Comparative study on the bioactive components and in vitro biological activities of three green seedlings

Biyang floral mushroom-derived exosome-like nanovesicles: characterization, absorption stability and ionizing radiation protection

Diet-derived exosome-like nanovesicles are a class of natural active substances that have similar structures and functions to mammalian exosomes. Biyang floral mushrooms and their active extracts have been found to possess radioprotective effects and to deeply explore their novel active substances, the radioprotective effects of Biyang floral mushroom-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (BFMELNs) were investigated in this study. Results showed that these surface-negatively charged vesicles possessed an ideal size and good stability against environmental changes such as temperature and gastrointestinal digestion. Furthermore, BFMELNs could effectively be taken up by HL-7702 cells and Caco-2 cells through cellular phagocytosis mediated by clathrin and dynein. Emphatically, BFMELNs with an exosome-like morphology contained RNA, proteins, lipids, polyphenols and flavonoids to exert good antioxidant and radioprotective effects in vitro. Meanwhile, BFMELNs also exhibited good radioprotective effects by restoring peripheral blood indexes, mitigating damage to organs, and regulating the redox state in mice. Collectively, BFMELNs showed promise as novel and natural radioprotective nano-agents for preventing IR-induced oxidative stress damage.

Evaluation of the in vitro antioxidant and antitumor activity of extracts from Camellia fascicularis leaves

Camellia fascicularis is a unique plant rich in bioactive components. However, the isolation of the active substances in C. fascicularis leaves via sequential extraction with solvents of different polarity and the determination of their antioxidant and antitumor activities have not been reported. In this study, the total methanol extract of C. fascicularis leaves was sequentially extracted with different polar solvents, and the corresponding petroleum ether extract (PEE), ethyl acetate extract (EAE), and water extract (WE) were analyzed for their contents in active substances such as flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and saponins. The antioxidant ability of the polar extracts was investigated by determining their reducing power and the radical scavenging rate on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and hydroxyl radicals, and CCK-8 and Annexin-FITC/propidium iodide staining assays were conducted to investigate their inhibitory effects on HCCLM6 and HGC27 tumor cells. The results showed that PEE had a high saponin content of 197.35 ± 16.21 mg OAE/g, while EAE and WE exhibited a relatively higher polysaccharide content of 254.37 ± 1.99 and 373.27 ± 8.67 mg GE/g, respectively. The EAE demonstrated the greatest reducing power and the strongest clearing abilities on ABTS and DPPH radicals with respective EC50 values of 343.45 ± 20.12 and 14.07 ± 0.06 μg/ml. Moreover, the antitumor ability of the different polar extracts was dose-dependent, with WE showing the most potent inhibitory ability against HCCLM6 and HGC27 cells.

Systematic evaluation of a series of pectic polysaccharides extracted from apple pomace by regulation of subcritical water conditions

To investigate the influences of different subcritical water conditions on apple pomace pectic polysaccharides (APP) extraction, 20 samples were successfully prepared and systematically analyzed. At low temperature region (100-120 °C), extraction effect was predominant and extracted APP was high molecular weight, esterification degree and galacturonic acid content as well as light color. At middle temperature region (140 °C), the balance of extraction and degradation effects was reached and led to the highest APP yield (14.89%). At high temperature region (160-180 °C), degradation effect was predominant and led to serious degradation of APP and more extraction of co-extracts, which endowed the APP with low viscosity and good antioxidant activities in vitro. Overall, the relationship between different subcritical water conditions and APP properties are preliminarily illuminated, which not only provides a promising way for directed extraction of specific APP, but also promotes the potential application of subcritical water to commercial pectin.

Protective effect of coix seed seedling extract on 60 Co-γ radiation-induced oxidative stress in mice

Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) can cause oxidative damage to human body, leading to various diseases and even death. In this study, the potential radioprotective effect of coix seed seedling extract (CSS-E) was studied through a model of ⁶⁰ Co-γ radiation-induced oxidative stress in mice. Overall radioprotective effect of CSS-E against radiation-induced damage was evaluated by biochemical analysis and histopathological analysis. The results showed that CSS-E could significantly reduce the IR-induced damage to the hematopoietic system. CSS-E-M (200 mg/kg BW) pretreatment could increase the activities of superoxide dismutase in serum, liver, and spleen increased by 31.68%, 45.10%, and 56.67%, respectively, and the glutathione peroxidase levels in serum, liver, and spleen of mice were improved by 19.17%, 41.97%, and 130.56%, respectively. Meanwhile, the glutathione levels of serum, liver, and spleen in CSS-E-M group were increased by 17.10%, 35.06%, and 40.71%, respectively. The contents of MDA in different tissues and serum could be reduced by CSS-E-M treatment to the normal level. Moreover, CSS-E could markedly reduce the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in radiation mice, among which CSS-E-M group showed maximum restoration with decreased AST and ALT levels by 20.13% and 32.76% as compared against IR group. In conclusion, these results indicated that CSS-E could be used as a potential natural radioprotectant against IR-induced damage.

Variations in Acorn Traits in Two Oak Species: Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. and Quercus variabilis Blume

Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. and Q. variabilis Blume are two main oak species in China, producing large amounts of acorns every year. However, the trait variations in acorns, as a promising energy crop material, are not fully understood, hence we compared the traits of acorns from the different populations with the altered geographic distribution in this study. Thirteen acorn traits, including phenotype, proximate compositions and functional compounds, were analyzed in both Quercus L. species collected from 44 populations across China. The results showed that, except large differences found among accessions in acorn sizes, the starch varied from 140.96–297.09 mg/g in Q. mongolica and 130.99–306.28 mg/g in Q. variabilis, indicating its substantial differences among populations. The total polyphenols, total flavonoids and soluble tannins varied from 41.76–158.92, 23.43–91.94, and 15.11–17.81 mg/g, respectively, in Q. mongolica, 89.36–188.37, 50.59–116.07, 15.24–17.33 mg/g, respectively, in Q. variabilis, demonstrating their large variations in the levels of polyphenols among populations. Moreover, the acorns of Q. mongolica in North China and Q. variabilis in Southwest China had higher levels of starch and polyphenols. As the geographical location approached in the distribution of two Quercus species, the difference in acorn sizes gradually increased, while that in polyphenols were opposite. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis further revealed that the acorn sizes became larger and polyphenols became less with the increasing latitudes in both species. In North China, the acorns of Q. mongolica had small sizes and high polyphenols, which was contrary to those in Q. variabilis. These findings indicated that acorn traits were closely associated with the geographical distribution. Thus, our results will provide references for the selection breeding of acorn with the high starch, high or low polyphenols in the different regions.

Anti-Cancer Properties of Coix Seed Oil against HT-29 Colon Cells through Regulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

This study aims to observe the effects of coix seed oil (CSO) on HT-29 cells and investigate its possible regulation mechanism of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Fatty acid analysis showed that coix seed oil mainly contains oleic acid (50.54%), linoleic acid (33.76%), palmitic acid (11.74%), and stearic acid (2.45%). Fourier transform infrared results found that the fatty acid functional groups present in the oil matched well with the vegetable oil band. The results from CCK-8 assays showed that CSO dose-dependently and time-dependently inhibited the viability of HT-29 cells in vitro. CSO inhibited cell viability, with IC₅₀ values of 5.30 mg/mL for HT-29 obtained after 24 h treatment. Morphological changes were observed by apoptotic body/cell nucleus DNA (Hoechst 33258) staining using inverted and fluorescence microscopy. Moreover, flow cytometry analysis was used to evaluate the cell cycle and cell apoptosis. It showed that CSO induced cell apoptosis and cycle arrest in the G₂ phase. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting revealed that CSO induced cell apoptosis by downregulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Additionally, CSO can cause apoptosis in cancer cells by activating caspase-3, up-regulating Bax, and down-regulating Bcl-2. In conclusion, the results revealed that CSO induced G₂ arrest and apoptosis of HT-29 cells by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.