Molecular hydrogen as an energy source for Helicobacter pylori

The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is known to be able to use molecular hydrogen as a respiratory substrate when grown in the laboratory. We found that hydrogen is available in the gastric mucosa of mice and that its use greatly increased the stomach colonization by H. pylori. Hydrogenase activity in H. pylori is constitutive but increased fivefold upon incubation with hydrogen. Hydrogen concentrations measured in the stomachs of live mice were found to be 10 to 50 times as high as the H. pylori affinity for hydrogen. A hydrogenase mutant strain is much less efficient in its colonization of mice. Therefore, hydrogen present in animals as a consequence of normal colonic flora is an energy-yielding substrate that can facilitate the maintenance of a pathogenic bacterium.     

Effects of Brans from Specialty Sorghum Varieties on In Vitro Starch Digestibility of Soft and Hard Sorghum Endosperm Porridges

Brans of specialty sorghum varieties (high tannin, black, and black with tannin) were used to investigate the effects of sorghum phenolic compounds on starch digestibility of soft and hard sorghum endosperm porridges. Endosperms of varieties with the highest and lowest grain hardness index were mixed with brans of specialty sorghum varieties in the ratio of 85:15 and cooked into porridges with distilled water using a Rapid Visco Analyzer. Brans of condensed tannin containing sorghum varieties (high‐tannin and black with tannin sorghums) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased starch digestibility and estimated glycemic index (EGI) and increased resistant starch (RS) content of endosperm porridges. However, the addition of phenolic‐rich tannin‐free (mostly anthocyanins) black sorghum bran significantly (P < 0.05) increased starch digestibility and EGI but did not affect RS content of endosperm porridges. The disparate effects with black bran may, in part, result from its larger particle size and different bran structure compared with other sorghum varieties evaluated. Thus, our study showed that not only presence of phenolic compounds in the brans but also structural differences of specialty sorghum brans can have significant effects on starch digestibility.     

Antioxidant activities of dioscorin, the storage protein of yam (Dioscorea batatas Decne) tuber

Dioscorin, the storage protein of yam (Dioscorea batatas Decne) tuber (which is different from dioscorine found in tubers of Dioscorea hirsuta), was purified to homogeneity after DE-52 ion exchange column according to the methods of Hou et al. (J. Agric. Food Chem. 1999, 47, 2168-2172). A single band of 32 kDa dioscorin was obtained on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel with 2-mercaptoethanol treatment. This purified dioscorin was shown by spectrophotometric method to have scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical in a pH-dependent manner. There is a positive correlation between scavenging effects against DPPH (8-46%) and amounts of 32 kDa dioscorin (5.97-47.80 nmol) added in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.9), which are comparable to those of glutathione at the same concentrations. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry for DPPH radical detection, it was found that the intensities of the EPR signal were decreased by 28.6 and 57 nmol of 32 kDa dioscorin in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.9) more than in distilled water compared to controls. EPR spectrometry was also used for hydroxyl radical detection. It was found that 32 kDa dioscorin could capture hydroxyl radical, and the intensities of the EPR signal were significantly decreased dose-dependently by 1.79-14.32 nmol of 32 kDa dioscorin (r = 0.975) compared to the control. It is suggested that 32 kDa dioscorin, the storage protein of yam tuber, may play a role as antioxidant in tubers and may be beneficial for health when people take it as a food additive or consume yam tubers.     

A study of the comparative economics of conventional and zero traffic systems for arable crops

The profitability of four zero traffic systems were compared with a conventional system on a farm growing combinable crops. The zero traffic options were 6-m tractor and 6-m gantry-based systems, a system using both 6 and 12 m gantries and a system comprising both conventional equipment and a 12 m gantry. Yield effects due to compaction and wheeling losses are estimated. A systematic procedure is described for calculating the soil compaction due to the system, and the work rate of both cultivation and application type operations, as a function of the system.

The yield increases and cultivation energy savings indicate that complete gantry systems are as profitable as conventional systems on medium soil and £25 ha⁻¹ more profitable on heavy soil. The tractor-based system, which cannot plough, is £18 ha⁻¹ less profitable on medium soil but £25 ha⁻¹ more profitable than the conventional system on heavy soil. With the exception of the partial gantry system, which can be fully utilised on a 250 ha farm, farms of 400–500 ha are needed to justify use of the zero traffic equipment considered.     

Antioxidant capacity, vitamin C, phenolics, and anthocyanins after fresh storage of small fruits.

Fresh strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.), raspberries (Rubus idaeus Michx.), highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), and lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) were stored at 0, 10, 20, and 30 degrees C for up to 8 days to determine the effects of storage temperature on whole fruit antioxidant capacity (as measured by the oxygen radical absorbing capacity assay, Cao et al., Clin. Chem. 1995, 41, 1738-1744) and total phenolic, anthocyanin, and ascorbate content. The four fruit varied markedly in their total antioxidant capacity, and antioxidant capacity was strongly correlated with the content of total phenolics (0.83) and anthocyanins (0.90). The antioxidant capacity of the two blueberry species was about 3-fold higher than either strawberries or raspberries. However, there was an increase in the antioxidant capacity of strawberries and raspberries during storage at temperatures >0 degrees C, which was accompanied by increases in anthocyanins in strawberries and increases in anthocyanins and total phenolics in raspberries. Ascorbate content differed more than 5-fold among the four fruit species; on average, strawberries and raspberries had almost 4-times more ascorbate than highbush and lowbush blueberries. There were no ascorbate losses in strawberries or highbush blueberries during 8 days of storage at the various temperatures, but there were losses in the other two fruit species. Ascorbate made only a small contribution (0.4-9.4%) to the total antioxidant capacity of the fruit. The increase observed in antioxidant capacity through postharvest phenolic synthesis and metabolism suggested that commercially feasible technologies may be developed to enhance the health functionality of small fruit crops.     

Studies on radical intermediates in the early stage of the nonenzymatic browning reaction of carbohydrates and amino acids

Determination of the color intensity of heated mixtures of L-alanine and carbohydrate degradation products revealed furan-2-carboxaldehyde and glycolaldehyde as by far the most effective color precursors. EPR studies demonstrated that furan-2-carboxaldehyde generated colored compounds exclusively via ionic mechanisms, whereas glycolaldehyde led to color development accompanied by intense radical formation. In agreement with literature data, these radicals were also detected in heated mixtures of L-alanine and pentoses or hexoses, respectively, and were identified as 1,4-dialkylpyrazinium radical cations by EPR as well as LC/MS measurements. Studies on the mechanisms of radical formation revealed that under the reaction conditions applied, glyoxal is formed as an early product in hexose/L-alanine mixtures prior to radical formation. Reductones then initiate radical formation upon reduction of glyoxal and/or glyoxal imines, formed upon reaction with the amino acid, into glycolaldehyde, which was found as the most effective radical precursor. LC/MS measurements gave evidence that these pyrazinium radicals cations are not stable but are easily transformed into hydroxylated 1,4-dialkyl-1, 4-dihydropyrazines upon oxidation and hydrolysis of intermediate diquarternary pyrazinium ions. Besides other types of color precursors, these intermediates might be involved in the formation of colored compounds in the Maillard reaction.     

Zein dynamic adsorption to carboxylic and alkyl coated surfaces

The adsorption of a commercial zein sample on carboxylic (COOH) and alkyl (CH(3)) surfaces was monitored by high time resolution surface plasmon resonance. Zein showed higher affinity and higher mass adsorption on carboxylic than alkyl surfaces. A zein layer specific for each surface was obtained after flushing off loosely bound zein with 75% 2-propanol solutions. Zein deposits were examined under atomic force microscopy. Differences in layer thickness between carboxylic and alkyl surfaces were explained in terms of zein adsorption footprint.     

Structural characterization of alpha-zein

A variety of published physical measurements, computational algorithms, and structural modeling methods have been used to create a molecular model of 19 kDa alpha-zein (Z19). Zetaeins are water-insoluble storage proteins found in corn protein bodies. Analyses of the protein sequence using probability algorithms, structural studies by circular dichroism, infrared spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), light scattering, proton exchange, NMR, and optical rotatory dispersion experiments suggest that Z19 has approximately 35-60% helical character, made up of nine helical segments of about 20 amino acids with glutamine-rich "turns" or "loops". SAXS and light-scattering experiments suggest that in alcohol/water mixtures alpha-zein exists as an oblong structure with an axial ratio of approximately 6:1. Furthermore, ultracentifugation, birefringence, dielectric, and viscosity studies indicate that alpha-zein behaves as an asymmetric particle with an axial ratio of from 7:1 to 28:1. Published models of alpha-zein to date have not been consistent with the experimental data, and for this reason the structure was re-examined using molecular mechanics and dynamics simulations creating a new three-dimensional (3D) structure for Z19. From the amino acid sequence and probability algorithms this analysis suggested that alpha-zein has coiled-coil tendencies resulting in alpha-helices with about four residues per turn in the central helical sections with the nonpolar residue side chains forming a hydrophobic face inside a triple superhelix. The nine helical segments of the 19 kDa protein were modeled into three sets of three interacting coiled-coil helices with segments positioned end to end. The resulting structure lengthens with the addition of the N- and C-terminal sections, to give an axial ratio of approximately 6 or 7:1 in agreement with recent experiments. The natural carotenoid, lutein, is found to fit into the core of the triple-helical segments and help stabilize the configuration. Molecular dynamics simulations with explicit methanol/water molecules as solvent have been carried out to refine the 3D structure.     

Microbial degradation of penoxsulam in flooded rice field soils

The degradation of penoxsulam [2-(2,2-difluoroethoxy)-N-5,8-dimethoxy[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-C]pyrimidin-2-yl-6-(trifluoromethyl)benzene-sulfonamide] was studied in flasks simulating flooded rice field conditions using four representative rice field soils from the Sacramento Valley. Degradation half-lives (t(1/2) values) ranged between 2 and 13 days. Increased degradation rates were observed in flask systems with steeper redox gradients between the flooded soil layer and the overlaying water. Two transient metabolites were identified that were temporarily formed in amounts exceeding 5% of the total initial mass of penoxsulam. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography/(14)C radiodetection studies indicate that the degradation of the triazolopyrimidine system and its substituents is the main pathway of microbial transformation processes. Microbial activity, as measured by dehydrogenase activity, was not affected by penoxsulam concentrations corresponding to the proposed maximum annual use rate of 40 g active ingredient/ha.