Utilization of Soybean Products in Fish Paste Products

Large amounts of food-grade soybean products are consumed in fish product industries in Japan. To clarify the properties of soybean products desirable for fish processing, the kamaboko added with soybean products were evaluated by both sensory testing and instrumental measurements. The correlation between the suitability of soybean products for kamaboko and the basic chemical and functional properties of the soybean products was discussed. It was found that the “hardness” of the kamaboko added with soybean products correlated highly with the degree of denaturation of soy protein and with the amount of nitrogen of soybean products not dispersible in 3% sodium chloride aqueous solution.

It was also estimated that the textural properties of kamaboko added with soybean products could not be deduced from the textural properties of heat-coagulated gels of the corresponding soybean products.     

Application of Smith Degradation to Structural Studies of a Dextran

The location of (1→3)-d-glucosidic linkages in a dextran elaborated by Leuconostoc sp. IFO 12370 has been investigated by the Smith degradation technique. The polyaldehyde produced by periodate oxidation of the dextran was reduced with borohydride to the corresponding polyalcohol. Complete acid hydrolysis of the dextran polyalcohol yielded glycerol and glucose, in the molar ratio of 17:1. The polyalcohol gave upon mild acid hydrolysis glycerol and a small proportion of α-1-O-d-glucosylglycerol, which arose from the sequence →6G1→3G1→6G1→ in the parent dextran. Methylation of the polyalcohol followed by acid hydrolysis gave 1-O-methyl-glycerol (17 parts) and 2,4-di-O-methyl-d-glucose (1 part), together with a trace of 2,4,6-tri-O-methyl-d-glucose. These results indicate that most of (1→3)-linkages in the dextran molecule are located as the branch points of the (1→6)-linked chain. The lengths of repeating unit in the various fractions of acid-degraded dextran, estimated from the ratio of glycerol and glucose derived from the polyalcohols, were not significantly different from that of the native dextran, suggesting that random cleavage of the chain occurs during partial acid-hydrolysis.     

Structure of Hemicellulose Isolated from Rice Endosperm Cell Wall : Mode of Linkages and Sequences in Xyloglucan, β-Glucan and Arabinoxylan

A hemicellulosic polysaccharide, which was homogeneous on sedimentation analysis and also on electrophoresis, was isolated from the rice endosperm cell walls by the combination of alkaline extraction, ion exchange chromatography and iodine complex formation. It is composed of arabinose, xylose and glucose (molar ratio, 1.0: 2.0: 5.7) together with a small amount of galactose and rhamnose. Methylation analysis, Smith degradation and fragmentation with cellulase showed that this polysaccharide is composed of three distinct polysaccharide moieties i.e., xyloglucan, β-glucan and arabinoxylan. The xyloglucan consists of β-(1→4)-linked glucan back bone and short side chains of single xylose units or galactosylxylose both attached to C-6 of the glucose residues. The β-glucan contains both (1 →3)-and (1→4)-linkages similarly to the other cereal β-glucans, but differ from them in containing the blocks of (1→3)-linked glucose residues in the chain. The arabinoxylan has a highly branched structure, in which 78% of (1→4)-linked xylose residues have short side chains of arabinose at C-3 position.

On the basis of these findings, the interconnection of these polysaccharide moieties is discussed.     

Linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid,and monolinolenins as antibacterial substances in the heat-processed soybean fermented with Rhizopus oligosporus

ABSTRACT

Antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis were found in an ethanol fraction of tempe, an Indonesian fermented soybean produced using Rhizopus oligosporus. The ethanol fraction contained free fatty acids, monoglycerides, and fatty acid ethyl esters. Among these substances, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid exhibited antibacterial activities against S. aureus and B. subtilis, whereas 1-monolinolenin and 2-monolinolenin exhibited antibacterial activity against B. subtilis. The other free fatty acids, 1-monoolein, monolinoleins, ethyl linoleate, and ethyl linolenate did not exhibit bactericidal activities. These results revealed that R. oligosporus produced the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and monolinolenins as antibacterial substances against the Gram-positive bacteria during the fungal growth and fermentation of heat-processed soybean.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of miRNA-146a induced in adipose and periodontal tissues

MicroRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in diverse cellular biological processes such as inflammatory response, differentiation and proliferation, and carcinogenesis. miR-146a has been suggested as a negative regulator of the inflammatory reaction. Although, it has been reported as expressed in inflamed adipose and periodontal tissues, however, miR-146a's inhibitory effects against inflammatory response in both the tissues, are not well understood. Therefore, in this study, the inhibitory effects of miR-146a on both adipose and periodontal inflammation, was investigated. In vitro study has revealed that miR-146a transfection into either adipocytes or gingival fibroblasts, has resulted in a reduced cytokine gene expression, observed on co-culturing the cells with macrophages in the presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), in comparison to the control miRNA transfected. Similarly, miR-146a transfection into macrophages resulted in a reduced expression of TNF-α gene and protein in response to LPS stimulation. In vivo study revealed that a continuous intravenous miR-146a administration into mice via tail vein, protected the mice from developing high-fat diet-induced obesity and the inflammatory cytokine gene expression was down-regulated in both adipose and periodontal tissues. miR-146a appeared to be induced by macrophage-derived inflammatory signals such as TNF-α by negative feed-back mechanism, and it suppressed inflammatory reaction in both adipose and periodontal tissues. Therefore, miR-146a could be suggested as a potential therapeutic molecule and as a common inflammatory regulator for both obesity-induced diabetes and related periodontal diseases.     

Syntheses, Characterization, and Antitumor Activities of Platinum(II) and Palladium(II) Complexes with Sugar-Conjugated Triazole Ligands

Four platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes with sugar-conjugated bipyridine-type triazole ligands, [Pt(II) Cl(2) (AcGlc-pyta)] (3), [Pd(II) Cl(2) (AcGlc-pyta)] (4), [Pt(II) Cl(2) (Glc-pyta)] (5), and [Pd(II) Cl(2) (Glc-pyta)] (6), were prepared and characterized by mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, (1) H- and (13) C-NMR, IR as well as UV/VIS spectroscopy, where AcGlc-pyta and Glc-pyta denote 2-[4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]ethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and 2-[4-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]ethyl β-D-glucopyranoside (2), respectively. The solid-state structure of complex 6 was determined by single-crystal X-ray-diffraction analysis. These complexes exhibited in vitro cytotoxicity against human cervix tumor cells (HeLa) though weaker than that of cisplatin.     

Glycated human serum albumin enhances macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta mRNA expression through protein kinase C-delta and NADPH oxidase in macrophage-like differentiated U937 cells

BACKGROUND: In a previous report (Higai K et al., Biol Pharm Bull, 2007), glycated human serum albumin (Glc-HSA) was found to induce interleukin-8 (IL-8) mRNA expression in human monocyte-derived U937 cells through a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathway; however, Glc-HSA signaling has not been elucidated in macrophages. METHODS: U937 cells were differentiated by treatment with 50 ng/mL phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 2 days and the macrophage-like differentiated U937 (differentiated U937) cells were stimulated with Glc-HSA and glycolaldehyde dimer-modified HSA (GA-HSA) in the presence of various signaling inhibitors. Macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta (MIP-1beta) mRNA expression was determined by real-time PCR. Intracellular ROS generation was estimated by confocal laser microscopy. RESULTS: Glc-HSA and GA-HSA markedly enhanced MIP-1beta mRNA expression in differentiated U937 cells. Enhanced MIP-1beta mRNA expression was completely suppressed by the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-l-cysteine, the NADPH oxidase inhibitors diphenylene iodonium and apocynin, and the protein kinase C (PKC)-delta inhibitor rottlerin. Furthermore, ROS generation was suppressed completely by rottlerin but not by the PKC-gamma inhibitor Ro318425 or the PKC-alpha, -beta1 and -micro inhibitor Go6976. CONCLUSION: Glc-HSA and GA-HSA enhance MIP-1beta mRNA expression in differentiated U937 cells through PKC-delta-dependent activation of NADPH oxidase.