Increased consumption of whole grains has been associated with reduced risk of developing major chronic diseases. These health benefits have been attributed in part to their unique phytochemicals. Previous studies on black rice mainly focused on anthocyanins. Little is known about the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities of different black rice varieties. The objective of this study was to determine the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activity of rice bran samples from 12 diverse varieties of black rice. The free, bound, and total phenolic contents of black rice bran samples ranged from 2086 to 7043, from 221.2 to 382.7, and from 2365 to 7367 mg of gallic acid equiv/100 g of dry weight (DW), respectively. The percentage contribution of free phenolics to the total ranged from 88.2 to 95.6%. The average values of free, bound, and total phenolic contents of black rice bran were 8, 1.5, and 6 times higher than those of white rice bran, respectively (p < 0.05). The free, bound, and total flavonoid contents of black rice bran samples ranged from 3462 to 12061, from 126.7 to 386.9, and from 3596 to 12448 mg of catechin equiv/100 g of DW, respectively. The percentage contribution of free flavonoids to the total ranged from 96.3 to 97.6%. The average values of free, bound, and total flavonoid contents of black rice bran were 7.4, 1.9, and 6.7 times higher than those of white rice bran, respectively (p < 0.05). The free, bound, and total anthocyanin contents of black rice bran samples ranged from 1227 to 5096, from 4.89 to 8.23, and from 1231 to 5101 mg of cyanidin-3-glucoside equiv/100 g of DW, respectively. The percentage contribution of free anthocyanins to the total ranged from 99.5 to 99.9%. Cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, and peonidin-3-glucoside were detected in black rice bran samples and ranged from 736.6 to 2557, from 22.70 to 96.62, and from 100.7 to 534.2 mg/100 g of DW, respectively. The free, bound, and total antioxidant activities of black rice bran samples ranged from 476.9 to 180, from 47.91 to 79.48, and from 537.5 to 1876 mumol of Trolox equiv/g of DW, respectively. The percentage contribution of free antioxidant activity to the total ranged from 88.7 to 96.0%. The average values of free, bound, and total antioxidant activity of black rice bran were more than 8, 1.5, and 6 times higher than those of white rice bran, respectively (p < 0.05). The total antioxidant activity of black rice bran was correlated to the content of total phenolics, total flavonoids, and total anthocyanins and also was significantly correlated to the contents of cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutinoside, and peonidin-3-glucoside. These results indicate that there are significant differences in phytochemical content and antioxidant activity among the different black rice varieties. Black rice bran has higher content of phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins and has higher antioxidant activity when compared to white rice bran. Interestingly, the phenolics, flavonoids, and anthocyanins of black rice...

Phenolics in black soybean seed coat (BSSC) are considered to be responsible for the health benefits of black soybean. BSSCs of 60 Chinese varieties were examined for phenolic contents, anthocyanin profiles, and antioxidant activity. Total phenolic and condensed tannin contents ranged from 512.2 to 6057.9 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g and from 137.2 to 1741.1 mg (+)-catechin equivalents/100 g, respectively. Six anthocyanins (delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-galactoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside, and malvidin-3-glucoside) were detected by HPLC. Total anthocyanin contents (TAC) were from 98.8 to 2132.5 mg/100 g, and cyanidin-3-glucoside was the most abundant anthocyanin in all varieties, with a distribution of 48.8-94.1% of TAC. Antioxidant properties detected by DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC methods all showed wide variations ranging from 4.8 to 65.3 μg/100 mL (expressed as EC(50)), from 17.5 to 105.8 units/g, and from 42.5 to 1834.6 μmol Trolox equivalent/g, respectively. Sixty varieties were classified into four groups by hierarchical clustering analysis, and group 4 consisting of nine varieties had the highest phytochemicals content and antioxidant activity.

Three polysaccharide-protein complexes of longan pulp (LP1-3) were isolated in this work. Their physicochemical characteristics and immunomodulatory effects on splenocytes, natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages in vitro were investigated. The carbohydrate portions of LP1-3 were principally composed of glucose, arabinose and mannose. LP3 displayed the maximal moisture absorption, and the thermal stability of LP2 was obviously higher than that of LP1 and LP3. All of them showed the characteristic polysaccharide and protein bands in the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum. For a certain dose, all the fractions could significantly stimulate splenocyte proliferation, macrophage phagocytosis against neutral red, and NK cell cytotoxicity against YAC-1 lymphoma cell (P < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the polysaccharide-protein complexes of longan pulp have medical potential as immunotherapeutic adjuvants due to their immunomodulatory activities.

An abundant increase in infl ammatory factors leads to acute infl ammatory diseases, such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) ( 1 ). C-reactive protein (CRP), the prototypic marker of infl ammation, is one of the strongest predictors of cardiovascular events ( 2 ). Recent studies have demonstrated that CRP is present in atherosclerotic plaques and plays a pivotal role in promoting atherogenesis by regulating the expression and release of infl ammatory cytokines ( 3-5 ).Lectin-like oxidized low density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1), a type II membrane glycoprotein acting as a receptor for oxidized low-density lipoprotein, mediates vascular dysfunction ( 3 ). LOX-1 is expressed on the cell surface and can be proteolytically cleaved at its extracellular domain and released as a soluble form (sLOX-1) ( 6 ). sLOX-1 level refl ects increased oxidative stress of vascular walls and has been identifi ed as a novel marker for early diagnosis of ACS ( 7,8 ). However, the exact mechanisms of sLOX-1 release from the cell membrane are poorly understood.Tumor necrosis factor-a converting enzyme (TACE), a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, mediates the release of growth factors, receptors, and adhesion molecules ( 9 ). TACE is synthesized in a latent form and activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) before reaching the cell membrane ( 10, 11 ). Studies report that CRP can upregulate ROS production by activating NAPDH Abstract Circulating levels of soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (sLOX-1) play an important role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that the infl ammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) might stimulate sLOX-1 release by activating tumor necrosis factor-␣ converting enzyme (TACE). Macrophages differentiated from THP-1 cells were stimulated with TNF-␣ and further treated with CRP in the absence or presence of specifi c inhibitors or small interfering RNA (siRNA). Our results showed that CRP increased sLOX-1 release from activated macrophages in a dosedependent manner and that these effects were regulated by China (No. 60831003), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30700301, 30971096, 30972809, and 81000126 Abbreviations: ACS, acute coronary syndrome; Apo, apocynin; CRP, C-reactive protein; DCF-DA, 2 ′ ,7 ′ -dichlorodihydrofl uorescein diacetate; Fc g R, Fc gamma receptor; IL, interleukin; LOX-1, lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1; NAC, N-acetylcysteine; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell; PMSF, phenylmethyl sulfonylfl uoride; ROS, reactive oxygen species; siRNA, small interfering RNA; TACE, tumor necrosis factor-a converting enzyme; TAPI-1, tumor necrosis factor-a protease inhibitor 1; TNF-a , tumor necrosis factor-a . 1 X. Q. Zhao and M. W. Zhang contributed equally to this work.