Flaxseed gum nano-microcapsules loaded with secoisolariciresinol diglucoside: Preparation and characterization.

Flaxseed gum (FSG) has promising applications in the field of nano/microencapsulation for its biocompatibility and excellent physicochemical properties. In this study, FSG-based nano-microcapsules (FSG NPs) were prepared using high-speed shear homogenization combined with ultrasound for efficient encapsulation of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). The particle size of FSG stands for nano-microcapsules (NP) was determined to be 336.

New insights into influencing the extraction efficiency of tigernut oil: Impact of heat on oil absorption and enzymatic hydrolysis of tigernut starch in a starch-protein-oil model system.

Tigernut is a potential source of valuable edible oil; however, current oil extraction techniques are inefficient. We assessed high temperature-induced variations in oil absorption and enzymatic hydrolysis of tigernut starch (TS) in the presence of protein to explore the intrinsic reasons for the low oil extraction from tigernut. The results showed that, due to high temperature and the presence of protein, an increase in the volume mean diameters and agglomeration of TS granules occurred.

Identification and mechanistic study of piceatannol as a natural xanthine oxidase inhibitor.

Natural Xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitors represent promising therapeutic agents for hyperuricemia (HUA) treatment due to their potent efficacy and favorable safety profiles. This study involved the construction of a comprehensive database of 315 XOD inhibitors and development of 28 machine learning-based QSAR models. The ChemoPy light gradient boosting machine model exhibited the best performance (AUC = 0.

Yield, physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of starch isolated from defatted meal made from microwaved tigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) tubers.

In this work, the effects of microwave treatment (MDT) of tigernut tubers at 540 W for 140, 180, 220, 240 s on the yield, physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of tigernut starch (TS) were firstly investigated. MDT significantly reduced the crystallinity and double helix structures of the starch, without altering its native A-type crystal structure. After microwaving for 140 s and 180 s, the extraction yield of TS was significantly increased from 14.

Predicting variable-length ACE inhibitory peptides based on graph convolutional network.

Traditional molecular descriptors have contributed to the prediction of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides, but they often fall short in capturing the complex structure of the molecule. To address these limitations, this study introduces molecular graphs as an advanced method for peptide characterization. Peptides containing 2-10 amino acids were represented using molecular graphs, and a graph convolutional network (GCN) model was constructed to predict variable-length peptides.

Evaluation of Quality Properties of Brown Tigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) Tubers from Six Major Growing Regions of China: A New Source of Vegetable Oil and Starch.

Tigernut has been recognized as a promising resource for edible oil and starch. However, the research on the quality characteristics of tigernut from different regions is lagging behind, which limits the application of tigernut in food industry. Tigernut tubers were obtained from six major growing regions in China, and the physicochemical properties of their main components, oil and starch, were characterized.

Impact of high temperature on microstructural changes and oil absorption of tigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) starch: Investigations in the starch-oil model system.

This study was to explore the internal reasons for the changes in oil absorption performance of tigernut starch (TS) by revealing the high-temperature induced variations of structural and functional properties of TS. The results showed that as the temperature increased from 80 °C to 140 °C, the degree of starch gelatinization increased, while the proportion of double helix structures, the total proportion of B1 and B2 chains, the relative crystallinity and the molecular weight decreased, accompanied by the fragmentation and swelling of TS granules. The oxidation of tigernut oil (TNO) led to a decrease in oil density and an increase in total polar component content.

Effects of temperature, relative humidity, and illumination on the entomological parameters of Aedes albopictus: an experimental study.

Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) is a mosquito from Asia that can transmit a variety of diseases. This paper aimed to explore the effects of temperature, relative humidity, and illumination on the entomological parameters related to the population growth of Aedes albopictus, and provide specific parameters for developing dynamic models of mosquito-borne infectious disease. We used artificial simulation lab experiments, and set 27 different meteorological conditions to observe and record mosquito's hatching time, emergence time, longevity of adult females, and oviposition amount.

The physicochemical properties of starches isolated from defatted tigernut meals: Effect of extrusion pretreatment.

If the tigernut meal left after oil extraction is used as a material for starch resources instead of being wasted, the industrial value of tigernut would be improved. Thus, we investigated the effect of extrusion before oil extraction on the yield, structure and function of starches within tigernut meals (TMS). Compared with the yield of native starch, the yield of TMS-130-11 (barrel temperature: 130 °C; feed moisture: 11 %) was increased by 1.

Kinetic modeling of the sesamin conversion into asarinin in the presence of citric acid loading on Hβ.

In the present work, effects of reaction temperature, reactant concentration, catalyst loading, and rotation speed on the kinetics of sesamin conversion in a sesame oil system were studied by using citric acid loading on Hβ zeolite (CA/Hβ) as a catalyst. A kinetic model was built for sesamin conversion. The kinetic model fits correctly the experimental concentration of sesamin and asarinin ( = 0.

Pectic polysaccharides extracted from sesame seed hull: Physicochemical and functional properties.

The objective of the present investigation was to extract pectic polysaccharides from sesame seed hull and to determine their physicochemical and functional characteristics. The pectic polysaccharides in the seed hull were extracted with HCl and then collected at three ethanol concentrations of 30% (SSP30), 50% (SSP50), and 90% (SSP90). We found that SSP30 represented 75.

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of social contact patterns related to infectious diseases in the Guangdong Province, China.

The social contact patterns associated with the infectious disease transmitted by airborne droplets or close contact follow specific rules. Understanding these processes can improve the accuracy of disease transmission models, permitting their integration into model simulations. In this study, we performed a large-scale population-based survey to collect social contact patterns in three cities on the Pearl River Delta of China in winter and summer.

Gastrointestinal absorption, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effect of the major carotenoids of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis on cancer cells.

The gastrointestinal absorption of the main carotenoids present in Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, crocetin, crocin-1 and crocin-2, was assayed through transport studies on MKN-28 and Caco-2 cell lines. Overall, crocetin was the compound that presented the highest gastrointestinal transport efficiency. Additionally, and since after absorption crocins are metabolized into crocetin, the antiproliferative capacity of crocetin was assayed in MKN-28 (stomach), MCF-7 (breast) and Caco-2 (colon) cancer cell lines.

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of gardenia fruit oil with bioactive components and their identification and quantification by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS(2).

Compounds in Fructus Gardeniae have been shown to possess a wide array of biological activities. However, Gardenia oil extracted from its fruit is less reported and its composition remains uncertain. To completely characterize lipophilic compounds in Gardenia oil, three conventional extraction (CE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) methods were investigated.