Citrus fruits are rich in phenolic compounds that possess several health benefits.  However, few studies have focused on the changes in phenolic compounds in citrus fruits during postharvest storage.  This study dynamically monitored the phenolic content, components and antioxidant activity of ‘Tarocco’ blood oranges during a period of 12-week cold storage and on-tree storage, respectively.  We investigated the alteration mechanism of phenolic compounds in blood oranges by evaluating phenylpropanoid pathway-related enzyme activities and gene expression.  Results showed that flavanones were the main phenolic compounds in blood oranges.  Both storage methods mainly stimulated the accumulation of phenolic acids to improve total phenolic content, which reached the maximum at week 12.  Nonetheless, blood oranges had a higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity under on-tree storage than cold storage.  Furthermore, the enzyme activities and gene expression of the phenylpropanoid pathway demonstrated that the accumulation of phenolics in blood oranges during storage was highly related to the activation of the phenylpropanoid pathway.  These results demonstrate that on-tree storage is a potential approach for extending the supply period of blood orange from the perspective of phenolic compounds.

The fresh postharvest golden needle mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) sporocarp has a high moisture content and crisp texture, but it still has high physiological activity and respiration, leading to senescence and quality deterioration.  Treatments with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and polypropylene (PP) crispers were used to study the changes of lignification and softening of F. velutipes during storage.  The main findings were as follows: the crisper packaging could effectively prolong the storage time of F. velutipes; either the 1-MCP treatment, crisper packaging or the combination of the two treatments could significantly inhibit the accumulation of lignin and the decreases in the contents of cellulose and pectin, and had certain inhibitory effects on the activities of enzymes involved in lignification and softening including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), cellulase (Cx), pectin methylesterase (PME) and polygalacturonase (PG).  Among them, the inhibitory effect of the crisper packaging was higher than the 1-MCP treatment, while the combination of the two treatments was the best.  The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the crisper packaging in combination with the 1-MCP treatment could effectively maintain the integrity and stability of the F. velutipes cellular structure and inhibit the emergence of plasmolysis to prevent cell membrane rupture.  The transcription levels showed that the crisper packaging and the combination of the 1-MCP treatment and crisper packing could effectively affect the expression of genes for enzymes related to lignification and softening of F. velutipes.  In conclusion, 1-MCP and PP crispers could delay the lignification and softening of F. velutipes during storage.

An experimental study was performed to determine the characteristics and drying process of mushroom (Lentinus edodes) by 6 different hot-air drying methods namely isothermal drying, uniform raise drying, non-uniform raise drying, uniform intermittent drying, non-uniform intermittent drying and combined drying. The chemical composition (dry matter, ash, crude protein, crude fat, total sugars, dietary fiber, and energy), color parameters (L, a*, b*, c*, and h0) and rehydration capacities were determined. Among all the experiments, non-uniform intermittent drying reached a better comprehensive results due to the higher chemical composition, better color quality associated with high bright (26.381±5.842), high color tone (73.670±2.975), low chroma (13.349±3.456) as well as the highest rehydration (453.76% weigh of dried body). Nine kinds of classical mathematical model were used to obtained moisture data and the Midili-kucuk model can be described by the drying process with the coefficient (R2 ranged from 0.99790 to 0.99967), chi-square (χ2 ranged from 0.00003 to 0.00019) and root mean square error (RMSE ranged from 0.000486 to 0.0012367).

The extracts from hulls, brans and flours of Fagopyrum esculentum Möench (FEM, three varieties) and Fagopyrum tartaricum L. Gaerth (FTG, seven varieties) were screened for free and bound phenolic content or total phenolic content (TPC), as well as 1,1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. Free phenolics were predominant in buckwheat hulls, brans and flours. FEM hulls extract exhibited the highest reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging activity with the average EC50 84.54 μg mL-1 and IC50 11.54 μg mL-1 respectively, FTG brans extract had the highest average TPC (24.87 mg GAE g-1 DW), and FEM flours extract showed the lowest TPC, reducing power and radical scavenging activity. Furthermore, the correlations among TPC, DPPH free radical scavenging activity and reducing power of all the samples were investigated. The rank correlation coefficient (rs) between reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging activity of buckwheat hulls, between TPC and DPPH free radical scavenging activity of buckwheat flours were 0.76 and 0.79, respectively (P<0.05). However, there is no significant correlation between the remaining indexes of hulls and flours, as well as the ten buckwheat brans. This result indicated that some non-phenolic compounds also contributed to the total antioxidant activity in hulls, brans and flours of buckwheats. This study demonstrated that buckwheat hulls and brans, rather than flours, are good source of antioxidants.

Ketosis, a common metabolic disease during early lactation, is associated with high circulating levels of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). A portion of BHB that reaches the mammary gland is utilized as precursor for synthesis of fatty acids. Recent findings from nonruminant studies revealed that long chain fatty acyl-CoA ligase 4 (ACSL4) could play a role in the regulation of cellular fatty acid metabolism, but the mechanisms by which ACSL4 mediates cellular lipid metabolism in response to BHB remains unclear. To achieve the aims, we conducted in vivo or in vitro analyses using bovine mammary gland biopsies and the immortalized mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T). The in vivo study (n = 6 cows group^-1) involved healthy cows (plasma BHB < 0.60 mmol L^-1) or ketotic cows (plasma BHB > 2.0 mmol L^-1) from which mammary gland tissue was biopsied. In vitro, MAC-T cells were challenged with 0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, or 2.4 mmol L^-1 BHB for 24 h to determine an optimal dose. Subsequently, MAC-T were incubated with 1.2 mmol L^-1 BHB for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, or 48 h. Furthermore, MAC-T cells were treated with small interfering ACSL4 (siACSL4) for 24 h or ACSL4 overexpression plasmid (pcACSL4) for 36 h followed by a challenge with 1.2 mmol L^-1 BHB for 24 h. Results showed that increased mRNA and protein abundance of lipogenic genes were linked to both mammary gland and in vitro challenge with BHB. BHB increased fatty acid content by activating ACSL4 expression, whereas inhibition of ACSL4 reduced BHB-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, enhancement of mitochondrial membrane potential, increase in fatty acid content, and lipid droplet accumulation. Furthermore, we also elevated ACSL4 expression with an overexpression plasmid to clarify its molecular role in response to BHB challenge. ACSL4 overexpression enhances BHB-induced lipid droplet accumulation by increased fatty acid content. Overall, the information showed that ACSL4 is crucial for the process of producing fatty acids from exogenous BHB. Reduced ACSL4 decreased fatty acid content and lipid droplet accumulation, improved mitochondrial function, directed more fatty acids towards oxidation. Thus, ACSL4 plays an important role in determining the fate of intracellular fatty acids and BHB in BMECs.