Efficacy of intratracheal administration of Newcastle disease vaccine in day-old chicks

Groups of day-old chicks with varying levels of parental antibody were vaccinated against Newcastle disease (B1 strain) with a commercially available device which simultaneously debeaks the chick and emits a fine spray of vaccine into its trachea. Some groups were also vaccinated (B1 or Lasota strain) with a commercially available vaccine sprayer at 9 days, 14 days, or 9 and 25 days of age. Response to vaccine was evaluated once each week during the experimental period of approximately 8 weeks HI titers were determined and 10 chicks were challenged with the Texas GB strain of Newcastle disease virus. In chicks with low to moderate levels of maternal antibody a satisfactory antibody response was attained by vaccination at 1 day of age, and in most cases resistance to challenge was evident by 3 weeks of age. Intratracheal vaccination of chicks with extremely high levels of maternal antibody had a minimal antibody response. All groups of chicks spray vaccinated at 9, 14, or 9 and 25 days of age showed a marked increase in antibody titer regardless of whether they had been vaccinated at 1 day of age.     

Analysis of alkaloid mixtures by charge-transfer complexation

Binary mixtures of weak and strong UV-absorbing alkaloids were analyzed by a charge-transfer spectrophotometric method, utilizing iodine in ethylene dichloride as the acceptor. In the uncomplexed form, the strong absorbing alkaloid (papaverine, quinine, ergotamine, or reserpine) was measured at a wavelength where there was no interference from weak absorbers (at 335, 332, 315, or 300 nm, respectively). The weak absorbing alkaloid (ephedrine, codeine, atropine, or homatropine methylbromide) was determined by computing its contribution to the total charge-transfer band at 295 nm where absorbance was linearly additive for mixtures. The greater increase in the original epsilon-values of the weak absorbers upon complexation with iodine relative to the corresponding increase in the epsilon-values of the strong absorbers led to good recoveries even at the low dose ratios of the weakly absorbing, and often more potent, alkaloids.     

Ultrastructural site variations in mouse epidermal organization

Mouse dorsal, ear, tail and foot epidermis are compared according to their tissue architecture and cell kinetics. Cell proliferation is expected in terms of the daily volume of keratin replaced. The stratum corneum may be organized into vertical columns of squames, which may have minimal overlap as in dorsum and ear, or maximal overlap as in tail. Individual areas are adapted to their function both in squame fine structure and rate of cell replacement. The surface keratin loss/replacement rate is at its highest in foot and tail, and lowest in ear and dorsum. Observations on hairless mouse dorsum are also included.     

Role of taurine in the pathogenesis of obesity

Taurine is a sulfur‐containing amino acid that is present in mammalian tissues in millimolar concentrations. Taurine is involved in a diverse array of biological and physiological functions, including bile salt conjugation, osmoregulation, membrane stabilization, calcium modulation, anti‐oxidation, and immunomodulation. The prevalence of obesity and being overweight continues to rise worldwide at an alarming rate. Obesity is associated with a higher risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other clinical conditions. Ingestion of taurine has been shown to alleviate metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in animal models. A global epidemiological survey showed that 24‐h urinary taurine excretion, as a marker of dietary taurine intake, was inversely associated with BMI, blood pressure, and plasma cholesterol in humans. In addition, taurine chloramine, an endogenous product derived from activated neutrophils, has been reported to suppress obesity‐induced oxidative stress and inflammation in adipocytes. Synthetic activity and concentration of taurine in adipose tissues and plasma have been shown to decrease in humans and animals during the development of obesity, suggesting a relationship between taurine deficiency and obesity. In this review, I summarize the effects of taurine on the progression of obesity in animal models and humans. Furthermore, I discuss possible mechanisms underlying the antiobesity effects of taurine.     

Chemical analysis and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of anthocyanin-rich red leaf tea (cv. Sunrouge)

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of leaf order or crop season on anthocyanins and other chemicals in the anthocyanin‐rich tea cultivar ‘Sunrouge’ (Camellia sinensis x C. taliensis) by using high‐performance liquid chromatography, and to study the effect of ‘Sunrouge’ extract on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in human neuroblastoma SK‐N‐SH cells. RESULTS: The total anthocyanin content was higher in the third (3.09 mg g^?1) than in the second (2.24 mg g^?1) or first crop season (1.79 mg g^?1). The amount of anthocyanins contained in the stem was high (1.61 mg g^?1). In the third crop season, the concentrations of delphinidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐(6‐(E)‐p‐coumaroyl)galactopyranoside (DCGa), cyanidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐(6‐(E)‐p‐coumaroyl)galactopyranoside, delphinidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐galactopyranoside, delphinidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐(6‐O‐(Z)‐p‐coumaroyl)galactopyranoside, cyanidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐galactoside, and delphinidin‐3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucoside were 1.57 mg g^?1, 0.52 mg g^?1, 0.40 mg g^?1, 0.22 mg g^?1, 0.14 mg g^?1, and 0.11 mg g^?1, respectively. DCGa accounted for about 50% of the anthocyanins present. The suppressive effect of ‘Sunrouge’ water extract on AChE activity in human neuroblastoma SK‐N‐SH cells was the strongest among the three tea cultivars (‘Sunrouge’, ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Benifuuki’). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that ‘Sunrouge’ might protect humans from humans from AChE‐related diseases by suppressing AChE activity. To obtain sufficient amounts of anthocyanins, catechins and/or caffeine for a functional food material, ‘Sunrouge’ from the third crop season should be used. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Transgenic melon (cucumis melo L.) and potential for expression of novel proteins important to food industry

Abstract

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important fruit crop cultivated widely in every region of the world. Our laboratory is targeting this species for production of novel proteins important to food industry. Prior to expression of protein of interest in transgenic melon an efficient genetic transformation system has to be developed. In this context we are testing a wide variety of promoters fused to reporter gene for β‐glucuronidase (GUS) for expression specifically in melon fruits. In this study in melon, salicylic acid‐inducible promoter region of pathogenesis‐related protein gene (PR1a) of tobacco fused to β‐glucuronidase (GUS) gene was introduced into melon via Agrobacterium‐mediated gene transfer using a binary vector system. Gene transfer was effective when Agrobacterium virulence factors like acetosyringone (100 μM) and low pH (5.2) were provided during the co‐culture step. Transformed shoots were recovered from benzyladenine‐induced cut cotyledons using kanamycin gene as a selective marker. Regeneration of shoots from cotyledons was stimulated by providing 10 mM proline in the shoot organogenesis medium. Southern and Northern blot analysis of transformants confirmed the presence of β‐glucuronidase gene in two selected clones J‐3 and PR‐G. The transformants also showed high β‐glucuronidase activity after salicylic acid treatment. Thiamine, a previously known inducer of pathogenesis‐related protein, stimulated β‐glucuronidase in J‐3 but not PR‐G melon transformants tested in this study. These studies showed that tobacco PR1a promoter region can be expressed in melon and it was stimulated by salicylic acid. This indicates the potential to use the promoter region of tobacco PR1a for genetic improvement of melon for specific food processing‐related characteristics or for expression of novel food‐related proteins. The promoter region could be used to drive specific target genes under stress or salicylic acid induced conditions.     

Juice from king palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) leaf sheathes: chemical characterisation and use in soft drink formulation

The heart of palm is a food extracted from several species of palm trees. Only 10–20% of the raw material is transformed into canned hearts of palm, therefore this agro‐industry generates a large quantity of solid residue. The aim of this work was to extract and characterise a juice produced from this solid residue. This extract is compared with the traditional fruit juices (orange and pineapple juices), obtaining higher contents of minerals, such as magnesium (22.80 mg/100 g) and potassium (276.90 mg/100 g), phenolic compounds (gallic, 3,4‐dihydroxybenzoic, chlorogenic, syringic and caffeic acids) and high free radical scavenging capacity (expressed as 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl), which suggest high antioxidant activity. Additionally, a new soft drink was formulated using this king palm juice as its main ingredient. The soft drink samples formulated with this juice had high sensory acceptability and high intention of consumption, which suggests an important and low‐cost application for this industrial residue.