Chlorophyll is the primary source of color in widespread green plants. It has been investigated in mung bean seed coats and cotyledons. This study aimed to examine chromatic changes in mung beans during heat processing. It observed pigment variation within the cotyledons and seed coats of mung beans. Following thermal treatment from 0 to 50 min, the color of mung bean products changed, primarily from a decrease in chlorophyll content in the seed coat (from 6.57 to 1.28 mg/100 g, with significant differences. p < 0.05), accompanied by the formation of tawny pheophytin. However, the b value of mung bean seed coat showed an increasing trend with significant differences (yellowness, 21.55 increasing to 34.85, p < 0.05). Interestingly, the total flavonoid content in the seed coat tended to increase with thermal time (2.93 to 18.74 µg/mg) with statistical differences (p < 0.05). The condensation reaction of flavonoids with other polyphenolic compounds formed dark-brown polymers, resulting in a significant decrease in brightness (L value) of the cooking solution with thermal processing time (p < 0.05). Thus, the chlorophyll extraction and purification of the mung bean seed coat confirmed the morphological change of chlorophyll combined with the Maillard reaction, resulting in the color change after thermal treatment. It showed that a significant reason for the discoloration of mung beans was pheophytin from chlorophyll in the processing process.

Banana is a typical tropical fruit that is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, and consumed daily because of its superior nutritional profile. This study aimed to investigate the changes in bananas’ physicochemical properties and nutritional composition from ripening stages 1 to 9. The analysis included color (peel and flesh), texture, total starch content, resistant starch content, free sugar content, minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, phosphorus), and vitamin content. At the same time, the browning enzyme activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase, oxalic acid, and tannin were also measured. In this study, the banana peel gradually changed from dark green to light green to yellow during the ripening process, eventually appearing with many black spots, while the pulp color changed from white to light yellow and decreased in brightness. The pulp became softer with a prolonged ripening period, which was inconsistent with the time point of peel color change (ripening period 4–5). However, total starch content decreased from 74% to 31%, resistant starch originally at 32% gradually decreased to 5%, and free sugar content gradually increased with increasing ripening period. Vitamin C content and PPO activity decreased significantly during the ripening period, while other vitamins and minerals did not change significantly. In contrast, oxalic acid, tannin content, and peroxidase activity were negatively correlated with the ripening period. Therefore, this study reveals the changes in the nutrient content of bananas at different ripening stages, which may provide helpful information for researchers and producers to identify suitable raw materials for producing stable and high-nutrition-value banana-related foods during the peak raw material abundance seasons while reducing business risk.

Whether serum triglyceride level correlates with clinical outcomes of patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) remains unclear. From June 2008 to February 2012, all patients with STEMI who were treated with pPCI in this tertiary referral hospital and then had fasting lipid profiles measured within 24 hours were included and dichotomized into lower- (≦150 mg/dl) and higher-triglyceridemic (>150 mg/dl) groups. Baseline characteristics, in-hospital outcomes, and late major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were compared in-between. Independent predictors for in-hospital death and late adverse events were identified by multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses. A total of 247 patients were enrolled, including 163 lower-triglyceridemic and 84 higher-triglyceridemic subjects. The angiographic characteristics, pPCI results and in-hospital outcomes were similar between the two groups. However, multivariate logistic analysis identified triglyceride level as a negative predictor for in-hospital death (OR 0.963, 95% CI 0.931-0.995, p = 0.023). At follow-up for a mean period of 1.23 to 1.40 years, compared with the high-triglyceridemic group, low-triglyceridemic patients had fewer cumulative incidences of target vessel revascularization (TVR) (21.7% vs. 9.5%, p = 0.011) and overall MACE (26.1% vs. 11.9%, p = 0.0137). Cox regression analysis confirmed serum triglyceride as a negative predictor for TVR and overall MACE. Serum triglyceride level inversely correlates with in-hospital death and late outcomes in patients with STEMI treated with pPCI. Thus, when managing such patients, a high serum triglyceride level can be regarded as a benign factor but not a target for aggressive therapy.

Rice protein is a suitable alternative protein source for dairy protein in infant formulas on account of its unique nutrition and hypoallergenicity. Rice protein was isolated through enzymatic hydrolysis (Alcalase, papain, bromelain, Flavourzyme^®) in combination with high-pressure processing (HPP) (400 MPa for 15 min at 25 °C) to enhance its functional properties and broaden its food processing applications. The effect of the HPP-treated rice protein hydrolysate on dexamethasone (DEX)-induced atrophy in C2C12 myotubes was also studied. The length of myotubes was observed under a light microscope, and periodic acid Schiff staining. The results showed that even though enzymatic hydrolysis and HPP treatment affected the color of the resulting rice protein, the protein content (3120.31 ± 42.15), branched chain amino acid (BCAA) content (15.12 ± 1.03), peptide content (31.25 ± 0.55), and amino acid composition of the rice protein were significantly increased. Moreover, the combined enzymatic and HPP treatment effectively overcame the problem of limited solubility and water-holding capacity. Rice protein produced through enzymatic and HPP treatment exhibited a higher free radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorbance capacity. It also alleviated DEX-induced muscle atrophy in C2C12 myotubes as indicated by the increase in myotube length. In short, the enzymatic and HPP treatment of rice protein not only overcame limitations, but also produced rice protein with high functionality in terms of antioxidant and therapeutic effects on muscle atrophy. The rice protein hydrolysate produced through enzymatic hydrolysis and HPP treatment showed the potential for use as an ingredient for functional foods in the nutraceutical industry.

Samples of sweet gelatinized adzuki-bean jelly cake were successfully prepared and systematically analyzed to investigate the factors that affect the production, quality, and gelatin properties of yokan (gelatinized adzuki bean cake). The purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of gelatinized adzuki-bean cake gelatin and identify the optimal production conditions using response surface methodology with three factors: agar concentration, sugar concentration, and concentration time. Findings show that the optimum processing conditions are 1.2–1.5% agar concentration and 34–40% sugar concentration, with 30–40 min concentration time. These conditions produced a gelatinized adzuki-bean cake favored by the majority of the sensory evaluators. Overall, the relationships between different gelatinized adzuki-bean cake processing conditions and gelatin properties were preliminarily clarified. The findings not only provide a promising avenue for gelatinized adzuki-bean cake production but also promote the potential application of various processing conditions in quality improvement.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are at high risk of major adverse limb events (MALEs) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). CHA₂DS₂-VASc is a prognostic score for atrial fibrillation stroke risk; however, no study has evaluated its predictive ability for MALEs and MACEs in PAD patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients from Taiwan with PAD. The patients were stratified into four risk groups based on their modified CHA₂DS₂-VASc score. Cox proportional hazard models, 10-fold cross-validation, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were utilized to evaluate the predictive ability of CHA₂DS₂-VASc for MALEs, MACEs, and MALEs + MACEs. Kaplan–Meier analysis estimated the survival probability of the risk groups. CHA₂DS₂-VASc was found to be a significant predictor of MACEs (hazard ratio (HR) 3.52 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.00–12.12; p = 0.048), HR 4.18 (95% CI 1.19–14.36; p = 0.023), and HR 5.08 (95% CI 1.49–17.36; p = 0.009), for moderate-, high-, and very high-risk groups, respectively), while for MALEs and MALEs + MACEs, significance was achieved only for the high-risk group using a univariate model. For the multivariate adjusted model, the score was found to be a significant predictor of MACEs for only the very high-risk group, with an HR of 4.67 (95% CI 1.03–21.09; p = 0.045). The score demonstrated an AUC > 0.8, good discrimination (c-index > 0.8), and good calibration for predicting MACEs. However, it failed to achieve good performance for predicting MALEs and MALEs + MACEs. Based on all of the findings, CHA₂DS₂-VASc could potentially serve as a risk stratification score for predicting MACEs in patients with PAD, but it failed to qualify as a good predictor for MALEs.