In present study, a novel physical modification of waxy maize starch (WMS) and normal maize starch (NMS) was investigated by using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment. The effect on the structure and physicochemical properties of both starches was demonstrated by treatment with a 5% starch suspension (w/w) with APPJ for short periods of time (1, 3, 5, or 7 min). The pH of WMS and NMS was decreased after APPJ treatment from 5.42 to 4.94, and 5.09 to 4.75, respectively. The water-binding capacity (WBC) (WMS: 105.19%–131.27%, NMS: 83.56%–95.61%) and swelling volume (SV) (WMS: 2.96 g/mL–3.33 g/mL, NMS: 2.75 g/mL–3.05 g/mL) of the starches were obviously increased by APPJ treatment. The surfaces of starch granules were wrecked, due to plasma etching. No changes in the crystalline types of both starches were observed. However, the relative crystallinities (RCs) of WMS and NMS were reduced from 46.7% to 42.0%, and 40.1% to 35.7%, respectively. Moreover, the short-range molecular orders of both starches were slightly reduced. In addition, APPJ treatment resulted in lower gelatinization temperature and enthalpies. Therefore, APPJ provides a mild and green approach to starch modification, showing great potential for applications in the food and non-food industry.

Due to today’s fast-paced lifestyle, most people are in a state of sub-health and face “unexplained fatigue”, which can seriously affect their health, work efficiency, and quality of life. Fatigue is also a common symptom of several serious diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, etc. However, the contributing mechanisms are not clear, and there are currently no official recommendations for the treatment of fatigue. Some dietary polysaccharides are often used as health care supplements; these have been reported to have specific anti-fatigue effects, with minor side effects and rich pharmacological activities. Dietary polysaccharides can be activated during food processing or during gastrointestinal transit, exerting unique effects. This review aims to comprehensively summarize and evaluate the latest advances in the biological processes of exercise-induced fatigue, to understand dietary polysaccharides and their possible molecular mechanisms in alleviating exercise-induced fatigue, and to systematically elaborate the roles of gut microbiota and the gut-muscle axis in this process. From the perspective of the gut-muscle axis, investigating the relationship between polysaccharides and fatigue will enhance our understanding of fatigue and may lead to a significant breakthrough regarding the molecular mechanism of fatigue. This paper will provide new perspectives for further research into the use of polysaccharides in food science and food nutrition, which could help develop potential anti-fatigue agents and open up novel therapies for sub-health conditions.

The incidence of obesity has increased significantly on account of the alterations of living habits, especially changes in eating habits. In this study, we investigated the effect of octacosanol on lipid lowering and its molecular mechanism. High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mouse model was used in the study. Thirty C57BL/6J mice were divided into control, HFD, and HFD+Oct groups randomly, and every group included ten mice. The mice of HFD+Oct group were intragastrically administrated 100 mg/kg/day of octacosanol. After 10 weeks for treatment, our results indicated that octacosanol supplementation decreased the body, liver, and adipose tissues weight of HFD mice; levels of TC, TG, and LDL-c were reduced in the plasma of HFD mice; and level of HDL-c were increased. H&E staining indicated that octacosanol supplementation reduces the size of fat droplets of hepatic tissues and adipose cells comparing with the HFD group. Gene chip analysis found that octacosanol regulated 72 genes involved in lipid metabolism in the tissues of liver comparing to the HFD group. IPA pathway network analysis indicated that PPAR and AMPK may play a pivotal role in the lipid-lowering function of octacosanol. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot showed that the octacosanol supplementation caused change of expression levels of AMPK, PPARs, FASN, ACC, SREBP-1c, and SIRT1, which were closely related to lipid metabolism. Taken together, our results suggest that octacosanol supplementation exerts a lipid-decreasing effect in the HFD-fed mice through modulating the lipid metabolism-related signal pathway.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is primarily caused by long-term excessive alcohol consumption. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a widely occurring natural anthocyanin with multiple biological activities. This study aims to investigate the effects of C3G isolated from black rice on ALD and explore the potential mechanism. C57BL/6J mice (male) were fed with standard diet (CON) and Lieber-DeCarli liquid-fed (Eth) or supplemented with a 100 mg/kg/d C3G Diet (Eth-C3G), respectively. Our results showed that C3G could effectively ameliorate the pathological structure and liver function, and also inhibited the accumulation of liver lipids. C3G supplementation could partially alleviate the injury of intestinal barrier in the alcohol-induced mice. C3G supplementation could increase the abundance of Norank_f_Muribaculaceae, meanwhile, the abundances of Bacteroides, Blautia, Collinsella, Escherichia-Shigella, Enterococcus, Prevotella, [Ruminococcus]_gnavus_group, Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum, Romboutsia, Streptococcus, Bilophila, were decreased. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that 12 distinct genera were correlated with blood lipid levels. Non-targeted metabolic analyses of cecal contents showed that C3G supplementation could affect the composition of intestinal metabolites, particularly bile acids. In conclusion, C3G can attenuate alcohol-induced liver injury by modulating the gut microbiota and metabolites, suggesting its potential as a functional food ingredient against alcoholic liver disease.