Optimal conditions for the production of monoacylglycerol from crude palm oil by an enzymatic glycerolysis reaction and recovery of carotenoids from the reaction product

Monoacylglycerol (MAG) was produced from crude palm oil (CPO) by the enzymatic glycerolysis reaction in organic solvents. The optimal conditions for MAG production from CPO were: the use of a mixture of tert‐butanol and hexane (1:1) as the organic solvents; an immobilised lipase of 40%; a molar ratio of glycerol to CPO of 8:1 with 4% of water content in the glycerol; and an initial CPO concentration of 10%. A maximum yield of 74.3% MAG was obtained with an initial production rate of 42.3 mg MAG mL^?1 h^?1. By converting CPO to the more polar MAG, the efficiency of recovery of carotenoids by adsorption column chromatography was improved up to 75.7% from 55.1% when using unconverted CPO. This study provides information that will be useful for developing an efficient and cheaper industrialised process for the production of MAG from CPO and recovery of carotenoids from the reaction product.     

Calcium-binding peptides derived from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) protein hydrolysate

Calcium-binding peptide was derived from protein hydrolysates. In this study, tilapia protein at a concentration of 2 % (w/v) was hydrolyzed using various proteases including Alcalase 2.4 L, Flavourzyme 1,000L, Protease GN, and papain at 50 °C, pH 8 for 6 h. It was found that the degree of hydrolysis increased with the time of the incubation in all cases. The highest calcium-binding capacity of the hydrolysate was 65 mg/g protein at 27.7 % degree of hydrolysis by Alcalase 2.4 L. The molecular weight of the calcium-binding peptides characterized by gel-filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-25 was 1.2 kDa. The calcium-binding motif of the hydrolyzed peptides identified by the automated Edman degradation was a short peptide (Trp-Glu-Trp-Leu-His-Tyr-Trp). The results of this study suggested that tilapia protein is a good source for calcium-binding peptides.     

Interactions between Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in mixed culture for kefiran production

Since a positive effect on the growth and kefiran production of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens was observed in a mixed culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the elucidation of the interactions between L. kefiranofaciens and S. cerevisiae may lead to higher productivity. Hence, the microbial interaction of each strain was investigated. Apart from the positive effect of a reduction in the amount of lactic acid by S. cerevisiae, a positive effect of S. cerevisiae on the growth and kefiran production of L. kefiranofaciens in a mixed culture was observed. Various experiments were carried out to study this effect. In this study, the observed increase in capsular kefiran in a mixed culture with inactivated S. cerevisiae correlated well to that in an anaerobic mixed culture. Differences in capsular kefiran production were observed for different initial S. cerevisiae concentrations under anaerobic conditions. From these fermentation results, it was concluded that the physical contact with S. cerevisiae mainly enhanced the capsular kefiran production of L. kefiranofaciens in a mixed culture. Therefore, in an anaerobic mixed culture, this direct contact resulted in higher capsular kefiran production than that in pure culture.     

Determination of reaction kinetics of hydrolysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) protein for manipulating production of bioactive peptides with antioxidant activity,angiotensin‐I‐converting enzyme inhibitory activity and Ca‐binding properties

To manipulate enzymatic hydrolysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) muscle protein for production of bioactive peptides, its reaction kinetics was intensively studied. The study showed that the production of peptides with different bioactive properties including antioxidant activity, angiotensin‐I‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition and Ca‐binding property and their kinetics were affected by the degree of hydrolysis and substrate concentration. A comparative study on reaction kinetics found that the kinetic parameters for the production of each bioactive peptide are unique, that is, the maximum initial velocity, V_max, for hydrolysis of protein was as high as 1.07 mg mL^?1 min^?1, but that for the production of peptides with antioxidant activity and Ca‐binding property were very low, range of 7.14–66.7 μg mL^?1 min^?1, and that for the production of peptides with ACE inhibitory activity was the lowest, at 2.57 μg mL^?1 min^?1. This knowledge of reaction kinetics of protein hydrolysis would be useful for manipulating and optimising the production of peptides with desired bioactive properties.     

Pediococcus pentosaceus NB-17 for probiotic use

The plant-derived Pediococcus pentosaceus NB-17 was isolated from Japanese traditional vegetable pickles. The production of cytokines from mouse spleen cells co-cultivated with heat-killed bacteria was investigated in vitro. The bacteria significantly induced secretion levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-12 p70, and suppressed IL-4 productions in ovalbumin (OVA) sensitized mouse spleen cells. Therefore, the bacteria could effectively stimulate immune activities and showed allergic inhibitory effects. Further study on acid tolerance was performed under simulated gastric conditions and NB-17 showed resistance to simulated gastric acidity at pH 3.0 and pH 2.5. Moreover, after oral administration of the intact cells to rats, bacterial colonies derived from feces were analyzed by random amplification polymorphic DNA (RAPD). It was confirmed that the administered strain NB-17 remained alive in feces. These results suggest the possibility to use the P. pentosaceus NB-17 as functional foods.