The Potential Effects of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma on the Extraction Efficiency of Bioactive Compounds in Radix Paeoniae Alba

Optimization of Plasma Activated Water Extraction of Pleurotus ostreatus Polysaccharides on Its Physiochemical and Biological Activity Using Response Surface Methodology

This study focused on optimizing the extraction of P. ostreatus polysaccharides (POPs) using plasma-activated water (PAW). A single factor and response surface methodology were employed to optimize and evaluate the polysaccharide yield, physiochemical characteristics, and biological activities of POPs. The observed findings were compared to those obtained by the conventional hot water extraction method (100 °C, 3 h), as the control treatment. The optimal extraction conditions were obtained at 700 W PAW power, 58 s treatment time, 1:19 sample-to-water ratio, and 15 L/min gas flow rate. In these conditions, the PAW-treated samples experienced changes in surface morphology due to plasma etching, leading to a 288% increase in the polysaccharide yield (11.67%) compared to the control sample (3.01%). Furthermore, the PAW-treated sample exhibited superior performance in terms of biological activities, namely phenolic compounds (53.79 mg GAE/100 g), DPPH scavenging activity (72.77%), and OH scavenging activity (65.03%), which were 29%, 18%, and 38% higher than those of control sample, respectively. The results highlighted the importance of process optimization and provided new evidence for PAW as an alternative approach to enhance the extraction efficiency of POPs, a novel source of natural antioxidants which enables diverse applications in the food industry.

The mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of Oldenlandia diffusa on arthritis model rats: a quantitative proteomic and network pharmacologic study

BACKGROUND

In China, Oldenlandia diffusa (OD) has been prescribed as a therapeutic herb for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We previously conducted a preliminary study of the anti-inflammatory effect of OD, and the purpose of this study is to further investigate its mechanism.

METHODS

We performed a quantitative proteomic analysis of synovium, identified the differentially expressed proteins, and performed bioinformatics analyses. With the help of network pharmacology, we aimed to find the key synovial proteins which OD or its key compound might influence. To verify the result, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was applied to quantify and qualify the absorbable potential compounds of OD. The anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated by morphological, histopathological, and cytokine analyses. Target proteins were observed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

MMP3 and CAV1 were identified as 2 of the differentially expressed proteins in RA synovium, and might be influenced by quercetin, the active compound of OD. MMP3 might be altered through atherosclerosis signaling, while CAV1 might be altered through caveolar-mediated endocytosis signaling. According to our verification, quercetin was identified as the absorbed and effective compound of OD, and it could exert an anti-inflammatory effect on the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, including serum cytokine expression, synovial hyperplasia and lymphocyte infiltration, articular cartilage lesion. Quercetin could also down-regulate the synovial expression of MMP3 and CAV1, and could exert better effects at a high dose.

CONCLUSIONS

Quercetin was the main active compound of OD in the treatment of RA. OD might alleviate inflammatory responses in CIA rats by suppressing the expression of MMP3 and CAV1 through quercetin, and at a high dose, quercetin could exert a better anti-inflammatory effect.