Oral λ-carrageenan intake alleviates skin symptoms in a hapten induced atopic dermatitis-like model

Lambda carrageenan is a widely used food additive. It has been shown that its oral intake induces suppression of T cell proliferation and antibody-mediated and cell-mediated immune response in experimental animals. In this study, we estimated the effect of oral ingestion of 0.001% λ-carrageenan on trinitrochlorobenzen-induced atopic dermatitis model mouse. Oral carrageenan ingestion alleviated ear swelling of hapten challenged mice and significantly suppressed mast cell hyperplasia in the topical skin. Serological analysis revealed that the treatment suppressed total IgE and antigen-specific IgG, and also suppressed both allergy driving cytokine interleukin-4 and counter-acting cytokine interferon-γ levels. It is suggested that the oral ingestion of λ-carrageenan may suppress the immunological response to the allergen and might be useful to treat atopic dermatitis.     

明胶用量及其与卡拉胶复配对奶冻品质的影响

[目的]奶冻在储存过程中常出现失水现象,为提高奶冻贮藏中的品质和保水性。[方法]以不同时间下奶冻质构特性、持水力、感官品质指标评价奶冻品质,探究明胶添加量以及明胶-卡拉胶复配对奶冻品质的影响。[结果]随明胶添加量增大,水析率、回复性和弹性逐渐减小,硬度和咀嚼度逐渐增大,感官品质先提升后下降,明胶添加量为1.8%时奶冻品质最好;在总胶体用量为1.8%情况下,卡拉胶比例增大,水析率和弹性变化幅度小,硬度先增大后减小再增大,咀嚼度先减小后增大,回复性减小,感官品质先降低后提升最后持续降低,卡拉胶比例为7%时其奶冻品质最好。[结论]1.8%的胶体添加量下添加7%的卡拉胶与明胶复配提高了奶冻的贮藏品质,胶体复配可改善奶冻贮藏中品质下降问题。     

Seaweed Hydrocolloid Production: An Update on Enzyme Assisted Extraction and Modification Technologies

Agar, alginate, and carrageenans are high-value seaweed hydrocolloids, which are used as gelation and thickening agents in different food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological applications. The annual global production of these hydrocolloids has recently reached 100,000 tons with a gross market value just above US$ 1.1 billion. The techno-functional properties of the seaweed polysaccharides depend strictly on their unique structural make-up, notably degree and position of sulfation and presence of anhydro-bridges. Classical extraction techniques include hot alkali treatments, but recent research has shown promising results with enzymes. Current methods mainly involve use of commercially available enzyme mixtures developed for terrestrial plant material processing. Application of seaweed polysaccharide targeted enzymes allows for selective extraction at mild conditions as well as tailor-made modifications of the hydrocolloids to obtain specific functionalities. This review provides an update of the detailed structural features of κ-, ι-, λ-carrageenans, agars, and alginate, and a thorough discussion of enzyme assisted extraction and processing techniques for these hydrocolloids.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of a Houttuynia cordata supercritical extract

Anti-inflammatory effects of Houttuynia cordata supercritical extract (HSE) were investigated in a carrageenan-air pouch model. HSE (200 mg/kg, oral) suppressed exudation and albumin leakage, as well as inflammatory cell infiltration. Dexamethasone (2 mg/kg, i.p.) only decreased exudation and cell infiltration, while indomethacin (2 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced exudate volume and albumin content. HSE lowered tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-α and nitric oxide (NO), as well as prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂). Dexamethasone only reduced TNF-α and NO, while indomethacin decreased TNF-α and PGE₂. The suppressive activity of HSE on NO and PGE₂ production was confirmed in RAW 264.7. These results demonstrate that HSE exerts anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting both TNF-α-NO and cyclooxygenase II-PGE₂ pathways.     

黄原胶与卡拉胶复配在果冻中的应用研究

采用单因素及正交试验,研究黄原胶和卡拉胶复配制作果冻的工艺和配方。结果表明：黄原胶与卡拉胶按1∶10复配在果冻中的应用较佳,最佳果冻配方为：黄原胶添加量0.1%,卡拉胶添加量1.0%、白砂糖18%、柠檬酸0.10%、青苹果汁3.0%,做出的果冻色泽均匀、半透明,组织状态良好、口感细腻。     

血瘀痛经小鼠模型的建立

目的：建立无创伤的血瘀痛经小鼠模型。方法：雌性昆明种小鼠240只,连续灌胃己烯雌酚12 d,第11天背部皮下注射角叉菜胶,后动物饲养环境温度保持在8-10℃24 h,末次灌胃己烯雌酚1 h后,腹腔注射缩宫素,观察并记录小鼠扭体潜伏期、扭体次数与尾部血栓形成长度百分率及血小板聚集值。数据采用X±S表示,应用SPSS11.5统计软件进行t检验分析,筛选血瘀痛经小鼠模型建立条件。结果：模型建立方法为灌胃己烯雌酚2 mg/kg,连续12 d,第11天背部皮下注射角叉菜胶300 mg/kg,后将动物饲养环境温度保持在8-10℃24 h,第12天腹腔注射缩宫素25 u/kg,小鼠痛经扭体现象出现,尾部血栓形成明显。结论：小鼠血瘀痛经模型是一种造模方法易于掌握,造模成功后体征表征明显,便于观察,在活血调经药效筛选中可以节约实验动物的模型建立方法。     

In vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of neorogioltriol, a new diterpene extracted from the red algae Laurencia glandulifera

Neorogioltriol is a tricyclic brominated diterpenoid isolated from the organic extract of the red algae Laurencia glandulifera. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory effects of neorogioltriol were evaluated both in vivo using carrageenan-induced paw edema and in vitro on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated Raw264.7 macrophages. The in vivo study demonstrated that the administration of 1 mg/kg of neorogioltriol resulted in the significant reduction of carregeenan-induced rat edema. In vitro, our results show that neorogioltriol treatment decreased the luciferase activity in LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cells, stably transfected with the NF-κB-dependent luciferase reporter. This effect on NF-κB activation is not mediated through MAPK pathways. The inhibition of NF-κB activity correlates with decreased levels of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) present in neorogioltriol treated supernatant cell culture. Further analyses indicated that this product also significantly inhibited the release of nitric oxide and the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cells. These latter effects could only be observed for neorogioltriol concentrations below 62.5 μM. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a molecule derived from Laurencia glandulifera with anti-inflammatory activity both in vivo and in vitro. The effect demonstrated in vitro may be explained by the inhibition of the LPS-induced NF-κB activation and TNFα production. NO release and COX-2 expression may reinforce this effect.     

Ultrasound-Assisted Water Extraction of Mastocarpus stellatus Carrageenan with Adequate Mechanical and Antiproliferative Properties

Ultrasound-assisted water extraction was optimized to recover gelling biopolymers and antioxidant compounds from Mastocarpus stellatus. A set of experiments following a Box–Behnken design was proposed to study the influence of extraction time, solid liquid ratio, and ultrasound amplitude on the yield, sulfate content, and thermo-rheological properties (viscoelasticity and gelling temperature) of the carrageenan fraction, as well as the composition (protein and phenolic content) and antiradical capacity of the soluble extracts. Operating at 80 °C and 80 kHz, the models predicted a compromise optimum extraction conditions at ~35 min, solid liquid ratio of ~2 g/100 g, and ultrasound amplitude of ~79%. Under these conditions, 40.3% carrageenan yield was attained and this product presented 46% sulfate and good mechanical properties, a viscoelastic modulus of 741.4 Pa, with the lowest gelling temperatures of 39.4 °C. The carrageenans also exhibited promising antiproliferative properties on selected human cancer cellular lines, A-549, A-2780, HeLa 229, and HT-29 with EC₅₀ under 51.9 μg/mL. The dried soluble extract contained 20.4 mg protein/g, 11.3 mg gallic acid eq/g, and the antiradical potency was equivalent to 59 mg Trolox/g.     

The Structural Characteristics of Seaweed Polysaccharides and Their Application in Gel Drug Delivery Systems

In recent years, researchers across various fields have shown a keen interest in the exploitation of biocompatible natural polymer materials, especially the development and application of seaweed polysaccharides. Seaweed polysaccharides are a multi-component mixture composed of one or more monosaccharides, which have the functions of being anti-virus, anti-tumor, anti-mutation, anti-radiation and enhancing immunity. These biological activities allow them to be applied in various controllable and sustained anti-inflammatory and anticancer drug delivery systems, such as seaweed polysaccharide-based nanoparticles, microspheres and gels, etc. This review summarizes the advantages of alginic acid, carrageenan and other seaweed polysaccharides, and focuses on their application in gel drug delivery systems (such as nanogels, microgels and hydrogels). In addition, recent literature reports and applications of seaweed polysaccharides are also discussed.     

Carrageenan: Drug Delivery Systems and Other Biomedical Applications

Marine resources are today a renewable source of various compounds, such as polysaccharides, that are used in the pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, and food fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on carrageenan-based biomaterials due to their multifunctional qualities, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, in addition to bioactive attributes, such as their antiviral, antibacterial, antihyperlipidemic, anticoagulant, antioxidant, antitumor, and immunomodulating properties. They have been applied in pharmaceutical formulations as both their bioactive and physicochemical properties make them suitable biomaterials for drug delivery, and recently for the development of tissue engineering. This article provides a review of recent research on the various types of carrageenan-based biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.