This study aimed to determine the differences in chemical composition of pilose antler samples from different geographical origins and species. Three types of pilose antler were selected: red deer antler from Xinjiang (XC), red deer antler New Zealand (ZC), and sika deer antler from Jilin (JC). Various instrumental techniques were employed to determine the basic nutritional components, chemical elements, amino acids, volatile organic compounds, and metabolite profile of pilose antler. Multivariate statistical analysis was further used to identify the chemical markers for distinguishing between the three types of pilose antler. The results showed significant differences in total ash and total carbohydrate contents among these types. XC was relatively rich in chemical elements and presented a unique creamy and nutty flavor. In terms of amino acid scores, JC was superior to the other two types, with valine (8.1%), leucine (8.2%), and lysine (9.2%) accounting for higher proportions of total amino acids than the WHO/FAO recommended values. Lipids, organic acids, and their derivatives were the predominant metabolites in the pilose antler samples. Significant differences in metabolite composition were observed among them, with 355 and 199 discriminative metabolites identified in the positive and negative ion modes, respectively. These findings confirm the influence of geographical origin and species on the chemical composition of pilose antler, providing data support for the evaluation of its quality characteristics and processing suitability.

In order to explore the biological functions of active ingredients in dried ginger, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) with selective reaction monitoring/multi-reaction monitoring (SRM/MRM) were used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of active ingredients in dried ginger. The antioxidant and uric acid-lowering activities of dried ginger extract and its active components were determined. The results showed that the most abundant phenylpropanoid components in dried ginger extract were phenylalanine, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid. All these compounds had significant antioxidant capacity in terms of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity and ferric ion reducing power, and the decreasing order of the antioxidant capacity was ferulic acid > dried ginger extract > p-coumaric acid. In vitro xanthine oxidase inhibition assay showed that all the three drugs had strong uric acid lowering activity, the effect of p-coumaric acid being more pronounced than that of ferulic acid and dried ginger extract. Molecular docking revealed that ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid inhibited xanthine oxidase by the formation of hydrogen bonds, van der Waals force and π-π stacking with amino acid residues in the enzyme. In this study, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid and ginger extract have good antioxidant capacity and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity in vitro, and therefore have the potential to be developed into new uric acid-lowering products.

In this study, we investigated the degree of protein oxidation and the potential generation mechanism of semicarbazide (SEM) in Tenebrio molitor under different heating temperatures, and we analyzed differential metabolites and metabolic pathways by non-targeted metabolomics. Based on the correlation between the contents of SEM and amino acids, we speculate on possible precursors of SEM, which were verified by standardized experiments. The results showed that the carbonyl content increased from 0.04 to 0.63 nmol/mg, the total sulfhydryl content decreased to 0.08 μmol/g, the dityrosine content increased by approximately 96.60% to 1192.23, the endogenous fluorescence intensity decreased, and the surface hydrophobicity and the free amino group content first rose and then decreased with increasing heating temperature. Metabolomics analysis revealed that increased temperature significantly affected the tyrosine metabolism, arginine biosynthesis and phenylalanine metabolism pathways in T. molitor. The correlation analysis indicated that SEM was positively correlated with tyrosine (r = 0.904) and negatively correlated with arginine (r = −0.781). The validation experiments demonstrated that SEM content was significantly enhanced in the tyrosine and phenylalanine groups but significantly reduced in the arginine group (P < 0.05). In summary, increased temperature aggravates protein oxidation in T. molitor and tyrosine and arginine are likely precursors of SEM.

In this study, HCT 116 colon cancer cells were used as a model to explore the effect of sulforaphane (SFN) on colon cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis and further to uncover the potential mechanism of SFN on colon cancer cell invasion and metastasis. The results showed that SFN significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of HCT 116 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, SFN inhibited the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCT 116 cells by up-regulating the relative expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and down-regulating the expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, the snail family of transcriptional repressors (Snail), vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase 9. In addition, SFN significantly reduced the expression levels of β-catenin protein and its downstream effector molecules cyclin D1 and c-myc, and effectively blocked the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway. SFN was able to effectively control the invasion and metastasis of colon cancer cells, and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and EMT. This finding provides a new perspective to better understand the anti-cancer mechanism of SFN and offers a potential strategy for the dietary treatment of colon cancer.

In order to solve the problem of the low bioavailability of 6-shogaol (6S), in this study, zein-sodium caseinate nanoparticles (ZCP) were constructed by the anti-solvent precipitation method as a nano-delivery carrier for 6S. The physicochemical properties of 6S-loaded zein nanoparticles (ZCP-6S) were characterized and the bioavailability was investigated by in vitro simulated digestion, Caco-2 cell model and pharmacokinetic studies in rats. The particle size distribution, microstructure and chemical structure of ZCP-6S were characterized by laser particle size analyzer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that the nanoparticles were spherical in shape, with small particle size and uniform distribution. 6S might interact with zein through non-covalent bonds. The in vitro simulated digestion results showed that ZCP-6S increased the bioaccessibility of 6S to (75.34 ± 9.82)%. Moreover, ZCP-6S significantly enhanced the uptake and transport of 6S by Caco-2 cells. After 4 h treatment, the cell uptake increased by (0.36 ± 0.06) μg/mg. The concentration of 6S in the basolateral side of the Caco-2 cell model increased by (1.06 ± 0.06) μg/mL. In addition, pharmacokinetic studies showed that the relative oral bioavailability of 6S increased by 3.28 times after nanoparticle encapsulation. In summary, the bioaccessibility, cellular absorption and oral bioavailability of 6S were effectively improved by its encapsulation into zein nanoparticles.