Shuyi Li

The gut microbiota can metabolise and transform selenium, and even compete with the host for it. This provides new insights into the bioavailability of selenium and the mechanisms through which it exerts its beneficial effects. This review provides a comprehensive summary of selenium metabolism and bioavailability, along with the relationship between selenium, the gut microbiota and some diseases. This may lay the groundwork for its application as a functional food.

Enzymatically derived selenium-enriched peptides from Cardamine violifolia (CV) can serve as valuable selenium supplements. However, the industrial application of free enzyme is impeded by its limited stability and reusability. Herein, this study explores the application of co-immobilized enzymes (Alcalase and Dispase) on amino resin for hydrolyzing CV proteins to produce selenium-enriched peptides. The successful enzyme immobilization was confirmed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Co-immobilized enzyme at a mass ratio of 5:1 (Alcalase/Dispase) exhibited the smallest pore size (7.065 nm) and highest activity (41 U/mg), resulting in a high degree of hydrolysis of CV protein (27.2%), which was obviously higher than the case of using free enzymes (20.7%) or immobilized Alcalase (25.8%). In addition, after a month of storage, the co-immobilized enzyme still retained a viability level of 41.93%, showing fairly good stability. Encouragingly, the selenium-enriched peptides from co-immobilized enzyme hydrolysis exhibited uniform distribution of selenium forms, complete amino acid fractions and homogeneous distribution of molecular weight, confirming the practicality of using co-immobilized enzymes for CV protein hydrolysis.

Selenylation modification is an effective way to improve the nutritional and health effects of tea polysaccharide (TPS), but the effects of different selenylation methods on the structure and efficacy of polysaccharides remain unclear. In this study, a series of chemically selenized tea polysaccharides (CSe-TPS, selenium content of 129.98 ~ 1454.99 µg/g) were prepared by Na₂SeO₃-HNO₃ method, which were promoted by heating (HCSe-TPS), ultrasound (UCSe-TPS) and pulse electric field (PCSe-TPS) treatment, respectively. These different CSe-TPSs were systematacially compared with ordinary tea polysaccharides (Ord-TPS) and naturally selenium-enriched tea polysaccharides (NSe-TPS) in aspect of molecular structure and biological functions. The results of molecular structure and apparent morphology showed that the particle size (p < 0.05) and the thermal stability of Ord-TPS were reduced after selenylation modification, while the absolute potential of polysaccharide was increased (p < 0.05), coupled with altered monosaccharide composition and changed apparent morphology. However, the main functional groups and the secondary structure of Ord-TPS did not change. The antioxidant activity of TPS after selenylation were improved as well as their inhibitory effects on carbohydrate digestive enzymes (p < 0.05). The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of PCSe-TPS (selenium content of 240.66 µmol/g) was enhanced by 85.41% compared with Ord-TPS (selenium content of 129.80 µmol/g), while its IC₅₀ values on inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase were significantly lower than other TPS (p < 0.05), which suggested best antioxidant and hypoglycemic activity. Moreover, TPS with higher selenium content and smaller particle size showed better antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities. This research will provide new strategies for application of tea polysaccharides.

Little information is available regarding polyphenol variations in the food processing of edible and medicinal red seaweed, Betaphycus gelatinum. This study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus brevis fermentation on total polyphenol content (TPC), polyphenol profile, and antioxidant activity in Betaphycus gelatinum pretreated by ultrasound-assisted mild acid hydrolysis for the first time. During 60 h of fermentation, the viable colony number significantly increased, pH significantly decreased, and reducing sugar content significantly decreased initially, then significantly increased. Free TPC significantly increased to 865.42 ± 29.29 μg GAE/g DW (163.09% increase) with increasing antioxidant activity, while bound TPC significantly decreased to 1004.90 ± 87.32 μg GAE/g DW (27.69% decrease) with decreasing antioxidant activity. Furthermore, 27 polyphenol compounds were identified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with Xevo triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. In total, 19 and 23 free polyphenols and 24 and 20 bound polyphenols were identified before and after fermentation, respectively. Before fermentation, bound trans-cinnamic acid (56.75%), bound rosmarinic acid (26.62%), and free trans-cinnamic acid (3.85%) were the main components. After fermentation, free rosmarinic acid (43.57%), bound trans-cinnamic acid (15.19%), bound rosmarinic acid (13.33%), and free trans-cinnamic acid (5.99%) were the main components. These results provide information for the food processing of Betaphycus gelatinum.