Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Fubaiju (CMF) is regarded as one of the three most renowned varieties of white Chrysanthemum in China, and different extraction methods have significant effects on its composition and activities. Therefore, six extractions were used in this study to assess the effects on extracts. The basic chemical composition showed that hot water extract (Hw) had the highest total phenolic content, alkali water immersion-assisted hot water extract (Al) had the highest content of protein, and enzyme-assisted hot water extract (Enz) had the highest content of carbohydrate. The UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS results evinced the presence of 19 small-molecule compounds, including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, tuberonic acid glucoside, luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, and other substances. In addition, the antioxidant test found that the Hw exhibited the best 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (82.05 ± 1.59 mM TE/mg) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) (61.91 ± 0.27 mM TE/mg) scavenging ability. The anti-glycation test demonstrated that Enz possessed the most pronounced inhibitory effect on glycation products, including fructosamine and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Additionally, the Enz also exhibited the most significant inhibitory effect on the protein oxidation product N’-formylkynurenine. The correlation analysis revealed that there was a close relationship between antioxidant properties and glycation resistance of extracts, and tuberonic acid glucoside, 1,3-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 1,4-Dicaffeoylquinic acid, quercetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and isochlorogenic acid B were key small molecule components that affected activities. In summary, the extracts of CMF can be regarded as an excellent antioxidant and anti-glycosylation agent.

Ellagic acid (EA) is a food-derived polyphenol with multiple biological activities, but its poor water solubility and aggregation in aqueous systems limit its accessibility to gut microorganisms. In this study, Fucus vesiculosus polysaccharide (FVP) was used as a natural carrier to prepare EA/FVP solid dispersions (SDs) with different mass ratios by solvent-assisted evaporation. Compared with pure EA, the SDs markedly improved the apparent solubility and aqueous dispersion stability of EA. The highest apparent solubility was observed for the EA/FVP 3/1 formulation (0.75 ± 0.03 mg/mL), which was approximately 6.25-fold higher than that of pure EA (0.12 ± 0.01 mg/mL). The improved dispersion behavior was associated with increased apparent viscosity, reduced aggregation, decreased crystallinity and possible non-covalent interactions between EA and the polysaccharide matrix. In vitro fecal fermentation showed that SDs enhanced the production of urolithins, including urolithin M5, urolithin M6, urolithin C, iso-urolithin A and urolithin B, without generating new metabolite types. The EA/FVP 1/3 formulation showed the strongest promotion of urolithin production, with iso-urolithin A reaching 2.36 ± 0.28 μM. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that the enhanced urolithin production was accompanied by shifts in the fecal microbial community. Several bacterial genera positively correlated with urolithin biosynthesis, including Bacteroides_H, Negativicoccus, Parabacteroides_B, Unclassified_Eggerthellaceae and Lactococcus_A, were significantly enriched in the SDs groups. These findings suggest that FVP-based SDs may serve as a potential strategy for improving the apparent solubility, aqueous dispersion and microbial biotransformation of EA.