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Discovery and Establishing Health-Beneficial Effects of Bioactive Compounds in Food

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 26515

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing, China
Interests: functional foods; bioactive compounds; nutritional properties; probiotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Co-Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: fruit and vegetable; bioactive components; non-thermal processing

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Co-Guest Editor
School of Food and Health, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
Interests: food nutrition; functional foods; whole grain cereals; health effects; bioactive components of natrual resources; comprehensive utiliztion of agrofood industry coproducts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Interests: enzyme; antibacterial peptide; bio-preservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Foods are complicated materials that contain nutrient substances and functional/bioactive compounds, for instance, flavones, pigments, polyphenols, polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, antioxidants, and enzymes. Foods could produce tons of bioactive compounds during digestion, and all these functional/bioactive compounds play critical roles in human health, even in some diseases. Therefore, the efficient discovery of such functional/bioactive compounds becomes significant, especially high-throughput discovery or screening. Because of the rapid development of information science and technology and omics (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, flavor omics, etc.), high-throughput techniques and virtual prediction technology greatly promote the efficient discovery and innovation of functional/bioactive compounds in foods. In addition, the establishment of the health effects of these bioactive compounds in food are active areas of scientific inquiry. There are exciting prospects that some bioactive compounds will reduce the risk of many diseases, including chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recent findings have established that cardiovascular disease is a disease of inflammation, and consequently is amenable to intervention via molecules that have anti-inflammatory effects.

Thus, the present Special Issue will focus on discovery and establishing health-beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in food in terms of new techniques for the screening, prediction, and design of functional/bioactive compounds in foods through high-throughput methods, virtual strategies, etc., as well as the establishment of novel techniques in the methodologies of bioactivities in vitro or in vivo and the illustration of the molecular mechanism to increase our understanding of the biology of bioactive compounds. The discovery of novel health effects of bioactive compounds will provide a scientific basis for future efforts to use biotechnology to modify or fortify foods and their components as a means to improve public health.

Prof. Dr. Yingjian Lu
Prof. Dr. Xiaojun Liao
Prof. Dr. Jing Wang
Prof. Dr. Zhaoxin Lu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • functional foods
  • omics in foods
  • gut microbiota
  • food enzymes
  • fruit and vegetable processing
  • probiotics
  • bioactive peptides
  • whole-grain
  • nutritional properties

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2183 KiB  
Article
Screening of Sourdough Starter Strains and Improvements in the Quality of Whole Wheat Steamed Bread
by Juan Shen, Kexin Shi, Hua Dong, Kesheng Yang, Zhaoxin Lu, Fengxia Lu and Pei Wang
Molecules 2022, 27(11), 3510; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27113510 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1973
Abstract
In this study, yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria were isolated from traditional Chinese sourdough to enhance the organoleptic quality of whole wheat steamed bread. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Acetobacter pasteurianum showed superior fermentability and acid production [...] Read more.
In this study, yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and acetic acid bacteria were isolated from traditional Chinese sourdough to enhance the organoleptic quality of whole wheat steamed bread. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Acetobacter pasteurianum showed superior fermentability and acid production capacity when compared with other strains from sourdough, which were mixed to produce the compound starter. It was found that the volume of whole wheat steamed bread leavened with compound starter increased by 12.8% when compared with that of the whole wheat steamed bread made by commercial dry yeast (DY-WB). A total of 38 volatile flavors were detected in the whole wheat steamed bread fermented by the compound starter (CS-WB), and the type of volatile flavors increased by 14 species when compared to the bread fermented by the dry yeast. In addition, some unique volatile flavor substances were detected in CS-WB, such as acetoin, 3-hydroxy-butanal, butyraldehyde, cuparene, etc. Moreover, the hardness and the chewiness of CS-WB decreased by 31.1 and 33.7% when compared with DY-WB, respectively, while the springiness increased by 10.8%. Overall, the formulated compound starter showed a desirable improvement in the whole wheat steamed bread and could be exploited as a new ingredient for steamed bread. Full article
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13 pages, 1707 KiB  
Article
Exogenous Glutathione Protects IPEC-J2 Cells against Oxidative Stress through a Mitochondrial Mechanism
by Qiuyu Chen, Miao Yu, Zhimei Tian, Yiyan Cui, Dun Deng, Ting Rong, Zhichang Liu, Min Song, Zhenming Li, Xianyong Ma and Huijie Lu
Molecules 2022, 27(8), 2416; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27082416 - 08 Apr 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1689
Abstract
The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggers oxidative stress in cells by oxidizing and modifying various cellular components, preventing them from performing their inherent functions, ultimately leading to apoptosis and autophagy. Glutathione (GSH) is a ubiquitous intracellular peptide with multiple functions. In [...] Read more.
The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggers oxidative stress in cells by oxidizing and modifying various cellular components, preventing them from performing their inherent functions, ultimately leading to apoptosis and autophagy. Glutathione (GSH) is a ubiquitous intracellular peptide with multiple functions. In this study, a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage model in IPEC-J2 cells was used to investigate the cellular protection mechanism of exogenous GSH against oxidative stress. The results showed that GSH supplement improved the cell viability reduced by H2O2-induced oxidative damage model in IPEC-J2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, supplement with GSH also attenuated the H2O2-induced MMP loss, and effectively decreased the H2O2-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by increasing the content of mtDNA and upregulating the expression TFAM. Exogenous GSH treatment significantly decreased the ROS and MDA levels, improved SOD activity in H2O2-treated cells and reduced H2O2-induced early apoptosis in IPEC-J2 cells. This study showed that exogenous GSH can protect IPEC-J2 cells against apoptosis induced by oxidative stress through mitochondrial mechanisms. Full article
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11 pages, 1340 KiB  
Article
Optimal Secretory Expression of Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase from Issatchenkia terricola in Bacillus subtilis through a Combined Strategy
by Jing Lu, Yu Zhao, Yu Cheng, Rong Hu, Yaowei Fang, MingSheng Lyu, Shujun Wang and Zhaoxin Lu
Molecules 2022, 27(3), 747; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27030747 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2703
Abstract
Acetaldehyde dehydrogenases are potential enzyme preparations that can be used to detoxify acetaldehyde and other exogenous aldehydes from pharmaceuticals, food, and biofuel production. In this study, we enhanced the expression of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase sourced from Issatchenkia terricola (istALDH) in Bacillus subtilis using a [...] Read more.
Acetaldehyde dehydrogenases are potential enzyme preparations that can be used to detoxify acetaldehyde and other exogenous aldehydes from pharmaceuticals, food, and biofuel production. In this study, we enhanced the expression of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase sourced from Issatchenkia terricola (istALDH) in Bacillus subtilis using a combinatorial strategy for the optimization of signal peptides, promoters, and growth conditions. First, a library of various signal peptides was constructed to identify the optimal signal peptides for efficient istALDH secretion. The signal peptide yqzG achieved the highest extracellular istALDH activity (204.85 ± 3.31 U/mL). Second, the aprE promoter was replaced by a constitutive promoter (i.e., P43) and an inducible promoter (i.e., Pglv), resulting in 12.40% and 19.97% enhanced istALDH, respectively. Furthermore, the tandem promoter P43-Pglv provided a better performance, resulting in 30.96% enhanced istALDH activity. Third, the production of istALDH was optimized by testing one factor at a time. Physical parameters were optimized including the inducer (e.g., maltose) concentrations, incubation temperatures, and inoculation amounts, and the results were 2.0%, 35 C, and 2.0%, respectively. The optimized medium results were 2.0% glucose, 1.5% peptone, 2.5% yeast extract, 1% NaCl, and 0.5% (NH4)2SO4. The extracellular istALDH activity was 331.19 ± 4.19 U/mL, yielding the highest production reported in the literature to date. Full article
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12 pages, 2264 KiB  
Article
Iturin A Induces Resistance and Improves the Quality and Safety of Harvested Cherry Tomato
by Mengxi Jiang, Xinyi Pang, Huawei Liu, Fuxing Lin, Fengxia Lu, Xiaomei Bie, Zhaoxin Lu and Yingjian Lu
Molecules 2021, 26(22), 6905; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26226905 - 16 Nov 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2069
Abstract
The soft rot disease caused by Rhizopus stolonifer is an important disease in cherry tomato fruit. In this study, the effect of iturin A on soft rot of cherry tomato and its influence on the storage quality of cherry tomato fruit were investigated. [...] Read more.
The soft rot disease caused by Rhizopus stolonifer is an important disease in cherry tomato fruit. In this study, the effect of iturin A on soft rot of cherry tomato and its influence on the storage quality of cherry tomato fruit were investigated. The results showed that 512 μg/mL of iturin A could effectively inhibit the incidence of soft rot of cherry tomato fruit. It was found that iturin A could induce the activity of resistance-related enzymes including phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), glucanase (GLU), and chitinase (CHI), and active oxygen-related enzymes including ascorbate peroxidases (APX), superoxide dismutases (SOD), catalases (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR) of cherry tomato fruit. In addition, iturin A treatment could slow down the weight loss of cherry tomato and soften the fruit. These results indicated that iturin A could retard the decay and improve the quality of cherry tomato fruit by both the inhibition growth of R. stolonifera and the inducing the resistance. Full article
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14 pages, 2387 KiB  
Article
iTRAQ-BASED Proteomic Analysis of the Mechanism of Fructose on Improving Fengycin Biosynthesis in Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens
by Hedong Lu, Ruili Li, Panping Yang, Weibo Luo, Shunxian Chen, Muhammad Bilal, Hai Xu, Chengyuan Gu, Shuai Liu, Yuping Zhao, Chengxin Geng and Li Zhao
Molecules 2021, 26(20), 6309; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26206309 - 19 Oct 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2038
Abstract
Fengycin, as a lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis, displays potent activity against filamentous fungi, including Aspergillus flavus and Soft-rot fungus, which exhibits a wide range of potential applications in food industries, agriculture, and medicine. To better clarify the regulatory mechanism of [...] Read more.
Fengycin, as a lipopeptide produced by Bacillus subtilis, displays potent activity against filamentous fungi, including Aspergillus flavus and Soft-rot fungus, which exhibits a wide range of potential applications in food industries, agriculture, and medicine. To better clarify the regulatory mechanism of fructose on fengycin biosynthesis, the iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis was utilized to investigate the differentially expressed proteins of B. amyloliquefaciens fmb-60 cultivated in ML (without fructose) and MLF (with fructose) medium. The results indicated that a total of 811 proteins, including 248 proteins with differential expression levels (162 which were upregulated (fold > 2) and 86, which were downregulated (fold < 0.5) were detected, and most of the proteins are associated with cellular metabolism, biosynthesis, and biological regulation process. Moreover, the target genes’ relative expression was conducted using quantitative real-time PCR to validate the proteomic analysis results. Based on the results of proteome analysis, the supposed pathways of fructose enhancing fengycin biosynthesis in B. amyloliquefaciens fmb-60 can be summarized as improvement of the metabolic process, including cellular amino acid and amide, fatty acid biosynthesis, peptide and protein, nucleotide and nucleobase-containing compound, drug/toxin, cofactor, and vitamin; reinforcement of peptide/protein translation, modification, biological process, and response to a stimulus. In conclusion, this study represents a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the fructose mechanism on improving fengycin biosynthesis in B. amyloliquefaciens, which will provide a road map to facilitate the potential application of fengycin or its homolog in defending against filamentous fungi. Full article
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17 pages, 2967 KiB  
Article
β-Glucan Extracted from Highland Barley Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in C57BL/6J Mice
by Minjie Chen, Shuhua Tian, Shichao Li, Xinyi Pang, Jing Sun, Xiaoyu Zhu, Fengxia Lv, Zhaoxin Lu and Xiangfei Li
Molecules 2021, 26(19), 5812; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26195812 - 25 Sep 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3407
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which significantly affects human health, has two primary presentations: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). Highland barley is the most common food crop for Tibetans and contains much more β-glucan than any other crop. Highland barley β-glucan (HBBG) can [...] Read more.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which significantly affects human health, has two primary presentations: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). Highland barley is the most common food crop for Tibetans and contains much more β-glucan than any other crop. Highland barley β-glucan (HBBG) can relieve the gastrointestinal dysfunction and promote intestines health. This study aimed to evaluate whether HBBG can relieve UC in mice. A mouse model of UC was established by adding 2% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to drinking water for 1 week. UC was alleviated after the introduction of the HBBG diet, as indicated by reductions in the disease activity index (DAI) score, histopathological damage, and the concentration of colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO), along with an improvement in colonic atrophy. Furthermore, we found that HBBG can increase the relative transcriptional levels of genes encoding ZO-1, claudin-1, occludin, and mucin2 (MUC2), thereby reducing intestinal permeability. Additionally, HBBG maintained the balance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and modulated the structure of the intestinal flora. Full article
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11 pages, 1848 KiB  
Article
Photodynamic Inactivation Using Natural Bioactive Compound Prevents and Disrupts the Biofilm Produced by Staphylococcus saprophyticus
by Wei Yang, Ziyuan Wang, Qing Li, Yating Jia, Shuimiao Song, Zichu Ma, Jie Liu and Jing Wang
Molecules 2021, 26(16), 4713; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26164713 - 04 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1829
Abstract
Staphylococcus saprophyticus, the food-borne bacteria present in dairy products, ready-to-eat food and environmental sources, has been reported with antibiotic resistance, raising concerns about food microbial safety. The antimicrobial resistance of S. saprophyticus requires the development of new strategies. Light- and photosensitizer-based antimicrobial [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus saprophyticus, the food-borne bacteria present in dairy products, ready-to-eat food and environmental sources, has been reported with antibiotic resistance, raising concerns about food microbial safety. The antimicrobial resistance of S. saprophyticus requires the development of new strategies. Light- and photosensitizer-based antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a promising approach to control microbial contamination, whereas there is limited information regarding the effectiveness of PDI on S. saprophyticus biofilm control. In this study, PDI mediated by natural bioactive compound (curcumin) associated with LED was evaluated for its potential to prevent and disrupt S. saprophyticus biofilms. Biofilms were treated with curcumin (50, 100, 200 µM) and LED fluence (4.32 J/cm2, 8.64 J/cm2, 17.28 J/cm2). Control groups included samples treated only with curcumin or light, and samples received neither curcumin nor light. The action was examined on biofilm mass, viability, cellular metabolic activity and cytoplasmic membrane integrity. PDI using curcumin associated with LED exhibited significant antibiofilm activities, inducing biofilm prevention and removal, metabolic inactivation, intracellular membrane damage and cell death. Likewise, scanning electronic microscopy observations demonstrated obvious structural injury and morphological alteration of S. saprophyticus biofilm after PDI application. In conclusion, curcumin is an effective photosensitizer for the photodynamic control of S. saprophyticus biofilm. Full article
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10 pages, 2682 KiB  
Article
Ellagic Acid Suppresses ApoB Secretion and Enhances ApoA-1 Secretion from Human Hepatoma Cells, HepG2
by Ayana Ieda, Maki Wada, Yuuki Moriyasu, Yuuko Okuno, Nobuhiro Zaima and Tatsuya Moriyama
Molecules 2021, 26(13), 3885; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26133885 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1977
Abstract
The effect of ellagic acid (EA), a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound, on the secretion of apolipoproteins from human hepatocytes, HepG2, was investigated. The levels of apoB and apoA-1 secreted in the cell culture medium were determined by sandwich ELISA. EA did not affect [...] Read more.
The effect of ellagic acid (EA), a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound, on the secretion of apolipoproteins from human hepatocytes, HepG2, was investigated. The levels of apoB and apoA-1 secreted in the cell culture medium were determined by sandwich ELISA. EA did not affect cell viability at the tested concentrations (up to 50 µM). EA suppressed the secretion of apoB and enhanced that of apoA-1 from HepG2 cells. However, cellular apoB levels were increased, suggesting that EA inhibited the trafficking of apoB during the process of secretion. In contrast, the increase in the cellular levels of apoA-1 was consistent with its secreted levels. These results indicate that EA inhibits the secretion of apoB from hepatocytes and increases the secretion of apoA-1. Both of these effects are beneficial for lipoprotein metabolism in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. The detailed mechanism underlying these effects of EA on lipoprotein metabolism should be elucidated in the future, but this naturally occurring polyphenolic compound might be antihyperlipidemic. Based on these results, EA is suggested as a candidate food-derived compound for the prevention of hyperlipidemia. Full article
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10 pages, 1365 KiB  
Article
Preharvest UVB Application Increases Glucosinolate Contents and Enhances Postharvest Quality of Broccoli Microgreens
by Yingjian Lu, Wen Dong, Tianbao Yang, Yaguang Luo and Pei Chen
Molecules 2021, 26(11), 3247; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26113247 - 28 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2283
Abstract
Broccoli microgreens have shown potential health benefits due to their high glucosinolate (GL) levels. Previously, we observed that postharvest UVB treatment did not have much effect on increasing GLs in broccoli microgreens. In this study, we investigated the influence of preharvest UVB irradiation [...] Read more.
Broccoli microgreens have shown potential health benefits due to their high glucosinolate (GL) levels. Previously, we observed that postharvest UVB treatment did not have much effect on increasing GLs in broccoli microgreens. In this study, we investigated the influence of preharvest UVB irradiation on GL levels in broccoli microgreens. UHPLC-ESI/ITMS analysis showed that preharvest UVB treatments with UVB 0.09 and 0.27 Wh/m2 significantly increased the glucoraphanin (GLR), glucoerucin (GLE), and total aliphatic GL levels by 13.7 and 16.9%, respectively, in broccoli microgreens when measured on harvest day. The nutritional qualities of UVB-treated microgreens were stable during 21-day storage, with only small changes in their GL levels. Broccoli microgreens treated before harvest with UVB 0.27 Wh/m2 and 10 mM CaCl2 spray maintained their overall quality, and had the lowest tissue electrolyte leakage and off-odor values during the storage. Furthermore, preharvest UVB 0.27 Wh/m2 treatment significantly increased GL biosynthesis genes when evaluated before harvest, and reduced the expression level of myrosinase, a gene responsible for GL breakdown during postharvest storage. Overall, preharvest UVB treatment, together with calcium chloride spray, can increase and maintain health-beneficial compound levels such as GLs and prolong the postharvest quality of broccoli microgreens. Full article
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15 pages, 1649 KiB  
Article
Genome Mining, Heterologous Expression, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of Lipoamides and Amicoumacins from Compost-Associated Bacillus subtilis fmb60
by Jie Yang, Qingzheng Zhu, Feng Xu, Ming Yang, Hechao Du, Xiaoying Bian, Zhaoxin Lu, Yingjian Lu and Fengxia Lu
Molecules 2021, 26(7), 1892; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26071892 - 26 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2268
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis fmb60, which has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, was isolated from plant straw compost. A hybrid NRPS/PKS cluster was screened from the genome. Sixteen secondary metabolites produced by the gene cluster were isolated and identified using LC-HRMS and NMR. Three lipoamides D–F ( [...] Read more.
Bacillus subtilis fmb60, which has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, was isolated from plant straw compost. A hybrid NRPS/PKS cluster was screened from the genome. Sixteen secondary metabolites produced by the gene cluster were isolated and identified using LC-HRMS and NMR. Three lipoamides D–F (13) and two amicoumacin derivatives, amicoumacins D, E (4, 5), were identified, and are reported here for the first time. Lipoamides D–F exhibited strong antibacterial activities against harmful foodborne bacteria, with the MIC ranging from 6.25 to 25 µg/mL. Amicoumacin E scavenged 38.8% of ABTS+ radicals at 1 mg/mL. Direct cloning and heterologous expression of the NRPS/PKS and ace gene cluster identified its importance for the biosynthesis of amicoumacins. This study demonstrated that there is a high potential for biocontrol utilization of B. subtilis fmb60, and genome mining for clusters of secondary metabolites of B. subtilis fmb60 has revealed a greater biosynthetic potential for the production of novel natural products than previously anticipated. Full article
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Review

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 1036 KiB  
Review
Plant Polysaccharides Modulate Immune Function via the Gut Microbiome and May Have Potential in COVID-19 Therapy
by Mengsheng Tang, Lu Cheng, Yanan Liu, Zufang Wu, Xin Zhang and Songmei Luo
Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2773; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27092773 - 26 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3009
Abstract
Plant polysaccharides can increase the number and variety of beneficial bacteria in the gut and produce a variety of active substances, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Gut microbes and their specific metabolites have the effects of promoting anti-inflammatory activity, enhancing the intestinal barrier, [...] Read more.
Plant polysaccharides can increase the number and variety of beneficial bacteria in the gut and produce a variety of active substances, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Gut microbes and their specific metabolites have the effects of promoting anti-inflammatory activity, enhancing the intestinal barrier, and activating and regulating immune cells, which are beneficial for improving immunity. A strong immune system reduces inflammation caused by external viruses and other pathogens. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still spreading globally, and patients with COVID-19 often have intestinal disease and weakened immune systems. This article mainly evaluates how polysaccharides in plants can improve the immune system barrier by improving the intestinal microecological balance, which may have potential in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Full article
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