Beneficial Regulatory Effects of Polymethoxyflavone—Rich Fraction from Ougan (Citrus reticulata cv. Suavissima) Fruit on Gut Microbiota and Identification of Its Intestinal Metabolites in Mice

Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) are special flavonoids in citrus fruits that have been suggested to be beneficial to human health. However, whether PMFs in citrus fruit alter human gut microbiota is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of PMF-rich fraction from Ougan (Citrus reticulata cv. Suavissima) on gut microbiota and evaluate the intestinal metabolic profile of PMFs in Institute of Cancer Research mice. The main components of the PMF-rich fraction were nobiletin, tangeretin, and 5-demethylnobiletin. The composition of the gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing. The results showed that after oral administration, the composition of mice gut microbiota was significantly altered. The relative abundance of two probiotics, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, were found to increase significantly. A total of 21 metabolites of PMFs were detected in mice intestinal content by high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and they were generated through demethylation, demethoxylation, hydroxylation, and glucuronidation. Our results provided evidence that PMFs have potential beneficial regulatory effects on gut microbiota that in turn metabolize PMFs, which warrants further investigation in human clinical trials.

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Development of a functional ingredient rich in hesperidin from citrus fruit wastes

Research Society and Development ◽

10.33448/rsd-v10i12.20530 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. e369101220530

Author(s):

Camila Tomé da Cunha ◽

Andressa Fontes Oliveira ◽

Victor Borges Fernandes ◽

Francisca Noélia Pereira Mendes ◽

Ícaro Gusmão Pinto Vieira

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Citrus Fruit ◽

Microwave Oven ◽

Microwave Drying ◽

Citrus Fruits ◽

High Concentration ◽

Functional Ingredient ◽

Functional Product ◽

Enrich Food ◽

Fruit Wastes

The peels of citrus fruits contain a high concentration of bioactive compounds. Among these compounds, hesperidin stands out for its beneficial health effects. This study had the objective of evaluating the hesperidin content in peel samples of different citrus fruit and to propose the development of a functional product obtained from these peels. The peels were lyophilized and had the total flavonoids analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The peels of several fruits were dried in a microwave oven and ground in a blender to obtain a homogeneous powder. This material was submitted to extraction and quantification of hesperidin. The highest concentrations were found in the ‘Ponkan’ tangerine, ‘Murcott’ tangerine and ‘Navel’ orange, while the lowest were found in the ‘Sicilian’ lemon and ‘Lima’ orange. The functional ingredient obtained from the ground peels after microwave drying can be used for direct consumption or to enrich food preparations.

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First report of post-harvest Fusarium rot of mandarin Citrus reticulata cv. ‘Kinnow’ caused by Fusarium equiseti in Pakistan

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-03-21-0513-pdn ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anam Moosa ◽

Ayaz Farzand ◽

Sajid Aleem Khan ◽

Tanvir Ahmad ◽

Hafiz Muhammad Usman Aslam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Citrus Fruit ◽

Fruit Rot ◽

Citrus Reticulata ◽

Citrus Fruits ◽

Fusarium Equiseti ◽

Fruit Crop ◽

First Report ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Control Fruit ◽

Fusarium Rot

Citrus reticulata cv. ‘Kinnow’ mandarin is the most popular and widely grown fruit crop in Pakistan. During 2017, a survey was conducted to the local citrus fruit markets of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Citrus fruits (n=50) exhibiting stem end rot and fruit rot were collected with 15% disease incidence. The stem end region showed light to dark brown lesions and white fungal growth was also observed in the severely infected fruit. Infected fruit were excised into 2mm2 segments, surface disinfected with 1% NaClO, rinsed with sterilized water and dried. Later, these tissues were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and subsequently incubated at 25 °C. Purified isolates produced white colonies with beige pigmentation. The frequency of fungal isolation was 47%. Microscopic observations revealed that macroconidia (n=50) had 5 to 6 septations, with a prominent dorsiventral curvature, tapered and elongated apical cell, and a foot shape basal cell. The macroconidia were measuring 22 to 45 × 2.9 to 4.3 µm with an average of 31 × 3.6 µm. However, microconidia were not observed. Chlamydospores were globose, intercalary, solitary, or in pairs, appearing in chains (Leslie and Summerell 2006). For molecular identification, DNA was extracted from all isolates. The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) ITS1/4 (White et al. 1990), translation elongation factor-1 alpha (TEF) EF1/2 (O’Donnell et al. 1998), and RNA polymerase II subunit 1 (RPB1) (O'Donnell et al. 2013) were amplified using PCR and the product was subsequently sequenced. Based on BLAST analysis, the isolate was identified as Fusarium equiseti (FUS-21). The sequences of the representative isolate FUS-21 were deposited in the GenBank with accession numbers (ITS, MH581300), (TEF, MK203749), and (RPB1, MW596599) showing more than 99% similarity with ITS accession GQ505683, TEF accession GQ505594, and 100% to RPB1 accession JX171481. To determine the pathogenicity, 40 healthy surface disinfested citrus fruit were taken. The fruit were inoculated by creating artificial wounds on the surface with a sterilized needle and 10 μL of 105 spores/mL was deposited in the wounds. In case of control fruit were inoculated with 10 μL sterilized distilled water only, and incubated at 25 °C. All fruit inoculated with the putative pathogen, developed symptoms like the original fruit from which they were isolated. The pathogenicity test was repeated twice. Visible white mycelium appeared at the stem end region and the fruits became dried as the infection progressed. However, the control fruit remained asymptomatic. The pathogen was re-isolated from infected fruit and identified based on morphometric and molecular analysis. Previously we have reported F. oxysporum causing citrus fruit rot in Pakistan (Moosa et al. 2020). This is the first report of F. equiseti causing post-harvest rot of citrus fruits in Pakistan. Kinnow is an important fruit crop of Pakistan with huge export value the management of Fusarium rot is quite important to save the loss of fresh produce.

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In vitro study of the interaction between human gut microbiota and herbal extracts using willow bark extract as an example

Planta Medica ◽

10.1055/s-0036-1596386 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 81 (S 01) ◽

pp. S1-S381

Author(s):

EM Pferschy-Wenzig ◽

K Koskinen ◽

C Moissl-Eichinger ◽

R Bauer

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

In Vitro Study ◽

Vitro Study ◽

Bark Extract ◽

Herbal Extracts ◽

Human Gut ◽

Human Gut Microbiota ◽

Willow Bark

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Metabolization of the herbal combination STW-5 by human gut microbiota in vitro

10.1055/s-0037-1608399 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

EM Pferschy-Wenzig ◽

A Roßmann ◽

K Koskinen ◽

H Abdel-Aziz ◽

C Moissl-Eichinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Human Gut ◽

Human Gut Microbiota

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Substrate use prioritization by a coculture of five species of gut bacteria fed mixtures of arabinoxylan, xyloglucan, β-glucan, and pectin

10.26686/wgtn.12585620.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Y Liu ◽

AL Heath ◽

B Galland ◽

N Rehrer ◽

L Drummond ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Dietary Fiber ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Short Chain ◽

Emergent Properties ◽

Human Gut ◽

Fermentation Products ◽

Plant Polysaccharides ◽

Human Gut Microbiota

© 2020 American Society for Microbiology. Dietary fiber provides growth substrates for bacterial species that belong to the colonic microbiota of humans. The microbiota degrades and ferments substrates, producing characteristic short-chain fatty acid profiles. Dietary fiber contains plant cell wall-associated polysaccharides (hemicelluloses and pectins) that are chemically diverse in composition and structure. Thus, depending on plant sources, dietary fiber daily presents the microbiota with mixtures of plant polysaccharides of various types and complexity. We studied the extent and preferential order in which mixtures of plant polysaccharides (arabinoxylan, xyloglucan, β-glucan, and pectin) were utilized by a coculture of five bacterial species (Bacteroides ovatus, Bifidobacterium longum subspecies longum, Megasphaera elsdenii, Ruminococcus gnavus, and Veillonella parvula). These species are members of the human gut microbiota and have the biochemical capacity, collectively, to degrade and ferment the polysaccharides and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). B. ovatus utilized glycans in the order β-glucan, pectin, xyloglucan, and arabinoxylan, whereas B. longum subsp. longum utilization was in the order arabinoxylan, arabinan, pectin, and β-glucan. Propionate, as a proportion of total SCFAs, was augmented when polysaccharide mixtures contained galactan, resulting in greater succinate production by B. ovatus and conversion of succinate to propionate by V. parvula. Overall, we derived a synthetic ecological community that carries out SCFA production by the common pathways used by bacterial species for this purpose. Systems like this might be used to predict changes to the emergent properties of the gut ecosystem when diet is altered, with the aim of beneficially affecting human physiology. This study addresses the question as to how bacterial species, characteristic of the human gut microbiota, collectively utilize mixtures of plant polysaccharides such as are found in dietary fiber. Five bacterial species with the capacity to degrade polymers and/or produce acidic fermentation products detectable in human feces were used in the experiments. The bacteria showed preferential use of certain polysaccharides over others for growth, and this influenced their fermentation output qualitatively. These kinds of studies are essential in developing concepts of how the gut microbial community shares habitat resources, directly and indirectly, when presented with mixtures of polysaccharides that are found in human diets. The concepts are required in planning dietary interventions that might correct imbalances in the functioning of the human microbiota so as to support measures to reduce metabolic conditions such as obesity.

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