We investigated the histology and carbohydrate content of the parotid and mandibular glands of the barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak). Three adult males were used. Paraffin wax sections of the glands were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (HE), alcian blue (AB), pH 2.5 and periodic acid Schiff (PAS). The acinar cells of the parotid gland were serous, whereas those of the mandibular gland were of the mixed type. The acini of the mandibular gland comprised serous and mucous cells with the mucous type predominating. AB and PAS staining showed high concentrations of acidic and neutral carbohydrates in the mucous cells, but not in the serous cells of the mandibular gland. These carbohydrates were also found in moderate-to-high concentrations in the secreted material in the mandibular duct lumen. However, these carbohydrates were not found in acinar cells of the parotid gland or in the serous cells of the mandibular gland. Thus, carbohydrates in the saliva of the barking deer appear to be produced mainly by the mucous cells of the mandibular glands.
Different biological methods are gaining recognition for the production of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) due to their multiple applications. One of the most important applications of Ag-NPs is their use as an anti-bacterial agent. The use of plants in the synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as a cost effective and eco-friendly approach. In this study the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Vitex negundo L. extract and its antimicrobial properties has been reported. The resulting silver particles are characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopic techniques. The TEM study showed the formation of silver nanoparticles in the 10-30 nm range and average 18.2 nm in size. The XRD study showed that the particles are crystalline in nature, with a face centered cubic (fcc) structure. The silver nanoparticles showed the antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Vitex negundo L. was found to display strong potential for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents by rapid reduction of silver ions (Ag+ to Ag0).
Matched MeSH terms: Vitex/chemistry*; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry*; Green Chemistry Technology/methods*
Thermostable lipase produced by a genotypically identified extremophilic Bacillus subtilis NS 8 was purified 500-fold to homogeneity with a recovery of 16% by ultrafiltration, DEAE-Toyopearl 650M and Sephadex G-75 column. The purified enzyme showed a prominent single band with a molecular weight of 45 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for activity of lipase were 7.0 and 60°C, respectively. The enzyme was stable in the pH range between 7.0 and 9.0 and temperature range between 40 and 70°C. It showed high stability with half-lives of 273.38 min at 60°C, 51.04 min at 70°C and 41.58 min at 80°C. The D-values at 60, 70 and 80°C were 788.70, 169.59 and 138.15 min, respectively. The enzyme's enthalpy, entropy and Gibb's free energy were in the range of 70.07-70.40 kJ mol(-1), -83.58 to -77.32 kJ mol(-1)K(-1) and 95.60-98.96 kJ mol(-1), respectively. Lipase activity was slightly enhanced when treated with Mg(2+) but there was no significant enhancement or inhibition of the activity with Ca(2+). However, other metal ions markedly inhibited its activity. Of all the natural vegetable oils tested, it had slightly higher hydrolytic activity on soybean oil compared to other oils. On TLC plate, the enzyme showed non-regioselective activity for triolein hydrolysis.
Four new chromone alkaloids, chrotacumines A-D (1-4), consisting of a 5,7-dihydroxy-2-methylchromone, an N-Me piperidine ring, and an ester side chain were isolated from Dysoxylum acutangulum, and their structures including absolute configurations were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data interpretation including 2D NMR, CD spectra, and X-ray analysis. The known compound rohitukine (5) showed moderate cytotoxicity against human HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia and HCT-116 colon cancer cells.
Research was conducted to manufacture and evaluate a restructured turkey breast product using the Fibrimex cold-set binding system, sodium diacetate (NaD), and sodium lactate (NaL) and to ascertain effects of the treatments on proximate composition, pH, psychrotrophic organisms, water activity, onset of rancidity (TBA), thaw loss, cooking yields, and objective color, and sensory characteristics. Whole turkey breasts were cut into 5-cm-thick strips; treated with either water only (control), 1.5% NaL, 2.0% NaL, 0.1% NaD, 1.5% NaL + 0.1% NaD, or 2.0% NaL + 0.1% NaD; blended with Fibrimex ingredients; stuffed into casings; and stored at -30 degrees C for 0, 1, 2, and 3 mo. After each storage period, frozen chubs were tempered at 4 degrees C, sliced into 1-cm-thick steaks, packaged in retail trays, stored at 0 degrees C to simulate retail storage, and analyzed after 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 d. Sodium diacetate used alone or in combination with NaL reduced (P < 0.05) growth of psychrotrophic organisms and had no adverse effects on water activity, pH, cooking yield, fat, moisture, protein, objective color, onset of rancidity, and sensory characteristics (juiciness, turkey flavor intensity, and tenderness). Panelists reported slight off-flavor in all steaks treated with NaL. Treating steaks with NaL alone or in combination with NaD resulted in increased (P < 0.05) ash content. Sodium lactate also functioned to minimize thaw loss in the frozen restructured turkey product.
A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (C(4)D) has been developed for the separation and the simultaneous determination of five underivatized long chain fatty acids (FAs), namely myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. An isocratic elution mode using methanol/1mM sodium acetate (78:22, v/v) as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.6 mL min(-1) was used. The separation was effected by using a Hypersil ODS C(18) analytical column (250 mm x 4.6 mm x 5 microm) and was operated at 45 degrees C. Calibration curves of the five FAs were well correlated (r(2)>0.999) within the range of 5- 200 microg mL(-1) for stearic acid, and 2-200 microg mL(-1) for the other FAs. The proposed method was tested on four vegetable oils, i.e., pumpkin, soybean, rice bran and palm olein oils; good agreement was found with the standard gas chromatographic (GC) method. The proposed method offers distinct advantages over the official GC method, especially in terms of simplicity, faster separation times and sensitivity.
A diesel-degrading bacterium has been isolated from a diesel-polluted site. The isolate was tentatively identified as Staphylococcus aureus strain DRY11 based on partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny and Biolog GP microplate panels and Microlog database. Isolate 11 showed an almost linear increase in cellular growth with respect to diesel concentrations with optimum growth occurring at 4% (v/v) diesel concentration. Optimization studies using different nitrogen sources showed that the best nitrogen source was potassium nitrite. Sodium nitrite was optimum at 1.2 g l(-1) and higher concentrations were strongly inhibitory to cellular growth. The optimal pH that supported growth of the bacterium was between 7.5 to 8.0 and the isolate exhibited optimal broad temperature supporting growth on diesel from 27 to 37 degrees C. An almost complete removal of diesel components was seen from the reduction in hydrocarbon peaks observed using Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography analysis after 5 days of incubation. The characteristics of this bacterium suggest that it is suitable for bioremediation of diesel spills and pollutions in the tropics.
A new electrochemical biosensor is described for voltammetric detection of gene sequence related to Trichoderma harzianum. The sensor involves immobilization of a 20 base single-stranded probe (ssDNA), which is complementary to a specific gene sequence related to T. harzianum on a gold electrode through specific adsorption. The DNA probe was used to determine the amount of target gene in solution using methylene blue (MB) as the electrochemical indicator. The covalently immobilized probe could selectively hybridize with the target DNA to form a hybrid on the surface despite the bases being attached to the electrode. The changes in the peak currents of methylene blue (MB), an electroactive label, were observed upon hybridization of probe with the target. Peak currents were found to increase in the following order: hybrid-modified AuE and the probe-modified AuE which localized to the affinity of MB. Control experiments with the non-complementary oligonucleotides were performed to assess whether the DNA biosensor responds selectively, via hybridization, to the target. DNA biosensor also able to detect microorganism at the species levels without nucleic acid amplification. The redox current was linearly related to the concentration of target oligonucleotide DNA, ranged from 1-20 ppm. Numerous factors, affecting the probe immobilization, target hybridization and indicator binding reactions are optimized to maximize the sensitivity and reduce the assay time.
The performance of a carbon-mineral composite adsorbent used in a fixed bed column for the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen and aggregate organic pollutant (COD), which are commonly found in landfill leachate, was evaluated. The breakthrough capacities for ammoniacal nitrogen and COD adsorption were 4.46 and 3.23 mg/g, respectively. Additionally, the optimum empty bed contact time (EBCT) was 75 min. The column efficiency for ammoniacal nitrogen and COD adsorption using fresh adsorbent was 86.4% and 92.6%, respectively, and these values increased to 90.0% and 93.7%, respectively, after the regeneration process.
Matched MeSH terms: Ammonia/chemistry*; Nitrogen/chemistry*; Oxygen/chemistry*; Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry
Three sorbent materials (A18C6-MS, DA18C6-MS and AB18C6-MS) based on the crown ether ligands, 1-aza-18-crown-6, 1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclo octadecane and 4'-aminobenzo-18-crown-6, respectively, were prepared by the chemical immobilization of the ligand onto mesoporous silica support. The sorbents were characterized by FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, elemental analysis and nitrogen adsorption-desorption test. The applicability of the sorbents for the extraction of biogenic amines by the batch sorption method was extensively studied and evaluated as a function of pH, biogenic amines concentration, contact time and reusability. Under the optimized conditions, all the sorbents exhibited highest selectivity toward spermidine (SPD) compared to other biogenic amines (tryptamine, putrescine, histamine and tyramine). Among the sorbents, AB18C6-MS offer the highest capacity and best selectivity towards SPD in the presence of other biogenic amines. The AB18C6-MS sorbent can be repeatedly used three times as there was no significant degradation in the extraction of the biogenic amines (%E>85). The optimized procedure was successfully applied for the separation of SPD in food samples prior to the reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography separation.
This study was intended to investigate the potential of peeled and unpeeled pumpkin pulp as a raw material for the production of flour that could be used in composite blend with wheat flour or as a functional ingredient in food products. The peeled and unpeeled pumpkin pulp were soaked in sodium metabisulphite solution, sliced and dried overnight in a hot air oven, followed by milling into peeled pumpkin pulp flour (PPPF) and unpeeled pumpkin pulp flour (UPPF), respectively. The flours were then evaluated for physicochemical attributes (color, proximate compositions, and water activity) and functional properties (water holding capacity and oil holding capacity), in comparison to the commercial wheat flour. PPPF and UPPF were observed to be more attractive in terms of color than wheat flour, as indicated by the significantly higher results (P or= 0.05) was shown in water holding capacity of PPPF and wheat flour. However, the oil holding capacity of PPPF and UPPF was shown to be significantly higher (P
The effect of enzymatic pretreatment on the degree of corn and mung bean starch derivatization by propylene oxide was investigated. The starch was enzymatically treated in the granular state with a mixture of fungal alpha-amylase and glucoamylase at 35 degrees C for 16 h and then chemically modified to produce enzyme-hydrolyzed-hydroxypropyl (HP) starch. Partial enzyme hydrolysis of starch in the granular state appeared to enhance the subsequent hydroxypropylation, as judged from the significant increase in the molar substitution. A variable degree of granule modification was obtained after enzyme hydrolysis, and one of the determinants of the modification degree appeared to be the presence of natural pores in the granules. Enzyme-hydrolyzed-HP starch exhibited significantly different functional properties compared to hydroxypropyl starch prepared from untreated (native) starch. It is evident that the dual modification of starch using this approach provides a range of functional properties that can be customized for specific applications.
A new prenylated dihydrochalcone, 2',4'-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-3'-prenyldihydrochalcone (1), along with two known compounds, 2',4',4-trihydroxy-3'-prenylchalcone (2) and 2',4-dihydroxy-3',4'-(2,2-dimethylchromene)chalcone (3) were isolated from the leaves of Artocarpus lowii. The structures of 1-3 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and by comparison with data reported in the literature. Compounds 1-3 showed strong free radical scavenging activity towards 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) measured by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry.
A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine the content of betulinic acid (BA) in rat plasma collected at different times (0-8 h) after oral administration of Orthosiphon stamineus leaf extract was developed. The features of the assay include protein precipitation using acetonitrile and isocratic elution using reverse phase C-18 column with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The recovery of BA from plasma varied from 98.4 to 102.5%. The R.S.D of intra- and inter-day precision from rat plasma ranged from 4.2 to 9.8%. The maximum concentration of BA in the plasma was 1.2 +/- 0.3 microg/ml at 1 h after oral administration of the extract.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are naturally occurring biopolyesters that have great potential in the medical field. However, the leachables resulting from sterilization process of the biomaterials may exert toxic effect including genetic damage. Here, we demonstrate that although gamma-irradiation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-50 mol % 4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-4HB)] did not cause any change in the morphology by scanning electron microscopy, there was a significant degradation of this copolymer where the molecular weight was reduced by 37% after sterilization indicating the generation of leachables. Therefore, further investigation on the ability of the extract of this poststerilized copolymer to induce mutagenic effect was performed using Ames test (S. typhimurium strains TA1535 and TA1537) and umu test (S. typhimurium strain TA1535/pSK1002). Additionally, the capability of the extract to induce clastogenic effect was determined using Chinese hamster lung V79 fibroblast cells. Our results showed that with and without the presence of S9 metabolic activation, no mutagenic effects were observed in both Ames and umu tests when treated with P(3HB-co-4HB) extract. Similarly, treatment of P(3HB-co-4HB) extract in V79 fibroblast cells showed no significant production of micronuclei when compared with the positive control (Mitomycin C). Together, these results indicate that leachables of poststerilized P(3HB-co-4HB) cause no mutagenic and clastogenic effects.
An enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) for enantioseparation of (R,S)-ketoprofen via Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) as biocatalyst was investigated. A comparative study of free and immobilized CALB was further conducted. The catalytic behaviour of CALB in an EMR was affected by the process parameters of enzyme load, substrate concentration, substrate molar ratio, lipase solution pH, reaction temperature, and substrate flow rate. Immobilization of CALB in the EMR was able to reduce the amount of enzyme required for the enantioseparation of (R,S)-ketoprofen. Immobilized CALB in the EMR assured higher reaction capacity, better thermal stability, and reusability. It was also found to be more cost effective and practical than free CALB in a batch reactor.
An anion exchange monolithic silica capillary column was prepared by surface modification of a hybrid monolithic silica capillary column prepared from a mixture of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS). The surface modification was carried out by on-column copolymerization of N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]acrylamide methyl chloride-quaternary salt (DMAPAA-Q) with 3-methacryloxypropyl moieties bonded as an anchor to the silica surface to form a strong anion exchange stationary phase. The columns were examined for their performance in liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) separations of common anions. The ions were separated using 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 6.6. Evaluation by LC produced an average of 30,000 theoretical plates (33 cm column length) for the inorganic anions and nucleotides. Evaluation by CEC, using the same buffer, produced enhanced chromatographic performance of up to ca. 90,000 theoretical plates and a theoretical plate height of ca. 4 mum. Although reduced efficiency was observed for inorganic anions that were retained a long time, the results of this study highlight the potential utility of the DMAPAA-Q stationary phase for anion separations.
A series of ternary metal(ii) complexes {M(phen)(edda); 1a (Cu), 1b (Co), 1c (Zn), 1d (Ni); H(2)edda = N,N(')-ethylenediaminediacetic acid} of N,N'-ethylene-bridged diglycine and 1,10-phenanthroline were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, UV-visible spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurement. The interaction of these complexes with DNA was investigated using CD and EPR spectroscopy. MTT assay results of 1a-1c , screened on MCF-7 cancer cell lines, show that synergy between the metal and ligands results in significant enhancement of their antiproliferative properties. Preliminary results from apoptosis and cell cycle analyses with flow cytometry are reported. seems to be able to induce cell cycle arrest at G(0)/G(1). The crystal structure of 1a is also included.
The vacuolar-type H+ -ATPase (V-ATPase) is a multimeric enzyme with diverse functions in plants such as nutrient transport, flowering, stress tolerance, guard cell movement and development. A partial sequence of V-ATPase proteolipid was identified among the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) generated from Acanthus ebracteatus, and selected for full-length sequencing. The 876-nucleotide cDNA consists of an open reading frame of 165 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence displays high similarity (81%) with its homologs from Arabidopsis thaliana, Avecinnia marina and Gossypium hirsutum with the four transmembrane domains characteristics of the 16 kDa proteolipid subunit c of V-ATPase well conserved in this protein. Southern analysis revealed the existence of several members of proteolipid subunit c of V-ATPase in A. ebracteatus. The mRNA of this gene was detected in leaf, floral, stem and root tissues, however, the expression level was lower in stem and root tissues.
Oil palm trunk fibre (OPTF)--an agricultural solid waste--was used as low-cost adsorbent to remove malachite green (MG) from aqueous solutions. The operating variables studied were contact time, initial dye concentration, and solution pH. Equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by three isotherms, namely the Freundlich isotherm, the Langmuir isotherm, and the multilayer adsorption isotherm. The best fit to the data was obtained with the multilayer adsorption. The monolayer adsorption capacity of OPTF was found to be 149.35 mg/g at 30 degrees C. Adsorption kinetic data were modeled using the Lagergren pseudo-first-order, Ho's pseudo-second-order and Elovich models. It was found that the Lagergren's model could be used for the prediction of the system's kinetics. The overall rate of dye uptake was found to be controlled by external mass transfer at the beginning of adsorption, then for initial MG concentrations of 25, 50, 100, 150, and 300 mg/L the rate-control changed to intraparticle diffusion at a later stage, but for initial MG concentrations 200 and 250 mg/L no evidence was found of intraparticle diffusion at any period of adsorption. It was found that with increasing the initial concentration of MG, the pore-diffusion coefficient increased while the film-diffusion coefficient decreased.