The present study examined the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917 fermentation on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of apple juice. Apple juice was fermented and examined of its antioxidant activity using chemical models and cellular antioxidant assay. Furthermore, the chemical composition of fermented apple juice was characterized by LC-MS/MS. Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917 fermentation showed an increase in DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity as well as cellular antioxidant activity of apple juice. However, fermentation decreased the total phenolic and flavonoid content. Subsequent LC-MS/MS analysis of the phenolic profile indicated that the content of 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA), quercetin, and phloretin with strong antioxidant activity was increased significantly after fermentation. The modified phenolic composition may contribute to the increased antioxidant activity of fermented apple juice. Our findings showed that Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917 fermentation may be an efficient way to enhance the bioavailability of phenolic compounds and to protect cells from oxidative stress.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) could interact with the receptor for AGE (RAGE) as a sterile danger signal to induce inflammation. 4′-methoxyresveratrol (4′MR), a polyphenol derived from Dipterocarpaceae, has not been studied for its anti-inflammation effects. In the present study, we sought to explore the protective role of 4′MR in AGEs-induced inflammatory model using RAW264.7 macrophages. 4′MR significantly inhibited gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), as well as two typical pro-inflammatory enzymes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2). Besides, 4′MR significantly decreased oxidative stress, demonstrated by levels of ROS production, protein carbonyl and advanced oxidation protein product via down-regulation of NADPH oxidase. Further analysis showed that 4′MR attenuated the RAGE overexpression induced by MGO-BSA. It also blocked the downstream signal of AGE-RAGE, particularly, MAPKs including p38 and JNK, and subsequently reduced NF-κB activation. Additionally, 4′MR significantly abated the activation of NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome including NLRP3 and cleaved caspase-1 and reduced the secretion of mature IL-1β. Taken together, our results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of 4′MR is mainly through suppressing RAGE-mediated MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. 4′MR could be a novel therapeutic agent for inflammation-related diseases.

The effects of Perilla frutescens leaf extract (PLE) on the quality of surimi fish balls were investigated in the present study. Firstly, the extract was prepared by solvent extraction using 95% ethanol. Then, the phenolics in the extract were analyzed by instrumental analysis. The total phenolic content in the PLE was found to be 14.51 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW). The amount of caffeic acid, ferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, quercetin, and apigenin, determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), was 4.80, 5.10, 2.95, 6.46, and 3.93 mg/g DW, respectively. Furthermore, the PLE was found to show high free radical scavenging activity toward DPPH and ABTS radicals with IC₅₀ values of 12.15 and 7.26 μg/ml, respectively. When PLE was fortified into surimi fish balls at 0.03% and stored at 4°C, it was found to slow down lipid and protein oxidation during storage of surimi fish balls as evidenced by the significant reduction in TBARS values and protein carbonyl contents (p < 0.05). PLE (0.03%) also decreased the formation of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB‐N) and inhibited the growth of E. coli compared with the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, the overall acceptability of PLE‐added (0.03%) samples was higher than control samples during the storage process (p < 0.05) by sensory analysis. Overall, PLE have the potential to be used as a natural food additive to improve the shelf life and sensorial qualities of surimi fish ball.

Pterostilbene (Pte) and 4′-Methoxyresveratrol (4MR) are methylated derivatives of resveratrol. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of Pte and 4MR in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 murine macrophages. Both Pte and 4MR significantly reduced LPS-induced nitric oxide release by inhibiting the inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression. Moreover, both of them inhibited LPS-induced mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines including monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and attenuated LPS-induced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation by decreasing p65 phosphorylation. In addition, 4MR but not Pte inhibited LPS-induced the activator protein (AP)-1 pathway in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Further study suggested that Pte had an inhibitory effect on extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) and p38 activation, but not on c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), while 4MR had an inhibitory effect on JNK and p38 activation, but not on ERK. Taken together, our data suggested that Pte induced anti-inflammatory activity by blocking mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB signaling pathways, while 4MR showed anti-inflammatory activity through suppression of MAPK, AP-1, and NF-κB signaling pathways in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Recently, there is a growing interest in fortifying food products with flavonoids to enhance health benefits. Naringenin, naringin, hesperetin, and dihydromyricetin are four typical flavonoids constituting a natural part of our diet. In the present work, they were fortified into a chia oil cookie model to evaluate their thermal stability during baking as well as their impact on antioxidant capacity and toxicant formation. Among them dihydromyricetin was the most unstable one (only 36.1% of which was left after baking at 180 °C for 20 min) and led to a loss of brightness in cookie. However, the antioxidant capacity of cookie fortified with dihydromyricetin was significantly enhanced compared with untreated cookie; on the other hand, dihydromyricetin showed the strongest effect to attenuate lipid and protein oxidation as well as decrease the level of fluorescent advanced glycation endproducts and carboxymethyl lysine in cookie model. Overall, among the four selected flavonoids, dihydromyricetin might be the most promising functional bakery additive enhancing the antioxidant capacity while decreasing the formation of toxicants.