Bioactive macromolecule mining is important for the functional chemome analysis of traditional Chinese vinegar. In this study, we isolated and characterized carbohydrate-containing macromolecules from Shanxi aged vinegar (CCMSAV) and evaluated their immunomodulatory activity. The isolation process involved ethanol precipitation, deproteinization, decolorization, and DEAE-650 M column chromatography, resulting in the acquisition of four sub-fractions. All sub-fractions exhibited a molecular weight range of 6.92 to 16.71 kDa and were composed of 10 types of monosaccharides. Comparative analysis of these sub-fractions with two melanoidins exhibited similarities in elemental composition, spectral signature, and pyrolytic characteristics. Immunological assays confirmed the significantly enhanced cell viability, phagocytic activity, and secretion of nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 in RAW264.7 cells by all four sub-fractions. Further investigation of the immunomodulatory mechanism revealed that SAV-RP70-X, the most potent purified sub-fraction, enhanced aerobic glycolysis in macrophages and activated Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4, mannose receptor (MR), scavenger receptor (SR), and the dendritic cell-associated C-type lectin-1 receptor (Dectin-1). Furthermore, the activation of macrophages was associated with the MyD88/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. Methylation analysis revealed that 1,4-Xylp was the most abundant glycosidic linkage in SAV-RP70-X.

Abstract Bioactive macromolecule mining is important for the functional chemome dissection of traditional Chinese vinegar. Here, saccharide-bearing macromolecules in Shanxi aged vinegar (SBMSAV) were isolated, characterized, and their immunomodulatory activity was evaluated. Four sub-fractions were obtained through ethanol precipitation followed by refining and DEAE-650M column chromatography. All sub-fractions had a maximum molecular weight of more than 2,667 kDa, with 10 types of monosaccharides identified. Comparative analysis of these sub-fractions with melanoidins from real food and model systems showed that all four sub-fractions had similarities with both melanoidins in elemental composition, spectral signature, and pyrolytic characteristics. Immunological assays showed that the four sub-fractions significantly improved macrophage cell viability and phagocytic activity, and promoted the secretion of NO, TNF-α, and IL-6. Immunomodulatory mechanism investigation indicated that SBMSAV enhanced aerobic glycolysis in macrophages and were recognized through TLR2, TLR4, MR, SR, and Dectin-1. Additionally, the MyD88/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway was found to be involved in the activation of macrophages.

The traditional method for analyzing the content of instant tea has disadvantages such as complicated operation and being time-consuming. In this study, a method for the rapid determination of instant tea components by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was established and optimized. The NIR spectra of 118 instant tea samples were used to evaluate the modeling and prediction performance of a combination of binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) with support vector regression (SVR), BPSO with partial least squares (PLS), and SVR and PLS without BPSO. Under optimal conditions, Rp for moisture, caffeine, tea polyphenols, and tea polysaccharides were 0.9678, 0.9757, 0.7569, and 0.8185, respectively. The values of SEP were less than 0.9302, and absolute values of Bias were less than 0.3667. These findings indicate that machine learning can be used to optimize the detection model of instant tea components based on NIR methods to improve prediction accuracy.

Polyphenols in vinegar are benefit to human health. The purpose of this research was to identify the polyphenols-rich vinegar extract (VE) and evaluate the anti-diabetic mechanisms in vivo. The results showed that 29 polyphenols were identified by UPLC-Q/Trap-MS/MS analysis. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, and ethyl ferulate were the main polyphenols. In addition, VE relieved the symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by down-regulating blood glucose and lipemia. VE reduced inflammation by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, VE treatment restored gut microbiota dysbiosis (upregulating Bacteroidetes, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides and downregulating Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Enterorhabdus abundances), and increased short chain fatty acids contents in diabetic mice, which participated in anti-diabetic effect of VE by correlation analysis. These findings suggest that VE may be a candidate for T2DM intervention by regulating gut microbiota and inflammation.

To investigate the formation of typical melanoidin polymers, methylglyoxal (MGO) with NH3 or alanine (Ala) was used to form coloured compounds, with glyoxal or acetone used as controls. The products were characterised using chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy. Spectroscopic results showed that the coloured compounds formed were similar to melanoidins in food. GC-MS results showed that the MGO-based reaction generated similar volatile compounds using the Maillard reaction. Mass spectrometry showed that the molecular weights of structural units in the polymers were mainly 162, 169, and 176 Da, and these could be reassembled using the basic units derived from MGO alone or in combination with nitrogen. Hence, polymers recombined using basic structural units should be considered while determining melanoidin biomarkers. The preparation of coloured compounds using MGO with NH3 can be used as a novel method to produce the control compounds for melanoidin after process optimization.

Tea residue is a by-product of tea processing and contains ∼ 60 % insoluble dietary fiber. We investigated the physicochemical properties and structure of the insoluble dietary fiber of tea (T-IDF), and its defecation function was evaluated. The physical and chemical indexes of the T-IDF, including its water holding, oil holding, swelling, cation exchange, and cholesterol exchange capacities, were measured, while its structure was analyzed by a range of analytical techniques. Furthermore, the related indexes of the animal defecation function were determined, and the in vitro detection of fermented short chain fatty acid was conducted. We found that T-IDF exhibits excellent physical and chemical properties. Moreover, the consumption of T-IDF significantly promoted defecation in slow transit intestinal dyskinesia mice and enhanced the production of short chain fatty acids. Overall, we demonstrated a good correlation between the physicochemical properties and the structure/function of T-IDF.

中国传统食醋有着悠久的酿造历史,不仅风味独特,而且含有丰富的营养健康成分,具有抗氧化、降血脂、降血糖等多种保健功效.该文对我国传统食醋中的有机酸、氨基酸、多酚、川芎嗪、类黑精等主要营养健康物质及其研究进展进行综述,有利于进一步加深对我国传统食醋的科学理解,同时也对保障人民营养健康,提升我国传统食醋国际影响力等具有重要的意义.

Water pollution has become a major environmental concern for mankind. Although tea residue is usually discarded as waste, it can be used as a biological resource for the preparation of porous carbon for wastewater treatment. In this study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared from tea residue using ZnCl2, H3PO4, H2SO4, NaOH, and KOH. The effects of the preparation conditions were investigated, and the optimal conditions were determined by the iodine number of the ACs. ZnCl2-derived AC has the highest iodine number of 1519.0 mg/g compared with other activator-derived ACs. The results of an orthogonal test confirmed that the concentration of ZnCl2 is the most important factor for the preparation of ACs. The optimized AC possesses a well-developed microporous structure with a high specific surface area of 1029 m2·g−1 and a small pore size of 0.6589 nm. The AC exhibited a high adsorption capacity for heavy metals (removal efficiency of 99.9

Melanoidins, are of increasing interest for their potential biological activities. However, little knowledge is available on their structure. In the present study, vinegar, coffee and model melanoidins were degraded by NaBH4, and the resultant reaction products were characterised by chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectrometry methods to elucidate the mechanism of formation of melanoidin skeleton molecules. The study identified a typical polymer with a molecular weight (MW) interval of 74 Da, which was polymerised by aldol condensation and reduced by NaBH4, followed by intermolecular dehydration. MW of the theoretically derived typical polymers matched the detected polymers, validating the speculated pathway involved in the formation of melanoidins skeleton molecules. The study also revealed that melanoidins from different sources contain polymers with the same MW and different binding preferences, contributing to the heterogeneity of melanoidins. Overall, these findings indicated that the identified polymers could be used as potential candidate biomarkers for melanoidins.

食醋是世界上应用广泛的酸性调味品,主要以水果、谷物或酒精等为原料发酵而成.因酿造原料、工艺的不同,食醋种类繁多且风味各异.有机酸是食醋中最重要的风味物质之一,对食醋的感官品质具有重要的影响.文章对文献中著名传统食醋有机酸组成进行了归纳整理,采用单位酸度下有机酸浓度和风味强度为指标,对不同地区传统食醋有机酸组成和风味特征进行了分析比较.结果表明,传统食醋中,乙酸、乳酸的含量较高,是传统食醋的主要有机酸,焦谷氨酸、丙酮酸、α-酮戊二酸含量较低.在单位酸度条件下,乙酸、乳酸、酒石酸、琥珀酸、焦谷氨酸具有较高的风味强度,是影响食醋口感的主要有机酸,柠檬酸、α-酮戊二酸、草酸、丙酮酸对食醋有机酸风味贡献相对较小.

食醋是世界范围内广泛使用的酸味调味品之一.随着对食醋研究的深入,食醋行业的科技创新也在不断加强.该文章基于专利文献,以数据思维为导向,借助"智慧芽"分析平台对当前世界范围内食醋领域非失效专利进行了可视化分析.宏观上,对食醋领域专利类型、专利申请趋势和专利技术生命周期进行了分析,比较展示了专利申请人及区域分布;微观上,通过专利被引分析,分别识别了发明和实用新型专利中的重点专利.结合国际专利分类及专利关键词词云和3D专利地图分析,判别了食醋领域发明和实用新型专利的技术主题.研究首次从专利可视化角度对食醋领域专利进行剖析,以期反映食醋行业科技创新的现状和进展、热点和趋势,并为食醋领域相关研究提供参考.

Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV), a traditional Chinese cereal vinegar, is produced using solid-state fermentation (SSF) technology. Organic acids are the key flavor compounds of vinegar. However, the metabolic mechanism of organic acids during SSF process is still unclear. In this study, metatranscriptomics was used to explore the metabolic profile of main organic acids in SSF. The results show that carbon metabolism is the dominant pathway during fermentation, among which pyruvate metabolism, glycolysis and starch and sucrose metabolism associated with organic acids were the most abundant. The metabolic pathways of acetic acid and lactic acid shift from acetyl-P and pyruvate pathways at early and middle-early stages of fermentation to acetaldehyde and L-lactaldehyde pathways at later stages, respectively, and Lactobacillus and Acetobacter are the predominant microorganisms contributed to them. Temperature and acetic acid are proven to be the environmental factors that regulate the metabolic activity during SSF. This study sheds new lights on metabolism of flavor substances in the spontaneous ecosystems of traditional fermented food.

To decipher the formation mechanism of nitrogen-free substructures in melanoidins, methylglyoxal or 3-deoxy-glucosone was used as a substrate to react by aldol reaction under different pH conditionst. The obtained products were characterised by chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopic methods. Overall, the molecular weights of the polymers structural units varied mainly within 54-56 and 72-74 Da, respectively, due to the different dehydration extent of beta-hydroxy aldehyde or ketones, and uneven reduction by NaBH4. Moreover, the nitrogen-free substructures formed by this reaction can cross-link with gluten and dextran to form melanoidins. Therefore, the nitrogen-free substructures by this reaction to formed with units of 54-56 and 72-74 Da, which are similar as the typical polymers in food melanoidins. It is inferred that the typical polymers in food may also be formed by this pathway and which can be used as a detectable biomarker in melanoidins.

建立急性醉酒小鼠模型,将40只美国癌症研究所(ICR)小鼠随机分成空白对照组、模型组、低、高剂量醋组,并在灌胃4.0h后,观察小鼠的的醉酒行为及小鼠肝组织病理学,并分别检测血清中乙醇含量及谷草转氨酶(ALT)、谷丙转氨酶(AST)活性和肝组织生化指标.结果 表明,与模型组相比,高剂量醋组可显著延长醉酒时间至(44.00±9.35) min (P＜0.05)、醒酒时间极显著缩短至(121.25±12.71) min (P＜0.01):血清中乙醇含量及谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、谷草转氨酶(AST)活性显著降低为(37.01±4.24) mg/100 mL、(12.83±3.62) U/g、(14.22±1.56) U/g (P＜0.05);肝组织中乙醇脱氢酶(ADH)活性极显著增加(P＜0.01)、乙醛脱氢酶(ALDH)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性显著增加(P＜0.05),且丙二醛(MDA)含量显著降低(P＜0.05).食醋组肝脏病变程度减轻,切片显示空泡面积减少.结果 表明山西老陈醋具有预防小鼠醉酒和护肝作用.

Vinegar is one of the most widely used acidic condiments. In recent decades, rapid advances have been made in the area of vinegar research, and the intellectual structure pertaining to this domain has significantly evolved. Thus, it is important that scientists keep abreast of associated developments to ensure an appropriate understanding of this field. To facilitate this current study, a bibliometric analysis method was adopted to visualize the knowledge map of vinegar research based on literature data retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. In total, 883 original research and review articles from between 1998 and 2019 with 19,663 references were analyzed by CiteSpace. Both a macroscopical sketch and microscopical characterization of the whole knowledge domain were realized. According to the research contents, the main themes that underlie vinegar research can be divided into six categories, that is, microorganisms, substances, health functions, production technologies, adjuvant medicines, and vinegar residues. In addition to the latter analysis, emerging trends and future research foci were predicted. Finally, the evolutionary stage of vinegar research was discerned according to Shneider’s four-stage theory. This review will help scientists to discern the dynamic evolution of vinegar research, as well as highlight areas for future research.

Menglei Xia, Yu Zheng*, Xianglong Zhang, Sankuan Xie, Yanfang Wu, Ting Xia, and Min Wang* Chapter Authors: Menglei Xia (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6601-7858">https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6601-7858) Yu Zheng* (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4554-9908">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4554-9908) Xianglong Zhang (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1253-3539">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1253-3539) Sankuan Xie (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9302-6386">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9302-6386) Yanfang Wu (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0217-072X">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0217-072X) Ting Xia (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-3758">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-3758) Min Wang* (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5752-4065">https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5752-4065) Affiliation State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety. Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, Ministry of Education. College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, People's Republic of China. *Corresponding Authors:Prof. Yu Zheng, Tel: +86-22-60601256. Fax: +86-22-60602298. Email: yuzheng@tust.edu.cnProf. Min Wang, Tel: +86-22-60600045. Fax: +86-22-60602298. Email: minw@tust.edu.cn Solid-state fermentation (SSF) systems are employed for vinegars production due to their numerous advantages, such as low energy requirements and capital investment. In some Asian and African countries, SSF technology is commonly used for the production of cereal vinegars. In this chapter, the SSF systems for vinegar production are introduced, offering an insight into the mass transfer and microorganism diversity during the procedures. The SSF process is discussed in detail, with Chinese Shanxi aged vinegar as the example, which is a famous vinegar made by SSF. The raw materials and the procedures of saccharification, alcoholic fermentation, acetic acid fermentation, smoking, leaching, and ageing are also described. In addition, the latest research progress on the basic principles of SSF vinegar production systems, including the succession of microbial ecology and flavor formation mechanism, are reviewed, and the potential improvement techniques, including bioaugmentation, artificial microflora, and equipment innovations, are outlined.

SummarySediments will spontaneously form in traditional Chinese vinegars (TCVs), which negatively affect the product acceptability. Here, sediments in Shanxi aged vinegar, a representative TCV, were investigated to unravel the microstructure and composition. Morphologically, crystals, amorphous substances and thalli were three common forms. Composition analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy manifested starch/polysaccharides and proteins were present. Proteins (~30%), carbohydrates (>10%), crude fats (~17.00%) and metallic elements (~3%) were four main components determined, and polyphenols and flavonoids accounted for about 1% in the sediments. The crystals were recognised as calcium oxalate crystals by micro‐area energy‐dispersive X‐ray and micro‐Raman spectrometry, and they were mostly in dihydrate form. This is the first report on the discovery of calcium oxalate crystals in the vinegar. Crystallisation into crystals, self‐assembly and polymerisation of polymers, aggregation of particles, as well as interactions between polymers and particles form a basic model of sediments formation in TCV.

Chinese traditional fermented condiments, including soy sauce, vinegar, pickled tofu, bean sauce, pickled cabbage, have a long history and are always produced with special techniques. The fermentations of them are usually performed in an opening environment using cereals and beans as raw materials. Many microorganisms are contained in the system to accomplish the degradation of polymolecules, such as starch, protein and cellulose and the conversion of organic acids, amino acids, polysaccharides, alcohols, esters and so on, giving the special characterizations of traditional fermented condiments. This paper illustrated the composition and functions of microorganisms in traditional fermented condiments, and some methods for strains breeding are also reviewed.

Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) and ginsenoside Rg3 (GRg3) are primary bioactive components in Panax ginseng. The present study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of apoptotic cell-death induced by GRh2 and GRg3 in human leukemia Jurkat cells. The Cell Counting kit-8 assay was used to determine cell proliferation. Apoptosis was detected by nuclear morphologic observation by Hoechst 33342 staining and Annexin V-allophycocyanin and 7-amino-actinomycin D assay. mitoTEMPO, a mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, was used to examine the effects of mitochondrial ROS on cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Finally, the expression levels of numerous mitochondrial-associated apoptosis proteins were assessed by western blot analysis. These results demonstrated that GRh2 and GRg3 inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis, and that GRh2 had greater cytotoxicity than GRg3. GRh2 induced generation of more mitochondrial ROS compared with GRg3 in Jurkat cells; however, this effect was ameliorated by subsequent treatment with mitoTEMPO. Furthermore, excess mitochondrial ROS induced by GRh2 was more potent than GRg3 in inhibiting cell proliferation and reducing MMP. In addition, expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins were significantly increased in Jurkat cells treated with GRh2 than GRg3. In conclusion, these findings suggested that GRh2 and GRg3 induce mitochondrial-associated apoptosis by increasing mitochondrial ROS in human leukemia Jurkat cells. GRh2 may more effectively inhibit cell growth and accelerate apoptosis than GRg3. This study provides a potential novel strategy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

One of the most famous Chinese vinegars, Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV), is produced with solid-state fermentation technology. Total antioxidant activity (TAC) is a special property for SAV. In this study, we investigate correlations between total antioxidant activity (TAC) and total polyphenol (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents of SAV, especially during the brewing process. For SAV, TAC, TP, and TF increased with the increase of aging time. The correlation coefficients between TAC and TP were 0.869 and 0.934, respectively, when analyzed with the method of ABTS and FRAP. They were 0.828 (ABTS) and 0.877 (FRAP) between the TAC and TF. In smoking pei stage that is a special technique for SAV different from other Chinese cereal vinegars, TAC increased by 120% (ABTS) and 111% (FRAP) mainly due to the increase of TP (89%) and TF (75%), which was more obvious than that during alcohol fermentation and acetic acid fermentation stages. Moreover, variation during brewing process of 8 main polyphenol compounds that were proved responsible for the TAC of SAV was analyzed. In addition to catechins and chlorogenic acid, gallic acid serves as one of the principal antioxidant ingredients in SAV.PRACTICAL APPLICATION:Total antioxidant activity (TAC) of Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV), which is highly correlated with total polyphenol and total flavonoid, increased with aging time, however, there is a little loss of total antioxidant after more than 8 y. During the brewing process smoking pei technique is important for enhancing the TAC of SAV suggesting critical controlled and thoroughly study of smoking pei stage are needed to improve the quality of SAV.