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Background: Biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wider range of biomedical applications. The present work synthesized Tp-AgNPs using mycelial extract of endophytic fungus Talaromyces purpureogenus (MEEF), characterized, and analyzed for antibacterial, anti-proliferation and cell wounding healing activities. Methods: The synthesized Tp-AgNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), particle size analysis (PSA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Further, antibacterial activity was determined by Kirby-Bauer test and anti-proliferation activity was tested in human lung carcinoma A549 by water-soluble tetrazolium and flow cytometer assay. In addition, cell wounding healing activity was determined by scratch assay. Results: UV-Vis results displayed a strong absorption peak from 390 nm to 420 nm, which indicated the successful synthesis of Tp-AgNPs. FETEM-EDS results indicated the round and triangle shaped Tp-AgNPs with the average size of 25 nm in accordance with PSA. FTIR analysis indicated the involvement of various functional molecules from MEEF in the synthesis of Tp-AgNPs. XRD result proved nature of Tp-AgNPs as a high-quality crystal. The Tp-AgNPs significantly inhibited the growth of bacterial pathogens at the minimal inhibitory concentration of 16.12 μg.mL-1 for Gram+, and 13.98 μg.mL-1 for Gram- bacteria. Further, Tp-AgNPs (2 μg.mL-1) showed a strong anti-proliferation effect in A549. Interestingly, Tp-AgNPs was not cytotoxic to normal NIH3T3 cells. In addition, the NPs exhibited a strong cell wounding healing activity. Conclusion: This work biosynthesized AgNPs with strong antibacterial, anticancer and cell wound healing properties using endophytic fungus T. purpureogenus.

The present study investigated the effect of three different sterilization methods (high hydrostatic pressure sterilization, ultraviolet sterilization, and ultra-high temperature sterilization) on changes of physicochemical and microbiological properties of rice wine Makgeolli during the preservation at 15 °C for 20 weeks. The results indicated that pH, titratable acidity, color, contents of reducing sugar and alcohol were not significantly varied between different sterilization methods but microbial counts and sensory evaluation were exhibited the significant differences. The microbial counts of the sterilized Makgeolli were significantly lower than that in unsterilized one after 20 weeks of storage. Sensory profiles were markedly dependent on the sterilization methods. This work inferred, the high hydrostatic pressure treatment as the suitable method of sterilization for improving the shelf life of rice wine Makgeolli. Keywords: Makgeolli, Sterilization, Physicochemical properties, Microbial counts, Sensory evaluation

Bee pollen is an important source of the herbal medicine with active bio-compounds, but there are no reports on its antioxidant properties. Herein, we report for the first time the antioxidant properties of two different (water and methanol) extracts of Linden bee pollen through analysis various in vitro and animal experimental (in vivo) antioxidant assays including DPPH free radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, reducing power, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, lipid per-oxidant and total antioxidant capacity. The results demonstrated that the methanol extract of bee pollen exhibited the higher in vitro antioxidant activity than water extract. Besides, the animal experiments showed the dose dependent increase of superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity in water and methanol extracts. MDA content was significantly lowered in medium and high treated mice group and there was no significant difference between two extracts. These results indicated that methanol extract of Linden bee pollen can be considered as a natural antioxidant source for the potential utilization in future herbal medicine.

The present work examined the biomedical value of red and yellow bell pepper extracts (YME and RME) in terms of antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer activities by in vitro and virtual studies. The yield of extract was 3.49% for RME and 2.92% for YME. The level of total phenols and total flavonoids significantly varied between the type of extracts, and it was higher in RME than that in YME. The extracts showed promising DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging rates. The extracts showed an excellent antibacterial activity. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of RME was 0.20 mg mL(−1) for Bacillus cereus, 0.30 mg mL(−1) for Escherichia coli, 0.50 mg mL(−1) for Staphylococcus aureus and 0.60 mg mL(−1) and for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while the MIC of YME was 0.40 mg mL(−1) for B. cereus, 0.40 mg mL(−1) for E. coli, 0.50 mg mL(−1) for S. aureus, and 0.60 mg mL(−1) for P. aeruginosa. TEM results demonstrated the cellular damage induced by RME in B. cereus biofilm. The RME did not show any cytotoxicity in normal NIH3T3 cells, but at 125 μg mL(−1) did a strong cytotoxicity in human lung cancer cell line A549 as evident by cytotoxicity assay, ROS and AO/EB staining. The virtual biological examination indicated that β-carotene from RME was a potential compound with higher docking energy against both targeted enzymes and proteins as − 14.30 for LpxC and − 15.59 for survivin. Therefore, it is recommended that RME is a better functional food with novel biomedical properties and it deserves further evaluation for its the novel molecules against multidrug resistant pathogens. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13197-020-04663-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The physicochemical, sensory, and functional properties of Codonopsis (C.) lanceolata tea with different amounts of sugar (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) were investigated. There were no significant changes in crude protein, crude fat, and ash contents of C. lanceolata tea with different amounts of sugar. In contrast, carbohydrates decreased and moisture content increased in C. lanceolata tea with different amounts of sugar. The natural presumption is that carbohydrates increase with increasing amounts of sugar. In terms of color, the L-value decreased and the b-value increased with increasing amounts of sugar. Although there were no significant changes in total dietary fiber, soluble dietary fiber increased and insoluble dietary fiber decreased with increasing amounts of sugar. The total phenolic and flavonoid content increased, while saponin content remained constant with increasing amounts of sugar. The highest overall acceptability values in the sensory test for color, flavor, taste, and overall preference were 5.77, 5.82, 5.72, and 5.95, respectively, with the addition of 75% sugar.

The manufacturing characteristics and physicochemical components analysis of Bokbunja jelly made with the addition of different amounts of materials (Bokbunja extract, sugar, gelatin, and pectin) were investigated. There were no significant changes in the pH, total acidity and sugar content of all Bokbunja jelly prepared with different amount of materials. L-value of color in the Bokbunja jelly increased in proportion to additive amount of gelatin. a-value and b-value of color in the Bokbunja jelly increased in proportion to additive amount of pectin. The value of hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness in the Bokbunja jelly increased in proportion to the additive amount of gelatin. The value of springiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess were increased in proportion to additive amount of petin. The highest of overall acceptability values in the sensory test for color, sweetness, springiness, chewiness, and overall favorite were 5.80, 5.32, 5.27, 5.83, and 6.02, respectively, with the addition of 10% gelatin and 10% pectin.