Effects and mechanisms of proanthocyanidins-derived carbon dots on alleviating salt stress in rice by muti-omics analysis.

Carbon dots (CDs) with different structures were prepared by electrolysis (PE-CDs) and hydrothermal (PH-CDs) methods using proanthocyanidins as precursors. The smaller size and lower zeta potential enabled the PE-CDs treated rice seedlings to exhibit greater resistance to salt stress. The fresh weight of rice seedlings under salt stress was significantly increased by spraying CDs every other day for two weeks. PE-CDs treated group exhibited a faster electron transport rate, and the SOD activity and flavonoid content were 2.5-fold and 0.23-fold higher than those of the salt stress-treated group. Furthermore, the metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis revealed that the PsaC gene of photosystem I was significantly up-regulated under PE-CDs treatment, which accelerated electron transfer in photosystem I. The up-regulation of BX1 and IGL genes encoding indole synthesis allowed rice to enhance stress tolerance through tryptophan and benzoxazine biosynthesis pathways. These findings offer help in purposefully synthesizing CDs and boosting food production.

Long-term second-generation antipsychotics decreases bone formation and resorption in male patients with schizophrenia.

RATIONALE: Patients with schizophrenia with second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) treatment have shown an increased risk of bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture; however, it is still unclear whether this risk is derived from the effect of antipsychotics on balance of bone metabolism. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the changes of two bone turnover biomarkers (BTMs) concentrations in people with schizophrenia receiving SGAs: procollagen type I aminoterminal propeptide (PINP) and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-1) as BTMs of osteogenesis and bone resorption, respectively, to explore how antipsychotics contribute to bone fragility. METHODS: We recruited 59 Chinese male patients with schizophrenia (32 drug-naïve first-episode (DNFE) patients and 27 chronic patients) to undergo 8 weeks SGAs treatment. Fasting peripheral blood samples of pre- and posttreatment were collected, plasma levels of PINP and CTX-1 were measured. RESULTS: The interaction effects of group and time on PINP and CTX-1 concentrations were found (P = .016 and P = .008). There was a significant decrease for both BTMs concentrations of the posttreatment compared to the pretreatment (P<.001 and P = .003). Chronic patients had significantly higher changes of BTMs concentrations compared to DNFE patients (P = .048 and P = .024). There was a positive correlation of the two BTMs of pretreatment with disease course in DNFE group (r = .37, P = .039;r = .38, P = .035) and a negative correlation of PINP of pretreatment with age in the chronic group (r=-.40, P = .039). CONCLUSION: Long-term SGAs medication inhibited osteogenesis in a dose- and time-dependent manner and damaged the balance of bone formation and bone resorption.

Reproductive strategy response of the fungi Sarocladium and the evaluation for remediation under stress of heavy metal Cd(II).

Cadmium (Cd) is documented as one of the most lethal metals and poses a major threat to all life forms in the environment due to its toxic effects. Bioremediation of hazardous metals has received considerable and growing interest over the years. The functional fungi with tolerance to the heavy metal Cd were screened from the mining soil samples. Two fungi isolates from coal mine soil were characterized as Sarocladium sp. M2 and Sarocladium sp. M6 based on morphological and partial ITS sequencing analysis. M2 and M6 exhibited high levels of resistance to cadmium, and they were investigated for their micro-morphology and application in heavy metal removal with different concentration Cd(II) (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L). The colony morphology of M2 and M6 gradually become very similar to that of bacteria with the increase of cadmium concentration (150-200 mg/L). Micro-morphological studies showed that Cd(II) exposure caused the disappearance of conidial heads and the occurrence of hyphae breakage (100-200 mg/L Cd(II), which is consistent to the colony morphology results. The surface/volume ratio of the spores decreased with the presence of Cd(II). The removal potential of fungi for cadmium was quantified by atomic absorption spectrometry. M2 and M6 showed great potential as bioremediators for highly Cd(II)-contaminated environment. The highest Cd(II) biosorption capacity was 5.13 ± 0.21 mg/g for M2 and 6.04 ± 0.21 mg/g for M6. The highest heavy metal sorption by M2 removed 57.11% ± 4.45% Cd(II) while that of M6 removed 48.35% ± 1.44% Cd(II) in 200 mg/L initial concentration Cd(II). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that cadmium induced the change of reproduction mode of the Sarocladium, from conidia to arthrospores, which made the colony morphological modifications, from the fungi colony morphology to the bacteria colony morphology. The arthrospore-modified (hyphae breakage) seemed to accumulate greater amounts of heavy metals than filamentous hyphae formation.

A comprehensive review on preparation, structure-activities relationship, and calcium bioavailability of casein phosphopeptides.

Calcium is one of the important elements for human health. Calcium deficiencies can lead to numerous diseases. Calcium chelating peptides have shown potential application in the management of calcium deficiencies. Casein phosphopeptides (CPP) are phosphoseryl-containing fragments of casein by enzymatic hydrolysis or fermentation during manufacture of milk products as well as during intestinal digestion. An increasing number of CPP with the ability to facilitate and enhance the bioavailability of calcium are being discovered and identified. In this review, 249 reported CPP derived from four types of bovine casein (αs1, αs2, ß and κ) were collected, and the amino acid sequence and phosphoserine group information were sorted out. This review outlines the current enzyme hydrolysis, detection methods, purification, structure-activity relationship and mechanism of intestinal calcium absorption in vitro and in vivo as well as application of CPP.

Extraction kinetics, physicochemical properties and immunomodulatory activity of the novel continuous phase transition extraction of polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum.

Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLP) possess remarkable bioactivity and have been studied widely. However, the application of new technologies in the polysaccharide extraction has not been investigated. Herein, a novel continuous phase transition extraction (CPTE) technology was applied for the extraction of polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum. The extraction kinetics, physicochemical properties and immunomodulatory activity of GLP were evaluated. The kinetics results showed that the extraction process could be fitted to a two-site kinetic model due to the high R2 values in the range of 0.9939-0.9999. Polysaccharides extracted by different technologies showed that GLP yield by CPTE could be significantly improved, which was 3.34 times and 2.68 times that of hot water and ultrasonic-assisted extraction, respectively. Molecular weight distribution analysis indicated that high molecular mass polysaccharide proportion by CPTE was the highest among the three extraction methods, which was 2.03 times and 3.41 times as much as that of the hot water and ultrasonic-assisted extraction. Morphology analysis showed that CPTE treatment caused disruption of most of the cells and effective release of intracellular components, implying that CPTE was beneficial to extract polysaccharides. Furthermore, the immunomodulatory assays demonstrated that GLP significantly enhanced the proliferation and production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in macrophages. Therefore, CPTE was more effective for extracting polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum than the common extraction.

Promoting the Calcium-Uptake Bioactivity of Casein Phosphopeptides in vitro and in vivo.

Casein phosphopeptides have been studied widely for their ability to chelate calcium. However, systematic studies on the effects of casein phosphopeptides (CPP) on calcium absorption in vitro and in vivo are scarce. The purities of two commercially available products, CPP1 and CPP2, are 18.37 and 25.12%, respectively. Here, the in vitro calcium binding capacity of CPP2 was 142.56 ± 7.39 mg/g, which was higher than that of CPP1 (107.15 ± 6.27 mg/g). The calcium transport results in a Caco-2 monolayer model indicated that, relative to controls, CPP1 and CPP2 increased calcium transport by 21.78 and 53.68%, respectively. Subsequent animal experiments showed that the CPP2-Ca-H group (1% Ca, 0.4% CPP2) had significant increases in the femur index, serum Ca2+ and serum osteocalcin levels, and femoral Ca content. The CPP2-Ca-H animal also had decreased serum alkaline phosphatase levels, parathyroid hormone content, and urinary pyridinoline content. Overall, our results demonstrated that CPP2 had stronger effects on promoting calcium uptake than CPP1.

Extrusion of apple pomace increases antioxidant activity upon in vitro digestion.

Apple pomace, a by-product of juice production, is a high-fibre, high-polyphenol functional food ingredient. Extrusion (barrel moisture 15%, 20% or 30%) of apple pomace, followed by drying, allows it to be supplied in a convenient form. Extrusion caused degradation of the apple pomace cell wall structure. Water solubility was significantly increased by extrusion but oil holding capacity was reduced. Total extractable polyphenols, measured as gallic acid equivalents, were reduced by extrusion (barrel moisture 30%) but were not affected by extrusion at lower barrel moisture contents (15% or 20%). However, individual sub-groups of extractable flavanols, flavonols, phenolic acids and dihydrochalcones were increased by extrusion. There was little effect of extrusion on the release of total polyphenols from the matrix into the supernatant, as measured by total extractable polyphenols (measured as gallic acid equivalents) released during in vitro digestion. There was a marked increase in total flavanols, phenolic acids and dihydrochalones released into the supernatant during the gastric phase but changes in flavonoids were less obvious. The changes in the bioaccessibility of individual polyphenols released during intestinal digestion were dependent on the type of polyphenol and extrusion conditions. The antioxidant activity, as measured using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of the bioaccessible nutrients released upon in vitro intestinal digestion, was significantly enhanced by extrusion (from 78.2 to 400-500 µmol Trolox equivalents per mL at the ileal phase). The increased ORAC may be attributed in part to the increased release of individual polyphenols.

Novel heparin-loaded mesoporous tubular micromotors formed via template-assisted electrochemical deposition.

Based on the concept of the active drug delivery of micro- and nanomotors and the longer cycle time in the blood for drug-loaded tubular particles, it is important to develop novel tubular micromotors that could increase drug loading and achieve more effective treatments in the biomedical field. Here, a novel kind of mesoporous tubular micromotor used to load heparin (Hep) and formed via template-assisted electrochemical deposition is presented. Firstly, the mesoporous tubular micromotors were composed of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), mesoporous silica (MS) and manganese dioxide (MnO2), and were simply fabricated via template-assisted electrochemical growth. Then, the drug Hep was loaded into PEDOT/MS/MnO2via a simple soaking process. Finally, the release process, cytotoxicity, and blood compatibility tests and motion study for these mesoporous tubular micromotors of PEDOT/MS/MnO2-Hep were performed. Results indicated that the micromotors we prepared showed good controlled release of Hep, anticoagulant effects, non-cytotoxicity and autonomous motion ability. The new drug carrier and motion mode will give rise to more potential applications of Hep in the biomedical field.

Bioactive peptide isolated from casein phosphopeptides promotes calcium uptake in vitro and in vivo.

Casein phosphopeptides (CPPs) have been demonstrated to be calcium chelators. Unfortunately, few studies have been reported on the effects of CPPs on the mechanism of the uptake and absorption of Ca2+ and bone metabolism. In this study, a monomeric peptide fraction isolated by RP-HPLC (F6-1) that possessed high calcium transport capacity in Caco-2 cell monolayers was separated and characterized. The effects of F6-1 on the absorption mechanisms of Ca2+ in a Caco-2 monolayer model and bone metabolism in rats were investigated. F6-1 was isolated by preparative and analytical RP-HPLC. Results for calcium transport suggested that the rates of Ca2+ transportation by F6-1 were approximately 2.57, 2.87 and 2.38 times higher than those in the control group at 30, 60 and 120 min, respectively. Results of ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy indicated that the intensity of UV absorption changed because of the binding of Ca2+ to F6-1. Analysis of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and the expression of TRPV6 in Caco-2 cells showed that F6-1 was likely to influence the transcellular pathway of intestinal absorption of Ca2+ rather than the paracellular pathway. Furthermore, the F6-1 group (1% Ca, 0.03% F6-1) exhibited increases in serum Ca2+ levels, femur length and femur Ca and decreases in serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels and urinary pyridinoline content in a Sprague-Dawley rat model, which implied that F6-1 was beneficial for bone calcification. Overall, our results suggested that F6-1 enhanced the transport of Ca2+ in Caco-2 cells by affecting the transcellular pathway by upregulating the expression of TRPV6. F6-1 also improved bone formation and prevented bone resorption to benefit bone health in rats, which provided a basis for using F6-1 in calcium supplements or functional foods.

The effect of dietary magnesium and caseinphosphopeptides on bone metabolism in rats.

The effect of dietary magnesium (Mg) or caseinphosphopeptides (CPPs) on bone metabolism has been reported. However, few studies have investigated the effects of simultaneous supplementation of Mg and CPPs. Sixty-three 3-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into seven groups and fed a specified diet for 45 days. Body characteristics, bone physicochemical indicators, and bone metabolism indicators relative to bone metabolism were analyzed. We found that, first, a dietary Mg deficiency resulted in increased bone formation and decreased bone resorption. Second, dietary Mg or CPP supplementation promoted bone formation and prevented bone resorption. Third, dietary Mg supplementation with CPPs also functioned to enhance bone formation and prevent bone resorption. There were synergistic effects on femur length, serum parathyroid hormone level and urinary deoxypyridinoline of the HS-Mg-CPP group (0.2% Mg, 0.1% CPPs). The increase in the femur length of the HS-Mg-CPP group compared with the control group was 6% which was much higher than that of HS-Mg (1%) or CPPs (5%). The induction in serum parathyroid hormone content in the HS-Mg-CPP group was 33% compared with the control group which was higher than that of the induction of the HS-Mg (19%) or CPP (23%) group. The induction in the deoxypyridinoline content of the HS-Mg-CPP (43%) group compared with the control group was remarkably higher than that of HS-Mg (8%) or CPPs (16%). Overall our results demonstrated that high doses of Mg (0.2%) and CPPs (0.1%) in combination produced synergistic effects on femur length, serum parathyroid hormone level and urinary deoxypyridinoline in rats, which is important for a better understanding of the effect of Mg and CPPs on bone metabolism.

Antibacterial Effects of a Cell-Penetrating Peptide Isolated from Kefir.

Kefir is a traditional fermented milk beverage used throughout the world for centuries. A cell-penetrating peptide, F3, was isolated from kefir by Sephadex G-50 gel filtration, DEAE-52 ion exchange, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. F3 was determined to be a low molecular weight peptide containing one leucine and one tyrosine with two phosphate radicals. This peptide displayed antimicrobial activity across a broad spectrum of organisms including several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 125 to 500 µg/mL. Cellular penetration and accumulation of F3 were determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The peptide was able to penetrate the cellular membrane of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Changes in cell morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that peptide F3 may be a good candidate for use as an effective biological preservative in agriculture and the food industry.