Abildtrupvoigt5220
l products as novel anti-protistals.The simultaneous effect of genotype, agro-climatic conditions, and cooking method was evaluated towards the contents of vitamin C, protein, and soluble, insoluble, and total dietary fibre in potato tubers from the Group Phureja. Within the tested treatments, vitamin C was affected the most (9.4-85.1 mg/100 g DW), followed by insoluble dietary fibre (3.9-16.6 g/100 DW), soluble dietary fibre (1.0-3.9 g/100 g DW), total dietary fibre (3.6-fold change), and protein (1.7-4.3 g/100 g DW). The cooking method had a high effect on the variability of the contents of vitamin C, protein, insoluble dietary fibre, and total dietary fibre (74.2-92.8% of the total variance). In contrast, not only the cooking method, but also the agro-climatic conditions had a high effect on the content of soluble dietary fibre (32.6 and 34.8% of the total variance, respectively). Total dietary fibre had a protective effect on vitamin C upon cooking.Pectin is a valuable product (up to 30 $kg-1) that makes-up 20-30% of an orange's peel. The commercial extraction is lengthy (up to 6h) and energy intensive as it requires heating aqueous solutions (60-100 °C). Ultrasound speeds up the extraction process reducing processing time by macroscopic and microscopic mixing by acoustic cavitation. We adopted an ultrasonic horn to deliver a rated power of 500W at amplitudes of 20%, 40%, and 60% with and without pulsation to extract pectin from waste orange peels. These correspond to power densities of 0.08Wml-1, 0.16Wml-1 and 0.24Wml-1, respectively. The extractions operated at a pH of either 2 or 3. The experimental data agree with the fitted values from the statistical model (R2=95.5%). The model confirms our predictions that yield increases with amplitude/power density and decreasing pH. The highest yield was (11%) at a pH of 2 and with continuous ultrasonic irradiation at a power density of 0.24Wml-1. There is only a 1.3% difference between this datum and pulse ultrasound mode (1 s on/1 s off) at the same conditions - a Student's t test confirmed that there was no significant difference in yield between continuous and pulse mode. However, pulsing is more efficient in that it consumes less than half the energy of continuous operation (80kJ vs. 190kJ).Outdoor mesocosms with constantly flowing natural seawater were used to test the effects of littered cigarette butts on the filter feeder Mytilus edulis (blue mussel), the macroalga, Ulva lactuca (sea lettuce) and sediment microphytobenthos in a semi-natural marine setting. Either conventional, cellulose acetate, or biodegradable, cellulose, smoked cigarette butts were added at densities of 0.25 or 1 butt L-1. The clearance rates of mussels exposed to 1 butt L-1 of cellulose acetate butts were three times less than the controls. The growth of U. lactuca was not measurably affected by cigarette butts, however the sediment chlorophyll content was significantly less in mesocosms exposed to 0.25 and 1 butt L-1 of cellulose acetate butts. These effects occurred despite constant replacement of seawater indicating how hazardous conventional cigarette butts are to marine life. Biodegradable cellulose cigarette butts had minimal effects on the measured variables but should still not be discarded as litter.Assessing oil spill toxicity in real time is challenging due to dynamic field exposures and lack of simple, rapid, and sensitive tests. We investigated the relative sensitivity of two commercially available marine toxicity tests to aromatic hydrocarbons using the target lipid model (TLM). State of the art passive dosing in sealed vials was used to assess the sensitivity of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) and rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis). Organisms were exposed to toluene, 1-methylnaphthalene and phenanthrene for 24 h. Toxicity results were analysed using the TLM to estimate the critical target lipid body burden and support comparison to empirical data for 79 other aquatic organisms. learn more Our findings demonstrate the applicability of passive dosing to test small volumes and indicate that the two rapid cyst-based assays are insensitive in detecting hydrocarbon exposures compared to other aquatic species. Our results highlight the limitations of applying these tests for oil pollution monitoring and decision-making.Albumin (Alb) is the most abundant plasma protein with multiple biological functions, including antioxidative property through its thiol activity. Given that inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a decreased level of Alb and an increased level of Alb oxidation, we asked whether Alb could have a therapeutic effect on colitis. Here we tested this possibility. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was reductively modified with dithiothreitol (DTT) and administrated via gavage or intraperitoneal injection. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mice colitis was associated with massive oxidative stress, as indicated by the elevated sulfenic acid formation in blood, colon tissues, and feces. Treatment of mice with the reductively modified albumin (r-Alb) attenuated the oxidative stress and reduced local inflammation and tissue injury. These effects of r-Alb were only partially achieved by unmodified Alb and wholly lost after blocking the -SH groups with maleimide. In cultured colon epithelial cells, r-Alb prevented DSS- and H2O2-induced ROS elevation and barrier dysfunction, preceded by inhibition of sulfenic acid formation and P38 activation. Further analysis revealed that Alb was susceptible to H2O2-induced oxidation, and it detoxified H2O2 in a -SH group-dependent way. Moreover, Alb reacted with GSH/GSSG via thiol-disulfide exchange and reciprocally regulated the availability of -SH groups. Collectively, our study shows that r-Alb effectively attenuates DSS colitis via -SH group-mediated antioxidative action. Given that the oxidative stress underlies many life-threatening diseases, r-Alb, functioning as a potent antioxidant, could have a wide range of applications.Cross-links formed within and between proteins are a major cause of protein dysfunction, and are postulated to drive the accumulation of protein aggregates in some human pathologies. Cross-links can be formed from multiple residues and can be reversible (usually sulfur-sulfur bonds) or irreversible (typically carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bonds). Disulfides formed from oxidation of two Cys residues are widespread, with these formed both deliberately, via enzymatic reactions, or as a result of unintended oxidation reactions. We have recently demonstrated that new protein-glutathione mixed disulfides can be formed through oxidation of a protein disulfide to a thiosulfinate, and subsequent reaction of this species with glutathione. Here we investigate whether similar reactions occur between an oxidized protein disulfide, and a Cys residues on a second protein, to give novel protein cross-links. Singlet oxygen (1O2)-mediated oxidation of multiple proteins (α-lactalbumin, lysozyme, beta-2-microglobulin, C-reactive protein), and subsequent incubation with the Cys-containing protein glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), generates inter-protein cross-links as detected by SDS-PAGE, immunoblotting and mass spectrometry (MS).