The strategy of reducing carbohydrate digestibility by controlling the activity of two hydrolyzing enzymes (α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase) to control postprandial hyperglycemia is considered as a viable prophylactic treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Thus, the consumption of foods rich in hydrolyzing enzyme inhibitors is recommended for diet therapy of diabetes. Whole cereal products have gained increasing interests for plasma glucose‐reducing effects. However, the mechanisms for whole cereal benefits in relation to T2DM are not yet fully understood, but most likely involve bioactive components. Cereal‐derived phenolic compounds, peptides, nonstarch polysaccharides, and lipids have been shown to inhibit α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase activities. These hydrolyzing enzyme inhibitors seem to make whole cereals become nutritional strategies in managing postmeal glucose for T2DM. This review presents an updated overview on the effects provided by cereal‐derived ingredients on carbohydrate digestibility. It suggests that there is some evidence for whole cereal intake to be beneficial in amelioration of T2DM through inhibiting α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase activities.

Many studies indicate that an anthocyanin‐rich diet has beneficial effects preventing metabolic disease. In the present study, the molecular mechanism underlying the antiobesity effect of consuming blackberry anthocyanins (BLA) and blueberry anthocyanins (BBA) was investigated in high‐fat‐diet‐ (HFD‐) fed C57BL/6 mice. Sixty mice were administered a low‐fat diet (LFD), a HFD, or a HFD plus orlistat, and BLA or BBA in their daily food for 12 weeks. As a result, the consumption of BLA and BBA inhibited body weight gain by 40.5% and 55.4%, respectively, in HFD‐fed mice. The BLA and BBA treatments markedly reduced serum and hepatic lipid levels and significantly increased hepatic superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities. In addition, the treatments effectively increased fecal acetate and butyrate levels and significantly attenuated expression of tumor necrosis factor TNF‐α, interleukin‐6, and nuclear factor‐kappaB genes. Moreover, gas chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectroscopy results suggested that BLA and BBA significantly affected the hepatic lipid and glucose metabolic pathways, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and the insulin‐signaling pathway. Therefore, BLA and BBA ameliorated diet‐induced obesity by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation and accelerating energy expenditure.

This study investigated the phenolic compounds of 15 Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat cv. ‘Hangbaiju’, including 6 ‘Duoju’ and 9 ‘Taiju’, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antioxidant activities of these ‘Hangbaiju’ were estimated by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. Results show that a total of 14 phenolic compounds were detected in these flowers, including 3 mono-caffeoylquinic acids, 3 di-caffeoylquinic acids, 1 phenolic acid and 7 flavonoids. ‘Duoju’ and ‘Taiju’ possess different concentrations of phenolic compounds, and ‘Taiju’ exhibits higher caffeoylquinic acids and stronger antioxidant activities than ‘Duoju’. Caffeoylquinic acids show a strong correlation with the antioxidant activities of the samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) reveals an obvious separation between ‘Duoju’ and ‘Taiju’, using phenolic compounds as variables. Apigenin-7-O-glucoside, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, luteolin and acacetin were found to be the key phenolic compounds to differentiate ‘Duoju’ from ‘Taiju’.

It has been shown that whole grains and dietary fiber are important for their fermentation characteristics in the large intestine, drawing more and more attention to quinoa and quinoa polysaccharides. In this study, we evaluated the prebiotic effect of quinoa seeds and quinoa polysaccharides after human simulated digestion. The modulatory effect of the quinoa and quinoa polysaccharides (QPs) on the gut microbiota was evaluated by the in vitro fermentation using human fecal microbiota. The yield of polysaccharides extraction was 15.45%. The digestibility of the cooked and uncooked quinoa after simulation of human digestion was 69.04% and 64.09%, respectively. The effect on the microbiota composition and their metabolic products was determined by the assessment of pH, short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and changes in the bacterial population. After 24 hr anaerobic incubation, the total SCFAs of cooked, uncooked quinoa, and quinoa polysaccharides were 82.99, 77.11, and 82.73 mM, respectively with a pH decrease. At the phylum, genus, and class level, it has been found that the quinoa substrates enhance the growth of certain beneficial bacteria such as Prevotella and Bacteroides. Quinoa polysaccharides can be considered prebiotic due to their ability to increase Bifidobacterium and Collinsella. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that there was a distinct modulating effect on the fecal microbiota which represents different distribution. Our research suggests that quinoa and quinoa polysaccharides have a prebiotic potential due to their association with the positive shifts in microbiota composition and short‐chain fatty acids production, which highlights the importance of further studies around this topic.