Earticle

Commercial food products from major cities of Coahuila, Mexico were screened to identify residues of transgenic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and/or proteins. After performed, an inventory on all products that contained a soybean-based ingredient in a commercial grocery store in the city of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, 245 food products were identified and grouped in 15 classes according to the soybean ingredient as well as the manufacturing process used for their elaboration. Similar sampling was made for the different food classes in the cities of Monclova, Piedras Negras, and Torreon. A total of 88 samples were analyzed and DNA was extracted by the hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) technique with slight modification to obtain better DNA quality (1). In addition, segments of the transgenic genes one that codifies for 5- enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (epsps), cry 1A, and the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) promoter were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The transgenic proteins 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (CP4 EPSPS) and insecticidal crystal protein (Cry 1Ab/Ac) were identified using double antibody sandwich-enzymatic linked immunoassay analysis (DAS-ELISA). Presence of transgenic genes and/or proteins was identified in 35.3% of the commercial products samples.

The objective of this study was to identify and quantify glucosinolates (GSLs) in Brassica napus cv. Hanakkori and its parents and to evaluate its potential bitter taste. ‘Hanakkori’ materials were cultivated with commercial chemical nutrients (20 kg/ha, N-P-K: 16-10-10) at the field. GSLs were isolated by means of extraction with 70%(v/v) boiling methanol (MeOH) followed by desulfation from those plants by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by electronic spray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis. In ‘Hanakkori’, 11 GSLs were identified as progoitrin, glucoraphanin, glucoalyssin, gluconapoleiferin, gluconapin, 1-methylpropyl, glucobrassicanapin, glucobrassicin, 4- methoxyglucobrassicin, gluconasturtiin, and neoglucobrassicin. The total GSL contents were 109 and 36.1 mmol/kg dry weights (d.w.) for the seeds and edible parts, respectively. The major GSLs (>5 mmol/kg d.w.) in the seeds were progoitrin (78.8), gluconapin (10.7), and glucobrassicanapin (7.81), whereas they in the edible parts were progoitrin (16.1) and glucobrassicanapin (8.58). In addition, the bitter taste in the edible parts was presumably related with the presence of progoitrin (>45% to the total GSL).

The structural change and leakage of cellular substances of Saccharomyces cerevisiae attributed by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). S. cerevisiae (ATCC16664) was inoculated in apple juice for 10 min at 23°C and the apple juice treated at 138, 207, 276, 345, and 414 MPa pressure for 30 sec at 23oC. Increased of roughness, elongation, wrinkling, and pores on yeast cell surfaces, the yeast cell walls were severely damaged by HHP treatment from 276 to 414 MPa. Inactivation of S. cerevisiae by HHP is dependent on structural changes on the cell walls observed with SEM.

The anti-Helicobacter pylori activity, cytotoxicity, and anti-inflammatory activity of white ginseng extract (WGE) were investigated in vitro in this study. The antimicrobial effects of WGE toward H. pylori strains 52 J99, SSI, and 51 were tested using the disk diffusion method. Among these H. pylori strains, H. pylori 52 was the most sensitive, having the largest inhibition zone (19 mm), followed by J99, SSI, and 51. The zone of inhibition due to WGE increased significantly with increasing dosage. The cytotoxicity of WGE toward the human cancer cell lines A-549 (human lung carcinoma), HEC-1-B (human endometrial adenocarcinoma), HeLa (human uterin adenocarcinoma), and SW-156 (human kidney carcinoma) was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthizol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenylate-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. WGE exhibited an inhibitory effect on cell growth at 2.0 mg/mL for all tumor cell lines. An analysis of anti-inflammatory activity using the RAW 264.7 cell line showed that the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production increased as the WGE content increased. These results demonstrate the potential of WGE to be used as a health-promoting substance.

β-Glucuronidases of intestinal bacteria are capable of retoxifying compounds that have been detoxified by liver glucuronidation, which is one of the most important detoxication processes in the liver. Therefore, this enzyme is known to accelerate colon cancer invasion and metastasis. Two bromophenols, 2,4,6-tribromophenol (I) and 2,4-dibromophenol (II), were purified from the red alga Grateloupia elliptica. IC50 values of bromophenol I and II against Escherichia coli β- glucuronidase were 5.4 and 8.5 mg/mL, respectively. Hence, bromophenols of G. elliptica, a potent β-glucuronidase inhibitor, can be used as a novel pharmaceutical agent for the prevention and treatment of colon cancer.

α-Galactosidase gene (aga) from Leuconostoc mesenteroides SY1 was expressed in a heterologous host, Lactobacillus brevis 2.14 using an Escherichia coli-Leuconostoc shuttle vector, pSJE. pSJEaga (pSJE carrying aga) was introduced into Lactobacillus brevis 2.14 by electroporation and transformation efficiency was 1.1×103 per μg DNA. L. brevis transformants (TFs) showed higher α-galactosidase (α-Gal) activities than cells containing pSJE. Transcription levels of aga in L. brevis 2.14 grown on different carbon sources (1%, w/v) were examined by slot blot analysis. Aga transcript levels and α-Gal activities were higher in cells grown on melibiose, raffinose, and galactose than cells on glucose, sucrose, and fructose. Western blot result showed that L. brevis 2.14 harboring pSJEaga produced much more α-Gal when grown on melibiose than on glucose.

The effects of storage time (0, 1, and 2 month) and temperature (5, 15, and 25oC) on the dynamic rheological properties of hot pepper-soybean paste (HPSP) mixed with acetylated starches (AS) were studied by small-deformation oscillatory measurements. Dynamic moduli (G', G", and η*) values of HPSP-AS mixtures increased with an increase in storage time and also decreased with increasing storage temperature. However, dynamic moduli values of the control (no added AS) were independent on storage time and temperature. Tan δ values (ratio of G"/G') in all HPSP samples did not change much with an increase in storage time and temperature. After 2 months of storage, the dynamic moduli of the HPSPAS mixture samples were much lower than those of the control, indicating that the addition of AS can inhibit the retrogradation that developed over a long period of storage. Structural and rheological properties of HPSP samples seem to be stabilized by the presence of AS.

A high dietary oxalate intake may lead to calcium oxalate (CaOx) kidney stones in the gastrointestinal tract. Most soy foods contain high concentrations of oxalate and/or phytate. This study analyzed the changes in oxalate (Ox), phytate (InsP6), and calcium (Ca) during soymilk processing from the seeds of Korean recommended soybean cultivars (cvs). The contents of Ox, InsP6, and Ca in 21 cvs ranged from 14, 108, and 148 to 231, 279, and 246 mg/100 g of dry seed, respectively. Seven cultivars were selected from the 21 cvs by the distributions of Ox, InsP6, and Ca. Then, each contents of soymilk prepared from the 7 cvs were determined. All contents were lower in soymilk than in seeds, but the Ox to InsP6 ratios changed from varying ratios (0.1-0.8) to normal ratios (0.8-1.0) in all cvs except ‘Paldalkong’. Consequently, during soymilk processing, the Ox content was decreased and the InsP6 content was remained higher than the Ox content although the Ox was likely to be less reductive than the InsP6. These results may provide better information for minimizing the risk of formation of CaOx kidney stones due to consumption of soy products.

The antioxidative properties of an Elsholtzia splendens ethanol extract (ESE) were examined in vivo. Oral administration of 10 or 50 mg ESE/kg BW in mice for 50 days resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in several biomarkers of oxidative stress including thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), protein carbonyls, and serum 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy guanosine (8-OH-dG). Moreover, the level of activity and mRNA expression of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly increased by ESE treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that ESE may be beneficial to human health via its antioxidative properties.