Antioxidant Properties of Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.): Influence of Cultivar and Roasting Conditions

Effects of various roasting conditions on antioxidant properties of five Theobroma cacao L. varieties were investigated. The cocoa beans were roasted at four different temperatures (110–150°C) and three different air humidities (0.3–5.0%). The raw cocoa beans were characterized by high antioxidant activities. The antioxidant properties of the roasted cocoa beans varied markedly among the analyzed cultivars and geographical regions and were affected by roasting conditions. Generally, cocoa beans of the cv. Forastero from Brazil exhibited higher total phenolic content, free radical scavenging activity, and metal chelating ability than samples of the other analyzed cocoa varieties. Roasting at 110°C caused negligible changes in total phenolics content and antioxidant activity of cocoa beans, while almost all samples tended to have lower antioxidant potential when roasting temperature increased. The air humidity used in roasting did not affect the total phenolics content and antioxidant activity for lowest roasting temperature (110°C). Moreover, the obtained results revealed that thermal processing at the higher temperatures and elevated air humidity resulted in the higher antioxidant capacities. It was also found that the ferrous ion chelating activity of cocoa beans increased with the roasting temperature (in the range from 110 to 150°C), with the exception of cv. Trinitario from Papua New Guinea. The data showed that roasting at lower temperatures with humid air are more favorable in terms of preserving the bioactivity of roasted cocoa beans.     

Biosurfactant Mediated Biosynthesis of Selected Metallic Nanoparticles

Developing a reliable experimental protocol for the synthesis of nanomaterials is one of the challenging topics in current nanotechnology particularly in the context of the recent drive to promote green technologies in their synthesis. The increasing need to develop clean, nontoxic and environmentally safe production processes for nanoparticles to reduce environmental impact, minimize waste and increase energy efficiency has become essential in this field. Consequently, recent studies on the use of microorganisms in the synthesis of selected nanoparticles are gaining increased interest as they represent an exciting area of research with considerable development potential. Microorganisms are known to be capable of synthesizing inorganic molecules that are deposited either intra- or extracellularly. This review presents a brief overview of current research on the use of biosurfactants in the biosynthesis of selected metallic nanoparticles and their potential importance.     

Multivitamin Analysis of Fruits, Fruit–Vegetable Juices, and Diet Supplements

Vitamins are organic compounds that are required for various biological functions. In general, vitamins are not synthesized in the human body, but lack or deficiency of them may lead to certain diseases. Determinations of 11 vitamins in various products were performed, which included ascorbic acid (C), seven vitamins of the B group (thiamine B₁, riboflavin B₂, nicotinamide B₃, pantothenic acid B₅, pyridoxine B₆, folic acid B₉, and cyanocobalamin B₁₂), as well as three fat-soluble vitamins (retinol A, cholecalciferol D₃, and α-tocopherol E). A column with RP18 stationary phase and a diode array detector with properly selected analytical wavelengths for each compound were used. A gradient of trifluoroacetic acid in water with methanol was used as the mobile phase. Limits of quantification in the range of 0.70–2.90 μg/mL for water-soluble vitamins and 1.85–15.84 μg/mL for fat-soluble vitamins were obtained. Those values are sufficient for determinations of the aforementioned compounds in foodstuff. The developed procedure of sample preparation together with chromatographic system can be used for food quality monitoring in the food industry.     

PolyMorph: Increasing the Spelling Efficiency of P300 by Selection Matrix PolyMorphism and Sentence-Based Predictions

One application of the P300 brain electric signal is sentence spelling, which enables subjects who have lost control of their motor pathways to communicate by selecting characters in a matrix containing all alphabet symbols. This technology still suffers from both low communication/high error rates. A P300 speller, named PolyMorph, which jointly introduces the selection matrix polymorphism (reducing the matrix size by removing useless symbols) and sentence-based predictions (which forecast words on the basis of language statistics) is presented. This is accomplished by using a custom dynamic knowledge-base, tailored to the subject lexicon, and updated in real time with the selections of the subject. The effectiveness of the presented speller is measured in vivo and in silico. The results suggest that the use of PolyMorph increases the number of spelt characters per time unit and reduces the error rate.     

How important is tryptophan in human health?

Tryptophan (Trp) is an amino acid and an essential component of the human diet. It plays a crucial role in many metabolic functions. Clinicians can use Trp levels in the course of diagnosing various metabolic disorders and the symptoms associated with those diseases. Furthermore, supplementation with this amino acid is considered in the treatment of depression and sleep disorders, mainly due to the Trp relationship with the synthesis of serotonin (5-HT) and melatonin. It is also used in helping to resolve cognitive disorders, anxiety, or neurodegenerative diseases. Reduced secretion of serotonin is associated with autism spectrum disorder, obesity, anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and other diseases presenting peripherals symptoms. The literature strongly suggests that Trp has a significant role in the correct functionality of the brain-gut axis and immunology. This information leads to the consideration of Trp as an essential dietary component due to its role in the serotonin pathway. A reduced availability of Trp in diet and nutraceutical supplementation should be considered with greater concern than one might expect. This paper constitutes a review of the more salient aspects gleaned from the current knowledge base about the role of Trp in diseases, associated nutritional disorders, and food science, in general.     

Comprehensive Overview of Gene Rearrangements in Childhood T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a relevant form of childhood neoplasm, as it accounts for over 80% of all leukaemia cases. T-cell ALL constitutes a genetically heterogeneous cancer derived from T-lymphoid progenitors. The diagnosis of T-ALL is based on morphologic, immunophenotypic, cytogenetic, and molecular features, thus the results are used for patient stratification. Due to the expression of surface and intracellular antigens, several subtypes of T-ALL can be distinguished. Although the aetiology of T-ALL remains unclear, a wide spectrum of rearrangements and mutations affecting crucial signalling pathways has been described so far. Due to intensive chemotherapy regimens and supportive care, overall cure rates of more than 80% in paediatric T-ALL patients have been accomplished. However, improved knowledge of the mechanisms of relapse, drug resistance, and determination of risk factors are crucial for patients in the high-risk group. Even though some residual disease studies have allowed the optimization of therapy, the identification of novel diagnostic and prognostic markers is required to individualize therapy. The following review summarizes our current knowledge about genetic abnormalities in paediatric patients with T-ALL. As molecular biology techniques provide insights into the biology of cancer, our study focuses on new potential therapeutic targets and predictive factors which may improve the outcome of young patients with T-ALL.