High Pressure Processing Applications in Plant Foods

High pressure processing (HPP) is a cold pasteurization technology by which products, prepacked in their final package, are introduced to a vessel and subjected to a high level of isostatic pressure (300–600 MPa). High-pressure treatment of fruit, vegetable and fresh herb homogenate products offers us nearly fresh products in regard to sensorial and nutritional quality of original raw materials, representing relatively stable and safe source of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and health effective components. Such components can play an important role as a preventive tool against the start of illnesses, namely in the elderly. An overview of several food HPP products, namely of fruit and vegetable origin, marketed successfully around the world is presented. Effects of HPP and HPP plus heat on key spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, including the resistant spore form and fruit/vegetable endogenous enzymes are reviewed, including the effect on the product quality. Part of the paper is devoted to the industrial equipment available for factories manufacturing HPP treated products.

A study on the processing technology for Rhizoma Coptidis

Background The present study intends to optimize the processing technology for the wine-processing of Rhizoma Coptidis, using alkaloids as indicators. Method In the present study, the Box–Behnken design method was adopted to optimize the processing technology for Rhizoma Coptidis, using the alkaloid component quantities as the index. 100 g of Rhizoma Coptidis slices and 12.5 g of Rhizoma Coptidis wine were used. After full mixing, box-Behnken design method was used to optimize the processing time, processing temperature and processing time of coptis chinensis by taking alkaloid content as index. After mixing well, these components were fried in a container at 125 °C for 6 min and exhibited good parallelism. Results The content of alkaloids in coptis chinensis was the highest after roasting at 125 °C for 6 min. The characteristic components were berberine hydrochloride, and the relative content was about 15.96%. And showed good parallelism. The effective components of Rhizoma Coptidis were primarily alkaloids. Conclusion The optimized processing technology for Rhizoma Coptidis is good.

Exploration of the Molecular Mechanism of Polygonati Rhizoma in the Treatment of Osteoporosis Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

ObjectiveTo explore the effective components and mechanism of Polygonati Rhizoma (PR) in the treatment of osteoporosis (OP) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking methods.MethodsThe effective components and predicted targets of PR were obtained through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) database. The disease database was used to screen the disease targets of OP. The obtained key targets were uploaded to the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database for protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of key targets. Analysis and docking verification of chemical effective drug components and key targets were performed with IGEMDOCK software.ResultsA total of 12 chemically active components, 84 drug target proteins and 84 common targets related to drugs and OP were obtained. Key targets such as JUN, TP53, AKT1, ESR1, MAPK14, AR and CASP3 were identified through PPI network analysis. The results of enrichment analysis showed that the potential core drug components regulate the HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway and other pathways by intervening in biological processes such as cell proliferation and apoptosis and estrogen response regulation, with an anti-OP pharmacological role. The results of molecular docking showed that the key targets in the regulatory network have high binding activity to related active components.ConclusionsPR may regulate OP by regulating core target genes, such as JUN, TP53, AKT1, ESR1, AR and CASP3, and acting on multiple key pathways, such as the HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and estrogen signaling pathway.

A Strategy for Screening the Lipid-Lowering Components in Alismatis Rhizoma Decoction Based on Spectrum-Effect Analysis

Alismatis Rhizoma decoction (ARD), comprised of Alisma plantago-aquatica subsp. orientale (Sam.) Sam and Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. at a ratio of 5 : 2, is a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula with successful clinical hypolipidemic effect. This paper aimed to explore the major bioactive compounds and potential mechanism of ARD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia on the basis of spectrum-effect analysis and molecular docking. Nine ARD samples with varying ratios of the constituent herbs were prepared and analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS to obtain the chemical spectra. Then, the lipid-lowering ability of the nine samples was tested in an oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation model in human hepatoma cells (HepG2). Grey relational analysis and partial least squares regression analysis were then performed to determine the correlation between the chemical spectrums and lipid-lowering efficacies of ARD. The potential mechanisms of the effective compounds were investigated by docking with the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) protein. The results indicated that alisol B 23-acetate, alisol C 23-acetate, and alisol B appeared to be the core effective components on hyperlipidemia in ARD. Molecular docking further demonstrated that all three compounds could bind to FXR and were potential FXR agonists for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. This study elucidated the effective components and potential molecular mechanism of action of ARD for treating hyperlipidemia from a perspective of different compatibility, providing a new and feasible reference for the research of TCM formulas such as ARD.

Utilizing SVD and VMD for Denoising Non-Stationary Signals of Roller Bearings

In view of the fact that vibration signals of rolling bearings are much contaminated by noise in the early failure period, this paper presents a new denoising SVD-VMD method by combining singular value decomposition (SVD) and variational mode decomposition (VMD). SVD is used to determine the structure of the underlying model, which is referred to as signal and noise subspaces, and VMD is used to decompose the original signal into several band-limited modes. Then the effective components are selected from these modes to reconstruct the denoised signal according to the difference spectrum (DS) of singular values and kurtosis values. Simulated signals and experimental signals of roller bearing faults have been analyzed using this proposed method and compared with SVD-DS. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively retain the useful signals and denoise the bearing signals in extremely noisy backgrounds.

Mechanism of Hedyotis Diffusa in the Treatment of Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors among women in the world. In clinical practice, Hedyotis diffusa has pharmacological effects in treating cervical cancer, but its components are relatively complex, and the mechanism of Hedyotis diffusa in treating cervical cancer is still unclear. In this work, the potential active components and mechanism of Hedyotis diffusa in the treatment of cervical cancer were explored by means of network pharmacology. By constructing its active ingredient-target network, and enriching and analyzing the targets, we found the key targets and their effective components (beta-Sitosterol and Quercetin) that play a therapeutic role. Finally, we evaluated the prognostic value of the core target genes through survival analysis. Our work initially explored the therapeutic mechanism of cervical cancer, which lays a theoretical foundation for further exploring its pharmacological action and its clinical application.

An Intelligent Hydroponic Device for Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongolicus (Bge.) Hsiao

Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongolicus (Bge.) Hsiao roots are widely used as raw materials of medicine. Due to the limited arable land, cultivating medicinal plants hydroponically is increasingly concerned. However, whether the quality of A. membranaceus grown hydroponically is better than that produced in a field is still unknown. In this study, we designed an intelligent hydroponic device for A. membranaceus, and quality of the medicinal plant cultivated by this device was compared with that cultivated in the field. Results showed that hydroponics significantly increased effective components in A. membranaceus when compared with field. Specifically, astragaloside IV contents in A. membranaceus grown hydroponically for four weeks were higher than those cultivated in the field for two years. The biomass is not significantly different between four-week hydroponics and annual cultivation. Therefore, hydroponics with our intelligent device can be used for the sustainable production of A. membranaceus in the future.

Analysis of Primary Metabolites of Morchella Fruit Bodies And Mycelium Based On Widely Targeted Metabolomics

Morchella is a kind of medicinal and edible homologous fungia that is rich in multiple metabolites. The metabolites from Morchella are a kind of essential substance because of their biological activities. In this study, Morchella fruit bodies and mycelium were selected to identify their metabolites. The primary metabolites of the two experimental group were analyzed using a method of widely targeted metabolome based on UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 354 different metabolites, including 188 upregulated metabolites and 166 downregulated metabolites, were characterized. Further, the main 20 metabolic pathways of the metabolites were analyzed. The first 9 ones are tyrosine metabolites, thyroid hormone biosynthetic pathway, phenylalanine metabolites, linoleic metabolites synthetic pathway, glycerophosphate metabolic pathway, choline in tumors, methyl butyl metabolites, arginine synthetic pathway, arginine, arginine and proline metabolites. This study provides theoretical basis for the analysis of metabolic pathway of Morchella fruit bodies and mycelium that serving for further research of their medicinal mechanism and effective components.

Network Pharmacology-Based Strategy to Investigate Pharmacological Mechanisms of the Drug Pair Astragalus-Angelica for Treatment of Male Infertility

Background. The traditional Chinese medicines Astragalus and Angelica are often combined to treat male infertility, but the specific therapeutic mechanism is not clear. Therefore, this study applies a network pharmacology approach to investigate the possible mechanism of action of the drug pair Astragalus-Angelica (PAA) in the treatment of male infertility. Methods. Relevant targets for PAA treatment of male infertility are obtained through databases. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are constructed through STRING database and screen core targets, and an enrichment analysis is conducted through the Metascape platform. Finally, molecular docking experiments were carried out to evaluate the affinity between the target protein and the ligand of PAA. Results. The active ingredients of 112 PAA, 980 corresponding targets, and 374 effective targets of PAA for the treatment of male infertility were obtained, which are related to PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and thyroid hormone signaling pathway. Conclusion. In this study, using a network pharmacology method, we preliminarily analyzed the effective components and action targets of the PAA. We also explored the possible mechanism of action of PAA in treating male infertility. They also lay a foundation for expanding the clinical application of PAA and provide new ideas and directions for further research on the mechanisms of action of the PAA and its components for male infertility treatment.