Phenolic, Carotenoid and Saccharide Compositions of Vietnamese Camellia sinensis Teas and Herbal Teas

Unraveling the Mechanisms of Efficient Phosphorus Utilization in Popcorn (Zea mays L. var. everta): Insights from Proteomic and Metabolite Analysis

The expansion of agriculture and the need for sustainable practices drives breeders to develop plant varieties better adapted to abiotic stress such as nutrient deficiency, which negatively impacts yields. Phosphorus (P) is crucial for photosynthesis and plant growth, but its availability in the soil is often limited, hampering crop development. In this study, we examined the response of two popcorn inbred lines, L80 and P7, which have been characterized previously as P-use inefficient and P-use efficient, respectively, under low (stress) and high P (control) availability. Physiological measurements, proteomic analysis, and metabolite assays were performed to unravel the physiological and molecular responses associated with the efficient use of P in popcorn. We observed significant differences in protein abundances in response to the P supply between the two inbred lines. A total of 421 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were observed in L80 and 436 DEPs in P7. These proteins were involved in photosynthesis, protein biosynthesis, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and energy metabolism. In addition, flavonoids accumulated in higher abundance in P7. Our results help us understand the major components of P utilization in popcorn, providing new insights for popcorn molecular breeding programs.

Pereskia sacharosa Griseb. (Cactaceae) Prevents Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation in Rodents via Down-Regulating TLR4/CD14 Pathway and GABAA γ2 Activity

Pereskia sacharosa Griseb. is a plant used in traditional herbal medicine to treat inflammation. We analyzed the phenolic content of P. sacharosa leaves (EEPs) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of EEPs and its flavonoid fraction (F10) in animal models subjected to acute neuroinflammation induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Coronal brain sections of C57BL/6JN male mice or Wistar male rats administered with EEPs or F10 before LPS were subjected to in situ hybridization to determine c-fos and CD14 mRNA levels in the hypothalamus or GABAA γ2 mRNA levels in the hippocampus. Theta oscillations were recorded every 6 h in the hippocampus of Wistar rats. In total, five flavonoids and eight phenolic acids were identified and quantified in P. sacharosa leaves. Either EEPs or F10 crossed the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the brain and reduced the mRNA expression of c-fos, CD14, and GABAA γ2. A decrease in theta oscillation was observed in the hippocampus of the LPS group, while the F10 + LPS group overrode the LPS effect on theta activity. We conclude that the bioactive compounds of P. sacharosa reduce the central response to inflammation, allowing the early return of ambulatory activity and well-being of the animal.

Fermentation with Lactic Acid Bacteria for Bean Flour Improvement: Experimental Study and Molecular Modeling as Complementary Tools

Pulses are considered superfoods for the future world due to their properties, but they require processing to reduce antinutritional factors (ANFs) and increase bioactivity. In this study, bean flour (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was fermented under different conditions (addition of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CRL 2211 and/or Weissella paramesenteroides CRL 2182, temperature, time and dough yield) to improve its nutri-functional quality. Fermentation for 24 h at 37 °C with the mixed starter increased the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) population, acidity, polyphenol content (TPC) and ANF removal more than spontaneous fermentation. Statistical and rep-PCR analysis showed that fermentation was mainly conducted by Lp. plantarum CRL 2211. Metabolic modeling revealed potential cross-feeding between Lp. plantarum and W. paramesenteroides, while the molecular docking and dynamic simulation of LAB tannases and proteinases involved in ANF removal revealed their chemical affinity to gallocatechin and trypsin inhibitors. Fermentation was better than soaking, germination and cooking for enhancing bean flour properties: it increased the free amino acids content by 50% by releasing glutamine, glutamic acid, arginine, leucine and lysine and modified TPC by increasing gallic acid and decreasing caffeic, ferulic and vanillic acids and quercetin-3-glucoside. The combination of experimental and simulation data may help us to understand fermentation processes and to design products with desirable features.

Unleashing the power of chlorogenic acid: exploring its potential in nutrition delivery and the food industry

In the contemporary era, heightened emphasis on health and safety has emerged as a paramount concern among individuals with food. The concepts of "natural" and "green" have progressively asserted dominance in the food consumption market. Consequently, through continuous exploration and development, an escalating array of natural bioactive ingredients is finding application in both nutrition delivery and the broader food industry. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a polyphenolic compound widely distributed in various plants in nature, has garnered significant attention. Abundant research underscores CGA's robust biological activity, showcasing notable preventive and therapeutic efficacy across diverse diseases. This article commences with a comprehensive overview, summarizing the dietary sources and primary biological activities of CGA. These encompass antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective activities. Next, a comprehensive overview of the current research on nutrient delivery systems incorporating CGA is provided. This exploration encompasses nanoparticle, liposome, hydrogel, and emulsion delivery systems. Additionally, the article explores the latest applications of CGA in the food industry. Serving as a cutting-edge theoretical foundation, this paper contributes to the design and development of CGA in the realms of nutrition delivery and the food industry. Finally, the article presents informed speculations and considerations for the future development of CGA.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) cultivated in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh: Unveiling the variability of methylxanthine, bioactive phenolic compound, and antioxidant activity

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a widely consumed beverage known for its numerous health benefits, largely attributed to its rich content of quality determining secondary metabolites such as methylxanthine compounds and bioactive phenolic compounds. The goal of this study was to find out variations of the levels of methylxanthines, bioactive phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity in methanolic and hot water extracts of 129 tea samples grown in three different ecological regions of Bangladesh named Panchagar, Sylhet, and Chattogram. Methylxanthine and bioactive phenolic compounds were determined by using HPLC-DAD, and the antioxidant profile was analysed by UV-vis spectrophotometric methods for methanol and hot water extracts of tea leaves. The IC50 values showed the trend as Panchagar > Sylhet > Chattogram and Sylhet > Chattogram > Panchagar for water and methanol extract, respectively. The results revealed significant (p < 0.05) variations in the levels of methylxanthines content: Panchagar > Chattogram > Sylhet. Caffeine was significantly higher (103.02 ± 5.55 mg/g of dry extract) in the methanolic extract of tea leaves of Panchagar district and lower (53.33 ± 4.30 mg/g of dry extract) in the hot water extract of Sylhet district. Panchagar and Chattogram possessed significantly (p < 0.05) higher catechin content for methanol (57.01 ± 5.50 mg/g dry extract) and hot water (55.23 ± 4.11 mg/g dry extract) extracts, respectively. The utilization of canonical discriminant functions yielded highly favorable outcomes in the classification of tea from three distinct cultivation origins in Bangladesh, relying on their inherent features. This study demonstrated the potential effects of geographical variations on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of tea, emphasizing the importance of regional differences in tea cultivation for optimizing its health benefits as well as dispersing tea cultivation across the country.

In-vitro bio-accessibility and antioxidant activity of commercial standard and enriched whole egg compounds influenced by production and domestic cooking practices

Commercial whole eggs can be enriched to deliver health-beneficial compounds such as lutein and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The combined effect of domestic cooking and gastrointestinal (GI) digestion on enriched egg bio-accessibility and biological activity must be fully elucidated. Thus, this study determines how the combined factors modulate whole egg bio-accessibility and antioxidant activity. Eggs from local supermarkets were cooked and subjected to in vitro GI digestion. The eggs and hydrolysates were characterized for their degree of hydrolysis (DH), carotenoid, PUFA, peptide content, and antioxidant activity. The cooking and digestion influence the DH and carotenoids, whereas PUFA and peptide contents remain unaffected. There was no difference in the antioxidant capacity between the different types of eggs. This study introduces a holistic approach to understanding how production and domestic cooking conditions modulate the bio-accessibility and bioactivity of eggs, which could be used to maximize the health benefits of eggs to consumers.

Hot Water Extraction of Antioxidants from Tea Leaves—Optimization of Brewing Conditions for Preparing Antioxidant-Rich Tea Drinks

There are billions of tea drinkers around the world. However, the optimized tea-brewing temperature and time conditions for achieving a higher concentration of antioxidants in tea drinks have not been thoroughly studied. Finding out the optimized brewing conditions can benefit tea drinkers significantly. In this work, we have studied ten antioxidants from seven different popular green, Oolong, black, and scented teas using hot water extraction followed by HPLC analysis. The antioxidant yield was evaluated at 25–100 °C with 5 to 720 min of brewing time. Our results show that the extraction efficiency was enhanced by increasing the water temperature and the highest yield of antioxidants was achieved at 100 °C. The antioxidant yield increased with prolonged brewing time. However, the degradation of antioxidants occurred when tea leaves were extracted for 120 to 720 min. Caffeine was found in all seven tea samples. At 100 °C, the caffein concentration in the tea extract ranged from 7.04 to 20.4 mg/g in Rizhao green tea. Longjing green tea contained the highest concentration of antioxidants (88 mg/g) in the 100 °C extract. Epigallocatechin and caffeine were the most abundant compounds found in all tea samples studied, ranging from 4.77 to 26.88 mg/g. The antioxidant yield was enhanced by increasing the extraction time to up to 60–120 min for all ten compounds studied.

Cold-Brewed Jasmine Tea Attenuates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Gut Microbial Dysbiosis

Cold-brewed jasmine tea (CB-JT) is regarded to possess characteristic flavors and health benefits as a novel resource of functional tea beverages. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying CB-JT-mediated protective effects on obesity, we evaluated the serum biochemistry, histological condition, glucose tolerance, gene expression profile and intestinal microbial diversity in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Our results demonstrate that cold-brewed jasmine tea can significantly attenuate HFD-induced body weight gain, abnormal serum lipid levels, fat deposition, hepatic injury, inflammatory processes as well as metabolic endotoxemia. CB-JT also modified the microbial community composition in HFD-fed mice and altered the balance to one closely resembled that of the control group. The differential abundance of core microbes in obese mice was reversed by CB-JT treatment, including an increment in the abundance of Blautia, Mucispirillum, and Bilophila as well as a decrease in the abundance of Alloprevotella. CB-JT was proved to regulate the mRNA expression levels of lipid metabolism-related genes such as Leptin, Pgc1a Il6, and Il1b in the adipose tissue coupled with Cyp7a1, Lxra, Srebp1c, and Atgl in the liver. These findings indicate that cold-brewed jasmine tea might be served as a potential functional tea beverage to prevent obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Physiological and biochemical evaluation of high anthocyanin pigmented tea (Camellia sinensis L. O. Kuntze) germplasm for purple tea production

Finding promising purple tea germplasm that would target new tea products for diversification and value addition boost the tea industry’s economic growth. Accordingly, 10 tea germplasm viz. TRA St. 817, TRA St. 293, TRA St. 400, TRA 177/3, TRA 376/2, TRA 376/3, TRA 427/7, TRA P7, TRA P8, and TV1 were evaluated in terms of gas exchange parameters, multiplication performance, and biochemical markers such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanin content, which are related to the purple tea quality. The investigated gas exchange and biochemical parameters revealed significant differences. Germplasm TRA St.817 was physiologically more efficient (24.7 μmol m^–2 s^–1), followed by TRA St. 293, exhibiting the highest net photosynthesis, water use efficiency (19.02 μmol mmol^–1), carboxylation efficiency (0.73), chlorophyll fluorescence or photochemical efficiency of PSII (0.754) and mesophyll efficiency (ci/gs ratio: 2.54). Net photosynthesis was positively correlated with water use efficiency, carboxylation efficiency, mesophyll efficiency, and photochemical efficiency of PSII (r = 0.965^**, 0.937^**, 0.857^**, 0.867^**; P = 0.05), respectively, but negatively correlated with the transpiration ratio (r = −0.878^**; P = 0.05) based on Pearson correlation analysis. The total anthocyanin content (4764.19 μg.g^–1 fresh leaf weight) and carotenoid content (3.825 mg.g^–1 fresh leaf weight) were highest in the TRA St.817 germplasm, followed by germplasm TRA St. 293 (2926.18 μg.g^–1 FW). In contrast, total chlorophyll content was significantly low (1.779 mg.g^–1 fresh weight), which is very suitable for manufacturing purple tea. The highest carotenoid concentration in TRA St. 817 was 3.825 mg.g^–1 FW, followed by TRA P8 (3.475 mg.g^–1 FW), favoring the formation of more volatile flavor constituents. The promising germplasm, TRA St 817, has a multiplication success rate of 91.4% through cleft grafting. The outcome reveals that TRA St.817 is a promising germplasm that can be used to make speciality teas, i.e., purple tea.

The Biological Activity Mechanism of Chlorogenic Acid and Its Applications in Food Industry: A Review

Chlorogenic acid (CGA), also known as coffee tannic acid and 3-caffeoylquinic acid, is a water-soluble polyphenolic phenylacrylate compound produced by plants through the shikimic acid pathway during aerobic respiration. CGA is widely found in higher dicotyledonous plants, ferns, and many Chinese medicine plants, which enjoy the reputation of “plant gold.” We have summarized the biological activities of CGA, which are mainly shown as anti-oxidant, liver and kidney protection, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, regulation of glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism, anti-inflammatory, protection of the nervous system, and action on blood vessels. We further determined the main applications of CGA in the food industry, including food additives, food storage, food composition modification, food packaging materials, functional food materials, and prebiotics. With a view to the theoretical improvement of CGA, biological activity mechanism, and subsequent development and utilization provide reference and scientific basis.