Search results for: vegetable protein sources
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6374

Search results for: vegetable protein sources

6194 Determination of Yield and Some Quality Characteristics of Winter Canola (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera L.) Cultivars

Authors: B. Coşgun, O. Ozturk

Abstract:

Canola is a specific edible type of rapeseed, developed in the 1970s, which contains about 40 percent oil. This research was carried out to determine the yield and some quality characteristics of some winter canola cultivars during the 2010-2011 vegetation period in Central Anatolia of Turkey. In this research; Oase, Dante, Californium, Excalibur, Elvis, ES Hydromel, Licord, Orkan, Vectra, Nelson, Champlain and NK Petrol winter canola varieties were used as material. The field experiment was set up in a “Randomized Complete Block Design” with three replications on 21 September 2010. In this research; seed yield, oil content, protein content, oil yield and protein yield were examined. As a result of this research; seed yield, oil content, oil yield and protein yield (except protein content) were significant differences between the cultivars. The highest seed yield (6348 kg ha-1) was obtained from the NK Petrol, while the lowest seed yield (3949 kg ha-1) was determined from the Champlain cultivar was obtained. The highest oil content (46.73%) was observed from Oase and the lowest value was obtained from Vectra (41.87%) cultivar. The highest oil yield (2950 kg ha-1) was determined from NK Petrol while the least value (1681 kg ha-1) was determined from Champlain cultivar. The highest protein yield (1539.3 kg ha-1) was obtained from NK Petrol and the lowest protein yield (976.5 kg ha-1) was obtained from Champlain cultivar. The main purpose of the cultivation of oil crops, to increase the yield of oil per unit area. According the result of this research, NK Petrol cultivar which ranks first with regard to both seed yield and oil yield between cultivars as the most suitable winter canola cultivar of local conditions.

Keywords: rapeseed, cultivar, seed yield, crude oil ratio, crude protein ratio, crude oil yield, crude protein yield

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6193 Potential of Grass Silage as a Source of Nutrients in Poultry Production

Authors: Hamim Abbas, Jean Luc-Hornick, Isabelle Dufrasne

Abstract:

Feed costs constitute over 60% of total expenses in organic layer poultry production, with feed protein supply being a significant concern. Alfalfa-based dehydrated silage pellets are mainly diets composed of leaves (ABSP), which are non-conventional protein sources that could enhance profits by reducing feed costs and ensuring consistent availability. This experiment studied the effects on the performances of Novogen Brown light layers of a commercial control diet replaced with 10% ABSP. After a 21-day trial, this diet (ABSP) has improved the laying rate, yolk color of eggs, feed conversion rate, ω−3 (PUFAs) and ω−6/ω−3 ratio (P<0.05) while the body weight and egg weight were degraded with the substitution of the ABSP in the diet(P>0.05). The laying rate showed a tendency to increase (P=0.06). These findings suggest that ABSP can replace at least 10% of the feed in organic layer diets without compromising production parameters negatively.

Keywords: alfalfa, silage, pellet, organic layers

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6192 Effect of Cutting Tools and Working Conditions on the Machinability of Ti-6Al-4V Using Vegetable Oil-Based Cutting Fluids

Authors: S. Gariani, I. Shyha

Abstract:

Cutting titanium alloys are usually accompanied with low productivity, poor surface quality, short tool life and high machining costs. This is due to the excessive generation of heat at the cutting zone and difficulties in heat dissipation due to relatively low heat conductivity of this metal. The cooling applications in machining processes are crucial as many operations cannot be performed efficiently without cooling. Improving machinability, increasing productivity, enhancing surface integrity and part accuracy are the main advantages of cutting fluids. Conventional fluids such as mineral oil-based, synthetic and semi-synthetic are the most common cutting fluids in the machining industry. Although, these cutting fluids are beneficial in the industries, they pose a great threat to human health and ecosystem. Vegetable oils (VOs) are being investigated as a potential source of environmentally favourable lubricants, due to a combination of biodegradability, good lubricous properties, low toxicity, high flash points, low volatility, high viscosity indices and thermal stability. Fatty acids of vegetable oils are known to provide thick, strong, and durable lubricant films. These strong lubricating films give the vegetable oil base stock a greater capability to absorb pressure and high load carrying capacity. This paper details preliminary experimental results when turning Ti-6Al-4V. The impact of various VO-based cutting fluids, cutting tool materials, working conditions was investigated. The full factorial experimental design was employed involving 24 tests to evaluate the influence of process variables on average surface roughness (Ra), tool wear and chip formation. In general, Ra varied between 0.5 and 1.56 µm and Vasco1000 cutting fluid presented comparable performance with other fluids in terms of surface roughness while uncoated coarse grain WC carbide tool achieved lower flank wear at all cutting speeds. On the other hand, all tools tips were subjected to uniform flank wear during whole cutting trails. Additionally, formed chip thickness ranged between 0.1 and 0.14 mm with a noticeable decrease in chip size when higher cutting speed was used.

Keywords: cutting fluids, turning, Ti-6Al-4V, vegetable oils, working conditions

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6191 Interaction Effects of Dietary Ginger, Zingiber Officinale, on Plasma Protein Fractions in Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss

Authors: Ali Taheri Mirghaed, Sara Ahani, Ashkan Zargar, Seyyed Morteza Hoseini

Abstract:

Diseases are the major challenges in intensive aquaculture that cause significant annual losses. Antibiotic-therapy is a common way to control bacterial disease in fish, and oxytetracycline (OTC) is the only oral antibiotic in aquaculture approved FDA. OTC has been found to have negative effects on fish, such as oxidative stress and immune-suppression, thus, it is necessary to mitigate such effects. Medicinal herbs have various benefits on fish, including antioxidant, immunostimulant, and anti-microbial effects. Therefore, we hypothesized if dietary ginger meal (GM) interacts with dietary OTC by monitoring plasma protein fractions in rainbow trout. The study was conducted as a 2 × 2 factorial design, including diets containing 0 and 1% GM and 0 and 1.66 % OTC (corresponding to 100 mg/kg fish biomass per day). After ten days treating the fish (60 g individual weight) with these feeds, blood samples were taken from al treatments (n =3). Plasma was separated by centrifugation, and protein fractions were determined by electrophoresis. The results showed that OTC and GM had interaction effects on total protein (P<0.001), albumin (P<0.001), alpha-1 fraction (P=0.010), alpha-2 fraction (P=0.001), beta-2 fraction (P=0.014), and gamma fraction (P<0.001). Beta-1 fraction was significantly (P=0.030) affected by dietary GM. GM decreased plasma total protein, albumin, and beta-2 but increased beta-1 fraction. OTC significantly decreased total protein (P<0.001), albumin (P=0.001), alpha-2 fraction (P<0.001), beta-2 fraction (P=0.004), and gamma fraction (P<0.001) but had no significant effects on alpha-1 and beta-1 fractions. Dietary GM inhibited/suppressed the effects of dietary OTC on the plasma total protein and protein fractions. In conclusion, adding 1% GM to diet can mitigate the negative effects of dietary OTC on plasma proteins. Thus, GM may boost health of rainbow trout during the period of medication with OTC.

Keywords: ginger, plasma protein electrophoresis, dietary additive, rainbow trout

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6190 Use RP-HPLC To Investigate Factors Influencing Sorghum Protein Extraction

Authors: Khaled Khaladi, Rafika Bibi, Hind Mokrane, Boubekeur Nadjemi

Abstract:

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important cereal crop grown in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia due to its drought tolerance. Sorghum grain has protein content varying from 6 to 18%, with an average of 11%, Sorghum proteins can be broadly classified into prolamin and non-prolamin proteins. Kafirins, the major storage proteins, are classified as prolamins, and as such, they contain high levels of proline and glutamine and are soluble in non-polar solvents such as aqueous alcohols. Kafirins account for 77 to 82% of the protein in the endosperm, whereas non-prolamin proteins (namely, albumins, globulins, and glutelins) make up about 30% of the proteins. To optimize the extraction of sorghum proteins, several variables were examined: detergent type and concentration, reducing agent type and concentration, and buffer pH and concentration. Samples were quantified and characterized by RP-HPLC.

Keywords: sorghum, protein extraction, detergent, food science

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6189 Quantifying the Protein-Protein Interaction between the Ion-Channel-Forming Colicin A and the Tol Proteins by Potassium Efflux in E. coli Cells

Authors: Fadilah Aleanizy

Abstract:

Colicins are a family of bacterial toxins that kill Escherichia coli and other closely related species. The mode of action of colicins involves binding to an outer membrane receptor and translocation across the cell envelope, leading to cytotoxicity through specific targets. The mechanism of colicin cytotoxicity includes a non-specific endonuclease activity or depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane by pore-forming activity. For Group A colicins, translocation requires an interaction between the N-terminal domain of the colicin and a series of membrane- bound and periplasmic proteins known as the Tol system (TolB, TolR, TolA, TolQ, and Pal and the active domain must be translocated through the outer membranes. Protein-protein interactions are intrinsic to virtually every cellular process. The transient protein-protein interactions of the colicin include the interaction with much more complicated assemblies during colicin translocation across the cellular membrane to its target. The potassium release assay detects variation in the K+ content of bacterial cells (K+in). This assays is used to measure the effect of pore-forming colicins such as ColA on an indicator organism by measuring the changes of the K+ concentration in the external medium (K+out ) that are caused by cell killing with a K+ selective electrode. One of the goals of this work is to employ a quantifiable in-vivo method to spot which Tol protein are more implicated in the interaction with colicin A as it is translocated to its target.

Keywords: K+ efflux, Colicin A, Tol-proteins, E. coli

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6188 Impact of Heavy Metal Toxicity on Metabolic Changes in the Diazotrophic Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120

Authors: Rishi Saxena

Abstract:

Cyanobacteria is a photosynthetic prokaryote, and these obtain their energy through photosynthesis. In this paper, we studied the effect of iron on metabolic changes in the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Nowadays, metal contamination due to natural and anthropogenic sources is a global environment concern. Iron induced changes in growth, N2-fixation, CO2 fixation and photosynthetic activity were studied in a diazotrophic cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Iron at 50 uM concentration supported the maximum growth, heterocyst frequency, CO2 fixation, photosystem I (PS I), photosystem II (PS II) and nitrogenase activities in the organism. Higher concentration of iron inhibited these processes. Chl a and PS II activities were more sensitive to iron than the protein and PS I activity. Here, it is also mentioned that heavy metal induced altered macromolecules metabolism and changes in the central dogma of life (DNA→ mRNA → Protein). And also recent advances have been made in understanding heavy metal-cyanobacteria interaction and their application for metal detoxification.

Keywords: cyanobacterium anabaena 7120, nitrogen fixation, photosystem I (PS I), photosystem II (PS II)

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6187 Delivery of Positively Charged Proteins Using Hyaluronic Acid Microgels

Authors: Elaheh Jooybar, Mohammad J. Abdekhodaie, Marcel Karperien, Pieter J. Dijkstra

Abstract:

In this study, hyaluronic acid (HA) microgels were developed for the goal of protein delivery. First, a hyaluronic acid-tyramine conjugate (HA-TA) was synthesized with a degree of substitution of 13 TA moieties per 100 disaccharide units. Then, HA-TA microdroplets were produced using a water in oil emulsion method and crosslinked in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Loading capacity and the release kinetics of lysozyme and BSA, as model proteins, were investigated. It was shown that lysozyme, a cationic protein, can be incorporated efficiently in the HA microgels, while the loading efficiency for BSA, as a negatively charged protein, is low. The release profile of lysozyme showed a sustained release over a period of one month. The results demonstrated that the HA-TA microgels are a good carrier for spatial delivery of cationic proteins for biomedical applications.

Keywords: microgel, inverse emulsion, protein delivery, hyaluronic acid, crosslinking

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6186 Bioinformatics and Molecular Biological Characterization of a Hypothetical Protein SAV1226 as a Potential Drug Target for Methicillin/Vancomycin-Staphylococcus aureus Infections

Authors: Nichole Haag, Kimberly Velk, Tyler McCune, Chun Wu

Abstract:

Methicillin/multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are infectious bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics. A previous in silico study in our group has identified a hypothetical protein SAV1226 as one of the potential drug targets. In this study, we reported the bioinformatics characterization, as well as cloning, expression, purification and kinetic assays of hypothetical protein SAV1226 from methicillin/vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Mu50 strain. MALDI-TOF/MS analysis revealed a low degree of structural similarity with known proteins. Kinetic assays demonstrated that hypothetical protein SAV1226 is neither a domain of an ATP dependent dihydroxyacetone kinase nor of a phosphotransferase system (PTS) dihydroxyacetone kinase, suggesting that the function of hypothetical protein SAV1226 might be misannotated on public databases such as UniProt and InterProScan 5.

Keywords: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, dihydroxyacetone kinase, essential genes, drug target, phosphoryl group donor

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6185 Nutritional Potential and Functionality of Whey Powder Influenced by Different Processing Temperature and Storage

Authors: Zarmina Gillani, Nuzhat Huma, Aysha Sameen, Mulazim Hussain Bukhari

Abstract:

Whey is an excellent food ingredient owing to its high nutritive value and its functional properties. However, composition of whey varies depending on composition of milk, processing conditions, processing method, and its whey protein content. The aim of this study was to prepare a whey powder from raw whey and to determine the influence of different processing temperatures (160 and 180 °C) on the physicochemical, functional properties during storage of 180 days and on whey protein denaturation. Results have shown that temperature significantly (P < 0.05) affects the pH, acidity, non-protein nitrogen (NPN), protein total soluble solids, fat and lactose contents. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher foaming capacity (FC), foam stability (FS), whey protein nitrogen index (WPNI), and a lower turbidity and solubility index (SI) were observed in whey powder processed at 160 °C compared to whey powder processed at 180 °C. During storage of 180 days, slow but progressive changes were noticed on the physicochemical and functional properties of whey powder. Reverse phase-HPLC analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of temperature on whey protein contents. Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin is followed by α-lacalbumin, casein glycomacropeptide (CMP/GMP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Keywords: whey powder, temperature, denaturation, reverse phase, HPLC

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6184 Towards the Inhibition Mechanism of Lysozyme Fibrillation by Hydrogen Sulfide

Authors: Indra Gonzalez Ojeda, Tatiana Quinones, Manuel Rosario, Igor Lednev, Juan Lopez Garriga

Abstract:

Amyloid fibrils are stable aggregates of misfolded protein associated with many neurodegenerative disorders. It has been shown that hydrogen sulfide (H2S), inhibits the fibrillation of lysozyme through the formation of trisulfide (S-S-S) bonds. However, the overall mechanism remains elusive. Here, the concentration dependence of H2S effect was investigated using Atomic force microscopy (AFM), non-resonance Raman spectroscopy, Deep-UV Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD). It was found that small spherical aggregates with trisulfide bonds and a unique secondary structure were formed instead of amyloid fibrils when adding concentrations of 25 mM and 50 mM of H2S. This could indicate that H2S might serve as a protecting agent for the protein. However, further characterization of these aggregates and their trisulfide bonds is needed to fully unravel the function H2S has on protein fibrillation.

Keywords: amyloid fibrils, hydrogen sulfide, protein folding, raman spectroscopy

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6183 Protein Remote Homology Detection by Using Profile-Based Matrix Transformation Approaches

Authors: Bin Liu

Abstract:

As one of the most important tasks in protein sequence analysis, protein remote homology detection has been studied for decades. Currently, the profile-based methods show state-of-the-art performance. Position-Specific Frequency Matrix (PSFM) is widely used profile. However, there exists noise information in the profiles introduced by the amino acids with low frequencies. In this study, we propose a method to remove the noise information in the PSFM by removing the amino acids with low frequencies called Top frequency profile (TFP). Three new matrix transformation methods, including Autocross covariance (ACC) transformation, Tri-gram, and K-separated bigram (KSB), are performed on these profiles to convert them into fixed length feature vectors. Combined with Support Vector Machines (SVMs), the predictors are constructed. Evaluated on two benchmark datasets, and experimental results show that these proposed methods outperform other state-of-the-art predictors.

Keywords: protein remote homology detection, protein fold recognition, top frequency profile, support vector machines

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6182 C-Reactive Protein in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Authors: Athar Hussain Memon

Abstract:

Objectives: We tried to determine the frequency of raised C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study of six months study was conducted at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad from March 2013 to August 2013. All diabetic patients of ≥35 years age of either gender for >01 year duration visited at OPD were evaluated for C-reactive protein and their glycemic status by hemoglobin A1c. The data was analyzed in SPSS and the frequency and percentage were calculated. Results: During six month study period, total 100 diabetic patients were evaluated for C-reactive protein. The majority of patients were from urban areas 75/100 (75%). The mean ±SD for age of patients with diabetes mellitus was 51.63±7.82. The mean age ±SD of patient with raised CRP was 53±7.21. The mean ±SD for HbA1c in patients with raised CRP is 9.55±1.73. The mean random blood sugar level in patients with raised CRP was 247.42 ± 6.62. The majority of subjects were of 50-69 years of age group with female predominance (p=0.01) while the CRP was raised in 70 (70%) patients in relation to age (p=0.02) and gender (p=0.01), respectively. Both HbA1c and CRP were raised in 64.9% (p=0.04) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean ±SD of CRP was 5.8±1.21 while for male and female individuals with raised CRP was 3.52±1.22 and 5.7±1.63, respectively. Conclusions: The raised CRP was observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c, diabetes and metabolism

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6181 Production of Recombinant VP2 Protein of Canine Parvovirus Type 2c Using Baculovirus Expression System

Authors: Jae Young Song, In-Ohk Ouh, Seyeon Park, Byeong Sul Kang, Soo Dong Cho, In-Soo Cho

Abstract:

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a major pathogen of diarrhea disease in dogs. CPV type 2 has three of antigenic variants such as 2a, 2b, and 2c. CPV constructs a small non-enveloped, icosahedral capsid that contains single-stranded DNA. It has capsids that two largely overlapping virion proteins (VP), VP1 (82 kDa), and VP2 (65 kDa). Baculoviruses are insect pathogens that regulate insect populations in nature and are being successfully used to control insect pests. The proteins produced in the baculovirus-expression system are used for instance for functional studies, vaccine preparations, or diagnostics. The vaccines produced by baculovirus-expression system showed elicitation of antibodies. The recombinant baculovirus infected SF9 cells showed broken shape. The recombinant VP2 proteins from cell pellet or supernatant were confirmed by western blotting. The result showed that the recombinant VP2 protein bands were appeared at 65 kDa molecular weight in both cell pellet and supernatant of infected SF9 cell. These results indicated that the recombinant baculovirus infected SF9 cell express the recombinant VP2 protein successfully. In addition, the expressed recombinant VP2 protein is secreted from cell to supernatant. The baculovirus expression system can be used to produce the VP2 protein of CPV 2c. In addition, the secretion property of the expression of VP2 protein may decrease the cost of production, because it can be skipped the cell breaking step. The produced VP2 protein could be used for vaccine and the agent of diagnostic tests. This study provides the foundation of the production of CPV 2c vaccine and the diagnostic agent.

Keywords: baculovirus, canine parvovirus 2c, dog, Korea

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6180 Phase Transition in Iron Storage Protein Ferritin

Authors: Navneet Kaur, S. D. Tiwari

Abstract:

Ferritin is a protein which present in the blood of mammals. It maintains the need of iron inside the body. It has an antiferromagnetic iron core, 7-8 nm in size, which is encapsulated inside a protein cage. The thickness of this protein shell is about 2-3 nm. This protein shell reduces the interaction among particles and make ferritin a model superparamagnet. The major composition of ferritin core is mineral ferrihydrite. The molecular formula of ferritin core is (FeOOH)8[FeOOPO3H2]. In this study, we discuss the phase transition of ferritin. We characterized ferritin using x-ray diffractometer, transmission electron micrograph, thermogravimetric analyzer and vibrating sample magnetometer. It is found that ferritin core is amorphous in nature with average particle size of 8 nm. The thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis curves shows mass loss at different temperatures. We heated ferritin at these temperatures. It is found that ferritin core starts decomposing after 390^o C. At 1020^o C, the ferritin core is finally converted to alpha phase of iron oxide. Magnetization behavior of final sample clearly shows the iron oxyhydroxide core is completely converted to alpha iron oxide.

Keywords: Antiferromagnetic, Ferritin, Phase, Superparamagnetic

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6179 Interaction of Histone H1 with Chromatin-associated Protein HMGB1 Studied by Microscale Thermophoresis

Authors: Michal Štros, Eva Polanská, Šárka Pospíšilová

Abstract:

HMGB1 is an architectural protein in chromatin, acting also as a signaling molecule outside the cell. Recent reports from several laboratories provided evidence that a number of both the intracellular and extracellular functions of HMGB1 may depend on redox-sensitive cysteine residues of the protein. MALDI-TOF analysis revealed that mild oxidization of HMGB1 resulted in a conformational change of the protein due to formation of an intramolecular disulphide bond by opposing Cys23 and Cys45 residues. We have demonstrated that redox state of HMGB1 could significantly modulate the ability of the protein to bind and bend DNA. We have also shown that reduced HMGB1 could easily displace histone H1 from DNA, while oxidized HMGB1 had limited capacity for H1 displacement. Using microscale thermophoresis (MST) we have further studied mechanism of HMGB1 interaction with histone H1 in free solution or when histone H1 was bound to DNA. Our MST analysis indicated that reduced HMGB1 exhibited in free solution > 1000 higher affinity of for H1 (KD ~ 4.5 nM) than oxidized HMGB1 (KD <10 M). Finally, we present a novel mechanism for the HMGB1-mediated modulation of histone H1 binding to DNA.

Keywords: HMGB1, histone H1, redox state, interaction, cross-linking, DNA bending, DNA end-joining, microscale thermophoresis

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6178 Crude Palm Oil Antioxidant Extraction and the Antioxidation Activity

Authors: Supriyono Supriyono, Sumardiyono Sumardiyono, Peni Pujiastuti, Dian Indriana Hapsari

Abstract:

Crude palm oil (CPO) is a vegetable oil that came from a palm tree bunch. The productivity of the oil is 12 ton/hectare/year. Thus palm oil tree was known as highest vegetable oil yield. It was grown across Equatorial County, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. The greenish-red color on CPO was come from carotenoid. Carotenoid is one of the antioxidants that could be extracted. Carotenoid could be used as functional food and other purposes. Another antioxidant that also found in CPO is tocopherol. The aim of the research work is to find antioxidant activity on CPO comparing to the synthetic antioxidant that available in a market. In this research work, antioxidant was extracted by a mixture of acetone and n.hexane, while the activity of the antioxidant extract was determined by DPPH method. Antioxidant activity of the extracted compound about 46% compared to pure tocopherol. While the solvent mixture compose by 90% acetone and 10% n. hexane meet the best on the antioxidant activity.

Keywords: antioxidant, beta carotene, crude palm oil, DPPH, tocopherol

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6177 Evidence of Paternal Protein Provisioning During Male Pregnancy in the Seahorse, Hippocampus Abdominalis

Authors: Zoe M. G. Skalkos, Sam N. Dowland, James U. Van Dyke, Camilla. M. Whittington

Abstract:

Syngnathid fishes (seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons) are unique because embryos develop on or in the male in a specialised brooding structure. Many seahorse species are endangered or vulnerable, while others are popular in the ornamental fish trade. Seahorses are capable of nutrient provisioning (patrotrophy) of lipids during pregnancy via their fully enclosed brood pouch. Protein is vital for gene regulation and tissue growth during embryogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that protein is paternally transported to developing embryos during pregnancy in the Australian Pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis. We compared the dry masses and nitrogen content in recently fertilised H. abdominalis embryos and newborns. We calculated an updated patrotrophy index, 1.34, but without a significant difference in dry mass between the two developmental stages. There was, however, a significant increase in total protein content from recently fertilised embryos to neonates. This suggests paternal protein transport is essential for H. abdominalis embryogenesis because protein yolk reserves are depleted by embryonic metabolism, and supplementation is required. This study is the first to provide evidence for paternal protein transport during pregnancy in seahorses. It furthers our understanding of the paternal influence on embryonic development in male pregnancy and how a protein-deficient diet during pregnancy may limit the allocation of resources to embryos, reducing offspring fitness. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the fundamental reproductive biology of seahorses, which can help improve conservation and farming production outcomes.

Keywords: brood pouch, embryonic provisioning, nitrogen, parentotrophy, paternal investment, reproduction

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6176 Elucidating the Genetic Determinism of Seed Protein Plasticity in Response to the Environment Using Medicago truncatula

Authors: K. Cartelier, D. Aime, V. Vernoud, J. Buitink, J. M. Prosperi, K. Gallardo, C. Le Signor

Abstract:

Legumes can produce protein-rich seeds without nitrogen fertilizer through root symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Rich in lysine, these proteins are used for human nutrition and animal feed. However, the instability of seed protein yield and quality due to environmental fluctuations limits the wider use of legumes such as pea. Breeding efforts are needed to optimize and stabilize seed nutritional value, which requires to identify the genetic determinism of seed protein plasticity in response to the environment. Towards this goal, we have studied the plasticity of protein content and composition of seeds from a collection of 200 Medicago truncatula ecotypes grown under four controlled conditions (optimal, drought, and winter/spring sowing). A quantitative analysis of one-dimensional protein profiles of these mature seeds was performed and plasticity indices were calculated from each abundant protein band. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) from these data identified major GWAS hotspots, from which a list of candidate genes was obtained. A Gene Ontology Enrichment Analysis revealed an over-representation of genes involved in several amino acid metabolic pathways. This led us to propose that environmental variations are likely to modulate amino acid balance, thus impacting seed protein composition. The selection of candidate genes for controlling the plasticity of seed protein composition was refined using transcriptomics data from developing Medicago truncatula seeds. The pea orthologs of key genes were identified for functional studies by mean of TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes) lines in this crop. We will present how this study highlighted mechanisms that could govern seed protein plasticity, providing new cues towards the stabilization of legume seed quality.

Keywords: GWAS, Medicago truncatula, plasticity, seed, storage proteins

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6175 Insight into Structure and Functions of of Acyl CoA Binding Protein of Leishmania major

Authors: Rohit Singh Dangi, Ravi Kant Pal, Monica Sundd

Abstract:

Acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) is a housekeeping protein which functions as an intracellular carrier of acyl-CoA esters. Given the fact that the amastigote stage (blood stage) of Leishmania depends largely on fatty acids as the energy source, of which a large part is derived from its host, these proteins might have an important role in its survival. In Leishmania major, genome sequencing suggests the presence of six ACBPs, whose function remains largely unknown. For functional and structural characterization, one of the ACBP genes was cloned, and the protein was expressed and purified heterologously. Acyl-CoA ester binding and stoichiometry were analyzed by isothermal titration calorimetry and Dynamic light scattering. Our results shed light on high affinity of ACBP towards longer acyl-CoA esters, such as myristoyl-CoA to arachidonoyl-CoA with single binding site. To understand the binding mechanism & dynamics, Nuclear magnetic resonance assignments of this protein are being done. The protein's crystal structure was determined at 1.5Å resolution and revealed a classical topology for ACBP, containing four alpha-helical bundles. In the binding pocket, the loop between the first and the second helix (16 – 26AA) is four residues longer from other extensively studied ACBPs (PfACBP) and it curls upwards towards the pantothenate moiety of CoA to provide a large tunnel space for long acyl chain insertion.

Keywords: acyl-coa binding protein (ACBP), acyl-coa esters, crystal structure, isothermal titration, calorimetry, Leishmania

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6174 The Effect of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. Alkaloids on the Blood Glucose and Amyloid Precursor Protein Metabolic Pathways in Db/Db Mice

Authors: Juan Huang, Nanqu Huang, Jingshan Shi, Yu Qiu

Abstract:

Objectives: There are pathophysiological connections between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and research on drugs with hypoglycemic and beta-amyloid (Aβ)-clearing effects have great therapeutic potential for AD. Dendrobium nobile Lindl. Alkaloids (DNLA) as one of the active compounds of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. In this study, we attempted to verify the hypoglycemic effect and investigate the effects of DNLA on the amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolic pathway of the hippocampus in db/db mice. Methods: 4-weeks-old male C57BL/KsJ mice were the control group. And the same age and sexuality db/db mice were: model, DNLA-L (20 mg/kg), DNLA-M (40 mg/kg), and DNLA-H (80 mg/kg). After, mice were treated with different concentrations of DNLA for 17 weeks. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) was detected by glucose oxidase assay every week from the 4th to last week. The protein expression of β-amyloid 1-42 (Aβ1-42), β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), and APP were examined by Western blotting. Results: The concentration of FBG and the protein expression of Aβ1-42, BACE1, and APP were increased in the hippocampus of the model group. Moreover, DNLA not only significantly decreased the concentration of FBG but also reduced the protein expressions of Aβ1-42, BACE1 and APP in the hippocampus of db/db mice in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: DNLA can decrease the protein expressions of Aβ1-42 in the hippocampus of db/db mice, and the mechanism may be involved in the APP metabolic pathway.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1, traditional Chinese medicines, beta-amyloid

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6173 Double-Diffusive Natural Convection with Various Partially Heated and Salted Sources Arrangements in an Open Cavity

Authors: Norazam Arbin, Habibis Saleh, Ammar Alsabery, Ishak Hashim

Abstract:

Double-diffusive natural convection in an open top cavity with partial vertical heating and salting sources is investigated numerically. Different temperatures and concentrations are applied at the source location on the right and left walls while the other remains adiabatic except at the open top surface. Various combinations of sources arrangements are imposed at the vertical walls in order to observe the significant impact to the convection. An iterative finite different method is used to solve the dimensionless governing equations. The effects of Marangoni number and sources arrangements on the contours of streamlines, isotherms, and concentrations are visualized as the outcome of the numerical solutions. The average Nusselt and Sherwood number are presented for various sources arrangements. It is clearly observed that the sources arrangements gave major impact on the heat and mass transfer rates. A horizontal-like pattern is found for sources arrangements that near the top-free surface.

Keywords: double-diffusive, Marangoni effect, partial heating, salting

Procedia PDF Downloads 396
6172 Extracellular Hydrolase-Producing Bacteria Isolated from Chilca Salterns in Peru

Authors: Carol N. Flores-Fernández, Guadalupe Espilco, Cynthia Esquerre, Amparo I. Zavaleta

Abstract:

Saline environments represent a valuable source of enzymes with novel properties and particular features for application in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. This study focuses on the isolation and screening of hydrolase-producing bacteria from Chilca salterns and the evaluation of their biotechnological potential. Soil samples were collected from Chilca salterns in Peru. For the isolation, medium containing 0.2 % of yeast extract, 5 % of NaCl and 10 % of the soil sample was used. After 72 h of incubation at 37 °C, serial dilutions were made up to 10−12 dilutions, spread on agar plates with 0.5 % of yeast extract and 5 % of NaCl, and incubated at 37 °C for 48 h. Screening of hydrolase-producing bacteria was carried out for cellulases, amylases, lipases, DNase, and proteases on specific media. Moreover, protease-producing bacteria were tested using protein extracted from the following legumes as substrate: Glycine max, Lupinus mutabilis, Pisum sativum, Erythrina edulis, Cicer arietinum, Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia faba. A total of 16 strains were isolated from soil samples. On the screening media; 75, 44, 81 and 50 % were cellulase, amylase, DNase and protease producers, respectively. Also, 19 % of the isolates produced all the hydrolytic enzymes above mentioned. Lipase producers were not found. The 37 % and 12 % of the strains grew at 20 % and 30 % of salt concentration, respectively. In addition, 75 % of the strains grew at pH range between 5 and 10. From the total of protease-producing bacteria, 100 % hydrolyzed Glycine max, Lupinus mutabilis, and Pisum sativum protein, while 87 % hydrolyzed Erythrina edulis and Cicer arietinum protein. Finally, 75 % and 50 % of the strains hydrolyzed Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia faba protein, respectively. Hydrolase-producing bacteria isolated from Chilca salterns in Peru grew at high salt concentrations and wide range of pH. In addition, protease-producing bacteria hydrolyzed protein from different sources such as leguminous. These enzymes have great biotechnological potential and could be used for different industrial processes and applications.

Keywords: bacteria, extracellular, hydrolases, Peru, salterns

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6171 Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Lysozyme-Silver Nanoparticles Complex

Authors: Shahnaz Ashrafpour, Tahereh Tohidi Moghadam, Bijan Ranjbar

Abstract:

Identifying the nature of protein-nanoparticle interactions and favored binding sites is an important issue in functional characterization of biomolecules and their physiological responses. Herein, interaction of silver nanoparticles with lysozyme as a model protein has been monitored via fluorescence spectroscopy. Formation of complex between the biomolecule and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) induced a steady state reduction in the fluorescence intensity of protein at different concentrations of nanoparticles. Tryptophan fluorescence quenching spectra suggested that silver nanoparticles act as a foreign quencher, approaching the protein via this residue. Analysis of the Stern-Volmer plot showed quenching constant of 3.73 µM−1. Moreover, a single binding site in lysozyme is suggested to play role during interaction with AgNPs, having low affinity of binding compared to gold nanoparticles. Unfolding studies of lysozyme showed that complex of lysozyme-AgNPs has not undergone structural perturbations compared to the bare protein. Results of this effort will pave the way for utilization of sensitive spectroscopic techniques for rational design of nanobiomaterials in biomedical applications.

Keywords: nanocarrier, nanoparticles, surface plasmon resonance, quenching fluorescence

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6170 Spectrofluorometric Studies on the Interactions of Bovine Serum Albumin with Dimeric Cationic Surfactants

Authors: Srishti Sinha, Deepti Tikariha, Kallol K. Ghosh

Abstract:

Over the past few decades protein-surfactant interactions have been a subject of extensive studies as they are of great importance in wide variety of industries, biological, pharmaceutical and cosmetic systems. Protein-surfactant interactions have been explored the effect of surfactants on structure of protein in the form of solubilization and denaturing or renaturing of protein. Globular proteins are frequently used as functional ingredients in healthcare and pharmaceutical products, due to their ability to catalyze biochemical reactions, to be adsorbed on the surface of some substance and to bind other moieties and form molecular aggregates. One of the most widely used globular protein is bovine serum albumin (BSA), since it has a well-known primary structure and been associated with the binding of many different categories of molecules, such as dyes, drugs and toxic chemicals. Protein−surfactant interactions are usually dependent on the surfactant features. Most of the research has been focused on single-chain surfactants. More recently, the binding between proteins and dimeric surfactants has been discussed. In present study interactions of one dimeric surfactant Butanediyl-1,4-bis (dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide) (16-4-16, 2Br-) and the corresponding single-chain surfactant cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been investigated by surface tension and spectrofluoremetric methods. It has been found that the bindings of all gemini surfactant to BSA were cooperatively driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The gemini surfactant carrying more charges and hydrophobic tails, showed stronger interactions with BSA than the single-chain surfactant.

Keywords: bovine serum albumin, gemini surfactants, hydrophobic interactions, protein surfactant interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 499
6169 Immuno-Protective Role of Mucosal Delivery of Lactococcus lactis Expressing Functionally Active JlpA Protein on Campylobacter jejuni Colonization in Chickens

Authors: Ankita Singh, Chandan Gorain, Amirul I. Mallick

Abstract:

Successful adherence of the mucosal epithelial cells is the key early step for Campylobacter jejuni pathogenesis (C. jejuni). A set of Surface Exposed Colonization Proteins (SECPs) are among the major factors involved in host cell adherence and invasion of C. jejuni. Among them, constitutively expressed surface-exposed lipoprotein adhesin of C. jejuni, JlpA, interacts with intestinal heat shock protein 90 (hsp90α) and contributes in disease progression by triggering pro-inflammatory response via activation of NF-κB and p38 MAP kinase pathway. Together with its ability to express in the bacterial surface, higher sequence conservation and predicted predominance of several B cells epitopes, JlpA protein reserves its potential to become an effective vaccine candidate against wide range of Campylobacter sps including C. jejuni. Given that chickens are the primary sources for C. jejuni and persistent gut colonization remain as major cause for foodborne pathogenesis to humans, present study explicitly used chickens as model to test the immune-protective efficacy of JlpA protein. Taking into account that gastrointestinal tract is the focal site for C. jejuni colonization, to extrapolate the benefit of mucosal (intragastric) delivery of JlpA protein, a food grade Nisin inducible Lactic acid producing bacteria, Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) was engineered to express recombinant JlpA protein (rJlpA) in the surface of the bacteria. Following evaluation of optimal surface expression and functionality of recombinant JlpA protein expressed by recombinant L. lactis (rL. lactis), the immune-protective role of intragastric administration of live rL. lactis was assessed in commercial broiler chickens. In addition to the significant elevation of antigen specific mucosal immune responses in the intestine of chickens that received three doses of rL. lactis, marked upregulation of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) gene expression in association with mixed pro-inflammatory responses (both Th1 and Th17 type) was observed. Furthermore, intragastric delivery of rJlpA expressed by rL. lactis, but not the injectable form, resulted in a significant reduction in C. jejuni colonization in chickens suggesting that mucosal delivery of live rL. lactis expressing JlpA serves as a promising vaccine platform to induce strong immune-protective responses against C. jejuni in chickens.

Keywords: chickens, lipoprotein adhesion of Campylobacter jejuni, immuno-protection, Lactococcus lactis, mucosal delivery

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6168 Alterations of Malondialdehyde and Heat Shock Protein-27 in Sheep with Naturally Infected Liver Cystic Echinococcosis

Authors: K. Azimzadeh, S. Rasouli

Abstract:

The present study investigates whether malondialdehyde (MDA) and heat shock protein-27 (HSP-27) are altered in sheep with cystic echinococcosis (CE). For this purpose, forty parasitized and thirty healthy sheep were selected based on severe cystic form observation in liver and lack of blood parasite along with no cystic conformation in carcass respectively. The results revealed a significant decrease (p<0.01) in albumin (Alb) and total plasma protein (TPP) and a significant increase (p<0.01) in HSP-27, MDA, total bilirubin and unconjugated bilirubin in the infected group compared with healthy ones.The results indicate low levels of TPP and Alb reveal liver damage in suffered sheep and MDA elevation demonstrates oxidative stress in infected group. In addition, HSP-27 enhancement may attribute to disease-induced stress conditions.

Keywords: malondialdehyde, heat shock protein-27, Echinococcosis, blood parasites

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6167 In vitro and invivo Antioxidant Studies of Grewia crenata Leaves Extract in Albino Rats

Authors: A. N.Ukwuani, A. K. Abdulfatah

Abstract:

G. crenata is used locally for the treatment of fractured bones, wound healing and inflammatory conditions. In vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity of hydromethanolic extracts of the leaves of G. crenata were assessed. The phytochemical analysis shows the presence of phenols, flavonoids, saponins, cardiac glycosides and tannins. An in vitro quantitative analysis of phenols, flavonoids and tannins respectively were (164±1.20, 199±0.88 and 88.67±0.88 mg/100g FW). In vivo studies of hydromethanolic extract demonstrated a dose dependent increase in hepatic superoxide dismutase (1.14±0.14, 2.13±0.11, 2.55±0.11 U/mg Protein) with improvement in hepatic glutathione (6.98±0.42, 8.91±0.37, 11.07±0.46 µM/mg Protein) and Catalase (4.47±0.05, 6.24±0.02, 7.17±0.04 U/mg Protein) and Total protein (6.18±0.08, 6.69±0.18, 7.27±0.16 mg/ml) respectively at 100-300mg/kg body weight Grewia crenata leaves when compared to the control and standard drug. It can be concluded from the present findings of that G. crenata leaves possess antioxidant potential.

Keywords: Grewia crenata, antioxidant, hydromethanolic extract, in vivo, in vitro

Procedia PDF Downloads 530
6166 Functional Cell Surface Display Using Ice Nucleation Protein from Erwina ananas on Escherischia coli

Authors: Mei Yuin Joanne Wee, Rosli Md. Illias

Abstract:

Cell surface display is the expression of a protein with an anchoring motif on the surface of the cell. This approach offers advantages when used in bioconversion in terms of easier purification steps and more efficient enzymatic reaction. A surface display system using ice nucleation protein (InaA) from Erwina ananas as an anchoring motif has been constructed to display xylanase (xyl) on the surface of Escherischia coli. The InaA was truncated so that it is made up of the N- and C-terminal domain (INPANC-xyl) and it has successfully directed xylanase to the surface of the cell. A study was also done on xylanase fused to two other ice nucleation proteins, InaK (INPKNC-xyl) and InaZ (INPZNC-xyl) from Pseudomonas syringae KCTC 1832 and Pseudomonas syringae S203 respectively. Surface localization of the fusion protein was verified using SDS-PAGE and Western blot on the cell fractions and all anchoring motifs were successfully displayed on the outer membrane of E. coli. Upon comparison, whole-cell activity of INPANC-xyl was more than six and five times higher than INPKNC-xyl and INPZNC-xyl respectively. Furthermore, the expression of INPANC-xyl on the surface of E. coli did not inhibit the growth of the cell. This is the first report of surface display system using ice nucleation protein, InaA from E. ananas. From this study, this anchoring motif offers an attractive alternative to the current surface display systems.

Keywords: cell surface display, Escherischia coli, ice nucleation protein, xylanase

Procedia PDF Downloads 385
6165 NOx Emission and Computational Analysis of Jatropha Curcus Fuel and Crude Oil

Authors: Vipan Kumar Sohpal, Rajesh K Sharma

Abstract:

Diminishing of conventional fuels and hysterical vehicles emission leads to deterioration of the environment, which emphasize the research to work on biofuels. Biofuels from different sources attract the attention of research due to low emission and biodegradability. Emission of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and H-C reduced drastically using Biofuels (B-20) combustion. Contrary to the conventional fuel, engine emission results indicated that nitrous oxide emission is higher in Biofuels. So this paper examines and compares the nitrogen oxide emission of Jatropha Curcus (JCO) B-20% blends with the vegetable oil. In addition to that computational analysis of crude non edible oil performed to assess the impact of composition on emission quality. In conclusion, JCO have the potential feedstock for the biodiesel production after the genetic modification in the plant.

Keywords: jatropha curcus, computational analysis, emissions, NOx biofuels

Procedia PDF Downloads 576