Riboflavin-photosensitized oxidation is enhanced by conjugation in unsaturated lipids

High internal phase double emulsions stabilized by modified pea protein-alginate complexes: Application for co-encapsulation of riboflavin and β-carotene

The application of many hydrophilic and hydrophobic nutraceuticals is limited by their poor solubility, chemical stability, and/or bioaccessibility. In this study, a novel Pickering high internal phase double emulsion co-stabilized by modified pea protein isolate (PPI) and sodium alginate (SA) was developed for the co-encapsulation of model hydrophilic (riboflavin) and hydrophobic (β-carotene) nutraceuticals. Initially, the effect of emulsifier type in the external water phase on emulsion formation and stability was examined, including commercial PPI (C-PPI), C-PPI-SA complex, homogenized and ultrasonicated PPI (HU-PPI), and HU-PPI-SA complex. The encapsulation and protective effects of these double emulsions on hydrophilic riboflavin and hydrophobic β-carotene were then evaluated. The results demonstrated that the thermal and storage stabilities of the double emulsion formulated from HU-PPI-SA were high, which was attributed to the formation of a thick biopolymer coating around the oil droplets, as well as thickening of the aqueous phase. Encapsulation significantly improved the photostability of the two nutraceuticals. The double emulsion formulated from HU-PPI-SA significantly improved the in vitro bioaccessibility of β-carotene, which was mainly attributed to inhibition of its chemical degradation under simulated acidic gastric conditions. The novel delivery system may therefore be used for the development of functional foods containing multiple nutraceuticals.

Progress of phototherapy for osteosarcoma and application prospect of blue light photobiomodulation therapy

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor that mainly affects the pediatric and adolescent population; limb salvage treatment has become one of the most concerned and expected outcomes of OS patients recently. Phototherapy (PT), as a novel, non-invasive, and efficient antitumor therapeutic approach including photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT), has been widely applied in superficial skin tumor research and clinical treatment. OS is the typical deep tumor, and its phototherapy research faces great limitations and challenges. Surprisingly, pulse mode LED light can effectively improve tissue penetration and reduce skin damage caused by high light intensity and has great application potential in deep tumor research. In this review, we discussed the research progress and related molecular mechanisms of phototherapy in the treatment of OS, mainly summarized the status quo of blue light PBMT in the scientific research and clinical applications of tumor treatment, and outlooked the application prospect of pulsed blue LED light in the treatment of OS, so as to further improve clinical survival rate and prognosis of OS treatment and explore corresponding cellular mechanisms.

Flavins Act as a Critical Liaison Between Metabolic Homeostasis and Oxidative Stress in the Retina

Derivatives of the vitamin riboflavin, FAD and FMN, are essential cofactors in a multitude of bio-energetic reactions, indispensable for lipid metabolism and also are requisites in mitigating oxidative stress. Given that a balance between all these processes contributes to the maintenance of retinal homeostasis, effective regulation of riboflavin levels in the retina is paramount. However, various genetic and dietary factors have brought to fore pathological conditions that co-occur with a suboptimal level of flavins in the retina. Our focus in this review is to, comprehensively summarize all the possible metabolic and oxidative reactions which have been implicated in various retinal pathologies and to highlight the contribution flavins may have played in these. Recent research has found a sensitive method of measuring flavins in both diseased and healthy retina, presence of a novel flavin binding protein exclusively expressed in the retina, and the presence of flavin specific transporters in both the inner and outer blood-retina barriers. In light of these exciting findings, it is even more imperative to shift our focus on how the retina regulates its flavin homeostasis and what happens when this is disrupted.

Zein Particle-Stabilized Water-In-Water Emulsion as a Vehicle for Hydrophilic Bioactive Compound Loading of Riboflavin

Vitamins and flavonoids are two kinds of essential trace bioactives which are prone to photodegradation during food processing and storage. In this study, a particle-stabilized water-in-water (W/W) emulsion system composed of soy protein isolate (SPI) and guar gum (GG) was applied in loading riboflavin. Based on the significant binding affinity differences of SPI (K_a = 1.11 × 10⁵ L mol^-1) and GG (K_a = 9.00 × 10³ L mol^-1) to riboflavin, this hydrophilic and light-sensitive bioactive compound was loaded in SPI-rich droplets. Confocal images indicated that a stable microstructure of SPI-rich droplets suspended in GG-rich continuous phase was successfully constructed by manipulating the proportion of the two polymeric components and using zein-based particles (ZPs) as stabilizers. These negatively charged particles modified by pectin with a hydrodynamic diameter of 533 ± 5.7 nm were able to adsorb at the SPI/GG interface and subsequently stabilized the SPI-in-GG emulsion. Fluorescence spectra of riboflavin suggested that the formation of such W/W emulsion could effectively delay the photodegradation of riboflavin during an 8 h ultraviolet irradiation, and its color was maintained to a maximum extent. Therefore, this structured W/W emulsion could be a desired architecture for delivering light-sensitive cargo.

Retbindin Is Capable of Protecting Photoreceptors from Flavin-Sensitized Light-Mediated Cell Death In Vitro

Retbindin (Rtbdn) is a novel protein of unknown function found exclusively in the retina. Recently, our group has suggested, from in silico analysis of the peptide sequence and in vitro binding data, that Rtbdn could function to bind riboflavin (RF) and its derivatives flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN), collectively known as flavins. Here we confirm that Rtbdn is capable of flavin binding and that this characteristic can protect photoreceptors from flavin-sensitized light damage.

Influence of riboflavin on the oxidation kinetics of unsaturated fatty acids at the air/aqueous interface revealed by sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Riboflavin, a common nutrient also known as vitamin B2, is known to potentially play important roles in preventing lipid peroxidations. However, the detailed antioxidant mechanisms, especially the influence of riboflavin on lipid oxidations at biological interfaces, have not yet been fully explored. In the current study, the effect of riboflavin molecules on the oxidation kinetics of monounsaturated cis-11-eicosenoic acid (EA) at the air/water interface was systematically investigated using sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS). It was discovered that the oxidation rates of the interfacial EA molecules can be reduced by about two to three times in the presence of riboflavin in the aqueous subphase. Further SFG-VS measurements under the protection of nitrogen purging gas showed that more tightly packed and ordered monolayer structures were formed by the surface adsorption of riboflavin molecules, making the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bonds less accessible to the gas phase oxidative species. These results suggested that the antioxidant mechanism for riboflavin in the vicinity of biomembranes may not necessarily involve other reducing agents. They also show the great importance of interfacial molecular structures in biologically relevant chemical reactions.

Visible Blue Light Therapy: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities

BACKGROUND

Visible light is absorbed by photoacceptors in pigmented and non-pigmented mammalian cells, activating signaling cascades and downstream mechanisms that lead to the modulation of cellular processes. Most studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms and therapeutic applications of UV and the red to near infrared regions of the visible spectrum. Considerably less effort has been dedicated to the blue, UV-free part of the spectrum.

OBJECTIVE

In this review, we discuss the current advances in the understanding of the molecular photoacceptors, signaling mechanisms, and corresponding therapeutic opportunities of blue light photoreception in non-visual mammalian cells in the context of inflammatory skin conditions.

METHODS

The literature was scanned for peer-reviewed articles focusing on the molecular mechanisms, cellular effects, and therapeutic applications of blue light.

RESULTS

At a molecular level, blue light is absorbed by flavins, porphyrins, nitrosated proteins, and opsins; inducing the generation of ROS, nitric oxide release, and the activation of G protein coupled signaling. Limited and contrasting results have been reported on the cellular effects of blue light induced signaling. Some investigations describe a regulation of proliferation and differentiation or a modulation of inflammatory parameters; others show growth inhibition and apoptosis. Regardless of the elusive underlying mechanism, clinical studies show that blue light is beneficial in the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions.

CONCLUSION

To strengthen the use of blue light for therapeutic purposes, further in depth studies are clearly needed with regard to its underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms, and their translation into clinical applications.

Isomerization of Cholecalciferol through Energy Transfer as a Protective Mechanism Against Flavin-Sensitized Photooxidation

Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3, was found to isomerize to 5,6-trans-vitamin-D3 with a quantum yield of 0.15 ± 0.01 in air-saturated 7/3 tert-butyl alcohol/water (v/v) at 25 °C, increasing to 0.32 ± 0.02 in the absence of oxygen, through quenching of triplet excited state flavin mononucleotide, FMN, rather than becoming oxidized. The quenching was found by laser flash photolysis to have a rate constant of 1.4 × 10(8) L mol(-1) s(-1) in 7/3 tert-butyl alcohol/water (v/v) at 25 °C, assigned to energy transfer from (3)FMN* to form a reactive vit.D3 diradical. vit.D3 forms a 1/1 precomplex with FMN by hydrophobic stacking with ΔH° = -36 ± 7 kJ mol(-1) and ΔS° = -4 ± 3 J mol(-1) K(-1), as shown by single photon counting fluorescence spectroscopy and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. Both ground-state precomplex formation and excited-state energy transfer seem important for vit.D3 protection against flavin-sensitized photooxidation of nutrients in food and biological systems.

Flavonoids protecting food and beverages against light

Flavonoids, which are ubiquitously present in the plant kingdom, preserve food and beverages at the parts per million level with minor perturbation of sensory impressions. Additionally, they are safe and possibly contribute positive health effects. Flavonoids should be further exploited for the protection of food and beverages against light-induced quality deterioration through: (1) direct absorption of photons as inner filters protecting sensitive food components; (2) deactivation of (triplet-)excited states of sensitisers like chlorophyll and riboflavin; (3) quenching of singlet oxygen from type II photosensitisation; and (iv) scavenging of radicals formed as reaction intermediates in type I photosensitisation. For absorption of light, combinations of flavonoids, as found in natural co-pigmentation, facilitate dissipation of photon energy to heat thus averting photodegradation. For protection against singlet oxygen and triplet sensitisers, chemical quenching gradually decreases efficiency hence the pathway to physical quenching should be optimised through product formulation. The feasibility of these protection strategies is further supported by kinetic data that are becoming available, allowing for calculation of threshold levels of flavonoids to prevent beer and dairy products from going off. On the other hand, increasing understanding of the interplay between light and matrix physicochemistry, for example the effect of aprotic microenvironments on phototautomerisation of compounds like quercetin, opens up for engineering better light-to-heat converting channels in processed food to eventually prevent quality loss.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of 1-hydroxyethyl radical reaction with unsaturated lipids and prenylflavonoids

Hydroxyalkyl radicals have been reported to induce lipid oxidation as the key aspect of the pathogenesis of alcoholic fatty liver disease and are responsible for the alkylation and cleavage of DNA during the metabolism of a wide range of genotoxic compounds. However, relevant kinetic data for the oxidation of unsaturated lipids by 1-hydroxyethyl radical (HER) has not been reported. In this study, the rate constants for the reaction of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters and sterols with HER have been determined using a competitive kinetic approach employing the spin-trap α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (4-POBN) as the competitive substrate. Polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl ester is shown to react with HER with an apparent second-order rate constant ranging from (3.7 ± 0.1) × 10(6) L mol(-1) s(-1) for methyl linoleate to (2.7 ± 0.2) × 10(7) L mol(-1) s(-1) for methyl docosahexanoate at 25.0 ± 0.2 °C in ethanol. The apparent second-order rate constant for polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl ester oxidation by HER is dependent on the number of bisallylic hydrogen atoms rather than on the bond dissociation energy value for the weakest C-H bond as determined by ab initio density functional theory calculations. Sterols displayed higher reactivity compared to unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters with apparent second-order rate constants of (2.7 ± 0.1) × 10(6) and (5.2 ± 0.1) × 10(7) L mol(-1) s(-1) at 25.0 ± 0.2 °C in ethanol for cholesterol and ergosterol, respectively. Similar experiments with prenylflavonoids as potential herbal chemopreventive agents for preventing alcoholic liver diseases yield apparent second-order rate constants close to the diffusion control with kapp values of (1.5 ± 0.2) and (3.6 ± 0.1) × 10(9) L mol(-1)s(-1) for 6-prenylnarigerin and xanthohumol at 25.0 ± 0.2 °C in ethanol solution, respectively. Polyunsaturated lipids were revealed to be highly reactive oxidizable substrates toward HER-induced oxidation in biological systems leading to damage of membranes and sensitive structures.

Riboflavin photosensitized oxidation of myoglobin

The reaction of the fresh meat pigment oxymyoglobin, MbFe(II)O₂, and its oxidized form metmyoglobin, MbFe(III), with triplet-state riboflavin involves the pigment protein, which is oxidatively cleaved or dimerized as shown by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. The overall rate constant for oxidation of MbFe(II)O₂ by ³Rib is (3.0 ± 0.5) × 10⁹ L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹ and (3.1 ± 0.4) × 10⁹ L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹ for MbFe(III) in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4 at 25 °C as determined by laser flash photolysis. The high rates are rationalized by ground state hydrophobic interactions as detected as static quenching of fluorescence from singlet-excited state riboflavin by myoglobins using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and a Stern-Volmer approach. Binding of riboflavin to MbFe(III) has K(a) = (1.2 ± 0.2) × 10⁴ mol·L⁻¹ with ΔH° = -112 ± 22 kJ·mol⁻¹ and ΔS° = -296 ± 75 J·mol⁻¹·K⁻¹. For meat, riboflavin is concluded to be a photosensitizer for protein oxidation but not for discoloration.