Mutagenicity of Tectona grandis Wood Extracts and Their Ability to Improve Carbohydrate Yield for Kraft Cooking Eucalyptus Wood

Considering the toxicity of the impurities of synthesized anthraquinone, this study clarified new catalytic compounds for kraft cooking with improved carbohydrate yield and delignification and less mutagenicity, which are important for ensuring the safety of paper products in contact with food. The 2-methylanthraquinone contents of teak (Tectona grandis) woods were 0.18–0.21%. Acetone extracts containing 2-methylanthraquinone from Myanmar and Indonesia teak woods as additives improved lignin removal during kraft cooking of eucalyptus wood, which resulted in kappa numbers that were 2.2–6.0 points lower than the absence of additive. Myanmar extracts and 2-methylanthraquinone improved carbohydrate yield in pulps with 1.7–2.2% yield gains. Indonesia extracts contained more deoxylapachol and its isomer than 2-methylanthraquinone. The residual content of 2-methylanthraquinone in the kraft pulp was trace. Although Ames tests showed that the Indonesia and Myanmar extracts were mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium, 2-methylanthraquinone was not. The kraft pulp obtained with the additives should be safe for food-packaging applications, and the addition of 0.03% 2-methylanthraquinone to kraft cooking saves forest resources and fossil energy in industries requiring increased pulp yield.

Microencapsulation of three natural dyes from butterfly pea, Sappan wood, and turmeric extracts and their mixture base oncyan, magenta, yellow (CMY) color concept

Synthetic dyes in food can cause severe problems for health, so they need to be replaced by natural dyes. However, natural dyes are unstable, and encapsulation is one way to maintain the stability of natural dyes. This study was conducted to determine the best microencapsulation coating, storage stability, and color variations produced by butterfly pea, sappan wood, and turmeric extracts. The coating materials used were maltodextrin, carrageenan, and carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) using the following formulations: 85% maltodextrin and 15% carrageenan (formula A) and 90% maltodextrin and 10% carrageenan (formula B) for coating butterfly pea and sappan wood extracts. Turmeric extracts were coating using 85% maltodextrin and 15% carrageenan (formula A) and 75% CMC and 25% starch (formula C). The encapsulation with maltodextrin (90%) and carrageenan (10%) was the best of encapsulation formula for butterfly pea and sappan wood extract. However, the encapsulation with maltodextrin (85%) and carrageenan (15%) was the best of encapsulation formula for turmeric extract. The green color was obtained from mixing butterfly pea and turmeric dyes in 1:4 ratio, purple from mixing butterfly pea and sappandyes in 1:8 ratio, and orange from mixing turmeric and sappan dyes in 1:2 ratio.

Artifactual lipid coatings on intervessel pit membranes in dried xylem tissues of some angiosperms

Intervessel pit membranes are recognized as key structures for influencing water flow/embolism resistance. The mechanisms remain largely unclear owing to difficulties in examining them intact in nature. This study investigates ethanol-extractable pit membrane incrustations (PMIs), which were previously reported in certain angiosperms and may affect their water conduction. The presence of PMIs was determined for 40 angiosperms by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Candidate components of PMIs were determined by chemical analyses of wood extracts, and their distributions in the xylem were examined by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Cryo-TOF-SIMS and cryo-FE-SEM were also performed to clarify the native distribution of PMIs. PMIs were observed in 11 species. Some of them were categorized as fat trees, which are known to store abundant lipids. Tilia japonica sapwood displaying PMIs contained large amounts of lipids, which were distributed in the dried xylem tissue, consistent with the distribution of the PMIs. In the frozen samples of T. japonica, however, the distributions were restricted to the parenchyma. In conclusion, PMIs consist of an artifactual coating of lipids originated from the parenchyma in dried samples at room temperature. Researchers performing surface analyses of plant cell walls should take strong precautions against such self-coating by these intrinsic chemicals.

Enrichment of Food With Tannin Extracts Promotes Healthy Changes in the Human Gut Microbiota

Food and food bioactive components are major drivers of modulation of the human gut microbiota. Tannin extracts consist of a mix of bioactive compounds, which are already exploited in the food industry for their chemical and sensorial properties. The aim of our study was to explore the viability of associations between tannin wood extracts of different origin and food as gut microbiota modulators. 16S rRNA amplicon next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to test the effects on the gut microbiota of tannin extracts from quebracho, chestnut, and tara associated with commercial food products with different composition in macronutrients. The different tannin-enriched and non-enriched foods were submitted to in vitro digestion and fermentation by the gut microbiota of healthy subjects. The profile of the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by the microbiota was also investigated. The presence of tannin extracts in food promoted an increase of the relative abundance of the genus Akkermansia, recognized as a marker of a healthy gut, and of various members of the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families, involved in SCFA production. The enrichment of foods with tannin extracts had a booster effect on the production of SCFAs, without altering the profile given by the foods alone. These preliminary results suggest a positive modulation of the gut microbiota with potential benefits for human health through the enrichment of foods with tannin extracts.

KEMASAN PINTAR PENDETEKSI KESEGARAN BUAH SEMANGKA POTONG DARI EKSTRAK KAYU SECANG (Caesalpinia sappan L.)

ABSTRACT Many supermarkets which sell the packaged-sliced watermelons use plastic styrofoam wrap. Moreover, to determine the freshness or quality of the packaged-sliced watermelons needs the packaging technology that cannot not only function as packaging, but can also give information regarding the change of the packaged foodstuffs which is known as smart packaging. This research aims to determine the color stability of the smart packaging that contains sappan wood extracts and the relationship of packaging color change to deterioration of sliced watermelon viewed from the characteristics of total solids, total acids, and pH during storages. The results show that the color change of smart packaging containing sappan wood extracts, from red into orange was in line with the decreasing of total solids, pH, and the increasing of total acid of sliced watermelon for 2 days. On 2nd days, total solids value decreased from 8.70 obrix to 5.60 obrix, while the total acid value increased from 2.24% to 4.72%, this conditions was in accordance with the decreasing of pH value from 6.04 to 4,43 of sliced watermelons. Keywords: Sappan wood Extract, smart packaging, Slice watermelon. ABSTRAK Banyak supermarket yang menjual semangka potong yang dikemas menggunakan styrofoam berplastik wrap. Untuk mengetahui kesegaran atau kualitas semangka potong dalam kemasan, diperlukan teknologi pengemasan yang tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai wadah, tetapi juga dapat memberikan informasi tekait perubahan bahan pangan yang dikemas yang dikenal dengan kemasan pintar. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kestabilan warna kemasan pintar yang mengandung ekstrak kayu secang dan hubungan perubahan warna kemasan dengan penurunan mutu semangka potong yang dilihat dari karakteristik nilai total padatan, total asam, dan pH. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terjadinya perubahan warna kemasan pintar yang mengandung ekstrak kayu secang dari merah menjadi oranye seiring dengan penurunan nilai total padatan, peningkatan nilai total asam, dan penurunan nilai pH dari semangka potong selama 2 hari. Pada hari ke-2 nilai total padatan menurun dari 8,70 obrix menjadi 5,60 obrix, sedangkan nilai total asam meningkat dari 2,24% menjadi 4,72%, hal ini sejalan dengan menurunnya nilai pH dari 6,04 menjadi 4,43 pada semangka potong yang diamati. Kata kunci: Ekstrak kayu secang, Kemasan pintar, semangka

Effect of Hydrolyzable Tannins on Glucose-Transporter Expression and Their Bioavailability in Pig Small-Intestinal 3D Cell Model

Intestinal transepithelial transport of glucose is mediated by glucose transporters, and affects postprandial blood-glucose levels. This study investigates the effect of wood extracts rich in hydrolyzable tannins (HTs) that originated from sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and oak (Quercus petraea) on the expression of glucose transporter genes and the uptake of glucose and HT constituents in a 3D porcine-small-intestine epithelial-cell model. The viability of epithelial cells CLAB and PSI exposed to different HTs was determined using alamarBlue®. qPCR was used to analyze the gene expression of SGLT1, GLUT2, GLUT4, and POLR2A. Glucose uptake was confirmed by assay, and LC–MS/ MS was used for the analysis of HT bioavailability. HTs at 37 µg/mL were found to adversely affect cell viability and downregulate POLR2A expression. HT from wood extract Tanex at concentrations of 4 µg/mL upregulated the expression of GLUT2, as well as glucose uptake at 1 µg/mL. The time-dependent passage of gallic acid through enterocytes was influenced by all wood extracts compared to gallic acid itself as a control. These results suggest that HTs could modulate glucose uptake and gallic acid passage in the 3D cell model.

Active role of lignin in anchoring wood-based stabilizers to the emulsion interface

Hemicellulose-rich wood extracts show efficient capacity to adsorb at emulsion interfaces and stabilize them. Their functionality is enhanced by lignin moieties accompanying the hemicellulose structures, in the form of lignin-carbohydrate...