Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Many Fruits (many + fruit)
Selected AbstractsSimultaneous HPLC-DAD-MS (ESI+) determination of structural and geometrical isomers of carotenoids in mature grapes,JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 9 2010Pasquale Crupi Abstract Carotenoids are uniquely functional polyene pigments ubiquitous in nature; aside from being responsible for the color of a wide variety of vegetables, interest is being focused on food carotenoids due to their likely health benefits. From analytical point of view, it is important to unequivocally identify individual carotenoid compounds in many food stuffs. Therefore, isolation of standards from natural sources must be encouraged for accurate identifications. Like many fruits, mature grape berries contain numerous carotenoid compounds, mostly found in the skin at levels two to three times higher than in the pulp. Carotenoid compounds in a typical wine grape variety (Negroamaro) grown in Apulian region were investigated by reversed-phase C30 (RP-30) HPLC-DAD-MS (ESI+) analysis. As a consequence of an unusual ionization process of carotenoids, their mass spectra registered in the positive ion mode comprised both protonated molecules and molecular ion radicals with little fragmentation. Additionally, selective collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments, together with fine structures of the UV,vis spectra, were used to differentiate structural and geometrical isomers. This technique allowed the simultaneous determination of regio- and cis -isomers of lutein (zeaxanthin, 9Z and 9,Z -lutein) and a cis -isomer of ,-carotene (9Z - ,-carotene), 5,6-epoxy xanthophylls (violaxanthin, (9,Z)-neoxanthin, lutein-5,6-epoxide) and 5,8-epoxy xanthophylls diasteroisomers (neochrome, auroxanthin, luteoxanthin, flavoxanthin, chrysanthemaxanthin). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Carotenoid lutein protects rats from paracetamol-, carbon tetrachloride- and ethanol-induced hepatic damageJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 8 2010Edakkadath R. Sindhu Abstract Objectives, Carotenoids are a class of natural fat-soluble pigments that are found in many fruits and vegetables. Consumption of a diet rich in carotenoids has been epidemiologically correlated with a lower risk for several diseases. In the present study the carotenoid lutein (3,3,-dihydroxy- ,,, -carotene) was evaluated for its hepatoprotective activity in rats. Methods, Paracetamol, 20% ethanol and carbon tetrachloride were used to induce liver toxicity. Key findings, Levels of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase and alkaline phosphatases, which were increased in the serum, were found to be significantly reduced by the treatment of lutein in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that lutein may reduce the hepatotoxicity induced by these agents. Serum bilirubin was also significantly lower in lutein-treated groups compared with control. Increased lipid peroxidation, conjugated diene and hydroperoxides in the liver tissue produced by the administration of paracetamol were found to be reduced in the lutein-treated groups. Levels of antioxidant enzymes, like superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione, were found to be increased in lutein-treated groups compared with control group during alcohol- and CCl4 -induced liver toxicity. Hydroxyproline, which is an indicator of fibrosis in liver tissue, was high in the ethanol-treated control group. Hydroxyproline levels were decreased by simultaneous lutein administration. Conclusions, Histopathological evidence confirmed the protection offered by lutein from the tissue damage caused by hepatotoxins. The hepatoprotective action may be due to lutein's ability to scavenge reactive oxygen radicals. [source] Protective effect of resveratrol on markers of oxidative stress in human erythrocytes subjected to in vitro oxidative insultPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue S1 2010Kanti Bhooshan Pandey Abstract Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic compound found largely in the skin of red grapes. Growing evidence suggests that resveratrol may play an important role in the prevention of many human diseases. Many of the biological actions of this polyphenol have been attributed to its antioxidant properties. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) and membrane sulphydryl groups in erythrocytes subjected to oxidative stress in vitro by incubating with t-BHP (10 µm). The study was aimed to test the efficacy of the antioxidant effect of resveratrol on human erythrocytes. Subjecting erythrocytes to oxidative stress (in vitro) by incubating them with t-BHP (10 µm) caused a significant decrease in the intracellular GSH level and membrane ,SH content compared with basal values. Incubation of erythrocytes/membranes with resveratrol (1,100 µm final conc) resulted in significant protection against the t-BHP-induced oxidative stress as evidenced by the increase in GSH level and membrane ,SH content. It was observed that the effect of resveratrol is dose/concentration and time-dependent. Since resveratrol is naturally present in many fruits and vegetables, a diet rich in resveratrol may provide protection against degenerative diseases. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Influence of Compatibility System and Life Form on Plant Reproductive SuccessPLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2003C. L. Morales Abstract: We studied the compatibility system and the autonomous selfing capacity of 32 native species from the Chaco Serrano forests (central Argentina), and compared fruit set, considering plant life form and compatibility status to evaluate: (i) the extent of the association between life form and compatibility system, (ii) the influence of the life form and/or of the compatibility system on natural fruit set, and (iii) the preemergent reproductive advantages provided by self-compatibility and autonomous self-pollination. Ca. 60 % of the species were self-compatible (SC). Natural fruit set of SC species triplicate those of self-incompatible (SI) species. Almost all SC species have autonomous selfing capacity. Nevertheless, on average, SC species produce more than twice as many fruits through natural pollination in comparison to autonomous selfing, and fruit set obtained after autonomous selfing was significantly lower than hand-selfed fruit set. Most SC species received insufficient pollen from themselves via autonomous selfing, and natural fruit set was mostly pollinator-mediated. Thus, the reproductive assurance provided by autonomous selfing is relatively low in comparison with that provided by pollinators. We supplemented our data with published results from different sites in South America, to assess how general are the associations between life form and compatibility system and between natural fruit production and the self compatibility index. There is a differential distribution of SC and SI species according to life form, with a skew towards incompatibility among woody plants and towards compatibility in herbs. On the other hand, regression analysis showed there is a general positive trend between natural fruit set and the self compatibility index of the species. [source] | ||||||||||