Probiotic Potential and Cholesterol-Lowering Capabilities of Bacterial Strains Isolated from Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae ‘Chachiensis’

Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae ‘Chachiensis’ (PCR-Chachiensis), the pericarps of Citri Reticulatae Blanco cv. Chachiensis, is a food condiment and traditional medicine in southeast and eastern Asia. Its rich and various bacterial community awaits exploration. The present study is the first report on probiotic screening and characterization of bacteria from PCR-Chachiensis. Based on 64 culturable bacterial isolates, 8 strains were screened out to have great survival in the simulated gastrointestinal stressful condition, being nonhemolytic and without biogenic amine formation. They were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as two Bacillus, three Lactobacillus, and three strains from Bacillales. Their probiotic properties, cholesterol-lowering potential and carbohydrate utilization capability were further investigated. Though these eight strains all displayed distinct cholesterol removal potential, Bacillus licheniformis N17-02 showed both remarkable cholesterol removal capability and presence of bile salt hydrolase gene, as well as possessing most of the desirable probiotic attributes. Thus, it could be a good probiotic candidate with hypocholesterolemic potential. Bacillus megaterium N17-12 displayed the widest carbohydrate utilization profile and the strongest antimicrobial activity. Hence, it was promising to be used as a probiotic in a host and as a fermentation starter in fermented food or feed.

Rice Bran Fermentation Using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum EM as a Starter and the Potential of the Fermented Rice Bran as a Functional Food

Rice bran was fermented using a functional starter culture of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum EM, which exhibited high cholesterol removal and strong antimicrobial activity. Highest viable cell counts (9.78 log CFU/mL) and strong antimicrobial activity were obtained by fermenting 20% rice bran supplemented with 1% glucose and 3% corn steep liquor (pH 6.0) at 30 °C for 48 h. The fermented rice bran slurry was hot air-dried (55 °C, 16 h) and ground (HFRB). HFRB obtained showed effective cholesterol removal (45–68%) and antimicrobial activities (100–400 AU/mL) against foodborne pathogenic bacteria and food spoilage fungi. Phytate levels were significantly reduced during fermentation by 53% due to the phytase activity of L. plantarum EM, indicating HFRB does not present nutrient deficiency issues. In addition, fermentation significantly improved overall organoleptic quality. Our results indicate that HFRB is a promising functional food candidate. Furthermore, HFRB appears to satisfy consumer demands for a health-promoting food and environmental and legal requirements concerning the re-utilization of biological byproducts.

The effect of treatment conditions on color characteristics and measure of cholesterol removal from milk by beta-cyclodextrin application

Long-term high cholesterol intake is one of the most critical risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). As milk and dairy products are rich in cholesterol and are consumed on a large scale, the production of low-cholesterol content products could decrease effectively high cholesterol intake what would be one of the crucial steps in CVD prevention. Thus, this study is aimed at optimization of treatment conditions (mixing speed, time, and temperature) and β-cyclodextrin addition affecting the measure of cholesterol removal in milk. As found, the optimal conditions were identified such as mixing speed 840 rpm, mixing time 10 min, and the temperature of mixing 25 °C while the most effectivity in cholesterol decrease content (98.1%) was observed after 2.0% β-cyclodextrin addition. The cholesterol removal process did not affect considerably the lightness values L* of treated milk, slight differences were noticed in terms of a* and b* color values but ΔE values were statistically insignificant, i.e., the process of cholesterol removal did not affect visual characteristics of treated milk. So, these conditions can be applied for the production of milk base functional foods with the decreased cholesterol content.

Supramolecular copolymer modified statins-loaded discoidal rHDLs for atherosclerotic anti-inflammatory therapy by cholesterol efflux and M2 macrophage polarization

Foam cells with the pro-inflammatory macrophage phenotype (M1) play an essential role in atherosclerosis progression. Either cellular cholesterol removal or drug intervention was reported to polarize M1 into anti-inflammatory phenotype...

Recovery, reusability and stability studies of beta cyclodextrin used for cholesterol removal from shrimp lipid

Beta cyclodextrin (β-CD) used for cholesterol removal from shrimp lipid was reused after the cholesterol bound with β-CD was removed. Efficenicy of recycled β-CD was similar to pure β-CD.

Probiotic and Techno-Functional Traits of Lactobacillus pentosus DS2 Isolated from Naturally Fermented Plant Beverage

The research on the isolation of novel lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from different fermented plant beverages is receiving immense attention for their significant health benefits towards human health. The present study aimed to isolate and categorize various functional attributes of Lactobacillus pentosus DS2 isolated from fermented black carrot beverage. The isolated L.pentosus DS2 strain exhibited resistance to acid and higher salt concentrations. The isolated strain was identified by using 16S rRNA gene sequences. L.pentosus DS2 showed high survivability of about 6.75 to 7.02 log CFU/ml from pH (2-8) and at a different salt concentration (1-10%) log CFU/ml ranged from 7.92 to 6.41 log CFU/ml. According to the obtained results, auto-aggregation as well as cell surface hydrophobicity was about 16.2 ± 0.35 and 90 ± 0.21 % respectively, while co-aggregation value was 72.5 ± 2.12 and 82 ± 1.41% with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The enzymatic screening was performed and estimated as 0.54 ± 0.01, 103 ± 1.41, and 80.5 ± 2.89 U/mL of amylase, protease, and phytase. Cholesterol removal by L. pentosus DS2 was 47.15 ± 0.41%. The adherence levels by L. pentosus DS2 to different cell lines such as Caco-2 and HT-29 ranged from 17.65 ± 0.25 to 19.79 ± 0.31% respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern obtained showed a different degree of antibiotics sensitivity, such as resistance to ampicillin. Thus, the isolated L.pentosus DS2 has all the desired properties to be used as a potential probiotics strain.

Age-Dependent Maturation of iPSC-CMs Leads to the Enhanced Compartmentation of β2AR-cAMP Signalling

The ability to differentiate induced-pluripotent stem cells into cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) has opened up novel avenues for potential cardiac therapies. However, iPSC-CMs exhibit a range of somewhat immature functional properties. This study explored the development of the beta-adrenergic receptor (βAR) pathway, which is crucial in regulating contraction and signifying the health and maturity of myocytes. We explored the compartmentation of β2AR-signalling and phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in caveolae, as functional nanodomains supporting the mature phenotype. Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) microscopy was used to study the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels in iPSC-CMs at day 30, 60, and 90 following βAR subtype-specific stimulation. Subsequently, the PDE2, PDE3, and PDE4 activity was investigated using specific inhibitors. Cells were treated with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) to remove cholesterol as a method of decompartmentalising β2AR. As iPSC-CMs mature with a prolonged culture time, the caveolae density is increased, leading to a reduction in the overall cytoplasmic cAMP signal stimulated through β2AR (but not β1AR). Pan-phosphodiesterase inhibition or caveolae depletion leads to an increase in the β2AR-stimulated cytoplasmic cAMP. Moreover, with time in culture, the increase in the βAR-dependent cytoplasmic cAMP becomes more sensitive to cholesterol removal. The regulation of the β2AR response by PDE2 and 4 is similarly increased with the time in culture. We conclude that both the β2AR and PDEs are restricted to the caveolae nanodomains, and thereby exhibit a tighter spatial restriction over the cAMP signal in late-stage compared to early iPSC-CMs.