Anthocyanin composition and antioxidant activity of the Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and other berries

The anthocyanin composition and antioxidant activity of the crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum) were studied. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with a diode array detector and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry were used for identification and quantification of individual anthocyanins. Freeze-dried crowberry powder was extracted with 80% methanol containing 0.5% acetic acid and subjected to HPLC. Thirteen kinds of anthocyanins were identified. The major anthocyanins were cyanidin-3-galactoside and delphinidin-3-galactoside, at 8.04 and 8.62 mg/g extract, respectively. The HPLC profile of crowberry extract was similar to bilberry and blueberry. The total content of anthocyanins in crowberry was 41.8 mg/g extract, higher than the other nine major berry species (2.5-38.8 mg/g extract). The antioxidant activity was also evaluated using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethybenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical quenching assays and the ferric reducing activity power assy. Crowberry extract exerted the strongest antioxidant activity. In conclusion, individual anthocyanins in crowberry were identified and then quantified in this study. Additionally, crowberry is suggested to be associated with a reduction in the risk of developing chronic diseases because of its strong antioxidant activity.     

Morphological modifications among oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in relation to habitat differentiation in mangrove forests

We examined morphological modifications among oribatid species in five microhabitats in mangrove forests in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. A total of 89 oribatid species were recorded from canopy (leaves and branches), bark of flooded trunks (trunks of 0–50 cm high and knee roots), bark of other trunks higher than 50 cm, and littoral algae in mangrove forests, and the forest-floor soil in an adjacent bank forest. There were no significant differences in the body length, body width, and notogastral length among oribatid species from the five microhabitats. The mean sensillus length of the oribatid species from the forest-floor soil was about twice as long as that from the other microhabitats. Claw morphology was characterized by two attributes: number (monodactyly and tridactyly) and length. In the canopy and trunks, the proportion of tridactyl species was higher than that of monodactyl species. On the other hand, the proportion of tridactyl species in the forest-floor soil accounted for only about 20%, and that in the flooded trunks and littoral algae approximated to zero. The mean claw length was larger in the oribatid species from the flooded trunks and littoral algae than in both monodactyl and tridactyl species from every other microhabitat. Trydactyl species with short claws in the arboreal environments might have been selected by a compromise between grip and mobility for unpredictable environmental changes such as wind and rain. The dominance of monodactyl species with a longer claw in the littoral environments implies a consequence of selection for regular tidal flooding, which requires oribatids to grip tighter on the substrate. The modifications in claw morphology of oribatid mites in mangrove forest might be interpreted as adaptations to a difference in the predictability of the environmental conditions of microhabitats.     

Identification and characterization of foliar polyphenolic composition in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) genotypes

Trials over two years were conducted using 1389 sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) genotypes collected from all over the world to characterize the polyphenolic composition in sweetpotato leaves. Wide variation was observed in relation to their total and individual leaf polyphenolic constituents. In all genotypes studied, the total polyphenol contents of sweetpotato leaf ranged from 1.42 to 17.1 g/100 g dry weight. The six different polyphenolic compounds were identified and quantified by NMR, FABMS, and RPHPLC analysis procedures. This is the first report of polyphenolic compositions in sweetpotato leaves. The relative levels of polyphenolic acids in sweetpotato leaves were as follows: 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid > 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid > chlorogenic acid (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid) > 3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid > 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid > caffeic acid. The highest 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid occurred at 221 and 1183.30 mg/100 g dry weight, respectively.     

Relationship between antibacterial activity of (+)-catechin derivatives and their interaction with a model membrane

(+)-Catechin derivatives with different alkyl chain lengths were synthesized from (+)-catechin and various straight chain alkylaldehydes in the presence of methyl mercaptan, and their antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria were evaluated. The antibacterial activity increased markedly with elongation of the alkyl chain lengths of the derivatives and reached a maximum at a chain of four to seven carbons. Subsequently, interaction of the (+)-catechin derivatives with a model membrane using liposome was investigated. The derivatives with a chain of three carbons or more were found to have very strong affinity for the membrane. The injury action of the derivatives against the membrane was examined with liposome in which calcein was enclosed as a fluorescent indicator. The leakage was observed in the derivatives with chain lengths of four carbons or more. Particularly the derivatives with chains longer than five carbons are considered to destroy the liposome membrane judging from the degree of the fluorescent leakage. These results implied that the lipophilicity and disrupting ability of the (+)-catechin derivatives to the liposome membrane participate in their antibacterial activity.     

Basal levels and GnRH-induced responses of peripheral testosterone and estrogen in Holstein bulls with poor semen quality

The present study investigated the basal levels and GnRH-induced responses of peripheral testosterone and estrogen in Holstein bulls with poor semen quality. On the basis of semen parameters, bulls (n=5) having poor semen quality were selected as experimental bulls, and good semen quality bulls (n=4) were used as control bulls. Both groups were treated intramuscularly once with GnRH (250 μg of fertirelin acetate). Blood samples were collected at -1 day (d), -30 min and 0 h (treatment) followed by every 30 min for 5 h and 1, 3 and 5 d post-GnRH treatment (PGT), and LH, testosterone and estradiol-17β (E(2)) concentrations were measured. The pretreatment concentrations were used as basal levels. The percentage increments based on the 0-h levels were calculated per bull for each sampling time until 5 h PGT, and differences were compared between the experimental and control groups. The PGT concentrations of testosterone and basal and PGT concentrations of E(2) were significantly lower in the experimental group. The testosterone increment in the experimental group was delayed and significantly lower from 1 to 5 h PGT than those in the control group. It can be suggested that bulls with poor semen quality have delayed and lower GnRH-induced testosterone response and may also have lower estrogen levels.     

Hemorrhagic necrotizing splenitis in a slaughter pig infected with Arcanobacterium species

A 6-month-old barrow presented with lethargy, inappetence and dysstasia. At necropsy, multiple coalescing hemorrhagic foci were detected in the margins of the spleen. Gram-positive bacilli were isolated from the spleen, kidney, muscle and liver. Comparative 16S rDNA gene sequencing analysis of the isolates (TO16177) revealed that they would be the same species of unpublished Arcanobacterium species strain HJ57-14E (accession no. gi 18873551) (99.7% similarity based on a comparison of 675 bp). Histologic examination of the splenic tissue sections revealed extensive necrosis and inflammation, and gram-positive bacilli were discernible. Multifocal necrosis was also detected in the liver. Immunohistochemically, the isolates were cross-reacted with polyclonal antibodies against Arcanobacterium pyogenes and Actinomyces naeslundii, and the reaction was strong for the latter. Similar reactions were found in the suppurative lesions of the tonsil, and occasionally in the spleen and lymph nodes. The present results indicate that the unpublished Arcanobacterium species induced multiple organ failure accompanied by acute hemorrhagic necrotizing splenitis in this growing-finishing pig.     

Clay minerals of sediments in the Yatsushiro bay

Since three decades ago it has been established by numerous investigators⁴,⁷,⁹⁾ that the general Process of formation of clay minerals is different between the marine and terrestrial conditions, and that the clays of the marine origin are, in general, of illitic type, whereas those of the terrestrial are of kaolin group. In previous communications,¹,²⁾ it was reported that clay fractions of the soil and mud from the Ariake Sea are characterized by the abundance of minerals of illite-montmorin series (montmorin refers to montmorillonite group after Jackson and Sherman⁸⁾, being different from most terrestrial soils in Kyushu. The matter seems to be of some importance because the Presence of montmorin, even in a relatively small quantity, is likely to exercise a considerable, influence on the behaviour and properties of the clay and the fertility of the soil. The soils of the reclaimed land of the Sea are not only productive, Whether they are clayey or sandy, but also they have been approved to be powerful improving materials for the degraded paddy soils, so-called “Akiochi” soils by several field experiments.     

Influence of pH on the formation of the hydroxy Al-montmorillonite complex

The presence of so-valled chlorite-like minerals has been reported in many soils of not only acid but also of alkaline reaction (1). The minerals have been designated by, many terms, for example, dioctahedral vermiculite (2), dioctahedral analogue of vermiculite (3), 14A mineral (4), chlorite-like mineral (5), interstratified chlorite-vermiculite (6), intergradient chlorite-expansible 2:1 layer silicate, intergradient chlorite-vermiculite, intergradient chlorite-vermiculite-montmorillonite, intergrade, or interlayered vermiculite (7), and 2: 1-2: 2 intergrade (1). The minerals designated by these terms are evidently of the same category, and some of them are synonymous. Although they are of intermediate properties, between true chlorite and true vermiculite or montomorillonite, they could be regarded as an independent group of minerals in the course of pedochemical weathering. Jackson (1), for instance, has given the minerals the position of “weathering index 9”, placing them between vermiculite and kaolin as equivalent to montmorillonite, or secondary chlorite and kaolin in his weathering sequence. An explanation of the diagenesis of the minerals has been recently attempted by synthesis of the chlorite-like structures from montmorillonite (8), (9) and vermiculite (10) and mineralogical analyses of soil clay fractions (7).     

Mineralogy of gel-like substance in the pumice bed in Kanuma and Kitakami Districts

A characteristic gel-like substance has been noticed around weathered pumice grains in the pumice beds of Kanuma near Utsunomiya and of Kitakami, Iwate prefecture. This substance was first studied by SHIOIRI (6) in 1934, and reported as allophane according to its chemical composition, refractive index, and dye-adsorbing nature similar to the colloid of volcanic ash soils of the Onji-type. Recently, KUWANO and MATSUI (5) remarked that the colloidal film in the Kanuma and Imaichi pumice beds diffracted x-rays at about 8 and 33 Å, and they presumed that this substance might be an early transitional material from allophane to some crystalline clay minerals. KANNO (2) and KANNO et al. (3) examined this gel-like substance from Imaichi and Kitakami districts precisely by the x-ray diffraction, differential thermal, infrared spectroscopical, electron microscopical, and chemical methods, and they concluded that the substance was a mixture of poorly crystallized montmorillonite, allophane in various weathering stages, and free sesquioxide, although there was no positive evidence of montmorillonite. YOSHINAGA and AOMINE (7) noticed that the properties of imogolite designated by themselves bore a striking likeness to those of the gel-like substance reported by KANNO et al. (3), and they considered that both substances were essentially of the same kind irrespective of occurrence.