Saponarin (SA), a natural flavonoid, is known for its antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. SA is the predominant compound (1142.7 ± 0.9 mg per 100 g) in barley sprouts, constituting 72% of the total polyphenol content. We investigated, for the first time, the effects of SA from barley sprouts on cellular anti-inflammatory responses. In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, SA suppressed the activation of NF-κB, as evidenced by the inhibition of NF-κB DNA binding, nuclear translocation, IκBα phosphorylation, and reporter gene expression, and it downregulated the expression of the pro-inflammatory mediator IL-6. Furthermore, SA reduced the transcription of NF-κB target molecules COX2 and FLIP inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK and p38. These results suggest that SA isolated from barley sprouts exerts anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages via inhibition of NF-κB, ERK and p38 signaling. Thus, SA may be a promising natural anti-inflammatory agent.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell dysfunction caused by excessive oxidative damage is partly involved in age-related macular degeneration, which is among the leading causes of visual impairment in elderly people. Here, we investigated the protective role of chrysoeriol against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced oxidative stress in RPE cells. The cellular viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and mitochondrial function of retinal ARPE-19 cells were monitored under oxidative stress or pre-treatment with chrysoeriol. The expression levels of mitochondrial-related genes and associated transcription factors were assessed using reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Moreover, the protein expression of antioxidant signal molecules was characterized by Western blot analysis. Chrysoeriol significantly increased cell viability, reduced ROS generation, and increased the occurrence of antioxidant molecules in H₂O₂-treated ARPE-19 cells. Additionally, mitochondrial dysfunction caused by H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress was also considerably diminished by chrysoeriol treatment, which reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and upregulated mitochondrial-associated genes and proteins. Chrysoeriol also markedly enhanced key transcription factors (Nrf2) and antioxidant-associated genes (particularly HO-1 and NQO-1). Therefore, our study confirms the protective effect of chrysoeriol against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in RPE cells, thus confirming that it may prevent mitochondrial dysfunction by upregulating antioxidant-related molecules.

As international food trade increases, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in food safety and authenticity, which are linked to geographical origin. Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) are cultivated worldwide, but there are no tools for accurately discriminating their geographical origin. Thus, our study aims to develop a method for discriminating the geographical origin of adzuki beans through targeted and non-targeted metabolite profiling with gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with multivariate analysis. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed clear discrimination between adzuki beans cultivated in Korea and China. Non-targeted metabolite profiling showed better separation than targeted profiling. Furthermore, citric acid and malic acid were the most notable metabolites for discriminating adzuki beans cultivated in Korea and China. The geographical discrimination method combining non-targeted metabolite profiling and pareto-scaling showed excellent predictability (Q² = 0.812). Therefore, it is a suitable prediction tool for the discrimination of geographical origin and is expected to be applicable to the geographical authentication of adzuki beans.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is an important therapeutic target in the regulation of high blood pressure. This study was conducted to investigate the alterations in blood pressure associated with ACE inhibition activity of the polyphenols (1–10), including 3-O-feruloylquinic acid (1), lutonarin (2), saponarin (3), isoorientin (4), orientin (5), isovitexin (6), isoorientin-7-O-[6-sinapoyl]-glucoside (7), isoorientin-7-O-[6-feruloyl]-glucoside (8), isovitexin-7-O-[6-sinapoyl]-glucoside (9), and isovitexin-7-O-[6-feruloyl]-glucoside (10), isolated from barley seedlings (BS). All the isolated polyphenols exhibited comparable IC₅₀ values of ACE inhibition activity (7.3–43.8 µM) with quercetin (25.2 ± 0.2 µM) as a positive control, and their inhibition kinetic models were identified as noncompetitive inhibition. Especially, compound 4 was revealed to be an outstanding ACE inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 7.3 ± 0.1 µM, K_i = 6.6 ± 0.1 µM). Based on the compound structure–activity relationships, the free hydroxyl groups of flavone-moieties and glucose connections at the A ring of the flavone moieties were important factors for inhibition of ACE. The alcohol extract of BS also demonstrated potent ACE inhibition activity (66.5% ± 2.2% at 5000 µg mL⁻¹). The polyphenols from BS had strong inhibitory activity on ACE and this study results suggest that BS can be used as an effective blood pressure regulator through ACE inhibition.