Glutathione S-transferase class μ in French alcoholic cirrhotic patients

Summary The lack of glutathione S-transferase (GST) was examined in 45 healthy French Caucasians and 45 alcoholic cirrhotic French Caucasians: microsamples of blood were taken and DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. We have concluded that there is no relationship between this genotype and the development of alcoholic cirrhosis in these heavy consumers of ethanol.     

β-Lapachone alleviates alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats

Alcohol-induced liver injury is the most common liver disease in which fatty acid metabolism is altered. It is thought that altered NAD⁺/NADH redox potential by alcohol in the liver causes fatty liver by inhibiting fatty acid oxidation and the activity of tricarboxylic acid cycle reactions. β-Lapachone (βL), a naturally occurring quinone, has been shown to stimulate fatty acid oxidation in an obese mouse model by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In this report, we clearly show that βL reduced alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis and induced fatty acid oxidizing capacity in ethanol-fed rats. βL treatment markedly decreased hepatic lipids while serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins were increased in rats fed ethanol-containing liquid diets with βL administration. Furthermore, inhibition of lipolysis, enhancement of lipid mobilization to mitochondria and upregulation of mitochondrial β-oxidation activity in the soleus muscle were observed in ethanol/βL-treated animals compared to the ethanol-fed rats. In addition, the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase, but not aldehyde dehydrogenase, was significantly increased in rats fed βL diets. βL-mediated modulation of NAD⁺/NADH ratio led to the activation of AMPK signaling in these animals. Conclusion: Our results suggest that improvement of fatty liver by βL administration is mediated by the upregulation of apoB100 synthesis and lipid mobilization from the liver as well as the direct involvement of βL on NAD⁺/NADH ratio changes, resulting in the activation of AMPK signaling and PPARα-mediated β-oxidation. Therefore, βL-mediated alteration of NAD⁺/NADH redox potential may be of potential therapeutic benefit in the clinical setting.     

“Ethno-microbiology” of ethnic Indian fermented foods and alcoholic beverages

The concept of “ethno-microbiology” is to understand the indigenous knowledge of the Indian people for production of culturally and organoleptically acceptable fermented foods by natural fermentation. About 1000 types of common, uncommon, rare, exotic and artisan fermented foods and beverages are prepared and consumed in different geographical regions by multi-ethnic communities in India. Indian fermented foods are mostly acidic and some are alkaline, along with various types of alcoholic beverages. A colossal diversity of microorganisms comprising bacteria mostly belongs to phylum Firmicutes, filamentous moulds and enzyme- and alcohol-producing yeasts under phyla Ascomycota and Mucoromycota, and few bacteriophages and archaea have been reported from Indian fermented foods. Some microorganisms associated with fermented foods have functionalities and health promoting benefits. “Ethno-microbiology” of ethnic Indian people has exhibited the proper utilisation of substrates either singly or in combination such as fermented cereal-legume mixture (idli, dosa and dhokla) in South and West India, sticky fermented soybean food (kinema and related foods), fermented perishable leafy vegetable (gundruk and related foods), fermented bamboo shoots (soibum and related foods) and fermented fish (ngari and others) in North East India, and fermented meat and sausage-like products in the Indian Himalayas, fermented coconut beverage (toddy) in coastal regions, and various types of naturally fermented milk products (dahi and related products) in different regions of India. This review has also highlighted the “ethno-microbiology” knowledge of the people involving the consortia of essential microorganisms in traditionally prepared amylolytic starters for production of cereal-based alcoholic beverages. The novelty of this review is the interpretation of ethno-microbiological knowledge innovated by ethnic Indian people on the use of beneficial microorganisms for food fermentation to obtain the desired fermented food products for consumption.     

Molecular insights on intracellular Wnt/β-catenin signaling in alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the most common health problems worldwide, especially in developing countries caused by chronic consumption of alcohol on a daily basis. The ALD spectrum is initiated with the early stages of alcoholic fatty liver (steatosis), progressing to alcoholic steatohepatitis, followed by the later stages of fibrosis and in some cases, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Wnt/β-catenin signaling required for healthy liver development, function, and regeneration is found to be aberrated in ALD, attributed to its progression. This review is to elucidate the association of Wnt/β-catenin signaling with various stages of ALD progression. Alcohol causes downregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling components and thereby suppressing the pathway. Reports have been published that aberrated Wnt/β-catenin signaling, especially the absence of β-catenin, results in decreased alcohol metabolism, causing steatosis followed by steatohepatitis via lipid accumulation, lipid peroxidation, liver injury, increased oxidative stress and apoptosis of hepatocytes, contributing to the advancement of ALD. Contrastingly, the progression of later stages of ALD like fibrosis and HCC depends on the increased activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and its components. Existing studies reveal the varied expression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in ALD. However, the dual role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in earlier and later stages of ALD is not clear. Therefore, studies on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and its components in various manifestations of ALD might provide insight in targeting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ALD treatment.     

Gravitational sedimentation can solve the problem of cellular récycling of yeast in continuous alcoholic fermentation

Adjustments in the geometry of the separation zone of an inclined parallel plate sedimenter, previously developed, permitted an extensive increase in the volumetric clarification rate of broth containing yeast (S. cerevisiae). The prototype, having an internal capacity of 1340 ml, was fed with fermentation broth containing 18.8% v/v cells, while 16.4 ml/min of clarified broth containing 0.3% v/v cells was removed in the overflow. The underflow, containing 23.8% v/v cells, was recycled to the fermenter at a rate of 60.6 ml/min. These results demonstrated the viability of using exclusively gravitational sedimentation for cellular recycling in continuous alcoholic fermentation. Without a doubt, this system represents the simplest technological alternative among those thus far proposed for continuous alcoholic fermentation. The low cost of installation, maintenance and operation permitted projection of its application for any scale of production.List of Symbols A Cross sectional area of the sedimentation zone - b Distance between two parallel plates, height of the triangle or diameter of the circle (for rectangular, triangular or circular cross sections of the sedimentation zone, respectively) - b Mean distance travelled by the cells during sedimentation within the sedimentation zone with each cross sectional geometry - B _f Biomass content of the fermentation broth - B _o Biomass content of the overflow - B _u Biomass content of the underflow - Eff. Sedimentation efficiency - f Factor corresponding to the clarification velocity obtained with a certain cross sectional geometry relative to that obtained with the rectangular sedimentation zone geometry - g Gravitational acceleration - H Length of the plates - Q _a Clarification rate - Q _f Feed rate - Q _o Overflow rate - Q _u Underflow rate - rect Indicates a rectangular cross section - S Total sedimentation area (horizontal projection of the internal contour of the sedimentation zone - tr Indicates a triangular cross section - _s Linear settling velocity of one cell in the broth - _v Linear clarification velocity of the broth in a vertical sedimenter = _s - Linear clarification velocity of the broth in an inclined sedimenter of slope - Slope of the sedimentation zone relative to the horizontal - Porosity factor = 1 — (volume fraction of cells) - _cell Cell density - _m Density of the medium - _broth Broth viscosity     

Is ethanol an important antioxidant in alcoholic beverages associated with risk reduction of cataract and atherosclerosis?

Abstract

It has been reported in the epidemiological literature that cataract, stroke, and atherosclerosis risk is reduced by 50% in people consuming one alcoholic drink per day. Peroxide has been implicated as a causative agent in cataractogenesis, and LDL oxidation appears to play a role in atherosclerosis. The antioxidant activity of alcohol was measured by: (i) use of a luminescent assay developed in our laboratory, confirmed as appropriate; (ii) electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping; and (iii) copper-catalysed oxidation of LDL and VLDL from hamsters fed 6% ethanol in their drinking water. Ethanol reduced the luminescent counts/min from peroxide and superoxide. It significantly reduced The spin-trapped signal of hydroxyl radical, but not the superoxide signal. Other alcohols also showed large reductions in counts from hydrogen peroxide. Plasma from hamsters fed 6% ethanol had lower lipid peroxides and the oxidizability of LDL and VLDL was significantly reduced compared to controls. These data provide a possible explanation for the effect of beverages containing ethanol in the reduction of cataract and atherosclerosis risk observed in human population studies.     

Yeast assessment during alcoholic fermentation inoculated with a natural “pied de cuve” or a commercial yeast strain

The present study has been carried out in an organic winery established in 2003 in the Denomination of Origin “Sierras de Málaga” (Southern Spain) region during the 2007 vintage. The aim of this work was to ascertain the yeast microflora present in the winery and during the vinifications and to obtain a collection of autochthonous S. cerevisiae strains from this area. Yeast populations from three vats containing fermenting musts from different grape varieties were analysed. Two of them were inoculated with a natural “pied de cuve” while the third one was sown with a rehydrated commercial yeast strain. A total of 382 yeasts were isolated and identified, initially by restriction analysis of ribosomal DNA and further by sequencing of this region. Non-Saccharomyces yeasts were found in all three musts but they practically disappeared as the fermentations progressed. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA RFLP revealed 13 different restriction patterns of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, five of them similar to those of commercial strains used in the winery. Commercial strains were found even in vats inoculated with a “pied de cuve” generated by spontaneous fermentation of a must sample. The analysis of samples recovered from different winery surfaces and equipments demonstrated that non-Saccharomyces and both commercial and autochthonous Saccharomyces strains were part of the resident microflora in the winery. Biodiversity of autochthonous S. cerevisiae in fermentation vats was low but two of them were able to compete with the commercial ones and they were isolated even at the end of the fermentation.