Journal of Food Biochemistry最新文献

Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus are pathogens associated with CAUTIs. Understanding their significance is crucial for effective prevention and treatment. In this study, the Delphinium semibarbatum flavonoid-rich fraction (DSF) was analyzed, and its antibacterial, antibiofilm, and antiswarming properties against these two bacterial species were evaluated. In the phytochemical analysis, four flavonoids, including kaempferol, 4′-O-methyl quercetin, quercetin, and kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (K3G), were isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC₅₀) of DSF on P. mirabilis and S. aureus was 1000 μg/mL. Similarly, kaempferol, K3G, and 4′-O-methyl quercetin exhibited inhibitory effects of 20%, 13%, and 12%, respectively, at a concentration of 1000 μg/mL compared to the P. mirabilis control. However, the MIC₅₀ of kaempferol and 4′-O-methyl quercetin for S. aureus were 125 μg/mL and 62.25 μg/mL, respectively. K3G exhibited an inhibitory effect of 37% at a concentration of 1000 μg/mL. DSF reduced biofilm at 1 mg/mL by 78% and 74% for P. mirabilis and S. aureus, respectively. Quercetin was the most effective in inhibiting P. mirabilis biofilm formation, with a 96% inhibition rate, followed by kaempferol and K3G, with 67% and 29%, respectively, at the same concentration. The best bioactive compound against biofilm inhibition of S. aureus was quercetin at 250 μg/mL, exhibiting 90% inhibition, followed by K3G, 4′-O-methyl quercetin, and kaempferol with 81%, 45%, and 33%, respectively, at a concentration of 125 μg/mL. In the swarming inhibition assay, DSF showed 78% inhibition at concentrations of 5 μg/mL. Similarly, all bioactive compounds showed 45% antiswarming activity at this concentration. The docking results of the isolated flavonoids on two target proteins, SarA and MrpH, showed that the presence of the methoxy group in the structure of 4′-O-methyl quercetin reduced its interaction with these two proteins. In the ADMET prediction, isolated flavonoids showed good predicted properties suitable for treating these two microbial species in urinary infection diseases.

Flavonoids have long been used as food additives due to their antioxidant properties. To discover bioactive natural flavonoids, the antioxidant capabilities of a range of natural flavonoids were investigated in RAW 264.7 cells and Caenorhabditis elegans induced by H₂O₂. Chemical antioxidant activity of a range of flavonoids was performed by DPPH and ABTS⁺ radicals scavenging assays. Then, the cellular antioxidant activity assays were employed to detect the antioxidant mechanisms by flow cytometry and qRT-PCR analyses. The underlying antioxidant mechanisms were explored by western blotting, small interfering RNA (siRNA), molecular docking, and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). Next, the antioxidant potential of active compounds was verified in H₂O₂-induced Caenorhabditis elegans. Our studies showed herbacetin exhibited the most pronounced DPPH and ABTS ⁺ radicals scavenging capacity among all the tested flavonoids. And herbacetin also showed improved antioxidant activity against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in RAW 264.7 cells compared to quercetin and Trolox. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis indicated that hydroxyl groups at the 7′ and 8′ positions on the A-ring of herbacetin played a crucial role in inhibiting H₂O₂-induced cellular oxidative stress. Interestingly, herbacetin’s activation of HO-1 was closely associated with its binding to Keap1. Notably, in vivo assays demonstrated that herbacetin protected Caenorhabditis elegans from H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress. This study screens and elucidates the excellent antioxidant capacity of herbacetin both in vitro and in vivo. These findings suggest that herbacetin holds promise as a natural agent for antioxidant therapy.

Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic effects of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) intake on Wistar rats with periodontitis.

Methods: The periodontitis model of rats was established by silk ligature and Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) solution smearing. The rats were divided into normal control group, model group, and HRW group. The rats in normal control group were given normal feeding without any intervention, while periodontitis was induced in the rats of model group and HRW group, and the rats were given HRW intake and normal saline, respectively, during the whole procedure of the experiments. The antibacterial effect and clinical symptoms (plaque index and gingival sulcus bleeding index (SBI)) were then observed, and peripheral blood (PB), gingival sulcus fluid, and jaw samples were collected to evaluate the changes of inflammatory factors and the curative effect.

Results: In the rats of model group, alveolar bone resorption was obvious, which indicated that the rats with periodontitis were successfully constructed, and HRW intake mitigated it. Pg colony number of the rats fed with HRW was significantly lower than that of the model rats. The contents of proinflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in PB serum and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of rats in model group were significantly increased, and HRW intake reversed these and promoted the level of anti-inflammatory factor interleukin-10 (IL-10).

Conclusion: HRW can effectively inhibit the growth of periodontal pathogens and reduce inflammation and may be used to prevent or ameliorate periodontitis.

In this study, targeting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) related to Alzheimer’s disease, a screening method, affinity ultrafiltration combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (AUF–UHPLC–Q-TOF MS) was developed for the discovery and identification of AChE inhibitors from Phyllanthus emblica L. fruits, a medicinal and food homologous plant. The 30% ethanol extract of P. emblica fruit was incubated with AChE allowing active components to form complexes with AChE. Subsequently, the complexes were separated from the incubation and dissociated to release active components, followed by UHPLC–Q-TOF MS analysis. Ultimately, a total of 18 compounds bound to AChE were screened out and identified. Among them, elaeocarpusin, putranjivain A, and chebulagic acid were confirmed to possess the highest affinity to AChE by molecular docking. Subsequently, the AChE inhibitory activity of commercially available chebulagic acid and corilagin was verified in vitro. Ultimately, cellular assays demonstrated that both chebulagic acid and corilagin enhanced cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner when compared to a model of AD cells induced by Aβ_25–35. Moreover, it was noted that chebulagic acid exhibited superior protective effects relative to corilagin against Aβ_25–35-induced injury in PC12 cells. These findings indicate that the developed methodology is not only straightforward and rapid but also reliable, offering significant insights for the screening of active compounds from complex medicinal and food homologous plants.

Background: Aging is usually accompanied by a significant decline in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) level. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is a crucial precursor molecule of NAD⁺ with a variety of bioactivities beneficial to health, and the present study just aimed to explore the antiaging effects of NMN and the mechanism of action by using a nontargeted metabolomic strategy.

Methods: An aging mouse model induced by D-galactosamine (D-gal) was established, which was followed by treatment with NMN (at doses of 100 to 500 mg/kg per day) via oral administration for 10 weeks. The physiological and biochemical changes involved in the aging process were closely monitored to investigate the interventional effects of NMN. Plasma samples were subjected to assay by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS to reveal the mechanism of action via systematic data mining and statistical analysis.

Results: D-gal injection at a dose of 500 mg/kg per day for 7 weeks successfully induced the aging model in mice. Long-term supplementation with NMN could significantly improve the antioxidant and immune function, boost lipid metabolism, and reduce aging-related inflammatory response in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The nontargeted metabolomic analysis further demonstrated that the interventional effect of NMN on aging mice may be closely related to the regulation of lipid and purine metabolism.

Conclusions: Long-term NMN supplementation could display robust antiaging effects mainly by regulating lipid and purine metabolism, which thus deserves great attention for antiaging intervention.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the potential of medicinal plants for preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases. This study investigated the neuroprotective properties of aqueous extracts derived from the pulp, seed, and almonds of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. and Ziziphus lotus (L.) Lam. These extracts were assessed in vitro for their impact on acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and β-amyloid aggregation, all key factors associated with neurodegenerative disorders (NDs). Given the strong connection between NDs and oxidative damage, as well as the role of metal accumulation in exacerbating oxidative stress and amyloid plaque formation, the antioxidant abilities of the extracts were also evaluated using various methods including ferric-reducing antioxidant power, cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity, and metal chelating assays. Furthermore, the study analyzed the total phenolic and flavonoid contents using standard spectrophotometric techniques, and the secondary metabolite composition was examined through UHPLC-DAD analysis. To better understand the relationship between different plant species and their organ types with specific phenolic compounds and biological activities, principal component analysis (PCA) was employed for data analysis. Results revealed the presence of 25 secondary metabolites categorized into phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Interestingly, the seed extracts exhibited the highest bioactivity, significantly inhibiting antioxidant and cholinergic enzymes. In addition, almond extracts displayed promising antiamyloidogenic properties, effectively suppressing oligomers, fibrillation of Aβ42, and the amyloid cascade. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of seed and almond extracts from Z. spina-christi (L.) Desf. and Z. lotus (L.) Lam. as valuable sources of natural compounds with neuroprotective properties against neurodegenerative diseases.

Tilapia is a kind of fish with a huge amount of aquaculture, and a lot of byproducts are wasted in processing. Of these, fish skin is the most valued due to its high content of gelatin, which has good characteristics such as low hypoallergenic, biocompatibility, and permeability. In this study, a novel pentapeptide (Leu-Ser-Gly-Tyr-Gly, LYG) was isolated from gelatin gastrointestinal digests of tilapia skin and verified the anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic activity of LYG, which can inhibit scar formation. In addition, the active sites were analyzed using molecular docking. The key active amino acids Leu and Tyr of LYG were able to form hydrogen bonds and good hydrophobic structures with transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1). Hyperplastic scar (HS) is a common fibrous proliferative disorder of the skin, and fibrosis is the process of scar formation. It is well known that the inhibition of collagen and angiogenesis is an effective way to combat HS. The results of this study show that LYG inhibited collagen synthesis and inflammatory stress in mouse fibroblasts (L929), suppressed the angiogenic signaling pathway in vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), and reduced scar formation after wound healing in mice. This study provides new ideas for improving the diversified use of tilapia resources.

To explore the effects of hydroxyl-α-sanshool (HAS) administration on the intestinal health of high-fat diet-fed mice, mice were separated into a control (CN) group, a model (MC) group, a HAS (8 mg/kg bw) (HD) group, and a HAS (8 mg/kg bw) + Compound C (10 mg/kg·4 d) (HA) group. After 4 weeks of treatment, the mice were fasted for 12 h prior to sacrifice, and autopsy samples were taken for analysis. HAS improved inflammatory and metabolic imbalances by activating AMPK, as shown by biochemical, microbiota composition, and metabolomics analyses. These findings suggest that HAS can maintain intestinal health through AMPK-mediated amino acid metabolism.

Honey contains vital compounds capable of ameliorating oxidative stress damage. Two markers of total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (TAC) have been selected for the classification of honey samples for investigating the protective effects of different honey samples on hepatotoxicity induced by CCl₄. Hence, 56 male Wistar rats in 8 groups were selected and were given a daily single dose (20%) of honey samples classified as weak, medium, and strong based on TPC and TAC. After four weeks of pretreatment, acute liver damage (ALD) was induced in treated groups using CCl4 mixed with corn oil in a 1:1 ratio. Following ALD induction, the animals were sacrificed. Various samples were then collected for analysis, including serum samples for biochemistry tests (ALT, AST, ALP, and FBS) and antioxidant status assessment (DPPH, FRAP, THIOL, and MDA); urine samples for antioxidant status evaluation (DPPH, FRAP, and MDA); liver tissue homogenate for oxidative stress marker analysis (SOD, CAT, GPx, and MDA); and tissue samples for histopathological examination. Biochemical results showed a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in ALT, AST, ALP, and FBS values in ALD groups treated with honey; antioxidant and oxidative stress evaluations also exactly approved the same results by an insignificant decrease (p ≥ 0.05) in serum MDA and a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in THIOL and DPPH and also a reduction in urinary MDA and increase of urinary DPPH all compared to positive control (p ≤ 0.05). SOD, CAT, and GPx activities and MDA values in liver homogenate also ameliorated in honey-treated group (p ≤ 0.05). Histopathological evaluations confirmed less damage in treated groups, especially in stronger honey. Potent honey samples based on TPC and TAC have more protective effects in hepatotoxicity.

Despite the number of nutritional and medicinal plant-based products that have been studied for decades, there are still many rare and underutilized plants of biological importance, whose nutritional and biochemical properties are unmatched, especially the wild doum palm, Hyphaene thebaica. Therefore, it is necessary to unveil the potential advantages of the wild fruit Hyphaene thebaica. The edible wild palm fruit is a rich source of novel nutraceutical and pharmaceutical constituents. It is a rare, underutilized but highly nutritious fruit found in the tropics, and it is rich in a variety of time-proven healthy macro- and micronutrients. In addition to its domestic uses, it has a variety of significant healing potentials such as antioxidant properties, antihypertensive properties, hypolipidemic properties, antidiabetic properties, antimicrobial properties, cytotoxic/anticancer properties, hypolipidemic and neuroprotective properties, anti-inflammatory properties, and hepatoprotective properties, among others. We hereby present a review of this multifunctional palm fruit, a rare and highly potent edible palm fruit with a broad spectrum of biochemical, domestic, nutraceutical, and pharmacological properties, which makes it a rare gem in the class of plant-based functional food products. Much research and more clinical trials are necessary to further ascertain the veracity of the reported bioactivities through isolation, purification, and identification of the bioactive compounds. The multipurpose nature of the plant necessitates more research on its utilization in the fulfilment of various aspects of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.