Digestive

We propose a regenerative solution in the treatment of critical limb ischemia. Poly-lactic/glycolic acid (PLGA) microcarriers were prepared and coated with laminin to be sterilized through γ-irradiation of 25 kGy at low temperature. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells were extracted through enzymatic digestion of adipose tissue. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice underwent arteriotomy and received an administration of SVF cells combined or not with biomimetic microcarriers. Functional evaluation of the ischemic limb was then reported and tissue reperfusion was evaluated through fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT)...

• Although orthopterans are rarely considered to be effective seed dispersal agents, the large flightless crickets known as weta have been suggested to function as ecological replacements for small mammals in New Zealand, where such mammals are absent. In addition, a recent study reported that camel crickets mediate seed dispersal of several heterotrophic plants including Yoania amagiensis in Japan. • I investigated the seed dispersal mechanism of Yoania japonica because the fruit morphology is similar to Yoania amagiensis...

BACKGROUND: Roasted fish enjoys great popularity in Asia, but how roasting and subsequent digestion influence the oxidation and proteolysis of fish meat is unknown. This paper is aimed to investigate the effect of roasting time on lipid and protein oxidation and their evolution and consequence on proteolysis during simulated digestion of fish fillets. RESULTS: Several oxidation markers (TBARS, free thiols, total carbonyls and Schiff bases) were employed to assess the oxidation of fish...

This study describes an aptamer based assay for the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA). The method is based on the use of an OTA-specific aptamer, exonuclease (Exo) III, SYBR Gold as a fluorescent probe, and a complementary strand that specifically combines with the aptamer. In the presence of OTA, the aptamer and OTA hybridize, thereby resulting in the formation of ssDNA, which is not digested by Exo III. Intense fluorescence is observed after addition of SYBR Gold (best measured at excitation/emission wavelengths of 495/540 nm)...

In this study, we analyzed hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) in urine of both PCB transport workers and PCB researchers. A method to monitor OH-PCB in urine was developed. Urine was solid-phase extracted with 0.1% ammonia/ methanol (v/v) and glucuronic acid/sulfate conjugates and then decomposed using β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase. After alkaline digestion/derivatization, the concentration of OH-PCBs was determined by HRGC/HRMS-SIM. In the first sampling campaign, the worker's OH-PCB levels increased several fold after the PCB waste transportation work, indicating exposure to PCBs...

Effective process monitoring and instability diagnosis are important for stable anaerobic digestion (AD) of vegetable waste (VW). In order to evaluate the performance of thermophilic digestion of VW, to make early diagnosis for instability after organic overload, and to reveal the dynamics of microbial community under different running states, thermophilic AD of VW was carried out under improved organic loading rates (OLR) of 0.5-2.5 g volatile solid (VS)/(L ∙ d) in this study. Gaseous parameters including volumetric methane production rate (VMPR), CH4 , CO2 , and H2 concentrations, and liquid parameters including pH, oxidation-reduction potential, volatile fatty acid (VFA), and total alkalinity (TA), bicarbonate alkalinity (BA), intermediate alkalinity (IA), and ammonia, were monitored...

The aim of this study was to assess the potential of struvite precipitation to recover nutrients from anaerobically-processed poultry slurry and struvite's interactions with heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni) and pathogens (total coliforms and Escherichia coli). The impacts of pH, Mg, N, and P molar proportion, reaction time, and mixing rate and duration were explored to determine the optimal conditions for nutrient recovery through struvite precipitation. A pH range of 9.5 to 10.5, was ideal for P and N removal and recovery, with a molar ratio of 1:1:1 for Mg:N:P...

In the present study, the presence and distribution of leptin receptor (LEP-R) in central nervous system, digestive organs, gonads of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, were investigated with Western blot and immunohistochemistry. By Western blot a LEP-R with a molecular weight (MW) of 100 kDa was detected in the brain, thoracic ganglia, abdominal ganglia, hepatopancreas, all parts of the gastrointestinal tract, ovaries, and testes. In hepatopancreas and foregut, another intense positive band was detected at molecular weight of 30 kDa, which could be an isotype of LEP-R...

Bioactive peptides derived from food matrices are currently a subject of intensive research, due to the multiple health benefits they can exert in the human body. However, the small size and low abundance of these peptides in complex matrices as well as the effect of food processing and gastrointestinal digestion on their structure, sequence, and functionality, are important challenges. Spanish dry-cured ham has been reported as a good and natural source of bioactive peptides mainly showing antihypertensive and antioxidant activities...

Our previous study reported the improved stability of fucoxanthin (FX) fortified in whole milk (WM) and skimmed milk (SM). In this study, in vivo and in vitro FX bioavailability were investigated using FX-fortified milk (FX-SM and FX-WM) and microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum biomass (Pt-powder). Organ tissue accumulation of FX and its metabolites (FXOH: fucoxanthinol, AXA: amarouciaxanthin A) after repeated oral administration was in the following order: FX-SM > FX-WM > Pt-powder. In vivo pharmacokinetic study with a single oral administration also demonstrated that the absorption of FXOH and AXA was the highest for FX-SM...

This research aimed to investigate the protective effects of a new mulberry cultivar J33 with simulated gastrointestinal digestion against palmitic acid (PA)-induced lipotoxicity. LC-MS analysis revealed that the contents of four flavonoid glycosides (quercetin rhamnosylhexoside hexoside, quercetin rhamnosylhexoside, quercetin hexoside, kaempferol rhamnosylhexoside) increased after digestion. Besides, mulberry digest (MBD) at 0.5-2 mg/mL significantly reduced PA-induced lipotoxicity in human hepatocytes, while mulberry extract without digestion (MBE) showed no protection...

There remain gaps in our understanding of the fate of liposomes in the infant gastrointestinal tract, especially regarding essential proteins such as lactoferrin. Models in vitro that mirrored digestion in the stomach and intestine of infants and adults were used to explore the behaviour of lactoferrin-loaded liposomes. The liposomes behaved differently in these environments, with less hydrolysis of encapsulated lactoferrin under infant model conditions. Compared to the adult model (1000 ± 66 μM mL-1 ), fewer free fatty acids were released (500 ± 43 μM mL-1 ) from liposomal bilayers and there was less alteration in functional groups of phospholipids membranes, based on pH and FTIR after infant model digestion...

Interactions of phenolics from green coffee bean flour (GCS) with the matrix of wheat bread have been studied employing direct (electrophoretic and chromatographic techniques) and indirect tests (nutrient digestibility). According to the chromatograms of digests, the antiradical activity of enriched bread was exhibited by free phenolics. An increase the area of chromatograms and some additional peaks observed for enriched bread may confirm some interactions of proteins with phenolics. The electrophoretic profile of these extracts showed that the band corresponding to a protein with molecular mass of 38 kDA had much higher intensity in enriched bread...

An oyster protein hydrolysates-zinc complex (OPH-Zn) was prepared and investigated to improve zinc bioaccessibility. Zinc ions chelating with oyster protein hydrolysates (OPH) cause intramolecular and intermolecular folding and aggregation, homogeneously forming the OPH-Zn complex as nanoclusters with a Z-average at 89.28 nm (PDI: 0.16 ± 0.02). The primary sites of zinc-binding in OPH were carboxyl groups, carbonyl groups, and amino groups, and they were related to the high number of charged amino acid residues...

A p-coumaroyl esterase from Rhizoctonia solani was used to decrease 5-O-chlorogenic acid (5-CQA) content in coffee powder. HPLC-UV showed a decline of up to 98% of 5-CQA after the enzyme treatment. Effects on aroma were determined by means of aroma extract dilution analysis. Flavour dilution factors of treated and control extract differed in four volatile compounds only. Effect on aroma and taste was evaluated by sensory tests. No significant differences were perceived, and no off-flavour nor off-taste was noted...

The acorns of Quercus fabri Hance tree, or the mandarin duck fruits have been consumed by locals in the form of noodle, yet there is little scientific study. We found that they have much lower digestibility compared with that of rice flour. Solvent extraction using hexane, dichloromethane, and acetone-ethanol-water (AEW) mixture yielded three fractions but the starch hydrolase inhibitors were only found in the AEW fraction. Using assay-guided fractionation of the extracts, we were able to further separate the active compounds by using Sephadex LH-20 column and characterize the inhibitor chemical identities by LC-MS( n ) ...

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is the cluster of risk factors that leads to increased episodes of cardiovascular disease (CVD). These risk factors include but are not limited to obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD), dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes. Since the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome has multiple metabolic origins, there is no single treatment for it. Pharmacological approaches consist of separate drugs which target at individual risk factors which pose various side effects...

Milk replacer (MR) feeding programs have traditionally fed at less than ad libitum amounts to promote calf starter (CS) intake and allow early weaning. More recently, increased amounts of MR preweaning have been shown to increase preweaning ADG, although postweaning growth may be reduced. Several studies suggest that limited postweaning digestion of nutrients in CS may contribute to postweaning growth impairment. It is not clear whether CS formulation might also contribute to differences in postweaning nutrient digestion when calves are fed different MR programs...

The complete methanogenic degradation of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was achieved in this study. Initially, DMF was found to be feebly degradable by a lab-scale submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR) using normal anaerobic digestion sludge (ADS) even after 120-day's culturing. However, aerobic DMF-degrading activated sludge (AS) was rapidly cultivated in a continuous aeration reactor (CAR). A specially designed anaerobic co-cultured sludge (ACS) made by artificially mixing AS with ADS was successfully domesticated by a long term repeated batch experiment...

The aim of this work was to study the degradation of lignin in raw wood via pretreatment with heteropoly acids as substitutes for traditional H2 SO4 in γ-valerolactone/water. By optimizing catalyst concentration, reaction time and temperature, the optimal lignin degradation conditions are obtained (130 °C, 3 h and 20 mM silicotungstic acid). SEM and FTIR measurements demonstrated the efficient lignin degradation ability of HPAs in the GVL/H2 O solvent, with negligible damage to cellulose within the raw wood...