This study examined the molecular interactions of tea polyphenols, particularly catechins and theaflavins, with phospholipid-based systems, including liposomes and micelles, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the health benefits associated with green and black tea consumption. The results demonstrate that (–)-epicatechin gallate and (–)-epigallocatechin gallate have a higher affinity for liposomes than (–)-epicatechin and (–)-epigallocatechin. This suggests that the presence of a galloyl moiety in these compounds enhances their interactions with lipid bilayers. Among the four theaflavins, theaflavin-3-O-gallate exhibited unique interactions with both liposomes and cholic acid micelles. Thearubigins, which are the main components of black tea infusions, have been found to interact with phospholipids, leading to various biological activities, such as inhibition of cholesterol uptake, astringency, increased systemic circulation, and antibacterial and antiviral effects. In conclusion, the polyphenols in tea infusions come into contact with the surface of phospholipids in the cell membranes or micelles, physically changing these assemblies and impacting their subsequent physiological effects.

Food texture is a major factor contributing to the palatability of solid foods. The physical properties of food change due to crushing in the chewing process, hence the texture also changes. Food companies need to evaluate food texture in the chewing process. This study proposes a method to predict changes in texture during the chewing process. The developed method infers the dominant texture from multiple textures at a time point in the chewing process using a multinomial distribution within the framework of a state-space model. The model inputs are the texture parameters determined by Texture Profile Analysis from the repeatedly compressed measurement data of two successive times, and the output is the dominance rate determined by Temporal Dominance of Sensations. A dataset of measurement data and sensory evaluation data was compiled for using five foods and ten texture descriptors through measurement experiments and sensory evaluations. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by a cross-validation method. Root mean squared errors for the dominance rate of seven textures were less than 0.1. This study confirmed that the proposed method has the potential to predict food texture in the chewing process.

Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) is a fruit that is rich in bioactive components and nutrients. A previous study revealed that strawberries offer beauty benefits, including anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the potential hair growth-promoting properties of strawberries by measuring dehydrogenase activity as an indicator of cellular metabolism, and assessed the expression of hair growth-related genes in human follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPC). Additionally, we performed chemical analyses to characterize the active compounds contributing to the observed effects. The results indicated that strawberry water-extract promotes the metabolism of HFDPC, and that this effect was reduced with heat treatment. The expression levels of hair growth-related genes (FGF7, VCAN, and TGFB2) were examined, but no significant differences were detected. Although further investigation into the components and mechanisms underlying this bioactivity is required, these results lay a foundation for the development of hair-care cosmetics.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a well-known analytical tool for structure determination of small and macro molecules. Recently, it has been also used for quantitative analysis (qNMR) and metabolomics with multivariate statistics. In this study, we evaluated the comprehensive assessment of green tea using the NMR techniques including qNMR and principal component analysis (PCA), and the functional elucidation. Thirty-five samples of green tea collected from five countries were extracted with hot water, and then the green tea samples were analyzed by their ¹H NMR. The major constituents in green tea including caffeine, catechins (EC, EGC, ECg, and EGCg), sugars (glucose, sucrose, and arabinopyranosyl-myo-inositol), and theanine were assigned and quantified using ¹H NMR signals. PCA was performed on the ¹H NMR data. Based on the results obtained, the 35 types of green tea were established to be clearly distinguished according to their countries of origin and harvest season.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two different originated peptide, namely, marine collagen peptide (MCP) and soy peptide (SP) on Calpain-1 (CAPN-1) and Calpain-2 (CAPN-2) and skeletal muscle micro-injury. Method: One hundred male SD rats were divided into four groups: control group (Group C, n = 10), exercise + MCP group (Group M, n = 30), exercise + SP group (Group S, n = 30), and exercise group (Group E, n = 30). After six weeks of training, blood and skeletal muscle were taken immediately, 24 h, and 48 h after exercise. IGF-1, CK, testosterone (T), and skeletal muscle expression of CAPN-1 and CAPN-2 were tested. Results: IGF-1 of Group S was greater immediately after exercise compared to Group E (p < 0.05), and T recovery was faster in Group M than E (p < 0.05). CK was upregulated in Groups E and M immediately after exercise, while Group S had greater CK than Groups E and C (p < 0.05). Group M had higher CAPN-1 expression in quadriceps than Groups E and S (p < 0.05) immediately after exercise. CAPN-2 expression in gastrocnemius was upregulated immediately after exercise. T was negatively correlated with CAPN-2 expression in gastrocnemius (r = −0.715, p < 0.05) immediately after exercise, and it was negatively correlated with CAPN-1 expression in quadriceps (r = −0.905, p < 0.05) 24 h after exercise. Conclusion: Both peptides demonstrated limited effect on post-exercise CK, CAPN-1, and CAPN-2. Compared with SP, MCP had a more significant effect on recovery of T after exercise. And SP was more effective than MCP in downregulating exercise-induced upregulation of CAPN-1 and CAPN-2 expression observed 48 h after exercise in gastrocnemius.

This study sought to scientifically characterize a traditional Japanese method of cooking brown rice, wherein the cooking liquid is depleted once after heating begins, followed by fresh water addition with continuous heating. The timing and amount of water addition were measured and it was determined that starting with a water-to-rice ratio of 1.2 and adding water at a ratio of 1.5 when the cooking liquid was depleted 10 minutes post-boil, followed by continuous heating for another 20 minutes, resulted in the highest quality and taste ratings of the rice. The optimal timing for water addition, when starch gelatinization reached approximately 60 %, significantly enhanced the taste of brown rice by optimizing water utilization. Additionally, the browning index, which reflects the degree of pericarp and seed coat rupture in cooked rice, correlated with water absorption and rice hardness, suggesting its utility as an index for assessing brown rice quality.

β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a volatile bicyclic sesquiterpenoid found in essential oils from spices and edible foods such as black pepper, basil, and cloves. Orally administered BCP exhibits several bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In addition to its physiological function as a functional food factor, BCP is volatile. BCP inhalation has been reported to exhibit several bioactivities, suggesting that inhaled BCP is as bioactive as orally administered BCP. Recent studies have shown that both orally administered and inhaled BCP can be transferred to the serum and organs. No studies have compared the distributions of orally administered and inhaled BCP. Therefore, this study compared the distribution patterns for orally administered and inhaled BCP in mice. Our findings showed that the distribution patterns differed between oral administration and inhalation. Consequently, the effects of BCP on biological activity may differ between oral and inhalation routes.

Dietary factors are associated with an increased risk of the development of several diseases. Some phytochemicals regulate animal microRNAs (miRNAs) that have been implicated in disease development. Understanding the beneficial changes in miRNA expression mediated by food ingredients or food-derived natural products is important for maintaining good health and finding novel dietary functions. Previous studies reported that resveratrol controls breast cancer cell proliferation by inducing the expression of tumor-suppressive miRNAs. Although several stilbene derivatives in foods exist, their functional activity in regulating miRNAs has not yet been elucidated. Here, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate whether resveratrol derivatives (gnetin C, ε-viniferin, and piceid) regulate similar tumor-suppressive miRNAs as resveratrol in breast cancer. We first reported that slight differences in the structure could influence the effect of each compound on cell proliferation and miRNA expression.

Sodium butyrate (NaB) intake reduces high-sucrose diet-induced hepatic expression of genes and proteins related to fatty acid synthesis and the accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in rats. In this study, we examined the effects of NaB intake on the hepatic accumulation of TAGs and the expression of genes and proteins related to lipid metabolism, including fructolysis induced by excessive ingestion of fructose, a more potent inducer of lipogenesis than sucrose. Dietary supplementation with 5 % NaB decreased the high-fructose-induced hepatic levels of TAG and the expression levels of genes and proteins related to fructolysis and fatty acid synthesis, but not those related to β-oxidation. These results suggest that NaB intake alleviates high-fructose-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by suppressing a wide range of pathways, including those from fructolysis to fatty acid synthesis.