POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENT OF DIETARY ISOTHIOCYANATES COMBINATION ON BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) such as allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) and sulforaphane (SFN) are well-known bioactives with wide range of beneficial properties, which may be consumed simultaneously through diets containing cruciferous vegetables. However, biological activities of ITCs in combinations had not been well defined. The present study evaluated the potential efficacy of AIT, SFN and their combinations on three important biological properties: anticancer, anti-inflammation and antioxidant. Our results showed that the combination between AIT and SFN led to a stronger growth inhibition on A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells than treatments with the individual compounds. The enhanced effect was proved to be synergistic by isobologram analysis. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the combination treatment caused more extensive cell cycle arrest and cellular apoptosis in the cancer cells than the singular treatment. In addition, a synergy between AIT and SFN was also observed in their anti-cell migration. It is noteworthy that the AIT-SFN combination resulted in the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which might contribute to their inhibitory effects on cancer cells. In terms of anti-inflammation, the combination of AIT and SFN both pairing between themselves (AIT-SFN), and pairing with other dietary bioactives (AIT-CUR, AIT-LUT, and SFN-LUT) enhanced this beneficial property in comparison to a single compound utilization in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. We observed dose-dependent and synergistic inhibition of pro-inflammatory molecules production such as nitric oxide, and interleukin-6. Western blotting showed corresponding information that the combined treatment reduced the expression levels of pro-inflammatory proteins and increased the expression of an antioxidative protein, which could contribute to their anti-inflammatory properties as well. In addition, pretreatment of RAW 264.7 cells with the AIT-SFN combination provided synergistic cytoprotective effects against tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced oxidative damage by increasing antioxidant effects, decreasing cellular ROS, and increasing viability of RAW 264.7 cells. These protective properties were completed through phase 2 antioxidant and detoxification proteins, some of which had more dominant effects than the others, under a partial regulation of Nrf2, and NF-κB transcription factors. Overall, this study proved a potential enhancement of dietary ITCs in combinations on biological activities and provided information for developing functional foods for health benefits

Microbial inactivation and cytotoxicity evaluation of UV irradiated coconut water in a novel continuous flow spiral reactor

A continuous-flow UV reactor operating at 254 nm wave-length was used to investigate inactivation of microorganisms including bacteriophage in coconut water, a highly opaque liquid food. UV-C inactivation kinetics of two surrogate viruses (MS2, T1UV) and three bacteria (E. coli ATCC 25922, Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 13311, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115) in buffer and coconut water were investigated (D10 values ranging from 2.82 to 4.54 mJ·cm− 2). A series of known UV-C doses were delivered to the samples. Inactivation levels of all organisms were linearly proportional to UV-C dose (r2 \u3e 0.97). At the highest dose of 30 mJ·cm− 2, the three pathogenic organisms were inactivated by \u3e 5 log10 (p \u3c 0.05). Results clearly demonstrated that UV-C irradiation effectively inactivated bacteriophage and pathogenic microbes in coconut water. The inactivation kinetics of microorganisms were best described by log linear model with a low root mean square error (RMSE) and high coefficient of determination (r2 \u3e 0.97). Models for predicting log reduction as a function of UV-C irradiation dose were found to be significant (p \u3c 0.05) with low RMSE and high r2. The irradiated coconut water showed no cytotoxic effects on normal human intestinal cells and normal mouse liver cells. Overall, these results indicated that UV-C treatment did not generate cytotoxic compounds in the coconut water. This study clearly demonstrated that high levels of inactivation of pathogens can be achieved in coconut water, and suggested potential method for UV-C treatment of other liquid foods. Industrial relevance This research paper provides scientific evidence of the potential benefits of UV-C irradiation in inactivating bacterial and viral surrogates at commercially relevant doses of 0–120 mJ·cm− 2. The irradiated coconut water showed no cytotoxic effects on normal intestinal and healthy mice liver cells. UV-C irradiation is an attractive food preservation technology and offers opportunities for horticultural and food processing industries to meet the growing demand from consumers for healthier and safe food products. This study would provide technical support for commercialization of UV-C treatment of beverages

Non-extractable polyphenols from cranberries: potential anti-inflammation and anti-colon-cancer agents

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are full of polyphenols, which display various health benefits. Most studies have focused on extractable polyphenols (EPs) rather than non-extractable polyphenols (NEPs) but NEPs may possess important biological functions. The objective of this work was to characterize EP and NEP fractions from whole cranberries and determine their potential as anti-inflammation and anti-colon-cancer agents. Our results showed that of the identified polyphenols, anthocyanins were the major ones in the cranberry EP fraction, while phenolic acids were most abundant in the NEP fraction. The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of the NEPs was significantly higher than that of the EPs. Both the EPs and NEPs showed anti-inflammatory effects in inhibiting LPS-induced production of nitric oxide in macrophages. At the concentrations tested, the NEPs showed significantly higher inhibition of the production of nitric oxide in macrophages than the EPs, which was accompanied by decreased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and increased expression of HO-1. EP and NEP samples showed anti-cancer capacities in HCT116 cells. And the NEPs showed stronger inhibitory effects on the viability and colony formation capacity of human colon cancer HCT116 cells than the EPs. In a flow cytometry analysis, the NEPs caused cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and induced significant cellular apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Overall, our results suggested that both the EP and NEP fractions from cranberries were bioactive, and importantly, the NEP fraction showed promising anti-inflammation and anti-colon-cancer potential.This work was partly supported by U.S. Department of Agriculture (NIFA 2019-67017-29249), Leo and Anne Albert Charitable Trust, UMass Cranberry Health Research Center/UMass President's S&T Initiative.Peer reviewe