Changes in free amino acids and sugars in potatoes due to sulfate fertilization and the effect on acrylamide formation

To examine how sulfur deprivation may affect acrylamide formation in cooked potatoes, three varieties of potato were grown under conditions of either severe sulfur deprivation or an adequate supply of sulfur. In all three varieties sulfur deprivation led to a decrease in acrylamide formation, even though the levels of sugars, which are acrylamide precursors, were higher in tubers of the sulfur-deprived plants. In one variety the concentration of free asparagine, the other precursor for acrylamide, was also higher. There was a very close correlation between the concentration of asparagine in the tubers expressed as a proportion of the total free amino acid pool and the formation of acrylamide upon cooking, whereas sugars were poorly correlated with acrylamide. In potatoes, where concentrations of sugars are usually limiting, competition between asparagine and other amino acids participating in the Maillard reaction may be a key determinant of the amount of acrylamide that is formed during processing.     

Formation of high levels of acrylamide during the processing of flour derived from sulfate-deprived wheat

When wheat was grown under conditions of severe sulfate depletion, dramatic increases in the concentration of free asparagine were found in the grain of up to 30 times as compared to samples receiving the normal levels of sulfate fertilizer. The effect was observed both in plants grown in pots, where the levels of nutrients were carefully controlled, and in plants grown in field trials on soil with poor levels of natural nutrients where sulfate fertilizer was applied at levels from 0 to 40 kg sulfur/Ha. Many of the other free amino acids were present at higher levels in the sulfate-deprived wheat, but the levels of free glutamine showed increases similar to those observed for asparagine. In baked cereal products, asparagine is the precursor of the suspect carcinogen acrylamide, and when flours from the sulfate-deprived wheat were heated at 160 degrees C for 20 min, levels of acrylamide between 2600 and 5200 microg/kg were found as compared to 600-900 microg/kg in wheat grown with normal levels of sulfate fertilization.     

Level and period of realimentation to assess improvement in body condition and carcass quality in cull ewes

Improvement in body condition was assessed in 40 cull ewes (>6 years), equally distributed in two groups and realimented with ad libitum roughage (gram straw) and two levels of concentrate feeding, i.e., 2.5 % (T₁) of live weight (LW) and ad libitum (T₂). Five representative animals from an initial 45 were slaughtered at the initiation of the study (0 day) and five animals from each treatment at 44, 67, and 90 days of experiment for carcass attributes. Improvement in body condition score (BCS), nutrient utilization, feed efficiency, and carcass traits were assessed at 44, 67, and 90 days. Metabolism trial of 6-day collection of feed, feces, and urine samples was conducted on five representative ewes from each group after 60 days of feeding. The level of concentrate feeding on LW gain and BCS was significant, and the duration of realimentation showed a linear improvement (P?<?0.001). The digestibility and intake of dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein was higher (P?<?0.05) in T₂. The N intake, absorption, and balance showed a similar trend. Increase (P?<?0.05) in total N, trichloroacetic acid precipitable N, and ammonia N was observed with extension of realimentation period. Blood metabolic profile also showed improvement (P?<?0.05) from an undernourished state to normal after alimentation. Animals in T₂ accumulated higher LW with minimal expenditure of metabolizable energy (73.4 vs 79.1 MJ) and higher efficiency of feed conversion during 68 to 90 days of realimentation. Linear improvement (P?<?0.01) in carcass traits (preslaughter weight, empty live weight, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, and amount of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat) and composition of longissimus dorsi muscle was observed. Ad lib concentrate supplementation for a period of 90 days may thus be considered appropriate for achieving desired efficiency of gain and improvement in body condition of cull ewes for quality mutton production.     

Effects of plant sulfur nutrition on acrylamide and aroma compounds in cooked wheat

Wheat flour from plants deficient in sulfur has been shown to contain substantially higher levels of free amino acids, particularly asparagine and glutamine, than flour from wheat grown where sulfur nutrition was sufficient. Elevated levels of asparagine resulted in acrylamide levels up to 6 times higher in sulfur-deprived wheat flour, compared with sulfur-sufficient wheat flour, for three varieties of winter wheat. The volatile compounds from flour, heated at 180 degrees C for 20 min, have been compared for these three varieties of wheat grown with and without sulfur fertilizer. Approximately 50 compounds were quantified in the headspace extracts of the heated flour; over 30 compounds were affected by sulfur fertilization, and 15 compounds were affected by variety. Unsaturated aldehydes formed from aldol condensations, Strecker aldehydes, alkylpyrazines, and low molecular weight alkylfurans were found at higher concentrations in the sulfur-deficient flour, whereas low molecular weight pyrroles and thiophenes and sugar breakdown products were found at higher concentrations in the sulfur-sufficient flour. The reasons for these differences and the relationship between acrylamide formation and aroma volatile formation are discussed.     

New lactic acid bacteria for skin health via oral intake of heat‐killed or live cells

Lactic acid bacteria play an essential role in the food industry in the manufacture of many fermented products (cheese, yogurt, fermented vegetables, etc.). Application of these organisms is now being extended to the area of health improvement, as their probiotic activities become known. Probiotics are defined as viable microorganisms that exert a beneficial effect on the health of the host when they are ingested in sufficient quantity. Lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria isolated from the human intestine are the most common probiotics used for human consumption. The development of new probiotics with new beneficial effects is eagerly awaited in the food industry. This review introduces Lactococcus, which are one of the genera of lactic acid bacteria and are mainly isolated from dairy products and fermented vegetables, as new probiotics, focusing especially on Lactococcus lactis H61, which improves skin status in Japanese women with oral intake of heat‐killed or live cells. The deduced mechanisms associated with the beneficial effects of strain H61 are also discussed.     

Non-random segregation of gene I for Fusarium resistance in the tomato

Significant deviations from the ratios expected, according to the single dominant gene hypothesis for resistance to Fusarium wilt, were found in crosses involving several susceptible and resistant tomato lines. The susceptible class was the deficient one in F₂ and F₃ populations, as well as in backcrosses in which the heterozygotic resistant F₁ served as the male parent. The reciprocal backcross, with the F₁ as the female and the homozygous susceptible as the male, gave segregations better approximating or consistent with the single gene hypothesis. Reciprocal F₁ and F₂ generations did not give any evidence of cytoplasmic effects.The results were interpreted assuming preferential fertilization of ovules by pollen grains carrying the dominant I allele for resistance.The practical implications of the phenomenon of preferential fertilization in breeding for Fusarium resistance are discussed.     

Effect of sodium acetate on the adhesion to porcine gastric mucin in a Lactococcus lactis strain grown on fructose

The association of lactic acid bacteria with mucosal surfaces plays important roles in the beneficial effects of these bacteria on human health, such as colonization of the gastrointestinal tract for pathogen antagonism. Previously, we found that the adhesion of Lactococcus lactis 7‐1 to porcine gastric mucin was higher with fructose than with lactose, galactose or xylose as the carbon source. In this study, we examined the effect of growth conditions on the adhesion of strain 7‐1 grown on fructose. Medium components affect the adhesion: the adhesion of strain 7‐1 grown with sodium acetate was higher than that without it. The enhancement of adhesion by sodium acetate was not observed under aerobic conditions. Cellular properties grown with or without sodium acetate were characterized: strain 7‐1 grown with sodium acetate had similar sugar contents, and different fatty acid composition to those grown without it. Strain 7‐1 grown with sodium acetate showed significantly lower cell yield and significantly higher hydrophobicity than those grown without it, which is associated with higher adhesion. Fructose and sodium acetate are frequently used in the food industry; this study may reveal a simple way to enhance the adhesion of lactic acid bacteria by growing them with these substances.     

Rational Management of Didymella rabiei in Chickpea by Integration of Genotype Resistance and Postinfection Application of Fungicides

ABSTRACT Various aspects of the integration of genotype resistance and chemical control of Ascochyta blight (caused by Didymella rabiei) in chickpea were examined in field experiments from 1993 to 1999 and in greenhouse experiments. Four commercially available chickpea cultivars representing a range of resistance to D. rabiei were used. The efficacy of chemical control in a highly susceptible cultivar was significantly (P < 0.01) related to the conduciveness of the environment to the pathogen. Adequate disease suppression (>80% control) was achieved when weather supported mild epidemics, but insufficient control (<20%) was achieved when weather supported severe epidemics. The contribution of genotype resistance to disease suppression in a moderately susceptible cultivar varied from <10% when weather supported severe epidemics to approximately 60% when weather supported mild epidemics. Spraying a moderately resistant cultivar resulted in 95% control when weather supported mild epidemics, but only 65% control was achieved when weather supported severe epidemics. The existing level of resistance in a moderately resistant cultivar resulted in 70% control when weather supported severe epidemics; fungicides improved control efficacy significantly to >95%. Under mild epidemics, moderate resistance alone provided >95% control. The level of genotype resistance available in a highly resistant cultivar was sufficient to suppress the disease under all weather conditions, even without application of fungicides. The possibility of relying on postinfection rather than prophylactic application of fungicides was tested in the greenhouse and in four field experiments. Activity of the systemic fungicide tebuconazole was detected when the fungicide was applied up to 3 days postinfection, and application of tebuconazole or difenoconazole in the field as a postinfection treatment (i.e., after rain or overhead irrigation) suppressed the disease as effectively as preventive applications and required fewer sprays. In two experiments, the interaction between genotype resistance and chemical control at various amounts of irrigation applied via overhead sprinklers (as a simulation of rain) was tested. The results show that both the level of genotype resistance and the quantity of water should be taken into account in deciding whether to apply a postinfection spray.     

Depressed gross mineralization and immobilization of nitrogen and changes in microbial population in soil after heat treatment

Partial sterilization causes a change in N mineralization in soil. An increase in the net rate of N mineralization was reported in soil with chloropicrin applied to it (Rovira 1976), and has been well known in soil fumigated with chloroform to measure the microbial biomass N (Jenkinson and Ladd 1981). The gross rate of N mineralization increased in soil inoculated with fresh soil following fumigation with chloroform (Shen et al. 1984). The increased rate of N mineralization has been attributed to the rapid decomposition of organisms killed by partial sterilization (Jenkinson 1966). On the other hand, Nira et al. (1996) reported that the application of a fumigant in a field depressed the gross rates of N mineralization and immobilization in spite of the increase in the net rate of N mineralization. These results suggested that the increase in the net rate of N mineralization by partial sterilization is presumably due to the change in the ratio of N mineralization to immobilization. However, the residues of a fumigant may depress gross N transformation in the field, because the residues may continue to influence microbial activity long after the original treatment (Jenkinson 1966). Some effects of partial sterilization without residues on gross N mineralization remain to be determined.