In the present study, we evaluated the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects of an aqueous extract of wolfberry fruit (WBE) in mild hypercholesterolemic and overweight subjects. This study was a double-blind randomized trial of two parallel groups of free-living subjects (n = 53). The participants consumed the contents of an 80 mL pouch containing 13.5 g WBE or placebo after one meal per day over an 8-week period. Following 8 weeks of WBE supplementation, we observed a slight but significant decrease in erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activity and an increase in catalase activity. Furthermore, to assess endogenous DNA damage in lymphocytes, the alkaline comet assay was performed, showing that the percentage of DNA in the tail was significantly decreased by 8-week WBE intake. Additionally, the proportion of significantly deregulated mRNAs related to oxidative or inflammatory stress was considerably higher in the WBE intake group. The present data indicate that WBE intake has antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects in overweight and hypercholesterolemic subjects by modulating mRNA expression.

Abstract:In this study, we investigated the clinical changes induced by a high fat diet (HFD) and caffeine consumption in a rat model. The mean body weight of the HFD with caffeine (HFDC)-fed rat was decreased compared to that of the HFD-fed rat without caffeine. The levels of cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), and free fatty acid, as well as the size of adipose tissue altered by HFD, were improved by caffeine consumption. To investigate the metabolites that affected the change of the clinical factors, the urine and serum of rats fed a normal diet (ND), HFD, and HFDC were analyzed using ultra performance liquid chromatography quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), gas chromatography (GC-TOF-MS), and linear trap quadruple mass spectrometry (LTQ-XL-MS) combined with multivariate analysis. A total of 68 and 52 metabolites were found to be different in urine and serum, respectively. After being fed caffeine, some glucuronide-conjugated compounds, lysoPCs, CEs, DGs, TGs, taurine, and hippuric acid were altered compared to the HFD group. In this study, caffeine might potentially inhibit OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2015, 20 3108 HFD-induced obesity and we suggest possible biomarker candidates using MS-based metabolite profiling.

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Abstract:The study was aimed at exploring the curative effects of Rubus coreanus (RC) vinegar against postmenopausal osteoporosis by using ovariectomized rats as a model. The investigations were performed in five groups: sham, ovariectomized (OVX) rats without treatment, low-dose RC vinegar (LRV)-treated OVX rats, high-dose RC vinegar (HRV)-treated OVX rats and alendronate (ALEN)-treated OVX rats. The efficacy of RC vinegar was evaluated using physical, biochemical, histological and metabolomic parameters. Compared to the OVX rats, the LRV and HRV groups showed positive effects on the aforementioned parameters, indicating estrogen regulation. Plasma metabolome analysis of the groups using gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-TOF-MS (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) with multivariate analysis revealed 19 and 16 metabolites, respectively. Notably, the levels of butyric acid, phenylalanine, glucose, tryptophan and some lysophosphatidylcholines were marginally increased in RC vinegar-treated groups compared to OVX. However, the pattern of metabolite levels in RC vinegar-treated groups was found similar to ALEN, but differed significantly from that in sham group. The results highlight the prophylactic and curative potential of dietary vinegar against postmenopausal osteoporosis. RC vinegar could be an effective natural alternative for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Ultrahigh pressure (UHP) treatments are non-thermal processing methods that have customarily been employed to enhance the quality and productivity of plant consumables. We aimed to evaluate the effects of UHP treatments on ginseng samples (white ginseng: WG; UHP-treated WG: UWG; red ginseng: RG; UHP-treated RG: URG; ginseng berries: GB; and UHP-treated GB: UGB) using metabolite profiling based on ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-linear trap quadrupole-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-IT-MS/MS) and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS). Multivariate data analyses revealed a clear demarcation among the GB and UGB samples, and the phenotypic evaluations correlated the highest antioxidant activities and the total phenolic and flavonoid compositions with the UGB samples. Overall, eight amino acids, seven organic acids, seven sugars and sugar derivatives, two fatty acids, three notoginsenosides, three malonylginsenosides, and three ginsenosides, were identified as significantly discriminant metabolites between the GB and UGB samples, with relatively higher proportions in the latter. Ideally, these metabolites can be used as quality biomarkers for the assessment of ginseng products and our results indicate that UHP treatment likely led to an elevation in the proportions of total extractable metabolites in ginseng samples.