• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.973-979
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• 2016

Lentils (Lens culinaris) have been gaining increasing attention recently as a top five superfood, as they are high in protein and other essential nutrients, including folate, iron, potassium, and various antioxidants. In the present study, phenolic extracts from four different lentil cultivars (green, red, French, and beluga) were evaluated for their total phenolic contents and in vitro antioxidant activities. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of four different lentil extracts were 27.30~30.30 mg tannic acid equivalents (TAE)/g and 13.14~16.29 mg quercetin equivalents (QUE)/g, respectively. Beluga and red lentil extracts showed higher polyphenol contents than others (P<0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in flavonoid contents among the four lentil cultivars. $RC_{50}$ values of the lentil extracts for DPPH radical, ABTS radical, and $H_2O_2$ were $57.42{\sim}64.49{\mu}g/mL$, $66.11{\sim}75.69{\mu}g/mL$, and $59.72{\sim}72.86{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Among the four lentil extracts, beluga lentil extract showed the most potent scavenging effect in all three reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging assays, and thus beluga extract was further tested for its inhibitory effect on early peroxidation of linoleic acid. The results showed that beluga lentil extract significantly inhibited linoleic acid peroxidation in a dose-dependent manner (concentration required for 50% reduction=$222.76{\m}g/mL$). In addition, beluga lentil extract showed a significant protective effect against alcohol-induced cytotoxicity in AML-12 cells (normal mouse hepatocyte cell line). Taken together, these results suggest that lentil extracts represent potential sources of natural antioxidants, and further studies will be necessary to determine their protective effects against oxidative stress in vivo.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.462-473
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• 2024

The anti-inflammatory effect of beluga lentil extract (BLE) and its underlying mechanisms were investigated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Treatment with BLE significantly decreased nitric oxide (NO) production and protein and mRNA expressions of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells. Down-regulation of this inflammatory gene expression was not associated with NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathways, and further mechanistic studies demonstrated that BLE decreased LPS-induced iNOS expression through upregulation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. These results suggest that beluga lentil represent a potential source of natural anti-inflammatory agents, and further studies will be necessary to determine its anti-inflammatory effects in vivo.