Shuming Yang

Strategies of functional food for cancer prevention in human beings.

Functional food for prevention of chronic diseases is one of this centurys key global challenges. Cancer is not only the first or second leading cause of death in China and other countries across the world, but also has diet as one of the most important modifiable risk factors. Major dietary factors now known to promote cancer development are polished grain foods and low intake of fresh vegetables, with general importance for an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. The strategies of cancer prevention in human being are increased consumption of functional foods like whole grains (brown rice, barley, and buckwheat) and by-products, as well some vegetables (bitter melon, garlic, onions, broccoli, and cabbage) and mushrooms (boletes and Tricholoma matsutake). In addition some beverages (green tea and coffee) may be protective. Southwest China (especially Yunnan Province) is a geographical area where functional crop production is closely related to the origins of human evolution with implications for anticancer influence.

QTLs of cold tolerance-related traits at the booting stage for NIL-RILs in rice revealed by SSR

QTLs for cold tolerance-related traits at the booting stage using balanced population for 1525 recombinant inbred lines of near-isogenic lines (viz.NIL-RILs for BC5F3 and BC5F4 and BC5F5) over 3 years and two locations by backcrossing the strongly cold-tolerant landrace (Kunmingxiaobaigu) and a cold-sensitive cultivar (Towada) was analyzed. In this study, 676 microsatellite markers were employed to identify QTLs conferring cold tolerance at booting stage. Single marker analysis revealed that 12 markers associated with cold tolerance on chromosome 1, 4 and 5. Using a LOD significance threshold of 3.0,compositive interval mapping based on a mixed linear model revealed eight QTLs for 10 cold tolerance-related traits on chromosomes 1, 4, and 5. They were tentatively designatedqCTB-1-1, qCTB-4-1, qCTB-4-2, qCTB-4-3, qCTB-4-4, qCTB-4-5, qCTB-4-6, andqCTB-5-1. The marker intervals of them were narrowed to 0.3-6.8 cM. Genetic distances between the peaks of the QTL and nearest markers varied from 0 to 0.04 cM. We were noticed in some traits associated cold tolerance, such asqCTB-1-1 for 5 traits (plant height, panicle exsertion, spike length, blighted grains per spike and spikelet fertility),qCTB-4-1 for 8 traits (plant height, node length under spike, leaf length, leaf width, spike length, full grains per spike, total grains per spike and spikelet fertility),qCTB-4-2 for 3 traits (spike length, full grains per spike and spikelet fertility),qCTB-5-1 for 5 traits (plant height, panicle exsertion, blighted grains per spike, full grains per spike and spikelet fertility). The variance explained by a single QTL ranged from 0.80 to 16.80%. Three QTLs (qCTB-1-1, qCTB-4-1, qCTB-4-2) were detected in two or more trials. Our study sets a foundation for cloning cold-tolerance genes and provides opportunities to understand the mechanism of cold tolerance at the booting stage.

Natural variation in CTB4a enhances rice adaptation to cold habitats

Low temperature is a major factor limiting rice productivity and geographical distribution. Improved cold tolerance and expanded cultivation to high-altitude or high-latitude regions would help meet growing rice demand. Here we explored a QTL for cold tolerance and cloned the gene, CTB4a (cold tolerance at booting stage), encoding a conserved leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase. We show that different CTB4a alleles confer distinct levels of cold tolerance and selection for variation in the CTB4a promoter region has occurred on the basis of environmental temperature. The newly generated cold-tolerant haplotype Tej-Hap-KMXBG was retained by artificial selection during temperate japonica evolution in cold habitats for low-temperature acclimation. Moreover, CTB4a interacts with AtpB, a beta subunit of ATP synthase. Upregulation of CTB4a correlates with increased ATP synthase activity, ATP content, enhanced seed setting and improved yield under cold stress conditions. These findings suggest strategies to improve cold tolerance in crop plants.

Characterization and identification of cold tolerant near-isogenic lines in rice

To exploit the genetic mechanism of cold tolerance in rice, cold tolerant near-isogenic lines (NILs) were developed by backcrossing Kunmingxiaobaigu (KMXBG), reported to be the most cold-tolerant variety at the booting stage, as donor, with the cold sensitive Japanese commercial japonica variety, Towada. Comparisons of cold tolerance-related traits between five BC6F5 NILs and recurrent parent Towada under cold treatment and normal temperatures at the booting stage showed that the differences between the NILs and Towada were significant only for spikelet fertility-related traits. Analyses of cold tolerance in the NILs at the budding (germination), seedling and booting stages indicated both correlated effects and differences. Lines 1913-4 and 1916-1 showed strong and stable tolerance at all three stages. Whole genome marker screening showed that the proportion of genetic background recovery was more than 98%. Seventeen markers from KMXBG were introgressed in two or more NILs, and cold tolerance genes were possibly present in these marker regions. The NILs should be excellent materials for both rice improvement and map-based cloning of cold tolerance QTLs.

Strategies of Functional Foods Promote Sleep in Human Being.

Sleep is a vital segment of life, however, the mechanisms of diet promoting sleep are unclear and are the focus of research. Insomnia is a general sleep disorder and functional foods are known to play a key role in the prevention of insomnia. A number of studies have demonstrated that major insomnia risk factors in human being are less functional foods in dietary. There are higher functional components in functional foods promoting sleep, including tryptophan, GABA, calcium, potassium, melatonin, pyridoxine, L-ornithine and hexadecanoic acid; but wake-promoting neurochemical factors include serotonin, noradrenalin, acetylcholine, histamine, orexin and so on. The factors promoting sleep in human being are the functional foods include barley grass powder, whole grains, maca, panax, Lingzhi, asparagus powder, lettuce, cherry, kiwifruits, walnut, schisandra wine, and milk; Barley grass powder with higher GABA and calcium, as well as potassium is the most ideal functional food promoting sleep, however, the sleep duration for modern humans is associated with food structure of ancient humans. In this review, we put forward possible mechanisms of functional components in foods promoting sleep. Although there is clear relevance between sleep and diet, their molecular mechanisms need to be studied further.

Coevolution between Human's Anticancer Activities and Functional Foods from Crop Origin Center in the World

Cancer is the leading cause of death around the world. Anticancer activities from many functional food sources have been reported in years, but correlation between cancer prevalence and types of food with anticancer activities from crop origin center in the world as well as food source with human migration are unclear. Hunger from food shortage is the cause of early human evolution from Africa to Asia and later into Eurasia. The richest functional foods are found in crop origin centers, housing about 70% in the world populations. Crop origin centers have lower cancer incidence and mortality in the world, especially Central Asia, Middle East, Southwest China, India and Ethiopia. Asia and Africa with the richest anticancer crops is not only the most important evolution base of humans and origin center of anticancer functional crop, but also is the lowest mortality and incidence of cancers in the world. Cancer prevention of early human migrations was associated with functional foods from crop origin centers, especially Asia with four centers and one subcenter of crop origin, accounting for 58% of the world population. These results reveal that coevolution between humans anticancer activities associated with functional foods for crop origin centers, especially in Asia and Africa.

Coevolution between Cancer Activities and Food Structure of Human Being from Southwest China

Yunnan and Tibet are the lowest cancer mortality and the largest producer for anticancer crops (brown rice, barley, buckwheat, tea, walnut, mushrooms, and so forth). Shanghai and Jiangsu province in China have the highest mortality of cancers, which are associated with the sharp decline of barley.

Elemental Content in Brown Rice by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy Reveals the Evolution of Asian Cultivated Rice

The phylogenetic relationship for classification traits and eight mineral elements in brown rice (Oryza sativa L.) from Yunnan Province in China was carried out using microwave assisted digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and the analytical procedures were carefully controlled and validated. In general, the results show that the mean levels of K, Ca, Mg, Fe and Cu in brown rice for 789 accessions of rice landraces was distinctly lower than that of improved cultivars. They further demonstrate that Ca plays an important role in the differentiation of subspecies indica-japonica, especially to enhance adaptation of cold stress, and that five mineral elements in brown rice enhance the eurytopicity from landrace to improved cultivar. Hierarchical cluster analysis, using average linkage from SPSS software based on eight mineral elements in brown rice, showed that Yunnan rice could be grouped into rice landrace and improved cultivar, with the rice landrace being further clustered into five subgroups, and that, interestingly, purple rice does not cluster with either of the groups. Our present data confirm that indica is the closest relative of late rice and white rice, and that they constitute rice landraces together, whereas japonica is the closest relatives of non-nuda, early-mid and glutinous rice. It is further shown that japonica, non-nuda, early-mid, glutinous, white and red rice might be more primitive than indica, nuda, late, non-glutinous and purple rice, respectively.

HPLC Analysis of Flavonoids Compounds of Purple, Normal Barley Grain

Barley is medicinal and edible crops. Analysis of flavonoids of barley could reveal its antioxidants of different type. This experiment was conducted to examine the classification and concentration of flavonoids compounds in three types barley grain.As a result, HPLC fingerprint of flavonoids are different on three types barley. The total average contents of Catechin of whole grain in the normal barley (21.85 μg/g) were significantly higher than that in the hulled purple barley (17.22 μg/g) and unhulled purple barley (9.05 μg/g). The flavonoids of quercetin was not detected in normal barley(0.00 μg/g), but only detected in hulled purple barley(60.98 μg/g) and unhulled purple barley(24.35 μg/g). The flavonoids of myricetin was not detected in normal barley and unhulled purple barley, but detected in hulled barley (14.04 μg/g). The total average contents of kaempferol of whole grain in the unhulled purple barley (36.00 μg/g) were significantly higher than that in the hulled purple barley (32.56 μg/g) and normal barley (26.65 μg/g). The total average contents of flavonoids of whole grain in the hulled purple barley (124.8 μg/g) were significantly higher than that in the unhulled purple barley (69.40 μg/g) and normal barley (48.50 μg/g). The bran-rich fractions of barley grain contain the flavonoids compounds while whole kernel flour of all three types did not contain any flavonoids compounds.

Correlation Analysis of Functional Components of Barley Grain

Barley is a medicinal and edible crop that is not only the most stress tolerant and comprehensively utilized cereal, but is also a functional food crop used in strategies for chronic disease prevention, such as reduction of obesity and Type II diabetes. Using spectrophotometry methods, four functional components in 830 accessions of Yunnan improved landraces barley grains have been detected: resistant starch, total flavonoids, total alkaloids, and γ-aminobutyric acid. The average content of resistant starch was 3.57 ± 2.72 mg/100 g. The average content of total flavonoids was 133.09 ± 27.65 mg/100 g. The average content of total alkaloids was 21.26 ± 9.18 mg/100 g. The average content of γ-aminobutyric acid was 5.70 ± 2.82 mg/100 g. Sixty accessions of high functional components of high superior landraces were detected, including 14 accessions with high content of total flavonoids (content >195 mg/100 g), 17 accessions with high content of resistant starch (content >12%), 11 accessions of high content of total alkaloids (content >45.19 mg/100 g), 18 accessions of high content of γ-aminobutyric acid (content >13.03 mg/100 g). These superior barley functional landraces offer excellent landraces for barley breeding. By correlation analysis of four functional components of barley grain, total flavonoids and γ-aminobutyric acid have a significant negative correlation (r = −0.154**, n = 830), total flavonoids and resistant starch have a significant negative correlation (r = −0.097**, n = 830), total alkaloids and γ-aminobutyric acid have a significant negative correlation (r = −0.096**, n = 830), and γ-aminobutyric acid and resistant starch have a significant negative correlation(r = −0.122**, n = 830). By a principal component analysis of functional components, the first principal component is γ-aminobutyric acid and the second is resistant starch, followed be flavonoids. Content of γ-aminobutyric acid changes the most, followed by resistant starch and flavonoids.