Compositions of anthocyanins in blackberry juice and their thermal degradation in relation to antioxidant activity

This study investigated the compositions of anthocyanins in blackberry juice and the effect of heating (70, 80, and 90?°C) on individual anthocyanins, as well as its impact on antioxidant activity. The results showed that five anthocyanins were identified, including cyanidin (Cy)-3-O-glucoside (1), Cy-3-O-arabinoside (2), Cy-3-O-malonyl-glucoside (3), Cy-3-O-dioxalyl-glucoside (4), and the Cy derivative (5). The degradation rates of individual anthocyanins (1–4) followed the first-order reaction kinetics. Unexpectedly, the amount of the Cy derivative (5) was observed to slightly increase in temperature. At the same temperature, the half-lives (T _1/2) values of each anthocyanin (1–4) significantly differed (P?<?0.05). Maximum of the T _1/2 values were observed with Cy-3-O-dioxalyl-glucoside (T _1/2 values ranged 9.48–3.54?h) and exhibited relatively resistant stability. Moreover, the T _1/2 values of Cy-3-O-glucoside were higher than Cy-3-O-arabinoside and Cy-3-O-malonyl-glucoside. The antioxidant activity of blackberry juice reduced with the decreasing of total anthocyanins. These results demonstrated that the time dependency of anthocyanins degradation and antioxidant capacity were strongly correlated in blackberry juice.     

Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of some Spanish browse plant species

Samples of leaves, flowers and fruits of four browse species were collected from uplands in the province of León (northwestern Spain) at different sampling times (from spring till autumn). The browse species were Erica australis (Spanish heath), Cistus laurifolius (laurel‐leaved rock rose), Quercus pyrenaica (hoary oak) and Rosa canina (wild dog rose). A large variability in chemical composition and in vitro digestibility and gas production kinetics was observed among species and among sampling times within each species. The ranking order of the browse plants according to their in vitro digestibility and gas production kinetics was R canina > Q pyrenaica > C laurifolius > E australis. In the leaves of R canina and Q pyrenaica, crude protein content, digestibility and parameters of gas production tended to decrease throughout the growing season (P < 0.05 in most cases), whereas cell wall contents followed the opposite trend. Seasonal variations were less pronounced in the other browse species. There were significant (P < 0.05) correlations between in vitro digestibility and chemical composition of the browse plants, positive with the crude protein content and negative with the fibre fractions. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kaempferol Inhibits Zearalenone-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt-Mediated Nrf2 Signaling Pathway: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

In this study, kaempferol (KFL) shows hepatoprotective activity against zearalenone (ZEA)-induced oxidative stress and its underlying mechanisms in in vitro and in vivo models were investigated. Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of various hepatic ailments and is normally regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ZEA is a mycotoxin known to exert toxicity via inflammation and ROS accumulation. This study aims to explore the protective role of KFL against ZEA-triggered hepatic injury via the PI3K/Akt-regulated Nrf2 pathway. KFL augmented the phosphorylation of PI3K and Akt, which may stimulate antioxidative and antiapoptotic signaling in hepatic cells. KFL upregulated Nrf2 phosphorylation and the expression of antioxidant genes HO-1 and NQO-1 in a dose-dependent manner under ZEA-induced oxidative stress. Nrf2 knockdown via small-interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited the KFL-mediated defence against ZEA-induced hepatotoxicity. In vivo studies showed that KFL decreased inflammation and lipid peroxidation and increased H₂O₂ scavenging and biochemical marker enzyme expression. KFL was able to normalize the expression of liver antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and GSH and showed a protective effect against ZEA-induced pathophysiology in the livers of mice. These outcomes demonstrate that KFL possesses notable hepatoprotective roles against ZEA-induced damage in vivo and in vitro. These protective properties of KFL may occur through the stimulation of Nrf2/HO-1 cascades and PI3K/Akt signaling.     

Comparison of measured and predicted performance of heat storage unit packed with spheres of a local material

The present paper presents a comparison between the measured and predicted performance of a sensible heat storage unit. The storage unit is packed with spheres manufactured from a powder of certain type of Egyptiain clay (trade name “tafla”) produced at Abu-Siebera, Aswan. A special experimental set up was designed to predict the performance of the storage unit. The temperature distribution of the solid spheres was measured at different mass flow rates and at different time intervals. A comparison was made between these measured values and the corresponding values obtained using a numerical model based on finite difference techniques. The results showed a reasonable agreement between the measured and predicted temperature distribution. Finally, the pressure drop through the storage unit was measured and compared with the corresponding pressure drop calculated using two different empirical formulae.     

An enhanced opinion retrieval approach via implicit feature identification

Journal of Intelligent Information Systems - Recently, there has been an enormous increase in the number of reviews of popular products. Therefore, opinion analysis has become a tedious task for...     

Comparative study of the geotechnical properties of the coastal Sabkhas of Saudi Arabia and their hazardous effects

Sabkha is composed of sand deposits mixed with silt and clay intercalated with evaporites. Two types of sabkha are present in Saudi Arabia: the inland sabka, which is found in the northern part of the country and coastal sabkha, which is located along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. The main geotechnical hazards include settlement, corrosive action, heave due to salt crystallization/recrystallization and flooding due to the low infiltration rates. This comparative study indicates the engineering properties of the coastal sabkha along the Red Sea differ from those of the sabkha along the Arabian Gulf, which is likely to be more costly to develop.