The major lipids and antioxidant activities of Asterias rolleston gonad lipids were evaluated systematically. Major lipids of A. Rolleston gonad lipids were triacylglycerols (TAGs) and phospholipids (PLs). Total lipids were composed of 15.62% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and 40.81% of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). The most abundant PUFA were C20:5n-3 (EPA) (6.28%) and C22:6n-3 (DHA) (5.80%). Predominantly composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), polar lipids were rich in PUFAs and could contain up to 34.59% EPA and DHA, and PE and PI (phosphatidylinositol) were also found to be the main carriers of EPA and ARA (arachidonic acid) in polar lipids. The MUFA and PUFA of Sn-2 in TAG are 39.72% and 30.37%, respectively. A total of 64 TAG species were identified, with Eo-P-M, Eo-Eo-M, and M-M-Eo being the main TAGs components. Moreover, A. rollestoni gonad lipids exhibited potent radical scavenging activities and reducing power in a dose-dependent manner.
Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a complex trilayer structure present in mammalian milk and is mainly composed of phospholipids and proteins (>90%). Many studies revealed MFGM has positive effects on the immune system, brain development, and cognitive function of infants. Probiotics are live microorganisms that have been found to improve mental health and insulin sensitivity, regulate immunity, and prevent allergies. Probiotics are unstable and prone to degradation by environmental, processing, and storage conditions. In this review, the processes used for encapsulation of probiotics particularly the potential of MFGM and its constituents as encapsulating materials for probiotics are described. This study analyzes the importance of MFGM in encapsulating bioactive substances and emphasizes the interaction with probiotics and the gut as well as its resistance to adverse environmental factors in the digestive system when used as a probiotic embedding material. MFGM can enhance the gastric acid resistance and bile resistance of probiotics, mainly manifested in the survival rate of probiotics. Due to the role of digestion, MFGM-coated probiotics can be released in the intestine, and due to the biocompatibility of the membrane, it can promote the binding of probiotics to intestinal epithelial cells, and promote the colonization of some probiotics in the intestine.
Lipid membranes serve as effective barriers allowing cells to maintain internal composition differing from that of extracellular medium. Membrane permeation, both natural and artificial, can take place via appearance of transversal pores. The rearrangements of lipids leading to pore formation in the intact membrane are not yet understood in details. We applied continuum elasticity theory to obtain continuous trajectory of pore formation and closure, and analyzed molecular dynamics trajectories of pre-formed pore reseal. We hypothesized that a transversal pore is preceded by a hydrophobic defect: intermediate structure spanning through the membrane, the side walls of which are partially aligned by lipid tails. This prediction was confirmed by our molecular dynamics simulations. Conversion of the hydrophobic defect into the hydrophilic pore required surmounting some energy barrier. A metastable state was found for the hydrophilic pore at the radius of a few nanometers. The dependence of the energy on radius was approximately quadratic for hydrophobic defect and small hydrophilic pore, while for large radii it depended on the radius linearly. The pore energy related to its perimeter, line tension, thus depends of the pore radius. Calculated values of the line tension for large pores were in quantitative agreement with available experimental data.
Non-lamellar liquid crystalline aqueous nanodispersions, known also as ISAsomes (internally self-assembled 'somes' or nanoparticles), are gaining increasing interest in drug solubilisation and bio-imaging, but they often exhibit poor hemocompatibility and induce cytotoxicity. This limits their applications in intravenous drug delivery and targeting. Using a binary mixture of citrem and soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC) at different weight ratios, we describe a library of colloidally stable aqueous and hemocompatible nanodispersions of diverse nanoarchitectures (internal self-assembled nanostructures). This engineered library is structurally stable in human plasma as well as being hemocompatible (non-hemolytic, and poor activator of the complement system). By varying citrem to lipid weight ratio, the nanodispersion susceptibility to macrophage uptake could also be modulated. Finally, the formation of nanodispersions comprising internally V2 (inverse bicontinuous cubic) and H2 (inverse hexagonal) nanoarchitectures was achieved without the use of an organic solvent, a secondary emulsifier, or high-energy input. The tunable binary citrem/SPC nanoplatform holds promise for future development of hemocompatible and immune-safe nanopharmaceuticals.
This study focuses on the use of ethosome and microwave technologies to facilitate skin penetration and/or deposition of 5-fluorouracil in vitro and in vivo. Low ethanol ethosomes were designed and processed by mechanical dispersion technique and had their size, zeta potential, morphology, drug content and encapsulation efficiency characterized. The skin was pre-treated with microwave at 2450 MHz for 2.5 min with ethosomes applied topically and subjected to in vitro and in vivo skin drug permeation as well as retention evaluation. The drug and/or ethosomes cytotoxicity, uptake and intracellular trafficking by SKMEL-28 melanoma cell culture were evaluated. Pre-treatment of skin by microwave promoted significant drug deposition in skin from ethosomes in vitro while keeping the level of drug permeation unaffected. Similar observations were obtained in vivo with reduced drug permeation into blood. Combination ethosome and microwave technologies enhanced intracellular localization of ethosomes through fluidization of cell membrane lipidic components as well as facilitating endocytosis by means of clathrin, macropinocytosis and in particularly lipid rafts pathways. The synergistic use of microwave and ethosomes opens a new horizon for skin malignant melanoma treatment.
In order to improve the membrane lipophilicity and the affinity towards the environment of lipid bilayers, squalene (SQ) could be conjugated to phospholipids in the formation of liposomes. The effect of membrane composition and concentrations on the degradation of liposomes prepared via the extrusion method was investigated. Liposomes were prepared using a mixture of SQ, cholesterol (CH) and Tween80 (TW80). Based on the optimal conditions, liposome batches were prepared in the absence and presence of SQ. Their physicochemical and stability behavior were evaluated as a function of liposome constituent. From the optimization study, the liposomal formulation containing 5% (w/w) mixed soy lecithin (ML), 0.5% (w/w) SQ, 0.3% (w/w) CH and 0.75% (w/w) TW80 had optimal physicochemical properties and displayed a unilamellar structure. Liposome prepared using the optimal formulation had a low particle size (158.31 ± 2.96 nm) and acceptable %increase in the particle size (15.09% ± 3.76%) and %trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (%TEAC) loss (35.69% ± 0.72%) against UV light treatment (280-320 nm) for 6 h. The interesting outcome of this research was the association of naturally occurring substance SQ for size reduction without the extra input of energy or mechanical procedures, and improvement of vesicle stability and antioxidant activity of ML-based liposome. This study also demonstrated that the presence of SQ in the membrane might increase the acyl chain dynamics and decrease the viscosity of the dispersion, thereby limiting long-term stability of the liposome.
A novel rod-shaped, Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic and alginate-degrading marine bacterium, designated CCB-QB4T, was isolated from a surface of algal turf collected from a coastal area of Penang, Malaysia. The cells showed motility by a lateral flagellum. The rod-shaped cells formed long chains end-to-end. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CCB-QB4T showed 94.07, 92.69, 91.52 and 90.90 % sequence similarity to Algibacillus agarilyticus RQJ05T, Catenovulum maritimum Q1T, Catenovulum agarivorans YM01T and Catenovulum sediminis D2T, respectively. Strain CCB-QB4T formed a cluster with A. agarilyticus RQJ05T. Strain CCB-QB4T was catalase-negative, oxidase-positive, and degraded agar, alginate, and starch. Cell growth was observed at 15-40 °C, at pH 7.0-10.0 and in the presence of 1-6 % (w/v) NaCl and glucose. The major fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c/iso-C15 : 0 2-OH), C16 : 0 and C18 : 1 ω7c. The polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminolipids, two unidentified glycolipids, an unidentified phospholipid and unidentified lipid. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8. The genomic DNA G+C content was 46.7 mol%. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, strain CCB-BQ4T represents a novel species in a new genus, for which the name Saccharobesus litoralis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCB-QB4T (=JCM 33513T=CCB-MBL 5008T).
O. stamineus is a medicinal herb with remarkable pharmacological properties. However, poor solubility of the active principles limits its medicinal value. This study sought to prepare nano liposomes of OS ethanolic extract in unpurified soybean phospholipids in order to improve its solubility and permeability. OS liposomes were prepared by the conventional film method, and were characterized for solubility, entrapment efficiency, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle size and zeta potential, release, absorption in everted rat intestinal sacs, and DPPH scavenging effect.
Acetazolamide (ACZM)-loaded anionic, cationic, and neutral-charged oil-in-water nanosized emulsions were prepared and compared with their mean droplet diameter, surface charge, entrapment efficiency, freeze-thaw cycling stability, in vitro drug release, and transcorneal permeation.
In this study, we employed a polyphasic approach to determine the taxonomic position of a newly isolated actinomycete, designated SE31T, obtained from a sediment sample collected at Cape Rochado, Malaysia. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain SE31T belonged to the family Pseudonocardiaceae and exhibited the highest sequence similarity (98.9%) to Sciscionella marina. Further genomic analysis demonstrated a 93.4% average nucleotide identity and 54.4% digital DNA-DNA hybridization relatedness between strain SE31T and S. marina. The chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain SE31T were typical of the genus Sciscionella, including cell-wall chemotype IV (with meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid, and arabinose and galactose as whole-cell sugars). The identified polar lipids of strain SE31T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, and hydroxyphosphatidymethylethanolamine. The primary menaquinone observed was MK-9(H4), and the major cellular fatty acid was iso-C16:0. The genomic DNA size of strain SE31T was determined to be 7.4 Mbp with a G+C content of 68.7%. Based on these comprehensive findings, strain SE31T represents a novel species within the genus Sciscionella, in which the name Sciscionella sediminilitoris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Sciscionella sediminilitoris is SE31T (= DSM 46824T = TBRC 5134T).
A bacterial isolate, designated strain S37T, was isolated from the rhizosphere of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Strain S37T was found to be Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile and rod shaped. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain S37T was most closely related to Devosia albogilva IPL15T (97.3 %), Devosia chinhatensis IPL18T (96.8 %) and Devosia subaequoris HST3-14T (96.5 %). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63.0 mol%, and dominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c), 11-methyl C18 : 1ω7c and C16 : 0. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10), and the major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, glycolipid and phospholipids. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic data, it is clear that strain S37T represents a novel species of the genus Devosia within the family Hyphomicrobiaceae, for which we propose the name Devosia elaeis sp. nov., with strain S37T (=TBRC 5145T=LMG 29420T) as the type strain.
A novel, rod-shaped, Gram-stain-negative, halophilic and non-motile bacterium, designated CCB-MM1T, was isolated from a sample of estuarine sediment collected from Matang Mangrove Forest, Malaysia. The cells possessed a rod-coccus cell cycle in association with growth phase and formed aggregates. Strain CCB-MM1T was both catalase and oxidase positive, and able to degrade starch. Optimum growth occurred at 30 °C and pH 7.0 in the presence of 2-3 % (w/v) NaCl. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CCB-MM1T showed 98.12, 97.46 and 97.33 % sequence similarity with Microbulbifer rhizosphaerae Cs16bT, Microbulbifer maritimus TF-17T and Microbulbifergwangyangensis GY2T respectively. Strain CCB-MM1T and M. rhizosphaerae Cs16bT formed a cluster in the phylogenetic tree. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C17 : 1 ω9c and iso-C15 : 0, and the total polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphoaminolipid, two unidentified lipids, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified aminolipid. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-8 and the genomic DNA G+C content of the strain was 58.9 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic, phenotypic and genotypic data presented here, strain CCB-MM1T represents a novel species of the genus Microbulbifer, for which the name Microbulbiferaggregans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CCB-MM1T (=LMG 29920T=JCM 31875T).
The present study aims to design a milk fat globule membrane (MFGM)-inspired structured membrane (phospholipid- and protein-rich) for microencapsulation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) oil. DHA-enriched oil emulsions were prepared using different ratios of sunflower phospholipid (SPL), proteins [whey protein concentrate (WPC), soy protein isolate (SPI), and sodium caseinate (SC)], and maltodextrin and spray-dried to obtain DHA microcapsules. The prepared DHA oil emulsions have nanosized particles. SPLs were found to affect the secondary structure of WPC, which resulted in increased exposure of the protein hydrophobic site and emulsion stability. SPL also reduced the surface tension and viscosity of the DHA oil emulsions. In vitro digestion of the spray-dried DHA microcapsules showed that they were able to effectively resist gastric proteolysis and protect their bioactivity en route to the intestine. The DHA microcapsules have a high lipid digestibility in the small intestine with a high DHA hydrolysis efficiency (74.3%), which is higher than that of commercial DHA microcapsules.
The taxonomic status of a Nocardiopsis strain, designated H13T, isolated from a high altitude Atacama Desert soil, was established by using a polyphasic approach. The strain was found to have chemotaxonomic, cultural and morphological characteristics consistent with its classification within the genus Nocardiopsis and formed a well-supported clade in the Nocardiopsis phylogenomic tree together with the type strains of Nocardiopsis alborubida, Nocardiopsis dassonvillei and Nocardiopsis synnematoformans. Strain H13T was distinguished from its closest relatives by low average nucleotide identity (93.2-94.9 %) and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (52.5-62.4 %) values calculated from draft genome assemblies and by a range of phenotypic properties. On the basis of these results, it is proposed that the isolate be assigned to the genus Nocardiopsis as Nocardiopsis deserti sp. nov. with isolate H13T (=CGMCC 4.7585T=KCTC 49249T) as the type strain.
A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, leaf-associated bacterium, designated JS23T, was isolated from surface-sterilized leaf tissue of an oil palm grown in Singapore and was investigated by polyphasic taxonomy. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and 180 conserved genes in the genome of several members of Burkholderiaceae revealed that strain JS23T formed a distinct evolutionary lineage independent of other taxa within the family Burkholderiaceae. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-8. The primary polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, and an unidentified aminophospholipid. The major fatty acids were C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c /C16 : 1 ω6c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c /C18 : 1 ω6c). The size of the genome is 5.36 Mbp with a DNA G+C content of 66.2 mol%. Genomic relatedness measurements such as average nucleotide identity, genome-to-genome distance and digital DNA-DNA hybridization clearly distinguished strain JS23T from the closely related genera Burkholderia, Caballeronia, Mycetohabitans, Mycoavidus, Pandoraea, Paraburkholderia, Robbsia and Trinickia. Furthermore, average amino acid identity values and the percentages of conserved proteins, 56.0-68.4 and 28.2-45.5, respectively, were well below threshold values for genus delineation and supported the assignment of JS23T to a novel genus. On the basis of the phylogenetic, biochemical, chemotaxonomic and phylogenomic evidence, strain JS23T is proposed to represent a novel species of a new genus within the family Burkholderiaceae, for which the name Chitinasiproducens palmae gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed with the type strain of JS23T (= DSM 27307T=KACC 17592T).
A novel actinobacterial strain, designated MUSC 201T, was isolated from a mangrove soil collected from Kuantan, the capital city of Pahang State in Malaysia. The taxonomic status of this strain was determined using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain MUSC 201T represented a novel lineage within the class Actinobacteria. Strain MUSC 201T formed a distinct clade in the family Nocardioidaceae and was most closely related to the members of the genera Nocardioides (16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, 91.9-95.1%), Aeromicrobium (92.7-94.6%), Marmoricola (92.5-93.1%) and Kribbella (91.5-92.4%). The cells of this strain were irregular coccoid to short rod shaped. The peptidoglycan contained ll-diaminopimelic acid as diagnostic diamino acid and the peptidoglycan type was A3γ. The peptidoglycan cell wall contained ll-diaminopimelic acid, glycine, glutamic acid and alanine in a molar ratio of 1.5:0.9:1.0:1.5. The cell-wall sugars were galactose and rhamnose. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H4). The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphoglycolipid, glycolipid and four unknown phospholipids. The major cellular fatty acids were C18:1ω9c (30.8%), C16:0 (24.1%), and 10-methyl C18:0 (13.9%). The DNA G+C content was 72.0±0.1 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic differences from members of the genera of the family Nocardioidaceae, a novel genus and species, Mumia flava gen. nov., sp. nov. are proposed. The type strain of Mumia flava is MUSC 201T (=DSM 27763T=MCCC 1A00646T=NBRC 109973T).
In this study, bacterial strains Ha5T, Ta1, and Jb2 were isolated from different colonies of weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. They were identified as bacterial symbionts of the ant belonging to family Acetobacteraceae and were distinguished as different strains based on distinctive random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprints. Cells of these bacterial strains were Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic, non-motile, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. They were able to grow at 15-37°C (optimum, 28-30°C) and in the presence of 0-1.5% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0%). Their predominant cellular fatty acids were C18:1ω7c, C16:0, C19:0ω8c cyclo, C14:0, and C16:0 2-OH. Strains Ha5T, Ta1, and Jb2 shared highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (94.56-94.63%) with Neokomagataea tanensis NBRC106556T of family Acetobacteraceae. Both 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis and core gene-based phylogenomic analysis placed them in a distinct lineage in family Acetobacteraceae. These bacterial strains shared higher than species level thresholds in multiple overall genome-relatedness indices which indicated that they belonged to the same species. In addition, they did not belong to any of the current taxa of Acetobacteraceae as they had low pairwise average nucleotide identity (< 71%), in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (< 38%) and average amino acid identity (< 67%) values with all the type members of the family. Based on these results, bacterial strains Ha5T, Ta1, and Jb2 represent a novel species of a novel genus in family Acetobacteaceae, for which we propose the name Oecophyllibacter saccharovorans gen. nov. sp. nov., and strain Ha5T as the type strain.
To date, there is sparse information for the genus Robertkochia with Robertkochia marina CC-AMO-30DT as the only described member. We report here a new species isolated from mangrove soil collected at Malaysia Tanjung Piai National Park and perform polyphasic characterization to determine its taxonomic position. Strain CL23T is a Gram-negative, yellow-pigmented, strictly aerobic, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive bacterium. The optimal growth conditions were determined to be at pH 7.0, 30-37 °C and in 1-2 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 (MK-6) and the highly abundant polar lipids were four unidentified lipids, a phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified aminolipids. The 16S rRNA gene similarity between strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT is 96.67 %. Strain CL23T and R. marina CC-AMO-30DT clustered together and were distinguished from taxa of closely related genera in 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. Genome sequencing revealed that strain CL23T has a genome size of 4.4 Mbp and a G+C content of 40.72 mol%. Overall genome related indexes including digital DNA-DNA hybridization value and average nucleotide identity are 17.70 % and approximately 70%, below the cutoffs of 70 and 95%, respectively, indicated that strain CL23T is a distinct species from R. marina CC-AMO-30DT. Collectively, based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic evidences presented here, strain CL23T is proposed to represent a new species with the name Robertkochia solimangrovi sp. nov. (KCTC 72252T=LMG 31418T). An emended description of the genus Robertkochia is also proposed.
Present study prepared curcumin liposomes with high encapsulation efficiency (>70%) using bovine milk and krill phospholipids; and investigated the effects of phospholipids composition on storage stability, in-vitro bioavailability, antioxidative and anti-hyperglycemic properties of the curcumin liposomes. Curcumin liposomes prepared from bovine milk phospholipids have smaller particle sizes (163.1 ± 6.42 nm) and greater negative zeta potentials (-26.7 mv) as compared to that prepared from krill phospholipids (particle size: 212.2 ± 4.1 nm, zeta potential: -15.23 mv). In addition, curcumin liposomes from bovine milk phospholipids demonstrated better stability under harsh storage conditions (alkaline conditions, oxygen, high temperature and relative humidity). Nevertheless, curcumin-loaded liposomes prepared from bovine milk phospholipids have inferior bioavailability compared to that prepared from krill phospholipids. No significant differences can be observed in terms of anti-oxidative and anti-hyperglycemic properties of liposomes prepared from both bovine milk and krill phospholipids. Findings from present study will open up new opportunities for development of stable curcumin liposomes with good functional properties (high digestibility, bioavailability and pharmacological effects).
The aims of this study were to investigate (1) platelet phospholipid (PL) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition in subjects who were the Melbourne Chinese migrants, compared with those who were the Melbourne Caucasians and (2) the relationship between platelet PL PUFA and intake of fish, meat and PUFA.