Macronutrient digestion and polyphenol bioaccessibility in oat milk tea products: an in vitro gastrointestinal tract study.

People are increasingly preparing milk tea using plant-based milks rather than cow's milk, e.g., vegans, those with lactose intolerance, and those with flavor preferences. However, adding plant-based milks to tea may impact the digestion, release, and bioaccessibility of nutrients and nutraceuticals in both the tea and milk. In this study, oat milk tea model systems (OMTMSs) containing different fat and tea polyphenol concentrations were used to explore the impact of tea on macronutrient digestion in oat milk, as well as the impact of oat milk matrix on the polyphenol bioaccessibility in the tea. An in vitro gastrointestinal model that mimics the mouth, stomach, and small intestine was used. Tea polyphenols (>0.25%) significantly reduced the glucose and free fatty acids released from oat milk after intestinal digestion. Tea polyphenols (>0.10%) also inhibited protein digestion in oat milk during gastric digestion but not during intestinal digestion. The bioaccessibility of the polyphenols in the tea depended on the fat content of oat milk, being higher for medium-fat (3.0%) and high-fat (5.8%) oat milk than low-fat (1.5%) oat milk. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis showed that lipids improved the tea polyphenol bioaccessibility by influencing the release of flavonoids and phenolic acids from the food matrices. These results provide important information about the impact of tea on the gastrointestinal fate of oat milk, and vice versa, which may be important for enhancing the healthiness of plant-based beverages.

Enhancement of Colorimetric pH-Sensitive Film Incorporating Amomum tsao-ko Essential Oil as Antibacterial for Mantis Shrimp Spoilage Tracking and Fresh-Keeping.

Anthocyanin-based smart packaging has been widely used for food freshness monitoring, but it cannot meet the requirements of smart films with antibacterial properties. This study aimed to enhance the antibacterial properties of intelligent films by incorporating Amomum tsao-ko essential oil (AEO) for mantis shrimp spoilage tracking and keeping the product fresh. A smart film was designed by introducing AEO and purple potato anthocyanin (PPA) to a polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystal (PVA/CNC) polymer matrix. Our findings revealed that APP and AEO imparted the smart film with a favorable oxygen barrier, UV protection, mechanical properties, and antioxidant and pH/NH3-sensitive functions. Interestingly, the PVA/CNC-AEO-PPA film achieved 45.41% and 48.25% bactericidal efficacy against S. putrefaciens and V. parahaemolyticus, respectively. Furthermore, a visual observation confirmed that the target film (PVA/CNC-AEO-PPA) changed color significantly during mantis shrimp spoilage: rose red-light red-pink-light gray-dark gray. Meanwhile, the PVA/CNC-AEO-PPA film retarded the quality deterioration of the mantis shrimp effectively. The PVA/CNC-AEO-PPA film shows great application potential in mantis shrimp preservation and freshness monitoring; it is expected to become a rapid sensor for detecting seafood quality non-destructively and a multifunctional film for better preservation of product quality.

Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Low-Soluble Polyphenols into Nanoliposomes by pH-Driven Method: Naringenin and Naringin as Model Compounds.

Naringenin and naringin are a class of hydrophobic polyphenol compounds and both have several biological activities containing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. Nevertheless, they have low water solubility and bioavailability, which limits their biological activity. In this study, an easy pH-driven method was applied to load naringenin or naringin into nanoliposomes based on the gradual reduction in their water solubility after the pH changed to acidity. Thus, the naringenin or naringin can be embedded into the hydrophobic region within nanoliposomes from the aqueous phase. A series of naringenin/naringin-loaded nanoliposomes with different pH values, lecithin contents and feeding naringenin/naringin concentrations were prepared by microfluidization and a pH-driven method. The naringin-loaded nanoliposome contained some free naringin due to its higher water solubility at lower pH values and had a relatively low encapsulation efficiency. However, the naringenin-loaded nanoliposomes were predominantly nanometric (44.95-104.4 nm), negatively charged (-14.1 to -19.3 mV) and exhibited relatively high encapsulation efficiency (EE = 95.34% for 0.75 mg/mL naringenin within 1% w/v lecithin). Additionally, the naringenin-loaded nanoliposomes still maintained good stability during 31 days of storage at 4 °C. This study may help to develop novel food-grade colloidal delivery systems and apply them to introducing naringenin or other lipophilic polyphenols into foods, supplements or drugs.

Carboxymethyl chitosan-pullulan edible films enriched with galangal essential oil: Characterization and application in mango preservation.

This study aimed to develop an active edible film based on carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) and pullulan (Pul) incorporated with galangal essential oil (GEO) by the casting method. And their physical properties, structural and preservation effect on mangoes were characterized. The CMCS/Pul ratio was determined to be 2.5:2.5 after the optimization of physical properties, mechanical properties and barrier properties of the blend film. The results of FT-IR and XRD showed that hydroxyl groups of Pul interacted with the carboxyl groups of CMCS and the blend films had good compatibility. Good thermal stability of CMCS/Pul-GEO films was further proven by TGA curves. The CMCS/Pul-8 %GEO film showed effective preservations on mango fruits during 15 days of storage at 25 ± 1 °C, based on the characterization by fruits weight loss, firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids. Consequently, CMCS/Pul-GEO blend films may be a promising eco-friendly packaging material for the industrial application of fruit preservation.

Chemical composition and evaluation of antioxidant activities, antimicrobial, and anti-melanogenesis effect of the essential oils extracted from Dalbergia pinnata (Lour.) Prain.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dalbergia pinnata (Lour.) Prain (D. pinnata) is a plant widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In humans, it is used in the prevention and treatment of diseases such as respiratory system, digestive system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was aim to evaluate chemical composition, antioxidant activities, antimicrobial, and anti-melanogenesis properties of Essential oils (EO) from D. pinnata. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this paper, the EO of D. pinnata were extracted using the supercritical CO2 extraction method and purified by molecular distillation. The volatile compounds of EO were characterized using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). The antioxidant activities were evaluated by the methods of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assays. And two Gram-positive bacteria, three Gram-negative bacteria and a fungus were employed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity. The zebrafish was used as experimental model to evaluate the anti-melanogenesis effect of the EO from D. pinnata. RESULTS: The EO of D. pinnata were obtained in a yield of 4.75% (v/w) calculated on dry weight basis. 14 volatile compounds could be detected and the predominant components include elemicin (91.06%), methyl eugenol (3.69%), 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenol (1.16%), and whiskey lactone (0.55%). The antioxidant assay showed that the EO could scavenge DPPH (IC50 values of 0.038 mg/mL) and ABTS (IC50 value of 0.032 mg/mL) free radical, indicating that the EO had strong antioxidant activity. The results of antimicrobial test showed that Staphylococcus aureus was most sensitive to EO with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.78 µL/mL, followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (6.25 µL/mL) and Candida albicans (12.5 µL/mL). Gram-negative strains, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium, were slightly affected by the EO. Additionally, EO from D. pinnata could reduce tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis of zebrafish embryos in dose-dependent manner. And EO exhibited the more obvious anti-melanogenic effect compared with the positive control arbutin at the same dose (30 mg/L). CONCLUSIONS: Our results validated the main activities attributed to D. pinnata for its antimicrobial and antioxidant. In addition, the potent inhibitory impacts of EO on the pigmentation provides a theoretical basis for the in-depth study of the EO from D. pinnata and their application in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.