Relationships between the damage to radish caused by the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans, its density prior to cultivation and the soil nematode community structure evaluated by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

A preliminary survey using 20 conventionally farmed fields in which fumigants have been applied every year showed that the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans was distributed both in the upper (0–30 cm) and lower (30–60 cm) soil layers. In six of the 20 fields, P. penetrans was detected in the lower layers exclusively, suggesting that the most appropriate depth to sample soil is 0–60 cm to estimate the relationship between the density of P. penetrans and its damage to radish. There was a highly significant correlation ( r  = 0.923) between the density of P. penetrans in the 0–60 cm depth and the number of spots on a radish. No damage to radish was observed in soils with <2.5 individuals of P. penetrans per 20 g soil before cultivation. However, in cases in which the density of P. penetrans was 3.4–6.2 individuals per 20 g soil, the number of spots on a radish showed more variation (0–131.5 per radish) and there was no significant correlation between them. The nematode community structure of soils with 3.4–8 individuals of P. penetrans per 20 g soil, evaluated by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, was significantly different ( anova , PC2, P  <   0.05) between soils with low (0–42) and high (more than 80) damage levels, suggesting that radish damage might be predicted on the basis of the prevailing soil nematode community structure.     

Quantitative structure-activity studies of substituted benzyl chrysanthemates: 2. Physicochemical substituent effects and neurophysiological and symptomatic activities against American cockroaches

The substituent effects on the symptomatic and neurophysiological activities of a number of substituted benzyl (1R)-trans-chrysanthemates against American cockroaches were quantitatively analyzed using electronic, hydrophobic, and steric parameters. The effects were shown to be highly specific to substituent positions except for those on the neuroblocking activity. Steric effect of substituents represented by van der Waals volume was found to play the most significant role in determining the variation in each activity. Peculiar substituent effects depending upon the bulkiness and position of substituents, which had been observed in the toxicity of this class of compounds, can be rationalized by the present analysis indicating that the optimum van der Waals volume of substituents is largest at the ortho and smallest at the para position.     

Changes in nitrogen metabolism in rice seedlings infected with Piricularia oryzae cavara

Blast disease is one of the biggest diseases of rice plant in Japan. For example, in 1953, the total area of damage by blast disease was about 160 × 10⁴ hectare and the decreased yield of rice Was about 67.5 × 10⁴ ton in Japan. There have been many studies on blast disease for a long time. Tanaka and Katsuki (7)studied the relation between environmental conditions and blast disease. They always used adult healthy rice plants as plant materials and have not analysed the plants damaged by blast fungus directly. They suggested the presence of growth-promoting factors of blast funngus especially in susceptible rice varieties. Tamari and Kaji (5, 6) suggested that the blast fungus produced some effective toxic substances which might cause the disease. Suzuki, Doi and Toyoda (4) continued to study the mechanism of rice blast resistance and they have proposed 3 phases of resistance. They are (a) resistance and environtmental factors, (b) resistance and host camponents and (c) relation of host variety to fungus race.     

Evaluation of the umami taste intensity of green tea by a taste sensor

A method for evaluating the umami taste intensity of green tea by a taste sensor system was established. Interference in the measurement from catechins was solved by removing the catechins from sample solutions with poly(vinylpolypyrrolidone). A 5.00 mM aqueous solution of glutamic acid monosodium salt was used as the standard solution. Sensor outputs were converted into EIT uma (estimated intensity of taste concerning umami) values. One unit on the EIT uma scale was defined as the amount of the sensor output corresponding to a difference in 1.2 times the concentration of the standard substance (glutamic acid monosodium salt). The umami taste intensity of green tea was classified into six grades on the EIT uma scale. Sensory tests proved that the EIT uma value had a high correlation to the human gustatory sense.     

Purification and characterization of polyphenol oxidase from garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.)

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) of garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) was purified approximately 32-fold with a recovery rate of 16% by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, and gel filtration. The purified enzyme appeared as a single band on PAGE and SDS-PAGE. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be about 47000 and 45000 by gel filtration and SDS-PAGE, respectively. The purified enzyme quickly oxidized chlorogenic acid and (-)-epicatechin. The K(m) value (Michaelis constant) of the enzyme was 2.0 mM for chlorogenic acid (pH 4.0, 30 degrees C) and 10.0 mM for (-)-epicatechin (pH 8.0, 40 degrees C). The optimum pH was 4.0 for chlorogenic acid oxidase (ChO) and 8.0 for (-)-epicatechin oxidase (EpO). In the pH range from 5 to 11, their activities were quite stable at 5 degrees C for 22 h. The optimum temperatures of ChO and EpO activities were 30 and 40 degrees C, respectively. Both activities were stable at up to 50 degrees C after heat treatment for 30 min. The purified enzyme was strongly inhibited by l-ascorbic acid and l-cysteine at 1 mM.     

Distribution of free amino acids, flavonoids, total phenolics, and antioxidative activities of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) fruits and seeds harvested from plants grown in Korea

Fruit pulp and seeds from the jujube plant possess nutritional and medicinal properties. The bioactive components have been shown to vary both with cultivar and with growing conditions. Most studies report the components of varieties from China. We measured free amino acid, individual phenolic, and total phenolic content, and antioxidative activities in three jujube fruit pulp extracts from Boeun-deachu, Mechu, and Sanzoin cultivars and two seed extracts (Mechu and Sanzoin) from plants grown in Korea. In g/100 g dry weight, total free amino acid content measured by ion-exchange chromatography ranged from 5.2 to 9.8 in the pulp and from 4.0 to 5.3 in the seed. Total phenolic content measured by Folin-Ciocalteu ranged from 1.1 to 2.4 in the pulp and from 3.6 to 4.6 in the seed. Flavonoids were measured by HPLC and ranged from 0.7 to 1.8 in the pulp and from 3.2 to 4.0 in the seed. Flavonoids were identified by HPLC elution position and UV/vis and mass spectra. Fruits contained the following flavonoids: procyanidin B2, epicatechin, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (Q-3-R), quercetin-3-O-galactoside (Q-3-G), kaempferol-glucosyl-rhamnoside (K-G-R), and two unidentified compounds. Seeds contained the following flavonoids: saponarin, spinosin, vitexin, swertish, 6'-hydroxybenzoylspinosin (6'-HBS), 6'-feruloylspinosin (6'-FS), and one unidentified substance. Dimensions and weights of the fresh fruit samples affected phenolic content. The distribution of the individual flavonoids among the different samples varied widely. Data determined by the FRAP antioxidative assay were well correlated with total phenolic content. In a departure from other studies, data from the DPPH free radical assay were not correlated with FRAP or with any of the measured compositional parameters. Because individual jujube flavonoids are reported to exhibit different health-promoting effects, knowledge of the composition and concentration of bioactive compounds of jujube products can benefit consumers.     

Response of enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations to a long burst of exercise and following resting in muscle and the hepatopancreas of carp

ABSTRACT: The responses of enzyme activities and metabolic intermediate concentrations to a long burst of exercise and following resting were examined in muscle and the hepatopancreas of carp Cyprinus carpio . A 15 min burst of exercise made the fish so exhausted that they could not swim any more. In muscle, the exercise decreased glycogen content significantly and increased lactate content significantly, resulting in a lowered pH. Furthermore, the burst of exercise decreased phosphofructokinase (PFK) activity significantly, although it changed adenosine-5'-monophosphate, adenosine-5'-diphosphate, adenosine-5'-triphosphate, fructose-6-phosphate and citrate concentrations within ranges that could activate PFK. In the hepatopancreas, the exercise increased glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bis-phosphatase activities, and glucose and lactate concentrations in the serum, and it decreased glycogen content. Even at 3 h resting after the burst of exercise, the fish had not completely restored many parameters. These results suggest that although the fish tried to enhance in vivo muscular glycolysis through the activation of PFK by changes in metabolic intermediate concentrations, glycolysis seemed to decrease markedly through the inhibition of PFK as a result of the lowered pH. However, the hepatopancreas made a contribution to muscular exercise through glucose supplementation by enhanced gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis, indicating the presence of an interdependence of carbohydrate metabolism between muscle and the hepatopancreas in the fish.