內容: For the purpose of satisfying high demands for taste, color, flavor, and storage of meat products, water retention agents (WRAs) play an important role. Phosphate has been widely used as an attractive functional material for water retention in current practical applications. However, excessive phosphate addition and long-term consumption may be harmful impacts on health and the environment. Therefore, it is vital to develop safe and efficient phosphate-free WRAs for further improving water-holding capacity (WHC) efficacy and edible safety, especially in meat products. In particular, sugar water retention agents (SWRAs) are increasingly popular because of their perfect safety, excellent WHC, and superior biological properties. This review discusses the inducements and mechanisms underlying water loss in meat products. In addition, we focused on the research progresses and related mechanisms of SWRAs in the WHC of meat products and its unique biological functions, as well as the extraction technology. Finally, the future application and development of SWRA were prospected.

內容: Hyperuricemia (HUA) is characterized by elevated levels of uric acid (UA) in the bloodstream, resulting from either excessive production or insufficient excretion of UA within the body. If left untreated, progressive or persistent HUA can lead to gout, causing significant harm to human health. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), generally recognized as safe (GRAS) probiotics, have been shown to alleviate symptoms associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease while supporting overall bodily functions and health. Recently, LAB has emerged as a potentially safe, cost-effective and efficient treatment for HUA. This comprehensive review aims to explore the current literature on the mechanisms through which LAB controls HUA. These mechanisms include suppressing purine metabolism, absorbing purine compounds, modulating microbiota to maintain host global purine homeostasis, reducing intestinal permeability, producing metabolites that alleviate HUA symptoms, promoting the expression of urate excretory proteins and inhibiting the expression of urate reabsorption proteins. The findings presented in this review provide a framework for further investigation into how probiotic LAB can alleviate HUA by influencing UA metabolism and elucidating their underlying action mechanisms.

內容: Obesity has become a significant global public health issue. Previous studies have found that the Chenpi has the anti-obesity activity. However, the anti-obesity phytochemicals and their mechanisms are still unclear. This study investigated the anti-obesity phytochemicals and molecular mechanisms involved in treating obesity by Chenpi through network pharmacology and molecular docking. A total of 17 bioactive phytochemicals from Chenpi and its 475 related anti-obesity targets have been identified. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway are the main signaling pathways involved in the anti-obesity effect of Chenpi. According to molecular docking analysis, the phytochemicals of Chenpi can bind to central anti-obesity targets. Based on the ADMET analysis and network pharmacology results, tangeretin exhibited the lowest predicted toxicity and potential for anti-obesity effects. In the in vitro lipid accumulation model, tangeretin effectively suppressed the free fatty acid-induced lipid in HepG2 cells by upregulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway based on the result of q-PCR and Western blotting. The outcomes of this research give insights for future research on the anti-obesity phytochemicals and molecular mechanisms derived from Chenpi, also providing the theoretical basis for developing anti-obesity functional foods based on Chenpi.

內容: Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is one of the main bioactive compounds in animal cartilage. In this study, the anti-inflammatory activity of sturgeon-derived chondroitin sulfate (SCS) was evaluated in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced BALB/c mice model. Orally administration of SCS significantly alleviated the DSS-induced colitis symptoms, including the reduction of crypt depth, inhibition of the abnormal crypt foci formation, down-regulation of the proinflammatory biomarkers (NO, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α) and up-regulation of the anti-inflammatory biomarkers (IL-10 and IL-4). The gut microbiota analysis revealed that SCS alters the intestinal microbiota composition in colitis mice, especially the increase of the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. This alternation further induced primary bile acids convert into secondary bile acids. With SCS administration, the levels of deoxycholic acid (DCA) and litho cholic acid (LCA) were increased by 1.5- and 2.5-fold, respectively. The stimulated secretion of DCA and LCA showed further activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby suppressing the inflammatory response and attenuating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice. This study provided a valuable strategy for colitis prevention and treatment with sturgeon cartilage by-products.

內容: Oxidized cholesterol (OXC) is a harmful dietary substance. Although the consumption of OXC has been associated with colonic inflammation, related underlying mechanisms are still limited. We evaluated the influence of dietary OXC on gut health and ecology by applying the murine model. Results showed that the thickness of the mucus layer was significantly reduced in healthy mice treated with OXC. Short-term intake of OXC did not influence the expression of pro-inflammatory factors in healthy mice but it induced the decrease of Muc2 expression in the proximal colon, accompanied by an increase in the abundance of 2 mucus-degrading bacteria, namely Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides acidifaciens. Consistently, oral exposure of OXC promoted mucus barrier erosion in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mice and facilitated bacteria infiltration in the colon. The adverse effect of OXC on mucus layer disappeared in antibiotics-treated healthy mice, suggesting that the damaging effect of OXC on the gut mucus layer was not direct and instead was mediated by causing microbiota dysbiosis. Finally, the impact of OXC on the mucus layer and colitis was partly alleviated by green tea catechins. These studies demonstrated that the OXC-induced mucus barrier damage was mainly induced by the dysregulation of gut microbiota at least in this mouse model.

內容: This study presents novel findings on the potential of phloretin, an apple polyphenol, to enhance the effectiveness of anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) antibody therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Our research reveals that phloretin inhibits type II glucose transporter (GLUT2) activity, significantly reducing cancer cell glucose uptake. We confirmed the overexpression of GLUT1 and GLUT2 mRNA in paired human breast tumor tissues, with GLUT2 overexpression associated explicitly with poorer survival rates in breast cancer patients. Treatment with phloretin was observed to increase the interaction between GLUT2 and HER2 proteins, attenuate glycolysis, and enhance the binding affinity of anti-HER2 antibody drugs to target human breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the efficacy of the combination therapy involving phloretin and antibody drugs was reaffirmed in a cell-derived xenograft tumor animal model, particularly in suppressing the growth of trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer. These significant findings suggest that targeting GLUT2 activity with phloretin in combination with anti-HER2 antibody drugs may help mitigate the development of drug-resistant breast cancer, offering valuable insights for enhancing tumor treatment strategies and contributing to developing more effective therapies.

內容: As an important shellfish group, the oyster can induce severe allergic reactions. We aimed to identify and characterize the major allergen in Crassostrea gigas, and elucidate the molecular basis of its allergenicity and cross-reactivity. The native and recombinant C. gigas-arginine kinase (AK) displayed significant immunoglobulin (Ig)G- and IgE-binding activity. The IgE-binding activity of C. gigas-AK could be reduced by thermal treatment and strong acidic and alkaline conditions. Besides, cross-reactivity of AK was demonstrated between shellfish species. Among seven epitope peptides identified here, P2 is responsible for the specificity of C. gigas-AK, while P3 is responsible for cross-reactions between mollusks and crustaceans. Furthermore, Glu98 and His31 in the light chain, Arg101, and Lys57 in the heavy chain are identified as key IgE residues in recognizing epitopes. These findings provide new insights into the prevention and treatment of shellfish allergy and the development of hypoallergenic shellfish products.

內容: Heat processing of food has been well validated as the trigger to generate heat-processing side product of advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs), which potentially engenders the threat on systemic health or progression of diseases, especially the accumulated effect after long-term intake. Thus, the study was proposed to evaluate the effect of dietary ALEs on health after long-term ingestion, specifically through simulating the intake of dietary ALE in mice within 9 months to investigate the intervention effect and underlying mechanism. The unexpected observation of renal insufficiency or impairment after long-term intake of dietary ALEs indicated the negative impact on renal health, which has been verified by the pathological analysis. Further studies revealed that a high-ALEs diet disrupted the intestinal barrier, with enhanced impact after disturbing the gut microbiota to potentially lower the abundance of beneficial microbiome through producing nephrotoxic metabolites. Correlation analysis showed that the proliferation of harmful bacteria and the reduction of beneficial bacteria were strongly correlated with intestinal barrier damage and the development of renal insufficiency. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism was unveiled as that ALEs could inhibit AMPK/SIRT1 signaling to fundamentally induce renal inflammation and oxidative stress. Thus, it was revealed that long-term intake of dietary ALE could result in renal impairment, and the results emphasized the control or intervention on dietary ALE to decrease to accumulated impairment on systemic health.

內容: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) presents a significant health challenge, underscoring the need for functional foods and nutraceutical hypoglycemic bioactive peptides for its prevention. This study investigates the potential of proteolytic hydrolysate from artificially cultivated Chinese giant salamander (CGS) meat, a rich protein source, as a preventive strategy for T2D. We produced a CGS meat hydrolysate (CGSh) and demonstrated its ability to inhibit the T2D drug target dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) through in vitro assays. We identified 5 peptides (WRPPDH, WAPPSKD, IPDSPF, IPEMIF, and VPIAVPT) with high DPP-IV inhibitory activity in CGSh, suggesting its potential antidiabetic effects. In vivo experiments showed that CGSh effectively reduced insulin resistance in mice induced with a high-fat diet, as evidenced by a slower increase in blood glucose levels and a decreased HOMA-IR index. 16S rRNA sequencing analysis revealed that CGSh improved gut microbial homeostasis, promoting beneficial microorganisms and reducing harmful bacteria. Metabolomic analyses identified an increase in valeric acid levels and highlighted nine potential biomarker metabolites. By inhibiting metabolic pathways such as AGE-RAGE, CGSh might also prevent diabetic complications and reduce inflammation. These findings suggest that CGSh has a promising hypoglycemic effect, making it a potential functional food ingredient for T2D prevention and treatment.

內容: Foods and animal feeds frequently become contaminated with the nephrotoxic ochratoxin A (OTA). Our prior research has indicated that ursolic acid (UA), which is widely present in fruits and medicinal plants, has the potential to alleviate nephrotoxicity triggered by OTA. Additionally, excessive induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-phagy exacerbates OTA-induced apoptosis. Therefore, further investigation is essential to comprehend whether UA can mitigate OTA-induced apoptosis by influencing ER-phagy. This objective is accomplished through a series of experiments involving assessments of cell viability, apoptosis, fluorescence microscopy, and western blot analysis. The outcomes of these experiments reveal that pre-treatment with 4 μmol/L UA for 2 h can markedly reverse the elevated apoptotic rate, the co-localization of ER and lysosomes, and the protein expressions of GRP78, p-eIF2α, Chop, Bax, and Bak, as well as the reduced cell viability and the protein expressions of Lonp1, Trap1, p62, Tex264, FAM134B, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xl, all caused by exposure to 1 μmol/L OTA for 24 h in human proximal tubule epithelial-originated kidney-2 (HK-2) cells (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the increased expression of LC3B-II induced by OTA is further amplified by UA pre-treatment (P < 0.05). In conclusion, OTA triggers a harmful feedback loop between ER stress (ERS) and excessive ER-phagy, thereby further promoting ERS- and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in vitro. However, this effect is significantly mitigated by UA through the inhibition of autophagosome-lysosome fusion, consequently blocking the excessive ER-phagic flux.