Search

BACKGROUND: Dietary interventions are crucial in modulating inflammation in humans. Strawberries are enjoyed by people of different ages as a result of their attractive phenotype and taste. In addition, the active compounds in strawberries may contribute to the reduction of inflammation. When developing new strawberry cultivars to address agricultural and environmental threats, the bioactivity of strawberries must be improved to maintain their health benefits. RESULTS: We determined the phytochemical contents of extracts from a new Korean strawberry cultivar, with the CN7 cultivar extract possessing the highest total polyphenol and flavonoid contents compared to the CN5 and Seolhyang cultivar extracts. The new Korean strawberry cultivars reduced the expression of inflammatory‐related genes in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced RAW264.7 cells via the nuclear factor‐kappa B signaling pathway, indicating an anti‐inflammatory effect. The CN7 cultivar showed greater bioactivity potential and the highest ellagic acid content; hence, we assessed the effect of the CN7 cultivar in an LPS‐stimulated mouse model. The CN7 cultivar treatment demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing inflammation via the downregulation of inflammatory cytokines secretion and gene expression. CONCLUSION: The results obtained in the present study have revealed the observable differences of the newly developed strawberry cultivars with Seolhyang in mitigating inflammation induced by LPS. The enhanced phytochemical content of the CN7 cultivar extract may contribute to its improved anti‐inflammatory effect. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain the nutritive benefits of strawberry during the development of new cultivation. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) is an economically important vegetable crop that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its nutritional properties. There are concerns, though, that in China, commercial okra production is at risk from an emerging leaf blight disease, that has been recently observed in Fujian Province. Fungi were isolated from diseased okra leaves collected in 2016 and 89 fungal isolates were tentatively identified as Choanephora cucurbitarum based on cultural and sporangia characters. DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 region of the large subunit (LSU) of the rRNA gene from two representative isolates (C6 and C7) were 99% identical to those of C. cucurbitarum obtained from NCBI. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS sequences showed that C6 and C7 clustered with C. cucurbitarum. All 89 fungal isolates were found to be pathogenic to okra leaves. We provide the first confirmation that, based on morphological, pathogenicity and phylogenetic analyses, the causal agent of leaf blight of okra in China was C. cucurbitarum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]