Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Simple Sugars (simple + sugar)
Selected AbstractsInhibition of the progression of type 2 diabetes in the C57BL/6J mouse model by an anti-diabetes herbal formulaPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2003Wendell D. Winters Abstract The effects of a speci,cally prepared anti-diabetic herbal formula (ADHF) on the course of established diet-induced type 2 diabetes in animal subjects has been studied. In a C57BL/6J mouse model for diet induced type 2 diabetes, intervention for 12 weeks using ADHF as a diet supplement resulted in a signi,cant inhibition of diabetes related changes in major organs usually targeted by type 2 diabetes and a signi,cant reduction in circulating levels of glucose and insulin. Young male mice were randomly assigned to receive ad libitum exposure to either a standard rodent chow diet or to a high fat, high simple sugar, low ,bre diet (diabetes induction diet), respectively for 8 weeks. All mice fed the induction diet developed abnormally high blood glucose levels at 8 weeks. Animals with con,rmed diet induced diabetic blood glucose levels were again randomly assigned into one of three groups (10 subjects per group), one group was thereafter fed only the diabetes induction diet and the other two groups were thereafter fed the diabetes induction diet into which ADHF had been mixed at 4% or at 8% ,nal concentrations. Normal mice were also randomized into two groups that were fed either a regular diet alone or 8% ADHF mixed in the regular diet. Blood glucose levels markedly increased over the 20 weeks of study in the diabetic mice fed the diabetes induction diet only. In contrast, diabetic mice fed induction diet into which 4% or 8% ADHF had been incorporated showed signi,cantly decreased blood glucose and insulin levels over the time of the study. Additional parameters signi,cantly reduced in diabetic mice fed ADHF included insulin resistance and histopathological changes in the pancreas and liver. This is the ,rst report to our knowledge to show in vivo evidence for signi,cantly decreased circulating glucose and insulin levels and a signi,cant reduction of progressive damage to major target organs by the addition of an herbal diet supplement to a diabetes induction diet proven to be capable of causing and maintaining type 2 diabetes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Optimal foraging on the roof of the world: Himalayan langurs and the classical prey modelAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Ken Sayers Abstract Optimal foraging theory has only been sporadically applied to nonhuman primates. The classical prey model, modified for patch choice, predicts a sliding "profitability threshold" for dropping patch types from the diet, preference for profitable foods, dietary niche breadth reduction as encounter rates increase, and that exploitation of a patch type is unrelated to its own abundance. We present results from a 1-year study testing these predictions with Himalayan langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) at Langtang National Park, Nepal. Behavioral data included continuous recording of feeding bouts and between-patch travel times. Encounter rates were estimated for 55 food types, which were analyzed for crude protein, lipid, free simple sugar, and fibers. Patch types were entered into the prey model algorithm for eight seasonal time periods and differing age-sex classes and nutritional currencies. Although the model consistently underestimated diet breadth, the majority of nonpredicted patch types represented rare foods. Profitability was positively related to annual/seasonal dietary contribution by organic matter estimates, whereas time estimates provided weaker relationships. Patch types utilized did not decrease with increasing encounter rates involving profitable foods, although low-ranking foods available year-round were taken predominantly when high-ranking foods were scarce. High-ranking foods were taken in close relation to encounter rates, while low-ranking foods were not. The utilization of an energetic currency generally resulted in closest conformation to model predictions, and it performed best when assumptions were most closely approximated. These results suggest that even simple models from foraging theory can provide a useful framework for the study of primate feeding behavior. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Sequential secretion of collagenolytic, elastolytic, and keratinolytic proteases in peptide-limited cultures of two Bacillus cereus strains isolated from woolJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009A.C. Ad, güzel Abstract Aims:, To characterize the secretion of proteolytic activities against keratin, collagen and elastin in liquid cultures of Bacillus cereus IZ-06b and IZ-06r isolated from wool. Methods and Results:, Growth of B. cereus IZ-06b and IZ-06r were characterized in batch culture. Both strains needed an organic nitrogen source, were able to grow on wool or peptone as sole carbon and nitrogen sources, and metabolized glucose, maltose and other simple sugars. Proteolytic activities were investigated in batch cultures grown in peptide-restricted, carbon-sufficient medium. Secretion of proteases was induced by peptide limitation while different proteolytic activities appeared sequentially in the growth medium. When the most available components of the peptone were depleted, collagenolytic and elastolytic proteases were produced. These were later replaced by the production of keratinolytic protease. Conclusions:,B. cereus can adjust its proteolytic affinity profile in response to the supply of organic nitrogen and sequentially secrete proteases with activities targeted against increasingly inaccessible proteinous substrates as the nutritional availability in the environment deteriorates. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Peptide-limited, carbon-sufficient growth media containing no proteinous substrates are well suited for protease production in B. cereus while growth conditions can be adjusted to optimize the proteolytic affinity profiles. [source] Optimization of agro-residual medium for ,-amylase production from a hyper-producing Bacillus subtilis KCC103 in submerged fermentationJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Gobinath Rajagopalan Abstract BACKGROUND: Although submerged fermentation (SmF) is the conventional method in industry, use of low-cost agro-residues for ,-amylase production in SmF has not been well established. Here we optimized agro-residue-based medium and culture conditions for ,-amylase production in SmF using a hyper-producing Bacillus subtilis KCC103. RESULTS:B. subtilis KCC103 produced ,-amylase in SmF by utilizing agro-residues. Wheat bran (WB) and sunflower oil cake (SFOC) were selected as the best substrates using shake flasks. Medium containing WB (carbohydrate rich) and SFOC (rich in protein and free amino acids) at 1:1 (w/w) ratio produced high levels (90 IU mL,1) of ,-amylase at 30,36 h in a shake flask. The ,-amylase yield was 14-fold enhanced (1258 IU mL,1) by optimizing process parameters and medium composition following response surface methodology in a bioreactor. The optimal conditions were: WB 1.27%, SFOC 1.42%, pH 7, 37 °C and 10,12 h. Both in shake flask and bioreactor ,-amylase synthesis was not repressed by the release of simple sugars into the medium. CONCLUSION: KCC103 with catabolite derepression and hyperproducing ability is useful for economic ,-amylase production using low-cost agro-residual substrates in conventional SmF. Since the production time (10,12 h) is much shorter than other strains this would improve productivity and further reduce the cost of ,-amylase production. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Benzene polycarboxylic acids,A ubiquitous class of compounds in soilsJOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010Ludwig Haumaier Abstract Black carbon (BC) occurs ubiquitously in the environment. Its oxidation in the laboratory yields a suite of benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs), suggesting similar oxidation products in soils. Since only for a few soils the occurrence of BPCAs in the free form has been documented, screening for them in a broad range of contrasting soils was conducted. They were extracted from soil samples with 0.5 M NaOH and quantified using gas chromatography,mass spectrometry. As expected, BPCAs turned out to be as ubiquitous as BC. They were detected not only in every soil sample investigated so far, but also in samples from drill cores up to a depth of 10 m and in recently deposited calcareous tufa. The concentrations covered a range similar to that of some phenolic acids. The range exceeded those reported for low-molecular-weight aliphatic acids or simple sugars in soils. The distribution of BPCAs in soil profiles indicated a considerable potential of translocation within, and export from, soil, in particular of benzene hexacarboxylic (mellitic) acid. Mellitic acid may therefore be present in almost any geochemical sample affected by seepage water from soils. Its high water solubility and strong metal-complexing ability suggest it may be involved in metal-transport processes, at least on geological timescales. [source] Starch- graft -(synthetic copolymer) latexes initiated with Ce4+ and stabilized by amylopectinJOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 18 2007Hank De Bruyn Abstract A method is presented for synthesizing surfactant-free latexes comprising starch- graft -(vinyl polymer) starting with a suspension of amylopectin, either native or modified, then using cerium(IV) with either potassium persulfate or glucose to create grafting sites on the starch. Latex particles comprising polystyrene, poly(styrene- co -(n -butyl acrylate)) and poly(vinyl acetate) grafted onto high molecular weight amylopectin were developed, with up to 80% of the starch effectively grafted to the particles. These latexes were colloidally stable against electrolyte (several months in 4 M NaCl). Reaction rates of Ce4+ with simple sugars and polysaccharides were investigated, as well as the gelation mechanism of the latex. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4185,4192, 2007 [source] Characterisation of a haemagglutinin from Hokkaido red bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Hokkaido red bean)JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 1 2010Jack H Wong Abstract BACKGROUND: A haemagglutinin was purified from Japanese Hokkaido red beans (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Hokkaido red bean) with a procedure that included three chromatographic media. RESULTS: Haemagglutinating activity was adsorbed on DEAE cellulose, Affi-gel blue gel and Mono S. The pure haemagglutinin was a homodimer and each subunit was around 30 kDa in molecular mass. The haemagglutinating activity of this agglutinin could not be inhibited by a variety of simple sugars at 200 mmol L,1 concentration including ,- L -fucose, D(+)-galactose, D(+)-glucose, D(+)-glucosamine, D(,)galactosamine, galacturonic acid, (+)-lactose, D(+)-melibose, L(,)-mannose, D(+)-mannose, D -mannosamine, D(+)-raffinose, L -rhamnose, (+)-xylose and galacturonic acid. The haemagglutinating activity was fully retained at pH 4,11 and at 0,80 °C, but was completely lost at extreme pH values (0,2 and 13,14) and at very high temperatures (90 °C and 100 °C). The haemagglutinin exhibited a weak mitogenic activity toward mouse splenocytes, a stronger anti-proliferative activity than Con A toward HepG2 (human hepatoma) cells and inhibited >80% of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity at 3.3 µmol L,1. It was devoid of anti-fungal activity. CONCLUSION: Hokkaido red bean haemagglutinin possesses a potent anti-proliferative effect on HepG2 cells. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Effects of sugar feeding on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in a parasitoid waspPHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2000D.A.W.N. M. Olson Summary Lifetime patterns of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were compared in starved and sucrose-fed adults of the parasitoid Macrocentrus grandii (Goidanich) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). As expected, sucrose-fed individuals lived longer than did starved individuals. Macrocentrus grandii males and females eclosed with levels of simple storage sugars (presumably primarily trehalose) and glycogen that were below maximum levels recorded from sucrose-fed parasitoids. Both of these nutrients dropped to very low levels in starved individuals within 4 days post-emergence and were maintained at high levels in sucrose-fed individuals throughout their lives. Lipid reserves at emergence represented the highest lipid levels for both sexes in the two diet treatments, with levels declining over the lifetimes of males and females from both diet treatments. Our results therefore suggest that dietary sucrose is used to synthesize trehalose and glycogen, but not lipids in M. grandii. Also, in contrast to the patterns observed for the simple sugars and glycogen, lipid levels in starved individuals did not drop below levels observed in sugar-fed individuals. The average number of mature eggs carried by females at emergence was 33 and increased to approximately 85 in sucrose-fed and 130 in starved females by the age of 5 d in the absence of hosts. The egg maturation rate was therefore higher in starved than in sugar-fed females. Potential explanations for this unexpected result are discussed. [source] Niche expansion of a cryptic primate, Callimico goeldii, while in mixed species troopsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2007Leila M. Porter Abstract We examined the effects of polyspecific associations on the behavior of one group of Callimico goeldii in northwestern Bolivia. Data were collected for 1 year using focal animal sampling at 5-min intervals, for a total of 1,375 observation hours. In total, C. goeldii formed mixed species troops with five groups of Saguinus fuscicollis and six groups of S. labiatus, and these were maintained during 81% of observations. C. goeldii rested more and traveled less while alone than while associated, but neither vigilance behavior in the understory nor habitat use were affected by association status. The composition of the group's diet was different while alone (higher in structural carbohydrates [fungi] and lower in simple sugars [ripe fruits] and protein [insects]) than while associated (fungi 65 vs. 37%; fruits 13 vs. 32%; insects 5 vs. 15%). We propose therefore, that C. goeldii has a lower quality and more narrowly based diet while alone as compared to while associated. The factors that allow for this dietary expansion while in mixed species troops require further investigation. Am. J. Primatol. 69:1340,1353, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||