Objectives: Dysfunctional metabolism of carbohydrates is a fundamental component of many dietary-related disorders. It has been hypothesized that plant extracts containing high levels of antioxidants may have the ability to stabilize carbohydrate regulation. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract on cellular pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism. Methods: We evaluated the antioxidant activity of a polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract obtained by a patented hydrophobic extract process and its therapeutic potential to regulate carbohydrate metabolism and protect against metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes. Results: Quantitative analytical studies support that the polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract has a high concentration of polyphenols and antioxidant compounds. The follow-up cellular studies via Caco-2 cells and dysfunctional β-cell models suggested that the polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract may help deter glucose and fructose uptake in intestinal cells and restore insulin production in dysfunctional β-cells—key functions in managing diabetic conditions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that sugarcane polyphenols may modulate cellular mechanism in a manner that is beneficial to health.

Caenorhabditis elegans are typically cultured in a monoxenic medium consisting of live bacteria. However, this introduces a secondary organism to experiments and restricts the manipulation of the nutritional environment. Due to the intricate link between genes and environment, greater control and understanding of nutritional factors are required to push the C. elegans field into new areas. For decades, attempts to develop a chemically defined, axenic medium as an alternative for culturing C. elegans have been made. However, the mechanism by which the filter feeder C. elegans obtain nutrients from these liquid media is not known. Using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting based approach, we demonstrate growth in all past axenic C. elegans media to be dependent on the presence of previously unknown particles. This particle requirement of C. elegans led to development of liposome-based, nanoparticle culturing that allows full control of nutrients delivered to C. elegans.

Plant polyphenols have an array of health benefits primarily thought to be related to their high content of anti-oxidants. These are commonly undervalued and knowledge of their biological properties have grown exponentially in the last decade. Polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract (PRSE), a natural extract from sugar cane, is marketed as high in anti-oxidants and polyphenols, but its anti-cancer activity has not been reported previously. We show that, PRSE exerts anti-cancer properties on a range of cancer cells including human (LIM2045) and mouse (MC38, CT26) colon cancer cells lines; human lung cancer (A549), human ovarian cancer (SKOV-3), pro-monocytic human leukemia (U937) and to mouse melanoma (B16) cell lines; whereas no effects were noted on human breast (ZR-75-1) and human colon (HT29) cancer cell lines, as well as to human normal colon epithelial cell line (T4056). Anti-proliferative effects were shown to be mediated via alteration in cytokines, VEGF-1 and NF-κB expression.

Traditional toxicological studies have relied heavily on various animal models to understand the effect of various compounds in a biological context. Considering the great cost, complexity and time involved in experiments using higher order organisms. Researchers have been exploring alternative models that avoid these disadvantages. One example of such a model is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. There are some advantages of C. elegans, such as small size, short life cycle, well defined genome, ease of maintenance and efficient reproduction. As these benefits allow large scale studies to be initiated with relative ease, the problem of how to efficiently capture, organize and analyze the resulting large volumes of data must be addressed. We have developed a new method for quantitative screening of chemicals using C. elegans. 33 features were identified for each chemical treatment. The compounds with different toxicities were shown to alter the phenotypes of C. elegans in distinct and detectable patterns. We found that phenotypic profiling revealed conserved functions to classify and predict the toxicity of different chemicals. Our results demonstrate the power of phenotypic profiling in C. elegans under different chemical environments.

Potential contributions of the methodology to the variability of glycaemic index of foods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of feeding sugarcane-derived polyphenolic supplement (Polygain, The Product Makers Australia, Keysborough, VIC, Australia) on enteric methane (CH₄) emission, rumen microbiota, and performance of second-cross lambs. For this purpose, 24 Poll Dorset × (Border Leicester × Merino) lambs were allocated to 3 different treatments: Control (C), 0.25% Polygain (0.25 PG), and 1% Polygain (1 PG) diets with a uniform basal feed (25% cracked wheat grain, 25% cracked barley grain, 25% oaten chaff, 25% lucerne chaff). Both doses of Polygain reduced the total CH₄ production (g/day; p = 0.006), CH₄ yield (CH₄, g/kg of dry matter intake; p = 0.003) and CH₄ intensity (CH₄, g/kg of BW; p = 0.003). Dry matter intake tended to be greater (p = 0.08) in sheep fed 1 PG compared to the C group, with the 0.25 PG group being intermediate. The average daily gain of the lambs was improved (p = 0.03) with 1% Polygain supplementation. The relative abundance of genera Methanobrevibacter_unidentified, Methanomethylophilaceae_uncultured, Methanogenic archaeon mixed culture ISO4-G1, Methanosphaera uncultured rumen methanogen, Methanogenic archaeon ISO4-H5, and Methanobrevibacter boviskoreani JH1 were reduced with Polygain supplementation. In conclusion, feeding Polygain reduced lambs’ enteric CH₄ emissions, altered the rumen microbiome, and improved the growth performance of lambs.