Qian Liu

Northwest University · College of Food Science and Technology

Konjac is a high-quality dietary fiber rich in β-glucomannan, which has been reported to possess anti-obesity effects. To explore the effective components and the structure-activity relationships of konjac glucomannan (KGM), three different molecular weight components (KGM-1 (90 kDa), KGM-2 (5 kDa), KGM-3 (1 kDa)) were obtained, and systematical co...

Polysaccharides are the main active constituents of Jujuba, yet there are few researches on Ziziphus Jujuba cv. Goutouzao polysaccharides. Traditional separation and purification method of Jujuba polysaccharides was ion-exchange column chromatography, which is complicated and time-consuming. In this study, four polysaccharide components (SJP-1, SJP...

A novel polysaccharide (PSPW-3-a) with a molecular weight of 1.29 × 10⁴ Da was extracted and isolated from wine-processed Polygonatum sibiricum (PS) using fractional ethanol precipitation and column chromatography. Structural analysis illustrated that the backbone of PSPW-3-a was composed of →4)-β-D-Galp-(1→, and the terminal branch was present as...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is accompanied by some psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. Sesamol has been reported to alleviate colitis symptoms and depression-like behaviors caused by chronic unpredictable mild stress, but its protective effect and underlying neurobiological mechanism on IBD induced by dextran sulfate sodiu...

Polysaccharides are a major active component of Porphyra haitanensis, which is an important food source in many countries. Four different molecular-weight fractions, namely PHPD-I (329 kDa), PHPD-II (203 kDa), PHPD-III (128 kDa), and PHPD-IV (10 kDa), were obtained from P. haitanensis polysaccharides by degradation using the H2O2/ascorbic acid syst...

Previous studies have shown that crude polysaccharides from the Lycium barbarum fruit could inhibit cancer cell growth, but the major effective constituents are yet to be identified. In this study, we compared the effects of L. barbarum fruit polysaccharide fractions on the growth of hepatoma cells (SMMC-7721 and HepG2), cervical cancer cells (HeLa...

Biological functions of chondroitin sulfate, including anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory anti-inflammation, are associated with its molecular weight. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between antioxidant activity and molecular weights of chondroitin sulfate derived from bovine nasal cartilage (BCS). BCS extracted by compound enzymatic...

Polygonatum sibiricum (PS) is a traditional Chinese herb used in both food and medicine with great bioactivity. The wine-processed pieces of PS are the main form for clinical application, while research has focused on the polysaccharides of their crude form. This study evaluated the physicochemical properties and immunological activities of water-s...

Chicoric acid (CA), a major nutraceutical component of a typical Mediterranean vegetable, chicory, possesses excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities. This work aimed to elucidate the effects of CA on neuron survival against inflammation and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results demonstrated that CA promoted SH-SY5Y cells' a...

The fruits of Lycium barbarum are considered medicinal foods with high nutritional value and bioactivity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of a crude L. barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) and two derived fractions, LBP-1 and LBP-2, on the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly). The average lifespan of fruit flies was extended by s...

We obtained four soluble acid xylan fractions AGP-III-A, AGP-III-B, AGP-III-C and AGP-III-D from the insoluble Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch gum (ASKG) polysaccharide by weak alkali treatment combined with H2O2-Vc oxidative degradation. Activity studies showed that the degradation components could reduce the cell viability of several cancer cell...

Momordin Ic was previously found to induce liver cancer cell apoptosis and autophagy. To further elucidate the anti-cancer activity of Momordin Ic, we analyzed the suppressive effects of Momordin Ic on cell migration and invasion. We also investigated the mechanisms associated with MMP-9, adhesion molecules and signaling transductions. The results...

Schisandra sphenanthera and Schisandra chinensis are widely consumed either as food or for medicinal purposes. Nevertheless, no detailed comparative assessments of their physicochemical properties and biological activity have been reported. In this paper, using hot-water extraction, alcohol precipitation, and deproteinization, we obtained polysacch...

Neuroinflammation is documented to be the major culprit of Alzheimer's disease. Lycopene (LYC), a fat soluble carotenoid, exhibits neuroprotective function in several neurodegenerative disorders. However, the effects of LYC to countering systemic inflammation-induced amyloidogenesis and memory deficiency remain to be elucidated. In current study, 3...

Chicoric acid (CA) is an active derivative of caffeic acid, which is naturally present in many medicinal plants and vegetables. In the present study, the metabolic profile of CA was determined in rat plasma, urine and feces and was subsequently used to propose the metabolic pathways of CA. CA (100 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats by gastric i...

Traditional separation and purification process of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) includes water extraction, alcohol precipitation, deproteinization and ion-exchange column chromatography, which is complicated and time-consuming. In our study, non-dialyzable LBP-I and dialyzable LBP-O were obtained from LBP by water extraction, alcohol precip...

Chicoric acid (CA), a natural phenolic acid, has been used as a nutraceutical food ingredient due to its powerful antioxidant, anti-HIV and anti-diabetic bioactivities. CA could be partly metabolized into caffeic acid (CFA) and caftaric acid (CTA) on cytochrome P450s in rat liver microsomes. To compare the protective effects of CA and its metabolit...

Acrylamide (ACR) is known as a contaminant generated in starchy foods during cooking at high-temperature. In this study, pre-treatment with LA improved gait abnormalities and mnemonic and exploration ability of CD-1 male mice administrated with ACR. Alleviative effect of LA was further observed on histological damage, cell death and suppression of...

Illustration of effects of chicoric acid on neuroprotection against d -gal-induced memory impairment via inflammation and oxidative stress.

Abstract Scope The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of sesamol, a phenolic lignan from sesame, on the systemic inflammation-induced neuroinflammation and amyloidogenesis as well as memory impairment. Methods and results C57BL/6J mice were treated with 0.05% sesamol (w/v) in the drinking water for 7 weeks, and th...

Sesamol, a nutritional component from sesame, possesses antioxidant, lipid lowering and antidepressant activities. Nonetheless, few studies report its effects on high-energy-dense diet-induced cognitive loss. The present research aimed to elucidate the action of sesamol on high-fat and high-fructose (HFFD) "western"-diet-induced central nervous sys...

As a major nutraceutical component of a typical Mediterranean vegetable chicory, chicoric acid (CA) has been well-documented due to its excellent antioxidant and anti-obesity bioactivities. In current study, the effects of CA on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated oxidative stress in BV-2 microglia and C57BL/6J mouse and underlying molecular mechan...

Chicoric acid (CA), a natural phenolic acid extracted from chicory and the echinacea (purple coneflower)plant (Echinacea purpurea), has been regarded as a nutraceutical that has powerful antioxidant and antiobesityactivities. We investigated the inhibitory effects of CA on systemic inflammation-induced neuroinflammation,amyloidogenesis, and cogniti...

A simple and rapid method based on magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) combined with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) was used for the determination of 15 sulfonamides from milk samples. The extraction and cleanup used a graphene oxide-based magnetic nanocomposite (Fe3O4@GO) as...

Isoorientin (ISO) is considered one of the most important flavonoid-like compounds responsible for health benefits, including the prevention of liver damage as well as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-nociceptive activities. Our previous study showed that ISO inhibited the proliferation of hepatoma cells through increasing intracellular ROS...

Chicoric acid is a major active constituent of Echinacea purpurea and has a variety of biological functions. In this study, a liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) approach was developed and validated for the determination of chicoric acid in rat plasma and various tissues using ferulic acid as an internal standar...

As a natural anthraquinone derivative, 1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone, known as emodin, has recently been reported to possess potential chemopreventive capacity, but the underlying molecular mechanism of its hepatocyte toxicity remains poorly clarified. The present research indicated that emodin targeted HepG2 cells without being cytotoxic...

Abstract Chicoric acid has recently become a hot research topic due to its potent bioactivities. However, there are few studies relevant to this acid’s pharmacokinetic characteristics and the pharmacological activities of its metabolites. To compare the abilities of chicoric acid and its metabolites in scavenging free radicals and their effects on...

Isoorientin (ISO) is a flavonoid compound in the human diet, and has been known to possess various bioactivities. However, the effects of ISO on microglia inflammation have not been investigated. The current study investigates the neuroprotective effect of ISO in LPS-activated mouse microglial (BV-2) cells. ISO significantly increased the BV-2 cell...

The protective effects of carnosic acid (CA), a naturally occurring catechol-type poly-phenolic diterpene, against free radical-induced oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA were evaluated in this study. The oxidation of human serum albumin and rat liver homogenate were induced by Cu2+/H2O2. Fe2+/VitC and 2,2′-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitri...