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Summary: Curcumin is a bioactive substance, while poor stability and low bioavailability limit its effective utilisation. Curcumin‐loaded nanoparticles were prepared using the wall materials containing OSA starch alone (HI), sodium caseinate alone (SC), and a mixture of OSA starch and sodium caseinate (HS). Compared to HI and SC, HS had obvious network structure and smaller particle size, with the loading capacity higher than 20%. The storage stability at 4 °C were higher in HS and SC, FTIR and XRD results showed that all nanoparticles encapsulated curcumin through hydrogen bonding. When nanoparticles were added to yogurt, HI showed slower curcumin release during in vitro semi‐dynamic elderly digestion, whereas SC and HS can better accelerate the digestion rate of proteins in yogurt, leading to a decrease in the apparent viscosity of digestive emptying products. This study provided a reference for curcumin delivery wall materials and pushed forward development of functional foods for elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The individual differences and ethical limitations of in vivo studies have prompted the development of in vitro digestive models. In this study, an Artificial Gastric Digestive System (AGDS) with the geometry and motion of the human stomach was designed and operated. Five agar beads with different breaking forces (0.35–0.95 N) were applied in AGDS model to verify the gastric breakdown behaviour. Results showed that the degradation degree of agar beads in AGDS was significantly different to that in the shaking water bath. Besides, beads in a high‐viscosity medium (30 Pa·s) had a shorter breaking time (26 min) than that in a low‐viscosity medium (0.69 Pa·s, 37 min). AGDS can simulate peristalsis and dynamic flow kinetics, thus it pushes forward the understanding of food degradation and nutrients release during gastric digestion and may inspire the design of versatile artificial stomach based on specific populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liposomes have become a research hotspot in recent years as food delivery systems with attractive properties, including the bilayer structure assembled like the cell membrane, reducing the side‐effect and improving environmental stability of cargos, controlling release, extending duration of functional ingredients, and high biodegradable and biocompatible abilities in the body. However, the conventional liposomes lack stability during storage and are weak in targeted absorption in the gastrointestinal track. At present, surface modification has been approved to be an effective platform to shield these barricades and help liposomes deliver the agents safely and effectively to the ideal site. In this review, the gastrointestinal stability of conventional liposomes, cargo release models from liposomes, and the biological fate of the core materials after release were emphasized. Then, the strategies in both physical and chemical perspectives to improve the stability and utilization of liposomes in the gastrointestinal tract, and the emerging approaches for improving gut targeting by specifically modified liposomes and the intestinal receptors relative to liposomes/cargos absorption were highlighted. Last but not the least, the safety, challenges, and opportunities for the improvement of liposomal bioavailability were also discussed to inspire new applications of liposomes as oral carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Chlorogenic acid (CGA), as one of the most abundant naturally occurring phenolic acids, has been documented to be beneficial for intestinal health. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. The adult intestinal stem cell is the critical driver of epithelial homeostasis and regeneration. RESULTS: This study hypothesized that CGA exerted intestinal health effects by modulating intestinal stem‐cell functions. Lgr5‐EGFP mice were treated for 14 days, and intestinal organoids derived from these mice were treated for 3 days, using CGA solution. In comparison with the control group, CGA treatment increased intestinal villous height and crypt depth in mice and augmented the area expansion and the number of budding intestinal organoids. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis revealed that CGA treatment significantly increased the expression of genes coding intestinal stem‐cell markers in intestinal tissue and organoids, and upregulated the expression of genes coding secretory cell lineages and enterocytes, although not statistically significantly. Fluorescence‐activated cell‐sorting analysis further confirmed that CGA augmented the number of stem cells. 5‐Ethynyl‐2'‐deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation and Ki67 immunostaining results also demonstrated that CGA treatment enhanced intestinal stem‐cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our findings indicate that CGA could activate intestinal stem‐cell and epithelial regeneration, which could contribute to the improvement of intestinal morphology or organoid growth of mice. This highlights a promising mechanism for CGA as an excellent candidate for the formulation of dietary supplements and functional foods for intestinal protection. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that, in contrast to the properties of food‐derived copper, water‐derived copper exerts neurotoxic effects and exhibits different speciation during digestion. The cellular uptake efficiencies of different speciation of copper are distinct. However, it is unclear whether these different speciation share the same transport pathway in intestinal epithelial cells. In the present study, the intracellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ion and copper complex solutions was investigated in Caco‐2 cells. RESULTS: The cellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ions was higher than that of copper derived from the copper complex. Treatment with carboplatin and Ag+, which are copper transporter receptor 1 (Ctr1, LC31A1) inhibitors, did not inhibit copper accumulation in Caco‐2 cells, but inhibited copper accumulation in HepG2 cells. Zinc ion significantly decreased the intracellular copper content from 114 ± 7 μg g−1 protein to 88 ± 4 μg g−1 protein in the copper ion‐treated Caco‐2 cells, but not in the copper complex‐treated Caco‐2 cells (84.6 ± 14 μg g−1 protein versus 87.7 ± 20 μg g−1 protein, P > 0.05). Additionally, copper accumulation in Caco‐2 and HepG2 cells significantly differed depending on different solvents (Hanks' balanced salt solution and NaNO3, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the intracellular accumulation of copper derived from copper ion and copper complex is mediated by distinct copper transport pathways. Copper speciation may be an important factor that affects copper absorption and toxicity. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Catechin monomers and their combinations were incorporated into dough and bread to investigate their effects on the properties of dough and quality of bread. Rheological analysis showed that catechins generally increased dough stability time, dough tenacity (P), elastic modulus and viscous modulus and decreased dough development time, dough extensibility (L), swelling index (G) and deformation energy. Gallated catechin‐supplemented samples presented lower dough development time, L and G values, higher P and P/L values than non‐gallated ones. The addition of catechins altered specific volume and colour of bread but had no effects on moisture content. Bread with EGCG monomer or its combinations had lower specific volume. Bread hardness increased and springiness decreased with catechin addition. Incorporating catechins enhanced the tea polyphenol and catechin content in bread, especially in the bread crumb. Catechins increased the antioxidant activity of bread. Therefore, catechins changed the rheological properties of dough and the quality of bread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The fitness cost of antibiotic resistance is a crucial factor to determine the evolutionary and transmission success of resistant bacteria. Exploring the fitness cost and compensation mechanism of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in bacteria may effectively reduce the transmission of drug‐resistant genes in the environment. Engineered bacteria with the same genetic background that carry sulfonamide resistance gene were generated to explore the fitness cost of sulfonamide resistance gene in Escherichia coli. There were significant differences in the protein expression of the two‐component system pathway (fliZ, fliA, fliC and lrhA), folate biosynthesis pathway (sul1, sul2 and sul3), ABC transporter system (ugpC, rbsA and gsiA), and outer membrane pore protein OmpD through the comparative analysis of differential proteins compared to sensitive bacteria. Thus, we could speculate the possible fitness compensation mechanism. Finally, quantitative Real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) was used to verify the functions of some differential proteins at the transcriptional level. The fitness cost and compensatory evolution of antibiotic resistance are an essential part of bacterial evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speciation can provide knowledge about absorption, reactivity to binding sites, bioavailability, toxicity, and excretion of elements. In this study, the speciation of copper in different model solutions under the influence of gastrointestinal (GI) pH was studied by ion selective electrode (ISE) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). It was found that the electrode response (mV) against Cu2+ decreased with the increase in pH and dropped to the lowest point at pH 7.5 in all model solutions. When amino acids and organic acids were present, the ratio of filtered copper (0.45 μm, pH 7.5) was more than 90%. When casein was present, whey protein, pancreatin, and starch were added, and the ratio of filtered copper was 85.6 ± 0.3, 56.7 ± 8.8, 38.5 ± 5.1, and 1.0 ± 0.3%, respectively. When there is not enough organic ligand, excessive copper will form copper hydroxide precipitation with the increase in pH, but it got the highest electrode response (mV) against Cu2+. From this study, it can be concluded that the speciation of copper in GI tract is strongly influenced by the pH and the composition of food. When there are few ligands coexisting in the GI tract, the concentration of copper ion may be relatively high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunset yellow (SY), an azo dye, is commonly used in the food industry. The scientific literature contains little information regarding the effects of SY on small intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). In this study, a small intestinal organoid model was used in in vitro toxicological studies of SY, and intestinal inflammatory responses in vivo to SY were investigated with the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced intestinal inflammation model in C57BL/6 mice. The intestinal organoids were cultured with 2 μg/ml SY for two generations, the growth rates were analyzed, and the expressions of cell lineages were assayed. For inflammatory responses, mice were fed with a diet containing 40 mg/kg diet SY and treated with 2.5% DSS for 7 days. The results showed that SY inhibited the growth of the organoids by inhibiting the proliferation and disturbing the differentiation of IECs. Furthermore, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress levels were elevated in SY‐treated organoids. In DSS‐treated mice, the disease activity index and expression levels of interleukin‐1β and tumor necrosis factor‐α were enhanced in the SY group, concluding that SY exacerbated DSS‐induced intestinal inflammation. Taken together, these findings revealed that SY could disturb the homeostasis of the small intestinal epithelium by generating high levels of ER stress and oxidative stress, with long‐term continuous consumption of SY potentially increasing the risk of intestinal inflammation. Little is known about the toxicological effects of sunset yellow (SY) on small intestine. The present study investigated the impacts of SY on growth of intestinal cells in small intestinal organoids and DSS‐induced intestinal inflammation model. The results revealed that SY disturbed the homeostasis of small intestinal epithelium via inhibiting the proliferation and altering the differentiation of small intestinal cells, which might result from the elevated ER stress and oxidative stress. Long‐term continuous consumption of SY could increase the risk of intestinal inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The effects of catechins on the structural properties of wheat gluten were investigated in terms of their polymerisation behaviour, conformation and viscoelasticity. Depolymerisation of glutenin macropolymers was analysed by size‐exclusion high‐performance liquid chromatography (SE‐HPLC) of gluten with catechins, revealing major variation in sulfhydryl (SH) content. Compared with controls, the SH content of catechin‐enhanced gluten was significantly increased due to breakage of disulphide (SS) bonds. Reversed‐phase HPLC revealed that catechins had minimal effect on subunit distribution of gliadin and glutenin. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that catechins induced the transformation of α‐helices to β‐sheets, β‐turns and antiparallel β‐sheets. Rearrangement of secondary structure when supplemented with catechins might be a consequence of altered non‐covalent interactions. Catechins increased tan δ, indicating enhanced gluten fluid properties. These results imply that catechins might weaken the network structure of gluten and change the rheological properties by inhibiting SS cross‐linkage formation and influencing non‐covalent bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, the influence of dietary compounds, including antioxidants (ethylenediaminetetraacid, ascorbic acid, catechin), chitosan and lactoferrin, on the stability of liposomes during in vitro adult and infant digestion was investigated in terms of formation of thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances (TBARS) and free fatty acid release. Liposomes were more sensitive to degradation in adults than in infants, suggesting lower pH (1.5) and higher concentration of pancreatic enzymes (3.2 mg mL−1) and bile salts (5 mg mL−1) that indicated greater damage to the structure of liposomes. Compared to ethylenediaminetetraacid and ascorbic acid, catechin presented the most apparent protective effect against liposomal oxidation by scavenging free radicals. Chitosan promoted the formation of TBARS, while lactoferrin facilitated the hydrolysis rate of liposomes under both adult and infant conditions. This study provided an insight into the development of healthcare products and functional foods related to liposomes for special populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Limited information is concerned on the structure changes of liposomal delivery system under infant conditions. Positively charged lactoferrin (LF)‐loaded liposomes, with the entrapment efficiency (EE) of 52.3 ± 6.3%, were prepared from soybean‐derived phospholipids using a thin‐layer dispersion method. The structure changes and digestibility of LF‐loaded liposomes under infant conditions, including simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated small intestinal fluid (SIF), were characterized in terms of the average particle size, zeta potential, turbidity, fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscopy, lipolysis and protein hydrolysis. RESULTS: This study showed that the functional groups, favorable membrane structure and the EE of liposomes were slightly changed as a function of time when the liposome digested under SGF conditions. However, the intact bilayer structures were damaged and the EE of LF‐loaded liposomes decreased to 28.5% after digestion in infant SIF. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that liposomal membrane could prevent the gastric degradation and the structure of liposomes was not completely destroyed with a low concentration of pancreatin and bile salts under infant conditions. Present study provided information on the insight into the characteristics of liposomes during infant gastrointestinal digestion, which was useful for the development of microcapsule systems in infant diet. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paclobutrazol, with two stereogenic centers, but gives only (2 R, 3 R) and (2 S, 3 S)-enantiomers because of steric-hindrance effects, is an important in agriculture and horticulture. degradation of paclobutrazol was investigated in rat liver microsomes in vitro. The degradation kinetics and the enantiomer fraction were determined using a Lux Cellulose-1 chiral column on a reverse-phase liquid chromatography-tandem system. The t1/2 of (2 R, 3 R)-paclobutrazol is 18.60 min, while the t1/2 of (2 S, 3 S)-paclobutrazol is 10.93 min. Such consequences clearly indicated that the degradation of paclobutrazol in rat liver microsomes was and the degradation rate of (2 S, 3 S)-paclobutrazol was much faster than (2 R, 3 R)-paclobutrazol. In addition, significant differences between the two enantiomers were also observed in enzyme kinetic parameters. The Vmax of (2 S, 3 S)-paclobutrazol was more than 2-fold of (2 R, 3 R)-paclobutrazol and the Clint of (2 S, 3 S)-paclobutrazol was higher than that of (2 R, 3 R)-paclobutrazol after incubation in rat liver microsomes. These results may have potential implications for better environmental and ecological for paclobutrazol. Chirality 27:344-348, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Antiflammin-1 (AF-1) is a synthetic nonapeptide with a similar sequence to the conserved sequence of CC10 secreted by lung Clara cells. Studies suggest that it is potent inhibitor of inflammation. We investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of AF-1 on LPS-induced alveolar macrophage (AM) activation in vitro. AMs harvested from the BALF of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat were treated with various concentrations of AF-1 both simultaneously and after LPS stimulation. The concentrations of the cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 in the supernatant were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA expression levels of these cytokines in AMs were analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR. To investigate more fully the possible mechanisms by which AF-1 modulates the expression of cytokines, cells were pretreated with anti-IL-10 antibody. Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) expression on the cell surface was also detected using flow cytometry. The results showed that AF-1 suppressed mRNA expression and protein production of IL-1β and IL-6, while it promoted IL-10 expression in LPS-stimulated AMs, in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effects of AF-1 on IL-1β were significantly decreased when endogenous production of IL-10 was blocked. AF-1 also showed an effect on downregulated TLR-4 expression in LPS-stimulated AMs. The data show for the first time that AF-1 modulates the AM response to LPS by regulating TLR-4 expression and upregulating IL-10 secretion, which could be another important mechanism in the AF-1 inhibiting effect on inflammation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]