The main substances of rice are starches, which vary their metabolism during storage. We conducted a series of tests including rice physicochemical properties, edible quality, starch content and chain length distribution along with starch structure variation to disclose the shift of rice quality by observing the changes of rice during storage. The results showed that: (1) the rice deterioration occurred as time passed, and the germination rate decreased from 70.8% to 29.4% during the storage; (2) fatty acid values increased significantly during long-term storage; (3) electrical conductivity increased as time passed; and (4) the two-year-storage rice showed significantly decreased viscosity and edible quality after sensory evaluation, decreased hardness and damaged surface area of starch granules as storage time passed. Additionally, the damaged surface area of starch granules increased with storage time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the short-range order and spiral degree of rice starch first decreased in the first year and then increased over the storage time. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction showed that the main starch of rice was A-type crystalline. Meanwhile, apparent amylose content increased from 31.00% to 33.85%, then decreased to 31.75%. The peak viscosity reduced from 2735.00 mPa·s to 2163.67 mPa·s and the disintegration value was brought down from 1377.67 mPa·s to 850.33 mPa·s. Based on the results, rice should not be stored for more than 2 years under suitable granary conditions to maintain it at a good quality.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is among the top gynecologic cancers in the US with a death tally of 13,940 in the past year alone. Gallic acid (GA) is a natural compound with pharmacological benefits. In this research, the role of GA on cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, cell cycle-related protein expression was explored in OC cell lines OVCAR-3 and A2780/CP70. After 24, 48 and 72 h of GA treatment, the IC50 values in OVCAR-3 cells were 22.14 ± 0.45, 20.36 ± 0.18, 15.13 ± 0.53 μM, respectively and in A2780/CP70 cells IC50 values were 33.53 ± 2.64, 27.18 ± 0.22, 22.81 ± 0.56, respectively. Hoechst 33,342 DNA staining and flow cytometry results showed 20 μM GA exposure could significantly accelerate apoptosis in both OC cell lines and the total apoptotic rate increased from 5.34%(control) to 21.42% in OVCAR-3 cells and from 8.01%(control) to 17.69% in A2780/CP70 cells. Western blot analysis revealed that GA stimulated programmed OC cell death via a p53-dependent intrinsic signaling. In addition, GA arrested cell cycle at the S or G2 phase via p53-p21-Cdc2-cyclin B pathway in the same cells. In conclusion, we provide some evidence of the efficacy of GA in ovarian cancer prevention and therapy.

Pecan (Carya cathayensis) is an important economic crop, and its hydrolyzed peptides have been evidenced to reduce the effect of oxidative stress due to their antioxidant capacity. Hence, the protocols of ultrafiltration and gel filtration chromatography were established to obtain bioactive peptides from by-products of C. cathayensis (pecan cake). As measured by DPPH/ABTS radical scavenging, the peptides with less molecular weight (MW) possess higher antioxidant capacity. PCPH-III (MW < 3 kDa) presented higher radical scavenging capacity than PCPH-II (3 kDa < MW < 10 kDa) and PCPH-I (MW > 10 kDa) measured by DPPH (IC₅₀: 111.0 μg/ mL) and measured by ABTs (IC₅₀: 402.9 μg/mL). The secondary structure and amino acid composition varied by their MW, in which PCPH-II contained more α-helices (26.71%) and β-sheets (36.96%), PCPH-III contained higher ratios of β-turns (36.87%), while the composition of different secondary of PCPH-I was even 25 ± 5.76%. The variation trend of α-helix and random experienced slightly varied from PCPH-I to PCPH-II, while significantly decreased from PCPH-II to PCPH-III. The increasing antioxidant capacity is followed by the content of proline, and PCPH-III had the highest composition (8.03%). With regard to the six peptides identified by LC-MS/MS, two of them (VYGYADK and VLFSNY) showed stronger antioxidant capacity than others. In silico molecular docking demonstrated their combining abilities with a transcription factor Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and speculated that they inhibit oxidative stress through activating the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway. Meanwhile, increased activity of SOD and CAT—antioxidant markers—were found in H₂O₂-induced cells. The residue of tyrosine was demonstrated to contribute the most antioxidant capacity of VYGYADK and its position affected less. This study provided a novel peptide screening and by-product utilization process that can be applied in natural product developments.

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer with an estimated 13,940 mortalities across the United States in 2020. Natural polyphenols have been shown to double the survival time of some cancer patients due to their anticancer properties. Therefore, the effect of polyphenols extracted from Chinese hickory seed skin Carya cathayensis (CHSP) on ovarian cancer was investigated in the present study. Cell viability results showed that CHSP is more effective in inhibiting ovarian cancer cells than normal ovarian cells, with the IC50 value for inhibition of cell proliferation of Ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3) being 10.33 ± 0.166 µg/mL for a 24 h treatment. Flow cytometry results showed that the apoptosis rate was significantly increased to 44.21% after 24 h treatment with 20 µg/mL of CHSP. Western blot analysis showed that CHSP induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells through a p53-dependent intrinsic pathway. Compared with control values, levels of VEGF excreted by OVCAR-3 cancer cells were reduced to 7.87% with a 40 µg/mL CHSP treatment. Consistent with our previous reports, CHSP inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion by regulating the HIF-1α-VEGF pathway. In addition, we also found that the inhibitory effect of CHSP on ovarian cancer is related to the up-regulation of Phosphatase and tension homolog (PTEN) and down-regulation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kappa B). These findings provide some evidence of the anti-ovarian cancer properties of CHSP and support the polyphenols as potential candidates for ovarian cancer adjuvant therapy.

Endothelial senescence is a pivotal driver in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS), a process accompanied by metabolic reprogramming and increased lactate (LA) production. The accumulated LA stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, establishing a self-perpetuating inflammation-senescence feedback loop that accelerates disease progression. Therefore, depleting LA to inhibit cellular senescence represents a promising therapeutic strategy against AS. Here, we successfully fabricated a two-dimensional multi-enzyme-mimicking nanozyme (SnSe@TC MEM-nanozyme) by incorporating tannic acid-cerium (TA-Ce) frameworks onto the surface of SnSe nanozyme. Leveraging the anti-inflammatory/antioxidative properties of TA-Ce, the SnSe@TC MEM-nanozyme effectively alleviates oxidative stress and protects intracellular DNA from ROS damage. Endowed with lactate dehydrogenase-like activity, SnSe nanozyme converts LA to pyruvate, synergistically exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-senescence effects in endothelial cells while blocking endothelial-mesenchymal transition and restoring endothelial barrier function. In vitro and in vivo results confirm that the combination of anti-inflammatory/antioxidant therapy and modulation of LA levels effectively reduces plaque size and alleviates its pro-inflammatory environment. This study presents a pathology-targeted SnSe@TC MEM-nanozyme for treating AS, proposing a new paradigm of SnSe-based therapeutics for other age-related diseases.