Search

Cardamine violifolia is a selenium (Se)-enriched plant in China. In this study, we prepared Se-enriched peptides (SPE) from C. violifolia by enzymatic hydrolysis. The peptides were then separated by ultrafiltration. The fraction with the highest in vitro antioxidant activity, SPE4, was obtained. Mice treated with SPE4 in D-galactose induced oxidative stress model showed significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and glutathione (GSH) content and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl content in plasma and tissues. Furthermore, the in vivo anti-fatigue activities of SPE4 were evaluated by exhaustive swimming experiments. The weight-loaded swimming time of mice was prolonged by taking SPE4. The blood lactic acid (BLA) and urea nitrogen (BUN) content was decreased, and the level of hepatic glycogen (HG) was increased. Therefore, Se-enriched peptides form C. violifolia may be a beneficial ingredient to use in functional foods.

Five fluorescent derivatives of hydroxyphenyl-benzothiazole (HBT) with different methyl positions at the hydroxyphenyl group were synthesized with good yield. Their reactivity and fluorescent response to hypochlorite were carefully studied. It was found that the HBT derivatives with meta-methyl (3-HBT or 5-HBT) showed the highest reactivity to hypochlorite under basic conditions, accompanied by the most efficient fluorescence quenching, whereas HBT derivatives with ortho or para methyl exhibited the least reactivity to hypochlorite. The LUMO and HOMO of 3-HBT were further verified to explain the fluorescence behavior by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The excellent selectivity of 3-HBT toward hypochlorite against other reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also evaluated under the same conditions. The compounds emit bright green fluorescence in a solid-state, which is convenient for designing sensing devices for hypochlorite in water samples. Thus, the HBT derivatives with meta methyl (3-HBT) were successfully applied to fabricate paper sensors for the quantification of hypochlorite in tap water. Hence, the fluorescent 3-HBT exhibits great promise as a selective and sensitive hypochlorite probe in chemical and biological applications.

In this work, we investigated the degradation of moringin (4-[(α-L-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]-isothiocyanate), a major bioactive isothiocyanate (ITC) found in moringa seeds (Moringa oleifera Lam), at various food processing conditions. Moringin degrades rapidly to several water-soluble products via a pseudo-first-order kinetics. By analyzing the reaction products, the degradation mechanism was found to be through hydrolyzing to (A) 1-O-(4-hydroxymethylphenyl) α-L-rhamnopyranoside (rhamnobenzyl alcohol RBA) or (B) rhamnobenzylamine. The formed amine further reacts with moringin to form N,N′-bis{4-[(α-L-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]}thiourea (di-rhamnobenzyl thiourea, DRBTU). In addition, moringin isomerizes to 4-[(α-L-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]thiocyanate (RBTC), which further reacts with moringin to form S,N-bis{4-[(α-L-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]}-dithiocarbamate (DRBDTC). Furthermore, pH was found to have an effect on the degradation of moringin. RBA and RBTC were major degraded products in neutral and acidic conditions while thiourea (DRBTU) was in alkaline condition. Although moringin showed higher cytotoxicity to cancer cells, its degraded products showed very weak or no activities, suggesting that the isothiocyanate group of ITCs is essential for their cancer chemoprevention activities.

An experimental study was conducted of the behavior of equal-leg and unequal-leg angles bent around the major principal axis. A finite-element model was developed for numerical simulation o...

In order to achieve on-site fluorescent detection of antibiotic doxycycline (DOC) residue, a new kind of fluorescent organosilicon nanodots (OSiNDs) was successfully constructed by a one-pot strategy and used as a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe. This method could enhance the fluorescence of DOC by conformational fixation on the surface of OSiNDs, and subsequently induced fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Control experimental results showed that phenylamine functional groups on the as-prepared OSiNDs possessed favorable interactions with DOC by hydrogen bond/π-π stacking, leading to both conformational change of DOC molecules and fluorescence resonance energy transfer process from OSiNDs to DOC. This method was then adapted and optimized for visual sensitive and selective detection of DOC based on ratiometric fluorescence signal, displaying a good linear range for DOC in the range of 1-35 μM with an excellent limit detection of ∼80 nM. Other tetracycline derivatives (TCs) and possible interferences have little influence on the determination of DOC using the method. The spike and recovery test of DOC in real water samples demonstrated the feasibility of the OSiNDs for DOC assay in practical samples and a test paper was fabricated with OSiNDs loading, achieving easy and visual detection of DOC by naked eyes.

Exogenous proteins in starchy foods may alter the digestibility of the starch. In this study, the effect of whey protein isolate (WPI) with different ratios on the digestibility of co-gelatinized corn starch (CS) was studied, and the possible mechanisms were investigated. The rapidly digestible starch (RDS) content was reduced from 66.89% to 59.01% and the resistant starch (RS) content was increased from 14.47% to 22.78% when 4.5% WPI was added during co-gelatinization. This exogenous protein also suppressed the reduction of the average molecular weight of starch during digestion. WPI had no effect on CS digestibility when starch and protein were gelatinized separately and mixed during digestion. The inhibition of starch digestion by WPI was closely related to the protein-starch interaction. Rheological property analysis indicated strong hydrogen bonding interactions were formed between WPI and CS during co-gelatinization. The physical barrier of WPI also had a certain inhibitory effect on the digestion of starch, while WPI only had a transient effect on the viscosity of the digestive juice. Meanwhile, WPI restricted the hydrolysis of CS by inhibiting the activities of α-amylase and amyloglucosidase, and the inhibition of amyloglucosidase activity had a special effect on the rapid digestion of starch at the early stage.

Fluorescent probes act as a powerful tool to understand the function of intracellular viscosity, which are closely associated with many functional disorders and diseases. Herein we report a boron-dipyrromethene (4,4-difluoro-4-borata-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene, BODIPY) group based new fluorescent probe (BV-1), which was synthesized facilely by a one-step Knoevenagel-type condensation reaction, to detect viscosity in living cells with high selectivity and sensitivity. DFT calculation demonstrated that the unsaturated moiety at the meso-position of BODIPY suppressed the fluorescence via twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) mechanism in low viscosity media. By restricting the rotation of the molecular rotor, the fluorescence would be enhanced significantly with redshift in emission wavelength in high viscosity conditions. The fluorescence intensity ratio (log (I/I0)) at 570 nm showed a good linearity (R2 = 0.991) with the viscosity (log η) in the range of 2–868 cP. And the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for viscosity were calculated to be 0.16 cP and 0.54 cP, respectively. BV-1 was demonstrated to be mitochondria localized with low cytotoxicity. Utilizing the new probe BV-1, the changes in mitochondrial viscosity caused by monensin or nystatin have been monitored successfully in real time. This work will provide new efficient ways for the development of viscosity probes, which are expected to be used for the study of intracellular viscosity properties and functions.

Electrohydrodynamic printing (EHDP) is capable of fabricating scaffolds that consist of micro/nano scale orientated fibers for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models and drug screening applications. One of the major hurdles that limit the widespread application of EHDP is the lack of diverse biomaterial inks with appropriate printability and desired mechanical and biological properties. In this work, we blended plant proteins with synthetic biopolymer poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) to develop composite biomaterial inks, such as PCL/gliadin and PCL/zein for scaffold fabrication through EHDP. The tensile test results showed that the composite materials with a relatively small amount of plant protein portions, such as PCL/gliadin-10 and PCL/zein-10, can significantly improve tensile properties of the fabricated scaffolds such as Young’s modulus and yield stress. These scaffolds were further evaluated by culturing mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH/3T3) cells and proven to enhance cell adhesion and proliferation, apart from temporary inhibition effects for PCL/gliadin-20 scaffold at the initial growth stage. After these plant protein nanoparticles were gradually released into culture medium, the generated nanoporous structures on the scaffold fiber surfaces became favorable for cellular attachment, migration, and proliferation. As competent candidates that regulate cell behaviors in 3D microenvironment, such composite scaffolds manifest a great potential in drug screening and 3D in vitro model development.

We disclose an efficient methodology for olefin alkoxylation of fluorescent BODIPYs (boron-dipyrromethene) at the 3,5-styryl group with methanol by cupric halide (chloride or bromide) at room temperature. Mechanistic studies provide evidence for the alkoxylation reaction firstly initiated by a radical cation, that is, halide promotes the oxidizing ability of the Cu(II) center to an extent that the single electron transfer (SET) from BODIPYs to the cupric ion and results in the production of a BODIPYs radical cation and Cu(I), then the BODIPYs radical cation subsequently reacts with methanol to afford the alkoxylated product. As the dialkoxylated product complexes with cuprous halide and further decreases its reducing ability, which is supported by DFT calculations, only strongly oxidative cupric bromide can mediate tetraalkoxylation and give rise to the tetraalkoxylated product. In addition, the expanded scope studies suggest that this method is also well suited for the alkoxylation of electron-rich conjugated olefins. The active benzyl bromide derivative may be another intermediate in the presence of cupric bromide. Therefore, the reaction is highly dependent on the anions of cupric salts; Cu(OAc)2, CuSO4 and Cu(NO3)2 containing weakly nucleophilic anions show no activity in alkoxylation.

In this study, chlorogenic acid (CA) was acylated with vinyl esters of different carbon chain lengths under the action of the lipase Lipozyme RM. Five CA derivatives (C2-CA, C4-CA, C6-CA, C8-CA, and C12-CA) with different lipophilicities were obtained, and their digestive stabilities and antioxidant activities were evaluated. The lipophilicities were positively correlated with the digestive stabilities of CA derivatives. The antioxidant activities of CA derivatives did not change with the reduction of phenolic hydroxyl groups, and their capacity to scavenge 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+•) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) were similar to those of CA. In cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) tests, it was found that the capacity of these derivates to cross cell membranes were enhanced upon enhancing lipophilicity, and their antioxidant activities were improved. C12-CA showed the best antioxidant activity with a median effective dose (EC50) of 9.40 μg/mL, which was significantly lower than that of CA (i.e., 29.08 μg/mL).

Background Most studies on the mechanism behind premenstrual syndrome (PMS) have focused on negative emotional overreaction, but little evidence exists regarding the weakening of positive emotions. Given the close relationship between positive emotions and reward processing, the aim of this study is to investigate the dysfunction of reward processing in women with PMS. Method Seventeen women with PMS and seventeen healthy women were scanned during a card guessing task in the late luteal phase. By selecting bilateral caudate and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as seed regions, region-of-interest (ROI) analysis and functional connectivity (psycho–physiological interaction [PPI]) analysis were conducted to compare the difference between two groups. Exploratory whole brain analysis was also conducted to examine the group differences in other reward-related brain regions. Results ROI analysis revealed that healthy women showed stronger activation at the bilateral caudate and OFC when gains were contrasted to losses feedback, whereas women with PMS showed no significant difference between these two conditions. Whole brain analysis indicated that healthy women showed stronger activation at the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) when gains were contrasted to losses feedback, whereas women with PMS showed no significant difference between these two conditions. Furthermore, separate analysis on healthy women revealed significant clusters of greater activation to gains minus losses that included the bilateral caudate, right middle temporal gyrus, and left inferior occipital gyrus; conversely, no significant clusters of activations to gains minus losses were observed in women with PMS. PPI analysis results revealed that women with PMS exhibited lower functional connectivity between the right caudate and the right cerebellum than healthy women when experiencing gains versus losses. Conclusions Our findings provide one of the first evidence that PMS is related to dysfunction in reward processing, which could be associated with the weakening of positive emotions.

Cardiovascular diseases are recognized to be a major cause of people morbidity and mortality. A host of stress signals contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders. Deficiency of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or nitric oxide (NO) coordinately plays essential roles in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies have shown that interaction between the two gaseostransmitters, H2S and NO, may give rise to nitroxyl (HNO), one-electron-reduced product of NO. HNO is found to exhibit a variety of biological and pharmacological properties including positive inotropy and cardiovascular protective effects, etc. In this review, recent progresses regarding HNO generation, detection, biochemical and pharmacological functions are discussed.

Singlet oxygen plays an important role in cancer chemotherapy and biology of reactive oxygen species. In recent years, there are some reports of selective fluorescent probes for detection and imaging of singlet oxygen but the existing probes have some major drawbacks including complicated synthetic routes, poor fluorescence enhancement effects. We report herein that anthracenylmethyl modified non-fluorescent derivatives of fluorescein and rhodamine-6G can reacts with 1O2, which resulted in C C bond cleavage that detach anthracene unit from the fluorophores resulting in strong fluorescence enhancement. These probes exhibit high selectivity and sensitivity in detection and imaging of 1O2 in chemical and in living cells. Our approach makes it simple and flexible for development of reaction-based 1O2 fluorescent probes for broad application in chemical, biomedical, and environmental sciences.

The synthesis, characterization, and application of a near infrared (NIR) fluorescent singlet oxygen (1O2) probe was reported. The probe employs an IR-780 as the fluorophore, and a dimethylhomoocoerdianthrone (HOCD) moiety as the fluorescence quencher as well as the reaction center for 1O2. At its original state, the fluorescence is quenched due to photo-induced electron transfer, while when reacted with 1O2, the quenching is abolished, and fluorescence turns on for nearly 30 folds. The probe showed good selectivity and sensitivity towards 1O2 and was able to Image 1O2 in vivo in simulated photo dynamic therapy in mice carcass. Besides, a fluorescent method for quantifying 1O2 quenching capacity was established and was applied to measure the 1O2 quenching of flavonoids. The 1O2 scavenging activity is dependent on the structures of the flavonoids and morin is the most active singlet oxygen scavenger among the flavonoids measured and the rest of the compounds show only moderate activity.

We report a sensitive and selective method for detection and quantification of tryptophan and cysteine utilizing 1,8-pyrenedione as turn-on fluorescent probe. Non-fluorescent PYRENEDIONE was hydrogenated to highly fluorescent 1,8-pyrenediol by tryptophan and cysteine, but not by other amino acids, within minutes at room temperature. Dose dependent fluorescent turn-on were observed for both cysteine and tryptophan (linear range: 0–7 μM, R2 = 0.9930; LOD 0.15 μM; LOQ 0.45 μM). The method shows good accuracy with spike and recovery rate of 92.1–106.4% and excellent precision with run-to-run variation of smaller than 4.0%. The validated assay was successfully applied to quantify tryptophan contents in soy sauce. Our results shown that the content of tryptophan in naturally fermented soy sauce ranges from 34 to 891 μM while it is low (

Differentiated from food extrusion cooking, extrusion-based food printing is a digitally-controlled extrusion process to build up complex 3D food products layer by layer. It is the most popular method in food printing, which provides an engineering solution for digitalized food design and nutrition control. The objective of this study was to collate, analyse and categorize published work pertaining to the extrusion-based food printing technique in order to determine its impact on food texture design and identify any related technical bottlenecks. Currently, for food printing, the applied printing stages include Cartesian, Delta, Polar and Scara configurations, and three extrusion mechanisms, namely syringe, air pressure, and screw, are utilized. This paper provides a detailed discussion regarding these factors and the parameters associated with the extrusion and printing processes. A comparison between specialized food printers and 3D printers with food printing functions is reported in terms of food safety and system design complexity. Temperature control plays an important role in both food extrusion and post-deposition cooking, and the commercial food printers are reviewed based on temperature control methods, printable materials, extrusion mechanism and final products. Then, a comprehensive analysis to innovate food design is reported, based on layer structure, unique appearance, post deposition cooking, recipe reformulation and digitalized nutrition control. Finally, market challenges, technical difficulties and possible strategies along the pathway of commercialization are discussed.

This study aimed to explore the use of 131I-Hoechst 33258 (131I-H33258) for early prediction of tumor response to vascular-disrupting agents (VDAs) with combretastatin-A4 phosphate (CA4P) as a representative. Necrosis avidity of 131I-H33258 was evaluated in mouse models with muscle necrosis and blocking was used to confirm the tracer specificity. Therapy response was evaluated by 131I-H33258 SPECT/CT imaging 24 h after CA4P therapy in W256 tumor-bearing rats. Radiotracer uptake in tumors was validated ex vivo using γ-counting, autoradiography, and histopathological staining. Results showed that 131I-H33258 had predominant necrosis avidity and could specifically bind to necrotic tissue. SPECT/CT imaging demonstrated that an obvious “hot spot” could be observed in the CA4P-treated tumor. Ex vivo γ-counting revealed 131I-H33258 uptake in tumors was increased 2.8-fold in rats treated with CA4P relative to rats treated with vehicle. Autoradiography and corresponding H&E staining suggested that 131I-H33258 was mainly localized in necrotic tumor area and the higher overall uptake in the treated tumors was attributed to the increased necrosis. These results suggest that 131I-H33258 can be used to image induction of cell necrosis 24 h after CA4P therapy, which support further molecular design of probes based on scaffold H33258 for monitoring of tumor response to VDAs treatment.

We discovered a reaction between 1,8-pyrenedione and N,N′-dialkylethylenediamine to form highly fluorescent products, via aza-Michael addition followed by double C–H activation facilitated by visible light. Remarkably, the reaction intermediates and mono C–H bond activation product could only be formed when the reaction was carried out in the presence of a base and UV-light (254 nm). Dehydrogenation of the intermediate under room lighting converts it to the final products. The reaction is a general one as it works with a number of ethyleneamines with different substituents with a (N)–CHn (n = 1, 2) linkage. The reaction mechanisms suggested that nucleophilic addition of the amine followed by dehydrogenation occurs to restore aromaticity and give an amine substituted 1,8-pyrenedione intermediate. The C–H activation requires photoexcitation via a radical mechanism. Our work opens a new avenue for the construction of novel molecules with a pyrene core as a fluorophore with good quantum yields.

Red lentils (Lens culinaris) present an attractive raw material for meat mimics due to its red-coloured proteins, abundance, high protein and low cost. However, data on its functional properties at various pH remain scarce. In this study, the physicochemical and functional properties of red lentil proteins (RLP) from three origins (USA, Nepal and Turkey), isolated by isoelectric precipitation, were evaluated. Amino acid profiles, water holding (ranging from 3.1 to 3.5 g/g) and oil absorption (ranging from 5.8 to 7.3 g/g) capacities of RLP samples were significantly different (p 0.05). RLP consisted of legumin and vicilin, and comprised predominantly glutamine/glutamic acid (ranging from 8.72 to 10.55 g/100 g). Surface charge, protein solubility, foaming and emulsifying properties were the lowest and poorest at pH 5.2 (isoelectric point). Overall, good functional properties of RLP under high acidity and alkalinity conditions make it a promising protein for mimicking a wide range of meats.

This study aimed to investigate the interaction mechanism of the waxy starch and kappa carrageenan (KC) gel with different ratios during co-gelatinization and storage. Water distributions, mobilities and rheological properties of the mixture gels were studied. When KC concentration was low (0.5%KC and 4% starch), the starch dominated the system, and the gel strength was the lowest. When KC concentration increased to 0.75%, the gel had the lowest change rate of fracture force, and the most homogeneous network of the freeze-dried gel was observed. When KC concentration increased to 1.0%, the gel strength was high, but the uneven structure led to the instability of the gel. Overall, the gel with 0.75%KC and 4% starch was the most stable during storage, and the exclusion of the two components to each other was the weakest, resulting in the uniform structure of the gel.

In this study, we identified a novel angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide, His-Pro-Val-Thr-Gly-Leu (HPVTGL), derived from rape bee pollen (RBP) protein hydrolysate. HPVTGL was separated by ultrafiltration and purified using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. The ACE inhibitory activity of HPVTGL was stable across a range of pH values (2.0–8.0) and temperatures (

Twenty-one cultivars of cranberry fruits ( Vaccinium macrocarpon ) grown in New Zealand were analysed for their physico-chemical characteristics including average fruit weight, total soluble solids content, pH, total titratable acidity, organic acids, and total anthocyanins. In addition, the total proanthocyanidin contents of the fruit were determined using 4-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde assay, and the profiles were characterised using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectra. Between the different cultivars, there was a range of average fruit weight (0.75–1.84 g), total soluble solids content (9.7–12.8%), juice pH (2.61–2.86), total titratable acidity (3.74–8.77 g citric acid/L juice) and total anthocyanin content (1.63–2.87 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/g dry weight). The 21 cranberry cultivars exhibited similar high performance liquid chromatography profiles for proanthocyanidins using a diol column. The cultivars of Crowley and Howes with the higher contents were found to contain mainly A type (epi)catechin extending units. Therefore, Crowley and Howes with high proanthocyanidin contents would be the best choice of the cultivars studied for the promotion of urinary tract health.

This is a first study on using two non-Saccharomyces yeasts, Torulaspora delbrueckii Biodiva and Pichia kluyveri FrootZen to produce durian wine via co-inoculation (Co-I) and sequential inoculation (Seq-I). T. delbrueckii inhibited the growth of P. kluyveri and P. kluyveri also partly retarded the growth of T. delbrueckii in Co-I and Seq-I treatments. Co-I and Seq-I produced similar levels of ethanol to T. delbrueckii Biodiva monoculture. In addition, Seq-I increased malic acid degradation and higher succinic acid production. Compared with T. delbrueckii Biodiva, Co-I produced similar amounts of ethyl esters, higher alcohols and moderately increased levels of ethyl acetate. Seq-I 2th (T. delbrueckii inoculated after 2 days fermentation with P. kluyveri) and Seq-I 5th produced excessive amounts of ethyl acetate (≥ 80 mg/L) but relatively lower levels of higher alcohols. This study suggested that Co-I could complete alcoholic fermentation with more complex aromas and might be novel way for wine making.

Necrosis is a form of cell death, which is related to various serious diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Necrosis-avid agents (NAAs) selectively accumulated in the necrotic tissues can be used for imaging and/or therapy of related diseases. The aim of this study was to preliminarily investigate necrosis avidity of 131I-evans blue (131I-EB) and its mechanism. The biodistribution of 131I-EB at 24 h after intravenous administration showed that the radioactivity ratio of necrotic to viable tissue was 3.41 in the liver and 11.82 in the muscle as determined by γ counting in model rats. Autoradiography and histological staining displayed preferential uptake of 131I-EB in necrotic tissues. In vitro nuclear extracts from necrotic cells exhibited 82.3% of the uptake in nuclei at 15 min, as well as 79.2% of the uptake at 2 h after 131I-EB incubation. The DNA binding study demonstrated that evans blue (EB) has strong binding affinity with calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) (Ksv=5.08×105 L/(mol/L)). Furthermore, the accumulation of 131I-EB in necrotic muscle was efficiently blocked by an excess amount of unlabeled EB. In conclusion, 131I-EB can not only detect necrosis by binding the DNA released from necrotic cells, but also image necrotic tissues generated from the disease clinically., Graphical abstract In the present study, we demonstrated that 131I-evens blue (EB) could specifically bind to necrotic tissues image necrosis in living animals. Furthermore, the necrosis targeting mechanism of EB might be attributed to its binding to exposed DNA in necrotic areas.fx1

Aims: To investigate the value of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in a cohort of a community’s residents who were diagnosed as pre-diabetes, and to evaluate the association of VAT and SAT with insulin resistance.Methods: This study was based on cross-sectional analysis of data from 107 adults. VAT and SAT were assessed by computed tomography. Insulin resistance was defined by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance >2.69. The relationship of VAT and SAT with insulin resistance were examined by linear regression. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association of VAT and SAT with insulin resistance.Results: A total of 87 subjects had VAT ≥100 cm2. Thirty-six out of 107 (33.6%) subjects were detected to have insulin resistance, 71 were normal (66.4%), and all had insulin resistance with VAT ≥100 cm2. VAT (r = 0.378, p

This work evaluated for the first time the chemical consequences of three commercial strains of Oenococcus oeni co-inoculated with Torulaspora delbrueckii in durian wine fermentation. Compared with the control (yeast only, 5.70% v/v ethanol produced), samples co-inoculated with T. delbrueckii and O. oeni PN4 improved ethanol production (6.06% v/v), which was significantly higher than samples co-inoculated with Viniflora (4.78% v/v) or Enoferm Beta (5.01% v/v). Wines co-fermented with the respective latter two oenococci contained excessive levels of ethyl acetate (>80mg/L) that were likely to affect negatively wine aroma. In addition, they led to significantly higher acetic and lactic acid production relative to PN4. O. oeni PN4 seemed to be the most suitable strain to co-inoculate with T. delbrueckii for simultaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in durian wine by contributing moderately increased concentrations of higher alcohols, acetate esters and ethyl esters that would have positive sensory impacts.

A turn-on fluorescent probe, HOCD-RB, for monitoring singlet oxygen (1O2) was developed by linking rhodamine B as fluorophore with dimethylhomoocoerdianthrone (HOCD) as 1O2 reaction site and fluore...

Isothiocyanates are reported as H

In this study, Malay cherry fruit were explored for the changes in their nutritive and phenolic compositions upon ripening (unripe and ripe stages). Nutritive compositions (sugars, proteins, and fats) of the fruit increased, whilst organic acids of the fruit decreased in ripe fruit. Twenty-eight non-anthocyanin phenolics of the fruit were identified by the high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution-time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-HR-TOF/MS

Dietary flavonoids are known as scavengers of reactive oxygen species such as hypochlorous acid. In spite of the abundant scavenging capacity data reported, few reports have addressed the relationship between the scavenging capacity and structures of different flavonoids. We characterized the reaction products of five flavonoids (apigenin, quercetin, naringenin, ampelopsin, and epicatechin) with hypochlorous acid and found that primary chlorination reaction occurred on the A-ring (C6 or C8) and/or C-rings but not on B-rings. Correlation of the hypochlorous acid scavenging capacity (IC50 values) and the structural features of flavonoids revealed that the hydroxyl groups in the A-ring and B-ring can enhance the scavenging capacity, whereas the C(2)C(3) double bond has a negative impact on the HClO scavenging capacity. Combining the SAR analysis and chemical study, we proposed that the reaction mechanism between flavonoids and HClO should be an electrophilic substitution reaction. Density functional theory (DFT) results are consistent with the selectivity of chlorination on the flavonoids. Our findings highlight the importance of considering specific reactive oxygen species when measuring radical scavenging capacity of dietary antioxidants.

Seed germination triggers complex biochemical transformations that leads to a great impact on the antioxidant contents in the germinated seeds, such as grains. In this chapter, we summarize the findings reported in peer-reviewed articles. We found that a number of antioxidant assays have been used for quantifying antioxidants in germinated seeds by different research groups and this makes it hard to compare the antioxidant activity of different studies. Conversely, there seems to be positive effects of germination on antioxidant activity of wide range of grains including buckwheat, barley, wheat, oats, etc. The specific antioxidant compounds present in different grains vary significantly. Flavonol increased significantly in germinated buckwheat, while for wheat and barley, phenolic acids are responsible for the increase of antioxidant activity. The germination time also has a significant impact on the antioxidants and the impact is grain type-specific. In general, the enhanced antioxidant active contents of germinated grains may be responsible for their health promotion benefits.

This study aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical interaction between caffeic acid (CA) and gelatinized corn starch with varying amylose and its potential effect on starch digestion. Iodine binding reaction indicated that the absorbance of starch-iodine complex was lower than that in the starch-CA sample. Furthermore, the decrease of absorbance in high amylose corn starch was the most obvious. The affinity constant for CA obtained by isothermal titration calorimetry analysis increased with the amylose content. In the 1H NMR analysis, the peaks of starch hydroxyl groups at 5.4 and 5.5 ppm became broader after the addition of CA, demonstrating that CA interacted with the selected starches via the hydroxyl groups to form hydrogen bonds. In vitro digestibility studies revealed that the interaction between CA and starch had different effects on starch with different amylose content. Moreover, it was revealed that 2% of CA promoted the hydrolytic process, but a drastic reduction of the hydrolytic process occurred upon increasing the CA to 10% for CS. These results suggested that amylose content and certain interactions with CA was a potential reason affecting the mode of interaction, thus altering the digestion.

// Meng Gao 1, 2 , Dongjian Zhang 1, 2 , Qiaomei Jin 1, 2 , Cuihua Jiang 1, 2 , Cong Wang 3 , Jindian Li 3 , Fei Peng 1, 2 , Dejian Huang 1, 2 , Jian Zhang 1, 2 , Shaoli Song 4 1 Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210028, Jiangsu Province, P.R.China 2 Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210028, Jiangsu Province, P.R.China 3 Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China 4 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, P.R. China Correspondence to: Jian Zhang, email: zjwonderful@hotmail.com Shaoli Song, email: shaoli-song@163.com Keywords: combretastatin-A-4 phosphate, interstitial fluid pressure, albumin-bound paclitaxel, tissue distribution, combination therapy Received: February 15, 2016 Accepted: July 27, 2016 Published: August 12, 2016 ABSTRACT Nanomedicine holds great promise for fighting against malignant tumors. However, tumor elevated interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) seriously hinders convective transvascular and interstitial transport of nanomedicines and thus damages its antitumor efficacy. In this study, combretastatin-A4 phosphate (CA4P) was utilized to reduce tumor IFP, and thereby to improve the intratumoral distribution and antitumor efficacy of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel). IFP was measured using the wick-in-needle method in tumors growing subcutaneously pretreatment and posttreatment with a single intravenous injection of CA4P. The tracing method of iodine 131 isotope was used for biodistribution analysis of nab-paclitaxel. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect the intratumoral concentration of paclitaxel. Magnetic resonance imaging was applied to monitor tumor volume and ratios of necrosis. The tumor IFP continued to decline gradually over time following CA4P treatment, reaching approximately 31% of the pretreatment value by 1 h posttreatment. Biodistribution data indicated that both 131 I-nab-paclitaxel and paclitaxel exhibited higher tumor uptake in CA4P + 131 I-nab-paclitaxel group compared with I 131 -nab-paclitaxel group. Nab-paclitaxel combined with CA4Pshowed significant tumor growth inhibition and higher tumor necrosis ratio relative to PBS, CA4P and nab-paclitaxel group, respectively. In conclusion, CA4P improved the intratumoral distribution and antitumor efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in W256 tumor-bearing rats.

An improved synthesis of dimethylhomoecoerdianthrone (HOCD), a dye used for singlet oxygen detection, was reported by isolation of a key intermediate followed by cyclization reaction. Moreover, dehydrogenative amination reaction between HOCD and alkyl amines and diamines resulted in amine functionalized HOCD derivatives with good yield. The observed reactivity depends on the nucleophilicity of amine and electrophilicity of HOCD. DFT calculations suggest that the reaction involves 1,4-Michael addition followed by migration of hydrogen atom due to aromatization. Under the aerated conditions, dehydrogenation occurs to restore the ketone structure. This C-N coupling reaction can be utilized to construct molecular materials with near infrared photonic properties. Finally, we illustrated that the HOCD derives, HOCD-SO3−, can be grafted to semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) to give turn-on fluorescent nanoprobe for highly selective detection of singlet oxygen.

The perception of odor mixtures plays an important role in human food intake, behavior, and emotions. Decline of smell acuity with normal aging could impact food perception and preferences at various ages. However, since the landmark Smell Survey by National Geographic, little has been elucidated on differences in the onset and extent of loss in olfactory sensitivity toward single odorants. Here, using the Specific Sensitivity test, we show the onset and extent of loss in both identification and detection thresholds of odorants with age are odorant-specific. Subjects of Chinese descent in Singapore (186 women, 95 men), aged 21-80 years, were assessed for olfactory sensitivity of 10 odorants from various odor groups. Notably, subjects in their 70s required 179 times concentration of rose-like odorant (2-phenylethanol) than subjects in the 20s, while thresholds for onion-like 2-methyloxolane-3-thiol only differed by 3 times between the age groups. In addition, identification rate for 2-phenylethanol was negatively correlated with age throughout adult life whereas mushroom-like oct-1-en-3-ol was equally identified by subjects across all ages. Our results demonstrated the girth of differentiated olfactory loss due to normal ageing, which potentially affect overall perception and preferences of odor mixtures with age.

A high throughput assay was applied to guide the isolation of a new pancreatic α-amylase inhibitor, dracoflavan B, from the dragon's blood resin from Daemonorops draco. Applying C18 column, we successfully isolated both diastereomers and their structures verified by (1)H NMR spectra in comparison with the literature values. Their activity in inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase with comparable IC50 values of 23μM (A type) and 27μM (B type) that are similar to that of acarbose. Dracoflavan B shows much weaker activity in inhibiting bacterial α-amylase and no activity towards fungal α-amylase. Moreover, both isomers show no inhibitory activity towards mammalian α-glucosidase. Kinetic analysis revealed that using starch as the substrate, dracoflavan B was a non-competitive α-amylase inhibitor with a Ki value of 11.7μM. Lack of α-amylase inhibition for proanthocyanidin A2 dimer demonstrated that dracoflavan B hydrophobic nature of the B, A', C' and B' rings are important for its α-amylase inhibition. In addition, selective chemical modification studies revealed that the phenolic group is also vital to dracoflavan B for its pancreatic α-amylase inhibition activity. Without the A ring phenolic hydrogen bond donor, the derivatives of dracoflavan B showed detrimental α-amylase inhibition. On the contrary, galloylation on the A ring phenolic OH group enhanced the activity as shown by the low IC50 (12μM) against α-amylase which is 56% more potent as compared to dracoflavan B.

Maize starches of different amylose contents were co-gelatinized with caffeic acid (CA), quercetin (Qu) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), respectively. The decomposition temperature of waxy maize starch (WS)-CA blends was increased compared to WS, while that of normal maize starch (MS) and high amylose starch (HS) was decreased. The more complex of the phenolic compounds, the lower the decomposition temperature of the MS. The results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy suggested that CA increased short range ordered structure of gelatinized WS but decreased that of gelatinized MS and HS. Hydrogen bonds associated with CA and starch led to the arrangement of ordered structures in different starch. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) indicated that all hydroxyl groups of CA and EGCG formed hydrogen bonds, while hydroxyl group at C-4' of quercetin had priority to form hydrogen bonds. During co-gelatinization process, more single helixes were induced in MS by CA than Qu or EGCG did.

Bioactive proanthocyanidins are the main inhibitors of starch hydrolases in unripe and ripe Malay cherry fruits. Proanthocyanidins from both unripe and ripe fruits showed stronger inhibition of α-amylase with IC50 values of 3.54 ± 0.03 and 1.19 ± 0.02 μg/mL, respectively, than that of α-glucosidase. The structural fingerprints of proanthocyanidins were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analyses. Results showed the subunits of proanthocyanidins were (epi)catechins and (epi)gallocatechins, and they formed tetramers to dodecamers in unripe fruits and tetramers to hexadecamers in ripe fruits. The mean degree of polymerization (mDP) of proanthocyanidins was found to increase from 8 to 18 as fruit ripened. Larger proanthocyanidins (higher mDP values) in ripe fruits exerted significantly stronger inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase than less polymerized proanthocyanidins in unripe fruits, indicating the dependence of inhibition on mDP. Total phenolics and total proanthocyanidins significantly decreased as fruit ripened.

Early and accurate assessment of therapeutic response to anticancer therapy plays an important role in determining treatment planning and patient management in clinic. Magnetic rseonance imaging (MRI) of necrosis that occurs after cancer therapies provides chances for that. Here, we reported three novel MRI contrast agents, GdL1, GdL2, and GdL3, by conjugating rhein with gadolinium 2-[4,7,10-tris(carboxymethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododec-1-yl]acetic acid (Gd-DOTA) through different linkers. The T1 relaxivities of three probes (7.28, 7.35, and 8.03 mM-1 s-1) were found to be higher than that of Gd-DOTA (4.28 mM-1 s-1). Necrosis avidity of GdL1 was evaluated on the rat models of reperfused liver infarction (RLI) by MRI, which showed an increase of T1-weighted contrast between necrotic and normal liver during 0.5-12 h. Besides, L1 was also labeled with 64Cu to assess its necrosis avidity on rat models of RLI and muscle necrosis (MN) by a γ-counter. The uptakes of 64CuL1 in necrotic liver and muscle were higher than those in normal liver and muscle ( P < 0.05). Then, the ability of GdL1 to assess therapeutic response was tested on rats bearing Walker 256 breast carcinoma injected with a vascular disrupting agent CA4P by MR imaging. The signal intensity of tumoral necrosis was strongly enhanced, and the contrast ratio between necrotic and viable tumor was 1.63 ± 0.11 at 3 h after administration of GdL1. Besides, exposed DNA in necrosis cells may be an important mechanism of three probes targeting to necrosis cells. In summary, GdL1 may serve as a promising MRI contrast agent for accurate assessment of treatment response.

The phenolic profiles of 12 cruciferous vegetables (pakchoi, choysum, Chinese cabbage, kailan, Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, rocket salad, red cherry radish, daikon radish, and watercress) were studied with UHPLC-MS/MS. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (TPC) were also evaluated. A total of 74 phenolic compounds were identified, including 16 hydroxycinnamic acids and derivatives, and 58 flavonoids and derivatives. The main flavonoids identified were glycosylated quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin, and the main hydroxycinnamic acids were ferulic, sinapic, caffeic and p-coumaric acids. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the distribution of phenolic compounds in different genera of cruciferous vegetables was in accordance with their conventional taxonomy. The DPPH, ORAC and TPC values ranged from 1.11 to 9.54 µmoles Trolox equivalent/g FW, 5.34 to 32.92 µmoles Trolox equivalent/g FW, and 0.16 to 1.93 mg gallic acid equivalent/g FW respectively. Spearman’s correlation showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlations between TPC, flavonoids and antioxidant activity.

New selective and sensitive fluorescence probes have always been in great demand for carbon monoxide, an important gasotransmitter molecule, which is involved in critical physiological and pathophysiological processes in the mammalian cardiovascular system. In this work, we synthesized a new palladacycle compound as a fluorescence turn-on probe for selective and quantitative detection of carbon monoxide. The weakly fluorescent probe quickly and selectively reacts with carbon monoxide and releases a highly fluorescent benzimidazole moiety, due to protonolysis of the palladacycle, which greatly enhances the fluorescence intensity. The selective reaction was against interference from other possible coexisting reactive oxygen species, and achieved a detection limit of ∼0.06 μM. Furthermore, the fluorescence turn-on probe was demonstrated with a high cellular uptake rate and was successfully applied for cell imaging of carbon monoxide in living cells.

PURPOSE: Rapid noninvasive delineation of necrotic myocardium in ischemic regions is very critical for risk stratification and clinical decision-making but still challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the necrosis avidity of radioiodinated hypocrellins and its potential for rapidly imaging necrotic myocardium. PROCEDURES: The aggregation constants of four natural hypocrellins were analyzed by UV/vis spectroscopy. Then, they were radiolabeled with iodine-131 by iodogen oxidation method. Necrosis avidity of iodine-131-labeled hypocrellins was evaluated in rat models with reperfused liver infarction and muscular necrosis by gamma counting, autoradiography, and histopathology. Their pharmacokinetic properties were examined in normal rats. The potential of iodine-131-labeled hypomycin A ([131I]HD) for early imaging of necrotic myocardium was explored in rat models with reperfused myocardial infarction. Finally, the possible mechanism of necrosis avidity was investigated by in vitro DNA binding and in vivo blocking experiments. RESULTS: The aggregation constants of four hypocrellins were all much smaller than that of hypericin, a most studied necrosis avid agent. The radiochemical purities of the four radiotracers after purification were all greater than 95 %, and more than 90 % of tracers remained intact after incubation in rat serum for 24 h. Among the four tracers, [131I]HD exhibited the highest necrotic to viable tissue uptake ratio and the fastest blood clearance. The necrotic myocardium could be clearly visualized 4 h after injection of [131I]HD by single-photon emission computed tomography/X-ray computed tomography (SPECT/CT). DNA binding studies suggested that HD could bind to DNA through intercalation. Blocking studies demonstrated that uptake of [131I]HD in necrotic muscle could be significantly blocked by excess unlabeled HD and ethidium bromide with 67 and 60 % decline at 6 h after coinjection, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: [131I]HD can be used to rapidly visualize necrotic myocardium. The necrosis avidity mechanism of [131I]HD may be attributed to its binding to the exposed DNA in necrotic tissues. ispartof: Molecular Imaging and Biology vol:20 issue:4 pages:551-561 ispartof: location:United States status: published