Chinese bayberry fruit is a rich source of anthocyanins, especially cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G). The present study investigated the protective effects of C3G-rich bayberry fruit extract (CRBFE) against pancreatic β cells against oxidative stress-induced injury as well as its hypoglycemic effect in diabetic mice. Bayberry extract from "Biqi" was used for both in vitro and in vivo testing because of its high C3G content and high antioxidant capacity. Pretreatment of β cells with CRBFE (containing 0.5 μmol/L C3G) prevented cell death, increased cellular viability, and decreased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and cell necrosis induced by 800 or 1,200 μmol/L H₂O₂. CRBFE dose-dependently up-regulated pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1 gene expression, contributing to increased insulin-like growth factor II gene transcript levels and insulin protein in INS-1 cells. In addition, administration of CRBFE (150 μg of C3G/10 g of body weight twice per day) significantly reduced blood glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic ICR mice and increased the glucose tolerance in an oral glucose tolerance test (P<.05). Such results indicated that CRBFE might be useful in prevention and control of diabetes mellitus and diabetes-associated complications.

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Mangiferin is a natural xanthonoid with various biological activities. Quantification of mangiferin in fruit peel, pulp, and seed kernel was carried out in 11 Chinese mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars. The highest mangiferin content was found in the peel of Lvpimang (LPM) fruit (7.49 mg/g DW). Efficient purification of mangiferin from mango fruit peel was then established for the first time by combination of macroporous HPD100 resin chromatography with optimized high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). Purified mangiferin was identified by both HPLC and LC-MS, and it showed higher DPPH• free-radical scavenging capacities and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) than by l-ascorbic acid (Vc) or Trolox. In addition, it showed significant protective effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) under H2O2-induced stress. Cells treated with mangiferin resulted in significant enhanced cell survival under of H2O2 stress. Therefore, mangiferin from mango fruit provides a promising perspective for the prevention of oxidative stress-associated diseases.

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Berry fruit juice, which is represented by blueberry and cranberry juice, has become increasingly popular due to its reported nutritional and health benefits. However, in markets, adulteration of berry fruit juice with cheaper substitutes is frequent. In the present study, a metabolomic approach for authentication of berry fruit juices by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) was established. The global characterization of the berry fruit metabolome by information dependent acquisition directed LC-MS/MS coupled to a peak mining workflow by isotope pattern matching was reported. Targeted metabolomics analysis of known juice biomarkers, such as flavonoids, anthocyanins, etc. exhibited a good separation of berry fruit juices from adulterant juices. Moreover, untargeted metabolomics analysis was carried out and subjected to chemometrics analysis. Discrimination of blueberry juice, cranberry juice, and its adulterant apple juice and grape juice was obtained by principal component analysis-discriminant analysis. Eighteen characteristic markers discriminating berry fruit juice and its adulterants were selected by comparison of marker abundances in different juice samples. Identification of characteristic markers was accomplished by elemental formula prediction and online database searches based on accurate MS information. These results suggested that the combination of untargeted and targeted metabolomics approach has great potential for authentication of berry fruit juice.

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In this article, a simple and efficient protocol for rapid preparation and separation of neohesperidin from the albedo of Citrus reticulata cv. Suavissima was established by the combination of macroporous resin column chromatography and high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). Six types of resin were investigated by adsorption and desorption tests, and D101 macroporous resin was selected for the first cleaning-up procedure, in which 55% aqueous ethanol was used to elute neohesperidin. After treatment with D101 resin, the neohesperidin purity increased 11.83-fold from 4.92% in the crude extract to 58.22% in the resin-refined sample, with a recovery of 68.97%. The resin-refined sample was directly subjected to HSCCC purification with a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water (4:1:5, v/v), and 23.6 mg neohesperidin with 97.47% purity was obtained from 60 mg sample in only one run. The recovery of neohesperidin in HSCCC separation procedure was 65.85%. The chemical structure of the purified neohesperidin was identified by both HPLC and LC-MS. The established purification process will be helpful for further characterization and utilization of Citrus neohesperidin.