Hypoglycemic Effect of Prolamin from Cooked Foxtail Millet (Setaria italic) on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Role of millets in pre-diabetes and diabetes: effect of processing and product formulation

The incidence of pre-diabetes and diabetes has been increasing recently worldwide and considered as a major growing non-communicable disease. Millets are eco-friendly crops which could sustain extensive climatic conditions. The productivity of millets had increased in recent years to meet the nutritional needs of the increasing global population. The factors which affect the starch digestibility pattern in millets are protein, fat, resistant starch, dietary fibre, and anti-nutrients. However, the interplay of these components also affects the starch digestibility pattern in millets during various processing methods such as thermal, non-thermal, chemical, and their combination. The incorporation of native and processed millet in food products varies the in-vitro and in-vivo glycaemic index. The current study further discusses the potential applications of millet in food formulations for pre-diabetic and diabetic population. Hence the appropriately processed millets could be a suggested as a suitable dietary option for pre-diabetic and diabetic population.

Nourishment beyond grains: unveiling the multifaceted contributions of millets to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations General Assembly declared that 2023 will be celebrated as the International Year of Millets. Millets are a group of coarse grains from the Poaceae family that offer numerous benefits that align with various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This review explores diverse contributions of millet cultivation, consumption, and value addition with UN SDGs. The millets help in combating hunger by providing economical sources of essential nutrients and diversifying diets, improving health through mitigating malnutrition and diet-related diseases. Millet's lower water demand and resilience to climatic stress help in sustainable water management. Millets reduce the risks associated with monoculture farming and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Similarly, millet plants need few chemical fertilizers, and the ecological damage associated with these plants is minimized. Millets can prevent soil degradation and conserve biodiversity. They can adapt to diverse cropping systems and support sustainable land practices. Millet cultivation reduces inequalities by empowering smallholder farmers and maintaining economic balance. The cultivation and trading of millets promote partnerships among governments, NGOs, and businesses for sustainable development. The ability of millet to contribute to poverty reduction, hunger alleviation, health improvement, environmental sustainability, and economic development makes millet a sustainable choice for a better world.

Structure, Functional Properties, and Applications of Foxtail Millet Prolamin: A Review

Foxtail millet prolamin, one of the major protein constituents of foxtail millet, has garnered attention due to its unique amino acid composition and function. Foxtail millet prolamin exhibits specific physicochemical and functional characteristics, such as solubility, surface hydrophobicity, emulsifying, and foaming properties. These characteristics have been exploited in the preparation and development of products, including plant-based alternative products, nutritional supplements, and gluten-free foods. Additionally, because of the favorable biocompatibility and biodegradability, foxtail millet prolamin is frequently used as a carrier for encapsulation and targeted delivery of bioactive substances. Moreover, studies have shown that foxtail millet prolamin is highly nutritious and displays various biological activities like antioxidant effects, anti-inflammatory properties, and anti-diabetic potential, making it a valuable ingredient in medicinal products and contributing to its potential role in therapeutic diets. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the amino acid composition and structural characteristics of foxtail millet prolamin, as well as the functional properties, biological activities, and applications in functional food formulation and drug delivery strategy. Challenges and future perspectives for the utilization of foxtail millet prolamin are also pointed out. This review aims to provide novel ideas and broad prospects for the effective use of foxtail millet prolamin.

Potential roles of cereal bioactive compounds in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes: A review of the current knowledge

Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases in both developed and underdeveloped countries with a 9.3% prevalence. Unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles are among the most common reasons for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diet plays a crucial role in both the etiology and treatment of T2DM. There are several recommendations regarding the carbohydrate intake of patients with T2DM. One of them is about reducing the total carbohydrate intake and/or changing the type of carbohydrate to reduce the glycaemic index. Cereals are good sources of carbohydrates in the diet with a significant amount of soluble and non-soluble fiber content. Apart from fiber, it has been shown that the bioactive compounds present in cereals such as proteins, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and tocols have beneficial impacts in the prevention and treatment of T2DM. Moreover, cereal by-products especially the by-products of milling processes, which are bran and germ, have been reported to have anti-diabetic activities mainly because of their fiber and polyphenols content. Considering the potential functions of cereals in patients with T2DM, this review focuses on the roles of cereal bioactive compounds in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Integration of systematic review, lipidomics with experiment verification reveals abnormal sphingolipids facilitate diabetic retinopathy by inducing oxidative stress on RMECs

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the potential biomarkers in the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) into diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

Systematic review of diabetic metabolomics was used to screen the differential metabolites and related pathways during the development of DM. Non-targeted lipidomics of rat plasma was performed to explore the differential metabolites in the development of DM into DR in vivo. To verify the effects of differential metabolites in inducing retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMECs) injury by increasing oxidative stress, high glucose medium containing differential metabolites was used to induce rat RMECs injury and cell viability, malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were evaluated in vitro. Network pharmacology was performed to explore the potential mechanism of differential metabolites in inducing DR.

RESULTS

Through the systematic review, 148 differential metabolites were obtained and the sphingolipid metabolic pathway attracted our attention. Plasma non-targeted lipidomics found that sphingolipids were accompanied by the development of DM into DR. In vitro experiments showed sphinganine and sphingosine-1-phosphate aggravated rat RMECs injury induced by high glucose, further increased MDA and ROS levels, and further decreased SOD activities and MMP. Network pharmacology revealed sphinganine and sphingosine-1-phosphate may induce DR by regulating the AGE-RAGE and HIF-1 signaling pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Integrated systematic review, lipidomics and experiment verification reveal that abnormal sphingolipid metabolism facilitates DR by inducing oxidative stress on RMECs. Our study could provide the experimental basis for finding potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of DR.

Angelica polysaccharides relieve blood glucose levels in diabetic KKAy mice possibly by modulating gut microbiota: an integrated gut microbiota and metabolism analysis

BACKGROUND

Angelica polysaccharides (AP) have numerous benefits in relieving type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully understood. Recent many reports have suggested that altering gut microbiota can have adverse effects on the host metabolism and contribute to the development of T2D. Here, we successfully established the T2D model using the male KKAy mice with high-fat and high-sugar feed. Meanwhile, the male C57BL/6 mice were fed with a normal feed. T2D KKAy mice were fed either with or without AP supplementation. In each group, we measured the mice's fasting blood glucose, weight, and fasting serum insulin levels. We collected the cecum content of mice, the gut microbiota was analyzed by targeted full-length 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing and metabolites were analyzed by untargeted-metabolomics.

RESULTS

We found AP effectively alleviated glycemic disorders of T2D KKAy mice, with the changes in gut microbiota composition and function. Many bacteria species and metabolites were markedly changed in T2D KKAy mice and reversed by AP. Additionally, 16 altered metabolic pathways affected by AP were figured out by combining metagenomic pathway enrichment analysis and metabolic pathway enrichment analysis. The key metabolites in 16 metabolic pathways were significantly associated with the gut microbial alteration. Together, our findings showed that AP supplementation could attenuate the diabetic phenotype. Significant gut microbiota and gut metabolite changes were observed in the T2D KKAy mice and AP intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Administration of AP has been shown to improve the composition of intestinal microbiota in T2D KKAy mice, thus providing further evidence for the potential therapeutic application of AP in the treatment of T2D.

Involvement of intestinal flora and miRNA into the mechanism of coarse grains improving type 2 diabetes: an overview

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been growing at an increasing rate worldwide. Dietary therapy is probably the easiest and least expensive method to prevent and treat diabetes. Previous studies have reported that coarse grains have anti-diabetic effects. Although considerable efforts have been made on the anti-diabetic function of different grains, the mechanisms of coarse grains on type 2 diabetes have not been systematically compared and summarized so far. Intestinal flora, reported as the main 'organ' of action underlying coarse grains, is an important factor in the alleviation of type 2 diabetes by coarse grains. Furthermore, microRNA (miRNA), as a new disease marker and 'dark nutrient', plays a likely influential role in cross-border communication among coarse grains, intestinal flora, and hosts. Given this context, this article reviews several possible mechanisms for the role of coarse grains on diabetes, incorporating resistance to inflammation and oxidative stress, repair of insulin signaling and β-cell dysfunction, and highlights the regulation of intestinal flora disorders and miRNAs expression, along with some novel insights. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison of the generation of α-glucosidase inhibitory peptides derived from prolamins of raw and cooked foxtail millet: In vitro activity, de novo sequencing, and in silico docking

Foxtail millet prolamin has been demonstrated to have anti-diabetic effects. In this study, we compared the generation of anti-α-glucosidase peptides derived from prolamins of raw and cooked foxtail millet (PRFM and PCFM). PRFM and PCFM hydrolysates (PRFMH and PCFMH) both exhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. After ultrafiltration according to molecular weight (Mw), the fraction with Mw < 3 kDa in PCFMH (PCFMH_<3) showed higher α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than that in PRFMH (PRFMH_<3). The composition of α-glucosidase inhibitory peptides identified by de novo sequencing in PCFMH_<3 and PRFMH_<3 was compared by virtual screening, combining biological activity, net charge, grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY), and key hydrophobic amino acids (Met, Pro, Phe, and Leu). We found that the proportion of peptides with excellent α-glucosidase binding force in PCFMH_<3 was higher than in PRFMH_<3. Overall, cooking may positively affect the generation of peptides that perform well in inhibiting α-glucosidase derived from foxtail millet prolamin.

Heat-treated foxtail millet protein delayed the development of pre-diabetes to diabetes in mice by altering gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles

Millet protein has gained much attention for its beneficial effects in mitigating metabolic diseases. However, most individuals pass through a prediabetic phase before developing full-blown diabetes, and whether millet protein has hypoglycemic effects on prediabetic mice remains unclear. In the present study, heat-treated foxtail millet protein (HMP) supplementation significantly decreased fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels, alleviated insulin resistance, and improved impaired glucose tolerance in prediabetic mice. In addition, HMP altered the intestinal flora composition, as evidenced by the reduction in the abundance of Dubosiella and Marvinbryantia and the increase in the content of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and norank_f_Erysipelotrichaceae. Moreover, HMP supplementation dramatically regulated the levels of serum metabolites (i.e., LysoPCs, 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid, and sphingosine) and related metabolic pathways, such as sphingolipid metabolism and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis. In conclusion, the improvement of gut microbiota and serum metabolic profiles was related to the hypoglycemic potential of HMP in prediabetes.

Lacticaseibacillus casei T1 attenuates Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation and gut microbiota disorders in mice

Probiotics are defined as live microbial food elements that are beneficial to human health. Lacticaseibacillus casei T1 was considered to have potential as a bioactive ingredient in functional foods, which was isolated from kurut. Previous research by our group proved that L. casei T1 could prevent inflammatory responses caused by Helicobacter pylori. This study aimed to investigate whether treatment with L. casei T1 resulted in a suppressive effect on H. pylori-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. The results showed that treatment with L. casei T1 could relieve H. pylori-induced overexpression of inflammatory cytokines in GES-1 cells. Experiments in animals suggested that taking long-term L. casei T1 could reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines and improve H. pylori-induced gastric mucosal damage. Furthermore, taking L. casei T1 could increase the relative abundance of beneficial intestinal bacterium (Lachnospiraceae and Odoribacter) of H. pylori-infected mice and help in maintaining the balance of intestinal microflora.Collectively, L. casei T1 had certain degrees of therapeutic effect against H. pylori. In the future, it combined with antibiotics for H. pylori eradication deserves further study.

Health-Promoting Potential of Millet: A Review

Being a key source of animal food, millet production has been sharply increasing over the last few years in order to cope with the dietary requirements of the ever-increasing world population. It is a splendid source of essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, vitamins, and also some other bioactive compounds that eventually help through multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-cholesterol, anti-hypertensive, anthropometric effects and regulation of gut microbiota composition. These bioactive compounds, nutrients, and functions of cereal grains can be affected by processing techniques such as decortication, soaking, malting, milling, fermentation, etc. This study discusses the nutritional and functional properties of millet-incorporated foods and their impact on health, based on around 150 articles between 2015 and 2022 from the Web of Science, Google Scholar, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Breeding Bid Survey (BBS), and FoodData Central (USDA) databases. Analyzing literature reviews, it is evident that the incorporation of millet and its constituents into foodstuffs could be useful against undernourishment and several other health diseases. Additionally, this review provides crucial information about the beneficial features of millet, which can serve as a benchmark of guidelines for industry, consumers, researchers, and nutritionists.

Knockdown of NRSF Alleviates Ischemic Brain Injury and Microvasculature Defects in Diabetic MCAO Mice

Diabetes is one of the well-established risk factors of stroke and is associated with a poor outcome in patients with stroke. Previous studies have shown that the expression of neuron restrictive silencer factor (NRSF) is elevated in diabetes as well as ischemic stroke. However, the role of NRSF in regulating an outcome of diabetic ischemic stroke has not been completely understood. Here, we hypothesized that diabetes-induced NRSF elevation can aggravate brain injury and cognition impairment in ischemic stroke. The diabetic ischemic stroke mice model was established by 8 weeks of high-fat-diet feeding and 5 days of streptozotocin injection followed by 30 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). We found that diabetes enhanced the MCAO-induced elevation of NRSF in the hippocampus in accompany with an elevation of its corepressors, HDAC1, and mSin3A, and decrease of β-TrCP. By using histological/immunofluorescence staining and neurobehavioral testing, our results showed that the brain damage and learning/memory impairment were aggravated in diabetic ischemic mice but significantly attenuated after stereotaxic injection of NRSF-shRNA. Meanwhile, by performing whole-brain clearing with PEGASOS, microvascular reconstruction, western blotting, and ELISA, we found that NRSF-shRNA markedly alleviated the vasculature disorders and rescued the suppression of NRP-1, VEGF, and VEGFR2 in the hippocampus of diabetic ischemic mice. Therefore, our results demonstrated for the first time that the elevation of hippocampal NRSF plays an important role in alleviating brain injury and cognitive disabilities in diabetic ischemic mice, potentially via the reduction of NRP-1/VEGF signaling.

Anti-Hyperlipidemia, Hypoglycemic, and Hepatoprotective Impacts of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) Grains and Their Ethanol Extract on Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet

This study tested the anti-hyperlipidemic, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects of whole pearl millet grain powder (MPG) and its ethanol extract (MPGethaolE) in obese rats fed a high-fat diet. The rats were divided into eight groups based on the treatments they received: control, high fat diet (HFD), HFD + MGE (25 mg/Kg), HFD + MPGethaolE (50 mg/Kg), HFD + MPGethaolE (100 mg/Kg), HFD + MPG (10%), HFD + MPG (20%), and HFD + MPG (30%). The final body weight, visceral, epididymal fat pads, and the liver weight were significantly decreased, in a dose-dependent manner, in HFD fed rats that were co-administered either the MPG powder or MPGethaolE. In the same line, serum levels of triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol (CHOL), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), as well as fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and serum levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), interleukine-6 (IL-6), interleukine-10 (IL-10), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and adiponectin were progressively decreased while serum levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL-c) were significantly increased when increasing the doses of both treatments. In conclusion, both the raw powder and ethanolic extract of MP have a comparative dose-dependent anti-obesity, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-steatotic in HFD-fed rats.

Understanding the mechanism underlying the anti-diabetic effect of dietary component: a focus on gut microbiota

Diabetes has become one of the biggest non-communicable diseases and threatens human health worldwide. The management of diabetes is a complex and multifaceted process including drug therapy and lifestyle interventions. Dietary components are essential for both diabetes management and health and survival of trillions of the gut microbiota (GM). Herein, we will discuss the relationship between diets and GM, the mechanism linking diabetes and gut dysbiosis, and the effects of dietary components (nutrients, phytochemicals, probiotics, food additives, etc.) on diabetes from the perspective of modulating GM. The GM of diabetic patients differs from that of health individuals and GM disorder contributes to the onset and maintenance of diabetes. Studies in humans and animal models consolidate that dietary component is a key regulator of diabetes and increasing evidence suggests that the alteration of GM plays a salient role in dietary interventions for diabetes. Given that diabetes is a major public health issue, especially that diabetes is linked with a high risk of mortality from COVID-19, this review provides compelling evidence for that targeting GM by dietary components is a promising strategy, and offers new insights into potential preventive or therapeutic approaches (dietary and pharmacological intervention) for the clinical management of diabetes.

Heat-treated adzuki bean protein hydrolysates reduce obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet via remodeling gut microbiota and improving metabolic function

SCOPE

Heat-treated adzuki bean protein hydrolysates (APH) reduced cholesterol in vitro. However, it is unclear if APH have anti-obesity effects in vivo and, if so, the relationship between the effects and the improvement of gut microbiota composition and metabolic function.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Four groups of mice were fed either a normal control diet (NCD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) with or without APH for 12 weeks. In HFD-fed mice, APH supplementation significantly alleviated fat accumulation, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and inflammation. In addition, APH supplementation regulated gut microbiota composition, reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria (Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Romboutsia, Blautia, Mucispirillum, Bilophila, and Peptococcus), enriched Lactobacillus and SCFA-producing bacteria (Lactobacillaceae, Eisenbergiella, Alistipes, Parabacteroides, Tannerellaceae, Eubacterium_nodatum_group, Acetatifactor, Rikenellaceae, and Odoribacter), and increased fecal SCFAs concentration. Importantly, APH supplementation significantly regulated the levels of serum metabolites, especially Lactobacillus-derived metabolites and tryptophan derivatives, which helped to alleviate obesity and its complications.

CONCLUSION

APH improved gut microbiota composition and metabolic function in mice and may help to prevent and treat obesity and related complications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The Beneficial Effect of Coarse Cereals on Chronic Diseases through Regulating Gut Microbiota

In recent years, chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disorders have been the leading causes of incapacity and death globally. Increasing evidence suggests that improvements of lifestyle habits and diet is the most commonly adopted strategy for the prevention of chronic disorders. Moreover, many dietary compounds have revealed health-promoting benefits beyond their nutritional effects. It is worth noting that diet plays an important role in shaping the intestinal microbiota. Coarse cereals constitute important sources of nutrients for the gut microbiota and contribute to a healthy gut microbiome. Furthermore, the gut microbiota converts coarse cereals into functional substances and mediates the interaction between the host and these components. In this study, we summarize the recent findings concerning functional components of cereal grains and their potential chemopreventive activity via modulating the gut microbiota.

Comparison of the characteristics of prolamins among foxtail millet varieties with different palatability: Structural, morphological, and physicochemical properties

Recently, there are considerable interests in the influence of prolamins on eating quality of grains. To inquire the potential effect of prolamins on the palatability of foxtail millet, prolamin characteristics under its raw (PR) and post-cooked (PC) state among three typical varieties with high (Zhonggu, ZG), medium (Zhaonong, ZN), and low (Hongmiao, HM) palatability were compared. The distinctive differences in amino acid composition, molecular structure, physicochemical properties were found in PRs and PCs, especially for HM variety. HM-PR recorded the lowest hydrophobic amino acids and surface hydrophobicity while having the superior hydration properties. The lowest denaturation temperature was found in HM-PR, which also had the highest denaturation enthalpy (ΔH). Nevertheless, HM-PR exhibited irregularly spherical protein body with the largest mean diameter. Evidenced by the highest random coil and lower α-helix and β-sheet content, a less stable secondary structure of HM-PR was found, corresponding to the most intensified disulfide cross-linking and protein aggregations in HM upon cooking. Overall, HM-PR was presumed to greatly affect the hydro-thermal utilization efficiency of starch granules during cooking, given the steric-hindrance effect of prolamins on granules in endosperm. The Present study provided new insights into the role of prolamins on foxtail millet palatability.