Purification and properties of a novel phenolic antioxidant from Radix astragali fermented by Aspergillus oryzae M29

The Chinese herb Radix astragalus (RA) has been widely used as a dietary supplement in Asia, and there are numerous reports on its bioactivities. However, there are no reports to date regarding the use of Aspergillus spp. in the culture medium of the RA plant for the production of phenolic antioxidants. In this study, utilizing the fungus Aspergillus to ferment the native RA has successfully resulted in a significant increase in the phenolic contents of RA, and the fermented RA also revealed much better antioxidant activity toward 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals, hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical and peroxyl radical than those of unfermented RA. Among these phenolics, a potent novel antioxidant was isolated and identified as 3,4-di(4'-hydroxyphenyl) isobutyric acid with a molecular weight of 272, by ESI-MS (electrospray ionization mass), 1H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), 13C NMR, DEPT (distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer)-NMR, HMQC (heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence), and HMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond correlation) spectra. These data demonstrated that the solid-state bioprocessing strategy could be an innovative approach to enhance the antioxidant activity of RA.     

Gene flow among different teosinte taxa and into the domesticated maize gene pool

Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays) was domesticated from one wild species ancestor, the Balsas teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) about 9000 years ago. Higher levels of gene diversity are found in teosinte taxa compared to maize, following domestication and selection bottlenecks. Diversity in maize can be increased via gene flow from teosinte, which has certainly occurred from various taxa, but the rate of flow from different teosinte taxa and the final impact on maize evolution has been difficult to measure. One hundred populations from six Zea taxa, both domesticated (maize) and wild (teosinte), including domesticated landraces from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, were genotyped with 17 SSR markers using 15 individuals per population. Overall levels of diversity were high, and populations could be distinguished based on markers. Relationships between populations followed most published reports, or can now help resolve previously conflicting reports. Gene flow into maize from different teosinte groups, and gene flow between different teosintes, was estimated. Evidence for contributions from the Balsas teosintes and from Chalco teosintes (Z. mays ssp. mexicana) to the maize gene pool was found, as well as from Chalco into ssp. mexicana race ??Durango?? and Z. mays ssp. huehuetenengensis. These contributions are almost certainly the result of post-domestication (and ongoing) exchanges. This information must give more impetus to in situ conservation of teosinte species, and use of these teosintes to continue to direct the evolution of maize, especially in response to new diseases, insect pests, and other biotic and abiotic stresses.     

Turning Meat,Poultry, Eggs,and Dairy Products Into Nutraceuticals Through Increasing Their Conjugated Linoleic Acid Levels,Part One: Reviewing the Literature of Benefits Claimed for Conjugated Linoleic Acids in Human Health

ABSTRACT

In the first of this two-part series of articles, the debate in the clinical literature over the reality or extent of particular positive health benefits of a putative nutraceutical, conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), in human subjects will be reviewed. In the second article, the means by which animal scientists and farmers—responding as much to annual sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars in health food stores of seed oil capsules rich in CLAs, as opposed to any conclusive clinical science—are aggressively pursuing ways to feed livestock that would naturally increase the concentration of CLAs per conventional consumer dietary portions, essentially allowing meat, eggs, fluid milk and the processed foods derived from them to be marketed as functional foods. In both installments in this series, the core journals covering developments in CLA-related research are identified for agricultural and food science librarians.     

Characteristics of Modern Triticale Quality: The Relationship Between Carbohydrate Properties, α‐Amylase Activity,and Falling Number

Triticale is a high‐yielding cereal crop with potential to increase grain production for human consumption over the coming decades. Minimal targeted selection has been conducted to produce cultivars with α‐amylase, amylose, and nonstarch polysaccharide (NSP) content appropriate for a milling market. Nevertheless, genotypic variability exists. Standard quality screening methods used for wheat, including pasting properties, falling number, and quantification of α‐amylase activity were employed to assess the environmental and genotypic variability among modern triticale cultivars and to investigate the suitability of these tests for triticale. Samples of 11 triticale lines from four environments were compared with five wheat cultivars bred for various end uses. Triticale exhibited a greater range than wheat for most tested variables, and the ranges usually overlapped. Triticale exhibited higher NSP content, generally equivalent pasting properties, higher α‐amylase activity, and lower falling number on average compared with wheat checks. However, low falling number was not indicative of high α‐amylase activity; the relationship with NSP level and other factors is discussed, and caution is recommended for interpretation of previous research. Three cultivars with equivalent α‐amylase activity to wheat and two with partially waxy starch were identified. These findings have great significance for research and the emerging triticale milling market.     

Analysis of Aroma and Phenolic Components of Selected Achillea Species

Dried flowers and leaves of four different Achillea species grown wild in several provinces of Iran, including one species collected from three different locations of Isfahan province were analyzed for the headspace volatile components, total phenolics (TP) and tartaric esters (TE). Capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) combined with a purge and trap method was used for quantification of aroma components. Over 70 compounds were determined in the samples. Flower samples from all species contained 2-methyl butanal, α-pinene, α-thujene, camphene, hexanal, β-pinene and 1,8-cineole; however, the major constituents of the aerial parts were determined as α-pinene, camphene, DL-limonene and 1,8-cineole. The largest number of aroma components were found in Achillea tenuifolia Lam. and Achillea millefolium L. In all species, except A. millefolium, the leaves contained more TP and TE than flowers. However, A. wilhelmsii from Semirom in Isfahan province showed the highest values for TP and TE.