Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Antioxidant Compounds from Gardeniae Fructus and Its Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory and PC12 Cell Protective Activities

Gardeniae fructus is a common neuroprotective medicinal food in China, however the extraction efficiency and mixture activities are rarely mentioned. In this study, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) parameters were optimized by a response surface methodology to extract antioxidants from Gardeniae fructus. Neuroprotective activity was evaluated using H2O2 and amyloid-β25–35 peptide-treated PC12 cells. By comparing with three other extract methods (i.e., heated refluxing extraction (HRE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)), it was found that the yield (35.10%), total iridoids (27.69%), total flavonoid (6.12%) content, antioxidant activities (IC50 on DPPH, 164.46 µg/mL; FRAP value 4703.54 μmol/L), and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory ability (IC50 92.58 µg/mL) of ASE extract under the optimal condition (150 °C temperature, 10 min static time, 60% ethanol, 2 extract cycles) were significantly higher than other extract methods. The strongest ability to protect PC12 cells from damage was also present in ASE extract, as evidenced by decreasing lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde levels, elevating superoxide dismutase and glutathioneperoxidase activities. Compositional analysis indicated that the extremely high crocetin level in ASE extract (1.30 μg/mg) may offer great potential. Our results indicated that ASE is a proper extraction method that could offer great potential for finding the neuroprotective ability of Gardeniae fructus for the treatment of AD.

Chyawanprash, An Ancient Indian Ayurvedic Medicinal Food, Regulates Immune Response in Zebrafish Model of Inflammation by Moderating Inflammatory Biomarkers

The time-tested Ayurvedic medicinal food, Chyawanprash, has been a part of the Indian diet since ancient times. It is an extremely concentrated mixture of extracts from medicinal herbs and processed minerals, known for its immunity boosting, rejuvenating, and anti-oxidative effects. In this study, we have evaluated the anti-inflammatory potential of Patanjali Special Chyawanprash (PSCP) using the zebrafish model of inflammation. Zebrafish were fed on PSCP-infused pellets at stipulated doses for 13 days before inducing inflammation through lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. The test subjects were monitored for inflammatory pathologies like behavioral fever, hyperventilation, skin hemorrhage, locomotory agility, and morphological anomaly. PSCP exerted a strong prophylactic effect on the zebrafish that efficiently protected them from inflammatory manifestations at a human equivalent dose. Expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, like interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), were also reduced in the LPS-stimulated zebrafish fed on PSCP-infused pellets. Skin hemorrhage, hyperventilation, and loss of caudal fins are characteristics of LPS-induced inflammation in zebrafish. PSCP prophylactically ameliorated skin hemorrhage, restored normal respiration, and prevented loss of caudal fin in inflamed zebrafish. Under in vitro conditions, PSCP reduced IL-6 and TNF-α secretion by THP-1 macrophages in a dose-dependent manner by targeting NF-κB signaling, as evident from the secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) reporter assay. These medicinal benefits of PSCP can be attributed to its constitutional bioactive components. Taken together, these observations provide in vivo validation of the anti-inflammatory property and in vitro insight into the mode-of-action of Chyawanprash, a traditionally described medicinal food.

Impacts of Covid-19 on Makhana (Euryale ferox Salisb.) Food Industry in India

Background: Makhana or gorgon nut has popular and nutrition rich pop across India and many parts of the world. In the light of the recent makhana food production, there is now considerable concern about the crop management, processing and marketing of makhana pop. Due to Covid-19 spread, many agriculture sectors in India as well as in the World were badly affected because of restriction of movement of workers, changes in demand of consumers and restricted food trade policies and financial instability. Hence, the objective of this present experiment was to assess elaborately about impacts of Covid-19 spread on the production and marketing system of makhana. Methods: Crop management system was monitored and problems were detected by field visits and taking observations. The sample size was greater than 10 at each location for market analysis. Multistage random sampling at each stage and ‘Conventional method’ were adopted for per cent loss and gain. Result: According to August-2020 survey, Covid-19 spread and subsequent lock-down situation in India might reduce the total makhana production due to less labor involvement in the production process and would have adverse effect in the marketing system as well as on the export balance in the international market. Accordingly, a case study was also performed from the farmer field of Manigachhi, Darbhanga, Bihar, where crop losses occur from leaf blight due to improper crop management during lock-down situations and they farmers felt an existing weak marketing system. However, during the second survey in November (2020), it was evident that makhana industry got an sudden and impulsive change, due to increase in mass awareness about makhana as a nutrition dense medicinal food and immune booster. Early negative impact of Covid-19 was redressed and finally the makhana food industry became profitable on account of having medicinal and pharmaceutical value.

Nutraceutical Study on Maianthemum atropurpureum, a Wild Medicinal Food Plant in Northwest Yunnan, China

Maianthemum atropurpureum (Franch) LaFrankie (Asparagaceae), called nibai in Tibetan or dongka in Drung or zhu-ye-cai in local Chinese, is a wild vegetable consumed by the Tibetan people and other ethnic groups in Northwest Yunnan, China. It is also a traditional medicinal plant used by different linguistic groups for antimicrobial purposes. However the nutritional and phytochemical compositions of this important medicinal food plant have not been well studied previously. In this study, the nutrient content for nibai was determined by the China National Standards (GB) methods, and the phytochemical analysis involved multiple chromatographic and spectral methods including LC-TOF-MS analysis. Dried nibai is a rich source of protein (ca. 24.6%), with 18 of the 21 common amino acids. The amino acid content of nibai can reach up to 17.9/100 g, with the essential amino acids as major contributors, corresponding to 42.3% of the total amino acids. Nibai contains rich mineral elements, dietary fiber, vitamins, β-carotene, carbohydrates, and lipids. The phytochemical content of nibai was examined by conventional isolation strategies, as well as HR-ESI-TOF-MS to detect and identify 16 compounds including nine steroid saponins and seven flavonoids. Among these compounds, uridine, adenosine, guanosine, and β-methyl-6-methyl-d-glucopyranoside were found from the genus Maianthemum for the first time. These results help to demonstrate that the local people’s practice of consuming Maianthemum atropurpureum is reasonable due to its high levels of vitamins, minerals, essential amino-acids, and phytochemicals. Nibai may be further developed in Tibet and surrounding regions, and beyond as a health food, nutraceutical, and/or dietary supplement product.

Combining the Anticancer and Immunomodulatory Effects of Astragalus and Shiitake as an Integrated Therapeutic Approach

Astragalus root (Huang Qi) and Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) are both considered medicinal foods and are frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine due to their anticancer and immunomodulating properties. Here, the scientific literatures describing evidence for the anticancer and immunogenic properties of Shiitake and Astragalus were reviewed. Based on our experimental data, the potential to develop medicinal food with combined bioactivities was assessed using Shiitake mushrooms grown over Astragalus beds in a proprietary manufacturing process, as a novel cancer prevention approach. Notably, our data suggest that this new manufacturing process can result in transfer and increased bioavailability of Astragalus polysaccharides with therapeutic potential into edible Shiitake. Further research efforts are required to validate the therapeutic potential of this new Hengshan Astragalus Shiitake medicinal food.

Identification of Exosome-Like Nanoparticles as a New Bioactive Component in Honey

Objectives To investigate whether honey, as a medicinal food, contain exosome-like nanoparticles (ELNs). Methods Honey was diluted in phosphate-buffered saline and subjected to sequential centrifugation followed by ultracentrifugation. ELNs were obtained from honey. Such ELNs were characterized in detail by electron microscopy analysis and biomolecule omics analysis. The anti-inflammatory functions of these honey-derived ELNs (H-ELNs) were studied in primary macrophages and experimentally induced acute liver injury in mice. Results H-ELNs were membrane-enclosed nanoparticles composed of lipids, proteins, and RNAs. These nanoparticles specifically hindered assembly and activation of the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat related (NLR) family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which is a critical pro-inflammatory enzyme complex in the innate immune system. H-ELNs protected mice from acute inflammation and liver damage in the experimentally induced acute liver injury. microRNA miR-4057 in H-ELNs was found to potently inhibit activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Conclusions H-ELNs were identified as a new bioactive component in honey and these nanoparticles demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory function in vitro and in vivo. This finding opens a new avenue for studying honey, a medicinal food since ancient times. Funding Sources This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute for General Medical Science (NIGMS).