Antiproliferative activity of melanoidins isolated from heated potato fiber (potex) in glioma cell culture model

Potex constitutes a potato fiber preparation widely used as an ingredient to meat and bakery products which thermal treatment results in creation of new compounds. Melanoidins are high molecular weight brown end products of Maillard reaction, and few data presenting tumor cell growth inhibiting activity of melanoidins have been reported. Thus, in present study we utilized water extract of Potex roasted (180 °C for 2 h), whose chemical characterization revealed the presence of melanoidin complexes. Heated Potex extract inhibited C6 glioma cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner measured by MTT method. High molecular weight components present in initial extract were responsible for stronger antiproliferative effect compared with low molecular weight fraction. Impaired MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) and Akt signaling was found in cells treated with the extract. Moreover, flow cytometry analyses revealed the extract to induce G1/S arrest in glioma cells. Simultaneously, Western blot analysis showed elevated levels of p21 protein with concomitant decrease of cyclin D1. In conclusion, observed antiproliferative activity of melanoidins present in heated Potex was linked to disregulated MAPK and Akt signaling pathways, as well as to cell cycle cessation. These results suggest potential application of Potex preparation as a functional food ingredient and chemopreventive agent.     

Riboflavin content in the coelomocytes of contrasting earthworm species is differentially affected by edaphic variables including organic matter and metal content

The riboflavin content in extruded coelomocyte lysates derived from Dendrodrilus rubidus may serve as a sensitive bioindicator of soil metal pollution: the vitamin (B2) content has previously been found to be high in worms from unpolluted soil but low in worms inhabiting Zn/Pb mine soils, aerially deposited Ni-contaminated soil, and in worms experimentally transferred from clean soil to the metalliferous field soils. The aim of the present work was to extend these observations by comparing the number and riboflavin composition of coelomocytes retrieved from three lumbricid species (Allolobophora chlorotica, Dendrobaena veneta, Eisenia andrei) after 4-week exposures to an unpolluted commercial soil, two geochemically contrasting unpolluted field soils, and two different Zn/Pb/Cd-polluted soils from the Bukowno district in South Poland. Whilst eco-physiologically contrasting, these three earthworm species share the trait of possessing relatively high numbers of eleocytes, a category of immune-competent coelomocyte rich in autofluorescent riboflavin. Spectroflurometric analysis indicated that coelomocyte riboflavin content in worms maintained in strongly metalliferous soils or in unpolluted sandy-clay and loamy-sand soils was increased in coleomocytes from epigeic D. veneta and E. andrei species, whilst was decreased in endogeic A. chlorotica. In conclusion, the riboflavin content of earthworm coelomocytes is affected in species-specific ways by edaphic variables, including organic matter and metal pollution.     

Coarse woody debris of Fagus sylvatica produced a quantitative organic carbon imprint in an andic soil

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is involved in important forest ecosystem functions and processes, e.g., habitat provision, water retention, and organic matter decomposition. However, a quantitative, CWD-produced soil organic carbon (SOC) imprint has not yet been detected, possibly due to lack of free adsorption sites on soil minerals. To circumvent this potential constraint, we selected plots with and without CWD in a beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) primeval forest in the West Carpathian volcanic range (Slovakia). Local andic soil contains abundant allophane and amorphous Fe-compounds as important SOC binding agents. The C concentration in the fine earth of sampled soils was determined by the dry combustion method. We established that organic carbon concentration decreased with depth from 0.20 kg kg^?1 (0.0–0.3 m) to 0.11 kg kg^?1 (0.3–0.5 m) in soil with CWD and from 0.13 kg kg^?1 (0.0–0.3 m) to 0.07 kg kg^?1 (0.3–0.5 m) in soil without CWD. The respective average differences in soil organic carbon concentration (0.07 kg kg^?1) and stock (15.84 kg m^?2) between the two series of plots within the upper 0.3 m were significant according to the t test (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01, respectively). Also, corresponding differences within the 0.3–0.5 m layer (0.04 kg kg^?1 and 5.51 kg m^?2) were significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.001). Our results represent the first indication that CWD-produced SOC imprint may reach deeper than just a few centimeters in soils featuring high adsorption capacity, such as Andosols.     

Detection, quantification, metabolism, and behavioral effects of selegiline in horses

Selegiline ([R]-[-]N,alpha-dimethyl-N-2- propynylphenethylamine or l-deprenyl), an irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase, is a classic antidyskinetic and antiparkinsonian agent widely used in human medicine both as monotherapy and as an adjunct to levodopa therapy. Selegiline is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) as a class 2 agent, and is considered to have high abuse potential in racing horses. A highly sensitive LC/MS/MS quantitative analytical method has been developed for selegiline and its potential metabolites amphetamine and methamphetamine using commercially available deuterated analogs of these compounds as internal standards. After administering 40 mg of selegiline orally to two horses, relatively low (<60 ng/ml) concentrations of parent selegiline, amphetamine, and methamphetamine were recovered in urine samples. However, relatively high urinary concentrations of another selegiline metabolite were found, tentatively identified as N- desmethylselegiline. This metabolite was synthesized and found to be indistinguishable from the new metabolite recovered from horse urine, thereby confirming the chemical identity of the equine metabolite. Additionally, analysis of urine samples from four horses dosed with 50 mg of selegiline confirmed that N-desmethylselegiline is the major urinary metabolite of selegiline in horses. In related behavior studies, p.o. and i.v. administration of 30 mg of selegiline produced no significant changes in either locomotor activities or heart rates.     

Influence of prion protein gene polymorphisms on performance traits in German meat sheep breeds

PrP polymorphisms influence the scrapie susceptiblility of sheep. The objective of this study was to analyse the association between performance traits and the PrP genotype in the sheep breeds German black-headed and German white-headed mutton, Bleu du Maine, German mutton merino, Leine, Texel and Suffolk from Lower Saxony and Westphalia. We analysed performance traits such as scores for muscle mass, type and wool quality and the calculated daily weight gain using linear animal models. In all seven breeds no statistically significant associations were found between performance traits and the occurrence of ARR alleles, and the ARR/ARR genotypes, respectively. All genotyped sheep of all breeds investigated showed significantly superior performance traits in comparison to the non-genotyped animals.     

Modulations of bovine hepatic microsomal metabolism of benzimidazoles by secondary plant metabolites

The study was aimed to estimate the effect of plant secondary metabolites present in ruminants diet and phytogenic feed additives on liver microsomal metabolism of albendazole and fenbendazole. The selected phytocompounds comprised of flavonoids (apigenin, quercetin) and saponins (hederagenin, medicagenic acid). The experiments were performed on liver microsomal fraction obtained from routinely slaughtered cows. The intensity of albendazole and fenbendazole metabolism in the presence of flavonoids and saponins was analyzed in equimolar concentration (100 μM). The obtained results revealed that both flavonoids and saponins intensify the metabolism of albendazole and fenbendazole in bovine microsomes. In the case of albendazole, apigenin and quercetin doubled the amount of degraded drug and the amount of produced albendazole sulfoxide. Additionally, both flavonoids increased the amount of produced albendazole sulfone. Saponins, hederagenin, and medicagenic acid intensified the degradation of albendazole (1.8‐fold) and the production of albendazole sulfoxide (twofold). Medicagenic acid inhibited the production of albendazole sulfone. In the case of fenbendazole, the degradation of the drug and the production of oxfendazole were increased four and five times in the presence of saponins and flavonoids, respectively. The enhancement of benzimidazoles’ metabolism caused by the studied plant metabolites could change pharmacokinetics and the efficacy of benzimidazoles’ treatment in cattle.     

Young conifer stands form a deer browsing refuge for an oak admixture: silvicultural implications for forest regeneration under herbivore pressure

There is little knowledge how ungulate pressure on forest regeneration may be mitigated by silvicultural methods. The knowledge is especially needed for artificially regenerated, deciduous tree species. We studied factors affecting browsing incidence by deer in the Pisz Forest District in Poland, an area where 10,000 ha of forest was damaged by a 2002 hurricane. In 2006, we established three experimental plots (in total, 22.6 ha), in which the main species was Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) admixed with pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). The data on browsing were collected in 2008–2015. In general, oak browsing incidence was unrelated to oak planting density. On a plantation scale, it was significantly affected by the pine age. Although in each variant all the oaks were browsed for four consecutive years (2009–2012), in 2013 browsing incidence began to decrease. When the pines grew higher and formed a physical barrier, it was harder for deer—roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces)—to move through and locate the oaks. Moreover, within plantations, oak browsing incidence was higher in the patches with shorter pines. Browsing of individual saplings or small groups of saplings was also negatively affected by the height of neighbouring pine saplings. Oak density influenced deer selectivity depending on the tree height. In a low oak tree density, browsing incidence was unrelated to oak height, while in higher tree density, deer selected oaks of the height between 40 and 100 cm. We postulate that deciduous admixture in a coniferous (unattractive) stand can be planted with a few year delay. Older coniferous trees should impede locating of attractive tree species by deer and the browsing incidence.     

Effect of Land Use,Seasonality, and Hydrometeorological Conditions on the K<Superscript>+</Superscript> Concentration–Discharge Relationship During Different Types of Floods in Carpathian Foothills Catchments (Poland)

The purpose of the study was to determine the role of land use, seasonality, and hydrometeorological conditions on the relationship between stream water potassium (K⁺) concentration and discharge during different types of floods—short- and long-duration rainfall floods as well as snowmelt floods on frozen and thawed soils. The research was conducted in small catchments (agricultural, woodland, mixed-use) in the Carpathian Foothills (Poland). In the woodland catchment, lower K⁺ concentrations were noted for each given specific runoff value for summer rainfall floods versus snowmelt floods (seasonal effect). In the agricultural and mixed-use catchments, the opposite was true due to their greater ability to flush K⁺ out of the soil in the summer. In the stream draining woodland catchment, higher K⁺ concentrations occurred during the rising limb than during the falling limb of the hydrograph (clockwise hysteresis) for all flood types, except for snowmelt floods with the ground not frozen. In the agricultural catchment, clockwise hystereses were produced for short- and long-duration rainfall floods caused by high-intensity, high-volume rainfall, while anticlockwise hystereses were produced for short- and long-duration rainfall floods caused by low-intensity, low-volume rainfall as well as during snowmelt floods with the soil frozen and not frozen. In the mixed-use catchment, the hysteresis direction was also affected by different lag times for water reaching stream channels from areas with different land use. K⁺ hystereses for the woodland catchment were more narrow than those for the agricultural and mixed-use catchments due to a smaller pool of K⁺ in the woodland catchment. In all streams, the widest hystereses were produced for rainfall floods preceded by a long period without rainfall.     

Diversity of the composition and content of soluble carbohydrates in seeds of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vicia</Emphasis> (Leguminosae)

Low molecular weight carbohydrates of seeds of 10 species of Vicia, namely: V. angustifolia, V. articulata, V. cordata, V. ervilia, V. johannis, V. macrocarpa, V. monantha, V. narbonensis, V. pannonica and V. sativa were analyzed by the high resolution gas chromatography method. Seeds of the investigated species contain common (glucose, fructose, myo-inositol, sucrose, galactinol, di-galactosyl myo-inositol and raffinose family oligosaccharides—RFOs) and species-specific carbohydrates (d-pinitol and its α-d-galactosides—in V. articulata, V. monantha and V. pannonica or d-ononitol and its galactoside—in V. ervilia). Among the species containing in seeds RFOs as the main α-d-galactosides (V. angustifolia, V. cordata, V. johanensis, V. macrocarpa, V. narbonensis and V. sativa), an additional subgroup can be separated, which contains a set of unknown compounds (found in V. angustifolia, V. cordata and V. macrocarpa). Moreover, several other unidentified carbohydrate-containing compounds were detected exclusively in seeds of V. ervilia. The concentrations of total soluble carbohydrates (TSCs), including sugars, RFOs, cyclitols and galactosyl cyclitols and unknown compounds, in seeds differ significantly (P < 0.05) among the species. RFOs and sucrose are the main fractions in TSCs, with the exception of V. pannonica seeds, containing more galactosyl pinitols, and V. ervilia, in which unknown compounds account for 50% of TSCs. In V. ervilia RFOs occur at the lowest concentration (9.32 mg g^?1 seeds), and the concentration of DGMI (di-galactosyl myo-inositol) is comparable with that of RFOs, which is unusual among all the investigated Vicia species.