A 4-wk high-fructose diet alters lipid metabolism without affecting insulin sensitivity or ectopic lipids in healthy humans.

BACKGROUND: High fructose consumption is suspected to be causally linked to the epidemics of obesity and metabolic disorders. In rodents, fructose leads to insulin resistance and ectopic lipid deposition. In humans, the effects of fructose on insulin sensitivity remain debated, whereas its effect on ectopic lipids has never been investigated. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the effect of moderate fructose supplementation on insulin sensitivity (IS) and ectopic lipids in healthy male volunteers (n = 7). DESIGN: IS, intrahepatocellular lipids (IHCL), and intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) were measured before and after 1 and 4 wk of a high-fructose diet containing 1.5 g fructose . kg body wt(-1) . d(-1). Adipose tissue IS was evaluated from nonesterified fatty acid suppression, hepatic IS from suppression of hepatic glucose output (6,6-2H2-glucose), and muscle IS from the whole-body glucose disposal rate during a 2-step hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp. IHCL and IMCL were measured by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. RESULTS: Fructose caused significant (P < 0.05) increases in fasting plasma concentrations of triacylglycerol (36%), VLDL-triacylglycerol (72%), lactate (49%), glucose (5.5%), and leptin (48%) without any significant changes in body weight, IHCL, IMCL, or IS. IHCL were negatively correlated with triacylglycerol after 4 wk of the high-fructose diet (r = -0.78, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Moderate fructose supplementation over 4 wk increases plasma triacylglycerol and glucose concentrations without causing ectopic lipid deposition or insulin resistance in healthy humans.

Surfactant palmitoylmyristoylphosphatidylcholine is a marker for alveolar size during disease.

Two common lung-related complications in the neonate are respiratory distress syndrome, which is associated with a failure to generate low surface tension at the air-liquid interface because of pulmonary surfactant insufficiency, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung injury with reduced alveolarization. Surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecular species composition during alveolarization has not been examined. Mass spectrometry analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of rodents and humans revealed significant changes in surfactant PC during alveolar development and BPD. In rats, total PC content rose during alveolarization, which was caused by an increase in palmitoylmyristoyl-PC (16:0/14:0PC) concentration. Furthermore, two animal models of BPD exhibited a specific reduction in 16:0/14:0PC content. In humans, 16:0/14:0PC content was specifically decreased in patients with BPD and emphysema compared with patients without alveolar pathology. Palmitoylmyristoyl-PC content increased with increasing intrinsic surfactant curvature, suggesting that it affects surfactant function in the septating lung. The changes in acyl composition of PC were attributed to type II cells producing an altered surfactant during alveolar development. These data are compatible with extracellular surfactant 16:0/14:0PC content being an indicator of alveolar architecture of the lung.

Sugars, organic acids, minerals and lipids in jabuticaba

The aim of this work was to determine the sugar, organic acid and mineral compositions of the whole fruit and fractions (skin, pulp and seed) of the Paulista (Plinia cauliflora) and Sabará (Plinia jaboticaba) jabuticaba tree genotypes, as well as the oil compositions of their skin and seeds. High levels of sugar, especially fructose, followed by glucose and sucrose, were encountered in the fruit. In the Paulista genotype, higher levels of total and reducing sugars were found in the pulp and skin, which was not observed when comparing the whole fruit of both genotypes. Five organic acids were found in the whole fruit and in the fractions of the two jabuticaba genotypes in quantitative order: citric acid > succinic acid > malic acid > oxalic acid > acetic acid. Potassium was the most abundant mineral found. This fruit was also shown to be rich in magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and copper. The seed oil had nearly the same constitution as the oil extracted from the skin in both genotypes and the major compounds were an unidentified phytosterol, palmitic, linoleic and oleic acids, and squalene.

Treatment of rats with a self-selected hyperlipidic diet, increases the lipid content of the main adipose tissue sites in a proportion similar to that of the lipids in the rest of organs and tissues

Adipose tissue (AT) is distributed as large differentiated masses, and smaller depots covering vessels, and organs, as well as interspersed within them. The differences between types and size of cells makes AT one of the most disperse and complex organs. Lipid storage is partly shared by other tissues such as muscle and liver. We intended to obtain an approximate estimation of the size of lipid reserves stored outside the main fat depots. Both male and female rats were made overweight by 4-weeks feeding of a cafeteria diet. Total lipid content was analyzed in brain, liver, gastrocnemius muscle, four white AT sites: subcutaneous, perigonadal, retroperitoneal and mesenteric, two brown AT sites (interscapular and perirenal) and in a pool of the rest of organs and tissues (after discarding gut contents). Organ lipid content was estimated and tabulated for each individual rat. Food intake was measured daily. There was a surprisingly high proportion of lipid not accounted for by the main macroscopic AT sites, even when brain, liver and BAT main sites were discounted. Muscle contained about 8% of body lipids, liver 1-1.4%, four white AT sites lipid 28-63% of body lipid, and the rest of the body (including muscle) 38-44%. There was a good correlation between AT lipid and body lipid, but lipid in"other organs" was highly correlated too with body lipid. Brain lipid was not. Irrespective of dietary intake, accumulation of body fat was uniform both for the main lipid storage and handling organs: large masses of AT (but also liver, muscle), as well as in the"rest" of tissues. These storage sites, in specialized (adipose) or not-specialized (liver, muscle) tissues reacted in parallel against a hyperlipidic diet challenge. We postulate that body lipid stores are handled and regulated coordinately, with a more centralized and overall mechanisms than usually assumed.

Discrepancies over the onset of surfactant monomer aggregation interpreted by fluorescence, conductivity and surface tension methods

Molecular probe techniques have made important contributions to the determination of microstructure of surfactant assemblies such as size, stability, micropolarity and conformation. Conductivity and surface tension were used to determine the critical aggregation concentration (cac) of polymer-surfactant complexes and the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of aqueous micellar aggregates. The results are compared with those of fluorescent techniques. Several surfactant systems were examined, 1-butanol-sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) mixtures, solutions containing poly(ethylene oxide)-SDS, poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-SDS and poly(acrylic acid)-alkyltrimethylammonium bromide complexes. We found differences between the cac and cmc values obtained by conductivity or surface tension and those obtained by techniques which use hydrophobic probe.

Solubilization of decane into gemini surfactant with a modified Jeffamine backbone: Design of hierarchical porous silica

Herein, we have investigated the solubilization of decane into a novel nonionic gemini surfactant, myristoyl-end capped Jeffamine, synthesized from a polyoxyalkyleneamine (ED900). Starting from this system, porous silica materials have been prepared. Performing the hydrothermal treatment at low temperature, a slight increase of the mesopore diameter is observed in the presence of decane. Increasing the temperature of the hydrothermal treatment, no swelling effect of decane is detected. By contrast, the pore diameter decreases but better mesopore homogeneity and a larger wall thickness are obtained. At high decane concentration the new myristoyl-end capped Jeffamine/decane/water system forms oil-in-water emulsions, which are used as template for the formation of hierarchical porous silica materials.

The Role of Surfactant Properties of Extractants in Hydrometallurgical LiquidLiquid Extraction Processes

The amphiphilic nature of metal extractants causes the formation of micelles and other microscopic aggregates when in contact with water and an organic diluent. These phenomena and their effects on metal extraction were studied using carboxylic acid (Versatic 10) and organophosphorus acid (Cyanex 272) based extractants. Special emphasis was laid on the study of phase behaviour in a pre neutralisation stage when the extractant is transformed to a sodium or ammonium salt form. The pre neutralised extractants were used to extract nickel and to separate cobalt and nickel. Phase diagrams corresponding to the pre neutralisation stage in a metal extraction process were determined. The maximal solubilisation of the components in the system water(NH3)/extractant/isooctane takes place when the molar ratio between the ammonia salt form and the free form of the extractant is 0.5 for the carboxylic acid and 1 for the organophosphorus acid extractant. These values correspond to the complex stoichiometry of NH4A•HA and NIi4A, respectively. When such a solution is contacted with water a microemulsion is formed. If the aqueous phase contains also metal ions (e.g. Ni²+), complexation will take place on the microscopic interface of the micellar aggregates. Experimental evidence showing that the initial stage of nickel extraction with pre neutralised Versatic 10 is a fast pseudohomogeneous reaction was obtained. About 90% of the metal were extracted in the first 15 s after the initial contact. For nickel extraction with pre neutralised Versatic 10 it was found that the highest metal loading and the lowest residual ammonia and water contents in the organic phase are achieved when the feeds are balanced so that the stoichiometry is 2NH4+(org) = Nit2+(aq). In the case of Co/Ni separation using pre neutralised Cyanex 272 the highest separation is achieved when the Co/extractant molar ratio in the feeds is 1 : 4 and at the same time the optimal degree of neutralisation of the Cyanex 272 is about 50%. The adsorption of the extractants on solid surfaces may cause accumulation of solid fine particles at the interface between the aqueous and organic phases in metal extraction processes. Copper extraction processes are known to suffer of this problem. Experiments were carried out using model silica and mica particles. It was found that high copper loading, aromacity of the diluent, modification agents and the presence of aqueous phase decrease the adsorption of the hydroxyoxime on silica surfaces.

Synthesis of resorcinolic lipids bearing structural similarities to cytosporone A

Inspired by the structure and biological activities of resorcinolic lipids and, particularly cytosporone A- a potent inhibitor of plantule germination and growth, we have performed the synthesis of the analogs 3-heptyl-3-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one (1) and 3-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxy-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one (2). The intermediates and products were submitted to allelopathic test using Lactuca sativa L. seeds. Target compound 1 showed an inhibitory effect on germination and growth of hypocotyl and radicle in milimolar range.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectral components of spin-labeled lipids in saturated phospholipid bilayers: effect of cholesterol

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to study the main structural accommodations of spin labels in bilayers of saturated phosphatidylcholines with acyl chain lengths ranging from 16 to 22 carbon atoms. EPR spectra allowed the identification of two distinct spectral components in thermodynamic equilibrium at temperatures below and above the main phase transition. An accurate analysis of EPR spectra, using two fitting programs, enabled determination of the thermodynamic profile for these major probe accommodations. Focusing the analysis on two-component EPR spectra of a spin-labeled lipid, the influence of 40 mol % cholesterol in DPPC was studied.

Preconcentration of copper from natural water samples using ligand-less in situ surfactant-based solid phase extraction prior to FAAS determination

In the present work, a simple and rapid ligand-less, in situ, surfactant-based solid phase extraction for the preconcentration of copper in water samples was developed. In this method, a cationic surfactant (n-dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) was dissolved in an aqueous sample followed by the addition of an appropriate ion-pairing agent (ClO4-). Due to the interaction between the surfactant and ion-pairing agent, solid particles were formed and subsequently used for the adsorption of Cu(OH)2 and CuI. After centrifugation, the sediment was dissolved in 1.0 mL of 1 mol L-1 HNO3 in ethanol and aspirated directly into the flame atomic absorption spectrometer. In order to obtain the optimum conditions, several parameters affecting the performance of the LL-ISS-SPE, including the volumes of DTAB, KClO4, and KI, pH, and potentially interfering ions, were optimized. It was found that KI and phosphate buffer solution (pH = 9) could extract more than 95% of copper ions. The amount of copper ions in the water samples varied from 3.2 to 4.8 ng mL-1, with relative standard deviations of 98.5%-103%. The determination of copper in water samples was linear over a concentration range of 0.5-200.0 ng mL-1. The limit of detection (3Sb/m) was 0.1 ng mL-1 with an enrichment factor of 38.7. The accuracy of the developed method was verified by the determination of copper in two certified reference materials, producing satisfactory results.

Carbohydrate intake in children - associations with dietary intakes, growth, serum lipids,and dental health. The STRIP Project

This study is part of the STRIP study, which is a long-term, randomized controlled trial, designed to decrease the exposure of children in the intervention group (n=540) to known risk factors of atherosclerosis. The main focus of the intervention was the quality of dietary fat. The control group (n=522) did not receive any individualized counselling. Food consumption was evaluated with food records, and blood samples were drawn and growth was measured regularly for all participating children from 13 months to 9 years. A subsample of 66 children participated in a dental health survey. The number of studies on children’s carbohydrate intake, especially fibre intake, is insufficient. The current international recommendations for fibre intake in children are based on average assumptions and data extrapolated from intakes in adults and intake recommendations for adults. Finnish nutrition recommendations lack strict recommendations for dietary fibre in children. Due to fibre’s high bulk volume, excessive dietary fibre is considered to decrease energy density and hence it may have an adverse effect on growth. If fats are reduced from the diet, the low-fat diet may become high in sucrose. Therefore, especially in the STRIP study, it is important to determine the use of fibre and sucrose in children and possible associations with growth and nutrition as well as dental health. The results of the present study indicate that a high fibre intake does not displace energy or disturb growth in children and that children with high fibre intake have better quality of diet than those with low fibre intake. Additionally, dietary fibre intake associated inversely with serum cholesterol concentration. Other carbohydrates also affected serum lipid levels as well, since total carbohydrates, sucrose, and fructose increased serum triglyceride concentration. Total carbohydrate intake reduced HDL cholesterol concentration only in children with apoE3 or apoE4 phenotype. Over the period from the 1970s to the 1990s the dental health of children in Finland has substantially improved despite an increase in sucrose intake. The improvement was thought to be due to improved dental hygiene and the use of fluorine. However, during the past twenty years improvement in dental health has stopped. The present study showed that high long-term sugar intake increases risk of caries in children. High intake of sugar had also negative effects on the diet of children, because it worsens dietary quality by displacing essential nutrients. Furthermore, the quality of dietary fat was worse in children with high sucrose intake. In this study the children’s high sucrose intake was not associated with overweight, but interestingly, it associated inversely with growth.

Fractionation of Hen Egg and Oat Lipids with supercritical Fluids Chemical and functional Properties of Fractions

Hen eggs and oats (Avena Sativa) are important materials for the food industry. Today, instead of merely satisfying the feeling of hunger, consumers are asking for healthier, biologically active and environmentally friendly products. The growing awareness of consumers’ increasing demands presents a great challenge to the food industry to develop more sustainable products and utilise modern and effective techniques. The modification of yolk fatty acid composition by means of feed supplements is well understood. Egg yolk phospholipids are polar lipids and are used in several applications including food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and special nutrients. Egg yolk phospholipids are excellent emulsifiers, typically sold as mixtures of phospholipids, triacylglycerols, and cholesterol. However, highly purified and characterised phospholipids are needed in several sophisticated applications. Industrial fractionation of phospholipids is usually based on organic solvents. With these fractionation techniques, some harmful residues of organic solvents may cause problems in further processing. The objective of the present study was to investigate the methods to improve the functional properties of eggs, to develop techniques to isolate the fractions responsible for the specific functional properties of egg yolk lipids, and to apply the developed techniques to plant-based materials, too. Fractionation techniques based on supercritical fluids were utilised for the separation of the lipid fractions of eggs and oats. The chemical and functional characterisation of the fractions were performed, and the produced oat polar lipid fractions were tested as protective barrier in encapsulation processes. Modifying the fatty acid compositions of egg yolks with different types of oil supplements in feed had no affect on their functional or sensory properties. Based on the results of functional and sensory analysis, it is evident that eggs with modified fatty acid compositions are usable in several industrial applications. These applications include liquid egg yolk products used in mayonnaise and salad dressings. Egg yolk powders were utilised in different kinds of fractionation processes. The precipitation method developed in this study resembles the supercritical anti-solvent method, which is typically used in the pharmaceutical industry. With pilot scale supercritical fluid processes, non-polar lipids and polar lipids were successfully separated from commercially produced egg yolk powder and oat flakes. The egg and oat-based polar lipid fractions showed high purities, and the corresponding delipidated fractions produced using supercritical techniques offer interesting starting materials for the further production of bioactive compounds. The oat polar lipid fraction contained especially digalactosyadiacylglycerol, which was shown to have valuable functional properties in the encapsulation of probiotics.

Paraquat poisoning: an experimental model of dose-dependent acute lung injury due to surfactant dysfunction

Since the most characteristic feature of paraquat poisoning is lung damage, a prospective controlled study was performed on excised rat lungs in order to estimate the intensity of lesion after different doses. Twenty-five male, 2-3-month-old non-SPF Wistar rats, divided into 5 groups, received paraquat dichloride in a single intraperitoneal injection (0, 1, 5, 25, or 50 mg/kg body weight) 24 h before the experiment. Static pressure-volume (PV) curves were performed in air- and saline-filled lungs; an estimator of surface tension and tissue works was computed by integrating the area of both curves and reported as work/ml of volume displacement. Paraquat induced a dose-dependent increase of inspiratory surface tension work that reached a significant two-fold order of magnitude for 25 and 50 mg/kg body weight (P<0.05, ANOVA), sparing lung tissue. This kind of lesion was probably due to functional abnormalities of the surfactant system, as was shown by the increase in the hysteresis of the paraquat groups at the highest doses. Hence, paraquat poisoning provides a suitable model of acute lung injury with alveolar instability that can be easily used in experimental protocols of mechanical ventilation

Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with plasma lipids and Alzheimer's disease in a Southern Brazilian population

Apolipoprotein E (protein: apo E; gene: APOE) plays an important role in the multifactorial etiology of both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and lipid level concentrations. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the APOE gene polymorphism in 446 unrelated Caucasians, among them 23 AD patients, and 100 Afro-Brazilians living in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The frequencies of the APOE*2, APOE*3 and APOE*4 alleles were 0.075, 0.810 and 0.115 in Caucasians and 0.075, 0.700 and 0.225 in Afro-Brazilians, respectively (c2 = 8.72, P = 0.013). A highly significant association was observed between the APOE*4 allele and AD in this population-based sample. The APOE*4 frequency in AD patients (39%) was about four times higher than in the general Caucasian population (11.5%). The influence of each of the three common APOE alleles on lipid traits was evaluated by the use of the average excess statistic. The E*2 allele is associated with lower levels of triglycerides and of total and non-HDL cholesterol in both men and women. Conversely, the E*4 allele is associated with higher levels of these traits in women only. The effect of APOE alleles was of greater magnitude in women.

Oxidized LDL lipids as a risk factor for atherosclerosis

University of Turku, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, Department of Physical Activity and Health, Paavo Nurmi Centre, Doctoral Programme of Clinical Investigation, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis. Medica – Odontologica, Turku, Finland, 2014. Background: Atherosclerosis progression spans an entire lifetime and has a wide pool of risk factors. Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) is a crucial element in the progression of atherosclerosis. As a rather new member in the atherosclerosis risk factor family, its interaction with the traditional pro-atherogenic contributors that occur at different ages is poorly known. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate oxLDL and its relation to major contributing risk factors in estimating atherosclerosis risk in data consisting mostly of adult men. The study subjects of this study consisted of four different sets of data, one of which contained also women. The age range of participants was 18-100 years and totaled 2337 participants (of whom 69% were men). Data on anthropometric and hormonal parameters, laboratory measures and medical records were assessed during 1998-2009. Results: Obesity was paralleled with high concentrations of oxLDL, which consequentially was reduced by weight reduction. Importantly, successful weight maintenance preserveed this benefit. A shift from insulin sensitivity to insulin resistance increased oxLDL. Smokers had more oxLDL than non-smokers. A combination of obesity and smoking, or smoking and low serum total testosterone,resulted in even higher levels of oxLDL than any of the three conditions alone. Proportioning oxLDL to HDL-c or apoA1 stood out as a risk factor of all-cause mortality in the elderly. Conclusions: OxLDL was associated with aging, androgens, smoking, obesity, insulin metabolism, weight balance and other circulating lipid classes. Through this variety of metabolic environments containing both constant conditions (aging and gender) as well as lifestyle issues, these findings supported an essential and multidimensional role that oxLDL plays in atherosclerosis pathogenesis.