Schiff base cross-linked dialdehyde cellulose/gelatin composite aerogels as porous structure templates for oleogels preparation.

Recently, biopolymer-based structured oil has emerged to substitute saturated and trans-fats. Herein, the porous biopolymeric networks with the cellular structure were developed with cross-linked dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) and gelatin to prepare oleogels. The determination of aldehyde content in the DAC molecular chain revealed a high degree of oxidation of cellulose. The FTIR data showed the covalent cross-linking bond between the DAC and gelatin. The covalent cross-linking between DAC and gelatin promoted the composite aerogel (DG) to form a porous three-dimensional network structure with enhanced thermal stability, mechanical properties, and water stability. The DAC/gelatin composite aerogel with 5 wt% DAC (DG-5) exhibited the highest porosity (91.27 %) and lowest pore diameter (10.52 µm) with greater capillary force, resulting in a high oil absorption capacity of 11.24 g/g and oil holding capacity of 55.57 %. The DG oleogels containing 6 % thymol in the oil phase showed good antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus for 24 h. This work provides a facile and promising strategy for developing oleogels by DAC/gelatin cross-linked conjugates as aerogel templates for oil structuring.

Nutritional Quality, Chemical, and Functional Characteristics of Hemp (Cannabis sativa ssp. sativa) Protein Isolate.

(1) Background: Hemp seeds are a source of plant-based protein, making them an appropriate supplement to a plant-based diet. The current work was focused on the preparation of the protein isolate from the hemp seeds with eco-friendly and cheap technology. Moreover, it evaluated the physicochemical and functional properties of hemp protein isolate for its potential application in food manufacturing. (2) Methods: The protein content of hemp seeds has been isolated through two main steps: (1) extraction of the protein content of an alkaline pH (10-12); (2) precipitation of the extracted protein on an acidic pH as an isoelectric point (pH = 4.5). (3) Results: The edastin protein is the most predominant protein in the protein profile with a molecular weight of 58.1 KDa beside albumin with a molecular weight of 31.5 KDa. The FTIR spectrum detected the absorption peaks of the amide I at 1750 and 1600 cm-1, which pointed to C=O stretching while N-H stretching at 1650-1580 cm-1. The peak at 3250 is found to be related to N-H stretching of the aliphatic primary amine (3400-3300 cm-1) and the N-H stretching for the secondary (II) amine appeared at 3350-3310 cm-1. The Hemp protein isolate (HPI) showed a high content of arginine (15.52 g/100 g), phenylalanine + tyrosine (9.63 g/100 g), methionine + cysteine (5.49 g/100 g), leucine + isoleucine (5.21 g/100 g), and valine (4.53 g/100 g). It contains a moderate level of threonine (3.29 g/100 g) and lysine (2.50 g/100 g) with tryptophan as the limiting amino acid (0.22 g/100 g). The HPI showed an appropriate water-and-oil holding capacity (4.5 ± 2.95 and 2.33 ± 1.88 mL/g, respectively). The foaming capacity of the HPI was increased with increasing the pH values to reach the maximum value at pH 11 (67.23 ± 3.20%). The highest emulsion ability index of the HPI was noted at pH 9 (91.3 ± 2.57 m2/g) with low stability (19.15 ± 2.03). (4) Conclusions: A strong positive correlation (r = 0.623) was shown between protein concentration and solubility. The current easy-to-use, cheap, and eco-friendly technology provides the industrial sector with a cheap protein isolate for manufacturing protein-rich diet and beverages. The HPI showed a good nutritional quality and functional properties that might be helpful in utilizing it in different food products such as beverages and bakery products.

Effect of Natural Antioxidants from Fruit Leaves on the Oxidative Stability of Soybean Oil during Accelerated Storage.

Plant by-products are safe, sustainable, and abundant natural antioxidant sources. Here we investigated the antioxidant activity of a mixture of lyophilized pomegranate, guava, and grape (PGG) leaves water extract (1:1:1) and examined its ability to retard the rancidity of soybean oil during accelerated storage at 65 °C for 30 days. To achieve this, we evaluated the oxidative stability of soybean oil enriched with PGG extract at 200, 400, and 800 ppm. We also compared the effect of PGG extract with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (400/100 ppm) with that of only BHT (200 ppm). We observed that 8.19 and 1.78 µg/mL of the extract could scavenge 50% of DPPH• and ABTS•, respectively, indicating its enhanced antioxidant activity. Enriching soyabean oil with the extract at 800 ppm improved its oxidative stability by reducing the acid value to 1.71 mg/g and the total oxidation to 99.87 compared to 2.27 mg/g and 150.32 in the raw oil, respectively. Moreover, PGG-800 ppm inhibited oxidation by 46.07%. Similarly, PGG-400 ppm reinforced BHT (100 ppm) to provide oxidative stability as BHT (p > 0.05), with TOTOX values of 87.93 and 79.23, respectively. PGG-800 ppm and PGG/BHT mix potently inhibited the transformation of polyunsaturated fatty acids into saturated ones. Therefore, the PGG extract might be an efficient substitute for BHT (partially or totally) during industrial processes.

Characterization of Orange Peel Extract and Its Potential Protective Effect against Aluminum Chloride-Induced Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder without a cure. Hence, developing an effective treatment or protective agent is crucial for public health. The present study aims to characterize orange peel extract (OPE) through in vitro and in silico studies. Furthermore, it examines the protective effect of OPE against experimentally-induced Alzheimer's disease in rats. The total phenolic and flavonoid content of OPE was 255.86 ± 1.77 and 52.06 ± 1.74 (mg/100 g), respectively. Gallic acid, the common polyphenol in OPE detected by HPLC was 3388.60 µg/100 g. OPE antioxidant IC50 was 67.90 ± 1.05, 60.48 ± 0.91, and 63.70 ± 0.30 by DPPH, ABTS and Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity methods, respectively. In vitro anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) IC50 was 0.87 ± 0.025 mg/mL for OPE and 2.45 ± 0.001 mg/mL for gallic acid. Molecular docking analysis for human AChE (4EY7) with donepezil, gallic acid, and acetylcholine showed binding energy ΔG values of -9.47, -3.72, and -5.69 Kcal/mol, respectively. Aluminum chloride injection (70 mg/Kg/day for 6 weeks) induced Alzheimer's-like disease in male rats. OPE (100 and 200 mg/kg/d) and gallic acid (50 mg/kg/d) were administered orally to experimental animals for 6 weeks in addition to aluminum chloride injection (as protective). OPE was found to protect against aluminum chloride-induced neuronal damage by decreasing both gene expression and activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and a decrease in amyloid beta (Aß42) protein level, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and nitric oxide (NO), and increased reduced glutathione (GSH) level and activity of the antioxidant enzymes in the brain tissues. Additionally, gene expressions for amyloid precursor protein (APP) and beta secretase enzyme (BACE1) were downregulated, whereas those for presinilin-2 (PSEN2) and beta cell lymphoma-2 (BCL2) were upregulated. Furthermore, the reverse of mitochondrial alternation and restored brain ultrastructure might underlie neuronal dysfunction in AD. In conclusion, our exploration of the neuroprotective effect of OPE in vivo reveals that OPE may be helpful in ameliorating brain oxidative stress, hence protecting from Alzheimer's disease progression.

Nutritional, phytochemical, and in vitro anticancer potential of sugar apple (Annona squamosa) fruits.

In plants, Fruits and their wastes are the main sources of bioactive compounds. Currently, Annona fruits have attracted the attention of people interested in health-promoting foods due to their phytochemical content that their activities were not studied before. This study aimed to explore the potential antioxidant, antimicrobial, and in vitro anticancer activity of two cultivars Annona squamosa (Annona b. and Annona h.) seed, peel, and pulp. We also meausred phenolic, flavonoid, sulfated polysaccharide, tannins, and triterpenoids. Polyphenol identification was determined using RP-HPLC. Results of the antioxidant activity revealed that the highest activity was observed for Annona h. seed extract using DPPH and ABTS assays with IC50 6.07 ± 0.50 and 9.58 ± 0.53 µg/ml, respectively. The antimicrobial activity against various pathogenic strains revealed that the peel extracts of both Annona b. and Annona h. exhibited the best antimicrobial activity. We also assessed the IC50 values for anticancer activity in all six Annona b. and Annona h samples against four cancer cell lines colon (Caco-2), prostate (PC3), liver (HepG-2), and breast (MCF-7) using MTT assay. Annona b. and Annona h seed extracts had the lowest IC50 values for four cancer cell lines with 7.31 ± 0.03 and 15.99 ± 1.25 for PC-3 and MCF-7, respectively. Both seed extracts, Annona b. and Annona h., showed significantly down-regulated mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and up-regulated p53 in all treated cell lines. Apoptosis was evaluated using nuclear staining, flow cytometric analysis, and immunohistochemistry of the proliferation marker (Ki-67). Additional studies are required to characterize the bioactive compounds responsible for the observed activities of Annona seed and determine its mechanism as an anticancer drug.