Strawberry Fragaria x ananassa cv. Festival: A Polyphenol-Based Phytochemical Characterization in Fruit and Leaf Extracts

Characterization of red algae (Gracilaria verrucosa) on potential application for topical treatment of oral mucosa wounds in Rattus norvegicus

Wound healing in the mouth has its challenges due to masticatory movements and the presence of bacteria that can inhibit its process. The aim of this study was to analyze the contents of red algae (Gracilaria verrucosa) from Indonesia, and its potential as a wound-healing agent for oral wounds using animal model. Red algae content was determined by phytochemical tests and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The wound was made by making an incision on the gingival mucosa of Rattus norvegicus and the parameters assessed were bleeding time, number of fibroblast cells, and time of wound closure. Three doses of G. verrucosa gel were used (2.5%, 5%, and 10%) and the gels were applied twice a day, at 6:00 and 18:00. Application was carried out topically by applying 0.1 ml of gel to the incision wound using a 1 mL syringe. Our phytochemical test indicated that the G. verrucosa contained alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, and phenols. The dominant contains of the G. verrucosa were glycerol (36.81%), hexadecenoic acid (20.74%), and cholesterol (7.4%). The hemostasis test showed that the 2.5% G. verrucosa extract gel had the shortest bleeding time, 33.98±2.66 seconds. On the seventh day of the initial proliferation phase, the number of fibroblasts was not significantly different among groups. On day 14, the number of fibroblasts was only significantly different between 10% G. verrucosa and untreated group (p=0.007). On day 28, however, both 5% and 10% G. verrucosa were significantly higher compared to untreated group, both had p=0.010. Daily clinical examination showed that animals that were given 2.5% and 5% of G. verrucosa extract gel experienced wound closure on day 10. Animals treated with 10% of extract gel, all wounds healed on day 9. This study suggested that G. verrucosa extract could accelerate wound closure and wound healing.

Natural Functional Beverages as an Approach to Manage Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease, commonly associated with unhealthy habits and obesity, and it is becoming a serious health issue worldwide. As a result, new approaches to treat diabetes are required, and a movement towards more natural approaches is emerging. Consuming fruit and vegetables is advised to prevent diabetes since they contain several bioactive compounds. A simple and effective strategy to include them in the diets of diabetic and obese people is through beverages. This review aims to report the anti-diabetic potentials of different vegetable and fruit beverages. These functional beverages demonstrated in vitro potential to inhibit α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes and to improve glucose uptake. In vivo, beverage consumption showed a reduction of blood glucose, increase of insulin tolerance, improvement of lipid profile, control of obesity, and reduction of oxidative stress. This suggests the potential of vegetable- and fruit-based functional beverages to be used as a natural innovative therapy for the management of diabetes.

Metabolomics-Based Analyses of Dynamic Changes in Flavonoid Profiles in the Black Mulberry Winemaking Process

To overcome the fruit's perishability, mulberry wine has been developed as a method of preservation. However, dynamic changes in metabolites during mulberry wine fermentation have not been reported yet. In the present investigation, UHPLC-QE-MS/MS coupled with multivariate statistical analyses was employed to scrutinize the metabolic profiles, particularly the flavonoid profiles, throughout the process of vinification. In general, the major differential metabolites encompassed organic heterocyclic compounds, amino acids, phenylpropanoids, aromatic compounds, and carbohydrates. The contents of total sugar and alcohol play a primary role that drove the composition of amino acids, polyphenol, aromatic compound, and organic acid metabolites based on the Mantel test. Importantly, among the flavonoids, abundant in mulberry fruit, luteolin, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, (-)-epiafzelechin, eriodictyol, kaempferol, and quercetin were identified as the differential metabolic markers during blackberry wine fermentation and ripening. Flavonoid, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis were also identified to be the major metabolic pathways of flavonoids in 96 metabolic pathways. These results will provide new information on the dynamic changes in flavonoid profiles during black mulberry winemaking.