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Chicken egg yolk plasma (EYP), the supernatant fraction of egg yolk obtained by water dilution and centrifugation, is a rich source of various bioactive substances and a significant bearer of yolk-emulsifying properties. This study utilized proteomics to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of both common and modified EYP proteins (phosphorylated proteins and N-glycosylated proteins). Total of 208 proteins were identified in EYP, including 42 phosphorylated proteins with 137 phosphorylation sites and 150 N-glycoproteins with 332 N-glycosylation sites. Among the phosphorylation sites, tyrosine accounted for 80.6%, while the N-glycosylation sites predominantly featured “N-X-T” motifs, accounting for 58.7%. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that most proteins were involved in regulating enzyme activity and inhibition with a particular focus on modulating peptidase activity. Notably, vitellogenins-2 (30 phosphorylation sites, 9 N-glycosylation sites) and apolipoprotein B (10 phosphorylation sites, 56 N-glycosylation sites) were the 2 proteins with the most modification sites. Additionally, EYP was found to contain the highly N-glycosylated complement proteins C3 and C4. These findings provide new insights into the protein composition of EYP and its roles in chicken embryo development and immune defense, offering a theoretical foundation for the application of EYP in various fields.

Ultrasound-induced egg white fluidic gels (UEFG) were prepared through ultrasonic pretreatment followed by subsequent heating. The optimal preparation parameters for UEFG were: ultrasonic power density between 0.2 to 0.8 W/mL, ultrasonic treatment time surpassing 150 s, heating temperature within 70-76°C, and heating time under 16 min. The prepared UEFG is a milky white solution with a viscosity lower than that of fresh egg white, and displayed a particle size distribution primarily between 100-1200 nm. Stability assessments conducted over 28 days at 4°C revealed that UEFG remained stable at pH 6-10, with exceptional stability from pH 8 to 10, while it is less stable in highly acidic (pH 2-4) or basic environments (pH 12). The UEFG also showed commendable stability in the presence of salt and sucrose solutions. We report a simple and novel method for preparing UEFG with good flowability after heating treatment. The UEFG has broad applications in the food industry, such as pre-cooked egg white powder, high protein beverages, composite dairy products, etc.

ABSTRACTPterostilbene (PTE) is a stilbene-derived phytoalexin that originates from several natural plant sources. In this study, we evaluated the activity of PTE against Candida albicansbiofilms and explored the underlying mechanisms. In 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction assays, biofilm biomass measurement, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, we found that ≤16 μg/ml PTE had a significant effect against C. albicansbiofilms in vitro, while it had no fungicidal effect on planktonic C. albicanscells, which suggested a unique antibiofilm effect of PTE. Then we found that PTE could inhibit biofilm formation and destroy the maintenance of mature biofilms. At 4 μg/ml, PTE decreased cellular surface hydrophobicity (CSH) and suppressed hyphal formation. Gene expression microarrays and real-time reverse transcription-PCR showed that exposure of C. albicansto 16 μg/ml PTE altered the expression of genes that function in morphological transition, ergosterol biosynthesis, oxidoreductase activity, and cell surface and protein unfolding processes (heat shock proteins). Filamentation-related genes, especially those regulated by the Ras/cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway, including ECE1, ALS3, HWP1, HGC1, and RAS1itself, were downregulated upon PTE treatment, indicating that the antibiofilm effect of PTE was related to the Ras/cAMP pathway. Then, we found that the addition of exogenous cAMP reverted the PTE-induced filamentous growth defect. Finally, with a rat central venous catheter infection model, we confirmed the in vivoactivity of PTE against C. albicansbiofilms. Collectively, PTE had strong activities against C. albicansbiofilms both in vitroand in vivo, and these activities were associated with the Ras/cAMP pathway.

Duck eggs are nutritious and healthy diet and their properties further increased after being preserved by alkaline treatments. Preserved eggs are widely used as functional food products most probably as an alkalescent food posing several benefits to human health. An alkaline treatment increased their functional properties as a functional food ingredient, as well as their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties are also enhanced. This review was aimed to accumulatively review functional properties of preserved eggs as an excellent food ingredient and as an excellent anti-inflammatory food. Hence, we have deeply reviewed the functional properties of preserved eggs as a functional food product with emphasis on their improved functional properties while preservation. Furthermore, we have given deep insights into rationale for alkaline pH in cell and cancer microenvironment in order to get better understanding about the health benefits of alkalescent food. At last, the detailed knowledge about anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer role of preserved eggs as an alkalescent food has been discussed at cellular level which made us aware of its importance for regular intake in our daily life for better health. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about this aspect in the research field and might rarely reviewed; hence this review will be promising in providing deep insights and further ideas for research conductance.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a lethal genitourinary cancer and accounts 3% of total cancers worldwide. Various pleiotropic cytokines, i.e activator of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), Cellular FLICE (FADD-like IL-1β-converting enzyme)-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) could act to block the process of apoptosis in renal cancinoma cells, trigering its growth and proliferation. Their over-expression could activate several anti-apoptotic factors, hence it is important to block or down-regulate such factors in order to activate apoptosis in cancer cells. Up till now, several chemo and radiotherapies are being considered to combat renal carcinoma cells; however, there is a strong need to get some dietary therapeutic treatment. Hence, this study has used gastrointestinal digests of preserved eggs (GID-PE) for the apoptosis of Caki-1, ACHN and 786-O cells lines, in order to get insights about apoptosis in their mitochondrial pathway before and after treatment with (GID-PE). Moreover, changes in morphology accompanied by apoptosis analysis with different treatments have been carried out. Furthermore, ELISA analysis and mRNA expression of certain pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were determined before and after treatment with GID-PE. Furthermore, the specific anti-apoptotic genes, i.e cFlip, Mcl-1, Bcl-XL and STAT3 were examined for their down-regulated expression after different treatments with GID-PE. Moreover, Bax expression acting as a pro-apoptotic gene was up-regulated up to some extent after treatments with GID-PE. Hence, GID-PE was confirmed to give anti-inflammatory effects in renal carcinoma cells could be used as health beneficial food product with anti-cancer properties.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are a serious threat to global public health. The emergence of drug-resistant pathogens is due to the improper use of antibiotics, making the treatment of bacterial infections very challenging. Here, we reported an efficient antibiotic delivery nanoparticle to minimize antibiotic resistance. The nanoparticle was designed to target the bacterial membrane using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) modified with an ovotransferrin-derived antimicrobial peptide (OVTp12), enabling the antibiotic to be delivered to the vicinity of the pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, we observed that OVTp12-modified nanoparticles effectively inhibited the growth of Escherichia coliin vitroand in vivo. The nanoparticle with high biosafety could significantly downregulate the expression of inflammation-related cytokines in infected tissues. Thus, this novel bacterial targeted nanoparticle provides advantages in minimizing bacterial drug resistance and treating bacterial infection.

ABSTRACTCandida albicansbiofilms show resistance to many clinical antifungal agents and play a considerable contributing role in the process of C. albicansinfections. New antifungal agents against C. albicansbiofilms are sorely needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate sanguinarine (SAN) for its activity against Candida albicansbiofilms and explore the underlying mechanism. The MIC50of SAN was 3.2 μg/ml, while ≥0.8 μg/ml of SAN could suppress C. albicansbiofilms. Further study revealed that ≥0.8 μg/ml of SAN could decrease cellular surface hydrophobicity (CSH) and inhibited hypha formation. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) results indicated that the exposure of C. albicansto SAN suppressed the expression of some adhesion- and hypha-specific/essential genes related to the cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway, including ALS3, HWP1, ECE1, HGC1, and CYR1. Consistently, the endogenous cAMP level of C. albicanswas downregulated after SAN treatment, and the addition of cAMP rescued the SAN-induced filamentation defect. In addition, SAN showed relatively low toxicity to human umbilical vein endothelial cells, the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) being 7.8 μg/ml. Collectively, the results show that SAN exhibits strong activity against C. albicansbiofilms, and the activity was associated with its inhibitory effect on adhesion and hypha formation due to cAMP pathway suppression.