Search Results (73)

Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a chronic metabolic disorder resulting from abnormal uric acid (UA) metabolism. Common clinical drugs for HUA have serious and inevitable adverse effects. Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.), a traditional edible berry with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, shows great potential for alleviating HUA. This study prepared blue honeysuckle extract (BHE) and identified its main components as chlorogenic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, anthocyanin, etc., using LC-MS analysis. After in vitro digestion, BHE at concentrations ≥ 10 mg/mL retained over 70% of active components and biological activities. In HUA mice, BHE reduced serum UA levels, alleviated oxidative stress and inflammation, decreased UA production by inhibiting xanthine oxidase activity, and promoted renal and intestinal UA excretion through dual regulation of urate transporters. Additionally, BHE repaired the intestinal barrier, remodeled the gut microbiota structure, and improved UA metabolism disorders. This study supports BHE as a potential functional food ingredient for alleviating HUA. Full article

The spoilage of blue honeysuckle during storage is mainly caused by specific dominant microorganisms, while most antimicrobial systems are developed without considering these target spoilage species. In this study, dominant spoilage yeasts were isolated from blue honeysuckle berries, and an antimicrobial system was constructed using these yeasts, along with common foodborne bacteria as target strains. The results showed that the antimicrobial system exhibited significant synergistic antimicrobial activity. Further analysis indicated that the essential oils disrupted the cell membrane structure and increased membrane permeability, thereby promoting the interaction of ε-PL with intracellular components. Multiple physiological alterations were detected after treatment, including membrane depolarization, leakage of intracellular components, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, and suppression of cellular metabolism. These observations suggested that damage to microbial cells might be synergistically induced by the composite system. Application of the system to blue honeysuckle berries effectively inhibited the growth of endogenous spoilage microorganisms and delayed quality deterioration during storage, and significantly reduced weight loss and decay rates, as well as changes in color, anthocyanin content, and vitamin C content. These results indicate that constructing antimicrobial systems based on dominant spoilage microorganisms can improve preservation efficiency and provide a useful approach for the storage of blue honeysuckle and similar fruits. Full article

Current approaches to urban greenery often led to a certain uniformity of vegetation. The desire of residents to be able to grow plants according to their own preferences and to co-create the appearance of the surroundings of their houses therefore leads to the emergence of spontaneous initiatives. One of these phenomena is the narrow strips at the interface between the foundations of houses and the sidewalks of streets in continuous urban development, which are used for growing plants and are referred to as “Jardin de la Rue”. The assessment of street vegetation with “Jardin de la Rue” elements took place in the urban district of Saint-Genès, which is part of the city of Bordeaux in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. The description of the street vegetation with the “Jardin de la Rue” represents an important first step towards understanding the causes of their creation and the subsequent ecological and social interactions. The creation of these small green spaces is the result of the initiative of residents, and these areas are not part of the planned urban green space. Field surveys in selected streets took place in August–September in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Based on the analysis of the species composition, a total of 107 plant taxa were recorded in the streets. The most frequently recorded ornamental taxa include Lonicera japonica Thunb., Alcea rosea L. and Passiflora caerulea L. The most popular group of cultivated plants consists mainly of lianas, e.g., Akebia quinata (Thunb. ex Houtt.) Decne., Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth, Lonicera japonica Thunb., Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch., Passiflora amethystina J.C.Mikan, Solanum laxum Spreng., Trachelospermum asiaticum (Siebold & Zucc.) Nakai, Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. and Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet. The most frequently represented taxa belong mainly to the weed group, e.g., Amaranthus deflexus L., Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum F.H.Wigg., Paspalum dilatatum Poir. The vegetation of the “Jardin de la Rue” elements is a manifestation of the cultural function of plants. The free choice of cultivated taxa allows residents to express their preferences and relationship to the place. Respect for these spontaneous green spaces and their vegetation composition by the city administration is a manifestation of mutual cooperation and at the same time a means of strengthening the ties of residents to their place of residence. These elements may deserve greater consideration within contemporary approaches to construction, architecture and urban planning. Full article

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a polyphenol-rich berry increasingly recognized as a functional food ingredient for postprandial glycemic management. However, it remains unclear whether its polyphenols can modulate intestinal glucose transport in addition to inhibiting carbohydrate-digesting enzymes. In this study, blue honeysuckle polyphenol extract (BHPE) was characterized by UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, and its effects on α-glucosidase activity and intestinal glucose transport were evaluated using enzyme kinetics, fluorescence quenching, molecular docking, and differentiated Caco-2 monolayers. A total of 24 phenolic compounds were tentatively identified, with anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid derivatives as the major constituents. BHPE exhibited a mixed-type, static-quenching inhibition of α-glucosidase (IC₅₀ = 75.05 μg/mL). Furthermore, molecular docking revealed that key constituents, including cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, chlorogenic acid, and proanthocyanidin B1, bind the enzyme via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. In Caco-2 cell monolayers, BHPE reduced glucose transport by up to 51.56% under simulated postprandial conditions and coordinately downregulated SGLT1 and GLUT2 mRNA expression to 0.58- and 0.51-fold, respectively. These findings extend the bioactivity profile of blue honeysuckle polyphenols from enzyme-level inhibition to functional regulation at the intestinal epithelial barrier, highlighting their potential as multi-target natural ingredients for the attenuation of postprandial hyperglycemia. Full article

Rapid climate shifts in high-latitude regions profoundly impact the geographical distribution boundaries and molecular adaptive strategies of cold-tolerant plants. Lonicera caerulea, known for its excellent cold tolerance, provides an ideal model for exploring the molecular mechanisms of climate adaptation and trait formation. To elucidate the ecological and molecular mechanisms of climate adaptation in L. caerulea, we integrated species distribution modeling with multi-tissue transcriptome profiling. Distribution modeling identified temperature and precipitation as primary constraints on its current range, with projections suggesting a significant poleward expansion under future warming scenarios. At the molecular level, we identified 19 LcSWEET genes exhibiting functional differentiation. Rather than listing specific candidates, our findings highlight that certain LcSWEET members are transcriptionally activated during fruit maturation, while others are significantly upregulated in response to cold stress, underscoring their dual roles in plant reproduction and ecological adaptation. This study revealed that the LcSWEET gene family exhibits functional diversification in tissue-specific expression and low-temperature stress response. It provides molecular candidates that may inform future studies on plant adaptive response under climate change and lays a theoretical foundation for germplasm conservation and high-quality breeding of L. caerulea. Full article

This study examined the effects of soy protein isolate (SPI) 7S and SPI 11S on the anthocyanin (AN) retention rate of Lonicera caerulea L. under different processing conditions and further analyzed the molecular interaction mechanisms between 7S/11S and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G). The results demonstrated that SPI increased the retention rate of anthocyanins to varying degrees while also enhancing the digestive stability. Multispectral results indicated that static quenching occurred between 7S/11S and C3G, and the polarity changes in the amino acid microenvironment varied with pH. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that hydrogen bonds dominated the interaction under both pH conditions, while a certain degree of hydrophobic interaction was additionally observed under neutral conditions. After binding with C3G, the proportion of β-sheet structures in SPI decreased and the proportion of other structures increased. Finally, molecular docking further simulated the binding between SPI and C3G and revealed the important roles of hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding, which also promoted the combination of SPI and C3G to form a stable complex. This study provides a mechanistic reference for using proteins as effective carriers to protect anthocyanins, with implications for developing functional food components with enhanced stability. Full article

Blue honeysuckle is an emerging small berry with high nutritional value; However, the soft texture of its fresh fruit leads to poor storability and transportability, severely limiting its economic returns. Calcium is a key element in maintaining the structural integrity of plant cell walls and membranes, and plays a decisive role in fruit firmness and postharvest quality. To elucidate the effects of different calcium fertilizers on the fruit firmness, yield, and fruit quality of blue honeysuckle, a two-year field experiment was conducted using foliar application of 2 L of calcium fertilizer (CaC, CaA, CaL, SAC and AAC) at a concentration of 1 mg/L, with the control receiving an equal volume of water. The results showed that sugar alcohol calcium had the best effect on fruit firmness, fresh weight, yield, solid-acid ratio, total anthocyanins, and ascorbic acid, significantly improving yield and quality. Amino acid calcium was most effective in increasing fruit volume and fruit number per plant. Calcium acetate and calcium lactate showed balanced improvements across indicators. Calcium chloride significantly enhanced fruit shape index, total phenols, and total flavonoids. These findings elucidate the specific effects of various treatments on key fruit traits, providing a theoretical basis for precision cultivation and quality regulation, thereby facilitating the standardization and high-quality development of the industry. Full article

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) is subject to environmental stressors, leading to variability in both severe fruit drop during development and fruit quality. Zinc, an essential micronutrient, is critical to sustainable fruit tree production by enhancing yield and nutritional quality. Different forms of zinc fertilizers, particularly nano-zinc versus conventional ionic zinc, exhibit marked differences in absorption efficiency and agronomic performance, thereby determining their practical efficacy. In this two-year study, we evaluated the effects of foliar-applied zinc forms, ZnO nanoparticles (30, 50, and 90 nm) and ionic zinc (ZnCl₂ and ZnSO₄), applied at the young fruit, veraison, and maturity stages on yield and fruit quality. Results showed that ZnO nanoparticles were more effective than ionic zinc at 80 mg/L. In particular, among the ZnO NP treatments, 90 nm ZnO NPs exhibited the best overall effect, significantly improving fruit quality. The 30 nm ZnO NPs treatment performed best in terms of single fruit weight, yield per plant, and fruit firmness. This study highlights the potential of nano-zinc to enhance productivity and quality in blue honeysuckle, providing a theoretical basis for selecting optimal zinc fertilizer types and particle sizes in specialty berry production, with implications for sustainable, high-quality fruit cultivation. Full article

Continuous-flow microwave (MW) pasteurization is a relatively new and still poorly understood preservation method with great potential for industrial applications. The raw material for the research was blue honeysuckle berries (Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica Sevast.), which are considered a rich source of bioactive compounds. This study investigated the effects of various MW power (2100 W, 2400 W, 2700 W, 3000 W), traditional pasteurization parameters (90 °C/10 min), and blue honeysuckle berry varieties (Aurora and Indigo) on the quality of nectars after the preservation process and during 16 weeks of cold storage (4 °C). Physicochemical measurements were performed (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, nephelometric turbidity), together with spectrophotometric (total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, color parameters) and chromatographic (L-ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, iridoids) analyses. A slight effect of MW power on pH, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, turbidity, and color parameters was demonstrated. Immediately after preservation, the ∆E* values of the samples subjected to MW ranged from 0.48 to 1.06, while after PT they ranged from 1.90 to 5.83. Considering the content of bioactive components, it has been proven that the MW method is more beneficial than traditional pasteurization due to a higher retention of anthocyanins (1–6% reduction or 1–5% increase after MW or 5–16% reduction after PT—values for the individual anthocyanins) and partially higher antioxidant activity. After 16 weeks of storage, MW-treated samples contained more anthocyanins and total polyphenols than untreated samples. The study showed the negligible effect of MW processing on iridoid content; these compounds were the most stable bioactive compounds present in the preserved nectars during storage (changes of up to 5%). Full article

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) berries are rich in bioactive compounds, yet their efficient utilization is limited by conventional single-component extraction methods. This study developed a one-step ultrasound-assisted synchronous extraction (OUE) method to simultaneously recover polysaccharides and polyphenols and evaluate their physicochemical properties and bioactivities. OUE-extracted polyphenols (OUEP) and polysaccharides (OUES) showed significantly stronger antioxidant activity, with higher DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacities than conventionally extracted polyphenols (MPP) and hot water extraction followed by alcohol polysaccharides (HPS). FTIR analysis indicated similar polysaccharide backbones for OUES and HPS, while SEM revealed a more porous microstructure in OUES, and rheological measurements showed higher apparent viscosity, suggesting improved macromolecular interactions and functional behavior in food systems. Additionally, OUEP displayed strong α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities (IC₅₀ = 25.85 ± 1.77 and 26.08 ± 0.11 mg/mL, respectively), highlighting their potential for glycemic control. These findings demonstrate that OUE not only enables efficient, simultaneous recovery of multiple bioactive components but also enhances their structural and functional properties, supporting the development of health-promoting food products and improving the utilization of blue honeysuckle berries. Full article

Honeysuckle berries (Lonicera caerulea) represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds, primarily flavonoids, and iridoids. This study compared the chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of resin-purified extracts from ripe, unripe, and unripe lactofermented honeysuckle berries. Polyphenols and iridoids were identified using UPLC-ESI-qTOF-MS/MS and quantified using HPLC-PDA. A total of 6 anthocyanins, 7 phenolic acids, 9 flavan-3-ols, 8 iridoids, 8 flavonols, 3 flavones, and 1 flavanonol were identified in the extracts. The extract from ripe fruits was characterized by a high cyanidin glycoside content (273.59 mg/g) and high iridoid content (138.30 mg/g). The amount of individual iridoids varied among the extracts, with the highest level of loganic acid detected in the unripe fruit extract (39.42 mg/g) and the highest level of sweroside in the ripe fruit extract (55.59 mg/g). Phenolic acid content was approximately twofold higher in extracts from unripe and fermented fruits compared with ripe fruit extracts, suggesting a decrease during ripening, while fermentation did not significantly affect phenolic acid content. Among flavonols, quercetin and isorhamnetin derivatives were identified, with quercetin 3-O-rutinoside being the predominant compound in all extracts. The ripe fruit extract exhibited the strongest radical scavenging activity (in ABTS and DPPH assays), ferric ion-reducing power (FRAP), and α-amylase inhibition, while all extracts exhibited comparable α-glucosidase inhibition. These findings indicate that L. caerulea extracts, especially from ripe fruits, are a rich source of biologically active compounds with potential relevance for managing oxidative stress and hyperglycemia. Full article

The physicochemical and bioactive properties of polysaccharides from blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) berries were comprehensively investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that both samples were acid heteropolysaccharides. High-performance liquid chromatography detailed a monosaccharide profile of arabinose, galacturonic acid, rhamnose, galactose, and glucose in specific molar ratios. High-performance gel permeation chromatography further revealed variations in molecular weight and distribution among the samples. Functionally, the polysaccharides exhibited significant in vitro antioxidant capacity. For the first time, the polysaccharides are shown to inhibit pancreatic lipase, in addition to α-amylase and α-glucosidase, demonstrating potent inhibitory activity with low IC₅₀ values (2.80 ± 0.12 mg/mL). This bioactivity, particularly toward lipase, was correlated with structural properties such as monosaccharide profile and molecular weight. These results highlight the potential of these polysaccharides as functional food ingredients for managing hyperglycemia and obesity and provide novel insights into their structure–activity relationships. Full article

Lonicera caerulea L. (blue honeysuckle) is rich in antioxidant polyphenols, and rapid and accurate determination of its polyphenol content is of great significance for functional food quality control. This study proposed a hybrid variable selection strategy designed for high-dimensional small-sample scenarios and developed a quantitative prediction model for polyphenol content based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. A total of 191 Lonicera caerulea samples were collected from Northeast China, and 7468-dimensional spectral data were acquired using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Polyphenol reference values were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Samples were divided into calibration (n = 152) and prediction (n = 39) sets using the SPXY algorithm. Among the 10 preprocessing methods evaluated, MSC combined with Savitzky–Golay first derivative achieved the best performance and was therefore used for subsequent modeling. The proposed hybrid variable selection method (VIP1.0∩RFR30%) intersected PLS variable importance in projection (VIP ≥ 1.0) with the top 30% important variables from random forest regression, selecting 984 key wavelengths and achieving 86.8% dimensionality reduction. A three-stage hyperparameter tuning strategy was implemented across four models (PLS, RFR, SVR, and XGBoost) to validate feature stability and control overfitting. The optimized XGBoost model achieved excellent performance on the independent test set ($R^2$ = 0.92, RMSE = 0.098, RPD = 3.47). Compared with the classical CARS method ($R^2$ = 0.78, RPD = 2.14), $R^2$ improved by 16.3% and RPD improved by 55.2%. The results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid variable selection strategy can effectively address the challenges of high-dimensional MIR spectral data in small-sample modeling, providing a reliable tool for rapid and non-destructive quantitative analysis of polyphenols in Lonicera caerulea. Full article

Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a recently domesticated fruit crop, and there has been rather limited research on its phenological characteristics. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the phenological and fruit quality traits of a honeyberry germplasm collection comprising 45 accessions. The annual growth period of the 45 accessions ranged from 153 (part of Russian accessions) to 173 days (part of Japanese accessions) in Harbin, China. The accessions of Japanese origin (‘Ri–5’, ‘Ri–68’, ‘RiM–3’, ‘Riwan’, ‘Riwandianlan’, and ‘Riwan–13’) consistently exhibited delayed flowering and ripening, as well as higher single fruit weights and fruit firmness. In contrast, the accessions of Russian and Chinese origins displayed relatively early to mid-season phenology, along with higher levels of vitamin C, anthocyanins, and soluble solids. Furthermore, there were great coefficients of variation (CVs) in total anthocyanins (CV = 35%), flavonoids (CV = 30%), phenolics (CV = 21%), and titratable acidity (CV = 19%) among the 45 accessions. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering revealed distinct clustering patterns among Japanese accessions. Among these accessions, ‘RiM–3’ exhibited both a relatively large fruit size and high firmness, implying its potential to overcome the inevitable trade-off between fruit size and firmness typically observed in Chinese and Russian honeyberry accessions. Our investigation and findings provide valuable information for honeyberry breeding aimed at optimizing the maturity period and enhancing fruit quality, as well as a reference for the current cultivation and management methods. Full article

Pollen identification is critical for melissopalynology (honey authentication), ecological monitoring, and allergen tracking, yet manual microscopic analysis remains labor-intensive, subjective, and error-prone when multiple grains overlap in realistic samples. Existing automated approaches often fail to address multi-grain scenarios or lack systematic comparison across classical and deep learning paradigms, limiting their practical deployment. This study proposes a subinstance-based classification framework combining YOLOv12n object detection for grain isolation, independent classification via classical machine learning (ML), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), or Vision Transformers (ViTs), and majority voting aggregation. Five classical classifiers with systematic feature selection, three CNN architectures (ResNet50, EfficientNet-B0, ConvNeXt-Tiny), and three ViT variants (ViT-B/16, ViT-B/32, ViT-L/16) are evaluated on four datasets (full images vs. isolated grains; raw vs. CLAHE-preprocessed) for four berry pollen species (Ribes nigrum, Ribes uva-crispa, Lonicera caerulea, and Amelanchier alnifolia). Stratified image-level splits ensure no data leakage, and explainable AI techniques (SHAP, Grad-CAM++, and gradient saliency) validate biological interpretability across all paradigms. Results demonstrate that grain isolation substantially improves classical ML performance (F1 from 0.83 to 0.91 on full images to 0.96–0.99 on isolated grains, +8–13 percentage points), while deep learning excels on both levels (CNNs: F1 = 1.000 on full images with CLAHE; ViTs: F1 = 0.99). At the instance level, all paradigms converge to near-perfect discrimination (F1 ≥ 0.96), indicating sufficient capture of morphological information. Majority voting aggregation provides +3–5% gains for classical methods but only +0.3–4.8% for deep models already near saturation. Explainable AI analysis confirms that models rely on biologically meaningful cues: blue channel moments and texture features for classical ML (SHAP), grain boundaries and exine ornamentation for CNNs (Grad-CAM++), and distributed attention across grain structures for ViTs (gradient saliency). Qualitative validation on 211 mixed-pollen images confirms robust generalization to realistic multi-species samples. The proposed framework (YOLOv12n + SVC/ResNet50 + majority voting) is practical for deployment in honey authentication, ecological surveys, and fine-grained biological image analysis. Full article