Bioactive Compounds, High Performance Liquid Chromatography Screening of Phenolic Compounds, and Antioxidant Potential Activity of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Saffron (Crocus sativus L) has been widely used for many therapeutic purposes such as a pain reliever, inflammation cure due to the highly bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activities. The effect of boiling time (5, 10, and 15 min) was investigated on the bioactive compounds of saffron samples from different origins (Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan). Depending on the origin of the saffron sample, the extraction time showed a different effect on their total polyphenol content (TPC). The highest TPC was noted in saffron from Spain boiled for 10 min (45.01 mg GAE/g DW), followed by the sample from Saudi Arabia (44.03 mg GAE/g DW) and Afghanistan (43.54 mg GAE/g DW) boiled for 15 min, respectively. The Spanish saffron extracted for 10 min significantly (p < 0.05) exhibited the highest total flavonoid content (TFC) (12.26 mg CE/g DW), while the Saudi saffron extracted for 5 min (6.06 mg CE/g DW) showed the lowest range among all the samples. There were no significant differences among the reducing power of Saudi Arabian saffron extracted for 10 min, and Spanish saffron extracted for 5 and 15 min, respectively. The reducing power of saffron samples echoed the results of the TPC and TFC. 1,2-DHB (dihydroxy benzene), chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid are increased upon the increase of boiling time in Saudi Arabian saffron samples. In a word, 10 min and 15 min boiling times achieved the best extraction for Spanish saffron followed by Saudi and Afghani saffron samples, respectively.

Functional Effects of Pomegranate Peel Extracts on Milk: Antibacterial Measurements, Antioxidant Activities, and Photochemical Characterizations

Consumers are interested in antimicrobial by-products from natural sources. The present study aims to estimate the antibacterial effects of different concentrations and solvent extracts such as methanol, ethanol, and water extract of pomegranate peels with the milk quality application in-vitro. Listeria monocytogens, E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus were used as bacteria growth indicators in two pomegranate varieties (i.e., Wonderful and Francis). Besides, evaluating somephysical characterization, antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Results showed that the highest inhibition zone of 18.88 mm was observed with 90% ethanol extract of Wonderful variety against Listeria monocytogens, at 0, 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/mL concentrations, while the lowest inhibition zone of 11.29 mm was observed with 90% methanol extract of Francis variety, at 12.5 mg/mL concentration. The milk treated with WPE of Wonderful variety maintained the bacterial growth from 1.19 ±0.29 x 109 to 1.43 x 1011 CFU/mL at 4 °C. Punicalagin was the most abundant polyphenolic compound (165.05–190.43 µg/mL) followed by gallic acid (153.08–177.65 µg/mL), and p-Hydroxybenzoic acid (91.29–92.5 mg/mL). Acetaldehyde (23.09–27.15 PPM), followed by acetoin (9.65–15.33 PPM) were the most predominant volatile compounds. The WPE treated milk maintained the sensory evaluations such as taste, color, texture, and overall acceptance longer time longer time (i.e., 144 h) than FPE treated milk (i.e., 168 h) at 4°C. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging of capacity (IC50 values) of FPE treated milk were found to be lower than WPE treated milk (i.e., 159.65 µg/mL and 131.87 µg/mL), respectively. While, FPE treated milk reported a higher viscosity content than WPE treated milk (13.11 cP). In conclusion, pomegranate peel extracts especially Wonderful variety may be used to prolong the shelf-life of milk in dairy products manufacturers.

Molecular Biological Mechanism ofBletilla striata on Neuropsychiatric System by Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation

Bletilla striata is a rare traditional Chinese medicine with protective effect for neuropsychiatric system. Nevertheless, the material basis and molecular mechanism of this effect remain unclear. By means of network pharmacology, five common neuropsychiatric targets for B. striata ingredients that can pass through the blood-brain barrier were conducted to probe the material basis and molecular mechanism of its neuropsychiatric protecting effects. Besides, the in vitro model of neurons injury was built to verify the effect of these ingredients on neurons. Results indicated that 8 active ingredients and 21 core targets were screened, and 9 groups of gene functional groups were screened by GO analysis. The KEGG pathway enrichment revealed that, 14 signal pathways were mapped and 6 REACTOME Pathways and 33 Wiki Pathways were also detected. Preliminary experimental verification demonstrated that, B. striata protected, maintained and enhanced neuronal cell activity and up-regulated the expression of DRD2 and GRM2 genes through dihydrophenanthrene compounds. From the above results, we speculated that B. striata may act on multi-target gene functional groups through multiple ingredients, resulting in various effects, thus achieving the purpose of protecting the neuropsychiatric system, as well as its functions. Our research findings also suggested that the experimental research method combining network pharmacology with experimental cell research is effective for quickly analyzing the material basis and molecular mechanism of B. striata in protecting the neuropsychiatric system and treating neuropsychiatric diseases.

Eggshells Calcium Extraction and the Application in Food Fortifications

Eggshells are the hard, outer covering of eggs. It is known that eggshells are discarded as waste materials, although they contain a significant amount of calcium. The study was aimed to extract and quantify calcium from the eggshells and fortification on the biscuit and yogurt products. The extraction of calcium was done using calcium chloride with HCL solution at different propositions (1:1, 1:5, 1:10, 1:15, and 1:20). After extraction, the sample was dried at 50 °C temperature for 3 hours to obtain dry calcium chloride. Calcium was fortified at a concentration of 100 ppm, 1000 ppm, and 2000 ppm in both the biscuits and yogurt, respectively. The calcium-fortified samples were analyzed for sensory properties and chemical composition. The ash content of calcium-fortified yogurt (0.47) was slightly higher than normal yogurt (0.44), while the other chemical components remains similar to the control. For the sensory evaluation result, the biscuit with 2000 ppm calcium-fortified biscuit and 1000 ppm calcium-fortified yogurt was found to be highly acceptable among the calcium-fortified samples. The extraction of calcium chloride from eggshells was obtained the highest for eggshells on HCl ratio 1:20 (w/v) where calcium chloride was found 32.92%, 26.95%, and 23.63% for duck, layer chicken, and local chicken eggshells, respectively. The extraction rate of calcium chloride of duck eggshells was higher than the local and layer chicken’s eggshells. Therefore, it may be opined that the fortified products (2000 ppm Ca) contained a considerably higher amount of calcium content than the control sample.

Removal of Trace Mercury in Water by Iron Manganese Oxide Modified Biochar

Mercury wastewater is a kind of heavy metal wastewater discharged from many industrial processes. The treatment of a large amount of mercury-containing wastewater increasingly requires high-efficiency, low-cost, and low-cost treatment materials, treatment processes and technologies to ensure compliance with mercury standards. This paper mainly studies the effect of iron-manganese oxide modified biochar on the removal of trace mercury in water. The prepared activated carbon is added to a mercury solution with a proper concentration, and a single factor adsorption experiment of pH, initial concentration, amount of activated carbon, particle size, temperature, and time is performed. In this paper, iron manganese oxide modified biochar is listed as the research object. The activated carbon is studied through the adsorption characteristics, adsorption mechanism and influencing factors of mercury in the solution, and the process technology and optimization parameters of the modified activated carbon to treat mercury-containing wastewater are explored. The maximum adsorption capacity of modified activated carbon calculated by Lagergren quasi-first-order kinetic model is 16.62 mg/g. This indicates that the adsorption kinetics of Hg by iron-manganese oxide modified biochar is more consistent with the Lagergren quasi-secondary kinetic model and is also more efficient.

Biological and Molecular Evidences for the Antitumor Potential of EGb 761 in Glioma Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

EGb 761, the standardized extract from the Ginkgo biloba leaves, has therapeutic effect on many diseases. However, its mechanisms on glioma remain to be fully established. This study aims to investigate the possible effects of EGb 761 on glioma cells, to explore its potential mechanism. The glioma cells SHG44 and U251 were used as materials, the proliferation, migration and invasion were assessed by the MTT, the scratch-wound and Transwell assays were performed respectively. Levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, Bcl-2, p53, Smad2/3, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and p-Smad2/3 were determined by western blots. The development and progression of U251 glioma cell were measured in vivo, and the apoptosis was evaluated. The results showed that EGb 761 could inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SHG-44 and U251 cells in vitro. Meanwhile, the expression levels of IGF-1 and Bcl-2, and the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling were inhibited. In contrast, the expression levels of p53, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 were increased significantly. In conclusion, this study suggested that EGb 761 could suppress the growth of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo, possibly by inhibiting the TGF-β signalling pathway and activating the p53 signalling pathway.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Repairs Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Injury in Mice with Ulcerative Colitis

This study aimed to explore the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on intestinal mucosal barrier injury in mice with ulcerative colitis (UC) and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was administered to develop the UC mouse model. Next, the experiment was divided into a normal control group, a DSS model group, a DSS+5-amino acid salicylic acid (5-ASA) group, and a DSS+FMT group. Hematoxylin–eosin staining was used to detect pathological changes; transmission electron microscopy was used to evaluate structural changes of intestinal mucosa; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELSIA) was used to detect endotoxins; and western blotting was used to detect the expression of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1). In the control group, the intestinal mucosa and microvilli were intact, epithelial cells were closely connected, and the intercellular space was narrow. By contrast, focal intestinal barrier defects, including shallow ulcer, local inflammatory cell infiltration, hyperplasia of connective tissue, and loss of gland structure were observed in the model group. These abnormal morphological and structural changes were ameliorated by 5-ASA and FMT. Compared with the control group, the endotoxin content increased significantly, and the ZO-1 protein expression decreased significantly in the model group (P < 0.05). By contrast, the endotoxin level decreased significantly, and the ZO-1 protein expression increased significantly in the 5-ASA group and FMT group compared with that of the model group (P < 0.05). FMT ameliorates UC by repairing the intestinal barrier function, which is likely involved in upregulating ZO-1 expression.

Microbial Diversity in Tobacco Rhizosphere Soil at Different Growth Stages

Rhizosphere microorganisms are the main participants of material transformation and energy cycle in soil. To further explore its composition and variation, the tobacco rhizosphere soil were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq, the microbial community at different growth stages were analyzed and compared. The analysis of Alpha diversity showed that, the Chao1 index, Shannon index of bacteria and Chao1 index of fungi in rhizosphere soil were the highest in tobacco budding stage, while the peak of Shannon index of fungi appeared in tobacco material stage. Principal component analysis (PCA) further showed that at different growth stages, Proteobacteria was the dominant, followed by Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes for bacterials; Ascomycota was the dominant, followed by Zygomycota and Basidiomycota for fungi. Under field conditions, the microbial abundance changed with the growth of tobacco, and the microbial diversity reached the peak at budding stage. The bacterial community and abundance between budding and mature stages was highly similar, while the bacterial community in vigorous growth stage is quite different. The similarity of fungal community in budding stage was very low, compared with the other stages; while in other stages was high. This study provides a theoretical basis for further understanding the relationship between tobacco rhizosphere soil microbial diversity and variation, tobacco growth and soil diseases.

Effects of Coating by Chitosan, TiO2 Nanoparticles, and Sodium Tripolyphosphate as Crosslinker on Stored Cucumber Fruits

Cucumber fruit contains essential nutrients and fibers and is used widely in salads dressing. Scarce research is available on its storage with nanoparticles and chitosan combined effects. Hence, the objective of this current research was to evaluate some Physico-chemical properties and microbial activity after coating with the combination of chitosan, TiO2 nanoparticles, and sodium tripolyphosphate to enhance the cucumbers storability and prolong the shelf-life. The cucumbers fruits were divided into four groups and dipped into several coating solutions for 10 minutes such as distilled water (Cu-uncoated), chitosan 1% (Cu-Chitosan), chitosan 1%, titanium dioxide nanoparticles 1% (Cu-Chitosan-TDN), and chitosan 1%, titanium dioxide nanoparticles 1%, sodium tripolyphosphate 2% (Cu-Chitosan-TDN-ST), respectively. The cucumber samples were then air-dried at ambient temperature and chilled to 10 °C for storage and evaluation for every seven days until three weeks. Cu-uncoated had the highest weight loss with a value of 5.15%, followed by Cu-Chitosan 4.11% while Cu-Chitosan-TDN and Cu-Chitosan-TDN-ST reported the least weight loss of (3.43% and 3.01%, respectively) after 7 days of the storage period. The results reported that the firmness of the samples was found to be decreased during the whole storage time except in the treatments Cu-Chitosan-TDN-ST and Cu-Chitosan-TDN in which it was noticed to be better in firmness after 21 days of storage (55.12 N/mm and 50.67 N/mm), respectively. Total soluble solids were lower in the coated cucumbers compared with the uncoated samples. Titratable acidity of Cu-Chitosan-TDN-ST 0.26% treated sample increased more as compared with Cu-Chitosan-TDN 0.24% samples at the end of the storage period. The highest increase in pectin content was recorded for Cu-Chitosan-TDN samples 0.042 g/100 g on the 21st day. Nano-coating with the combination of chitosan declared the dietary fiber content changes rate than in samples with the addition of sodium tripolyphosphate. Besides, the antimicrobial activity of the chitosan/nanofilms has been improved with the addition of sodium tripolyphosphate as crosslinker 3.67 CFU/g on the 21st day of storage. Thus, nano-coating with the combination of sodium tripolyphosphate has proven to be efficient method in extending the shelf-life of cucumber samples.

Study on Multi-Dimensional Optimization of Detailed Laboratory Analysis Method for Ship Ballast Water

Ballast water can bring aquatic organisms into foreign ecosystems and cause the risk of biological invasion. Therefore, it needs to be treated before discharge, and the treated water needs to be analyzed to determine whether it meets the specified standard. At present, there is no unified method for the detection of plankton worldwide, and there are some problems in the existing methods, such as unreasonable and inaccurate. In this study, neutral red (NR), 5-chloromethyfluorescein diacetate (CMFDA) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) were used to dye the 10-50 µm plankton of three common phyla in ballast water, and were determined by fluorescence microscope. The results showed that for 10-50 µm plankton, the staining effect of double fluorescence staining was obvious, while the fluorescent dyes could only stain part of marine diatoms, and the sample could not be fixed. The optimal dyeing concentration of neutral red was 1/5000, the dyeing time was 20 min, and the overall dyeing efficiency was above 99%. Fixing agent was used after neutral red staining, when fixing with Lugol’s solution, the lower the temperature, the better the preservation effect. At -4 °C, the storage time of the sample could be increased to 12 h, and the proportion of plankton was more than 96%. In conclusion, neutral red staining can be used as a supplement to fluorescence staining, and the the storage time of samples can be prolong by pretreatment and fixation the samples.