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Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) is a sustainable biomaterial that has been used in many aspects of the food industry, but its effect on fat digestion and absorption is still underexplored. In this study, three CNCs were prepared from buckwheat bran. Their physicochemical properties were characterized, based on which the acetic acid-hydrolyzed CNC (ACCNC) with high absorption capacity was selected for the cytotoxicity evaluation and as a possible inhibitor for fat digestion and absorption in vitro and in vivo. ACCNC was proved to be nontoxic in the MTT assay and animal feeding tests. Especially, with the addition of ACCNC, the hydrolysis of fat was significantly reduced during the simulated digestion in vitro. In vivo testing also confirmed that ACCNC intake significantly reduced the elevated triglyceride, body weight, and fat accumulation levels. This study highlights the potential role of ACCNC prepared from buckwheat bran as an inhibitor for fat digestion and absorption.

A new approach to extract pectin from clementine peel using citric acid/sodium citrate solutions (CSS) at different pHs as green extracting agents was proposed. In this study, the effects of extrac...

Urolithin A (Uro A) is a dietary metabolite of the intestinal microbiota following the ingestion of plant-based food ingredients ellagitannins and ellagic acid in mammals. Accumulating studies have reported its multiple potential health benefits in a broad range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive impairment, and diabetes. In particular, Uro A is safe via direct oral administration and is non-genotoxic. The pancreas plays a central role in regulating energy consumption and metabolism by secreting digestive enzymes and hormones. Numerous pathophysiological factors, such as inflammation, deficits of mitophagy, and endoplasmic reticulum stress, can negatively affect the pancreas, leading to pancreatic diseases, including pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and diabetes mellitus. Recent studies showed that Uro A activates autophagy and inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress in the pancreas, thus decreasing oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. In this review, we summarize the knowledge of Uro A metabolism and biological activity in the gut, as well as the pathological features and mechanisms of common pancreatic diseases. Importantly, we focus on the potential activities of Uro A and the underlying mechanisms in ameliorating various pancreatic diseases via inhibiting inflammatory signaling pathways, activating autophagy, maintaining the mitochondrial function, and improving the immune microenvironment. It might present a novel nutritional strategy for the intervention and prevention of pancreatic diseases.

Starch-phenolics complex generated by the interaction between starch and phenolic acids had improved characteristics than the native starch, but the efficient preparation of such complex is still challenging. In this study, we proposed a new method for the preparation of starch-phenolics complexes under the pretreatment of electron beam irradiation (EBI). Four structurally similar monomeric phenolic acids including gallic acid (GA), 3,4-Dihydroxy-5-methoxybenzoic acid (3MGA), syringic acid (SA) and vanillic acid (VA), which naturally existed in Tartary buckwheat (TB) seeds, were complexed with native and EBI-pretreated TB starch. The results showed that the complexation between starch and 3MGA was the strongest, more than 30 mg of 3MGA was complexed with 1 g of starch. The complexation did not affect the particle morphology and A-type structure of starch, but changed the crystal structure order and promoted the strength of hydrogen bond, which may lead to the formation of granular complex. EBI pretreatment can significantly promote the complexation by enhancing hydrogen bonds as indicated by a broader band at 3500 ∼ 3100 cm

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in age-related diseases due to the improvement in life expectancy worldwide. The pancreas undergoes various morphological and pathological changes with aging, such as pancreatic atrophy, fatty degeneration, fibrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and exocrine pancreatic metaplasia. Meanwhile, these may predispose the individuals to aging-related diseases, such as diabetes, dyspepsia, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and pancreatitis, as the endocrine and exocrine functions of the pancreas are significantly affected by aging. Pancreatic senescence is associated with various underlying factors including genetic damage, DNA methylation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation. This paper reviews the alternations of morphologies and functions in the aging pancreas, especially β-cells, closely related to insulin secretion. Finally, we summarize the mechanisms of pancreatic senescence to provide potential targets for treating pancreatic aging-related diseases.

Encapsulation is a common approach to improve the bacterial survival of probiotics. In this study, two new low-methoxyl pectins (CMP-6 and CMP-8) were used as coating materials to produce microcapsules (MCs) for the encapsulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus LMG9433T, Lactobacillus casei LMG6904T, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LMG25859. A fermentation test showed that encapsulation did not influence the fermentation ability of lactobacilli. The biofilm formation of encapsulated lactobacilli was stimulated when an in situ cultivation was conducted on MCs, which was verified by cryo-SEM observation. The resultant biofilm-forming MCs (BMCs) contained high-density bacterial cells (∼1010 CFU/mL). Compared to planktonic lactobacilli, pectin-based MCs showed significant protection for encapsulated lactobacilli from heat shock and simulated gastric digestion. Especially, benefiting from the biofilm formation, BMCs provided higher protection with enhanced resistance to heat shock, freeze-drying, and gastrointestinal digestion than MCs. Our result highlighted the superior bacterial resistances of biofilm-forming probiotics encapsulated in pectinate microcapsules.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increasingly more evidence has shown that the senescence of vascular endothelial cells is the key to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases. Anthocyanin is a type of water-soluble polyphenol pigment and secondary metabolite of plant-based food widely existing in fruits and vegetables. The gut microbiome is involved in the metabolism of anthocyanins and mediates the biological activities of anthocyanins and their metabolites, while anthocyanins also regulate the growth of specific bacteria in the microbiota and promote the proliferation of healthy anaerobic flora. Accumulating studies have shown that anthocyanins have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging effects. Many animal and in vitro experiments have also proven that anthocyanins have protective effects on cardiovascular-disease-related dysfunction. However, the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin in eliminating aging endothelial cells and preventing cardiovascular diseases is very complex and is not fully understood. In this systematic review, we summarize the metabolism and activities of anthocyanins, as well as their effects on scavenging senescent cells and cardioprotection.

Tartary buckwheat has attracted increasing attention as a potentially functional food source because of its bioactive components and health benefits. However, little information is available concerning the effect of different milling methods (ultrafine milling (UM), roller milling (RM), stone milling (SM) and wet milling (WM)) on the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of Tartary buckwheat flour. UM had an important role in reducing the average particle size and in brightening the colour of flour. SM and UM flour exhibited the largest amounts of crude protein, fibre and minerals. WM flour had the lowest moisture content. Rutin was the dominant phenolic compound in UM flour, SM flour and RM flour, whereas quercetin was the most abundant phenolic compound in WM flour. UM flour and SM flour contained higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity as compared with those of RM flour and WM flour.

Black tartary buckwheat oils (BTBOs) were extracted from five major industrial tartary buckwheat cultivars grown under similar agronomical activities and environmental conditions. These oils were characterized for the bioactive compounds containing fatty acids, β-carotene, lutein, α-, β-, δ- and γ-tocopherol, and for their antioxidant properties. The total tocopherol contents that were obtained ranged from 704.66 to 1156.19 mg/kg, with γ-tocopherol (588.98–977.91 mg/kg) as the main component. The concentration of lutein ranged from 253.14 to 429.63 mg/kg, which was almost ten times higher than that of β-carotenoid (46.71–69.2 mg/kg), indicating that black tartary buckwheat seed oils were a good source of lutein. The predominant fatty acids were unsaturated oleic acid (C18:1) (35.27–40.61 %) and linoleic acid (C18:2) (38.25–42.90 %). Excellent values of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging activities were obtained and the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value of 13.89 mmol Trolox equiv/g oil was detected in the variety of Chuanqiao No. 1, which was clearly separated by principal component analysis (PCA) on the basis of the highest content of tocopherols and carotenoids. Moreover, the correlation analysis showed that tocopherols and carotenoids were the major contributors to the antioxidant activities of the BTBOs. This study demonstrates that lipophilic extraction in the tartary buckwheat seed contains many interesting bioactive compounds, which are beneficial for human health.

Traditional alcoholic extraction from by-products always discards insoluble fiber-rich residues, generating a new ‘waste’ stream. To recover these alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs), we used an ethanol-washing method to obtain these dietary fiber concentrates from six agro-industrial by-products (blackcurrant pomace, banana peels, clementine peel, oat hull, potato peel and wheat bran) and applied them as probiotic carriers. The functionalities of absorption capacities and the antioxidant capacities in AIRs were characterized. The results showed that the alcohol-washing method to obtain AIRs did not result in a loss in the dietary fiber fraction. Fruit AIRs still contained a high content of bound phenolic compounds, displaying long-term ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging capacities during a 4-h incubation. Different AIRs varied in water and oil holding capacity and protein absorption capacity. The protective effects of AIRs on three lactobacillus strains (Lactobacillus acidophilus LMG9433T, Lactobacillus casei LMG6904T and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LMG25859) against heat shock were also investigated in Man-Rogosa-Sharpe (MRS) broth supplemented with 1% AIRs After an 18-h incubation at 37 °C, all AIRs did not influence the growth of probiotics, while they mostly increased the tolerance to the gastric digestion of Lactobacillus rhamnosus LMG25859, efficiently improved the viability of three strains after heat shock. Among six AIRs, the one extracted from clementine peel performed better in improving the viability of probiotic cells after heat shock than the other AIRs. Valorizing dietary fiber concentrate as probiotic carriers can promisingly replenish the whole chain of the food recovery from agro-industrial by-products.

Application of an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) coupled with ultrasonic technology for the extraction of phloridzin from Malus micromalus Makino was evaluated and optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The ethanol/ammonium sulfate ATPS was selected for detailed investigation, including the phase diagram, effect of phase composition and extract conditions on the partition of phloridzin, and the recycling of ammonium sulfate. In addition, the evaluation of extraction efficiency and the identification of phloridzin were investigated. The optimal partition coefficient (6.55) and recovery (92.86%) of phloridzin were obtained in a system composed of 35% ethanol (w/w) and 16% (NH4 )2 SO4 (w/w), 51:1 liquid-to-solid ratio, and extraction temperature of 36 °C. Comparing with the traditional solvent extraction with respective 35% and 80% ethanol, ultrasonic-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction (UAATPE) strategy had significant advantages with lower ethanol consumption, less impurity of sugar and protein, and higher extracting efficiency of phloridzin. Our result indicated that UAATPE was a valuable method for the extraction and preliminary purification of phloridzin from the fruit of Malus micromalus Makino, which has great potential in the deep processing of Malus micromalus Makino industry to increase these fruits' additional value and drive the local economic development.

Tartary buckwheat is rich in phenolics and is an excellent healthy food source. To evaluate the endogenous phenolics affecting the physicochemical properties of the starch in Tartary buckwheat products during processing, varying concentrations (0.5% 1.0% or 1.5%) of the predominant phenols, rutin and quercetin, was co-cooked with Tartary buckwheat starch (TBS). Rutin and quercetin reduced the peak and final temperatures and enthalpy of TBS during gelatinization, lowered the aging enthalpy of retrograded TBS, and increased the trough and final viscosity of TBS paste and reduced its breakdown. The two additives also reduced the hardness and cohesiveness of TBS gels, while improving their water-binding capacity. The morphologies of gelatinized and retrograded TBS were greatly altered with the presence of rutin and quercetin. The interaction between rutin or quercetin and TBS may be responsible for these changes, and the starch-phenolic binding force was much weaker than that in the iodine-starch complex. Our study provides insight into the physicochemical effects of the phenol-starch interactions in the Tartary buckwheat food matrix in a model system.