Ionically bound peroxidase from peach fruit

Soluble, ionically bound peroxidase (POD) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) were extracted from the pulp of peach fruit during ripening at 20degreesC Ionically bound form was purified 6.1 -fold by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. The purified enzyme showed only one peak of activity on Sephadex G-100 and PAGE revealed that the enzyme was purified by the procedures adopted. The purified enzyme showed a molecular weight of 29000 Da, maximum activity at pH 5.0 and at 40degreesC the calculated apparent activation energy (Ea) for the reaction was 10.04 kcal/mol. The enzyme was heat-labile in the temperature range of 60 to 75degreesC with a fast inactivation at 75degreesC Measurement of residual activity showed a stabilizing effect of sucrose at various temperature/sugar concentrations (0, 10, 20 %, w/w), with an activation energy (Ea) for inactivation increasing with sucrose concentration from 0 to 20% (w/w). The Km and V-max values were 9.35 and 15.38 mM for O-dianisidine and H2O2, respectively. The bound enzyme was inhibited competitively by (.)ferulic, caffeic and protocatechuic acids with different values of Ki,. L-cysteine, p-coumaric and indolacetic acid and Fe++ also inhibited the enzyme but at a lower grade. N-ethylmaleimide and p-CMB were not effective to inhibit the enzyme demonstrating the non-essentiality of SH groups.

Fruit of the jambolan tree (Eugenia jambolana Lam.) and experimental diabetes

The fruit of Indian Eugenia jambolana have been shown to have therapeutic properties, but because the therapeutic potential of a plant is related to the geographic region in which the plant was grown and to the part of the plant used, we investigated Brazilian Eugenia jambolana fruit using the same preparation and experimental methods as have been used in India. The well-established metabolic cage model was used to evaluate the physiological and metabolic parameters associated with streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats (n = 10) which had been administered, by gavage, 50 mg per day of lyophilised Eugenia jambolana fruit-pulp extract for 41 days. We found that, compared to untreated controls, rats treated with the lyophilised fruit-pulp showed no observable difference in body weight, food or water intake, urine volume, glycaemia, urinary urea and glucose, hepatic glycogen, or on serum levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. No change was observed in the masses of epididymal or retroperitoneal adipose tissue or of soleus or extensor digitorum longus muscles. This lack of any apparent effect on the diabetes may be attributable to the regional ecosystem where the fruit was collected and/or to the severity of the induced diabetes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Identification of oligomers in polyethyleneterephthalate bottles for mineral water and fruit juice - Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of first series cyclic trimer

Cyclic oligomers were identified in PET bottles used for mineral water and fruit juice using MS and H-1 and C-13 NMR: a first series cyclic trimer, a first series cyclic tetramer, a first series cyclic dimmer and a second series cyclic trimer. An analytical method to determine first series cyclic trimer in these bottles was developed and validated, using HPLC. The first series cyclic trimer levels were 316-462 mg/100 g of PET bottle. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antidiarrheal Activity of Campomanesia xanthocarpa Fruit

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Chemical and Bioactive Quality Traits During Fruit Ripening in Eggplant (S-melon gena L.) and Allied Species

A chemical and bioactive quality evaluation of phytochemicals content of 10 eggplant lines and three allied species (S. sodomaeum, S. aethiopicum and S. integrifolium) was performed. The eggplant lines were divided into the two subgroups of delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) and nasunin (NAS) typologies, on the basis of the anthocyanin detected in their fruit skin. The allied species had higher glycoalkaloids content, lower soluble solids and PPO activity and absence of anthocyanins compared to the eggplant lines; S. sodomaeum stood out for high phenols content. Orthogonal contrast revealed a higher sugar content and low PPO activity in NAS- compared to D3R-typologies, whereas higher chlorogenic acid and anthocyanin contents were present in D3R-typologies. The main effect of the ripening was a decrease in phenols and in the PPO activity, not evidenced in S. sodomaeum, and an increase of glycoalkaloids in overripe fruits.A good relationship was found between superoxide anion scavenging capacity and chlorogenic acid. This study highlighted the pattern of accumulation, also evidencing variations, of several phytochemicals during the eggplant fruit development and ripening.

Total polyphenols from Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels fruit extract

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Analysis of the efficiency of silicate clay on the control of Xanthomonas axonopodis PV. passiflorae in vitro and in seedlings of yellow passion fruit contaminated

The bacterial spot in yellow passion fruit plants, caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae, occurs in all producing areas of the country, and is responsible for great economic losses in the culture of passion fruit. This study aimed to test the efficiency of the silicate clay in the inhibition of the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae in vitro, and in both preventive and curative control of the bacterial spot in seedlings of yellow passion fruit plants. The silicate clay was added to the growth medium at concentrations of. 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%, placed in Petri dishes. After the culture medium was cooler, the bacterial suspension was inoculates (10(7) UFC.mL(-1)) with a handle, and left incubating at 28 degrees C for three days, and then the bacterial growth was evaluated. Subsequently, the product at the same concentrations above was sprayed on seedlings of 'Afruvec' passion fruit, as preventive or curative. The inoculation of the bacteria was made by foliar spraying of bacterial suspension (10(7) ufc.mL(-1)), 24 hours before or after the curative and preventive treatments, respectively. The severity of the disease was measured comparing each four true leaves from bottom up, with a diagrammatic scale. In the concentrations evaluated, the silicate clay inhibited both bacteria in vitro and symptoms of bacterial spot in the curative treatment. In preventive treatment, significant results were obtained using more than 1.0% of clay silicates. Based on these results, the clay silicate can be recommended, the concentration of 1.0-2.0% for the control of bacterial spot of passion fruit plants, in foliar sprays.

Insulin and glucose sensitivity, insulin secretion and beta-cell distribution in endocrine pancreas of the fruit bat Artibeus lituratus

The fruit bat Artibeus lituratus absorbs large amounts of glucose in short periods of time and maintains normoglycemia even after a prolonged starvation period. Based on these data, we aimed to investigate various aspects related with glucose homeostasis analyzing: blood glucose and insulin levels, intraperitoneal glucose and insulin tolerance tests (ipGTT and ipITT), glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (2.8, 5.6 or 8.3 mmol/L glucose) in pancreas fragments, cellular distribution of beta cells, and the amount of pAkt/Akt in the pectoral muscle and liver. Blood glucose levels were higher in fed bats (6.88 +/- 0.5 mmol/L) than fasted bats (4.0 +/- 0.8 mmol/L), whereas insulin levels were similar in both conditions. The values of the area-under-the curve obtained from ipGTT were significantly higher when bats received 2 (5.5-fold) or 3 g/kg glucose (7.5-fold) b.w compared to control (saline). These bats also exhibited a significant decrease of blood glucose values after insulin administration during the iplTT. Insulin secretion from fragments of pancreas under physiological concentrations of glucose (5.6 or 8.3 mmol/L) was similar but higher than in 2.8 mmol/L glucose 1.8- and 2.0-fold, respectively. These bats showed a marked beta-cell distribution along the pancreas, and the pancreatic beta cells are not exclusively located at the central part of the islet. The insulin-induced Akt phosphorylation was more pronounced in the pectoral muscle, compared to liver. The high sensitivity to glucose and insulin, the proper insulin response to glucose, and the presence of an apparent large beta-cell population could represent benefits for the management of high influx of glucose from a carbohydrate-rich meal, which permits appropriate glucose utilization. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The transformation between exploration and exploitation applied to inventors of packaging innovations

While the inventor is often the driver of an invention in the early stages, he/she needs to move between different social networks for knowledge in order to create and capture value. The main objective of this research is to propose a literature-based framework based on innovation network theory and complemented with C-K theory, in order to analyze the invention/innovation process of inventors and the product concepts in a packaging industry context. Empirical input from three case studies of packaging inventions and their inventors is used to elaborate the suggested framework.The article identifies important gaps in the literature of innovation networks. This is addressed through a theoretical framework based on network theories, complemented with C-K theory for the product design level. The strength-of-ties dimension of the theoretical framework suggests, in agreement with the mainstream literature and the cases presented, that weak ties are required to access the knowledge related to exploration networks and strong ties are required to utilize the knowledge in the exploitation network. The transformation network is an intermediate step acting as a bridge where entrepreneurs can find required knowledge. The transformation network is also an intermediate step where entrepreneurs find financing and companies interested in commercializing inventions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Banana Peel Applied to the Solid Phase Extraction of Copper and Lead from River Water: Preconcentration of Metal Ions with a Fruit Waste

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Vida-de-prateleira de goiabas, cv. Sassaoka, minimamente processadas e armazenadas em diferentes embalagens

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

High levels of genetic differentiation and selfing in the Brazilian cerrado fruit tree Dipteryx alata Vog. (Fabaceae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Mutagenicity of the Musa paradisiaca (Musaceae) fruit peel extract in mouse peripheral blood cells in vivo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Assessment of the potential genotoxic risk of medicinal Tamarindus indica fruit pulp extract using in vivo assays

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Large nuclear vacuoles are indicative of abnormal chromatin packaging in human spermatozoa

The aim of this investigation was to determine the presence of abnormal sperm chromatin packaging in spermatozoa with large nuclear vacuoles (LNV) selected via high magnification by analysing the pattern of chromomycin A3 (CMA3) staining. A prospective observational study was designed to analyse semen samples obtained from 66 men undergoing infertility diagnosis and treatment. The numbers of cells with normal (dull yellow staining of the sperm head/CMA3-negative) and abnormal (bright yellow fluorescence of the sperm head/CMA3-positive) chromatin packaging were determined on slides with normal and LNV spermatozoa. The presence of bright yellow fluorescence (CMA3-positive) was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) in spermatozoa with LNV than in normal spermatozoa (719/1351; 53.2% vs. 337/835; 40.3%, respectively), reflecting a higher percentage of abnormal chromatin packaging in spermatozoa with large LNV. Our data support the hypothesis that the presence of LNV reflects the presence of abnormal chromatin packaging, which may facilitate sperm DNA damage. As sperm nuclear vacuoles are evaluated more precisely at high magnifications using motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME), the present results support the use of high-magnification sperm selection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).