Search

Graphical abstract Highlights • α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan was a chemical contributing to the health benefit of banana. • α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan was abundant in banana. • α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan had good immunostimulatory activities. Abstract Banana is a fruit widely accepted by people over the world. Besides having delicious taste, it shows multiple health benefits. In this work, the major polysaccharide was isolated from banana and purified. It was identified to be α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan. The in vivo immunomodulatory activity assay indicated that α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan could improve the immune status by elevating T cell proliferation, phagocytic function of macrophage, CD3+ T cell level, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, IL-6, IgG, IgM, TNF-α and hemolysin antibody levels. The immunostimulatory activities of α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan were similar to β-(1 → 3)- d -glucan, a clinical immunostimulatory drug. This work revealed that α-(1 → 6)- d -glucan was an important bioactive chemical for the immunostimulatory activity of banana. It could be used as a nutraceuticals candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulberry leaf is a newly accepted vegetable for daily diet. It tastes good and has multiple health benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the chemicals responsible for these health benefits remain unveiled. Prenylated phenolics are characteristic bioactive compounds in mulberry leaf, which are recognized as good antioxidants. In this work, moracin N was purified from mulberry leaf. It showed better antioxidant activities than resveratrol. The EC 50 value of cellular antioxidant activity was 24.92 μM, and the IC 50 value against DPPH radical was 40.00 μM. The prenyl group rendered the molecule more membrane affinity which improved the bioavailability. The furan ring was critical for the antioxidant behaviour. The cell viability test revealed that moracin N had a good safety. These results pointed out that moracin N contributed to the antioxidant activity of mulberry leaf. • Moracin N showed good cellular antioxidant activities. • Moracin N had a high cell uptake. • The furan ring in moracin N was critical for the antioxidant behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banana is a tropical fruit with good palatability and multiple health benefits. However, the fruit quality is readily deteriorated during postharvest storage. In this work, icariin was used to treat banana to maintain the fruit quality. NMR spectroscopy was applied to analyze the effect of icariin on the metabolite profiles of banana. It was found that the fruit quality of banana was well maintained after icariin treatment. The data of 1D and 2D NMR spectra revealed the composition of metabolites, whose contents greatly varied during storage. The first principal components included ethanol, acetic acid, saponin b, salsolinol, dopamine, glucose, and linoleic acid. After icariin treatment, the conversion of starch to α-d-glucose and β-d-glucose was delayed, and the production of γ-aminobutyrate, glutamine, and alanine increased. These results indicated that icariin could effectively maintain the fruit quality and delay the senescence of banana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two new prenylflavonoids, morachlcone D and E, were identified from mulberry leaf. • Morachlcone D could inhibit oxidative damage in HT22 cells. • The mechanisms of morachlcone D against oxidative damage were revealed. Mulberry leaf is a vegetable used in daily diet. It can bring delicious taste and multiple health benefits. However, the chemicals responsible for these health benefits remain unveiled. In this work, two novel prenylated flavonoids were isolated from mulberry leaf. Their structures were identified and named as morachalcone D and morachalcone E. The protective effects of these two compounds were investigated, against endogenous oxidative damage (oxytosis/ferroptosis) induced by glutamate and erastin in HT22 cells. The results revealed that morachalcone D was much more potent in preventing from glutamate- and erastin-induced cell death than morachalcone E. The neuroprotective effect of morachalcone D was related to the prevention of ROS production, glutathione depletion, and iron accumulation. Morachalcone D upregulated the expression of genes involved in antioxidant defense, including GPx4 , CAT , SOD2 , Nrf2 , HMOX1 and SLC7A11. These findings indicated that morachalcone D was responsible for the health benefits of mulberry leaf, and could be a potent neuroprotective agent for use in dietary supplements and functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]