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Naturally occurring dietary peptides derived from gastrointestinal digestates of common bean milk and yogurt were studied for their bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and anti-inflammatory activity in both Caco-2 mono- and Caco-2/EA.hy926 co-culture cell models. Anti-inflammatory activities of these peptide extracts were found to be strongly associated with cellular uptake by the intestinal epithelial cells. Mechanisms underlying the cellular uptake were studied by examining the role of peptide transporter 1 and calcium sensing reporter. Three peptides, including γ-glutamyl-S-methylcysteine, γ-glutamyl-leucine, and leucine-leucine-valine, were found to be transported across the Caco-2 cell monolayer and detected by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. A strong anti-inflammatory effect was observed in the basolateral EA.hy926 cells (co-culture model), as shown in their inhibition of tumor necrosis factor α-induced pro-inflammatory mediators of the nuclear factor κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signal cascades. The results suggest that these peptides can be absorbed and possibly have systemic inhibition on inflammatory responses in vascular endothelial cells, indicating potential preventive effects on vascular diseases.

This study evaluated the performance, gut microbiota, and blood metabolites in broiler chickens fed cranberry and blueberry products for 30 days. A total of 2,800 male day-old broiler Cobb-500 chicks were randomly distributed between 10 diets: control basal diet; basal diet with bacitracin (BACI); four basal diets with 1 and 2% of cranberry (CP1, CP2) and blueberry (BP1, BP2) pomaces; and four basal diets supplemented with ethanolic extracts of cranberry (COH150, COH300) or blueberry (BOH150, BOH300) pomaces. All groups were composed of seven replicates (40 birds per replicate). Cecal and cloacal samples were collected for bacterial counts and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Blood samples and spleens were analyzed for blood metabolites and gene expressions, respectively. The supplementation of COH300 and BOH300 significantly increased the body weight (BW) during the starting and growing phases, respectively, while COH150 improved (P < 0.05) the overall cumulated feed efficiency (FE) compared to control. The lowest prevalence (P = 0.01) of necrotic enteritis was observed with CP1 and BP1 compared to BACI and control. Cranberry pomace significantly increased the quinic acid level in blood plasma compared to other treatments. At days 21 and 28 of age, the lowest (P < 0.05) levels of triglyceride and alanine aminotransferase were observed in cranberry pomace and blueberry product-fed birds, respectively suggesting that berry feeding influenced the lipid metabolism and serum enzyme levels. The highest relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae was found in ceca of birds fed CP2 (P < 0.05). In the cloaca, BOH300 significantly (P < 0.005) increased the abundances of Acidobacteria and Lactobacillaceae. Actinobacteria showed a significant (P < 0.05) negative correlation with feed intake (FI) and FE in COH300-treated birds, whereas Proteobacteria positively correlated with the BW but negatively correlated with FI and FE, during the growing phase. In the spleen, cranberry products did not induce the release of any pro-inflammatory cytokines but upregulated the expression of several Das et al. Cranberry and Blueberry in Broiler genes (IL4, IL5, CSF2, and HMBS) involved in adaptive immune responses in broilers. This study demonstrated that feed supplementation with berry products could promote the intestinal health by modulating the dynamics of the gut microbiota while influencing the metabolism in broilers.

The mechanisms of cellular absorption and transport underlying the differences between flavonoid aglycones and glycosides and the effect of the structural feature are not well established. In this study, aglycone, mono-, and diglycosides of quercetin and cyanidin were selected to examine the effects of the structural feature on the bioavailability of flavonoids using hexose transporters SGLT1 and GLUT2 in a Caco-2 BBe1 cell model. Cellular uptake and transport of all glycosides were significantly different. The glycosides also significantly inhibited cellular uptake of d-glucose, indicating the involvement of the two hexose transporters SGLT1 and GLUT2 in the absorption, and the potential of the glycosides in lowering the blood glucose level. The in silico prediction model also supported these observations. The absorption of glycosides, especially diglycosides but not the aglycones, was significantly blocked by SGLT1 and GLUT2 inhibitors (phloridzin and phloretin) and further validated in SGLT1 knockdown Caco-2 BBe1 cells.

Carotenoids are essential components in the human diet due to their positive functions in ocular and cognitive health. This study investigated composition of carotenoids in hairless canary seed (HCS) as a novel food and the effect of baking on carotenoids in bread and muffin made from HCS, wheat and corn. Three bread formulations made from wheat and HCS blends were evaluated and compared with control wheat bread. In addition, three low-fat muffin recipes prepared from HCS alone or in blends with corn were assessed. The fate of carotenoid compounds in breads and muffins was monitored after dry mixing, dough/batter formation and oven baking. Carotenoids in products were quantified using UPLC and their identification was confirmed based on LC-MS/MS. Hairless canary seed and corn were fairly rich in carotenoids with a total content of 7.6 and 12.9 µg/g, respectively, compared with wheat (1.3 µg/g). Nineteen carotenoid compounds were identified, with all-trans lutein being the principal carotenoid in HCS followed by lutein 3-O-linoleate, lutein 3-O-oleate and lutein di-linoleate. There were significant reductions in carotenoids in muffin and bread products. It appears that batter or dough preparation causes more reductions in carotenoids than oven baking, probably due to enzymatic oxidation and degradation. Muffin-making resulted in lower lutein reductions compared with the bread-making process. The results suggest that muffins made from hairless canary seed alone or in blends with corn could boost the daily intake of lutein and/or zeaxanthin.