Molecular basis of the formation and removal of fruit astringency

Comparative metabolomics profiling reveals the unique bioactive compounds and astringent taste formation of rosehips

Rosehips are a prominent source of numerous bioactive compounds. However, despite their extensive potential, the metabolic profiles among different rosehip species have not been fully elucidated. In this study, 523 secondary metabolites from rosehips of 12 Rosa species were identified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. They were primarily composed of flavonoids and phenolic acids. A K-means analysis revealed the characteristic metabolites in different rosehips. For example, R. persica contained a more abundant supply of phenolic acids, while R. roxburghii harbored a richer array of terpenoids. A total of 73 key active ingredients were screened from traditional Chinese medicine databases, and they indicated that R. persica is more promising for use in functional foods or health supplements compared with the other fruits. Moreover, a differential analysis identified 47 compounds as potential contributors to the astringent taste of rosehips, including ellagic acid 4-O-glucoside and cadaverine. This study provides valuable information to develop new functional foods of rosehips and improve the quality of their fruits.

Worldwide productivity and research trend on fruit quality: a bibliometric study

Introduction

As one of the important sources of food for human beings, fruits have been extensively studied. To better guide basic and applied research, it is urgent to conduct a systematic analysis of these studies based on extensive literature collection.

Methods

Based on the Web of Science Core Collection database, this study uses R language and CiteSpace to conduct bibliometric analysis and data mining on the literatures related to fruit quality from January 2013 to June 2023.

Results

The results indicated that among various fruits, tomatoes have been most frequently studied with special interests in photosynthesis, fruit development, and molecular breeding. The research direction primarily focused on fruit resistance and storage characteristics. Among the indicators related to fruit quality, antioxidant activity has the highest co-occurrence with other indicators of fruit quality, especially with nutrients such as anthocyanins, phenolic substances, sugars, and fruit firmness.

Discussion

Currently, adaptation to stress and antioxidant activity are recognized as prominent research focal points in this field. Fruit morphology, particularly fruit size, irrigation methods, application of molecular technology, and infection prevention, represent potential areas of interests in future research on fruit quality.

Polyphenols and polyphenols-based biopolymer materials: Regulating iron absorption and availability from spontaneous to controllable

Iron is an important trace element in the body, and it will seriously affect the body's normal operation if it is taken too much or too little. A large number of patients around the world are suffering from iron disorders. However, there are many problems using drugs to treat iron overload and causing prolonged and unbearable suffering for patients. Controlling iron absorption and utilization through diet is becoming the acceptable, safe and healthy method. At present, many literatures have reported that polyphenols can interact with iron ions and can be expected to chelate iron ions, depending on their types and structures. Besides, polyphenols often interact with other macromolecules in the diet, which may complicate this phenols-Fe behavior and give rise to the necessity of building phenolic based biopolymer materials. The biopolymer materials, constructed by self-assembly (non-covalent) or chemical modification (covalent), show excellent properties such as good permeability, targeting, biocompatibility, and high chelation ability. It is believed that this review can greatly facilitate the development of polyphenols-based biopolymer materials construction for regulating iron and improving the well-being of patients.

Main flavor compounds and molecular regulation mechanisms in fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are an indispensable part of a healthy diet. The volatile and nonvolatile compounds present in F&V constitute unique flavor substances. This paper reviews the main flavor substances present in F&V, as well as the biosynthetic pathways and molecular regulation mechanisms of these compounds. A series of compounds introduced include aromatic substances, soluble sugars and organic acids, which constitute the key flavor substances of F&V. Esters, phenols, alcohols, amino acids and terpenes are the main volatile aromatic substances, and nonvolatile substances are represented by amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates; The combination of these ingredients is the cause of the sour, sweet, bitter, astringent and spicy taste of these foods. This provides a theoretical basis for the study of the interaction between volatile and nonvolatile substances in F&V, and also provides a research direction for the healthy development of food in the future.

Preferential transport activity of DkDTX5/MATE5 affects the formation of different astringency in persimmon

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are specialized metabolites that influence persimmon fruit quality. Normal astringent (A)-type and non-astringent (NA)-type mutants show significant variation in PA accumulation, but the influencing mechanism remains unclear. In this study, among the six identified DTXs/MATEs proteins associated with PA accumulation, we observed that allelic variation and preferential transport by DkDTX5/MATE5 induced variation in PA accumulation for A-type and NA-type fruit. The expression pattern of DkDTX5/MATE5 was correlated with PA accumulation in NA-type fruit. Upregulation and downregulation of DkDTX5/MATE5 promoted and inhibited PA accumulation, respectively, in the NA-type fruit. Interestingly, transporter assays of Xenopus laevis oocytes indicated that DkDTX5/MATE5 preferentially transported the PA precursors catechin, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate, resulting in their increased ratios relative to the total PAs, which was the main source of variation in PA accumulation between the A-type and NA-type. The allele lacking Ser-84 in DkDTX5/MATE5 was identified as a dominantly expressed gene in the A-type and lost its transport function. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that DkDTX5/MATE5 binds to PA precursors via Ser-84. These findings clarify the association between the transporter function of DkDTX5/MATE5 and PA variation, and can contribute to the breeding of new cultivars with improved fruit quality.

Targeted Removal of Galloylated Flavanols to Adjust Wine Astringency by Using Molecular Imprinting Technology

Excessive galloylated flavanols not only cause instability in the wine but also lead to unbalanced astringency. Although clarification agents are always used to precipitate unstable tannins in wine, the non-specific adsorption of tannins results in the failure to precisely regulate the tannin composition of the wine. In this work, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with template molecules of galloylated flavanols were designed to specifically adsorb gallotannins to reduce wine astringency. The results showed that the "pores" on the surface of the MIPs are the structural basis for the specific adsorption of the target substances, and the adsorption process is a chemically driven single-molecule layer adsorption. Moreover, in the mono/oligomeric gallotannin-rich model solution, the adsorption of gallotannins by I-MIPs prepared as single template molecules reached 71.0%, and the adsorption capacity of MIPs for monomeric gallotannins was about 6.0 times higher than polymeric gallotannins. Given the lack of technology for the targeted adsorption of tannins from wine, this work explored the targeted modulation of wine astringency by using molecular imprinting techniques.

Phyllanthus emblica fruits: a polyphenol-rich fruit with potential benefits for oral management

The fruit of Phyllanthus emblica Linn., which mainly grows in tropical and subtropical regions, is well-known for its medicine and food homology properties. It has a distinctive flavor, great nutritional content, and potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and immunoregulatory effects. According to an increasing amount of scientific and clinical evidence, this fruit shows significant potential for application and development in the field of oral health management. Through the supplementation of vitamins, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and other nutrients reduce virulence expression of various oral pathogens, prevent tissue and mucosal damage caused by oxidative stress, etc. Phyllanthus emblica fruit can promote saliva secretion, regulate the balance of the oral microecology, prevent and treat oral cancer early, promote alveolar bone remodeling and aid mucosal wound healing. Thus, it plays a specific role in the prevention and treatment of common oral disorders, producing surprising results. For instance, enhancing the effectiveness of scaling and root planing in the treatment of periodontitis, relieving mucosal inflammation caused by radiotherapy for oral cancer, and regulating the blood glucose metabolism to alleviate oral discomfort. Herein, we systematically review the latest research on the use of Phyllanthus emblica fruit in the management of oral health and examine the challenges and future research directions based on its chemical composition and characteristics.

Phyllanthi Fructus: A modal medicinal and food homologous item in quality evaluation

Phyllanthi Fructus is a highly unique medicine and food homologous item, which exhibits distinctive flavor, notable nutritional value, and abundant pharmacological activity. It has enormous potential in the creation of health products and pharmaceuticals. However, due to the unique laws of quality formation and transfer of Phyllanthi Fructus, its appearance, shape, chemical compositions, nutrients, and sensory flavors are frequently greatly influenced by botanical resources, the processing and storage conditions. As a result, the current quality evaluation model is difficult to meet the needs of Phyllanthi Fructus as a medicine and food homologous item in the development of diversified products. This paper constructs the hierarchical utilization mode of Phyllanthi Fructus based on its unique quality formation and transmission laws, explores the quality evaluation model for food-oriented use and medicinal-oriented use, respectively, and systematically describes the quality evaluation idea under diversified application scenarios. This paper aims to serve as a reference for the construction of a quality evaluation model suitable for the medicine and food homologous item of Phyllanthi Fructus.

A metabolic perspective of selection for fruit quality related to apple domestication and improvement

BACKGROUND

Apple is an economically important fruit crop. Changes in metabolism accompanying human-guided evolution can be revealed using a multiomics approach. We perform genome-wide metabolic analysis of apple fruits collected from 292 wild and cultivated accessions representing various consumption types.

RESULTS

We find decreased amounts of certain metabolites, including tannins, organic acids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids as the wild accessions transition to cultivated apples, while lysolipids increase in the "Golden Delicious" to "Ralls Janet" pedigree, suggesting better storage. We identify a total of 222,877 significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms that are associated with 2205 apple metabolites. Investigation of a region from 2.84 to 5.01 Mb on chromosome 16 containing co-mapping regions for tannins, organic acids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids indicates the importance of these metabolites for fruit quality and nutrition during breeding. The tannin and acidity-related genes Myb9-like and PH4 are mapped closely to fruit weight locus fw1 from 3.41 to 3.76 Mb on chromosome 15, a region under selection during domestication. Lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE) 18:1, which is suppressed by fatty acid desaturase-2 (FAD2), is positively correlated to fruit firmness. We find the fruit weight is negatively correlated with salicylic acid and abscisic acid levels. Further functional assays demonstrate regulation of these hormone levels by NAC-like activated by Apetala3/Pistillata (NAP) and ATP binding cassette G25 (ABCG25), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a metabolic perspective for selection on fruit quality during domestication and improvement, which is a valuable resource for investigating mechanisms controlling apple metabolite content and quality.

The complexities of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis and its regulation in plants

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are natural flavan-3-ol polymers that contribute protection to plants under biotic and abiotic stress, benefits to human health, and bitterness and astringency to food products. They are also potential targets for carbon sequestration for climate mitigation. In recent years, from model species to commercial crops, research has moved closer to elucidating the flux control and channeling, subunit biosynthesis and polymerization, transport mechanisms, and regulatory networks involved in plant PA metabolism. This review extends the conventional understanding with recent findings that provide new insights to address lingering questions and focus strategies for manipulating PA traits in plants.

Investigating phenotypic relationships in persimmon accessions through integrated proteomic and metabolomic analysis of corresponding fruits

Together with phenological and genomic approaches, gel-based and label-free proteomic as well metabolomic procedures were separately applied to plants to highlight differences between ecotypes, to estimate genetic variability within/between organism populations, or to characterize specific mutants/genetically modified lines at metabolic level. To investigate the possible use of tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics in the above-mentioned contexts and based on the absence of combined proteo-metabolomic studies on Diospyros kaki cultivars, we here applied integrated proteomic and metabolomic approaches to fruits from Italian persimmon ecotypes with the aim to characterize plant phenotypic diversity at molecular level. We identified 2255 proteins in fruits, assigning 102 differentially represented components between cultivars, including some related to pomological, nutritional and allergenic characteristics. Thirty-three polyphenols were also identified and quantified, which belong to hydroxybenzoic acid, flavanol, hydroxycinnamic acid, flavonol, flavanone and dihydrochalcone sub-classes. Heat-map representation of quantitative proteomic and metabolomic results highlighted compound representation differences in various accessions, whose elaboration through Euclidean distance functions and other linkage methods defined dendrograms establishing phenotypic relationships between cultivars. Principal component analysis of proteomic and metabolomic data provided clear information on phenotypic differences/similarities between persimmon accessions. Coherent cultivar association results were observed between proteomic and metabolomic data, emphasizing the utility of integrating combined omic approaches to identify and validate phenotypic relationships between ecotypes, and to estimate corresponding variability and distance. Accordingly, this study describes an original, combined approach to outline phenotypic signatures in persimmon cultivars, which may be used for a further characterization of other ecotypes of the same species and an improved description of nutritional characteristics of corresponding fruits.

Brassinosteroid Promotes Grape Berry Quality-Focus on Physicochemical Qualities and Their Coordination with Enzymatic and Molecular Processes: A Review

Brassinosteroid (BR) is an important endogenous phytohormone that plays a significant role in fruit quality regulation. The regulation of BR biosynthesis and its physiological effects have been well-studied in various fruits. External quality (fruit longitudinal and transverse diameters, firmness, single berry weight, color) and internal quality (sugars, aroma, anthocyanin, stress-related metabolites) are important parameters that are modified during grape berry development and ripening. Grapevines are grown all over the world as a cash crop and utilized for fresh consumption, wine manufacture, and raisin production. In this paper, the biosynthesis and signaling transduction of BR in grapevine were summarized, as well as the recent developments in understanding the role of BR in regulating the external quality (fruit longitudinal and transverse diameters, firmness, single berry weight, and color) and internal quality (sugars, organic acids, aroma substances, anthocyanins, antioxidants) of grapes. Additionally, current advancements in exogenous BR strategies for improving grape berries quality were examined from the perspectives of enzymatic activity and transcriptional regulation. Furthermore, the interaction between BR and other phytohormones regulating the grape berry quality was also discussed, aiming to provide a reliable reference for better understanding the potential value of BR in the grape/wine industry.

Circular biomanufacturing through harvesting solar energy and CO2

Using synthetic biology, it is now time to expand the biosynthetic repertoire of plants and microalgae by utilizing the chloroplast to augment the production of desired high-value compounds and of oil-, carbohydrate-, or protein-enriched biomass based on direct harvesting of solar energy and the consumption of CO₂. Multistream product lines based on separate commercialization of the isolated high-value compounds and of the improved bulk products increase the economic potential of the light-driven production system and accelerate commercial scale up. Here we outline the scientific basis for the establishment of such green circular biomanufacturing systems and highlight recent results that make this a realistic option based on cross-disciplinary basic and applied research to advance long-term solutions.

Acceleration of wound healing by topical application of gel formulation of Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng kernel extract

Background: Phytomedicines are gaining a spotlight in wound management, where much research has suggested the wound healing potential of Barringtonia racemosa. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of B. racemosa kernel extract in accelerating wound healing process in animal models. Methods: B. racemosa kernel was extracted using ethanol:water (7:3) solvent and was then used as a bioactive ingredient in a Carbopol 940-based gel formulation in four different concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 7 ppm). A 3 cm diameter wound was made in the dorsal area of Rattus norvegicus rat and wound healing process was assessed up to 12 days using DESIGN (Depth, Exudate, Size of Inflammation/Infection, Granulation tissue, and Necrotic tissue) scoring system. Results: Our data suggested that the DESIGN scores were significantly different among concentration groups after the 3rdday onward suggesting B. racemosa extract accelerated the wound healing process. Rats treated with gel formulation containing 7 ppm of B. racemosa kernel extract had faster wound healing than that treated with topical Metcovazin. On day 6, macroscopic observation on 7 ppm group revealed that the wound had persistent redness, lesion area of < 3 cm2, and 80% healthy granulation, where presence of exudate and redness were not observable. Conclusion: B. racemosa kernel extract was effective in accelerating wound healing on rats. Further study is warranted to purify the bioactive component and the action mechanism in wound healing process.

Plant carotenoids: recent advances and future perspectives

Carotenoids are isoprenoid metabolites synthesized de novo in all photosynthetic organisms. Carotenoids are essential for plants with diverse functions in photosynthesis, photoprotection, pigmentation, phytohormone synthesis, and signaling. They are also critically important for humans as precursors of vitamin A synthesis and as dietary antioxidants. The vital roles of carotenoids to plants and humans have prompted significant progress toward our understanding of carotenoid metabolism and regulation. New regulators and novel roles of carotenoid metabolites are continuously revealed. This review focuses on current status of carotenoid metabolism and highlights recent advances in comprehension of the intrinsic and multi-dimensional regulation of carotenoid accumulation. We also discuss the functional evolution of carotenoids, the agricultural and horticultural application, and some key areas for future research.