Search Results (8)

The characteristic minty-like aroma of ‘Rucheng Baimaocha’ black tea (RCBT) enhances the tea’s unique flavor profile, driving high demand among consumers. The dynamic changes in key aroma compounds in minty-like RCBT were elucidated by sensory evaluation and gas chromatography olfactometry quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-O-Q-TOF-MS). The results indicated that during processing, the aroma of RCBT transitions from a fresh to floral, sweet, and minty-like aroma. Among the 189 identified volatile compounds, alcohols constitute the predominant category (over 50%), with 71 compounds identified as key differential compounds across all stages. Aroma analysis revealed that 28 compounds with odor activity values (OAV) > 1 were the primary contributors during RCBT processing. Notably, minty-like odorants in RCBT were primarily derived from the metabolic pathways of the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) and mevalonic acid (MVA), lipid oxidation, and phenylalanine. These findings offer theoretical insights for improving unique black tea quality and optimizing processing techniques. Full article

This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of Juglans regia (walnut, Gimcheon 1ho cultivar, GC) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced cognitive dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. The main physiological compounds of GC were identified as pedunculagin/casuariin isomer, strictinin, tellimagrandin I, ellagic acid-O-pentoside, and ellagic acid were identified using UPLC Q-TOF/MS analysis. To evaluate the neuro-protective effect of GC, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorecein diacetate (DCF-DA) analysis were conducted in H₂O₂ and high glucose-induced neuronal PC12 cells and hippocampal HT22 cells. GC presented significant cell viability and inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. GC ameliorated behavioral and memory dysfunction through Y-maze, passive avoidance, and Morris water maze tests. In addition, GC reduced white adipose tissue (WAT), liver fat mass, and serum dyslipidemia. To assess the inhibitory effect of antioxidant system deficit, lipid peroxidation, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were conducted. Administration of GC protected the antioxidant damage against HFD-induced diabetic oxidative stress. To estimate the ameliorating effect of GC, acetylcholine (ACh) level, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and expression of AChE and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) were conducted, and the supplements of GC suppressed the cholinergic system impairment. Furthermore, GC restored mitochondrial dysfunction by regulating the mitochondrial ROS production and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) levels in cerebral tissues. Finally, GC ameliorated cerebral damage by synergically regulating the protein expression of the JNK signaling and apoptosis pathway. These findings suggest that GC could provide a potential functional food source to improve diabetic cognitive deficits and neuronal impairments. Full article

Bambara groundnut (BGN) is an underexploited crop with a rich nutrient content and is used in traditional medicine, but limited information is available on the quantitative characterization of its flavonoids and phenolic acids. We investigated the phenolic profile of whole seeds and cotyledons of five BGN varieties consumed in South Africa using UPLC-qTOF-MS and GC-MS. Twenty-six phenolic compounds were detected/quantified in whole seeds and twenty-four in cotyledon, with six unidentified compounds. Flavonoids include flavan-3-ol (catechin, catechin hexoside-A, catechin hexoside-B), flavonol (quercetin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, rutin, myricetin, kaempherol), hydroxybenzoic acid (4-Hydroxybenzoic, 2,6 Dimethoxybenzoic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic, syringaldehyde, gallic acids), hydroxycinnamic acid (trans-cinnamic, p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic acids) and lignan (medioresinol). The predominant flavonoids were catechin/derivatives, with the highest content (78.56 mg/g) found in brown BGN. Trans-cinnamic and ferulic acids were dominant phenolic acid. Cotyledons of brown and brown-eyed BGN (317.71 and 378.59 µg/g) had the highest trans-cinnamic acid content, while red seeds had the highest ferulic acid (314.76 µg/g) content. Colored BGN had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher content of these components. Whole BGN contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher amount of flavonoids and phenolic acids, except for the trans-cinnamic acid. The rich flavonoid and phenolic acid content of BGN seeds highlights the fact that it is a good source of dietary phenolics with potential health-promoting properties. Full article

It is estimated that food fraud, where meat from different species is deceitfully labelled or contaminated, has cost the global food industry around USD 6.2 to USD 40 billion annually. To overcome this problem, novel and robust quantitative methods are needed to accurately characterise and profile meat samples. In this study, we use a glycomic approach for the profiling of meat from different species. This involves an O-glycan analysis using LC-MS qTOF, and an N-glycan analysis using a high-resolution non-targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence-mass spectrometry (UPLC-FLR-MS) on chicken, pork, and beef meat samples. Our integrated glycomic approach reveals the distinct glycan profile of chicken, pork, and beef samples; glycosylation attributes such as fucosylation, sialylation, galactosylation, high mannose, α-galactose, Neu5Gc, and Neu5Ac are significantly different between meat from different species. The multi-attribute data consisting of the abundance of each O-glycan and N-glycan structure allows a clear separation between meat from different species through principal component analysis. Altogether, we have successfully demonstrated the use of a glycomics-based workflow to extract multi-attribute data from O-glycan and N-glycan analysis for meat profiling. This established glycoanalytical methodology could be extended to other high-value biotechnology industries for product authentication. Full article

In recent years, synthetic antioxidants that are widely used in foods have been shown to cause detrimental health effects, and there has been growing interest in antioxidants realised from natural plant extracts. In this study, we investigate the potential effects of natural antioxidant components extracted from the forage plant marigold on the oxidative stability of soybean oil. First, HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) to screen and identify potential antioxidant components in marigold. Four main antioxidant components were identified, including quercetagetin-7-O-glucoside (1), quercetagetin (2), quercetin (3) and patuletin (4). Among them, quercetagetin (QG) exhibited the highest content and the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity and effectively inhibited the production of oxidation products in soybean oil during accelerated oxidation, as indicated by reductions in the peroxide value (PV) and acid value (AV). Then, the fatty acids and volatile compounds of soybean oil were determined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). A total of 108 volatile components, including 16 alcohols, 23 aldehydes, 25 ketones, 4 acids, 15 esters, 18 hydrocarbons, and 7 other compounds, were identified. QG significantly reduced the content and number of aldehydes and ketones, whereas the formation of acids and hydrocarbons was completely prevented. In addition, the fatty acid analysis demonstrated that QG significantly inhibited oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. Consequently, QG was identified as a potential, new natural antioxidant that is believed to be safe, effective and economical, and it may have potential for use in plant extracts feed additives. Full article

The environmental pollution, pesticide resistance, and other associated problems caused by traditional chemical pesticides with limited modes of action make it urgent to seek alternative environmentally-friendly pesticides from natural products. Tung meal, the byproduct of the detoxified Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) seed, has been commonly used as an agricultural fertilizer and as a pesticide. However, its active insecticidal extracts and ingredients remain elusive. In the present study, the contact toxicities of tung meal extracts against the agricultural and forest pests like O. formosanus and P. xylostella were examined. Our results showed that ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extracts showed the strongest toxicity against O. formosanus and P. xylostella, respectively. In order to further explore the chemical profiles of the ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extracts, UPLC-Q/TOF-MS and GC-MS analyses have been performed, and 20 and 29 compounds were identified from EA and PE extracts, respectively. The present study, for the first time, verified the noteworthy insecticidal activities on the aforementioned agricultural and forest pesticides and revealed the potential active parts and chemical composition, which are conducive to further exploiting the potential of tung meal as a natural plant-derived insecticide for biological control of agricultural and forest pests. Full article

The Aquilaria malaccensis species of the genus Aquilaria is an abundant source of agarwood resin and many bioactive phytochemicals. Recent data regarding the chemical constituents and biological activities of Aquilaria leaves led us to attempt to qualitatively profile the metabolites of Aquilaria malaccensis leaves from a healthy, noninoculated tree through phytochemical screening, GC-MS, and LC/Q-TOF-MS. The present work is also the first to report the antilipoxygenase activity of A. malaccensis leaves from healthy noninoculated tree and investigate its toxicity on oral mucosal cells. A total of 53 compounds were tentatively identified in the extract, some of which have been described in literature as exhibiting anti-inflammatory activity. A number of compounds were identified for the first time in the extract of A. malaccensis leaf, including quercetin, quercetin-O-hexoside, kaempferol-O-dirhamnoside, isorhamnetin-O-hexoside, syringetin-O-hexoside, myricetin, tetrahydroxyflavanone, hesperetin, sissotrin, and lupeol. The antilipoxygenase assay was used to determine the lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory potential of the extract, while a WST-1 assay was conducted to investigate the effect of the extract on oral epithelial cells (OEC). The extract implied moderate anti-LOX activity with IC₅₀ value of 71.6 µg/mL. Meanwhile, the cell viability of OEC ranged between 92.55% (10 µg/mL)–76.06% ± (100 µg/mL) upon treatment, indicating some potential toxicity risks. The results attained encourage future studies of the isolation of bioactive compounds from Aquilaria malaccensis leaves, as well as further investigation on the anti-inflammatory mechanisms and toxicity associated with their use. Full article

Nine varieties of pigmented rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds that were black, red, or white were used to perform metabolite profiling by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and gas chromatography (GC) TOF-MS, to measure antioxidant activities. Clear grouping patterns determined by the color of the rice seeds were identified in principle component analysis (PCA) derived from UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Cyanidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside, proanthocyanidin dimer, proanthocyanidin trimer, apigenin-6-C-glugosyl-8-C-arabiboside, tricin-O-rhamnoside-O-hexoside, and lipids were identified as significantly different secondary metabolites. In PCA score plots derived from GC-TOF-MS, Jakwangdo (JKD) and Ilpoom (IP) species were discriminated from the other rice seeds by PC1 and PC2. Valine, phenylalanine, adenosine, pyruvate, nicotinic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, malonic acid, gluconic acid, xylose, fructose, glucose, maltose, and myo-inositol were significantly different primary metabolites in JKD species, while GABA, asparagine, xylitol, and sucrose were significantly distributed in IP species. Analysis of antioxidant activities revealed that black and red rice seeds had higher activity than white rice seeds. Cyanidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside, proanthocyanidin dimers, proanthocyanidin trimers, and catechin were highly correlated with antioxidant activities, and were more plentiful in black and red rice seeds. These results are expected to provide valuable information that could help improve and develop rice-breeding techniques. Full article