Citrus fruits are rich sources of different phytochemicals for human health due to their high anti-oxidant capacity. However, the anti-aging effect of citrus fruits has not been well understood. In this study, methanol extracts taken at various developmental stages from tissues of Citrus unshiu was used to investigate its anti-aging effect by an elastase/collagenase inhibition assay, and a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was carried out to identify the potential anti-aging compositions. The elastase/collagenase inhibitory activity was greatest in the flesh of immature green fruit (i.e., early July flesh (EJF)), and four candidate compounds were selected by GC-MS and evaluated by a collagenase inhibition assay. Three of the four candidate compounds (heptadecanoic acid, D-allose, and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF)) showed anti-aging activity, and the activity was highest in heptadecanoic acid, followed by D-allose and HMF. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and anti-oxidant activity (DPPH and ferric reducing anti-oxidant power (FRAP) assay) were also investigated. Interestingly, the patterns of the total phenolic/flavonoid content and the anti-oxidant activity were different from that of the elastase/collagenase inhibitory activity. Flowers had the most anti-oxidant activity followed by immature fruit, and the fruit peels had more anti-oxidant activity than its flesh at all stages of development. This study demonstrated that the flesh of immature fruit and flowers of C. unshiu could be sources of anti-aging and anti-oxidant agents for human health, respectively.

Mushrooms are considered as health boosting medicinal fungi for hundred years that contains β -glucans mainly β-D-glucose, a bioactive components presents on the cell wall of fungi. β-glucans are not synthesized de novo but has important role in terms of immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and reducers of glycemic and lipidemic indexes. Edible and medicinal mushroom β-glucans have great contribution in many areas of the biotechnological development such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceutical products, and functional foods for human and animals. Mushroom β-glucans are reported to be pharmacologically safe, efficient and non-toxic even at higher doses. Mushroom β-glucans can act as a prebiotics which may have great effects on gut microbiota, improve gastrointestinal health and metabolic disorders. However, the efficacy of β-glucans depends on its structural differences, bioavailability, solubility, molecular weight and species of mushrooms. This review encompasses the pharmacological effect of β–glucans sourced from mushroom in terms of managing obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), immunomodulating effects, gut microbial shifting, management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn’s disease or colitis, different cancer treatments, emerging diseases like COVID-19 as well as animal health management. This review also tried to find out research gaps in mushroom β-glucans and future directions for nanobiotechnological development of mushroom β-glucans for human and animal welfare.

This study conducts a rigorous comparative analysis between two cutting-edge instance segmentation methods, Mask R-CNN and YOLOv8, focusing on stomata pore analysis. A novel dataset specifically tailored for stomata pore instance segmentation, named PhenomicsStomata, was introduced. This dataset posed challenges such as low resolution and image imperfections, prompting the application of advanced preprocessing techniques, including image enhancement using the Lucy-Richardson Algorithm. The models underwent comprehensive evaluation, considering accuracy, precision, and recall as key parameters. Notably, YOLOv8 demonstrated superior performance over Mask R-CNN, particularly in accurately calculating stomata pore dimensions. Beyond this comparative study, the implications of our findings extend across diverse biological research, providing a robust foundation for advancing our understanding of plant physiology. Furthermore, the preprocessing enhancements offer valuable insights for refining image analysis techniques, showcasing the potential for broader applications in scientific domains. This research marks a significant stride in unraveling the complexities of plant structures, offering both theoretical insights and practical applications in scientific research.