Cyclodextrins as activator and inhibitor of latent banana pulp polyphenol oxidase

The effect of cyclodextrins (CDs) on o-diphenol oxidation catalyzed by banana polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was studied. The oxidation of dopamine, the natural substrate of banana, in the presence of cyclodextrins was unaffected, because this hydrophilic phenol does not form inclusion complexes with CDs. However, when a hydrophobic phenol such as tert-butylcatechol (TBC) was used, a marked inhibition was observed with beta-, hydroxypropyl-beta-, and maltosyl-beta- CDs. This inhibition was due to the complexation of TBC in the CD core, demonstrating that banana pulp PPO worked only toward free substrate and not toward the complex TBC-CDs. In addition, the effect of some inhibitors in the presence of CDs and dopamine as substrate was studied. Increasing concentrations of CDs, in the presence of two inhibitors (4-iodophenol and cinnamic acid) were able to activate the inhibited enzyme to reach the noninhibited level by complexing the inhibitors in the hydrophobic core of the CDs. This dual effect of CDs as activator and inhibitor was tested in crude banana pulp extracts, with surprising activation effects never before described being observed.     

Characterization of monophenolase activity of polyphenol oxidase from iceberg lettuce

Polyphenol oxidase (EC 1.14.18.1), a thylakoid membrane-bound enzyme, was isolated by sonication of osmotically shocked chloroplasts from iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The enzyme showed monophenolase activity when assayed on (p-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone in a reliable continuous spectrophotometric method, with high sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. The monophenolase activity showed a lag period before the steady-state rate (V(ss)) was reached. Both kinetic parameters, the lag period and the steady-state rate, depended on the pH, the enzyme and substrate concentrations, and the presence of catalytic amounts of o-diphenol. This activity shows inhibition by high substrate concentration. The experimental results correspond with the mechanism previously described for PPO from other sources. Kinetic constants K(m), V(max), and K(i) were determined.     

Analysis of beta-casein-monopalmitin mixed films at the air-water interface

The surface pressure (pi)-area (A) isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) images of monopalmitin and beta-casein mixed films spread on buffered water at pHs 5 and 7 and at 20 degrees C were determined as a function of the mass fraction of monopalmitin in the mixture (X). The structural characteristics and morphology of monopalmitin-beta-casein mixed films are dependent on surface pressure, pH, and monolayer composition. The prevalence of monopalmitin in the interface increases with the amount of monopalmitin in the mixture and at higher pi. At the monopalmitin monolayer collapse the mixed film is practically dominated by the presence of monopalmitin. However, some degree of interactions exist between monopalmitin and beta-casein in the mixed film, and these interactions are more pronounced as the monolayer is compressed at the highest surface pressures.     

Nitrosation of phenolic compounds: inhibition and enhancement

The nitrosation of phenol, m-, o-, and p-cresol, 2,3-, 3,5-, and 2, 6-dimethylphenol, 3,5-di-tert-butylphenol, 2,4,6-trimethylphenol, o-chlorophenol, and o-bromophenol was studied. Kinetic monitoring of the reactions was accomplished by spectrophotometric analysis of the products at 345 nm. At pH > 3, the dominant reaction was C-nitrosation through a mechanism that appears to consist of an attack on the nitrosatable substrate by NO(+)/NO(2)H(2)(+), followed by a slow proton transfer. The finding of an isokinetic relationship supports the idea that the same mechanism operates throughout the series. The observed sequence of nitrosatable substrate reactivities is explained by (i) the preferred para-orientation of the hydroxyl group for the electrophilic attack of nitrosating agents, (ii) steric hindrance of alkyl substituents, which reduces or prevents attack by nitrosating agents, and (iii) the hyperconjugative effect of the methyl substituent, which causes electronic charge to flow into the aromatic nucleus, as well as the opposite electronic withdrawing effect induced by halogen substituents. The results show that potential nitrosation of widespread environmental species such as chlorophenols is negligible, but more attention should be paid to polyphenols with strongly nucleophilic carbon atoms.     

Adsorption of whey protein isolate at the oil-water interface as a function of processing conditions: a rheokinetic study

In this paper we present surface dynamic properties (interfacial tension and surface dilational properties) of a whey protein isolate with a high content of beta-lactoglobulin (WPI) adsorbed on the oil-water interface as a function of adsorption time. The experiments were performed at constant temperature (20 degrees C), pH (5), and ionic strength (0.05 M). The surface rheological parameters and the interfacial tension were measured as a function of WPI concentration (ranging from 1 x 10(-)(1) to 1 x 10(-)(5)% w/w) and different processing factors (effect of convection and heat treatment). We found that the interfacial pressure, pi, and surface dilational modulus, E, increase and the phase angle, phi, decreases with time, theta, which should be associated with WPI adsorption. These phenomena have been related to diffusion of the protein toward the interface (at short adsorption time) and to the protein unfolding and/or protein-protein interactions (at long-term adsorption) as a function of protein concentration in solution and processing conditions.     

Seeding and mulching + seeding effects on post‐fire runoff,soil erosion and species diversity in Galicia (NW Spain)

The effects of two different soil rehabilitation treatments on runoff, infiltration, erosion and species diversity were evaluated in a shrubland area in Galicia (NW Spain) after an experimental fire by means of rainfall simulations. The treatments compared were: seeding, seeding + mulching and control (untreated). Rainfall simulations were conducted 9 months after fire and the application of soil rehabilitation treatments. A rainfall rate of 67 mm h⁻¹ was applied for 30 min to each runoff plot. Seeding significantly increased plant species richness in the treated plots relative to the control plots, although it had no effect on diversity or evenness. Rehabilitation treatments did not significantly increase soil cover or affect runoff and infiltration. Soil losses were low in all cases, varying from 75·6 kg ha⁻¹ in the seeded + mulched plots to 212·1 kg ha⁻¹ in the untreated plots. However, there were no significant differences in sediment yields between treatments. The percentage of bare soil appeared to be a critical variable in controlling runoff and erosion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When structure means conservation: Effect of aggregate structure in controlling microbial responses to rewetting events

Rewetting events after a drought produce a pulse of soil respiration (the “Birch Effect”) that leads to a loss of carbon from soil, especially in Mediterranean ecosystems. Two main hypotheses have developed to explain the Birch effect: the “metabolic explanation”, based on the rapid consumption of intracellular osmolytes previously accumulated to survive to dry conditions, and the “physical explanation”, based on the consumption of carbon made accessible by physical destruction of internal structures of the soil.Here, we compared the respiration response of intact and crushed 9–4 mm aggregates from a California grassland soil under two different rewetting schemes: (1) successive short dry/wet events and (2) increased drought periods followed by a single rewetting. In intact aggregates, both microbial biomass and respiration rates were relatively stable through both experimental treatments. In crushed aggregates, through multiple short dry/wet cycles, both respiration rate and microbial biomass increased, while as drought length increased, biomass was unaffected but the magnitude of the following rewetting pulse increased. A mechanism that explains both these results is that crushing aggregates exposes occluded particular material that must be degraded into an immediately bioavailable form for microbes to take it up and metabolize it. Nitrification was generally higher in intact than crushed aggregates, suggesting the importance of physical association between nitrifiers and resources in regulating overall soil nitrification.This work suggests that physical processes are most important in driving respiration pulses through multiple rewetting cycles and that the physical association of organisms, substrates, and mineral particles are critical in controlling the functioning of the “microbial landscape”.     

Effect of calcium on the oxidation of linoleic acid by potato (Solanum tuberosum var. Desiree) tuber 5-lipoxygenase

When the effect of calcium on the oxidation of linoleic acid by potato tuber 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) was investigated, it was seen to promote the enzyme's activity at pH values higher than the optimum pH of 6.3, resulting in an enzyme activation at alkaline pH. Kinetic analysis of calcium activation at different pH values revealed that the cation abolished the inhibition by high substrate concentration, which occurs in the absence of Ca(2+), thus leading to activation at high substrate concentration. Studies were conducted to investigate the influence of Ca(2+) on the physicochemical nature of the substrate and its effect on the LOX activity expression. It was concluded that the aggregation mode rather than the aggregation state of linoleic acid is responsible for potato 5-LOX changes.     

The fate of arsenic in soils adjacent to an old mine site (Bustarviejo,Spain): mobility and transfer to native flora

Background, aim, and scope  

The mobility of arsenic in soils and its transfer to other environmental components present significant environmental risks. The management of polluted land is determined by the availability, mobility, and transfer of inorganic pollutants to different ecosystem compartments. In this paper, the fate of arsenic at this mining site has been evaluated to determine future management practises to minimise such risk.