The cruciferous vegetables cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Chinese radish, Chinese kale, and Chinese kitam were used in this study to prepare water-soluble and methanol-water extracts. Crude protein extracts were also obtained by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) anion exchange chromatography. Water-soluble polysaccharides were prepared by ethanol precipitation followed by ultrafiltration. The antimicrobial effects of all these extracts were evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeast. Crude protein extracts exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity in monoculture experiments. The antimicrobial effects of cruciferous vegetables were also studied by steeping beef, carrot, and celery in chlorine (10 ppm) or citric acid solution (1%) containing the crude protein extract (500 ppm) for different time periods. Total aerobic plate counts and coliform counts on these foods decreased significantly after 10 minutes in all steeping solutions (p < 0.05).
In recent years, a number of studies have been done on the physiological effects of water-soluble polysaccharides (WSPS) and their antitumor and immuno-enhancing properties. Many edible mushrooms, in particular those rich in WSPS, not only taste good but also contain ingredients beneficial to the physiology of the human body. In this study, response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal conditions for the production of WSPS, including the C/N ratio, initial pH, and incubation temperature. The highest yield of WSPS was obtained by incubation with a C/N ratio of 40, initial pH 5.5, and an incubation temperature of 25 degrees C. WSPS were extracted by alcohol precipitation from the fermented broth of edible Pleurotus citrinopileatus. These extracts, referred to as SPPC in this paper, had a molecular mass of more than 10(5) Da and were largely made up of glucose and mannose. SPPC was fed to mice which had artificial pulmonary metastatic tumors. Changes in the percentage of the numbers of tumor cells and immune cells were determined by flow cytometry. Daily feeding of SPPC at a dosage of 50 mg/kg to tumor-bearing mice for 12 days resulted in a significant increase in the number of T cells, CD4+ cells, CD8+ cells, and macrophages, compared with mice that were not fed any SPPC. The proliferation rate of the pulmonary sarcoma lesions slowed down.
Pleurotus citrinopileatus is an edible mushroom, which has recently become very popular, with a consequent increase in industrial production. Water-soluble polysaccharides (WSPS), extracted from edible mushrooms, have been found to have antitumor and immunoenhancing effects. In this study, we investigate the effects of WSPS extracted from submerged fermented medium of P. citrinopileatus on hyperglycemia and damaged pancreatic cells in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. The diabetic rats fed with water-soluble polysaccharide of P. citrinopileatus (SPPC) lost less body weight than those fed SPPC-free regular diet. Serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the diabetic rats fed with SPPC at a dose of 0.4 g/kg bw daily was lower than in the groups fed with SPPC at doses of 0.04 and 0.12 g/kg bw. The fasting blood glucose levels of diabetic rats fed with SPPC were 44% lower than the negative controls. The degree of damage to the islets of Langerhans of the rats fed with the highest dosage of SPPC was significantly lower than those fed with SPPC at doses of 0.04 and 0.12 g/kg bw. The results showed that STZ-induced diabetic rats fed with SPPC might help alleviate the elevation of the level of that in fasting blood glucose.
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