The study offers methods and models for elucidating healthspan promotion and mechanism, valuable for studies of other naturally active compounds.

Chinese chive usually becomes decayed after a short storage time, which was closely observed with the redox imbalance. To cope with this practical problem, in this report, molecular hydrogen (H2) was used to evaluate its influence in maintaining storage quality of Chinese chive, and the changes in antioxidant capacity were also analyzed. Chives were treated with 1%, 2%, or 3% H2, and with air as the control, and then were stored at 4 ± 1 °C. We observed that, compared with other treatment groups, the application of 3% H2 could significantly prolong the shelf life of Chinese chive, which was also confirmed by the obvious mitigation of decreased decay index, the loss ratio of weight, and the reduction in soluble protein content. Meanwhile, the decreasing tendency in total phenolic, flavonoid, and vitamin C contents was obviously impaired or slowed down by H2. Results of antioxidant capacity revealed that the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was differentially alleviated, which positively matched with 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and the improved activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Above results clearly suggest that postharvest molecular hydrogen application might be a potential useful approach to improve the storage quality of Chinese chive, which is partially achieved through the alleviation of oxidative damage happening during the storage periods. These findings also provide potential theoretical and practical significance for transportation and consumption of perishable vegetables.

Obesity is a global epidemic. The polysaccharide extract from Cyclocarya paliurus have good performance in safely alleviating the fat accumulation of C. elegans, which is expected to be developed into an effective natural anti-obesity product.

No abstract

CGA-N9, a peptide derived from human chromogranin A (CGA), was found to have antimicrobial activity in our previous investigation, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Herein, the mechanism of action of CGA-N9 was investigated. We found that CGA-N9 induced the depolarization of the cell membrane and uptake of calcium ions into the cytosol and mitochondria. With the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential, the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased. Accordingly, we assessed apoptotic processes in Candida tropicalis cells post-treatment with CGA-N9 and found cytochrome c leakage, chromatin condensation and DNA degradation. The interaction of CGA-N9 with DNA in vitro showed that CGA-N9 did not degrade DNA but bound to DNA via an electrostatic interaction. In conclusion, CGA-N9 exhibits antifungal activity by inducing apoptosis in C. tropicalis.