Characterization of Italian Durum Wheat Semolina by Means of Chemical Analytical and Spectroscopic Determinations

Proton high‐resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H HR‐MAS NMR) has been applied for the analysis of two cultivars of durum wheat produced in different Italian geographical areas. Furthermore, on the same samples, isotopic ratios were measured by mass spectrometry (IRMS). The application of chemometrics to these results permitted the discrimination of semolina by cultivar and geographical origin. A similar approach has been applied to the results obtained from chemical analyses. The comparison showed that NMR spectroscopy can provide a faster method for the detection of differences among the durum wheat semolina according to geographical and varietal origin. Furthermore, IRMS data are suitable to provide information about the geographical origin of samples. This present investigation is part of an extensive research project to find a scientific method capable of classifying wheat foods for the assignment of a “denomination of origin” trademark.     

Oxidative transformation of natural and synthetic phenolic mixtures by Trametes versicolor laccase

The efficiency of Trametes versicolor laccase in the transformation of phenols (caffeic acid, catechol, hydroxytyrosol, methylcatechol, protocatechuic acid, syringic acid, m-tyrosol, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) usually present in waste water, such as that derived from an olive oil factory, was investigated. According to their response to 24 h laccase action the 11 phenolic compounds were classified in three groups: reactive (88-100% transformation), intermediate reactive (transformation lower than 50%), and recalcitrant (not transformed at all). The enzyme was able to transform the 11 substrates even when they were present in a mixture and also toward a phenolic extract from a Moroccan olive oil mill waste water (OMW) sample. The disappearance of protocatechuic, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic, and 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acids, and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde was enhanced whereas that of caffeic acid and m-tyrosol was depressed when the phenols were present in the mixture. A reduction of enzyme activity occurred in single and/or complex phenolic mixtures after enzymatic oxidation. No correspondence between phenol transformation and disappearance of enzymatic activity was, however, observed. The overall results suggest that laccases are effective in the transformation of simple and complex phenolic mixtures.     

Responses to N Deficiency in Stay Green and Non‐Stay Green Argentinean Hybrids of Maize

Breeding has developed better yielding maize hybrids for low N environments, which also have delayed leaf senescence (‘stay green’ trait, SG). Here, we studied whether the SG trait can further improve yield of modern hybrids under N‐limiting conditions. In two field experiments, four maize hybrids with different senescence behaviour were grown under three N fertilization levels, from 0 to 200 kg N ha^?1 (N0, N100 and N200). After silking, hybrids differed for senescence depending on the canopy layer (P < 0.05): the SG AX878 only delayed senescence at the mid and upper canopy layers while the SG NK880 delayed senescence of all layers. Across N doses, higher yields were achieved by both SG hybrids, AX878 and NK880 (P < 0.05) but yield was not only determined by senescence behaviour. Kernel weight (KW) response to N availability was larger for SGs than for their non‐‘stay green’ counterparts. Delayed senescence in SG hybrids was not related to higher post‐silking N uptake but to higher (P < 0.05) %N in leaves and lower (P < 0.05) %N in kernels at harvest (below the critical 1.1 % under N deficiency). Across N levels, KW positively related to N content per kernel, with a steeper slope (P < 0.05) for the SG hybrids. Taken together, our results suggest that a condition where N limits kernel growth, in a scenario of saturating C availability, may be common to stay green genotypes of maize.     

Chemometric classification of Apulian and Slovenian wines using 1H NMR and ICP-OES together with HPICE data

High-performance ion chromatography exclusion, inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements were carried out in combination with chemometrics on 33 wine samples coming from three Slovenian wine-growing regions and from Apulia (southern Italy). The chemometric classification of wines according to their geographical origin was obtained with a nearly 100% degree of achievement. The discriminating potential of the (1)H NMR and of the other analytical determinations has been estimated separately. The best prediction of wines has been obtained with NMR data.     

The role of the phenethyl ester of caffeic acid (CAPE) in the inhibition of rat lung cyclooxygenase activity by propolis

In this study we investigated the effect of an ethanolic extract of propolis, with and without CAPE, and some of its components on cyclooxygenase (COX) activity. Propolis (0.00003-0.03%) significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited COX activity from lung homogenate of saline- or LPS-treated rats. Same results were obtained with CAPE (0.1-100 microM). COX activity from lung homogenate of saline- or LPS-treated rats was also inhibited by galangin (0.1-100 microM), although the inhibition induced by the lowest concentration was not significant. Caffeic, ferulic, cinnamic and chlorogenic acids and pinocembrin, (0.1-100 microM) did not affect COX activity. The inhibition curves showed that CAPE and propolis were equipotent inhibitors, whereas galangin was significantly (P<0.001) less potent than propolis and CAPE. In order to better investigate the role of CAPE, we tested the action of an ethanolic extract of propolis (0.00003-0.03%) without CAPE. This extract significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited COX activity from lung homogenate of saline- or LPS-treated rats, however, it resulted to be approximately 10 times less potent than the extract containing CAPE. The analysis of the inhibition curves of the extract with and without CAPE showed a significant (P<0.001) difference. These results suggest that both CAPE and galangin contribute to the overall activity of propolis, CAPE being more effective.     

BAG3 protects Bovine Papillomavirus type 1-transformed equine fibroblasts against pro-death signals

In human cancer cells, BAG3 protein is known to sustain cell survival. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate the expression of BAG3 protein both in equine sarcoids in vivo and in EqS04b cells, a sarcoid-derived fully transformed cell line harbouring bovine papilloma virus (BPV)-1 genome. Evidence of a possible involvement of BAG3 in equine sarcoid carcinogenesis was obtained by immunohistochemistry analysis of tumour samples. We found that most tumour samples stained positive for BAG3, even though to a different grade, while normal dermal fibroblasts from healthy horses displayed very weak staining pattern for BAG3 expression. By siRNA technology, we demonstrate in EqS04b the role of BAG3 in counteracting basal as well as chemical-triggered pro-death signals. BAG3 down-modulation was indeed shown to promote cell death and cell cycle arrest in G₀/G₁. In addition, we found that BAG3 silencing sensitized EqS04b cells to phenethylisothiocyanate (PEITC), a promising cancer chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic agent present in edible cruciferous vegetables. Notably, such a pro-survival role of BAG3 was less marked in E. Derm cells, an equine BPV-negative fibroblast cell line taken as a normal counterpart. Altogether our findings might suggest a mutual cooperation between BAG3 and viral oncoproteins to sustain cell survival.     

The evolution of modern eukaryotic phytoplankton

The community structure and ecological function of contemporary marine ecosystems are critically dependent on eukaryotic phytoplankton. Although numerically inferior to cyanobacteria, these organisms are responsible for the majority of the flux of organic matter to higher trophic levels and the ocean interior. Photosynthetic eukaryotes evolved more than 1.5 billion years ago in the Proterozoic oceans. However, it was not until the Mesozoic Era (251 to 65 million years ago) that the three principal phytoplankton clades that would come to dominate the modern seas rose to ecological prominence. In contrast to their pioneering predecessors, the dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and diatoms all contain plastids derived from an ancestral red alga by secondary symbiosis. Here we examine the geological, geochemical, and biological processes that contributed to the rise of these three, distantly related, phytoplankton groups.     

Complete Lipooligosaccharide Structure from Pseudoalteromonas nigrifaciens Sq02-Rifr and Study of Its Immunomodulatory Activity

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are surface glycoconjugates embedded in the external leaflet of the outer membrane (OM) of the Gram-negative bacteria. They consist of three regions: lipid A, core oligosaccharide (OS), and O-specific polysaccharide or O-antigen. Lipid A is the glycolipid endotoxin domain that anchors the LPS molecule to the OM, and therefore, its chemical structure is crucial in the maintenance of membrane integrity in the Gram-negative bacteria. In this paper, we reported the characterization of the lipid A and OS structures from Pseudoalteromonas nigrifaciens Sq02-Rif^r, which is a psychrotrophic Gram-negative bacterium isolated from the intestine of Seriola quinqueradiata. The immunomodulatory activity of both LPS and lipid A was also examined.