The effect of passion fruit, the fruit of Passiflora edulis , on melanin inhibition and collagen synthesis was studied using cultured human melanoma and fibroblast cells. Passion fruit was divided into three parts, rind (PF-R), pulp (PF-P), and seed (PF-S), and each part was extracted using 80% ethanol. The concentration of polyphenols was higher in PF-S than in PF-R or PF-P. Treatment of melanoma cells with PF-S led to inhibition of melanogenesis. In addition, the production of total soluble collagen was elevated in dermal fibroblast cells cultured in the presence of PF-S. PF-R and PF-P did not yield these effects. Furthermore, the removal of polyphenols from PF-S led to the abolishment of the effects described above. We discovered that piceatannol (3,4,3',5'-tetrahydroxy-trans-stilbene) is present in passion fruit seeds in large amounts and that this compound is the major component responsible for the PF-S effects observed on melanogenesis and collagen synthesis.
The genus Passiflora L. is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. The major species, Passiflora edulis Sims, is known as ‘passion fruit’ and is widely used in processed foods as well as eaten raw. P. edulis fruits are eaten for their pulp together with the seeds; however, the seeds are often discarded when used in processed foods. P. edulis seeds contain a variety of nutrients and functional components, and their industrial use is desirable from the perspective of waste reduction. Previous studies have analyzed the constituents of P. edulis and their physiological functions. P. edulis seeds contain various types of polyphenols, especially those rich in stilbenes (e.g., piceatannol). P. edulis seed extracts and isolated compounds from seeds have been reported to exhibit various physiological functions, such as antioxidant effects, improvement of skin condition, fat-burning promotion effects, and hypoglycemic effects. This review summarizes the nutritional characteristics, polyphenol content, and physiological functions of P. edulis seeds.
Abstract:In previous studies we found that anionic surfactants such as sodium laurate (SL) and/or sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) exert actions on epidermal keratinocytes rather than mast cells to give rise of histamine production and skin itching through increasing the expression of the 53-kDa active form of L-histidine decarboxylase (HDC). In addition, with treatment of SL in a three-dimensional human keratinocyte culture, increases in both the 53-kDa HDC and histamine production are detected and thus this culture assay is applied to screen anti-itching materials from natural resources. In this study, the inhibitory activity of "Kin-gin-ka" (flower buds of Lonicera japonica Thunb., FLJ) against histamine production and expression of the active form of HDC were examined in this culture assay. FLJ is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, being used to treat fevers, coughs and some infectious diseases. The result showed both FLJ and chlorogenic acid had inhibitory activities against the expression of 53-kDa HDC and histamine production. However, chlorogenic acid showed a weaker effect on histamine production than that of FLJ, suggesting that other chemical constituents besides chlorogenic acid could contribute to the inhibitory activities. Thus, a further chemical study of FLJ is now under investigation.
Sucrose fatty acid esters (SFAE) were adsorbed onto dry-heated (120 °C for 10, 20, 40, 60, and 120 min) wheat starch granules and extracted with ethyl ether in a Soxhlet apparatus without gelatinization of the starch granules. The amount of sucrose in the extracted SFAE was determined by the phenol sulfate method. A gradual increase of the sucrose from 159 to 712 μg, in SFAE per gram of starch, occurred with increasing dry-heating time and demonstrated the increased hydrophobicity of the starch granules. Increase of the SFAE was highly correlated (r = 0.9816) to increase of the oil-binding capacity of the dry-heated wheat starch granules. Non-waxy rice, waxy rice, sweet potato, and potato starch granules also showed higher hydrophobicity after dry-heating by this method.
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