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Green tea and its bioactive components, especially polyphenols, possess many health-promoting and disease-preventing benefits, especially anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and metabolic modulation effects with multi-target modes of action. However, the effect of tea polyphenols on immune function has not been well studied. Moreover, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating immunoregulation are not well understood. This review summarizes the recent studies on the immune-potentiating effects and corresponding mechanisms of tea polyphenols, especially the main components of (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and (–)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG). In addition, the benefits towards immune-related diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, cutaneous-related immune diseases, and obesity-related immune diseases, have been discussed.

Understanding how elemental abundances evolve during solar flares helps shed light on the mass and energy transfer between different solar atmospheric layers. However, prior studies have mostly concentrated on averaged abundances or specific flare phases, leaving a gap in exploring the comprehensive observations throughout the entire flare process. Consequently, investigations into this area are relatively scarce. Exploiting the Solar X-Ray Monitor data obtained from the Chang’E-2 lunar orbiter, we present two comprehensive soft X-ray spectroscopic observations of flares in active regions, AR 11149 and 11158, demonstrating elemental abundance evolutions under different conditions. Our findings unveil the inverse first ionization potential (IFIP) effect during flares for Fe for the first time, and reaffirm its existence for Si. Additionally, we observed a rare depletion of elemental abundances, marking the second IFIP effect in flare decay phases. Our study offers a CSHKP model-based interpretation to elucidate the formation of both the FIP and IFIP effects in flare dynamics, with the inertia effect being incorporated into the ponderomotive force fractionation model.

Gardenia jasminoides, grown in multiple regions in China, was commonly used as a natural yellow dye but has been one of the popular traditional Chinese medicines since the discovery of its biological property a few decades ago. It has been reported that G. jasminoides possess multiple biological activities, such as antioxidant properties, hypoglycemic effect, inhibition of inflammation, antidepression activity, and improved sleeping quality. In this review, our aim was to have a comprehensive summary of its phytochemistry including the extraction, isolation, and characterization of volatiles and bioactive molecules in G. jasminoides, focusing on the two major phytochemicals, genipin and crocin, which possess potent medicinal properties. Furthermore, this study attempted to establish a structure–activity relationship between the two major series of molecules with two pharmcophores and their biological activities, which would serve further exploration of the properties of phytocompounds in G. jasminoides as potential functional foods and medicines. [Display omitted] •Complete list of phytochemicals in Gardenia jasminoides.•Thorough review of isolation methods of compounds in G. jasminoides.•Comprehensive review of biological property of G. jasminoides compounds.•Major review of genipin, geniposide, gardenoside, and crocin in their chemistry and biology.

Momordica charantia L., a member of the Curcubitaceae family, has traditionally been used as herbal medicine and as a vegetable. Functional ingredients of M. charantia play important roles in body health and human nutrition, which can be used directly or indirectly in treating or preventing hyperglycemia-related chronic diseases in humans. The hypoglycemic effects of M. charantia have been known for years. In this paper, the research progress of M. charantia phytobioactives and their hypoglycemic effects and related mechanisms, especially relating to diabetes mellitus, has been reviewed. Moreover, the clinical application of M. charantia in treating diabetes mellitus is also discussed, hoping to broaden the application of M. charantia as functional food.

Flavor is one of the most important factors in attracting consumers and maximizing food quality, and the Maillard reaction (MR) is highly-involved in flavor formation. However, Maillard reaction products have a big drawback in their relatively low stability in thermal treatment and storage. Amadori rearrangement products (ARPs), MR intermediates, can alternatively act as potential flavor additives for their better stability and fresh flavor formation ability. This review aims to elucidate key aspects of ARPs’ future application as flavorings. The development of current analytical technologies enables the precise characterization of ARPs, while advanced preparation methods such as synthesis, separation and drying processes can increase the yield of ARPs to up to 95%. The stability of ARPs is influenced by their chemical nature, pH value, temperature, water activity and food matrix. ARPs are associated with umami and kokumi taste enhancing effects, and the flavor formation is related to amino acids/peptides of the ARPs. Peptide-ARPs can generate peptide-specific flavors, such as: 1,6-dimethy-2(1H)-pyrazinone, 1,5-dimethy-2(1H)-pyrazinone, and 1,5,6-trimethy-2(1H)-pyrazinone. However, further research on systematic stability and toxicology are needed.

Stilbenes are a class of polyphenolic compounds, naturally found in a wide variety of dietary sources such as grapes, berries, peanuts, red wine, and some medicinal plants. There are several well-known stilbenes including trans-resveratrol, pterostilbene, and 3′-hydroxypterostilbene. The core chemical structure of stilbene compounds is 1,2-diphenylethylene. Recently, stilbenes have attracted extensive attention and interest due to their wide range of health-beneficial effects such as anti-inflammation, -carcinogenic, -diabetes, and -dyslipidemia activities. Moreover, accumulating in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that stilbene compounds act as inducers of multiple cell-death pathways such as apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and autophagy for chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents in several types of cancer cells. The aim of this review is to highlight recent molecular findings and biological actions of trans-resveratrol, pterostilbene, and 3′-hydroxypterostilbene. [Display omitted]

Metabolic disorders are closely associated with the dysregulation of circadian rhythms. Many bioactive components with lipid metabolism-regulating effects have been reported to function through circadian clock-related mechanisms. As the main pungent principle of black pepper, piperine (PIP) has been demonstrated to possess anti-obesity bioactivity by affecting hepatic lipid metabolism-related factors. However, whether the circadian clock genes Bmal1 and Clock are involved in the protective effect of PIP against lipid metabolism disorders remains unknown. In this work, oleic acid (OA) induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. The effect of PIP on redox status, mitochondrial functions, and circadian rhythms of core clock genes were evaluated. Results revealed that PIP alleviated circadian desynchrony, ROS overproduction, and mitochondrial dysfunction. A mechanism study showed that PIP could activate the SREBP-1c/PPARγ and AMPK/AKT-mTOR signaling pathways in a Bmal1/Clock-dependent manner in HepG2 cells. These results indicated that Bmal1 and Clock played important roles in the regulating effect of PIP on hepatic lipid homeostasis.

Background Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging viral pathogen that causes severe morbidity and mortality. Up to date, there is no approved or licensed vaccine or antiviral medicines can be used to treat MERS-CoV-infected patients. Here, we analyzed the antiviral activities of resveratrol, a natural compound found in grape seeds and skin and in red wine, against MERS-CoV infection. Methods We performed MTT and neutral red uptake assays to assess the survival rates of MERS-infected Vero E6 cells. In addition, quantitative PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescent assays determined the intracellular viral RNA and protein expression. For viral productivity, we utilized plaque assays to confirm the antiviral properties of resveratrol against MERS-CoV. Results Resveratrol significantly inhibited MERS-CoV infection and prolonged cellular survival after virus infection. We also found that the expression of nucleocapsid (N) protein essential for MERS-CoV replication was decreased after resveratrol treatment. Furthermore, resveratrol down-regulated the apoptosis induced by MERS-CoV in vitro . By consecutive administration of resveratrol, we were able to reduce the concentration of resveratrol while achieving inhibitory effectiveness against MERS-CoV. Conclusion In this study, we first demonstrated that resveratrol is a potent anti-MERS agent in vitro . We perceive that resveratrol can be a potential antiviral agent against MERS-CoV infection in the near future.

Marine polyphenols, including eckol(EK), dieckol(DK), and 8,8’-bieckol(BK), have attracted attention as bioactive ingredients for preventing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Since AD is a multifactorial disorder, the present study aims to provide an unbiased elucidation of unexplored targets of AD mechanisms and a systematic prediction of effective preventive combinations of marine polyphenols. Based on the omics data between each compound and AD, a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to predict potential hub genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed to provide further biological insights. In the PPI network of the top 10 hub genes, AKT1, SRC, EGFR, and ESR1 were common targets of EK and BK, whereas PTGS2 was a common target of DK and BK. GO and KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the overlapped genes between each compound and AD were mainly enriched in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, the MAPK pathway, and the Rap1 and Ras pathways. Finally, docking validation showed stable binding between marine polyphenols and their top hub gene via the lowest binding energy and multiple interactions. The results expanded potential mechanisms and novel targets for AD, and also provided a system-level insight into the molecular targets of marine polyphenols against AD.

Tea polysaccharides (TPSs) are one of the main bioactive constituents of tea with various biological activities such as hypoglycemic effect, antioxidant, antitumor, and immunomodulatory. The bioactivities of TPSs are directly associated with their structures such as chemical composition, molecular weight, glycosidic linkages, and conformation among others. To study the relationship between the structures of TPSs and their bioactivities, it is essential to elucidate the structure of TPSs, particularly the fine structures. Due to the vast variation nature of monosaccharide units and their connections, the structure of TPSs is extremely complex, which is also affected by several major factors including tea species, processing technologies of tea and isolation methods of TPSs. As a result of the complexity, there are few studies on their fine structures and chain conformation. In the present review, we aim to provide a detailed summary of the multiple factors influencing the characteristics of TPS chemical structures such as variations of tea species, degree of fermentation, and preparation methods among others as well as their applications. The main aspects of understanding the structural difference of TPSs and influencing factors are to assist the study of the structure and bioactivity relationship and ultimately, to control the production of the targeted TPSs with the most desired biological activity.