Effect of Roasting Time and Cryogenic Milling on the Physicochemical Characteristics of Dried Ginseng Powder

Formation and Characterization of Irreversible Sediment of Ginseng Extract

Sediment is a key issue in the beverage industry. This study confirmed that reversible and irreversible sediments were formed during low-temperature storage of ginseng extract. The first 30 days of storage are the critical period for sediment formation. As the time of storage extends, the chemical composition changes. The composition interaction model verified that the cross-linking of protein-pectin, protein-oxalic acid and Ca2+-pectin was the main cause of the turbidity of ginseng extract. Based on the characterization of irreversible sediment (IRS), there are typical structures of proteins, polysaccharides and calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) crystals. Glucose, galacturonic acid, aspartate, glutamic acid, leucine, Ca, K, Al, Mg, Na and Fe are the main monomer components. Effective regulation of these ingredients will greatly help the quality of ginseng beverages.

Development of a novel green tea quality roadmap and the complex sensory-associated characteristics exploration using rapid near-infrared spectroscopy technology

Nondestructive instrumental identification of the green tea quality instead of professional human panel tests is highly desired for industrial application recently. The special flavor is a key quality-trait that influence consumer preference. However, flavonoids, as well as sensory-associated compounds, which play a critical role in the quality-traits profile of green tea samples have been poorly investigated. In this study, we were proposing an objective and accurate near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) profile to support quality control within the entire green tea sensory evaluation chain, the complexity of green tea samples' sensory analysis was performed by two complementary methods: the standard calculation and the novel NIRS roadmap coupled with chemometrics. The green tea samples' physical quality, gustatory index, and nutritional index were measured respectively, which taking into consideration the gustatory evaluation of green tea for five commercially representative overall quality ("very bad", "bad", "regular", "good" and "excellent"). Our findings highlight the underexplored role of NIRS in chemical-to-sensory relationships and its widespread importance and utility in green tea quality improvement. Collectively, the comprehensive characterization of sensory-associated attribution allowed the identification of a wide array of spectrometric features, mostly related to moisture, soluble solids (SS), tea polyphenol (TPP), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC) and tea polysaccharide (TPS), which can be used as putative biomarkers to rapidly evaluate the green tea flavor variations related to rank differences. Otherwise, the NIRS' data were split into the calibration (n = 80) and prediction (n = 40) set independently, which showed high correlation coefficient with Rp-values of 0.9024, 0.9020 in physical and total cup quality, respectively. In this research, we demonstrated that NIRS was an easily-generated strategy and able to close the loop to feedback into the process for advanced process control. However, the established models should be improved by more green tea samples from different regions.

Value-added application of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC. roots (PGR) by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) process to improve physicochemical quality, structural characteristics and functional properties

Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC. roots (PGR), a Chinese herb with medicinal and edible value, was powdered by freeze drying (FD) and spray drying (SD) after maceration extraction (ME) or ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) to develop a new functional food product. Four PGR powders were obtained namely ME-FD, ME-SD, UAE-FD, and UAE-SD and their powder quality, structural properties, and functionalities were evaluated. UAE-FD powder had the highest powder recovery (85.3 ± 5.79%) and also presented better hydration properties due to the larger particle size compared with other three PGR powders. Four PGR powders exhibited similar thermal decomposition process, molecular structure, amorphous characteristics, amino acids composition, and taste profiles. Furthermore, the UAE-FD PGR powders presented the highest Platycodin D (3.68 ± 0.04 mg/g), total phenolic (2.84 ± 0.11 mg GAE/g), and total flavonoids content (2.11 ± 0.14 mg RE/g), resulting in best antioxidant activity (58.67 ± 2.42 μmol Trolox/g). Therefore UAE-FD is an environment-friendly technique for the production of functional PGR powder with improved nutritional and redispersion properties.

Ginseng leaf extract ameliorates the survival of endotoxemic mice by inhibiting the release of high mobility group box 1

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a well-defined mediator involved in the pathophysiologic response to endotoxemia and sepsis. However, the mechanisms and therapeutic agents that could prevent its release are not fully elucidated. Here, the present study demonstrates that the ginseng leaf extract (GLE) regulates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered release of HMGB1 in macrophages and endotoxemic animal model. Treatment of RAW264.7 macrophages with GLE significantly inhibited the release of HMGB1 stimulated by LPS. GLE also suppressed the generation of nitric oxide (NO) and expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in a dose-dependent manner. These effects of GLE were accompanied by inhibition of HMGB1 release stimulated by LPS, indicating a potential mechanism by which GLE regulates HMGB1 release through NO signaling. Furthermore, induction of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 by GLE-mediated GLE-dependent suppression of HMGB1 release and NO/iNOS induction by inhibiting Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 signal in RAW 264.7 cells exposed to LPS. Finally, administration of the GLE ameliorated the survival rate of LPS-injected endotoxemic mice in a NO-dependent manner. Thus, GLE may block the LPS-stimulated release of HMGB1 by regulating cellular signal networks, thereby providing a therapeutic strategy for endotoxemia as a functional food. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is released into the extracellular milieu when immune cells are exposed to pathogen-related molecules such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in which it acts as a critical mediator of lethality in sepsis and endotoxemia. The extract of ginseng leaf, which is a part that can be easily thrown away, ameliorated the survival rate of endotoxemic mice by inhibiting HMGB1 secretion in a NO-dependent manner. Thus, this study suggests that ginseng leaf can be used as a functional food by resolving the immune responses in the pathology of endotoxemia.