Antioxidant properties of polyphenol-rich cocoa products industrially processed

Fermentation and roasting are the main causes of polyphenol degradation during the process for obtaining cocoa products. In the present study, a process for obtaining polyphenol-rich cocoa products on an industrial scale is described. The process avoids the fermentation and roasting steps and includes a step for the inactivation of the enzyme Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), which helps preserve the polyphenol content present in the raw cocoa bean. In addition, our study evaluates the antioxidant capacity and characterizes the flavonoid profile of the polyphenol-rich cocoa products obtained from the natural polyphenol-rich cocoa cake. Using different protocols, we have obtained three cocoa extracts with high polyphenol content, namely extracts A (167 mg/g), B (374 mg/g) and C (787 mg/g). The scavenging capacity of the extracts was measured as their ability to bleach the stable radicals DPPH and ABTS⁺ while their antioxidant effect was evaluated with the FRAP assay. The results for A, B and C in the DPPH test expressed as Trolox equivalent (μmol)/mg dry weight of extract were 0.2, 1.4 and 3.0, respectively; in the ABTS test the results were 1.0, 4.7 and 9.8. The antioxidant capacity expressed as ascorbic acid equivalent (μmol)/mg dry weight of each product were 17.2, 76.1 and 207.7, respectively. The scavenging properties of cocoa powder against the superoxide anion, H₂O₂, HClO, and peroxynitrite were also determined. The IC₅₀ (μg/mL) values in the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase test were 77.5, 12.3 and 10.3, for A, B and C, respectively, while as an HOCl scavenger the IC₅₀ (μg/mL) values were 225.4, 73.2 and 21.5. As a peroxynitrite anion scavenger, only extract C had a relevant effect, with IC₅₀ (μg/mL) values of 76.1 or 110.0 in the absence or presence of bicarbonate. None of the extracts tested showed activity in the hydrogen peroxide test, but B and C significantly increased the deoxyribose degradation in the absence of ascorbate. Likewise, none of the extracts inhibited the ferrous or copper chelating activity at 100 μg/mL, but they inhibited the lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma through non-enzymatic generation systems, with extract C giving the best IC₅₀ (μg/mL) values: 17.4 and 8.1 against lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma, respectively. In conclusion, if the extractive protocol is well characterized, defined and optimized, cocoa could constitute a source of polyphenols for enriching foods, nutraceuticals and alimentary supplements.     

Study of the shelf life of a dry fermented sausage "salchichon" made from raw material enriched in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and stored under modified atmospheres

The microbiological, physico-chemical and sensory properties of salchichon with high unsaturated fat content, packed under vacuum and 20/80% CO(2)/N(2) modified atmosphere, were evaluated to determine its quality changes during storage under refrigeration. These sausages were manufactured with pork meat and pork backfat obtained from pigs fed with three different diets (control diet-CO, high oleic diet-HO and high linoleic diet-HL). In general, few significant differences were found in counts of different groups of microorganism between the three types of sausages and no difference between the packaging methods. A reduction in pH values was observed during storage and no great differences were determined by storage period on water activity (a(w)). Both parameters (pH and a(w)) presented similar results to those found in different Spanish sausages and other European dry fermented products. The sensory results denoted that sensory quality gradually decreased during storage under both packaging conditions (vacuum and 20/80% CO(2)/N(2)), so it is not advisable to store longer than 150days. On the other hand, fermented sausages with high content of unsaturated fatty acids had similar sensory properties to those of conventional sausages, and even a comparable sensory stability. In conclusion, the results showed healthier salchichons (HO and HL) similar to the traditional (CO) one could be manufactured and stored under refrigeration after slicing for a reasonable period, but the advantage of the gas mixture packaging (20/80% CO(2)/N(2)) versus vacuum packaging was not clear.     

Processing influence on dielectric,mechanical, and electrical properties of reduced graphene oxide–TPU nanocomposites

Two different reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) with similar concentration of oxygen and defects and differences in exfoliation were prepared to produce the rGO/thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites by solution blending (SB) and melt compounding (MC). Morphology, electrical, and dielectric properties were studied. Large agglomerates have been observed for the composites produced by SB and discrete and low agglomerated rGO particles in the case on the composites produced by MC. These morphological differences justify the observations in hardness, electrical conductivity, and even in the dielectric properties. The composites do not follow Jonscher's universal power law (UPL) and a linear trend between UPL factors (Log A vs n) has been observed for composites produced by SB, however, no trend is observed in the composites produced by MC, being the first time observed. Differences in the tunneling effect and breakage of H-bonds within the polymer can be suggested from the dielectric relaxation characterization. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47220.     

The Antitumor Effect of Metformin Is Mediated by miR-26a in Breast Cancer

Metformin, a drug approved for diabetes type II treatment, has been associated with a reduction in the incidence of breast cancer and metastasis and increased survival in diabetic breast cancer patients. High levels of miR-26a expression have been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms for this effect; likewise, this miRNA has also been associated with survival/apoptosis processes in breast cancer. Our aim was to evaluate if miR-26a and some of its targets could mediate the effect of metformin in breast cancer. The viability of MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines was evaluated with an MTT assay after ectopic overexpression and/or downregulation of miR-26a. Similarly, the expression levels of the miR-26a targets CASP3, CCNE2, ABL2, APAF1, XIAP, BCL-2, PTEN, p53, E2F3, CDC25A, BCL2L1, MCL-1, EZH2, and MTDH were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The effect of metformin treatment on breast cancer cell viability and miR-26a, BCL-2, PTEN, MCL-1, EZH2, and MTDH modulation were evaluated. Wound healing experiments were performed to analyze the effect of miR-26a and metformin treatment on cell migration. MiR-26a overexpression resulted in a reduction in cell viability that was partially recovered by inhibiting it. E2F3, MCL-1, EZH2, MTDH, and PTEN were downregulated by miR-26a and the PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) protein was also reduced after miR-26a overexpression. Metformin treatment reduced breast cancer cell viability, increased miR-26a expression, and led to a reduction in BCL-2, EZH2, and PTEN expression. miR-26a inhibition partly prevents the metformin viability effect and the PTEN and EZH2 expression reduction. Our results indicate that metformin effectively reduces breast cancer cell viability and suggests that the effects of the drug are mediated by an increase in miR-26a expression and a reduction of its targets, PTEN and EHZ2 Thus, the use of metformin in breast cancer treatment constitutes a promising potential breast cancer therapy.     

Silver Atomic Quantum Clusters of Three Atoms for Cancer Therapy: Targeting Chromatin Compaction to Increase the Therapeutic Index of Chemotherapy

Nanomaterials with very low atomicity deserve consideration as potential pharmacological agents owing to their very small size and to their properties that can be precisely tuned with minor modifications to their size. Here, it is shown that silver clusters of three atoms (Ag₃‐AQCs)—developed by an ad hoc method—augment chromatin accessibility. This effect only occurs during DNA replication. Coadministration of Ag₃‐AQCs increases the cytotoxic effect of DNA‐acting drugs on human lung carcinoma cells. In mice with orthotopic lung tumors, the coadministration of Ag₃‐AQCs increases the amount of cisplatin (CDDP) bound to the tumor DNA by fivefold without modifying CDDP levels in normal tissues. As a result, CDDP coadministered with Ag₃‐AQCs more strongly reduces the tumor burden. Evidence of the significance of targeting chromatin compaction to increase the therapeutic index of chemotherapy is now provided.     

A disaster-severity assessment DSS comparative analysis

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of fuzzy rule-based systems and some standard statistical and other machine learning techniques in the context of the development of a decision support system (DSS) for the assessment of the severity of natural disasters. This DSS, which will be referred to as SEDD, has been proposed by the authors to help decision makers inside those Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) concerned with the design and implementation of international operations of humanitarian response to disasters. SEDD enables a relatively highly accurate and interpretable assessment on the consequences of almost every potential disaster scenario to be obtained through a set of easily accessible information about that disaster scenario and historical data about similar ones. Thus, although SEDD’s methodology is rather sophisticated, its data requirements are small, which, therefore, enables its use in the context of NGOs and countries requiring humanitarian aid. In this sense, SEDD opposes to some current tools which focuses on one phenomena-one place disaster scenarios (earthquakes in California, hurricanes in Florida, etc.) and/or have extensive and/or technologically sophisticated data requirements (real-time remote sensing information, exhaustive building census, etc.). Moreover, although focused on disaster response, SEDD can also be useful in other phases of disaster management, as disaster mitigation or preparedness. Particularly, the predictive accuracy and interpretability of SEDD fuzzy methodology is compared here in a disaster severity assessment context with those of multiple linear regression, linear discriminant analysis, classification trees and support vector machines. After an extensive validation over the EM-DAT disaster database, it is concluded that SEDD outperforms the methods above in the task of simultaneously providing an accurate and interpretable inference tool for the evaluation of the consequences of disasters.     

Gut Microbiota Influences the Photoperiod Effects on Proanthocyanidins Bioavailability in Diet-Induced Obese Rats

Scope

Polyphenols health effects on obesity are mainly attributed to their metabolites generated after their gastrointestinal digestion, in which gut microbiota plays an important role. Moreover, gut microbiota composition and polyphenols bioavailability are influenced by differences in day light length (photoperiod). Thus, this study evaluates if a grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSPEs) extract bioavailability is influenced by different photoperiod exposure via gut microbiota modulation in an obesogenic context.

Methods and results

Cafeteria diet-induced obese Fischer 344 rats are housed under different photoperiod conditions (6, 12, or 18 h of light per day) during 9 weeks and administered with GSPE (25 mg kg⁻¹) or GSPE and an antibiotic cocktail (ABX) for the last 4 weeks. Serum GSPE-derived metabolites are quantified by HPLC-MS/MS.

Conclusion

A higher bioavailability is observed under 6 h light/18 h darkness (L6) compared to 18 h light/6 h darkness (L18). Individual metabolites, especially those from the gut microbiota, are affected by photoperiods. ABX treatment alters these photoperiod-mediated changes. Therefore, these results suggest that gut microbiota plays a key role in the photoperiod effects on GSPE bioavailability in obese rats.     

Influence of storage period and packaging method on sliced dry cured beef "Cecina de Leon": Effects on microbiological, physicochemical and sensory quality

Quality aspects of sliced dry-cured beef “Cecina de León” preserved in vacuum and gas mixtures (20%/80% CO₂/N₂ and 80%/20% CO₂/N₂) were studied. The evolution of microbiological, physicochemical and sensory parameters were analysed during storage (210 days) at 6 °C. Although microbial counts at 60 days of the gas-packaged samples were lower than the vacuum-packed ones, they were never higher than the spoilage limit (7 log ufc/g). A slight increase (p < 0.05) in pH was observed throughout storage of “Cecina de León” packaged under vacuum and in gas mixtures. However, a decrease (p < 0.05) in a_w was observed during storage of “Cecina de León” packaged under vacuum but a_w did not vary (p > 0.05) during storage in the gas-packaged samples. No changes were observed (p > 0.05) in lightness (L^*), redness (a^*) and yellowness (b^*) in vacuum and gas packaged samples during storage. However, sensorially evaluated colour showed lower values in gas packaged samples during 30 days storage. This difference was decisive in establishing the shelf-life of “Cecina de León” slices preserved in gas mixtures (20%/80% CO₂/N₂ and 80%/20% CO₂/N₂). Therefore, from a microbiological point of view, gas mixtures are more effective in extending the shelf-life of “Cecina de León” slices. It is concluded that vacuum packaging allows longer storage than gas-packaging as it maintains a good visual appearance of “Cecina de León”, the main parameter in consumers’ perception of meat quality.     

Expression of modified tocopherol content and profile in sunflower tissues

BACKGROUND: Alpha‐tocopherol is the predominant tocopherol form in sunflower seeds. Sunflower lines that accumulate increased levels of beta‐, gamma‐ and delta‐tocopherol in seeds as well as lines with reduced and increased total seed tocopherol content have been developed. The objective of this research was to evaluate whether the modified tocopherol levels are expressed in plant tissues other than seeds. RESULTS: Lines with increased levels of beta‐, gamma‐ and delta‐tocopherol in seeds also possessed increased levels of these tocopherols in leaves, roots and pollen. Correlation coefficients for the proportion of individual tocopherols in different plant tissues were significantly positive in all cases, ranging from 0.68 to 0.97. A line with reduced tocopherol content in seeds also showed reduced content in roots and pollen. CONCLUSION: Genetic modifications producing altered seed tocopherol profiles in sunflower are also expressed in leaves, roots and pollen. Reduced total seed tocopherol content is mainly expressed at the root and pollen level. The expression of tocopherol mutations in other plant tissues will enable further studies on the physiological role of tocopherols and could be of interest for early selection for these traits in breeding programmes. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry