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Nowadays，It is difficult for the polysaccharide-starch system to meet demand of practical production owing to the poor gel properties. Therefore, aiming to further improve the practical application of polysaccharide-starch gel, the effects of gallic acid (GA) and heat moisture treatment (HMT) on the gel properties and microstructure of yam starch/chitosan (YS/CS) composite gels were investigated. Swell power (SP) results showed that GA and HMT treatment respectively reduced the SP of YS gel by 3.24 g/g and 6.03 g/g, given that GA and HMT decrease the rheology of the water phase inhibiting the entry of water into the swollen starch. In the pasting process, HMT reduced pasting viscosity of the HMT/YS system because only little amylose was leached in the medium for elevating its viscosity after HMT. The rheological properties suggested that high temperature treatment of HMT facilitated the disruption and disintegration of starch granules resulting dynamic modulus had a decline trend. The elastic properties of GA/YS gels were enhanced with the addition of GA, which could be supported by the thicken lamellar observed in its microstructure. In general, GA and HMT effectively alter the gel properties of YS/CS gel system, and facilitate its practical application in food industry.

A dysphagia diet is a special eating plan. The development and design of dysphagia foods should consider both swallowing safety and food nutritional qualities. In this study, the effects of four food supplements, namely vitamins, minerals, salt and sugar, on swallowing characteristics, rheological and textural properties were investigated, and a sensory evaluation of dysphagia foods made with rice starch, perilla seed oil and whey isolate protein was carried out. The results showed that all the samples belonged to foods at level 4 (pureed) in The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework, and exhibited shear thinning behavior, which is favorable for dysphagia patients. Rheological tests showed that the viscosity of a food bolus was increased with salt and sugar (SS), while it decreased with vitamins and minerals (VM) at shear rates of 50 s−1. Both SS and VM strengthened the elastic gel system, and SS enhanced the storage modulus and loss modulus. VM increased the hardness, gumminess, chewiness and color richness, but left small residues on the spoon. SS provided better water-holding, chewiness and resilience by influencing the way molecules were connected, promoting swallowing safety. SS brought a better taste to the food bolus. Dysphagia foods with both VM and 0.5% SS had the best sensory evaluation score. This study may provide a theoretical foundation for the creation and design of new dysphagia nutritional food products.

Hyacinth bean starch (HBS) was used to prepare nanocomposite films with the reinforcement agent of nanotitanium oxide (TiO2-N) and Mesona chinensis Benth polysaccharide (MCP). The effects of TiO2-N and MCP on the moisture combination, rheological properties of film-forming solutions (FFS) and physiochemical properties of films were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that HBS, TiO2-N and MCP had good compatibility, while no novel absorption peak in FTIR spectra, and characteristic peaks of TiO2-N were found in XRD patterns of composite films. Contact angle of HBS/TiO2-N/M3 film increased from 65.6° to 90.9°, which illustrated that TiO2-N and MCP effectively enhanced hydrophobicity of films. TiO2-N and MCP positively affected anti-UV light ability of HBS films by resisting most of invisible light. Furthermore, stable and compact network structures were formed by the synergistic effect of TiO2-N and MCP, thereby elongation to break was increased from 17.123% to 28.603% significantly, and heat resistance was enhanced clearly. This study prepared a nanocomposite HBS-based films based TiO2-N and MCP, which had guiding significance for development of functional films and combination of polysaccharides and metallic oxide.

According to the Chinese traditional black jelly production process, a critical step to ensure the quality of jelly is to add alkali to it. In this study, the effects of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on the pasting, rheological, textural, and structural properties of sweet potato starch (SPS)-Mesona chinensis Benth polysaccharide (MCP) gels were evaluated. Adding Na2CO3 at low concentration reduced the final viscosity (FV) of SPS-MCP gels, whereas adding it at a high concentration increased the FV. Adding NaHCO3 can increase the FV of SPS-MCP gels in a concentration-dependent manner. Rheological results indicated that adding NaHCO3 at a low concentration decreased the storage modulus of SPS-MCP gels, whereas adding it at a high concentration increased the storage modulus. The storage modulus of SPS-MCP gels increased with increasing concentration of NaHCO3. The addition of Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 improved the textural properties of SPS-MCP gels and decreased the water mobility. Infrared results indicated that adding alkali can enhance the hydrogen bonding between SPS and MCP. Scanning electron microscopy results suggested that alkali can reduce the size of gels, and make the structure more compact.

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Hyacinth bean starch (HBS) was used to prepare nanocomposite films with the reinforcement agent of nanotitanium oxide (TiO

In recent years, more and more hydrocolloids are explored and applied in the modification of native starch, Mesona chinensis Benth gum (MCG) is considered as an economical and novel starch-modification hydrocolloid like other businesses gum. In this study, the effects of xanthan gum (XG), guar gum (GG), and MCG on the pasting, rheological, texture, and thermal properties of PS were investigated. Pasting results showed that similar with XG and GG, MCG significantly increased the pasting temperature, and retarded starch water-absorption and disintegration in heating environment. The inhibitory effect of MCG on short-term retrogradation was more evident than other gums by increasing the effective concentration of starch. The strain resistibility, elastic property, and hardness of PS gels were enhanced after the addition of XG, GG, and MCG, given that more compact structure was formed by hydrogen bond in the PS-hydrocolloid matrix. Furthermore, PS-MCG gels exhibited more prominent viscoelasticity, hardness, chewiness, and thermal stability than other the PS-hydrocolloid gels, indicating that MCG effectively affected the gel properties of PS, which plays an important role in the field of starch modification. The information obtained in this paper will aid in further understanding the different effects on starch modification between MCG and other business gum, expanding the practical applications and increasing the economic effect of MCG and PS in the food industry.

The effect of eggshell powder (EP) on the gel properties, rheological, and microstructural properties of pea starch (PS)-Mesona chinensis Benth polysaccharide (MCP) gel was investigated. Pasting results showed that the EP increased the PV of PS-MCP gel from 939.00 mPa s to 1198.50 mPa s, and promoted the short-term retrogradation of PS-MCP/EP gel owing to the interaction between EP and MCP. Rheological and SEM measurements revealed that PS-MCP/EP gels exhibited strong deformability and dynamic modulus (G′ and G″), given that more stable structure was forming by the interactions happened between PS, MCP and EP. Furthermore, the hardness of PS-MCP/EP gels was decreased from 8.23 N to 7.35 N, which ascribed to the interaction between MCP and starch granules was weakened with the addition of EP. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results suggested that EP was dispersed in the PS-MCP gels matrix uniformly, and the force of interaction between PS, MCP and EP was hydrogen bonds. These results indicated that the addition of EP had positive effect on the gel properties of PS-MCP gels, and facilitate the practical application of PS and EP in the food industry.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of debranched waxy corn starch (DWCS) on the pasting, rheological, gelatinization, and microstructural properties of native corn starch (NCS). Pasting properties showed a linear decrease (R2 > 0.98) in peak, trough, breakdown, setback and final viscosity after replacing NCS with DWCS. However, the stability ratio, peak time and peak temperature linearly increased. This could be explained that DWCS competed with NCS for water, thereby inhibiting NCS gelatinization process. The introduction of DWCS decreased the consistency coefficient (K) while increased the flow behavior index (n) of NCS gels. The gel hardness of NCS gels decreased linearly (R2 = 0.98) with increasing DWCS fraction, while the adhesiveness gradually increased. Moreover, DWCS could effectively reduce the values of short-range ordered degree and relative crystallinity. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that a more disordered structure was appeared when DWCS was added to the NCS gel. Overall, this study reveals that DWCS is an effective agent for altering and regulation the physicochemical and structural properties of NCS.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide, is characterized by neurovascular disorders. Emerging evidence has demonstrated retinal neurodegeneration in the early pathogenesis of DR, and no treatment has been developed to prevent the early neurodegenerative changes that precede detectable microvascular disorders. Bone marrow CD133+ stem cells with revascularization properties exhibit neuroregenerative potential. However, whether CD133+ cells can ameliorate the neurodegeneration at the early stage of DR remains unclear. In this study, mouse bone marrow CD133+ stem cells were immunomagnetically isolated and analyzed for the phenotypic characteristics, capacity for neural differentiation, and gene expression of neurotrophic factors. After being labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein, CD133+ cells were intravitreally transplanted into streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice to assess the outcomes of visual function and retina structure and the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect. We found that CD133+ cells co-expressed typical hematopoietic/endothelial stem/progenitor phenotypes, could differentiate to neural lineage cells, and expressed genes of robust neurotrophic factors in vitro. Functional analysis demonstrated that the transplantation of CD133+ cells prevented visual dysfunction for 56 days. Histological analysis confirmed such a functional improvement and showed that transplanted CD133+ cells survived, migrated into the inner retina (IR) over time and preserved IR degeneration, including retina ganglion cells (RGCs) and rod-on bipolar cells. In addition, a subset of transplanted CD133+ cells in the ganglion cell layer differentiated to express RGC markers in STZ-induced diabetic retina. Moreover, transplanted CD133+ cells expressed brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs) in vivo and increased the BDNF level in STZ-induced diabetic retina to support the survival of retinal cells. Based on these findings, we suggest that transplantation of bone marrow CD133+ stem cells represents a novel approach to ameliorate visual dysfunction and the underlying IR neurodegeneration at the early stage of DR.

The effect of Mesona chinensis polysaccharides (MCP) on the gel, rheological, and structural properties of debranched waxy maize starch (DWMS) were investigated. The gel strength of DWMS-MCP gels first increased and then decreased with MCP concentrations. Addition of MCP (≤1 g/100 g) revealed higher dynamic modulus with a more solid-like behavior. However, an excess of MCP had the opposite effect. Inverted fluorescence microscopy showed that the network-like structure of DWMS became firmer and denser with addition of 0.5 and 1 g/100 g MCP, whereas it became weaker and more scattered at higher MCP concentrations. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the appropriate amount of MCP (0.5 and 1 g/100 g of DWMS) could significantly increase the values of 1047 cm−1/1022 cm−1 and relative crystallinity, suggesting that the DWMS recrystallization was accelerated by MCP. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance showed that a stronger gel network led to more strongly bound water. The effect of MCP on performance of DWMS gel mainly through the interaction with DWMS or the phase separation with DWMS at high MCP concentrations. Based on these measured results, a potential mechanism for the impacts of MCP on DWMS gel was proposed.

Graphene oxide (GO) has several potential biomedical applications and therefore cytotoxic evaluation of GO is very important. However, the two most common in vitro models for testing cytotoxicity-primary human cells and immortalized cell lines-suffer serious limitations, namely limited supplies of cells and unrealistic cellular responses, respectively. Here, we demonstrate the use of embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived cells to study GO cytotoxicity. We tested the use of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells derived from three-dimensional human ESC cultures ("ESC-RPE" cells) as a model of GO cytotoxicity by exposing them to varying concentrations of GO nanosheets. For comparison, we also performed the same test with primary human retinal pigment epithelium cells ("hRPE"), and with cells derived from a human RPE cell line ("ARPE19" cells). We found that cytotoxicity metrics (viability, apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species, and mitochondrial membrane potential) were very similar in ESC-RPE cells and hRPE cells, and those in ARPE19 cells were very different. We conclude that cell models of GO cytotoxicity derived from ESCs are an excellent alternative to primary human cells, without the limitations of tissue availability.

Interactions between starch and non-starch polysaccharides are very important for predicting and controlling the structure and function of starch-.based products. In this study, the effects of Mesona chinensis Benth polysaccharide (MCP) on the pasting, rheological, structural, and water mobility properties of rice starch (RS)-MCP gels were evaluated. Results indicated that MCP can increase the pasting viscosity, and gel properties of RS-MCP gels. Rheological results showed that RS-MCP gels exhibited shear-thinning behavior and that MCP can enhance the viscoelasticity of RS-MCP gels. Fourier-transform infrared spectra results indicated no covalent interaction between RS and MCP, and MCP could increase the degree of short-range order of RS-MCP gels. MCP also enhanced the water-retention capacity of RS-MCP gels. Scanning electron microscopy results suggested that MCP could decrease the pore sizes of RS gels and the microstructure of RS gels became more ordered at 0.1 % concentration of MCP. The results suggested that the amylose and MCP molecules interacted through hydrogen bonds and electrostatic forces, which enhanced the gelling properties of RS-MCP gels. Overall, this study shows the potential applications of MCP, and also provides the theoretical basis of interactions in starch-hydrocolloids systems.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a naturally derived bioactive macromolecule and the major component of extracellular matrix (ECM), which widely distributed in various organisms and has attracted much attention due to their significant bioactivities. It is regarded as a favorable biomaterial that has been applied extensively in field of drug delivery and tissue engineering due to its property of non-poisonous, biodegradation, biocompatible and as a major component of ECM. The present article reviews the structure and bioactivities of CS, from the preparation to structure analysis, and emphatically focuses on the biomaterial exertion in delivery system and tissue engineering. At the same time, the present application status and prospect of CS are analyzed and the biomaterial exertion of CS in delivery system and various tissue engineering are also comparatively discussed in view of biomaterial development.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide, is characterized by neurovascular disorders. Emerging evidence has demonstrated retinal neurodegeneration in the early pathogenesis of DR, and no treatment has been developed to prevent the early neurodegenerative changes that precede detectable microvascular disorders. Bone marrow CD133+ stem cells with revascularization properties exhibit neuroregenerative potential. However, whether CD133+ cells can ameliorate the neurodegeneration at the early stage of DR remains unclear. In this study, mouse bone marrow CD133+ stem cells were immunomagnetically isolated and analyzed for the phenotypic characteristics, capacity for neural differentiation, and gene expression of neurotrophic factors. After being labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein, CD133+ cells were intravitreally transplanted into streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice to assess the outcomes of visual function and retina structure and the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect. We found that CD133+ cells co-expressed typical hematopoietic/endothelial stem/progenitor phenotypes, could differentiate to neural lineage cells, and expressed genes of robust neurotrophic factors in vitro. Functional analysis demonstrated that the transplantation of CD133+ cells prevented visual dysfunction for 56 days. Histological analysis confirmed such a functional improvement and showed that transplanted CD133+ cells survived, migrated into the inner retina (IR) over time and preserved IR degeneration, including retina ganglion cells (RGCs) and rod-on bipolar cells. In addition, a subset of transplanted CD133+ cells in the ganglion cell layer differentiated to express RGC markers in STZ-induced diabetic retina. Moreover, transplanted CD133+ cells expressed brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs) in vivo and increased the BDNF level in STZ-induced diabetic retina to support the survival of retinal cells. Based on these findings, we suggest that transplantation of bone marrow CD133+ stem cells represents a novel approach to ameliorate visual dysfunction and the underlying IR neurodegeneration at the early stage of DR.