Identification of bioactive metabolites dihydrocanadensolide, Kojic acid, and vanillic acid in soy sauce using GC-MS, NMR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction

Metabolomics Approaches for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Fermented Foods: A Review

Fermentation is an important process that can provide new flavors and nutritional and functional foods, to deal with changing consumer preferences. Fermented foods have complex chemical components that can modulate unique qualitative properties. Consequently, monitoring the small molecular metabolites in fermented food is critical to clarify its qualitative properties and help deliver personalized nutrition. In recent years, the application of metabolomics to nutrition research of fermented foods has expanded. In this review, we examine the application of metabolomics technologies in food, with a primary focus on the different analytical approaches suitable for food metabolomics and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches. In addition, we summarize emerging studies applying metabolomics in the comprehensive analysis of the flavor, nutrition, function, and safety of fermented foods, as well as emphasize the applicability of metabolomics in characterizing the qualitative properties of fermented foods.

Zederone Improves the Fecal Microbial Profile in Dementia Induced Rat Model: A First Report

BACKGROUND

Dementia correlates with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal and cerebrovascular diseases. There are supporting shreds of evidence on the pharmacological activity of Curcuma caesia (Zingiberaceae family) for its antioxidant, antidepressant, analgesic, anticonvulsant, and anti-acetylcholinesterase effect.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to analyze the fecal microbial profile in Zederone treated demented rat model.

METHOD

In our study, isolation and characterization of Zederone were carried out from Curcuma caesia rhizomes, followed by estimation of its memory-enhancing effect on Aluminium-induced demented rat, which was evaluated by behavioural study on radial 8 arm maze. Moreover the detection of amyloid plaque formation was carried out using fluorescent microscopy of the congo red-stained rat brain tissues of the cerebral neocortex region. This study included eighteen female Wistar Albino rats that were divided into three groups that consisted of six rats in each group. The study of fecal microbial profile by metagenomic DNA extraction followed by next-generation sequencing was carried out to establish the correlation between gut microbes and amyloid plaques in dementia.

RESULTS

Zederone could be characterized as pale yellow colored, needle-shaped crystals with 96.57% purity. This compound at 10 mg/kg body weight showed cognition improving capacity (p ≤ 0.0001) with a reduction of accumulated amyloid plaques that were detected in the demented group in fluorescence microscope and fecal microbiome study divulged an increased shift towards Lactobacillus genera in the treated group from Bacteroides in the demented group.

CONCLUSION

This sesquiterpenoid compound would assist in the modulation of gut bacterial dysbiosis and act as a better therapeutic drug for dementia and other neurological disorders.

Phytochemical characterization and anti-inflammatory potential of Egyptian Murcott mandarin cultivar waste (stem, leaves and peel)

The stem (S), leaf (L) and fruit peel (P) of Murcott mandarins were separately extracted using 80% ethanol and then fractionated into dichloromethane (DCM) and ethyl acetate (ET). Their metabolic profiles were studied via HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS and afforded a tentative characterization of 98 compounds, including free organic acids, phenolic acid derivatives, flavonoid aglycones, flavonoid glycosides, flavonoids containing 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaroyl (HMG) units, coumarin derivatives and limonoids. Column chromatography resulted in isolation of six metabolites for the first time that were identified as nobiletin (C1), isosinensetin (C2), limonin (C3), 4'-demethylnobiletin (C4), stigmasterol-O-glucoside (C5) and hesperidin (C6). In vitro studies of the anti-inflammatory activity of DCM-L against cyclooxygenases (COXs) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes revealed that DCM-L showed higher activity than the other tested fractions. The in vivo gastroprotective effects of that fraction were evaluated using alcohol-induced gastric ulcers in rats. The obtained findings validated the gastroprotective and anti-ulcerogenic activities of DCM-L through its anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects. Therefore, we recommend the use of Murcott mandarin leaves as a part of a protection strategy for gastric ulcer.

LAMA-1: A Cerebroside Isolated from the Deep-Sea-Derived Fungus Penicillium chrysogenum

Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of Penicillium chrysogenum strain S003, a fungus isolated from Red Sea deep sediment, led to the isolation of a cerebroside molecular species LAMA (1) along with three other known compounds, ergosterol (2), epidioxyergosterol (3), and kojic acid (4). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by interpretation of spectral data, including detailed 1D and 2D NMR (One and two dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and mass spectrometry. The cytotoxic activities of isolated compounds 1–4 against five human carcinoma cells were evaluated using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Compounds 2 and 3 displayed promising cytotoxic profiles against lung cancer (A-549), prostate (DU-145), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and hepatocellular (HepG2) cell lines, with IC₅₀ values of 21.26, 19.3; 1.50, 6.10; 16.95, 13.6; and 2.89, 3.07 µM, respectively, while they were inactive against HeLa cells. Compounds 1 and 4 showed weak cytotoxic profiles against all cell lines under investigation.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of Artocarpus heterophyllus L. J33 variety fruit waste extract and identification of its antioxidant constituents by TOF-LCMS

We have previously reported on the antioxidant potential of Artocarpus heterophyllus J33 (AhJ33) variety fruit waste from different extraction methods. In the study, the rind maceration extract (RDM) exhibited the highest phenolic and polyphenolic contents and strongest antioxidant potential measured by the DPPH assay (R² = 0.99). In this paper, we now report on the bioassay-guided fractionation of the active ethyl acetate (EtOAC) fraction of RDM and its TOF-LCMS analysis. Seven sub-fractions resulting from the chromatographic separation of the EtOAC fraction showed radical scavenging activities between 80 and 94% inhibition. Subsequent LCMS analysis led to the identification of fifteen compounds comprising 5 phenolics and 10 non-phenolic compounds, 11 of which are reported for the first time from AhJ33 variety. Most of the identified compounds have been reported to possess antioxidant activity in many previous studies. This indicates that AhJ33 is a promising source of antioxidants for the development of food and nutraceutical products.

Complex Mixture Analysis of Organic Compounds in Yogurt by NMR Spectroscopy

NMR measurements do not require separation and chemical modification of samples and therefore rapidly and directly provide non-targeted information on chemical components in complex mixtures. In this study, one-dimensional (¹H, (13)C, and (31)P) and two-dimensional (¹H-(13)C and ¹H-(31)P) NMR spectroscopy were conducted to analyze yogurt without any pretreatment. ¹H, (13)C, and (31)P NMR signals were assigned to 10 types of compounds. The signals of α/β-lactose and α/β-galactose were separately observed in the ¹H NMR spectra. In addition, the signals from the acyl chains of milk fats were also successfully identified but overlapped with many other signals. Quantitative difference spectra were obtained by subtracting the diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) spectra from the quantitative ¹H NMR spectra. This method allowed us to eliminate interference on the overlaps; therefore, the correct intensities of signals overlapped with those from the acyl chains of milk fat could be determined directly without separation. Moreover, the ¹H-(31)P HMBC spectra revealed for the first time that N-acetyl-d-glucosamine-1-phosphate is contained in yogurt.