Procyanidin B1 and Coumaric Acid from Highland Barley Alleviated High-Fat-Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemia by Regulating PPARα-Mediated Hepatic Lipid Metabolism and Gut Microbiota in Diabetic C57BL/6J Mice.

A whole-grain highland barley (WHB) diet has been recognized to exhibit the potential for alleviating hyperlipidemia, which is mainly characterized by lipids accumulation in the serum and liver. Previously, procyanidin B1 (PB) and coumaric acid (CA) from WHB were found to alleviate serum lipid accumulation in impaired glucose tolerance mice, while the effect on modulating the hepatic lipid metabolism remains unknown. In this study, the results showed the supplementation of PB and CA activated the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and the target genes of cholesterol 7-α hydroxylase (CYP7A1) and carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (Cpt1) in the liver cells of high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced diabetic C57BL/6J mice, resulting in decreases in the serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) contents, and an increase in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) content. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA indicated that supplementation with PB and CA ameliorated the gut microbiota dysbiosis, which was associated with a reduction in the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae and an increase in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Desulfovibrio, and Akkermansia. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that these genera were closely related to obesity-related indices. In summary, the activation of PPARα expression by PB and CA from WHB was important for the alleviation of hyperlipidemia and the structural adjustment of the gut microbiota.

Dynamic rheological behavior of high-amylose wheat dough during various heating stages: Insight from its starch characteristics.

The objective of this study was to understand how the dynamic rheological behaviors of high-amylose wheat (HAW) dough during various heating stages measured using a mixolab were affected by the starch properties. At the heating stage of 30 °C - 90 °C, low minimum (C2) and peak (C3) torques were observed for HAW doughs, which resulted from their reduced starch granule swelling. During holding at 90 °C, HAW doughs had low minimum (C4) and C3 - C4 torques, indicating a good resistance to mechanical shear and endogenous enzyme degradation. HAW doughs also had low final (C5) and setback (C5 - C4) torques, consistent with their low starch swelling power and solubility. The increased amylose in HAW starch formed long-chain double-helical B-type polymorph and amylose-lipid complex, which resulted in high starch gelatinization-temperatures and enthalpy change, low swelling power and solubility, low pasting viscosity, and high resistance of swollen granules to mechanical shear and enzyme degradation. The overall patterns of dough-rheological behavior of HAW doughs during heating were similar to their respective starch pasting profiles, indicating that starch was the dominant contributor to the dough rheology during heating. This study provides useful information for food applications and manufacturing of HAW-based products, especially none-fermented products requiring firm texture and low viscosity.