Fiber-rich fractions (FRFs) including soluble and insoluble dietary fibers (SDF and IDF), alcohol-insoluble solid (AIS), and water-insoluble solid (WIS) were isolated from the peel of Citrus sinensis L. cv. Liucheng for analysis and tests. The peel was rich in insoluble FRFs (IDF, AIS, and WIS; 476-515 g kg(-1) of peel), which were mainly composed of pectic substances and cellulose, and also contained pectic polysaccharide-rich SDF (94.1 g kg(-1) of peel). These insoluble FRFs had water-holding capacities (15.5-16.7 mL g(-1)), oil-holding capacities (2.35-5.09 g g(-1)), cation-exchange capacities (454-997 mequiv kg(-1)), and swelling properties (14.6-21.1 mL g(-1)) much higher than those of cellulose. These results recommended the consumption of these peel insoluble FRFs of desired physicochemical properties as sources of food fibers or low-calorie bulk ingredients in food applications requiring oil and moisture retention. Further investigations on the physiological functions of these peel FRFs using animal-feeding experiments are underway.

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The functional properties of the protein concentrates (PCs) from Phaseolus angularis, Phaseolus calcaratus, and Dolichos lablab seeds were investigated and compared with those of soybean PC. The minimum nitrogen solubilities of P. angularis and P. calcaratus PCs were at pH 5, while that of D. lablab PC was at pH 4. These three PCs had lower viscosities, similar emulsifying activities and emulsion stabilities, and higher water- and oil-holding capacities and foam capacities than soybean PC. Their minimum emulsifying activities, minimum foam capacities, and maximum foam stabilities were at pH 4. Moreover, emulsion stabilities of these three PCs were high (above 93.2%) over the pH range of 2−10. Keywords: Phaseolus angularis; Phaseolus calcaratus; Dolichos lablab; functional property; protein concentrate

Ganoderma lucidum has been reported to be associated with suppressed motility, invasion and metastasis of several types of cancers, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. In our previous study, lucidenic acids A, B, C and N were isolated from a new strain of G.lucidum and all of them were found to have potential anti-invasive activity on phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced HepG(2) cells by suppressing the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity. Here, the lucidenic acid B (LAB) was used to explore its mechanisms underlying MMP-9 expression of HepG(2) cells. The results showed that the LAB suppressed PMA-induced MMP-9 activity in a dose-dependent transcriptional level. The suppression of PMA-induced MMP-9 expression of HepG(2) cells by LAB was through inactivating phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2. The treatment of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitors (PD98059 and U0126) and LAB to HepG(2) cells could result in a synergistic reduction on the MMP-9 expression along with an inhibition on cell invasion. Moreover, LAB also strongly inhibited PMA-stimulated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) DNA-binding activities of HepG(2) cells in dose-dependent manners. A dose-dependent inhibition on protein levels of NF-kappaB, c-Jun and c-Fos in nuclear by LAB treatment was further observed. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the anti-invasive effects of the LAB on the PMA-induced HepG(2) cells might be through inhibiting the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and reducing AP-1 and NF-kappaB DNA-binding activities, leading to downregulation of MMP-9 expression.

Abstract:The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise around the world. Common comorbidities associated with obesity, particularly diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease have an impact on social and financial systems. Appropriate lifestyle and behavior interventions are still the crucial cornerstone to weight loss success, but maintaining such a healthy lifestyle is extremely challenging. Abundant natural materials have been explored for their obesity treatment potential and widely used to promote the development of anti-obesity products. The weight loss segment is one of the major contributors to the overall revenue of the dietary supplements market. In this review, the anti-obesity effects of different dietary or herbal products, and their active ingredients and mechanisms of action against obesity will be discussed.

This review discusses the history and evolution of the state of dietary fiber (DF) with account of refinements in extraction methods and legal definitions subsequent to the launch of DF hypothesis. For a long time, defining and regulating DFs relied heavily on their chemical compositions and analytical methods. Although chemical compositions and analytical methods still play an important role in the definition of DF, physiological activity has also been taken into consideration. The precise definition of DF is still evolving, particularly whether oligosaccharides degrees of polymerization (DP) 3-9 should be considered as DF or not. Decades of scientific research have initiated the expansion of the term DF to include indigestible oligosaccharides with their DP between 3 and 9; hence responding to the positive health benefits of DF as well as fulfilling the needs in food labeling regulations.

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