Immunological and biochemical parameters of patients with metabolic syndrome and the participation of oxidative and nitroactive stress

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a multifactorial disease involving inflammatory activity and endothelial dysfunction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the changes in lipoperoxidation, in immunological and biochemical parameters and nitric oxide metabolite (NOx) levels in MS patients. Fifty patients with MS (4 males/46 females) and 50 controls (3 males/47 females) were studied. Compared to control (Mann-Whitney test), MS patients presented higher serum levels (P < 0.05) of fibrinogen: 314 (185-489) vs 262 (188-314) mg/dL, C-reactive protein (CRP): 7.80 (1.10-46.50) vs 0.70 (0.16-5.20) mg/dL, interleukin-6: 3.96 (3.04-28.18) vs 3.33 (2.55-9.63) pg/mL, uric acid: 5.45 (3.15-9.65) vs 3.81 (2.70-5.90) mg/dL, and hydroperoxides: 20,689 (19,076-67,182) vs 18,636 (15,926-19,731) cpm. In contrast, they presented lower (P < 0.05) adiponectin: 7.11 (3.19-18.22) vs 12.31 (9.11-27.27) µg/mL, and NOx levels: 5.69 (2.36-8.18) vs 6.72 (5.14-12.43) µM. NOx was inversely associated (Spearman’s rank correlation) with body mass index (r = -0.2858, P = 0.0191), insulin resistance determined by the homeostasis model assessment (r = -0.2530, P = 0.0315), CRP (r = -0.2843, P = 0.0171) and fibrinogen (r = -0.2464, P = 0.0413), and positively correlated with hydroperoxides (r = 0.2506, P = 0.0408). In conclusion, NOx levels are associated with obesity, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammatory markers. The high uric acid levels together with reactive oxygen species generation may be responsible for the reduced NO levels, which in turn lead to endothelial dysfunction. The elevated plasma chemiluminescence reflecting both increased plasma oxidation and reduced antioxidant capacity may play a role in the MS mechanism.

A method for fast determination of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC), catechin (C) and caffeine (CAF) in green tea using HPLC

Tea has been considered a medicine and a healthy beverage since ancient times, but recently it has received a great deal of attention because of its antioxidant properties. Green tea polyphenols have demonstrated to be an effective chemopreventive agent. Recently, investigators have found that EGCG, one of the green tea catechins, could have anti-HIV effects when bound to CD4 receptor. Many factors can constitute important influences on the composition of tea, such as species, season, age of the leaf, climate, and horticultural practices (soil, water, minerals, fertilizers). This paper presents an HPLC analytical methodology development, using column RP-18 and mobile phase composed by water, acetonitrile, methanol, ethyl acetate, glacial acetic acid (89:6:1:3:1 v/v/v/v/v) for simultaneous determination and quantification of caffeine (CAF), catechin (C), epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in samples of Camellia sinensis (green tea) grown in Brazil and harvested in spring, in summer and in autumn, in comparison to Brazilian black tea, to samples of Japanese and Chinese green tea and to two standardized dry extracts of green tea. The method has been statistically evaluated and has proved to be adequate to qualitative and quantitative determination of the samples.

Physico-chemical characterization and bioactive compounds of blackberry fruits (Rubus sp.) grown in Brazil

Five blackberry cultivars (Rubus sp.) were evaluated for antioxidant capacity, bioactive compounds and composition. Ascorbic acid levels, consisting of dehydro-ascorbic acid, ranged from 9.8 to 21.4 mg.100 g-1 fresh weight. Cyanidin (66 to 80% of total flavonoids), epicatechin, quercetin and traces of kaempferol were the main flavonoids found in all cultivars. The five cultivars presented high antioxidant capacity in the β-carotene/linoleic acid system, with inhibition similar to the synthetic antioxidant BHT, at a 50 µM concentration. Caingangue cultivar presented high vitamin C and total phenolics content, while Guarani had the highest cyanidin, total anthocyanin and total flavonoids levels and also the highest antioxidant capacity. These cultivars also presented good TSS/TA ratios. From the data, at a quantitative level, blackberry can be considered a good source of bioactive compounds, as well as potentially beneficial to human health.

Study of bacteria Gluconobacter sp.: isolation, purification, phenotypic and molecular identification

The importance of the study of acetic bacteria, on species of the Gluconobacter genus is based on its industrial application, as these possess the capacity of bioconversion of sorbitol to sorbose, enabling the process of vitamin C production. The study involved samples collected in industries of soft drinks, flowers, fruits and honey, followed by purification, phenotypic identification, molecular identification with the use of primer defined from Nucleotide Sequence Database consultation. Strains preserved were identified as members of the Acetobacteraceae family, Gluconobacter genus. 110 strains had been isolated of substrate: Pyrostegia venusta (ker-gawler), honey, Vitis vinifera (grape), Pyrus communis (pear), Malus sp. (apple) and in two samples of soft drinks. Of this total 57 strains had been recovered in manitol medium (manitol, yeast extract, peptone), 12 in YMG medium (glucose, manitol, yeast extract, ethanol, acetic acid), 41 in enrichment medium (De Ley and Swings) and later in the GYC medium (glucose, yeast extract and calcium carbonate). 68 strains were identified as Gram negative bacilli rods. Of these, 31 were characterized biochemically as belonging to the Acetobacteriaceae family as they were catalase positive, oxidase negative and producers of acid from glucose. The characterization of these strains was complemented with the biochemistry tests: gelatin liquefaction, nitrate reduction, indole and H2S production, oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid and molecular tests for genus identification. Only eight strains were characterized as pertaining to the Gluconobacter genus. The strains are maintained in collection cultures at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Biology Department at the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Assis, stored in malt extract at -196 ºC.

Changes in guava (Psidium guajava L. var. Paluma) nectar volatile compounds concentration due to thermal processing and storage

Guava nectars were formulated for approximately 10, 12, or 14 ºBrix, with 40% guava pulp. Sodium benzoate, 500 mg.kg-1 was used as preservative. The Brix value was adjusted with saturated sucrose syrup. The guava nectar was pasteurized (85 ºC/42 seconds) in tubular heat exchanger and then hot filled in 500 mL white glass bottles. The products were stored either at room temperature (25 ± 5 ºC) or refrigerated (5 ± 2 ºC) under fluorescent light exposure and analyzed on the day after processing (time zero) and also 40, 80, and 120 days of storage. Eight compounds were identified and quantified by Gas Chromatography (GC) -Mass Spectrometry (MS): hexanal, (E)-hex-2-enal, 1-hexenol, (Z)-hex-3-enol, (Z)-hex-3-enyl acetate, phenyl-3-propyl acetate, cinnamyl acetate, and acetic acid. There was no significant effect of thermal treatment on the volatile compound concentrations, except for a significant decrease (p = 0.0001) in hexanal and (Z)-hex-3-enyl acetate (p = 0.0029). As for the storage time, there was a much greater decrease in the esters contents, such as (Z)-hex-3-enyl and phenyl-3-propyl acetates. Cinnamyl acetate had the greatest decrease over storage time. Refrigeration was better than room temperature for guava nectar volatile compounds stability over storage time, mainly for esters compounds, which are important for the product aroma and flavor

Docosahexaenoic acid ethyl esther (DHAEE) microcapsule production by spray-drying: optimization by experimental design

Docosahexaenoic acid is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid with important metabolic activities. Its conjugated double bonds make it susceptible to decomposition. Its stability may be improved through fatty acid entrapment with a spray-drying technique; however, the many parameters involved in this technique must be considered to avoid affecting the final product quality. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the entrapment conditions and yields of fish oil enriched with docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester. Microcapsules were obtained from Acacia gum using a spray-drying technique. The experimental samples were analyzed by chromatography and delineated by Statistica software, which found the following optimum entrapment conditions: an inlet temperature of 188 °C; 30% core material; an N2 flow rate of 55 mm; and a pump flow rate of 12.5 mL/minute. These conditions provided a 66% yield of docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester in the oil, corresponding to 19.8% of entrapped docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester (w/w). This result was considered significant since 30% corresponded to wall material.

Retention of short chain fatty acids under drying and storage conditions

Cheese whey permeate was used as a substrate for the fermentation of Propionibacterium freudenreichi PS1 for the production of short chain fatty acids, components of the bio-aroma of Swiss cheese. The liquid bio-aroma was encapsulated by spray drying under different conditions of air inlet temperature and feed rate. A study was carried out on the stability of the bio-aroma during storage in laminated packages at 30 °C for 96 days using the product showing the greatest retention of acetic and propionic acids. The results showed that the best drying conditions were an air entrance temperature of 180 °C and a feed rate of 24 g/min resulting in particles with a smooth surface and few invaginations and micro-fissures. However, 72% of the acetic acid and 80% of the propionic acid were lost during storage showing that the wall material used was inadequate to guarantee product stability.

Studies of chemical and enzymatic characteristics of Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) and its flours

Due to the importance of studies on yacon related to health, its in natura pulp, in natura peel, pulp flour, and peel flour were chemically analyzed in terms of its centesimal composition, specific minerals, total dietary fiber and fractions, pH, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, tannins, oxalic acid, and nitrate. The polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase enzymatic activities were evaluated for in natura pulp and peel only. Yacon pulp and peel flour presented average yield of 7.94% and 10.86%, respectively. The in natura pulp presented a higher moisture and carboydrate content and lower lipid, protein, total dietary fiber, and ash than those of the peel flour. The same pattern was observed for pulp flour when compared to peel flour. The highest tannin, nitrate, and oxalic acid levels were found in the peel flour, 15,304.5 mg.kg-1, 1,578.3 mg.kg-1, and 7,925.0 mg.kg-1 (wet weight), respectively. The polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase enzymes presented higher enzymatic activity in the yacon peel. Based on the results obtained, it can be said that the yacon and its derivatives are important dietary carbohydrate and mineral sources and contain antinutritional substance contents lower than those harmful to health.

Characterization and extraction of volatile compounds from pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merril) processing residues

The aim of this study was to extract and identify volatile compounds from pineapple residues generated during concentrated juice processing. Distillates of pineapple residues were obtained using the following techniques: simple hydrodistillation and hydrodistillation by passing nitrogen gas. The volatile compounds present in the distillates were captured by the solid-phase microextraction technique. The volatile compounds were identified in a system of high resolution gas chromatography system coupled with mass spectrometry using a polyethylene glycol polar capillary column as stationary phase. The pineapple residues constituted mostly of esters (35%), followed by ketones (26%), alcohols (18%), aldehydes (9%), acids (3%) and other compounds (9%). Odor-active volatile compounds were mainly identified in the distillate obtained using hydrodistillation by passing nitrogen gas, namely decanal, ethyl octanoate, acetic acid, 1-hexanol, and ketones such as γ-hexalactone, γ-octalactone, δ-octalactone, γ-decalactone, and γ-dodecalactone. This suggests that the use of an inert gas and lower temperatures helped maintain higher amounts of flavor compounds. These data indicate that pineapple processing residue contained important volatile compounds which can be extracted and used as aroma enhancing products and have high potential for the production of value-added natural essences.

Incorporation of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and α-linolenic acid (LNA) in pacu fillets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the incorporation of conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid in fillets of pacu fish raised in net cages and fed diets enriched with these acids. The fish were fed for 49 days, and at the end of this period the fatty acid content in the fillets was determined by gas chromatography. Concentrations of α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and the total omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid in the fillets increased, improving the n-6/n-3 ratio. In addition, the incorporation of conjugated linoleic acid in the fish fillets proved well established. This study showed that the use of diets enriched with conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid results in the incorporation of these acids in the of pacu fish fillets, improving their nutritional quality.

Multivariate study and regression analysis of gluten-free granola

This study developed a gluten-free granola and evaluated it during storage with the application of multivariate and regression analysis of the sensory and instrumental parameters. The physicochemical, sensory, and nutritional characteristics of a product containing quinoa, amaranth and linseed were evaluated. The crude protein and lipid contents ranged from 97.49 and 122.72 g kg-1 of food, respectively. The polyunsaturated/saturated, and n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratios ranged from 2.82 and 2.59:1, respectively. Granola had the best alpha-linolenic acid content, nutritional indices in the lipid fraction, and mineral content. There were good hygienic and sanitary conditions during storage; probably due to the low water activity of the formulation, which contributed to inhibit microbial growth. The sensory attributes ranged from 'like very much' to 'like slightly', and the regression models were highly fitted and correlated during the storage period. A reduction in the sensory attribute levels and in the product physical stabilisation was verified by principal component analysis. The use of the affective test acceptance and instrumental analysis combined with statistical methods allowed us to obtain promising results about the characteristics of gluten-free granola.

Vinegar rice (Oryza sativa L.) produced by a submerged fermentation process from alcoholic fermented rice

Considering the limited availability of technology for the production of rice vinegar and also due to the potential consumer product market, this study aimed to use alcoholic fermented rice (rice wine (Oryza sativa L.)) for vinegar production. An alcoholic solution with 6.28% (w/v) ethanol was oxidized by a submerged fermentation process to produce vinegar. The process of acetic acid fermentation occurred at 30 ± 0.3°C in a FRINGS® Acetator (Germany) for the production of vinegar and was followed through 10 cycles. The vinegar had a total acidity of 6.85% (w/v), 0.17% alcohol (w/v), 1.26% (w/v) minerals and 1.78% (w/v) dry extract. The composition of organic acids present in rice vinegar was: cis-aconitic acid (6 mg/L), maleic acid (3 mg/L), trans-aconitic acid (3 mg/L), shikimic + succinic acid (4 mg/L), lactic acid (300 mg/L), formic acid (180 mg/L), oxalic acid (3 mg/L), fumaric acid (3 mg/L) and itaconic acid (1 mg/L).

Determination of some quality properties of marinated sea bream (Sparus Aurata L., 1758) during cold storage

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of sea bream (Sparus aurata) marinated some quality properties during cold storage. The fillets of fish were immersed into brine including 3.5% acetic acid 11% salt in the ratio of 1: 1.5 (fish: marinate brine) for marination process. After the process of ripening, samples were grouped into two and packed in plastic containers; one being plain (in sunflower oil) and the other being sauced (sauced prepared with sunflower oil). During storage, sensory, crude protein, lipid, dry matter and crude ash, TBA, TVB-N, TMA-N and peroxide analyses were done periodically. According to results of 200 days of storage, TVB-N values of sea bream marinates packaged as plain and sauced were 15.86/14.89 mg/100g, TBA 7.06/7.99 mg MA/kg, TMA-N 2.97/3.12, mg/100g, the value of peroxide was 7.23/7.45 meq/kg respectively. According to chemical and sensory analyses results obtained in the study; it was concluded that sea bream marinates packaged as plain and sauced can be stored in +4 °C for 200 days.

Recovery and purification of anthocyanins from purple-blue potato

The aim of this work was to study techniques to extract and purify of anthocyanins from purple-blue potato. This topic was determined as a master’s thesis and it was done in collaboration with the Food Chemistry and Food Development Department of University of Turku and Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at Lappeenranta University of Technology. At first, purple-blue potatoes were pretreated in four types of boiled, raw, freeze-dried and dried boiled potato for extraction. They were mixed with aqueous acidified ethanol (ethanol:water:acetic acid 40%:53%:7% v/v) for conventional extraction. Boiled potato was selected as a best pretreated potato. Different ethanol concentration and extraction time were examined and the mixture of 80% in 24 h resulted in maximum anthocyanin content (132.23 mg/L). As conventional extraction method of anthocyanins was non-selective, some of impurities such as free sugars might accelerate anthocyanin degradation. Therefore, to obtain anthocyanins in purified form, adsorption as a promising selective method was used to recovery and isolate anthocyanins. It was carried out with six adsorbents. Among those, Amberlite XAD-7HP, a nonionic acrylic ester adsorbent, was found to have the best performance. In an adsorption column, flow rate of 3 mL/min was selected as the loading flow rate among four tested flow rates. Eluent volume and flow rate were 3 BV of aqueous acidified ethanol (75%, v/v) and 1 mL/min for desorption. The quantification of the total anthocyanin contents was performed by pH-differential method using UV-vis spectrophotometer. The resulting anthocyanin solution after purification was almost free from free sugars which were the major cause for degradation of anthocyanins. The average anthocyanin concentration in the purified and concentrated sample was obtained 1752.89 mg/L.

Antitromboottisten lääkeaineiden enantiomeerien kromatografinen fraktiointi

Suuri osa käytössä olevista lääkeaineista on kiraalisia yhdisteitä. Lääkevalmisteet sisältävät yhdisteen enantiomeerien ominaisuuksista riippuen joko yksittäistä enantiomeeria tai näiden seosta. Antitromboottisiin eli veren hyytymistä estäviin lääkeaineisiin kuuluvat varfariini ja rivaroksabaani ovat kiraalisia yhdisteitä, joiden enantiomeerien ominaisuudet poikkeavat antitromboottisen vaikutuksen voimakkuuden suhteen. Varfariinia käytetään kliinisesti enantiomeeriensa raseemisena seoksena, kun taas rivaroksabaani on käytössä lääkevalmisteena puhtaana S-enantiomeerinaan. Lääkeaineen enantiomeerien erottaminen toisistaan on tärkeää esimerkiksi enantiomeerien puhdistamiseksi, lääkevalmisteen oikean koostumuksen varmistamiseksi tai yksittäisten enantiomeerien käyttäytymisen arvioimiseksi elimistössä. Tässä kirjallisuustyössä käsiteltiin nestekromatografian käyttöä antitromboottisiin lääkeaineisiin kuuluvien antikoagulanttien enantiomeerien fraktioinnissa. Kirjallisuudesta saadun tiedon perusteella arvioitiin, millä erotusmateriaaleilla ja millaisissa koeolosuhteissa varfariinin sekä rivaroksabaanin enantiomeerit tulisi erottaa toisistaan. Varfariinin enantiomeerien erotukseen parhaiten sopivaksi erotusmateriaaliksi todettiin kirjallisuuden perusteella kiraalinen vankomysiinipohjainen stationaarifaasi (Chirobiotic V) metanolin, etikkahapon ja veden seoksen toimiessa eluenttina. Eluentin virtausnopeudella 0,3 mL/min ja pienellä injektiotilavuudella varfariinin enantiomeerit saatiin erottumaan täydellisesti ja nopeasti toisistaan. Kirjallisuuden perusteella rivaroksabaanin enantiomeerien erotuksessa erotusmateriaalina toimii parhaiten kiraalinen selluloosapohjainen stationaarifaasi (Chiralcel OD-RH), kun eluenttina käytetään n-heksaanin ja isopropanolin seosta virtausnopeudella 1 mL/min. Varfariinin ja rivaroksabaanin enantiomeerien fraktiointiin parhaiten sopivia menetelmiä voidaan käyttää eri tilanteissa, kuten lääkevalmisteiden laadunvarmistuksessa tai enantiomeerien erotuksessa niiden synteesin jälkeen.