Pepsin-pancreatin protein hydrolysates from extruded amaranth inhibit markers of atherosclerosis in LPS-induced THP-1 macrophages-like human cells by reducing expression of proteins in LOX-1 signaling pathway

Technological Applications of Natural Colorants in Food Systems: A Review

Natural colorants have emerged as an alternative to their synthetic counterparts due to an existing health concern of these later. Moreover, natural-food colorants are a renewable option providing health benefits and interesting technological and sensory attributes to the food systems containing them. Several sources of natural colorants have been explored aiming to deliver the required wide color range demanded by consumers. This review aimed to compare and discuss the technological applications of the main natural-food colorants into food system in the last six years, giving additional information about their extraction process. Although natural colorants are promising choices to replace synthetic ones, optimization of processing conditions, research on new sources, and new formulations to ensure stability are required to equate their properties to their synthetic counterparts.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of peptides released from germinated amaranth during in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) is an ancestral nutritional grain and good source of bioactive compounds as peptides. In this study, the effect of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGD) of germinated amaranth on the release of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides was evaluated. The germinated amaranth peptides generated during SGD were released after 90 min of incubation with pancreatin and fractioned to F1 (>10 kDa), F2 (3-10 kDa), and F3 (<3 kDa). Among germinated amaranth peptides fractions tested, F2 had the highest antioxidant activity, while F1 and F2 exhibited a high anti-inflammatory response caused by lipopolysaccharide-induced in RAW 264.7 macrophages. A total of 11 peptides sequences were identified in the fractions evaluated, and they exhibit potential biological activity against non-communicable diseases. The findings from this study showed first time report on bioactive peptides, especially anti-inflammatory, from germinated amaranth released by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion.

Phytochemical Compounds and Antioxidant Activity Modified by Germination and Hydrolysis in Mexican Amaranth

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) grains have become essential for human health and nutrition; due to the presence of bioactive compounds that have shown some biological activities. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of germination, enzymatic hydrolysis, and its combination on the phytochemical compounds and antioxidant activity in Mexican amaranth. Germinated amaranth flours (GAF) exhibited increases in the concentrations of soluble protein (SP), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total anthocyanin content (TAC) and antioxidant activity (AOX) by 35.7, 17.2, 163.0, 1472.2, and 54.3%, respectively, compared with ungerminated amaranth flours (UAF). In SDS-PAGE, both hydrolysates of UAF and GAF exhibited low molecular weight bands (< 10 kDa). The hydrolysates of UAFH and GAFH had the highest degree of hydrolysis at 205 min of sequential hydrolysis (pepsin with pancreatin) time with 73.4 and 60.3%, respectively. Both hydrolysates obtained from GAF and UAF released significantly SP, TPC, TFC after sequential enzymatic hydrolysis (up 205 min), which led to a remarkable improvement of AOX when compared to nonhydrolyzed amaranth samples. The UAFH and GAFH had the best AOX at 270 min of enzymatic hydrolysis with 983.1 and 1304.9 μmol TE/mg SP, respectively. Hence, the combination of germination and enzymatic hydrolysis could be used to produce functional ingredients for food product development.

Pseudocereal grains: Nutritional value, health benefits and current applications for the development of gluten-free foods

Nowadays, consumers are more conscious of the environmental and nutritional benefits of foods. Pseudocereals grains, edible seeds belonging to dicotyledonous plant species, are becoming a current trend in human diets as gluten-free (GF) grains with excellent nutritional and nutraceutical value. Pseudocereals are a good source of starch, fiber, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals such as saponins, polyphenols, phytosterols, phytosteroids, and betalains with potential health benefits. The present review aims to summarize the nutritional quality and phytochemical profile of the three main pseudocereal grains: quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat. In addition, current evidence about their health benefits in animal models and human studies is also provided in detail. Based on the accumulating research supporting the inclusion of pseudocereals grains in the diet of celiac persons, this review discusses the recent advances in their application for the development of new GF products. Future directions for a wider cultivation and commercial exploitation of these crops are also highlighted.

Albiflorin inhibits the formation of THP-1-derived foam cells through the LOX-1/NF-κB pathway

BACKGROUND

Foam cells are characteristic pathologic cells of atherosclerosis (AS), they are lipid-loaded macrophages present on atherosclerotic lesions. A large number of studies has shown that the pathogenesis of AS is the result of interactions between the lipid metabolism disorders and chronic inflammatory responses in the body. Albiflorin can inhibit the inflammatory response and it has shown a therapeutic effect on certain inflammatory diseases.

METHODS

In this study, a human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1)-derived foam cell model was established via oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to observe the effects of albiflorin on the AS-characteristic foam cells.

RESULTS

Our results showed that, after the treatment with ox-LDL, macrophages induced by propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA), presented large amounts of lipid deposition in their cytoplasm, indicating that the THP-1-derived foam cell model was successfully established. On the other hand, the same cells pretreated with albiflorin presented significantly reduced amounts of lipid deposition, and their contents of total cholesterol and triglyceride were also clearly lower. Besides, the expression levels of low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) were significantly decreased, and the expression levels of downstream factors interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were also obviously decreased in the cells treated with albiflorin but not in the negative control cells. Moreover, after treatment of macrophages with different concentrations of ox-LDL, the expression levels of LOX-1 and NF-κB were up-regulated in an ox-LDL concentration-dependent manner, and so were the expression levels of IL-6 and TNF-α. And, it was found after treatment with LOX-1 neutralizing antibody or NF-κB inhibitor (during the foam cell formation induction via ox-LDL) that the lipid deposition in the cytoplasm of the cells was reduced, as in the cells treated with albiflorin.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our findings suggest that albiflorin decreases lipid deposition in the cytoplasm and blocks the foaming process by regulating the LOX-1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Intake of Protein Hydrolysates and Phenolic Fractions Isolated from Flaxseed Ameliorates TNBS-Induced Colitis

SCOPE

In the attempt to develop new therapeutic treatments for colitis, fractions containing phenolic compound isolate (Phi) and phenolic reduced-flaxseed protein hydrolysate (phr-FPH) from flaxseed are evaluated for their effects on the in vitro production of pro-inflammatory mediators and on the course of experimental colitis.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The anti-inflammatory effects of Phi and phr-FPH from flaxseeds are studied in RAW264.7 cells and in trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) colitis model. It is observed that the incubation with Phi or phr-FPH result in lower levels of tumor necrosis factor α and nitric oxide in macrophages stimulated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide + interferon-γ. Prophylactic and therapeutic treatments with Phi and phr-FPH, respectively, greatly contribute to the prevention of weight loss and colon inflammation in colitic BALB/c mice. T cell proliferation, expansion of TH1 and TH17 cells, and pro-inflammatory cytokines are lower, whereas Treg cells are higher in spleen cell cultures from Phi-treated mice. In addition, therapeutic phr-FPH treatment is able to reduce the expansion of TH17 in splenic cell cultures.

CONCLUSION

The consumption of phenolic and protein compounds extracted from flaxseeds has a protective effect on TNBS-induced colitis, and may be useful in the control of other inflammatory disorders.

Food-derived immunomodulatory peptides

Food proteins contain specific amino acid sequences within their structures that may positively impact bodily functions and have multiple immunomodulatory effects. The functional properties of these specific sequences, also referred to as bioactive peptides, are revealed only after the degradation of native proteins during digestion processes. Currently, milk proteins have been the most explored source of bioactive peptides, which presents an interesting opportunity for the dairy industry. However, plant- and animal-derived proteins have also been shown to be important sources of bioactive peptides. This review summarizes the in vitro and in vivo evidence of the role of various food proteins as sources of immunomodulatory peptides and discusses the possible pathways involving these properties. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Inclusion of ancient Latin-American crops in bread formulation improves intestinal iron absorption and modulates inflammatory markers

This study compares iron (Fe) absorption in Fe-deficient animals from bread formulations prepared by substitution of white wheat flour (WB) by whole wheat flour (WWB), amaranth flour (Amaranthus hypochondriacus, 25%) (AB) and quinoa flour (Chenopodium quinoa, 25%) (QB), or chia flour (Salvia hispanica L, 5%) (ChB).

Characterization of peptides found in unprocessed and extruded amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) pepsin/pancreatin hydrolysates

The objectives of this study were to characterize peptides found in unprocessed amaranth hydrolysates (UAH) and extruded amaranth hydrolysates (EAH) and to determine the effect of the hydrolysis time on the profile of peptides produced. Amaranth grain was extruded in a single screw extruder at 125 °C of extrusion temperature and 130 rpm of screw speed. Unprocessed and extruded amaranth flour were hydrolyzed with pepsin/pancreatin enzymes following a kinetic at 10, 25, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min for each enzyme. After 180 min of pepsin hydrolysis, aliquots were taken at each time during pancreatin hydrolysis to characterize the hydrolysates by MALDI-TOF/MS-MS. Molecular masses (MM) (527, 567, 802, 984, 1295, 1545, 2034 and 2064 Da) of peptides appeared consistently during hydrolysis, showing high intensity at 10 min (2064 Da), 120 min (802 Da) and 180 min (567 Da) in UAH. EAH showed high intensity at 10 min (2034 Da) and 120 min (984, 1295 and 1545 Da). Extrusion produced more peptides with MM lower than 1000 Da immediately after 10 min of hydrolysis. Hydrolysis time impacted on the peptide profile, as longer the time lower the MM in both amaranth hydrolysates. Sequences obtained were analyzed for their biological activity at BIOPEP, showing important inhibitory activities related to chronic diseases. These peptides could be used as a food ingredient/supplement in a healthy diet to prevent the risk to develop chronic diseases.

Food derived bioactive peptides and intestinal barrier function

A wide range of food-derived bioactive peptides have been shown to exert health-promoting actions and are therefore considered functional foods or nutraceuticals. Some of these actions are related to the maintenance, reinforcement or repairment of the intestinal barrier function (IBF) whose role is to selectively allow the absorption of water, nutrients and ions while preventing the influx of microorganisms from the intestinal lumen. Alterations in the IBF have been related to many disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease or metabolic syndrome. Components of IBF are the intestinal epithelium, the mucus layer, secretory immunoglobulin A and cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Here we review the effects of food derived bioactive peptides on these IBF components. In vitro and in vivo effects, both in healthy and disease states, have been reviewed. Although limited, the available information indicates a potential for food-derived peptides to modify IBF and to contribute to disease treatment, but further research is needed to better isolate responsible peptides, and to help define their mode of action.