaves, they are 99.1%, 99.1%, 97.7% and 2.35, respectively. This study provides a robust framework for accurately classifying the quality grade of fresh tea leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is a significant threat to life and health, which needs more safe and effective drugs to be explored. Teadenol B is a characteristic chemical component of microbial fermented tea. This study discovered that teadenol B could exhibit obvious inhibitory effects on all four different clinical subtype characteristics of breast cancer cells. Proteomic studies show that deoxycytidine triphosphate deaminase (DCTD), which could block DNA synthesis and repair DNA damage, had the most significant and consistent reduction in all four types of breast cancer cells with the treatment of teadenol B. Considering MDA-MB-231 cells exhibit poor clinical prognosis and displayed substantial statistical differences in KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results, we investigated its impact on the size and growth of MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast tumors transplanted into nude mice and demonstrated that teadenol B significantly suppressed tumor growth without affecting body weight significantly. Finally, we found that the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II in MDA-MB-231 increased significantly with teadenol B treatment. This proved that teadenol B could be a strong autophagy promotor, which explained the down-regulation of DCTD to some extent and may be the potential mechanism underlying teadenol B's anti-breast cancer effects. This finding provides new evidence for drinking fermented tea to prevent breast cancer and highlights the potential of teadenol B as a novel therapeutic option for breast cancer prevention and treatment, necessitating further investigations to clarify its exact target and the details involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tea plant is a valuable and evergreen crop that is extensively cultivated in China and many other countries. Currently, there is growing research interest in this plant. For the tea industry, it is crucial to develop rapid and non-invasive methods to evaluate tea plants in their natural environment. This article provides a comprehensive overview of non-invasive sensing techniques used for in-situ detection of tea plants. The topics covered include leaf, canopy, and field-level assessments, as well as statistical analysis techniques and characteristics specific to the research. Non-invasive testing technology is primarily used for monitoring and predicting tea pests and diseases, monitoring quality, and nutrients, determining tenderness and grade, identifying tea plant varieties, automatically detecting, and identifying tea buds, monitoring tea plant growth, and extracting tea garden areas through remote sensing. It also helps to evaluate planting suitability, assess disasters, and estimate yields. Additionally, the article examines the challenges and prospects of emerging techniques aimed at resolving the in-situ detection problem for tea plants. It can assist researchers and producers in comprehensively understanding the tea environment, quality characteristics, and growth process, thereby enhancing tea production quality, and fostering tea industry development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality because it has a close relationship to metabolic illnesses, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some types of cancer. With no drugs available, the mainstay of obesity management remains lifestyle changes with exercise and dietary modifications. In light of the tremendous disease burden and unmet therapeutics, fresh perspectives on pathophysiology and drug discovery are needed. The development of epigenetics provides a compelling justification for how environmental, lifestyle, and other risk factors contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity. Furthermore, epigenetic dysregulations can be restored, and it has been reported that certain natural products obtained from plants, such as tea polyphenols, ellagic acid, urolithins, curcumin, genistein, isothiocyanates, and citrus isoflavonoids, were shown to inhibit weight gain. These substances have great antioxidant potential and are of great interest because they can also modify epigenetic mechanisms. Therefore, understanding epigenetic modifications to target the primary cause of obesity and the epigenetic mechanisms of anti‐obesity effects with certain phytochemicals can prove rational strategies to prevent the disease and develop novel therapeutic interventions. Thus, the current review aimed to summarize the epigenetic mechanisms and advances in therapies for obesity based on natural products to provide evidence for the development of several potential anti‐obesity drug targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary habits and exercise play an important role in the well‐being of human health. Currently, how long of drinking tea combined with exercise could efficiently ameliorate hepatic steatosis and obesity still needs to be investigated. Here, short‐term and long‐term green tea drinking combined with exercise were studied to improve hepatic steatosis and obesity in high‐fat diet‐induced (HF) mice. Our results showed that Yunkang 10 green tea (GT) combined with exercise (Ex) exhibited synergistic prevention effects on ameliorating hepatic steatosis and obesity. Especially, 22‐week intervention with GT or Ex improved all symptoms of obesity, which indicated that long‐term intervention exhibited profound preventive effects than the short term. Moreover, the combined intervention of 22 weeks inhibited the activation of NF‐κB pathway and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, which suggests that tea combined exercise may improve liver steatosis mainly by inhibiting inflammation. The key molecules for regulating lipid and glucose metabolism SCD1 were obviously downregulated, and GLU2 and PPARγ were significantly upregulated by GT and exercise in the liver of high‐fat diet‐induced mice. This study demonstrated that long‐term intervention with GT and exercise effectively relieved hepatic steatosis and obesity complications by ameliorating hepatic inflammation, reducing lipid synthesis, and accelerating glucose transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]