This study evaluated the potential antioxidant and antidiabetic properties in vitro of four millet grain varieties cultivated in South Korea. The free fractions were tested for their total antioxidant capacity using 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS+) and 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays, followed by α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) formation inhibition assays. The total phenolics, flavonoids, and condensed tannins in the free fractions ranged from 107.8 to 136.4 mg ferulic acid equivalent (FAE)/100 g, 101.3 to 115.8 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/100 g, and 17.65 to 59.54 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/100 g, respectively. Finger Italian millet had the highest total phenolic content (136.4 mg FAE/100 g) and flavonoid content (115.8 mg CE/100 g). Barnyard and finger Italian millet showed the highest DPPH (IC50 = 359.6 µg/mL and 436.25 µg/mL, respectively) and ABTS radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 362.40 µg/mL and 381.65 µg/mL, respectively). Similarly, finger Italian millet also exhibited significantly lower IC50 values for the percentage inhibition of α-glucosidase (18.07 µg/mL) and α-amylase (10.56 µg/mL) as compared with acarbose (IC50 = 59.34 µg/mL and 27.73 µg/mL, respectively) and AGEs formation (33.68 µg/mL) as compared with aminoguanidine (AG) (52.30 µg/mL). All eight phenolic compounds identified in finger Italian millet were flavonoids, with flavanols being the predominant subclass. Taken together, millet flavonoids play important roles in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, and hence finger Italian millet has the potential to be developed as a functional food.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) treatment during in vitro maturation (IVM) on nuclear maturation, intraoocyte glutathione (GSH) content, meiotic progression, and developmental competence after parthenogenesis (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in pigs. Medium-199 containing 10% (vol/vol) porcine follicular fluid (PFF; PPF control) or 0.4% (wt/vol) fatty acid-free BSA (BSA control) was used for IVM. The proportion of oocytes reaching the metaphase II (MII) stage was not influenced by ALA treatment at various concentrations (50, 100, and 200 μ). However, treatment with 100 μ ALA significantly increased ( < 0.05) intraoocyte GSH content (1.19 vs. 1.00 and 0.92 pixels per oocyte, comparing the treated oocytes, BSA control, and PFF control, respectively) and embryonic development to the blastocyst stage after PA (47.1 vs. 35.5 and 35.2%) and SCNT (31.4 vs. 23.9 and 24.3%). ALA treatment (100 μ) accelerated oocyte maturation, and a higher proportion of ALA-treated oocytes (89.6%) reached the MII stage than did the untreated controls (75.5%) at 33 h of IVM. Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor (U0126) treatment during IVM inhibited nuclear maturation and embryonic development after PA. However, 100 μ ALA completely counteracted the suppressive effect of U0126 on nuclear maturation and partially counteracted the effect on blastocyst formation. Our results demonstrate that treatment with 100 μ ALA during IVM improves developmental competence by accelerating nuclear maturation and also influencing cytoplasmic maturation, such as increased GSH content in IVM oocytes.

The growing prevalence of obesity has become an important problem worldwide as obesity has several health risks. Notably, factors such as excessive food consumption, a sedentary way of life, high sugar consumption, a fat-rich diet, and a certain genetic profile may lead to obesity. The present review brings together recent advances regarding the significance of interventions involving intestinal gut bacteria and host metabolic phenotypes. We assess important biological molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of gut microbiota on hosts including bile salt metabolism, short-chain fatty acids, and metabolic endotoxemia. Some previous studies have shown a link between microbiota and obesity, and associated disease reports have been documented. Thus, this review focuses on obesity and gut microbiota interactions and further develops the mechanism of the gut microbiome approach related to human obesity. Specifically, we highlight several alternative diet treatments including dietary changes and supplementation with probiotics. The future direction or comparative significance of fecal transplantation, synbiotics, and metabolomics as an approach to the modulation of intestinal microbes is also discussed.

No abstract

Eight new genotypes of brown sorghum grain were decorticated and assessed for their antioxidant, antidiabetic and antiobesity activities in vitro. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays of the soluble fractions were evaluated, followed by digestive enzymes and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) formation inhibition assays. DSOR 33 and DSOR 11 exhibited the highest DPPH (IC50 = 236.0 ± 1.98 µg/mL and 292.05 ± 2.19 µg/mL, respectively) and ABTS radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 302.50 ± 1.84 µg/mL and 317.05 ± 1.06 µg/mL, respectively). DSOR 17, DSOR 11 and DSOR 33 showed significantly higher inhibitory activity of both α-glucosidase and α-amylase (IC50 = 31.86, 35.10 and 49.40 µg/mL; and 15.87, 22.79 and 37.66 µg/mL, respectively) compared to acarbose (IC50 = 59.34 and 27.73 µg/mL, respectively). Similarly, DSOR 33, DSOR 11 and DSOR 17 showed potent inhibition of both AGEs and lipase with IC50 values of 18.25, 19.03 and 38.70 µg/mL; and 5.01, 5.09 and 4.94 µg/mL, respectively, compared to aminoguanidine (52.30 µg/mL) and orlistat (5.82 µg/mL). Flavonoids were the predominant compounds identified, with flavones being the major subclass in these three extracts. Our findings suggest that decorticated sorghum grains contain substantial amounts of flavonoids and could be promising candidates for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and obesity.

No abstract

Campylobacter spp. are the leading global cause of bacterial colon infections in humans. Enteropathogens are subjected to several stress conditions in the host colon, food complexes, and the environment. Species of the genus Campylobacter, in collective interactions with certain enteropathogens, can manage and survive such stress conditions. The stress-adaptation mechanisms of Campylobacter spp. diverge from other enteropathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, S. enterica ser. Paratyphi, S. enterica ser. Typhimurium, and species of the genera Klebsiella and Shigella. This review summarizes the different mechanisms of various stress-adaptive factors on the basis of species diversity in Campylobacter, including their response to various stress conditions that enhance their ability to survive on different types of food and in adverse environmental conditions. Understanding how these stress adaptation mechanisms in Campylobacter, and other enteric bacteria, are used to overcome various challenging environments facilitates the fight against resistance mechanisms in Campylobacter spp., and aids the development of novel therapeutics to control Campylobacter in both veterinary and human populations.