Supercritical CO2 Extraction as a Tool to Isolate Anti-Inflammatory Sesquiterpene Lactones from Cichorium intybus L. Roots

Cichorium intybus L. or chicory plants are a natural source of health-promoting compounds in the form of supplements such as inulin, as well as other bioactive compounds such as sesquiterpene lactones (SLs). After inulin extraction, chicory roots are considered waste, with most SLs not being harnessed. We developed and optimized a new strategy for SL extraction that can contribute to the conversion of chicory root waste into valuable products to be used in human health-promoting applications. In our work, rich fractions of SLs were recovered from chicory roots using supercritical CO2. A response surface methodology was used to optimize the process parameters (pressure, temperature, flow rate, and co-solvent percentage) for the extraction performance. The best operating conditions were achieved at 350 bar, 40 °C, and 10% EtOH as a co-solvent in a 15 g/min flow rate for 120 min. The extraction with supercritical CO2 revealed to be more selective for the SLs than the conventional solid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. In our work, 1.68% mass and a 0.09% sesquiterpenes yield extraction were obtained, including the recovery of two sesquiterpene lactones (8-deoxylactucin and 11β,13-dihydro-8-deoxylactucin), which, to the best of our knowledge, are not commercially available. A mixture of the abovementioned compounds were tested at different concentrations for their toxic profile and anti-inflammatory potential towards a human calcineurin/NFAT orthologue pathway in a yeast model, the calcineurin/Crz1 pathway. The SFE extract obtained, rich in SLs, yielded results of inhibition of 61.74 ± 6.87% with 50 µg/mL, and the purified fraction containing 8-deoxylactucin and 11β,13-dihydro-8-deoxylactucin inhibited the activation of the reporter gene up to 53.38 ± 3.9% at 10 µg/mL. The potential activity of the purified fraction was also validated by the ability to inhibit Crz1 nuclear translocation and accumulation. These results reveal a possible exploitable green technology to recover potential anti-inflammatory compounds from chicory roots waste after inulin extraction.

Assessment of Complications Caused by the Prescription-Free Consumption of Herbal Medicine with the Purpose of Weight Gain: A Case Report

In recent years, the common belief that herbal medications cause no side effects, have led to an increase in the consumption of these medications without prescription. Ginseng is one of the most commonly used herbs in the world and is a native of Eastern Asian countries such as China and Korea. It is also known to have several medicinal purposes. However, unreasonable use of this herb can bear consequences. In the current article, 28-year-old woman has consumed 4 capsules each day, which contained Ginseng roots, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) extract, and Ziziphora (Ziziphora capitate) extract without a prescription to gain weight, which has resulted in serious side effects - including hepatotoxicity, psychologic, and gynecologic disorders. However, these symptoms were controlled with Chicory roots, Purslane and Jujube oxymel. PM focuses on the cooperation between food categories, nutritional instructions, food modulators, and medications. Regardless of their several therapeutic effects, medical herbs have been known to cause quite serious side effects if consumed unsystematically and without the surveillance of a doctor

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF THE PROCESS OF CUTTING THE HEAD OF CHICORY ROOTS

Reducing the energy consumption of the technological process of harvesting the main mass of chicory root buds is provided by developing, justifying the parameters and the use of advanced hooking modules. According to the results of field planned factor experiments, a regression equation is obtained, which characterizes the change in the cutting length of root heads from the initial speed of the knife, which is mounted rigidly on the pendulum of the copra at an angle to the direction of knife movement. The results of the study are the prerequisites for the development and improvement of methodology and methods of calculation and justification of rational structural and kinematic parameters of the working bodies of hook-harvesting modules of root-harvesting machines.Kеу wоrds: pendulum copier, hard knife, cutting length, knife speed, knife mounting angle, regression equation.

Experimental research of the module for gathering plant of chicory roots

Reduction of energy consumption, which creates hygienic root crops, is achieved with the use of expanded boxes of new technologies and improved pick-up modules, which is an urgent scientific task. Tests of the energy-saving method of growing plants are given and what is more, the scheme of experimental installations (put into operation of the plant harvesting module) and the methods of experimental field factors used in roots have been provided. Analytical and empirical dependencies are obtained, which characterize the change of the second feed and the specific mass of the cut and chopped knife of the rotary saw cutter, depending on the velocity of the module, the yield capacity and the density of chicory root crops plantation. The specific mass of the plant harvested from 3 rows of root crops are, respectively, in the range from 17 to 36 (kg/s) and from 19 to 27 (kg/m2). The results of the experimental studies were processed using Statistics 10, the confidence level P = 0.95, the Fisher F-criterion F = 100.8> Frit and the t-alpha criterion t = 2.05. Based on the graphical constructions it was established that the discrepancy between theoretical and experimental values of the second feed and the specific gravity of the ridge ranges from 10 to 15 (%).

The use of chicory root crops processing products in bakery

The possibility of using chicory roots processing products in bakery has been established in order to expand the range of bakery products and improve their quality. The efficiency of using crushed dried root crops of chicory and crushed dried cake from them in an amount of up to 5 % and by weight of wheat flour has been proven.

Acid-assisted extraction and hydrolysis of inulin from chicory roots to obtain fructose-enriched extracts

Chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) roots are an agricultural residue and a low cost feedstock for the production of the platform chemical 5-Hxdroxymethylfurfural (HMF). In a first step, inulin and fructose have to be extracted from the roots. The resulting aqueous extract represents the starting material for the HMF production. In the reaction to HMF, inulin has to be hydrolyzed first to fructose. For this reason, two methods to increase the fructose content in these extracts before the reaction were investigated. This was conducted within the framework of integrating acid hydrolysis into a biorefinery process for HMF production. The first method (one-step process) was acid-assisted extraction to directly hydrolyze inulin in the course of the extraction process. Chicory roots were extracted at 60 and 80 °C at pH 2 and 4 using buffer solutions. The second approach (two-step process) was aqueous extraction at neutral pH followed by nitric acid hydrolysis of the extract at 60 and 80 °C under reduced pH. It was found that in the first approach, the pH of 2 led to a fivefold increase in the fructose content of the extract, resulting from inulin hydrolysis and corresponding to 56% of theoretical fructose yield. For the second approach, it was possible to achieve complete hydrolysis at pH below 2.5 and at 80 °C. Separating extraction and hydrolysis was found to be more suitable in terms of including this process step into a biorefinery concept for HMF production. It was possible to reduce the initial inulin content by 95%.

RootPainter: Deep Learning Segmentation of Biological Images with Corrective Annotation

We present RootPainter, a GUI-based software tool for the rapid training of deep neural networks for use in biological image analysis. RootPainter facilitates both fully-automatic and semi-automatic image segmentation. We investigate the effectiveness of RootPainter using three plant image datasets, evaluating its potential for root length extraction from chicory roots in soil, biopore counting and root nodule counting from scanned roots. We also use RootPainter to compare dense annotations to corrective ones which are added during the training based on the weaknesses of the current model.

Back to the Roots: Revisiting the Use of the Fiber-Rich Cichorium intybusL. Taproots

ABSTRACT Fibers are increasingly recognized as an indispensable part of our diet and vital for maintaining health. Notably, complex mixtures of fibers have been found to improve metabolic health. Following an analysis of the fiber content of plant-based products, we found the taproot of the chicory plant (Cichorium intybusL.) to be 1 of the vegetables with the highest fiber content, comprising nearly 90% of its dry weight. Chicory roots consist of a mixture of inulin, pectin, and (hemi-)cellulose and also contain complex phytochemicals, such as sesquiterpene lactones that have been characterized in detail. Nowaday, chicory roots are mainly applied as a source for the extraction of inulin, which is used as prebiotic fiber and food ingredient. Chicory roots, however, have long been consumed as a vegetable by humans. The whole root has been used for thousands of years for nutritional, medicinal, and other purposes, and it is still used in traditional dishes in various parts of the world. Here, we summarize the composition of chicory roots to explain their historic success in the human diet. We revisit the intake of chicory roots by humans and describe the different types of use along with their various methods of preparation. Hereby, we focus on the whole root in its complex, natural form, as well as in relation to its constituents, and discuss aspects regarding legal regulation and the safety of chicory root extracts for human consumption. Finally, we provide an overview of the current and future applications of chicory roots and their contribution to a fiber-rich diet.