Preparation of modified whey protein isolate with gum acacia by ultrasound maillard reaction

peer-reviewedEffect of ultrasound treatment on whey protein isolate (WPI)-gum Acacia (GA) conjugation via Maillard reaction was investigated. And the physicochemical properties of the conjugates obtained by ultrasound treatment were compared with those obtained by classical heating. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, high-performance size exclusion chromatography and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provided evidence on the formation of the Maillard type conjugation. Compared with classical heating, ultrasound treatment could accelerate the glycation reaction between WPI and GA. A degree of graft of 11.20% was reached by classical heating for 48 h, whereas only 20 min was required by ultrasound treatment. Structural analyses suggested that the conjugates obtained by ultrasound treatment had less α-helix content, higher surface hydrophobicity and fluorescence intensity than those obtained by classical heating. Significantly lower level of browning intensity and significantly higher (p < 0.05) level of solubility (under alkaline conditions), thermal stability, emulsifying activity and emulsifying stability were observed for the conjugates obtained by ultrasound treatment as compared with those obtained by classical heating

Analysis of Astringent Components and Differential Gene Expression of Related Key Enzymes in Different Tissues of Fresh Lotus Seeds

This study was performed to explore the differences in the composition of astringent substances in different tissues of fresh lotus seeds and the expression of key enzyme genes involved in the synthesis of astringent compounds. The contents of soluble tannins, insoluble tannins and proanthocyanidins in lotus seed coat, lotus seed pulp without coat and lotus seed plumule were determined. Meanwhile, the activity and gene expression of key enzymes in the tannin synthesis pathway were detected. Sensory evaluation and electronic tongue analysis were performed on lotus seed samples. The data obtained was analyzed by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and correlation analysis. Results showed that the major substance contributing to the astringency of lotus seeds was soluble tannins. Tannins had a positive effect on its excellent flavor at the waxy ripeness stage. Anthocyanin reductase was a key enzyme affecting the astringency intensity of lotus seeds. SnANR9 played a role in regulating the astringency of different tissues of lotus seeds

Optimization of Preparation Process of Bayberry Soft Candy and Analysis of Its Hypoglycemic Function

In order to develop soft fruit candy products with hypoglycemic function, the preparation method was optimized by single-factor and response surface studies. The texture profile analysis and sensory score was regarded as the evaluation indices, while bayberry juice was used as the main raw material, carrageenan and gelatin as the gelling agent, and xylitol as the sweetener. Additionally, the hypoglycemic effect of bayberry soft candy extract was evaluated by in vitro study, and the components of bayberry juice was detected by using UPLC-MS/MS assay. Finally, the hypoglycemic components and related pathways of action were predicted by network pharmacology. The results showed that in the 100 mL bayberry soft candy gel solution system, the optimal formulation of bayberry soft candy obtained by response surface methodology was as follows: 89.37% bayberry juice for swelling and constant volume, with 9.90% gelatin, 1.41% carrageenan, and 30.86% xylitol addition. The sensory score of bayberry soft candy produced under this process was 87.30, which was close to the theoretical value. The in vitro hypoglycemic study showed that the inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase by 4 mg/mL of bayberry soft candy extract reached 98.58% and 86.89%, respectively. The network pharmacological analysis postulated that 3,5-diacetyltambrin (YM16), azaleatin (YM17) and raspberry ketone glucoside (YM1) were the key hypoglycemic components in bayberry juice, in addition, the human cancer pathway and PI3K-Akt pathway were important pathways of their action. The soft candy prepared under the optimal process condition showed good elasticity, fantastic taste and certain hypoglycemic effects. These results provide a certain theoretical basis for the development of fruit-flavored functional soft candy

High-Salt Diet Has a Certain Impact on Protein Digestion and Gut Microbiota: A Sequencing and Proteome Combined Study

High-salt diet has been considered to cause health problems, but it is still less known how high-salt diet affects gut microbiota, protein digestion, and passage in the digestive tract. In this study, C57BL/6J mice were fed low- or high-salt diets (0.25 vs. 3.15% NaCl) for 8 weeks, and then gut contents and feces were collected. Fecal microbiota was identified by sequencing the V4 region of 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Proteins and digested products of duodenal, jejunal, cecal, and colonic contents were identified by LC-MS-MS. The results indicated that the high-salt diet increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, the abundances of genera Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcus (P &lt; 0.05), but decreased the abundance of Lactobacillus (P &lt; 0.05). LC-MS-MS revealed a dynamic change of proteins from the diet, host, and gut microbiota alongside the digestive tract. For dietary proteins, high-salt diet seemed not influence its protein digestion and absorption. For host proteins, 20 proteins of lower abundance were identified in the high-salt diet group in duodenal contents, which were involved in digestive enzymes and pancreatic secretion. However, no significant differentially expressed proteins were detected in jejunal, cecal, and colonic contents. For bacterial proteins, proteins secreted by gut microbiota were involved in energy metabolism, sodium transport, and protein folding. Five proteins (cytidylate kinase, trigger factor, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, transporter, and undecaprenyl-diphosphatase) had a higher abundance in the high-salt diet group than those in the low-salt group, while two proteins (acetylglutamate kinase and PBSX phage manganese-containing catalase) were over-expressed in the low-salt diet group than in the high-salt group. Consequently, high-salt diet may alter the composition of gut microbiota and has a certain impact on protein digestion

The role of miR-143-3p/FNDC1 axis on the progression of non-small cell lung cancer

The study aimed to explore the functional role of fibronectin type III domain containing 1 (FNDC1) in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as the mechanism governing its expression. The expression levels of FNDC1 and related genes in tissue and cell samples were detected by qRT-PCR. Kaplan-Meier analysis was employed to analyze the association between FNDC1 level and the overall survival of NSCLC patients. Functional experiments such as CCK-8 proliferation, colony formation, EDU staining, migration and invasion assays were conducted to investigate the functional role of FNDC1 in regulating the malignancy of NSCLC cells. Bioinformatic tools and dual-luciferase reporter assay were used to identify the miRNA regulator of FNDC1 in NSCLC cells. Our data revealed the upregulation of FNDC1 at mRNA and protein levels in NSCLC tumor tissues cancer cell lines, compared with normal counterparts. NSCLC patients with higher FNDC1 expression suffered from a poorer overall survival. FNDC1 knockdown significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, and had an inhibitory effect on tube formation. We further demonstrated that miR-143-3p was an upstream regulator of FNDC1 and miR-143-3p expression was repressed in NSCLC samples. Similar to FNDC1 knockdown, miR-143-3p overexpression inhibited the growth, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. FNDC1 overexpression could partially rescue the effect of miR-143-3p overexpression.  FNDC1 silencing also suppressed the tumorigenesis of NSCLC cells in mouse model. In conclusion, FNDC1 promotes the malignant prototypes of NSCLC cells. miR-143-3p is a negative regulator of FNDC1 in NSCLC cells, which may serve as a promising therapeutic target in NSCLC.

Effects on Physicochemical and Dissolution Characteristics of Lentinus edodes Stem Powder by Jet Milling

In order to increase the utilization rate of shiitake mushroom by-products, the shiitake mushroom stem was crushed after superfine grinding with a jet mill, with coarse powder and 40 mesh powder as the control. The effect of jet milling on the physicochemical properties of shiitake mushroom stem powder and the dissolution amount of functional components represented by ergosterol and polysaccharides were studied. The cumulative dissolution rate of ergosterol and polysaccharides was fitted by the Weibull model. The results showed that after superfine grinding by jet milling, the average particle size (D50) of powder decreased to 3.21 μm, bulk density, tap density and L* value increased from 0.15 g/mL to 0.25 g/mL, 0.23 g/mL to 0.42 g/mL, 65.31 to 73.49, respectively. The superfine powder fluidity, water holding capacity and swelling capacity were significantly enhanced (P<0.05). The cumulative dissolution 50% of the time (T50) of ergosterol and polysaccharide in superfine powder was reduced by 2.56 min and 8.14 min, respectively, compared with coarse powder. And cumulative dissolution rate at 45 min (Q45) increased by 10.88% and 19.15%, respectively. The powder properties and the dissolution rate of the functional ingredients were improved, after the jet milling to treat the shiitake mushroom stem, which was conducive to the comprehensive utilization of shiitake mushroom by-products

Expression Analysis and Interaction Protein Screening of CRY1 in Strawberry

Cryptochrome 1 (CRY1), a main blue light receptor protein, plays a significant role in several biological processes. However, the expression patterns and function of CRY1 in strawberry have not been identified. Here, the expression profile of CRY1 in different tissues and developmental stages of strawberry fruit, and expression patterns response to abiotic stresses (low temperature, salt and drought) were analyzed. Its subcellular localization, interaction proteins and heterologous overexpression in tobacco were also investigated. The results showed that CRY1 was mainly expressed in leaves and fruits with an expression peak at the initial red stage in strawberry fruit. Abiotic stresses could significantly induce the expression of CRY1. The CRY1 protein was located in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Five proteins (CSN5a-like, JAZ5, eIF3G. NF-YC9, and NDUFB9) interacting with CRY1 were discovered. Genes related flowering times, such as HY5 and CO, in three overexpressed FaCRY1 tobacco lines, were significantly upregulated. Taken together, our results suggested CRY1 have a broad role in biological processes in strawberry

Tire Wear Chemicals in the Urban Atmosphere : Significant Contributions of Tire Wear Particles to PM_2.5

Tire wear particles (TWPs) containing tire wear chemicals (TWCs) are of global concern due to their large emissions and potential toxicity. However, TWP contributions to urban fine particles are poorly understood. Here, 72 paired gas-phase and PM2.5 samples were collected in the urban air of the Pearl River Delta, China. The concentrations of 54 compounds were determined, and 28 TWCs were detected with total concentrations of 3130–317,000 pg/m3. Most p-phenylenediamines (PPDs) were unstable in solvent, likely leading to their low detection rates. The TWCs were mainly (73 ± 26%) in the gas phase. 2-OH-benzothiazole contributed 82 ± 21% of the gas-phase TWCs and benzothiazole-2-sulfonic acid contributed 74 ± 18% of the TWCs in PM2.5. Guangzhou and Foshan were “hotspots” for atmospheric TWCs. Most TWC concentrations significantly correlated with the road length nearby. More particulate TWCs were observed than model predictions, probably due to the impacts of nonexchangeable portion and sampling artifacts. Source apportionment combined with characteristic molecular markers indicated that TWPs contributed 13 ± 7% of urban PM2.5. Our study demonstrates that TWPs are important contributors to urban air pollution that could pose risks to humans. There is an urgent need to develop strategies to decrease TWP emissions, along with broader urban air quality improvement strategies

Growth differentiation factor-15/adiponectin ratio as a potential biomarker for metabolic syndrome in Han Chinese

AimsGrowth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) and adiponectin are adipokines that regulate metabolism. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of GDF-15, adiponectin, and GDF-15/adiponectin ratio (G/A ratio) as biomarkers for detecting metabolic syndrome (MS).Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional study included 676 participants aged 20–70 years in Jurong, China. The participants were divided into four groups based on sex and age (&lt;40 and ≥40 years). MS was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the performance of GDF-15, adiponectin, and the G/A ratio in predicting MS.ResultsThe prevalence of MS was 22.0% (149/676). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the G/A ratio and adiponectin levels, but not GDF-15 levels, were correlated with MS [odds ratio; 95% CI 1.010 (1.006–1.013) and 0.798 (0.735–0.865), respectively] after adjusting for confounding factors. The G/A ratio displayed a significant relationship with MS in each subgroup and with each MS component in both men and women; however, adiponectin concentrations were significantly associated with MS and all its components only in men (all P &lt;0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the G/A ratio and the adiponectin level for MS was 0.758 and 0.748, respectively. The highest AUC was 0.757 for the adiponectin level in men and 0.724 for the G/A ratio in women.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the G/A ratio and adiponectin are potential biomarkers for detecting MS in women and men, respectively