1-Octene-3-ol, a typical flavor substance of edible fungi, has been found to cause damage to the brain nervous system. In this work, we studied the neurotoxicity of different concentrations (0 (control group), 0.025% (volume fraction, the same below), 0.050%, 0.075%, 0.100%, 0.125%, 0.150%) of 1-octene-3-ol on HT22 cells through evaluation of apoptosis, oxidative stress, energy metabolism, and inflammation markers. The results showed that 1-octene-3-ol at a concentration above 0.050% significantly decreased the viability of HT22 cells, and caused a decrease in the mRNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), thereby causing damage to the central nervous system. Moreover, apoptosis rates, the relative mRNA expression level of the apoptosis-regulating gene Bax/Bcl-2, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were increased, the mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased and cytochrome c oxidase concentration was increased. Besides, the relative mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 were also increased. These results indicated that 1-octene-3-ol mediated neurotoxic damage to HT22 cells through the co-regulation of the above aspects, which will provide a theoretical basis for studies on the neurotoxicity of 1-octene-3-ol.

The volatile compounds and microbial community composition of dehydrated chives stored under different water activity (a_w) conditions for 50 days were investigated in the present study, and the correlation between them was also analyzed. The data showed that the bacterial community diversity in dehydrated chives was significantly increased after storage (P < 0.05), and the bacterial community structure was changed noticeably. The relative abundance of the families Leuconostocaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, and the genera Weissella, Erwinia, Rosenbergiella and Ewingella were significantly decreased, and the relative abundance of 17 families including Micrococcaceae, Microbacteriaceae, and Nocardiaceae, and 20 genera including Kocuria, Streptococcus, and Bacillus were significantly higher in dehydrated chive samples stored at the highest a_w of 0.84 than at other a_w levels. After 50 days of storage, the types and relative contents of volatile sulfide components were decreased, while those of volatile hydrocarbons were elevated. The relative abundance of Kocuria, Streptococcus and Bacillus were closely associated with the contents of various volatile compounds. The present study revealed that a_w has an important impact on the storage characteristics and quality of dehydrated chives. This finding may be helpful for quality maintenance and shelf-life extension of dehydrated chives during storage.

With the accelerating pace of life and the changing lifestyle, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease is increasing. Finding inflammation-inhibitory components from the diet is an effective way to prevent and control inflammatory bowel disease. In this study, the inhibitory effect of a proteoglycan extracted from Flammulina velutipes proteoglycans (FPG1-1) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in a co-culture model of Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages RAW264.7 was evaluated by measuring nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytokines levels. The results showed that the FPG1-1 at a concentration of 200 μg/mL extremely significantly reduced the production of NO and ROS in macrophages in comparison with the model group (P < 0.01). Besides, FPG1-1 up-regulated the secretion of interleukin (IL)-10 and down-regulated the secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β and IL-6. The above results indicate that FPG1-1 can effectively inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in the co-culture model of intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages. This research provides a theoretical basis for the utilization of functional ingredients from Flammulina velutipes and the development of functional foods against inflammatory bowel disease.

A new dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPs) for efficient adsorption of triazines was prepared with cyromazine and melamine as template molecules, and its adsorption performance was evaluated for triazine residues in fruits and vegetables. Under the optimized condition of molar ratio of cyromazine to melamine = 3:2, the highest adsorption capacity of MIPs was achieved. The maximum adsorption capacity of MIPs at two specific binding sites 2.85 and 5.46 mg/g, and the binding constants were 26.688 and 80.775 mg/L, respectively. The adsorption process attained equilibrium in 100 minutes and showed a higher adsorption capacity than did non-imprinted polymers (NIPs). Molecular imprinting-based solid-phase extraction (MI-SPE) combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the measurement of four triazine residues including atrazine, prometryn, ametryn, and simetryn in cucumber, apple, and corn. The limit of detection of this method was 0.01–0.03 ng/mL, and the average recoveries of spiked samples at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 μg/mL were 83.2%–102.3% (n = 3), with relative standard deviation (RSD) between 2.3% and 6.8%. The proposed method, therefore, is suitable for the trace detection of triazine residues in fruit and vegetable samples.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative damage is strongly associated with the pathogenesis of chronic diseases, and natural antioxidant peptides have good abilities of scavenging ROS. The antioxidant activity of peptide Lys-Ser-Pro-Leu-Tyr (KSPLY) derived from Hericium erinaceus remains unclear. In the present study, the antioxidant effect and mechanism of KSPLY on H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells were investigated. The results indicated that KSPLY exhibited the antioxidant capacity in H₂O₂-induced HepG2 cells by enhancing superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activities. In comparison with the H₂O₂-treated damage group, the apoptosis rate, ROS level, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of HepG2 cells treated with KSPLY were significantly decreased. The H. Erinaceus-derived peptide KSPLY pretreatment promoted the expression of detoxification and antioxidant enzymes via the Keap1/Nrf2 signal pathway, thereby inhibiting the generation of ROS and MDA. In conclusion, the H. erinaceus-derived peptide KSPLY effectively protected HepG2 cells against H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage, and it provided a theoretical basis for the further development of new natural antioxidants.