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Falcarindiol (FaDOH) is a cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory polyacetylenic oxylipin found in food plants of the carrot family (Apiaceae). FaDOH has been shown to activate PPARγ and to increase the expression of the cholesterol transporter ABCA1 in cells, both of which play an important role in lipid metabolism. Thus, a common mechanism of action of the anticancer and antidiabetic properties of FaDOH may be due to a possible effect on lipid metabolism. In this study, the effect of sub-toxic concentration (5 μM) of FaDOH inside human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was studied using white light microscopy and Raman imaging. Our results show that FaDOH increases lipid content in the hMSCs cells as well as the number of lipid droplets (LDs) and that this can be explained by increased expression of PPARγ2 as shown in human colon adenocarcinoma cells. Activation of PPARγ can lead to increased expression of ABCA1. We demonstrate that ABCA1 is upregulated in colorectal neoplastic rat tissue, which indicates a possible role of this transporter in the redistribution of lipids and increased formation of LDs in cancer cells that may lead to endoplasmic reticulum stress and cancer cell death.

Kalanchoe leaves and stems contain flavonoids known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-allergenic properties of interest for use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The present study investigates the aqueous extraction of flavonoids from the leaves and stems of kalanchoe hybrids. The extraction process consisted of screw pressing followed by aqueous batch extraction, microfiltration using tubular 0.2 µm polypropylene membranes, 20 kDa polyethersulfone flat sheet membranes and 1 kDa composite fluoropolymer membranes. The experiments showed that the screw press efficiently separated the kalanchoe leaves and stems into a solid fraction with a dry matter content of 14 % and a liquid fraction with a dry matter content of 2.4 %. Approximately two thirds of the flavonoids were in the liquid phase after the initial pressing. The batch extraction time was found to be 3 hours to achieve maximum flavonoid concentration. The combination of microfiltration and ultrafiltration could produce a liquid fraction rich in flavonoids. However, the proposed combination of membranes and cleaning procedures are not optimal and needs further development.

The production of sour cherry wine results in large amounts of biowaste known as press cake or pomace. This pomace contains among others the fruit skin and flesh that have been previously reported to be a rich source of anthocyanins and phenolic acids. These components can be extracted and formulated to be used as natural pigments, nutraceuticals or cosmeceuticals. In the present work, sour cherry wine pomace has been extracted in aqueous buffers and ultrafiltered using ceramic membranes. Two enzyme formulations based on pectinases and cellulases have been added to the extraction media, and their influence on the extraction yield in batch mode, ultrafiltration performance and product degradation has been assessed. Sour cherry wine pomace has been found to contain relatively low amounts of anthocyanins (48.6 ± 0.9 mg kg-1) and phenolic acids (82.1 ± 2.9 mg kg-1) as compared to biowaste from other sour cherry food products. The use of enzyme formulations based on cellulase and pectinase was not shown to improve the total amount of anthocyanin and phenolic acids extracted. However, an increase in ultrafiltration permeate flux was observed when the enzymes were used.