Physicochemical, structure properties and in vitro hypoglycemic activity of soluble dietary fiber from adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) bran treated by steam explosion

In vitro digestion and fermentation characteristics of soluble dietary fiber from adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Staft) bran modified by steam explosion

Adlay bran is known for its nutrient-rich profile and multifunctional properties, and steam explosion (SE) is an emerging physical modification technique. However, the specific effects of SE on the activity composition and antioxidant capacity of adlay bran soluble dietary fiber (SDF) during in vitro digestion, as well as its influence on gut microbiota during in vitro fermentation, remain inadequately understood. This paper reports the in vitro digestion and fermentation characteristics of soluble dietary fiber from adlay bran modified by SE (SE-SDF). Compared with the untreated samples (0-SDF), most of the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity were significantly increased in the SE-SDF digests. Additionally, SE was beneficial for adlay bran SDF to increase the content of acetic acid, propionic acid and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in fermentation broth during in vitro fermentation. SE-SDF could promote the growth of beneficial bacteria while inhibiting the proliferation of pathogenic microbes. Our research indicates that SE-SDF shows strong antioxidant properties after in vitro digestion and plays a pivotal role in regulating gut microbiota during in vitro fermentation, ultimately enhancing human intestinal health.

Dehulled Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L.) ameliorates hepatic gluconeogenesis and steatosis in streptozotocin/high-fat diet-induced diabetic rats

Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L.) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with various biological activities. We investigated the anti-diabetic effects of different parts of adlay seeds, including polished adlay (PA), adlay bran (AB) and dehulled adlay (DA) in a streptozotocin (STZ)/high fat diet (HFD) diabetic rat model (DM). DM rats supplemented with or without PA (43%), AB (3%), or DA (46%) diet for 8 weeks. The plasma glucose and insulin levels and the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were increased in DM group; among the three adlay diets, DA has the best effects attenuating all of these alterations in DM rats. Both AB and DA alleviated diabetes-impaired glucose tolerance. The increased hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase protein expression in DM group was improved by all of the three adlay diets. The increased ratio of glucose-6-phosphatase to glucokinase in DM group was suppressed by DA supplementation, further suggesting DA diet is most effective among the three diets. Both AB and DA diets had beneficial effects against hepatic steatosis, with better effects observed in DA group. These results suggest that the DA diet, composed of both polished adlay and adlay bran, possesses the best potential to improve glucose homeostasis, at least in part, by alleviating hepatic glucose metabolism and steatosis.

Potential of the Novel Slot Blot Method with a PVDF Membrane for Protein Identification and Quantification in Kampo Medicines

Kampo is a Japanese traditional medicine modified from traditional Chinese medicine. Kampo medicines contain various traditional crude drugs with unknown compositions due to the presence of low-molecular-weight compounds and proteins. However, the proteins are generally rare and extracted with high-polarity solvents such as water, making their identification and quantification difficult. To develop methods for identifying and quantifying the proteins in Kampo medicines, in the current study we employ previous technology (e.g., column chromatography, electrophoresis, and membrane chromatography), focusing on membrane chromatography with a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane. Moreover, we consider slot blot analysis based on the principle of membrane chromatography, which is beneficial for analyzing the proteins in Kampo medicines as the volume of the samples is not limited. In this article, we assess a novel slot blot method developed in 2017 and using a PVDF membrane and special lysis buffer to quantify advanced glycation end products-modified proteins against other slot blots. We consider our slot blot analysis superior for identifying and quantifying proteins in Kampo medicines compared with other methods as the data obtained with our novel slot blot can be shown with both error bars and the statistically significant difference, and our operation step is simpler than those of other methods.