As a natural active substance that can effectively improve blood lipid balance in the body, hypolipidemic active peptides have attracted the attention of scholars. In this study, the effect of walnut meal peptides (WMP) on lipid metabolism was investigated in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The experimental results show that feeding walnut meal peptides counteracted the high-fat diet-induced increase in body, liver and epididymal fat weight, and reduce the serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol and hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride content. Walnut meal peptides also resulted in increased HDL-cholesterol while reducing the atherosclerosis index (AI). Additionally, the stained pathological sections of the liver showed that the walnut meal peptides reduced hepatic steatosis and damage caused by HFD. Furthermore, walnut meal peptide supplementation was associated with normalization of elevated apolipoprotein (Apo)-B and reduced Apo-A1 induced by the high-fat diet and with favorable changes in the expression of genes related to lipid metabolism (LCAT, CYP7A1, HMGR, FAS). The results indicate that walnut meal peptides can effectively prevent the harmful effects of a high-fat diet on body weight, lipid metabolism and liver fat content in rats, and provide, and provide a reference for the further development of walnut meal functional foods.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micro-nutrient for humans, and Zn deficiency is of global concern. In addition to inherited and pathological Zn deficiencies, insufficient dietary intake is leading cause, especially in those consuming cereal grains as a stable food, in which Zn concentration and bioavailability are relatively low. To improve Zn levels in the human body, it is important to understand the accumulation and bioavailability of Zn in cereal grains. In recent years, knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying Zn uptake, transport, homeostasis, and deposition within cereal crops has been accumulating, paving the way for a more targeted approach to improving the nutrient status of crop plants. In this paper, we briefly review existing studies on the distribution and transport pathways of Zn in major small-grained cereals, using wheat as a case study. The findings confirm that Zn transport in plants is a complex physiological process mainly governed by Zn transporters and metal chelators. This work reviews studies on Zn uptake, transport, and deposition in wheat plants, summarizes the possible barriers impairing Zn deposition in wheat grains, and describes strategies for increasing Zn concentration in wheat grains.

The differences in chemical components, nutritional value, volatile organic compounds, antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibiting capacity in vitro in coconut waters with different maturities (8, 10, and 12 months after pollination and germination height below 10 cm were named CW-8, CW-10, CW-2, and MCW, respectively) from the tall coconut variety were compared and analyzed. Results showed that as the maturity increased, the ash and reducing sugar in coconut water gradually decreased, while the protein content and fatty acids continued to increase. Potassium, phosphorus, and sodium in four coconut waters showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, and CW-12 had the highest content of 2133.85 mg/kg, 239.74 mg/kg, and 310.75 mg/kg, respectively. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in higher amounts are alcohols and esters in coconut waters, among which 2-methylbutyl acetate, ethyl acetate monomer, and 2-methyl-1-propanol dimer were the characteristic volatile substances that distinguish MCW from the other three coconut waters. MCW has the best DPPH-scavenging and ferrous-ion-chelating ability (87.39% and 7.65%), while CW-8 had the highest hydroxyl and ABTS radicals scavenging rate (97.31% and 83.48%) and α-glucosidase inhibitory rate (81.36%). These results can provide support for the differential and high-value utilization of coconut water with different maturities.

Pseudomonas syringaepv Actinidiae (P. syringae) is a common pathogen causing plant diseases. Limoli proved that its strong pathogenicity is closely related to biofilm state. As a natural bacteriostatic agent with broad-spectrum bactericidal properties, juglone can be used as a substitute for synthetic bacteriostatic agents. To explore the antibacterial mechanism, this study was carried out to examine the inhibitory effect of juglone on cell membrane destruction, abnormal oxidative stress, DNA insertion and biofilm prevention of P. syringae. Results showed that juglone at 20 μg/mL can act against planktogenic P. syringae (10⁷ CFU/mL). Specially, the application of juglone significantly damaged the permeability and integrity of the cell membrane of P. syringae. Additionally, juglone caused abnormal intracellular oxidative stress, and also embedded in genomic DNA, which affected the normal function of the DNA of P. syringae. In addition, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and other methods showed that juglone effectively restricted the production of extracellular polymers, and then affected the formation of the cell membrane. This study provided a possibility for the development and utilization of natural juglone in plants, especially P. syringae.