From Plantation to Cup: Changes in Bioactive Compounds during Coffee Processing.

Coffee is consumed not just for its flavor, but also for its health advantages. The quality of coffee beverages is affected by a number of elements and a series of processes, including: the environment, cultivation, post-harvest, fermentation, storage, roasting, and brewing to produce a cup of coffee. The chemical components of coffee beans alter throughout this procedure. The purpose of this article is to present information about changes in chemical components and bioactive compounds in coffee during preharvest and postharvest. The selection of the appropriate cherry maturity level is the first step in the coffee manufacturing process. The coffee cherry has specific flavor-precursor components and other chemical components that become raw materials in the fermentation process. During the fermentation process, there are not many changes in the phenolic or other bioactive components of coffee. Metabolites fermented by microbes diffuse into the seeds, which improves their quality. A germination process occurs during wet processing, which increases the quantity of amino acids, while the dry process induces an increase in non-protein amino acid γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In the roasting process, there is a change in the aroma precursors from the phenolic compounds, especially chlorogenic acid, amino acids, and sugars found in coffee beans, to produce a distinctive coffee taste.

Ellagitannins from Punica granatum leaves suppress microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 expression and induce lung cancer cells to undergo apoptosis.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which is a potent pro-inflammatory lipid mediator, is biosynthesized from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and microsomal PGE synthase-1 (mPGES-1). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used clinically as COX inhibitors, but they have gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side-effects. Thus, the terminal enzyme mPGES-1 holds promise as the next therapeutic target. In this study, we found that the ellagitannins granatin A and granatin B isolated from pomegranate leaves, and geraniin, which is their structural analog, selectively suppressed mPGES-1 expression without affecting COX-2 in non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cells. The ellagitannins also down-regulated tumor necrosis factor α, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and anti-apoptotic factor B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma 2, and induced A549 cells to undergo apoptosis. These findings indicate that the ellagitannins have anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects, due to their specific suppression of mPGES-1.Abbreviations: Bcl-2: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma 2; COX: cyclooxygenase; CRE: cAMP response element; DHHDP: dehydrohexahydroxydiphenoyl; Et2O: diethyl ether; EtOAc: ethyl acetate; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase; mPGES-1: microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1; n-BuOH: water-saturated n-butanol; NSAIDs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; NF-κB: nuclear factor-κB; PG: prostaglandin; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; TUNEL: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling.

Proanthocyanidin and anthocyanins from the hulls and beards of red-kerneled rice and their antiglycation properties.

In the current study, we isolated a proanthocyanidin oligomer from the hulls of red-kerneled rice. The structure of the oligomer was characterized based on spectral data and chemical reaction. Furthermore, two anthocyanins were isolated from the beards of the same source. The proanthocyanidins and beard extract showed more potent inhibitory and cleaving activities than those of positive controls, respectively.

Simultaneous Quantification of Ellagitannins and Related Polyphenols in Geranium thunbergii Using Quantitative NMR.

Compared to commonly employed liquid chromatography-based methods, quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is a recently developed method for accurate quantification of natural compounds in extracts. The simultaneous quantification of ellagitannins and the related polyphenols of Geranium thunbergii were studied using qNMR after a short-term and long-term decoction. The qNMR fingerprint for quantifying ellagitannin was presented in this work. Geraniin was observed in the short-term decoction as a major component while corilagin was the major component of the long-term decoction. An aqueous acetone extract of G. thunbergii after long-term decoction was extracted with diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. Corilagin was found as a major constituent in the ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts. Furthermore, the contents of these polyphenols in G. thunbergii from six locations in Japan and three locations in China were quantified. The contents of geraniin and corilagin in G. thunbergii from Japan were higher than those from China. Our finding raised the possibility that qNMR can be effectively employed as a simple, accurate, and efficient method for quantification of ellagitannins in medicinal plants.