Phenolic content and anti-oxidative attributes of various parts of wild banana (Ensete superbum Roxb. Cheesman) plant

Protective Application of Morus and Its Extracts in Animal Production

Different components of the mulberry tree (fruits, leaves, twigs, and roots) are rich in active compounds, and have been reported to possess potent beneficial properties, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-allergenic, antihypertensive, and neuroprotective. The mulberry and its extracts can effectively improve the growth performance and fitness of animals. They not only possess the properties of being safe and purely natural, but also they are not prone to drug resistance. According to the literature, the supplemental level of the mulberry and its extracts in animal diets varies with different species, physiological status, age, and the purpose of the addition. It has been observed that the mulberry and its extracts enhanced the growth performance, the quality of animal products (meat, egg, and milk), the antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory responses of animals. Furthermore, the mulberry and its extracts have antibacterial properties and can effectively moderate the relative abundance of the microbial populations in the rumen and intestines, thus improving the immunity function of animals and reducing the enteric methane (CH₄) production in ruminants. Furthermore, the mulberry and its extracts have the potential to depurate tissues of heavy metals. Collectively, this review summarizes the nutrients, active compounds, and biological functions of mulberry tree products, as well as the application in livestock production with an aim to provide a reference for the utilization of the mulberry and its extracts in animal production.

Efficacy of a functional food ingredient from Ensete superbum Roxb Cheesman peel in reducing the severity of ulcerative colitis in murine model

Ulcerative colitis is a recurrent inflammatory illness of the colon with an elevated risk of developing colon cancer. The drugs presently used to treat UC cause adverse effects and are...

Cinética da degradação térmica de antocianinas de alaybilí (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) e macha-macha (Gaultheria glomerata (Cav.) Sleumer)

Resumo As frutas são fontes naturais de antioxidantes, em especial antocianinas; no entanto, de acordo com a literatura, esses compostos têm sensibilidade a certos fatores ambientais, encontrando-se relatos na literatura científica de que a temperatura tem influência na degradação das antocianinas. Nesse sentido, duas frutas nativas da região de Apurímac, Peru, conhecidas como alabilí (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) e macha-macha (Gaultheria glomerata (Cav.) Sleumer) foram estudadas como fontes de antocianinas e a cinética de degradação foi investigada. Extratos antociânicos com concentrações de 148 e 224 mg L-1 (mg cianidina 3-glucosídeo/L), a partir de frutos de alaybilí e macha-macha, respectivamente, foram obtidos por extração etanólica e, posteriormente, foi avaliada a cinética de degradação nas temperaturas de 30 °C a 60 °C. Constatou-se que os extratos de macha-macha apresentaram maior degradação em relação aos extratos de alaybilí. Foi confirmado que a cinética de primeira ordem representa melhor a degradação das antocianinas, com constantes de velocidade variando de 7,07·10-4 a 5,96·10-3 h-1 para alaybilí e de 1,62·10-3 a 1,71·10-2 h-1 para macha-macha, com energias de ativação de 60,2 e 70,4 kJ mol-1, respectivamente. Ambos os frutos são fontes de antocianinas, sendo que as antocianinas presentes no fruto de alaybilí apresentam maior estabilidade à temperatura.

Anti-proliferative activity of Ensete superbum Roxb. Cheesman extract and its active principles on human colorectal cancer cell lines

Ensete superbum Roxb. Cheesman (wild banana) is a plant traditionally used for the treatment of fever and diarrhea. On a preliminary screening, the ripe peel aqueous extract (PA) exhibited higher cytotoxicity (cell viability of 49% against HCT-15 at 75 µg/ml; and 46% against Caco2 at 50 µg/ml), superior anti-inflammatory (IC₅₀ of 0.49 µg/ml), and greater anti-mutagenic activity at 500 µg/plate compared to the aqueous extracts of seed (SA), flower (FA) and bract (BA). Therefore, we further evaluated the anti-proliferative activity of PA and its fractions. The ability to inhibit the growth of cell lines (HCT-15 and Caco2) was used for the bio-guided fractionation and isolation of active compounds in PA using chromatographic techniques. Multiple extractions of the PA yielded the peel dioxane fraction (PD), and column fractionation of PD yielded eight compounds, of which three (Compound D-PDD, Compound E-PDE, and Compound G-PDG) possessed higher cytotoxic activity. At 10 µg/ml, the cell viability of HCT-15 was 50.1%, 46.5%, and 61.9%, respectively; Caco2 was 98.2%, 62.9%, and 64.7%, respectively, for PDD, PDE, and PDG. These compounds also showed apoptotic effect as evidenced by measuring the mitochondrial membrane potential, dual staining (acridine orange/ethidium bromide), DNA fragmentation, and the ROS status in colorectal cell lines. The UPLC-HRMS/MS, FTIR, and NMR data revealed the active compounds as quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 4',5,7-trihydroxyflavone. These findings indicate the anti-proliferative potential of PA, and warrant further investigation of its active principles in the amelioration of colorectal cancer in in vivo models. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The potential of an underutilized crop as a source of therapeutic agents for colon cancer was established, as the study showed a high cytotoxic activity of wild bananas against HCT-15 and Caco2 cell lines. Bioactivity guided fractionation of peel fraction identified the active compounds present in wild banana, and their anticancer activity was attributed to the induction of cell death. The study indicated that wild banana has the potential to inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells.