Phytochemical and nutrient composition of the freeze-dried amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai)

Euterpe oleraceae is a large palm tree indigenous to the Amazon River and its tributaries and estuaries in South America. Its fruit, known as acai, is of great economic value to native people. In this study, a standardized freeze-dried acai fruit pulp/skin powder was used for all analyses and tests. Among many findings, anthocyanins (ACNs), proanthocyanidins (PACs), and other flavonoids were found to be the major phytochemicals. Two ACNs, cyandin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside were found to be predominant ACNs; three others were also found as minor ACNs. The total content of ACNs was measured as 3.1919 mg/g dry weight (DW). Polymers were found to be the major PACs. The concentration of total PACs was calculated as 12.89 mg/g DW. Other flavonoids, namely, homoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, scoparin, and taxifolin deoxyhexose, along with several unknown flavonoids, were also detected. Resveratrol was found but at a very low concentration. In addition, components including fatty acids, amino acids, sterols, minerals, and other nutrients were analyzed and quantified. Total polyunsaturated fatty acid, total monounsaturated fatty acid, and total saturated fatty acids contributed to 11.1%, 60.2%, and 28.7% of total fatty acid. Oleic acid (53.9%) and palmitic acid (26.7%) were found to be the two dominant fatty acids. Nineteen amino acids were found; the total amino acid content was determined to be 7.59% of total weight. The total sterols accounted for 0.048% by weight of powder. The three sterols B-sitosterol, campesterol, and sigmasterol were identified. A complete nutrient analysis is also presented. Microbiological analysis was also performed.     

Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States

Both lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities were determined using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC(FL)) assay with fluorescein as the fluorescent probe and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride as a peroxyl radical generator on over 100 different kinds of foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, spices, cereals, infant, and other foods. Most of the foods were collected from four different regions and during two different seasons in U.S. markets. Total phenolics of each sample were also measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Hydrophilic ORAC(FL) values (H-ORAC(FL)) ranged from 0.87 to 2641 micromol of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g among all of the foods, whereas lipophilic ORAC(FL) values (L-ORAC(FL)) ranged from 0.07 to 1611 micromol of TE/g. Generally, L-ORAC(FL) values were <10% of the H-ORAC(FL) values except for a very few samples. Total antioxidant capacity was calculated by combining L-ORAC(FL) and H-ORAC(FL). Differences of ORAC(FL) values in fruits and vegetables from different seasons and regions were relatively large for some foods but could not be analyzed in detail because of the sampling scheme. Two different processing methods, cooking and peeling, were used on selected foods to evaluate the impact of processing on ORAC(FL). The data demonstrated that processing can have significant effects on ORAC(FL). Considering all of the foods analyzed, the relationship between TP and H-ORAC(FL) showed a very weak correlation. Total hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant capacity intakes were calculated to be 5558 and 166 micromol of TE/day, respectively, on the basis of data from the USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (1994-1996).     

利用MODIS数据提取水稻种植面积及精度分析

为了研究MODIS遥感数据及方法提取水稻种植面积在东北地区的适用性,利用MODIS数据对东北地区水稻面积进行提取,采用非监督分类法、决策树法等方法,并与SPOT、ALOS等遥感资料提取结果比较,进行精度分析。结果表明,MODIS监测水稻面积具有很好的效果,利用MODIS-LSWI提取黑龙江地区移栽期的水稻面积,采用非监督分类法,与SPOT比较,提取精度达97.4%;利用MODIS数据提取辽宁盘锦地区移栽期的水田面积,采用决策树法,与ALOS比较,提取精度达89.5%。因此,利用MODIS遥感数据及方法监测东北地区水稻种植面积是可行的。     

植保工作面临的形势与对策

针对植保工作面临的新形势,提出了加强基础设施建设和建立植保预警机制,稳定队伍和提高素质,转变职能和构建社会化服务体系,推广绿色植保和实施可持续发展战略,完善法规和加强执法与管理等发展对策。     

不育剂甲基炔诺酮对宁夏南部山区甘肃鼢鼠种群控制试验

2004年3月上旬至5月在宁夏回族自治区固原市原州区柳沟生态环境改良示范区进行了人用不育剂对甘肃鼢鼠种群控制的试验,选用的不育剂是北京制药厂1991年生产的甲基炔诺酮速效避孕片．用生育控制效果和密度控制效果进行综合评价．试验结果是：至2004年5月中旬,生育控制率为46．0％,密度控制率为41．8％,显示甲基炔诺酮对甘肃鼢鼠的种群控制具有明显效果。     

Anti-inflammatory effects of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) fruit aqueous extract and the isolation of main phytochemicals

Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) fruits have been used as food as well as folk medicine in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatism. The present study was carried out to study the anti-inflammatory activities of C. spinosa L. fruit (CSF) aqueous extract and to isolate main phytochemicals from its bioactive fractions. The CSF aqueous extract were separated into three fractions (CSF1-CSF3) by macroporous adsorption resins. The fractions CSF2 and CSF3 effectively inhibited the carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice. Systematic fractionation and isolation from CSF2+3 led to the identification of 13 compounds (1-13). Their chemical structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) and literature comparisons. Major compounds found in the bioactive fraction CSF2+3 are flavonoids, indoles, and phenolic acids. To our knowledge, 8 of these 13 compounds (1-4, 6-7, 10, and 13) were identified from caper fruits for the first time. The anti-inflammatory effects of these purified compounds are currently under investigation.     

贺兰山岩羊摄食量和能量需求研究

经饲养条件下摄食量测定和饲料营养成分测定,贺兰山岩羊每kg体重日需总能为:成体雄羊827.72 kJ,成体雌羊818.40 kJ,仔羊865.58 kJ.根据贺兰山岩羊种群结构及对体重和运动耗能的估算,得出了野生条件下贺兰山岩羊每100只年需总能为1.31×109kJ,按2005年春季贺兰山岩羊野外种群数量11 161只计,年需总能为1.46×1011kJ.因此要进一步加强贺兰山保护区的科学管理.     

Resistance gene analogue isolation and RGA-based marker development for identifying downy mildew resistance in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

Resistance Gene Analogs (RGAs)-based molecular markers can significantly enhance the breeding efficiency for disease resistance in various crops. However, RGAs isolation and RGA-based marker development have not been conducted in radish. In this study, two prevalent approaches, PCR amplification with degenerate primers and data-mining of radish EST databases, were used to isolate radish resistance gene candidate sequences. A total of 26 RsRGAs with high homology to known R-genes or RGAs were obtained by PCR amplification. Meanwhile, 257 R-gene-like unigenes/ESTs were identified using data-mining method. In total, 115 out of 124 designed RGA-specific primer pairs can successfully amplified the target bands. To explore the RGA genetic variability, 32 radish accessions were genotyped and 269 RGA loci were successfully identified. It was found that 44 RGA primers only generated monomorphic band and the remaining 71 RGA primers generated 225 RGA polymorphic bands among the 32 radish accessions. Based on RGA marker analysis, 32 radish accessions were clustered into four main groups at the similarity index of 0.68, which was in a high accordance with disease index from a downy mildew evaluation. This study might be the first report on candidate R-genes identification and RGA-based markers development in radish. These findings will facilitate the disease resistance identification and speed up the genetic improvement of DM resistances in radish breeding programs.     

Standardized methods for the determination of antioxidant capacity and phenolics in foods and dietary supplements

Methods available for the measurement of antioxidant capacity are reviewed, presenting the general chemistry underlying the assays, the types of molecules detected, and the most important advantages and shortcomings of each method. This overview provides a basis and rationale for developing standardized antioxidant capacity methods for the food, nutraceutical, and dietary supplement industries. From evaluation of data presented at the First International Congress on Antioxidant Methods in 2004 and in the literature, as well as consideration of potential end uses of antioxidants, it is proposed that procedures and applications for three assays be considered for standardization: the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and possibly the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. ORAC represent a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reaction mechanism, which is most relevant to human biology. The Folin-Ciocalteu method is an electron transfer (ET) based assay and gives reducing capacity, which has normally been expressed as phenolic contents. The TEAC assay represents a second ET-based method. Other assays may need to be considered in the future as more is learned about some of the other radical sources and their importance to human biology.     

石灰岩与白云岩坡地土壤饱和导水率对比研究

[目的]对比研究不同下垫面特征和土地利用方式对两类坡地表层土壤性质及其土壤饱和导水率(Ks)的影响。[方法]以喀斯特地区不同岩性下垫面的石灰岩和白云岩两类坡地表层土壤为研究对象,采用Guleph稳定入渗仪和土壤分析的方法。[结果](1)石灰岩和白云岩表层土壤在受到放牧作用影响后,土壤均呈现显著退化趋势,其容重、黏粒含量增大,孔隙度、有机质含量降低。(2)石灰岩和白云岩两类坡地表层土壤在未受到人为干扰的自然植被条件下,由于表层岩溶带的发育,Ks都很高,平均值分别为328.6和257.2mm/h。其中,石灰岩坡地相比白云岩坡地,Ks具有更高的空间变异性,二者Ks变异系数变化范围分别为90.71%~95.62%和59.60%~67.32%。(3)受到放牧作用影响后,石灰岩和白云岩坡地表层土壤Ks相比自然植被状态下呈显著降低趋势,Ks分别降低52.2%和86.7%,白云岩坡地Ks降低程度大,高于石灰岩坡地。