內(nèi)容: The purpose of this study was to characterize mulberry leaf instant tea (MLIT) powder prepared from the ‘Longsang No. 1’ (Morus abla L. cv. Longsang 1) mulberry leaves in Heilongjiang Province (China) and assess its obesity-preventing/relieving effects. A total of 174 compounds including quercetin, chlorogenic acid, 1-deoxyecomycin (1-DNJ) related to antihyperlipidemia effects were identified from the MLIT powder. MLIT treatment reversed the Lee’s index, fat coefficient, and serum biochemical parameters in both the obesity relieving and obesity preventing mice fed with high-fat diet. In the obesity relieving experiment, the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio in mouse feces decreased after both 0.5% and 1% MLIT treatments. In obesity preventing experiments, mouse with different amount of MLIT treatments showed increased relative abundance of Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, while Deferribacteres, Desulfobacterota decreased. The beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract of mice treated with MLIT increased. This study proved that MLIT had antihyperlipidemia potential via modulating intestinal microbiota in mice.

內(nèi)容: Suancai is a traditional fermented vegetable widely consumed in Northeast China. In this study, different prebiotics were used to improve the quality of suancai. Four prebiotics (inulin (INU), xylooligosaccharide (XOS), galactooligosaccharide (GOS), and stachyose (STA)) were shown to reduce the pH value and increase the content of total titratable acidity (TTA) in suancai, while the contents of most organic acids were also increased. The addition of prebiotics had significant effects on the bacterial microbiota during the suancai fermentation process. All prebiotics were shown to contribute to the growth of Lactobacillus. The suancai sample with fructooligosaccharides (FOS) had the highest relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Besides, INU and XOS could increase the abundance of Weissella. To evaluate the quality of suancai fermented with prebiotics, profiles of volatile flavor compounds (VOCs) and free amino acids (FAA) were analyzed. The prebiotics affected the VOCs and FAA profiles via transforming the bacterial microbiota. In addition, the addition of prebiotics also changed the taste profiles of the suancai samples. This study is among the first attempts to reveal the effects of different prebiotics on suancai fermentation, and the findings provide a foundation to develop new ways for improving the quality of suancai.

內(nèi)容: Staphylococcus aureus is a serious foodborne pathogen threatening food safety and public health. Especially the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the difficulty of S. aureus treatment. Staphyloxanthin is a crucial virulence factor of S. aureus. Blocking staphyloxanthin production could help the host immune system counteract the invading S. aureus cells. In this study, we first screened for staphyloxanthin inhibitors using a virtual screening method. The outcome of the virtual screening method resulted in the identification of eugenol (300 μg/mL), which significantly inhibits the staphyloxanthin production in S. aureus ATCC 29213, S. aureus Newman, MRSA ATCC 43300 and MRSA ATCC BAA1717 by 84.2%, 63.5%, 68.1%, and 79.5%, respectively. The outcome of the growth curve assay, field-emission scanning electron, and confocal laser scanning microscopy analyses confirmed that eugenol at the test concentration did not affect the morphology and growth of S. aureus. Moreover, the survival rate of S. aureus ATCC 29213 and MRSA ATCC 43300 under H2O2 pressure decreased to 51.9% and 45.5% in the presence of eugenol, respectively. The quantitative RT-PCR and molecular simulation studies revealed that eugenol targets staphyloxanthin biosynthesis by downregulating the transcription of the crtM gene and inhibiting the activity of the CrtM enzyme. Taken together, we first determined that eugenol was a prominent compound for staphyloxanthin inhibitor to combat S. aureus especially MRSA infections.

內(nèi)容: Our previous research studies have shown that Veratrilla baillonii Franch, a food supplement used by ethnic minorities in Southwest China, has multiple pharmacological activities, such as detoxification, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-insulin resistance. However, the detailed signal pathways for its salutary effect on damages in multiple organs due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains unclear. The current study is to evaluate the therapeutic effects of V. baillonii on T2DM rats and to explore the underlying mechanisms. The T2DM rat model was successfully established by a high-sugar and high-fat diet (HFD) combination with intraperitoneal injection of a small dose of streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg/kg). Biochemical analysis and histopatholgical examinations were conducted to evaluate the anti-diabetic potential of water extracts of V. baillonii (WVBF). The results showed that the WVBF treatment can improve hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, ameliorate the liver, kidney and pancreas injuries via decreasing inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α, and oxidative damages. Further investigation suggested that WVBF modulates the signal transductions of the IRS1/PI3K/AKT/GLUT4 and AMPK pathways. These findings demonstrate potentials of WVBF in the treatment of T2DM and possible mechanisms for its hepatoprotective activities.

內(nèi)容: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) lacks insulin secretion due to autoimmune deficiency of pancreatic β-cells. Protecting pancreatic islets and enhancing insulin secretion has been therapeutic approaches. Mannogalactoglucan is the main type of polysaccharide from natural mushroom, which has potential medicinal prospects. Nevertheless, the antidiabetic property of mannogalactoglucan in T1DM has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we obtained the neutral fraction of alkali-soluble Armillaria mellea polysaccharide (AAMP-N) with the structure of mannogalactoglucan from the fruiting body of A. mellea and investigated the potential therapeutic value of AAMP-N in T1DM. We demonstrated that AAMP-N lowered blood glucose and improved diabetes symptoms in T1DM mice. AAMP-N activated unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathway to maintain ER protein folding homeostasis and promote insulin secretion in vivo. Besides that, AAMP-N promoted insulin synthesis via upregulating the expression of transcription factors, increased Ca2+ signals to stimulate intracellular insulin secretory vesicle transport via activating calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CamkII) and cAMP/PKA signals, and enhanced insulin secretory vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane via vesicle-associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2). Collectively, these studies demonstrated that the therapeutic potential of AAMP-N on pancreatic islets function, indicating that mannogalactoglucan could be natural nutraceutical used for the treatment of T1DM.

內(nèi)容: Chilled chicken is inevitably contaminated by microorganisms during slaughtering and processing, resulting in spoilage. Cutting parts of chilled chicken, especially wings, feet, and other skin-on products, are abundant in collagen, which may be the primary target for degradation by spoilage microorganisms. In this work, a total of 17 isolates of spoilage bacteria that could secrete both collagenase and lipase were determined by raw-chicken juice agar (RJA) method, and the results showed that 7 strains of Serratia, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas could significantly decompose the collagen ingredients. The gelatin zymography showed that Serratia liquefaciens (F5) and Pseudomonas saponiphila (G7) had apparent degradation bands around 50 kDa, and Aeromonas veronii (G8) and Aeromonas salmonicida (H8) had a band around 65 and 95 kDa, respectively. The lipase and collagenase activities were detected isolate-by-isolate, with F5 showing the highest collagenase activity. For spoilage ability on meat in situ, F5 performed strongest in spoilage ability, indicated by the total viable counts, total volatile basic nitrogen content, sensory scores, lipase, and collagenase activity. This study provides a theoretical basis for spoilage heterogeneity of strains with high-producing collagenase in meat.

內(nèi)容: Constipation is a common intestinal disease. Kiwi berries can effectively prevent constipation. However, studies have yet to be done to determine how kiwi berries prevent constipation. For two weeks, mice in this study were continually orally gavaged with kiwi berry, loperamide, or a combination of the 2. This study found that the kiwi group’s feces had more water than the constipated mice. In addition, kiwi berries can speed up gastrointestinal transit (GI), shorten the time it takes to pass the first dark stool, and dramatically enhance body weight gain. In the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) cells and colon tissues, alterations in the protein expression of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), protein kinase A (PKA), and aquaporin-3 (AQP3) were found. At 3, 6, and 12 h of ICC cells and mouse colon, the kiwi group’s VIP, cAMP, PKA, and AQP3 protein expression levels were lower than those of the constipated mice. The kiwi berry can decrease the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio and boost the diversity and quantity of gut microbiota. By influencing the gut microbiota and VIP-cAMP-PKA-AQP3 signaling pathway, kiwi berries prevent constipation.

內(nèi)容: Dietary parboiled rice (PR) has a low risk of disease, but little is known about the contribution of PR to the prevention of hyperlipidemia. The potential role and underlying mechanisms of PR in hyperlipidemia were evaluated in this study. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a normal diet, high-fat diet (HFD) containing refined rice (HFDRR) or PR (HFDPR). It was found that PR intervention improved lipid accumulation in mice. Transcriptomic data analysis revealed that 27 genes were up-regulated (mostly involved in lipid breakdown) and 86 genes were down-regulated (mostly involved in inflammatory responses) in the HFDPR group compared to the HFDRR group. And 15 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), while protein interaction network showed that protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C (PTPRC) has a central role. The gut microbiota of mice was also altered after different dietary treatments, with higher ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, increased abundances of Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Christensenellaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Rikenellaceae and Prevotellaceae, and decreased abundances of Lactobacillaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae and Actinobacteria in the HFDRR group. In addition, it was observed that PPAR signaling pathway may act as a bridge between DEGs and differential gut microbiota. These results suggested that PR can prevent hyperlipidemia by modulating liver genes and gut microbiota.

內(nèi)容: The quality and aroma of strong-flavor Baijiu are mainly dependent on Daqu, pit mud (PM), and the interaction of both. However, little is known about how their combination patterns affect the microbiome and metabolome of Zaopei, especially the metabolic function of rare taxa. Here, an experiment on industrial size was designed to assess the effects of 6 combinations (3 kinds of Daqu × 2 kinds of PM) on the composition and assembly of different taxa, as well as the flavor profile. The results showed that Zaopei’s microbiota was composed of a few abundant taxa and enormous rare taxa, and rare bacterial and abundant fungal subcommunities were significantly affected by combination patterns. The assembly processes of abundant/rare taxa and bacterial/fungal communities were distinct, and environmental changes mediated the balance between stochastic and deterministic processes in rare bacteria assembly. Furthermore, specific combination patterns improved the flavor quality of Zaopei by enhancing the interspecies interaction, which was closely related to rare taxa, especially rare bacteria. These findings highlighted that rare bacteria might be the keystone in involving community interaction and maintaining metabolic function, which provided a scientific foundation for better understanding and regulating the brewing microbiota from the viewpoint of microbial ecology.

內(nèi)容: 3-Epi-betulinic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (eBAG) is a pentacyclic triterpene mainly distributed in food and medicinal plants, which exhibits various pharmacological properties. However, whether these functions are attributed to eBAG or additional components in these plants remain unknown. Herein, we report that eBAG exerted an inhibitory activity against hepatocellular carcinoma and esophageal cancer cells. EBAG induced non-apoptotic cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The eBAG-induced cell death was inhibited by knock-down of autophagy related gene (ATG) 5 and ATG7, by administration of 3-methyladenine, a selective autophagy inhibitor that suppresses phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and by chloroquine, a classic autophagy flux inhibitor. We demonstrated that eBAG induced an autophagy-mediated cell death. Application of eBAG mimicked cellular bioenergetics depletion leading to the reduction of intracellular ATP, activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and inhibition of mTOR. Co-treatment with compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, abrogated cell death induced by eBAG. We further validated the anti-tumor effect of eBAG in the murine xenograft model of hepatocellular carcinoma and found that eBAG treatment promoted the induction of autophagy and reduction of tumor growth in mice. As a functional food ingredient, eBAG is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and esophageal cancer.