A Smartphone-Integrated Ratiometric Fluorescence Sensor for the Ultrasensitive and Selective Detection of 5-Heneicosylresorcinol in Whole Wheat Foods.

Precise on-site monitoring of alkylresorcinols, a vital biomarker, is crucial for verifying whole wheat foods and accurately quantifying the whole wheat content in various consumer and industrial products. Herein, for the first time, we introduce a novel ratiometric fluorescence sensor (CDs@ZIF-8/CdTe@MIP) for ultrasensitive and selective detection of alkylresorcinols. 5-Heneicosylresorcinol (C21:0 AR), the primary alkylresorcinol homologue in whole wheat grains, was selected as the target analyte.

The phosphorylation of a WD40-repeat protein negatively regulates flavonoid biosynthesis in under drought stress.

Flavonoids constitute the main nutraceuticals in the leaves of tea plants (). To date, although it is known that drought stress can negatively impact the biosynthesis of flavonoids in tea leaves, the mechanism behind this phenomenon is unclear. Herein, we report a protein phosphorylation mechanism that negatively regulates the biosynthesis of flavonoids in tea leaves in drought conditions.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer for the specific adsorption and selective extraction of alkylresorcinols from whole wheat flour.

Alkylresorcinols are important biomarkers for evaluating whole wheat foods. However, their structures encompass a broad spectrum of homologs, making isolating and analyzing individual alkylresorcinol notably challenging. Herein, we synthesized highly selective molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) utilizing a facile and cost-effective precipitation polymerization method and 5-heneicosylresorcinol (AR) as the template molecule.

Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensor Based on α-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex and MXene Modification for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Alkylresorcinols in Whole Wheat Foods.

Authenticating whole wheat foods poses a significant challenge for both the grain industry and consumers. Alkylresorcinols (ARs), serving as biomarkers of whole wheat, play a crucial role in assessing the authenticity of whole wheat foods. Herein, we introduce a novel molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor with modifications involving a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and MXene nanosheets, enabling highly sensitive and selective detection of ARs.

Cascade Microbial Metabolism of Ferulic Acid In Vitro Fermented by the Human Fecal Inoculum.

Ferulic acid (FA), predominantly existing in most cereals, can modulate the gut microbiome, but the influences of its metabolites on the microbial population and FA-transforming microorganisms are still unclear. In this study, FA and its potential phenolic metabolites were fermented for 24 h with the human fecal inoculum. A comparable short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production trend was observed in the presence and absence of substrates, suggesting limited contribution of FA mechanism to SCFA formation.

Study on the improvement of complexation efficiency and anti-digestibility of phenolic acids based on electrospun starch fibers.

Phenolic acids can be encapsulated by starch electrospun fibers, and the structural and functional properties of the electrospun fiber are affected by the chemical structure of phenolic acid. In this study, five phenolic acids (protocatechuic acid (PA), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), p-coumaric acid (PCA), ferulic acid (FA), and caffeic acid (CA)) were chosen to prepare electrospun fibers with high amylose corn starch (HACS) at different voltages. Morphology and complexation efficiency results revealed that the electrospun fibers prepared at 21.

Interaction of high amylose corn starch with polyphenols: Modulating the stability of polyphenols with different structure against thermal processing.

Polyphenols are known to undergo thermal degradation and their bioactivity is reduced. In this study, the thermal degradation of polyphenols was modulated by the complexation between polyphenols and high amylose corn starch (HACS). The inclusion complex between ferulic acid with hydrophobic group methoxy and HACS had the highest encapsulation efficiency (EE = 26.

The textural properties of cooked convenience rice upon repeated freeze-thaw treatments are largely affected by water mobility at grain level.

Brown rice (BR) is a promising source for convenience rice that are mostly stored frozen. However, freezing and thawing may cause deterioration in rice texture quality. To investigate how rice texture is influenced by freeze-thaw cycles, BR, the pretreated BR with partially ruptured bran layer (UER) and white rice (WR) were cooked and treated with repeated freeze-thaw cycles, with their textural properties, variations in moisture distribution and starch structure being measured.

A highly efficient molecularly imprinted fluorescence sensor for assessing whole wheat grains by the rapid and sensitive detection of alkylresorcinols.

To differentiate whole wheat foods from refined wheat foods is still challenging grain industry and confusing consumers. Alkylresorcinols (ARs), as biomarkers of whole wheat grains, can serve for assessing the authenticity of whole wheat foods. Herein, a highly efficient fluorescence sensing platform (CDs@MIP) for rapid and sensitive analysis of ARs was explored, using carbon dots (CDs) as fluorophores and 5-heneicosylresorcinol (C21:0 AR) as template molecules embedded in a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) coating.

Bioinspired nanocatalytic tumor therapy by simultaneous reactive oxygen species generation enhancement and glutamine pathway-mediated glutathione depletion.

An insufficient intracellular HO level and overexpressed glutathione (GSH) are still the major challenges for effective chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Inspired by the unique glutamine metabolism pathway in cancer cells, herein, intelligent nanocatalytic theranostics is used to enhance intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation the production of HO by a biomimetic nanozyme, and simultaneously reduce ROS consumption the depression of GSH synthesis by the glutamine metabolic inhibitor. In this reactor, nano-sized Au and FeO coloaded dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (DMSN-Au-FeO) serve as the bifunctional nanozyme, where intracellular glucose is catalyzed into HO by the glucose oxidase-mimicking Au nanoparticles and then immediately transformed into ˙OH by the peroxidase-like FeO nanoparticles.

Acid-Resistant Mesoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks as Carriers for Targeted Hypoglycemic Peptide Delivery: Peptide Encapsulation, Release, and Bioactivity.

Oral administration of bioactive peptides with α-glucosidase inhibitory activities is a promising strategy for diabetes mellitus. The wheat germ peptide Leu-Asp-Leu-Gln-Arg (LDLQR) has been previously proven to inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase efficiently. However, it is still difficult to transport the peptide to the intestine completely due to the harsh condition of the stomach.

V-amylose helical cavity and benzoic acids with para-hydroxyl structure facilitate the formation of inclusion complex.

Benzoic acids are always unstable during thermal processing. Herein, effects of typical molecular structure of benzoic acids and V-amylose on the formation and thermostability of inclusion complexes were investigated. Interestingly, the helical structure of six V-amylose transformed to V-amylose after complexing with four benzoic acids.

Ignored role of polyphenol in boosting reactive oxygen species generation for polyphenol/chemodynamic combination therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a promising tumor-specific treatment, but still suffering insufficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels due to its limited efficacy of Fenton/Fenton-like reaction. Polyphenol, as a natural reductant, has been applied to promote the efficacy of Fenton/Fenton-like reactions; however, its intrinsic pro-apoptosis effects was ignored. Herein, a novel CDT/polyphenol-combined strategy was designed, based on Avenanthramide C-loaded dendritic mesoporous silica (DMSN)-Au/FeO nanoplatforms with folic acid modification for tumor-site targeting.

Both alkyl chain length and V-amylose structure affect the structural and digestive stability of amylose-alkylresorcinols inclusion complexes.

Alkylresorcinols (ARs) are a group of bioactive phenolic lipids and mostly concentrated in the bran of whole grains. In this study, the influences of alkyl chain length of ARs and V-amylose structure on the stability of V-amylose-ARs inclusion complexes were characterized. On the one hand, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and in vitro digestion studies of complexes showed that the crystallinity, thermo-stability, and digestion resistance of V-amylose-ARs inclusion complexes increased with increasing alkyl chain length of ARs.

The promoted hydrolysis effect of cellulase with ultrasound treatment is reflected on the sonicated rather than native brown rice.

Brown rice is nutritionally superior to polished white rice, as it maintains a large content of external bran that involves a series of bioactive compounds. However, the presence of bran also restricts water diffusion and results in adverse quality of brown rice. In this work, ultrasound conditions were optimized for cellulase to improve its hydrolysis effect on rice bran, and combinations of enzymatic and ultrasound treatment in different manners were conducted on brown rice, to improve the textural attributes.

Molecular Mechanism for the α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Effect of Wheat Germ Peptides.

Wheat germ peptides (WGPs) have various benefits to human health, while their antidiabetes mechanism remains unknown. In this study, the α-glucosidase inhibition activity of WGPs was identified, exhibiting an IC value of 6.87 mg/mL.

A temperature-dependent phosphorus doping on TiCT MXene for enhanced supercapacitance.

A novel type of phosphorus doped TiCT MXene nanosheets (P-TiCT) is synthesized via a facile and controllable strategy of annealing MXene nanosheets with the presence of sodium hypophosphite. A combination of theoretical density functional theory calculation and experimental X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy discloses that the doped P atoms are prone to fill into Ti vacancies first due to their lowest formation free energy (ΔG = -0.028 eV·Å) and next to bond with surface terminals on MXene layers (ΔG = 0.

Molecular structure of different prepared pyrodextrins and the inhibitory effects on starch retrogradation.

Pyrodextrins with different molecular size were prepared by dry heating native corn starch with and without hydrochloric acid (HCl) at 180 °C for 0.5, 3, and 5 h. Those with HCl treatment displayed much smaller molecular size, narrower size distribution, and higher proportion of the chains with the degree of polymerization (DP) ~24-400 than the counterparts without HCl treatment.

Structural comparisons of pyrodextrins during thermal degradation process: The role of hydrochloric acid.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is widely used to prepare pyrodextrins, especially the water-soluble pyrodextrin. In this study, the structural difference between pyrodextrins as affected by HCl is compared by characterizing the molecular size, chain-length distributions (CLDs), crystallinity, and solubility. It is found that: 1) dry heating of starch granules without HCl mainly degrades long-amylose chains while slightly affects amylopectin branches; 2) the presence of HCl during dry heating decreases the degree of polymerization (DP) range of amylose chains upon degradation from DP ~ 833-1267 to DP ~ 206-432, suggesting that the presence of HCl accelerates the breakdown of long-amylose chains; 3) both pyroconversion processes have slight effects on A-(DP ~ 6-12) and B- chains (DP ~ 12-24), which might explain the retained granular and crystalline structure during the process.

Interface Engineering of Co-LDH@MOF Heterojunction in Highly Stable and Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The electrochemical splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is considered one of the most promising approaches to generate clean and sustainable energy. However, the low efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) acts as a bottleneck in the water splitting process. Herein, interface engineering heterojunctions between ZIF-67 and layered double hydroxide (LDH) are designed to enhance the catalytic activity of the OER and the stability of Co-LDH.

Insights into waxy maize starch degradation by sulfuric acid: Impact on starch structure, pasting, and rheological property.

This study investigated the effects of acid degradation of amylopectin on the structure, pasting, and rheological properties of waxy maize starch. It is found that: 1) the amount of amylopectin short-chains with degree of polymerization (DP) ~ 15-50 increased while that of amylopectin long-chains with DP ~ 50-200 decreased by acid hydrolysis; 2) acid hydrolysis produced smaller amylopectin molecules with a narrower size distribution; 3) acid hydrolysis had a minor effect on the crystalline and granular structures of native starch; 4) the pasting viscosity of acid hydrolyzed starch during heating and the consistency coefficient, K, of starch gels increased, whereas the flow behavior index, n, decreased. Correlation analysis was used to clarify the molecular causes for the variations of pasting and rheological properties of acid hydrolyzed starch.

Ultra-small hollow ternary alloy nanoparticles for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction.

Hollow nanoparticles with large specific surface area and high atom utilization are promising catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We describe herein the design and synthesis of a series of ultra-small hollow ternary alloy nanostructures using a simple one-pot strategy. The same technique was demonstrated for hollow PtNiCu nanoparticles, hollow PtCoCu nanoparticles and hollow CuNiCo nanoparticles.

Promotion effect of Zn on 2D bimetallic NiZn metal organic framework nanosheets for tyrosinase immobilization and ultrasensitive detection of phenol.

Environmental monitoring of pollutants is essential to guarantee the human health and maintain the ecosystem. The exploration of both simple and sensitive detection method has aroused widespread attentions. Herein, 2D bimetallic metal organic framework nanosheets (NiZn-MOF NSs) with tunable Ni/Zn ratios were synthesized, and for the first time employed to construct a tyrosinase biosensor.

Insights into maize starch degradation by high pressure homogenization treatment from molecular structure aspect.

High-pressure homogenization (HPH) is a common physical method used for starch modification. In this study, starch molecular structure in terms of chain-length distribution (CLD) and molecular size is characterized to explore the structural variations during HPH and its internal relations. It is found that: 1) the molecular size is significantly reduced by HPH treatments and further gradually decreases with HPH pressure increasing; 2) HPH degrades the long amylose chains with degree of polymerization (DP) ~ 2000-20,000 into short- and intermediate-amylose chains with DP ~ 100-1000 and DP ~ 1000-2000; 3) by HPH treatment, the proportion of amylopectin chains with DP ~ 6-12 and DP ~ 12-24 decreases while that with DP ~ 24-36 and DP ~ 36-100 increases, whereas, the amylopectin CLDs between HPH treated starch samples are not significantly varied; and 4) by a subtraction analysis, the molecular size of HPH treated starches shows a strong correlation with the proportion of degraded long amylose chains, indicating these long amylose chains might play a critical role in maintaining the large molecular size of starch.

Highly Monodisperse Cu-Sn Alloy Nanoplates for Efficient Nitrophenol Reduction Reaction via Promotion Effect of Tin.

The hexagonal copper-tin alloy (Cu-Sn) nanoplates were synthesized using a high temperature solvent method, the length of six equilateral edges of hexagonal Cu-Sn nanoplates was 23 nm, and the thickness was 13 nm. The obtained hexagonal Cu-Sn nanoplates were highly monodisperse and allowed the formation of nanoarrays arranged with long-range order. The hexagonal Cu-Sn nanoplates exhibited high catalytic activity on catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol.