{"title":"Angelica sinensis polysaccharide promotes the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) by activating the wnt/β-catenin pathway","authors":"Tiantian Mao, Youjian Peng, Ruobing Peng, Xiaoying Wei","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i4.989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i4.989","url":null,"abstract":"Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are capable of forming mineralized nodules. The proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs are very important for alleviating tooth defects caused by related diseases. Angel-ica polysaccharide (ASP) is the main bioactive ingredient extracted from the angelica root. ASP has a variety of biological functions, including immune regulation, antitumor activity, and hematopoiesis. However, its possible effects on hDPSCs are still unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of ASP in periodontal diseases. We found that ASP promoted the proliferation of hDPSCs and osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. We further found that it promoted the expression of osteogenic-related genes, including ALP, RUNX2, Col1a1, and OCN. Mechanically, we found that ASP activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In conclusion, our results suggested that ASP promoted the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43768559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lu Gao, Yuan Hu, Meidan Sun, Xiang-feng Zheng, Ming Yang, Shengqi Rao
{"title":"Synergistic antibacterial effects of carvacrol and ε-polylysine","authors":"Lu Gao, Yuan Hu, Meidan Sun, Xiang-feng Zheng, Ming Yang, Shengqi Rao","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i4.928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i4.928","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of the combination of ɛ-polylysine (ɛ-PL) and carvacrol (Car) against foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ɛ-PL (Car) against E. coli and S. aureus were 25 μg/mL (320 μg/mL) and 12.5 μg/mL (320 μg/mL), respectively. Checkerboard assays showed that the combination of ɛ-PL and Car exerted synergistic effects against E. coli and S. aureus with fraction inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of 0.375 and 0.5, respectively. It demonstrated that the combination of ɛ-PL and Car significantly inhibited the growth of the two strains compared to single treatment. Furthermore, the mode of action of ɛ-PL (6.25 μg/mL) or Car (80 μg/mL) in inhibiting E. coli and S. aureus was researched by assessing their changes with regard to cellular membrane integrity, membrane permeability, respiratory activity, and membrane structure. A combination of ɛ-PL and Car increased the damage to cell membranes and their permeability and led to the release of 260 nm absorbing materials, decreased respiratory-chain dehydrogenase activity compared with ɛ-PL or Car treatment alone. These results demonstrated that the combination of ɛ-PL and Car could be used as a new promising naturally sourced food preservative.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42102858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ruscogenin alleviates cognitive dysfunction by inhibiting the activation of isoflurane-induced NLRP3 inflammasome in aged mice","authors":"X. Liang, Xiao-Lin Luo, Dan-Dan Li, Ling-Zu Kong","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.964","url":null,"abstract":"Ruscogenin exerts an anti-inflammatory effect in the pathogenesis of various human diseases, including pulmonary hypertension, acute lung injury, acute pancreatitis and cerebral ischemia. Its role in isoflurane-induced rats with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) was investigated in this study. Aged rats were exposed to isoflurane for establishing a model of POCD, and administered with ruscogenin by gavage. Cognitive dysfunction was evaluated by the Morris water maze test. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining was designed to assess neuronal damage. Markers of brain damage and neuroinflammation were detected by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay. Isoflurane exposure caused impaired cognitive function by increasing escape latency, decreasing the time taken for crossing target and time in target quadrant. However, administration of ruscogenin reversed these cognitive dysfunctions. Abnormal morphological phenomena on neurons and enhanced levels of serum calcium-binding protein β (S-100β) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were identified in mice post-isoflurane exposure. Administration of ruscogenin ameliorated the neuronal morphological damages and reduced the levels of S-100β and NSE in the hippocampi of isoflurane-induced aged mice. Ruscogenin also attenuated isoflurane-induced enhancements in the levels of Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the hippocampi of mice. Isoflurane-induced enhancements in the mRNA expression levels of NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), ASC, IL-1β and IL-18 proteins were also restored by administration of ruscogenin. Ruscogenin exerted neuroprotective effects against isoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction and neuroinflammation through blocking of NLRP3 pathway.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45777468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Juglanin alleviates myocardial injury in rats with acute myocardial infarction through modulating MAPK signaling pathway","authors":"Jing Sun, Lei Song","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.983","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.983","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role of Juglanin in rats suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Male Sprague–Dawley (SD) mice were used to construct the AMI model. Hematoxylin and Eosin staining was used to observe the morphological changes of cardiomyocytes. Changes in lactate dehydro-genase (LDH), caspase-3 and caspase-9 were measured using commercial kits. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the serum level of creatine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IL-10 and IL-1β. Protein expression and phosphorylation were determined by Western blotting test. The morphology of cardiomyocytes suffered great changes because of AMI, which included focal myocardial necrosis, severe inflammatory cell infiltration, and myocardial fiber dissolution, disorder, and partial rupture. The morphological changes in cardiomyocytes were significantly ameliorated through treatment with Juglanin (10 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg). Increment of serum CK-MB, LDH, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-1β was reduced in AMI rats treated with 10-mg/kg and 30-mg/kg Juglanin. Cell apoptosis was also inhibited by Juglanin treatment. AMI-induced phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) was suppressed through treatment with Juglanin. This study demonstrated that Juglanin alleviated myocardial injury in rats because of AMI through inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, thus indicating a protective role in rat AMI model.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44545169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Naqash, H. Naik, S. Z. Hussain, H. Makroo, B. N. Dar
{"title":"Effect of thermal treatment on physicochemical, phytochemical, and microbiological characteristics of brown Spanish onion paste","authors":"S. Naqash, H. Naik, S. Z. Hussain, H. Makroo, B. N. Dar","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i4.959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i4.959","url":null,"abstract":"Onion paste is a commercially used processed product that reduces cooking time. Industrial processing of onion paste involves various treatments that affect the overall nutritional profile of the final product. In this study, effect of various thermal treatment conditions was evaluated, with temperature and time ranging between 70 and 90°C for 8 to 22 min, respectively. Changes in quercetin, pyruvic acid, and quality characteristics of fresh onion paste were investigated. A negative linear trend was observed in quercetin, pyruvic acid, viscosity, ascorbic acid, and total plate count, with an increase in temperature and time. An interactive and combined effect of time and tem-perature showed a positive linear relationship with color difference. For all the quality parameters investigated in this study, thermal treatment at 87°C for 15 min was found to be optimum for development of shelf-stable onion paste. Quercetin and pyruvic acid content were found to be 2.587±0.03 g kg–1 and 0.086±0.004 µmol kg–1, respectively. Optimum conditions depicted better retention of principal compounds as compared to the other experimental conditions and exhibited safer quality product as compared to the untreated sample.Industrial relevance: Brown Spanish onion is a perishable produce due to high moisture content. In order to reduce its postharvest losses at domestic and commercial levels, optimized processing parameters for the production of onion paste can be economically beneficial, and it is a highly acclaimed product for consumer usage.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44505718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Plumbagin attenuates high glucose-induced trophoblast cell apoptosis and insulin resistance via activating AKT/mTOR pathway","authors":"Yilin Zhang, Guantai Ni, Hongying Yang","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.960","url":null,"abstract":"Plumbagin, a bioactive phytoconstituent, is isolated from the root of Plumbago zeylanica L. Plumbagin pos-sesses antidiabetic effect to mediate glucose homeostasis, wound healing and diabetic nephropathy. However, the involvement of plumbagin in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has not been reported yet. Trophoblast cell line (HTR8/SVneo) was incubated with high glucose to establish cell model of GDM. Cell viability and proliferation were detected by MTT and EdU staining. Flow cytometry was used to investigate cell apoptosis. Cell viability of HTR8/SVneo was reduced by high glucose or incubation of plumbagin. Plumbagin restored reduced cell viability and proliferation of HTR8/SVneo induced by high glucose. Plumbagin attenuated high glucose-induced cell apoptosis in HTR8/SVneo cells through upregulation of Bcl-2 and down-regulation of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9. Protein expression of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4), insulin receptor (INSR)-B and INSR substrate (IRS1) was decreased in high glucose-induced HTR8/SVneo but increased by plumbagin. The suppressive effects of high glucose on phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR in HTR8/SVneo were reversed by plumbagin. Plumbagin improved high glucose-induced cell apoptosis and insulin resistance of HTR8/SVneo through activation of AKT/mTOR pathway, suggesting that plumbagin might be used as a potential strategy for the prevention of GDM.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49255982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of different water activities on the stability of carotenoids in puff-dried yellow peach powder during storage","authors":"Gorby Gonzalles, Ningning Geng, Shuwei Luo, Chenchen Zhang, Cai-E. Wu, Dajing Li, Ying Li, Jiangfeng Song","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13sp2.944","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13sp2.944","url":null,"abstract":"The stability of carotenoids in puff-dried yellow peach powder during commercial storage under different water activity conditions was studied. The results showed that when the corresponding water activity was above 0.576, the loss of adsorbed water in yellow peach powder was closely related to the crystallinity of the amorphous sugar matrix. However, the adsorption isotherms confirmed by water absorption behavior, X-ray diffraction (XRD) pat-terns, and scanning electron microscopy did not clearly indicate this loss of adsorbed water. The content changes of individual carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene) during storage followed pseudo first-order kinetics, and the degradation of lutein and zeaxanthin occurred quickly over time. The stability of total carotenoids gradually increased when the water activity was less than 0.576, but the carotenoids degraded sharply when the water activity was between 0.753 and 0.843. The loss of carotenoids was related to the water absorption and crystallization of the sugar matrix in the powder.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44378031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Hou, Rongyao Luo, Hui Ni, Ke Li, Fedrick C. Mgomi, Luyao Fan, Lei Yuan
{"title":"Antimicrobial potential of kombucha against foodborne pathogens","authors":"J. Hou, Rongyao Luo, Hui Ni, Ke Li, Fedrick C. Mgomi, Luyao Fan, Lei Yuan","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.920","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.920","url":null,"abstract":"The survival of foodborne pathogens under stressful food processing conditions and in host’s gastrointestinal tract has been widely reported to cause the outbreak of human diseases. Generally, antibiotics have been used to elimi-nate the microbial flora of foodborne pathogens. However, the overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the emergence and spread of multi-drug-resistant foodborne pathogens. Kombucha is a beverage prepared by fermenting sugared tea or other substrates with a symbiotic culture of yeasts and bacteria, and has been proved to fight food-borne pathogens and affect gastrointestinal microbial flora to prevent foodborne illnesses. In this context, this review primarily focused on microbiological and chemical compositions of kombucha obtained by fermenting different substrates. It further discussed the antimicrobial activity of kombucha, as well as potential antimicrobial agents found in kombucha, and the limitations of kombucha in the food industry. In addition, the need for developing antimicrobial agents from kombucha has been discussed for potential applications. The information provided in this review indicates that kombucha could serve as an alternative approach to control pathogens in place of using antibiotics.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43173665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Li Huaxiang, Yang Xiaojun, Xiao-yan Zhu, Lu Gao, Sheng-qi Rao, Lei Yuan, Zhen-quan Yang
{"title":"Isolation and characterization of broad host-range of bacteriophages infecting Cronobacter sakazakii and its biocontrol potential in dairy products","authors":"Li Huaxiang, Yang Xiaojun, Xiao-yan Zhu, Lu Gao, Sheng-qi Rao, Lei Yuan, Zhen-quan Yang","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.890","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.890","url":null,"abstract":"Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is an important pathogen contaminating dairy products (e.g., milk pow-der) and causes high mortality in infants. Bacteriophage as a potential biocontrol agent is a good alternative method for the control of this pathogen in dairy production and its environment. Thus, it is important to complete the C. sakazakii phage library by isolating and characterizing the broad host range of bacteriophage against C. sakazakii for control use. In this study, C. sakazakii strains from different sources were used as hosts to isolate and purify phages from human stool and sewage samples by double-layer plates. The biological characteristics, antibacterial properties, and genomes of these phages were then studied. Finally, ten virulent phages (EspYZU01–EspYZU10) infecting C. sakazakii were isolated and identified as belonging to the Myoviridae, Podoviridae, Tectivirus, and Stylovinidae families. Phage EspYZU08 presented the broadest host range and could infect all the five host strains of C. sakazakii. All 10 phages retained their infectivity at 50°C and pH 5–9. Both genomes of EspYZU05 and EspYZU08 were double-stranded DNAs with sizes of 41723 bp and 145582 bp, G+C contents of 55.69% and 46.75%, and open reading frames of 47 and 103, respectively. No toxins and antibiotic resistance genes were detected in both EspYZU05 and EspYZU08. Phage EspYZU08 and phage cocktail-3 (EspYZU01 + EspYZU03 + EspYZU08 + EspYZU09 + EspYZU10) presented excellent antibacterial efficacy for C. sakazakii in liquid broth and milk at 4°C, 25°C, and 37°C, suggesting that the phages in this study have great potential for the development of biocontrol agents against C. sakazakii in dairy and its processing environment.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43285480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimization method of microwave drying process parameters for rice","authors":"T. Sun, Fan Ling","doi":"10.15586/qas.v13i3.917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15586/qas.v13i3.917","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, the optimal process to improve the efficiency of microwave drying of rice is studied. The optimal conditions for reducing the crack rate and improving the head rice rate are analyzed according to the principle of the orthogonal experiment. The optimization method of the rice microwave drying process parameters is proposed to simultaneously consider the two indicators, namely, crack and head rice rates, based on the grey system theory. The grey correlation degree analysis is carried out on the process conditions of the microwave drying rice. The result shows that the main factor affecting the integrity rate of the rice grain is the vacuum degree, and the main factor affecting the crack rate is the loading density. The grey correlation degree curve of head rice and crack rate fluctuates greatly, and the correlation between the two indexes is high. According to the grey correlation degree, the optimal parameters are microwave power of 500 W, vacuum degree of 0.02 MPa, and loading density of 1289.89 kg/m3. The head rice and crack rate are both optimized when drying under the parameters. The results provide a guiding method for the study of the correlation degree between drying indexes and provide a method basis for the further selection of the best drying process.","PeriodicalId":20868,"journal":{"name":"Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43960945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}