Anti-inflammatory effect from extracts of Red Chinese cabbage and Aronia in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells

Natural Products as Dietary Agents for the Prevention and Mitigation of Oxidative Damage and Inflammation in the Intestinal Barrier

Food intake is a basic need to sustain life, but foodborne pathogens and food-related xenobiotics are also the main health concerns regarding intestinal barrier homeostasis. With a predominant role in the well-being of the entire human body, intestinal barrier homeostasis is strictly regulated by epithelial and immune cells. These cells are also the main intervenients in oxidative stress and inflammation-related diseases in the intestinal tract, triggered, for example, by genetic/epigenetic factors, food additives, pesticides, drugs, pathogens, and their metabolites. Nevertheless, the human diet can also be seen as a solution for the problem, mainly via the inclusion of functional foods or nutraceuticals that may act as antioxidant/anti-inflammatory agents to prevent and mitigate acute and chronic oxidative damage and inflammation. A literature analysis of recent advances in this topic highlights the significant role of Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) and NF-kB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) pathways in these biological processes, with many natural products and phytochemicals targeting endogenous antioxidant systems and cytokine production and balance. In this review, we summarized and discussed studies using in vitro and in vivo models of the intestinal tract used to reproduce oxidative damage and inflammatory events, as well as the role of natural products as modulators of Nrf2 and NK-kB pathways.

Use of Vegetable Waste as a Culture Medium Ingredient Improves the Antimicrobial and Immunomodulatory Activities of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum WiKim0125 Isolated from Kimchi

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi (a traditional Korean dish typically made of fermented cabbage) can provide various health benefits, including anti-obesity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial effects. In this study, we examined the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum WiKim0125 cultured in de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium containing vegetable waste. Live bacterial cells were eliminated via supernatant filtration or heat treatment. The cell-free supernatant (CFS) obtained from culture broth containing kimchi cabbage waste (KCW), cabbage waste (CW), or onion waste (OW) showed significantly higher antimicrobial activity against skin pathogens (Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus aureus) and foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium), with inhibition zones ranging between 4.4 and 8.5 mm, compared to that in conventional MRS medium (4.0-7.3 mm). In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, both supernatant and heat-inactivated Lb. plantarum WiKim0125 from culture media containing KCW and CW suppressed the production of inflammatory cytokines (72.8% and 49.6%, respectively) and nitric oxide (62.2% and 66.7%, respectively) without affecting cell viability. These results indicate that vegetable waste can potentially increase the antimicrobial and immunoregulatory potency of LAB while presenting a molecular basis for applying postbiotics to health products.

The effects of the molecular weights of hyaluronic acid on the immune responses

Background

The molecular weight of hyaluronic acid (HyA) depends on the type of organ in the body. When HyA of the desired molecular weight is implanted into the human body for regeneration of damaged tissue, it is degraded by hyaluronidase in associated with an inflammatory response. This study sought to evaluate the effects of HyA molecular weight and concentration on pro- and anti-inflammatory responses in murine macrophages.

Methods

The structures and molecular weights of HyAs (LMW-10, MMW-100, MMW-500, and HMW-1,500) were confirmed by ¹ H NMR and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), respectively. After treatment of murine macrophages with a low (10 µg/mL) or high (100 µg/mL) concentration of each molecular weight HyA, cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and changes in immune response in both LPS-stimulated and untreated macrophages were evaluated by assessing nitric oxide (NO) production, and analyzing expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory genes including by RT-PCR.

Results

Molecular weights of LMW-10, MMW-100, MMW-500, and HMW-1,500 were 13,241 ± 161, 96,531 ± 1,167, 512,657 ± 8,545, and 1,249,500 ± 37,477 Da, respectively. NO production by LPS-stimulated macrophages was decreased by increasing concentrations and molecular weights of HyA. At a high concentration of 100 µg/mL, HMW-1,500 reduced NO production in LPS-stimulated macrophages to about 45 %. Using NanoString technology, we also found that the immune-related genes TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, TGF-β1, IL-10, IL-11, CCL2, and Arg1 were specifically over-expressed in LPS-stimulated macrophages treated with various molecular weights of HyA. An RT-PCR analysis of gene expression showed that HMW-1,500 decreased expression of classically activated (M1) macrophage genes, such as TNF‐α, IL-6, CCL2, and IL-1β, in LPS-stimulated macrophages, whereas medium molecular-weight HyA (MMW-100 and MMW-500) instead increased expression levels of these genes. HMW-1,500 at a high concentration (100 µg/mL) significantly decreased expression of pro-inflammatory genes in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Expression of genes associated with anti-inflammatory responses (M2 phenotype), such as TGF-β1, IL-10, IL-11, and Arg1, were increased by high concentrations of MMW-500 and HMW-1,500 in LPS-stimulated macrophages.

Conclusions

High molecular-weight HyA (i.e., > 1,250 kDa) inhibits pro-inflammatory responses in LPS-stimulated macrophages and induces anti-inflammatory responses in a concentration dependent manner.

Dynamic Changes of the Anthocyanin Biosynthesis Mechanism During the Development of Heading Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa L.) and Arabidopsis Under the Control of BrMYB2

Chinese cabbage is an important vegetable mainly planted in Asian countries, and mining the molecular mechanism responsible for purple coloration in Brassica crops is fast becoming a research hotspot. In particular, the anthocyanin accumulation characteristic of purple heading Chinese cabbage, along with the plant's growth and head developing, is still largely unknown. To elucidate the dynamic anthocyanin biosynthesis mechanism of Chinese cabbage during its development processes, here we investigated the expression profiles of 86 anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and corresponding anthocyanin accumulation characteristics of plants as they grew and their heads developed, between purple heading Chinese cabbage 11S91 and its breeding parents. Anthocyanin accumulation of 11S91 increased from the early head formation period onward, whereas the purple trait donor 95T2-5 constantly accumulated anthocyanin throughout its whole plant development. Increasing expression levels of BrMYB2 and BrTT8 together with the downregulation of BrMYBL2.1, BrMYBL2.2, and BrLBD39.1 occurred in both 11S91 and 95T2-5 plants during their growth, accompanied by the significantly continuous upregulation of a phenylpropanoid metabolic gene, BrPAL3.1; a series of early biosynthesis genes, such as BrCHSs, BrCHIs, BrF3Hs, and BrF3'H; as well as some key late biosynthesis genes, such as BrDFR1, BrANS1, BrUF3GT2, BrUF5GT, Br5MAT, and Brp-Cout; in addition to the transport genes BrGST1 and BrGST2. Dynamic expression profiles of these upregulated genes correlated well with the total anthocyanin contents during the processes of plant growth and leaf head development, and results supported by similar evidence for structural genes were also found in the BrMYB2 transgenic Arabidopsis. After intersubspecific hybridization breeding, the purple interior heading leaves of 11S91 inherited the partial purple phenotypes from 95T2-5 while the phenotypes of seedlings and heads were mainly acquired from white 94S17; comparatively in expression patterns of investigated anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, cotyledons of 11S91 might inherit the majority of genetic information from the white type parent, whereas the growth seedlings and developing heading tissues of 11S91 featured expression patterns of these genes more similar to 95T2-5. This comprehensive set of results provides new evidence for a better understanding of the anthocyanin biosynthesis mechanism and future breeding of new purple Brassica vegetables.