Diet and Health: Apple Polyphenols as Antioxidants

The traditional American rhyme says, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” What has made apples exceptional and appreciated for a million years? Besides their content of pectin, vitamins and minerals, they are considered to be a good source of antioxidants that scavenge and neutralize free radicals, which in turn play a role in the onset of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Polyphenols are major antioxidants in apples, however, the antioxidants vary with the apple variety, and the post-harvest storage conditions. Further, the polyphenols are distributed differently throughout the fruit (skin or flesh). The paper reviews the present knowledge on apple polyphenols, their bioavailability and pro-health functionality.     

Apple Polyphenol Oxidase Inhibitor(s) from Common Housefly (Musca Domestica L.)

ABSTRACT: A new natural apple polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inhibitor(s) from housefly ( Musca domestica L.) was discovered. Crude inhibitor (s) isolated by buffer extraction, heat treatment, and dialysis from housefly pupae inhibited the activity of apple PPO up to 90% at pH values above 5.0. Inhibition was strictly pH-dependent. The inhibitor(s) was further characterized by employing heat, freezing and thawing, irradiation, pH adjustment, and ultrafiltration studies. The potential PPO inhibitor(s) was stable to heating at 100 °C for 1 h, repeated freezing and thawing, and irradiation. The inhibitor(s) was most stable at pH around 5.0 and least stable at alkaline pH. The PPO inhibition profile of housefly during metamorphosis also was evaluated.     

Enzymatic Browning in Apple Pulps

Enzymatic browning in Golden Delicious apple pulp was studied as related to degree of ripeness and temperature (3.5–31°C). Green apple pulp showed the highest rate of browning. This was attributable to differences in ascorbic acid (AA) content and polyphenoloxidase activity in young fruits. The rate of browning determined by CIE L* measurements followed complex temperature dependent kinetics, represented by a multiple linear effects with log time. Equal changes in L* parameter yielded straight lines in a log temperature vs log time plot. Inhibition with AA caused an initial slow rate of browning and a well defined break point associated with exhaustion of antioxidant properties of the AA. The greater the AA concentration the longer the initial period.     

小麦、玉米控制灌溉技术研究

198 6～ 1998年 ,在山东省的 3个灌溉试验站 ,对冬小麦、秋玉米进行了控制灌溉试验 ,对农作物的多个生育阶段 ,按高产的要求 ,分别给予适时、适量的灌溉水 ,来控制作物不同生长期的根层土壤含水量 ,从而控制作物不同生长期根系对水分的吸收 ,培植农作物的“丰产群体结构”和与之相适应的“高产理想株型” ,适当降低无效的蒸腾量 ,使农作物能在高产的基础上再增产 .该项控制灌溉技术获得了明显的节水、增产效果 ,灌溉水的生产效率超过了 10kg/m3,产量超过了 8t/hm2 .     

Relationship between the enzymatic determination of starch and the starch iodine index in two varieties of cider apple

Monitoring the hydrolysis or disappearance of starch by the starch iodine test is a simple procedure for determining the maturity of cider apples, but it does not indicate the exact amount of starch present. So far, studies of starch in apples have dealt exclusively with dessert apples. In this paper the relationship between the visual starch index, the dark‐coloured surface area and the real starch content was studied in two varieties of cider apple commonly used in Normandy (France). Starch determination in cider apples required adapting the protocol provided by the Boehringer enzymatic kit. The work led to proposing a simplified index with five scales instead of 10. This index gives the correspondences between the new and old scales as well as the probable starch contents for each new scale. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

植物叶片表面质感建模与真实感绘制研究进展

植物表观的真实感建模是计算机图形学领域的重要研究内容,叶子作为植物最重要的器官,尤其受到广泛的关注。近年来,随着计算机硬件技术和图形算法的快速发展以及对植物叶子生理机理研究的不断深入,植物叶片表观质感建模和真实感绘制的研究取得了很多成果。植物叶片表面光学特性的采集与建模技术是其中的研究热点和难点。从植物叶片真实感质感模型的定义出发,介绍了近年来国内外在植物叶片表面质感建模和真实感绘制方面取得的最新研究进展,并给出详细的分析和总结。最后对该领域研究存在的问题和未来发展方向提出了一些看法。     

Tasting green leaf volatiles by larvae and adults of Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Larvae and adults of the Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), are shown to have galeal gustatory cells that are highly sensitive to distillate of potato leaf extracts, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexenal, and other saturated and unsaturated six-carbon alcohols. In larvae and adults, the sensory response patterns elicited by leaf homogenate, leaf distillate and a mixture of these two extracts differ in subtle ways. Beetle larvae feed most readily on Millipore disks treated with leaf homogenate and the mixture, but they did not feed on disks treated with leaf distillate. The differences in behavioral response and sensory input are used to derive a potential gustatory code that may stimulate different levels of feeding. This code may be disrupted by compounds present in nonhost leaves, thus leading to reduced feeding. Possible interactions of sapid leaf volatiles, amino acids, sugars, and potentially deterrent plant compounds are discussed.