Chromium contamination in black tea and its transfer into tea brew

A survey was conducted in south India to find out the amount of chromium (Cr) present in marketable black tea. Before assessing the Cr content in black tea, the Cr content in the green shoots was assessed, in order to know the Cr contamination after completion of the manufacturing process. Samples of black tea manufactured by CTC (Crush, Tear and Curl) and Orthodox processes were collected and analysed for Cr content. The study revealed that the content of Cr was high in CTC-manufactured black tea, which involved the use of stainless steel rollers. A pilot scale experiment was carried out, using newly sharpened rollers, and the black tea samples prepared were analysed for Cr content. A similar study was carried out in a commercial factory and samples analysed for Cr for one month. The study confirmed that Cr content was positively correlated to the sharpening of CTC rollers used for manufacturing.     

Lipid composition of five species of Indian prawns

The lipid and fatty acid compositions of five Indian species of prawns, Metapenaeus monoceros, M. dobsoni, M. affinis, Penaeus indicus and Parapenaeopsis stylifera, were examined. Phospholipids constituted 50–70% of the total lipids, with phosphatidyl choline (50%) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine (29%) as their chief components. Unsaponifiable matter comprised 21–40%, chiefly cholesterol: triglycerides only constituted 9–14.5%. In the total lipids (I.V. 90–112), saturated, monoenoic and polyenoic fatty acids averaged 42, 24 and 34%. Palmitic acid is high, oleic low, and 20:5 generally, but not always, higher than 22:6. The only brackish water prawn, M. monoceros, though generally in conformity, was distinctive in several respects.     

Production of soya milk containing low flatulence‐causing oligosaccharides in a packed bed reactor using immobilised α‐galactosidase

Peanut α‐galactosidase was immobilised in calcium alginate beads and used to hydrolyse the flatulence‐causing oligosaccharides, raffinose and stachyose, in soya milk in batch and in packed bed reactor with recycle. The immobilised enzyme exhibited a slightly lower activity than the free enzyme. The activity yield of immobilised α‐galactosidase was 75.1% and the immobilisation yield was 82.6%. Batch hydrolysis using immobilised enzyme at 55 °C resulted in 96% reduction in the oligosaccharides after 12 h. For the continuous process, a packed bed reactor with recycle was used. More than 98% of the oligosaccharides were hydrolysed after 6 h of reaction at 55 °C. The immobilised enzyme also proved to be stable up to three repeated hydrolysis reactions.     

Polyphenol-Rich Beverages Enhance Zinc Uptake and Metallothionein Expression in Caco-2 Cells

ABSTRACT: The effect of red wine (RW), red grape juice (RGJ), green tea (GT), and representative polyphenols on Caco-2 cell ⁶⁵Zn uptake was explored. RW, RGJ, and GT enhanced the uptake of zinc from rice matrix. Fractionation of RW revealed that enhancing activity of zinc uptake was exclusively resided in the polyphenol fraction. Among the polyphenols tested, only tannic acid and quercitin stimulated the uptake of zinc while others did not influence the uptake. In tune with these results, only tannic acid and quercitin competed with zinquin (a zinc selective fluorophore) for zinc in vitro. Although all the polyphenols tested appear to enhance the expression of metallothionein (MT), the induction was higher with tannic acid, quercitin, and RW extract. Furthermore, phytic acid abrogated the tannic acid-induced MT expression. These results suggest that polyphenol-rich beverages, tannic acid, and quercitin bind and stimulate the zinc uptake and MT expression in Caco-2 cells.     

Pods of Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) consumed as a vegetable showed functional food properties

The arid plant Prosopis cineraria (Fabaceae) is known as Khejri in India or the golden tree of Indian deserts. The dried pods are consumed as a vegetable and leaves as traditional medicine to cure a wide range of diseases in the state of Rajasthan, India. The pods of this plant have not been investigated for their bioactive components, hence we have done so in this study. The dried pods were boiled with water to afford the aqueous extract. Extraction of the residue gave methanolic extract. The lipid peroxidation (LPO) and cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and -2) inhibitory activities of extracts and major compounds present in the bioactive extracts were then determined. Purification of bioactive extracts yielded compounds 1–7. The absorbance of 1–7 at 570 nm ranged between 0.15 and 0.45 at 50 μg/mL whereas vitamin C and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) at 25 μg/mL gave an absorbance of 0.5 in the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. At 25 μg/mL concentration, compounds 1–7 inhibited LPO, COX-1 and -2 enzymes between the ranges of 15–87%, 21–67% and 16–59%, respectively. This is the first report of the chemical and biological activities of the edible part of this plant.     

Nutritional and nutraceutical comparison of Jamaican Psidium cattleianum (strawberry guava) and Psidium guajava (common guava) fruits

Psidium cattleianum (strawberry guava) is one of many underutilised edible fruits that grow wild in Jamaica, and could potentially be commercially exploited to yield health and economic benefits. In this study, the total phenolics, proximate contents, and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities of P. cattleianum and P. guajava (common guava), a well-known species, were compared. Strawberry guavas were found to be superior to common guavas in antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, total phenolics and vitamin C content. They also possessed relatively high fibre content (24.9%). The hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of strawberry guavas showed cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme inhibitory activities of 18.3% and 26.5%, respectively (250 μg/mL), indicating anti-inflammatory activity. The EtOAc and MeOH extracts of P. guajava showed 56.4% (COX-2) and 44.1% (COX-1) inhibitory activity, respectively. Additionally, nine compounds were isolated from strawberry guava fruits, some of which demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity. These results indicate that strawberry guavas are beneficial for health.     

Fusarium oxysporum associated with grapevine decline in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia

Fusarium oxysporum was isolated from roots of declining grapevines of cv Semillon ( Vitis vinifera L.) in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The pathogenicity of the fungus was confirmed by infecting grapevines growing in the glasshouse with material obtained from roots of field-grown vines. The symptoms of the infection on the plants and the effect of the fungus on the roots are described.     

Triphasic ceramic coated hydroxyapatite as a niche for goat stem cell-derived osteoblasts for bone regeneration and repair

Current treatment strategies for the repair or replacement of bone use synthetic implants with stem cells and their progeny––a new approach to address unmet medical needs. This study has evaluated the effect of a silica-coated bioactive ceramic, namely HASi in comparison to hydroxyapatite (HA) on the adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of goat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro in a prolonged culture of 28 days. The cellular activities were significantly enhanced on HASi signifying the role of silica to stimulate osteoblast cells. The fabrication of such a ‘cell-ceramic construct using autologous MSCs’ is aimed for the transplantation to a large bone defect site in the goat femur model which still remains a formidable challenge in Orthopedic surgery.     

Multielement analysis in cereals and pulses by k0 instrumental neutron activation analysis

The concentrations of some elements in a few varieties of cereals and pulses are determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis using a single comparator method (k0-standardised NAA method). A total of 15 elements are measured. The method was validated by analysing the Standard Reference Material (SRM-1571) of NIST; the results are within +/-10% of the reported values for the majority of the elements. The measured concentrations of major and minor elements are analysed in terms of the average intake of mineral content and the role of these elements in terms of the nutritional value.     

Defective repair of oxidative damage in mitochondrial DNA in Down''s syndrome

BACKGROUND: Synthetic homopyrimidine peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) can bind complementary targets in double-stranded DNA, generating strand-displacement complexes, and so offering an opportunity to modulate specific gene expression. Several issues remain to be addressed before these attributes can be exploited in vivo, however. RESULTS: The kinetics of the interaction between a homopyrimidine PNA and a complementary homopurine target on double-stranded DNA were analyzed in the presence or absence of a preformed strand-displacement complex proximal to the target. The complex was established under low salt conditions by the binding of a different homopyrimidine PNA to a target situated adjacent to the first PNA target. These two targets were placed next to each other on opposite strands at distances of 0, 2, 4 and 8 base pairs apart. The presence of a preformed strand-displacement complex near the target accelerates the binding of PNA to double-stranded DNA in a salt-dependent manner. The influence of salt on the binding rates was also examined. The binding rate is increased by a factor of 1 x exp(70[NaCl]), that is, 16-fold at 40 mM NaCl and more than 10(4)-fold if extrapolated to 140 mM NaCl. This effect is significantly reduced if the two targets are 2 base pairs apart and completely absent if the distance is 4 base pairs or more. CONCLUSIONS: The perturbation of the DNA helix imposed by a PNA strand-displacement complex only propagates a few base pairs. It is therefore possible to target sites in the immediate vicinity of strand invasion complexes specifically. The results presented have implications for the mechanism of strand displacement and for the application of PNA in a genomic context.