Application of plant-based proteins for fortification of oat yogurt storage stability and bioactivity.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the addition of plant-based peanut protein isolate (PNP) and commercial pea protein (CPP) on the quality of oat yogurt (OY). PNP and CPP were partially characterized for techno-functional properties. PNP had higher solubility (acidic and basic regions) and emulsifying activity than CPP. The water absorption capacity of CPP is significantly (p < 0.05) higher than PNP. Amino acid profiles of PNP and CPP were promising for the nutritional enhancement of OYs. OYs with PNP or CPP (0.5, 1, 2% w/v) were stored for 21 days and compared to the control group with no protein. On the 21st day of storage, (i) PNP- or CPP-added OYs were found to be comparable to the control with respect to post-acidification and viscosity, (ii) syneresis was more evident in PNP-added OYs than in CPP-added ones, (iii) total color change of 1% CPP-added OY was equal to the control, and (iv) hardnesses of control, 2% PNP, and 2% CPP-added OYs were 0.29 ± 0.00, 0.39 ± 0.01, and 0.45 ± 0.00 N, respectively. No adverse sensory effects were detected for CPP or PNP addition. Both proteins increased the total phenolic, soluble protein, antioxidant, antihypertensive, and α-glucosidase inhibition activity of oat milk and OYs, with PNP superior to CPP overall. Compared to oat milk, the fermentation process increased ACE inhibition activity in in vitro digested samples, whereas it reduced digested yogurts' antioxidant activity. Utilization of PNP in OY can solve the waste problem of peanut producers and the texture problem of the OY producers while formulating a functional product. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Plant-based (PB) yogurts have a growing consumer demand. The low-protein content of PB yogurts results in low acceptance with respect to their undesirable textural and sensorial attributes. This study provided a technical basis for the PB yogurt manufacturers focusing on the addition of commercial pea protein and isolated peanut protein into oat yogurt formulation without any thickeners or flavors. In vitro digestion of protein-added oat milk and oat yogurts showed the benefits of fermentation on bioactivity to the consumers.

Celery Root Phenols Content, Antioxidant Capacities and Their Correlations after Osmotic Dehydration in Molasses.

The osmotic dehydration (OD) of celery root in sugar beet molasses was studied at three temperatures (20, 35, and 50 °C) and three immersion periods (1, 3, and 5 h) in order to examine the changes in antioxidant potential and phenolic profile of celery root throughout the process. The antioxidant capacity (AOC) of dehydrated samples was evaluated by spectrophotometric and polarographic assays, the total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the individual phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD. As a result of OD in molasses, the AOC and phenols content in samples increased proportionally to the augmentation of temperature and the immersion time. Vanillic acid, syringic acid, and catechin were detected in dehydrated samples as a result of transfer from molasses. Compared to fresh celery root, the content of identified phenols in osmodehydrated samples was improved from 1.5 to 6.2 times. Strong correlations between applied assays were obtained, except for the DPPH. Based on the correlation analysis chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, chrysin, catechin, and kaempferol showed the greatest contribution to the overall AOC of osmodehydrated celery root. Molasses, an agro-industrial waste from sugar production, could be valorized as a valuable osmotic solution.

Effect of ultrasonication and vacuum impregnation pretreatments on the quality of beef marinated in onion juice a natural meat tenderizer.

This study aimed to determine the effect of ultrasonication (US) and vacuum impregnation (VI) pretreatment techniques applied for the improvement of tenderness on the quality of beef (Longissimus dorsi) traditionally marinated (TM) in onion juice by immersion. TM conditions were 1:5 meat to marinade ratio, final NaCl concentration of 9% (w/v), 4.3 °C and 24 h. US and VI pretreatments significantly (P < 0.05) improved the marinade uptake, but did not alter the lightness (L*) values of beef samples compared to TM. US for 60 min and VI for 40 min pretreatments reduced the hardness of beef by 28.25 and 21.62%, respectively, compared to TM. US and VI pretreatments significantly (P < 0.05) reduced tyramine levels of uncooked and marinated beef samples. Marination in onion juice was found to reduce the lipid oxidation level of beef and increase the general liking score in the sensorial evaluation. Onion juice can be used as a natural marinade for the traditional marination of beef with the help of ultrasonication and vacuum impregnation pretreatments.

Characterization of carboxymethyl cellulose-based antimicrobial films incorporated with plant essential oils.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of essential oil (EO) addition (1, 2, and 3% v/v) obtained from different plants (Santolina chamaecyparissus (SC), Schinus molle (SM), and Eucalyptus globulus (EG) on the antimicrobial, physical, water vapor permeability, mechanical, optical and microstructural properties of the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) films. The films containing EO at the concentration of 3% showed the highest antimicrobial activity on tested microorganisms. The EO content increase from 1% to 3% in films decreased the moisture content and water solubility of all films. The water vapor permeability also decreased in films with EGEO but it increased in films with SCEO and SMEO. While the tensile strength (TS) of films containing EO (29.43 ± 3.28-77.05 ± 0.02 MPa) was determined higher than the TS of the control (24.60 ± 0.54 MPa), the elongation at break (E%) of films (14.41 ± 0.02-33.01 ± 0.01%) were lower than E% of the control (37.06 ± 0.85%). The microstructures of films were homogeneous in the films containing 1% and 2% EOs. CMC films gained a significant antimicrobial property and improved its characteristic properties with the incorporation of EOs presenting a good potential for applying to foods.

Effect of batch and continuous thermosonication on the microbial and physicochemical quality of pumpkin juice.

The study investigated the use of batch and continuous thermosonication for pasteurization of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) juice emphasizing on its microbial, physicochemical and sensorial quality parameters. Batch thermosonication (40, 50, 60 °C, 37 kHz, 150 W) of pumpkin juice was compared with the ultrasonication (23 °C) and conventional heat treatments (40, 50, 60 °C). For batch thermosonication, maximum inactivation of Escherichia coli K-12 was 6.62 ± 0.00 log cfu/mL, meanwhile, it was 3.64 ± 0.19 log cfu/mL for heat treatment. In addition, only 0.37 ± 0.21 log cfu/mL inactivation in E. coli K-12 was obtained by ultrasonication. The designed continuous thermosonication system (0.029 L/min, 60 °C) reduced E. coli K-12 by 6.23 ± 0.34 cfu/mL log after cycle 3 (34.15 min of processing). Color properties (L*, a*, b*, ∆E), pH, total titratable acidity, total soluble solids content, turbidity and non-enzymatic browning index were determined for batch and continuously thermosonicated, ultrasonicated and heat-treated pumpkin juices. Total color change of continuously thermosonicated samples were higher than the batch thermosonicated (60 °C) ones but, lower than the conventional heat treated (60 °C) samples. Sensory panel showed general acceptance scores of fresh, batch (60 °C) and continuously thermosonicated pumpkin juice samples have no significant (P < 0.05) difference. Continuous treatment results supported by the batch ones revealed that thermosonication could be effectively used for pasteurization of pumpkin juice producing a safe product with minimum changes in physicochemical and sensorial properties.

Impact of AIP and inhibitory G protein alpha 2 proteins on clinical features of sporadic GH-secreting pituitary adenomas.

INTRODUCTION: In sporadic acromegaly, downregulation of AIP protein of the adenomas associates with invasive tumor features and reduced responsiveness to somatostatin analogues. AIP is a regulator of Gai signaling, but it is not known how the biological function of the Gai pathway is controlled. AIM: To study GNAS and AIP mutation status, AIP and Gai-2 protein expressions, Ki-67 proliferation indices and clinical parameters in patients having primary surgery because of acromegaly at a single center between years 2000 and 2010. RESULTS: Sixty patients (F/M, 31/29), mean age 49 (median 50), mean follow-up 7.7 years (range 0.6-14.0) underwent primary surgery. Four adenoma specimens (6.8%) harbored an AIP and 21 (35.6%) an activating GNAS (Gsp+) mutation. Altogether 13/56 (23%) adenomas had low AIP protein levels, and 14/56 (25%) low Gai-2 staining. In regression modeling, AIP expression associated with Gai-2 (P = 2.33 × 10-9) and lower Ki-67 (P = 0.04). In pairwise comparison, low AIP protein predicted high GH at last follow-up (mean 7.7 years after surgery, q = 0.045). Extent of treatments given for acromegaly associated with higher preoperative GH (P = 7.94 × 10-4), KNOSP (P = 0.003) and preoperative hypopituitarism (P = 0.03) and remission at last follow-up with change in 3-month postoperative IGF1 (P = 2.07 × 10-7). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate, for the first time, that AIP protein expression associates with Gai-2 protein intensities in sporadic somatotropinomas, suggesting a joint regulation on somatostatin signaling. Low AIP level associates with higher proliferative activity and predicts high GH concentrations after long-term follow-up. The AIP mutation rate of 6.8% is fairly high, reflecting the genetic composition of the Finnish population.

Effect of physicochemical parameters on the polygalacturonase of an Aspergillus sojae mutant using wheat bran, an agro-industrial waste, via solid-state fermentation.

BACKGROUND: Polygalacturonases (PGs) are valuable enzymes of the food industry; therefore it is of great importance to discover new and GRAS PG-producing microbial strains. In this study, PG enzyme produced from a high PG activity producer mutant Aspergillus sojae using wheat bran at the flask scale under pre-optimized conditions of solid-state fermentation (SSF) was biochemically characterized. RESULTS: The crude PG enzyme showed optimum activity in the pH range 4.0-5.0 and was stable in the pH range 3.0-7.0. The optimum temperature for the PG was 40 °C and it retained 99% of its activity at 50 °C. The mutant A. sojae PG could preserve more than 50% of its stability between 25 and 50 °C, both for 30 and 60 min, and was found to be stable in the presence of most of the tested compounds and metal ions. The inactivation energy (Ed ) was determined as 125.3 kJ mol(-1) . The enthalpy (ΔH*), free energy (ΔG*) and entropy (ΔS*) of inactivation were found to be stable with increasing temperature. CONCLUSION: The mutant A. sojae PG could be suitable for the clarification (depectinization) of orange and grape juices and wine. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of Growth Hormone (GH)-Secreting Pituitary Adenomas.

CONTEXT: The somatic landscape of pituitary adenomas is largely unknown. Identification of somatic alterations aims at better understanding of tumor pathology. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was a genome-wide characterization of somatic single-nucleotide variants, structural variants, and copy-number aberrations in somatotropinomas. DESIGN AND SETTING: Whole-genome sequencing and single-nucleotide polymorphism array analyses were performed on 12 fresh-frozen somatotropinomas and their corresponding blood samples. All the coding somatic variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. PATIENTS: Studied tumors were somatotropinomas. Apart from one AIP mutation-positive patient, all cases were mutation negative for the established germline mutations associated with pituitary adenomas. INTERVENTION(S): There were no interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Somatic variants were identified with an established computational pipeline and filtered against germline data. Somatic copy number alteration analyses were performed using segmentation-based approaches. RESULTS: A genome-wide analysis revealed on average 129 somatic single-nucleotide variants per tumor. Further analysis of coding regions showed on average 2.3 single-nucleotide variants per tumor. The only recurrent somatic events were the oncogenic GNAS mutation (p.Arg201Cys) and shared chromosome losses (chromosomes 1, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 22). Analysis of somatic structural variants revealed one tumor with a complex chromosomal rearrangement. CONCLUSIONS: Somatotropinomas showed a low number of somatic genetic alterations. Whereas no novel recurrently mutated genes could be identified, the somatic landscape has potential to affect the Ca(2+) and ATP pathways known to be involved in the pituitary tumorigenesis. Further studies, eg, methylome and transcriptome analyses, are needed to investigate possible interplay between the recurrent chromosome losses and epigenetic factors.

A report on the use of Er:YAG laser for pilot hole drilling prior to miniscrew insertion.

The aim of the present in vitro study was to investigate the required time period of the Er:YAG laser that is used for drilling through cortical bone when pilot hole drilling is needed before miniscrew insertion. Even though Er:YAG laser is used in various in vivo and in vitro studies, there is no accepted procedure of laser for depth control during drilling through cortical bone. The study sample consisted of 120 cortical bone segments having 1.5 and 2.0 mm of cortical bone thickness. An Er:YAG laser, with a spot size of 1.3 mm and an air-water spray of 40-50 ml/min, was used. The laser was held 2 mm away from and perpendicular to the bone surface with different laser settings. Twelve specimens were prepared for each subgroup. As the cortical bone thickness increased, the time needed to drill through the bone increased. Frequency increase directly caused a decrease in irradiation duration. When three different frequency, three different energy, and four different power values were tested for both the 1.5- and 2-mm cortical bone thicknesses, the shortest duration needed to drill through cortical bone was seen in the 3.6-W (300 mJ-12 Hz) setting. When pilot holes are drilled prior to miniscrew placement in 1.5 to 2 mm of cortical bone using Er:YAG laser, the most appropriate value is found with the 3.6-W (300 mJ-12 Hz) setting.

Mutation analysis of inhibitory guanine nucleotide binding protein alpha (GNAI) loci in young and familial pituitary adenomas.

Pituitary adenomas are neoplasms of the anterior pituitary lobe and account for 15-20% of all intracranial tumors. Although most pituitary tumors are benign they can cause severe symptoms related to tumor size as well as hypopituitarism and/or hypersecretion of one or more pituitary hormones. Most pituitary adenomas are sporadic, but it has been estimated that 5% of patients have a familial background. Germline mutations of the tumor suppressor gene aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) predispose to hereditary pituitary neoplasia. Recently, it has been demonstrated that AIP mutations predispose to pituitary tumorigenesis through defective inhibitory GTP binding protein (Gαi) signaling. This finding prompted us to examine whether germline loss-of-function mutations in inhibitory guanine nucleotide (GTP) binding protein alpha (GNAI) loci are involved in genetic predisposition of pituitary tumors. To our knowledge, this is the first time GNAI genes are sequenced in order to examine the occurrence of inactivating germline mutations. Thus far, only somatic gain-of-function hot-spot mutations have been studied in these loci. Here, we have analyzed the coding regions of GNAI1, GNAI2, and GNAI3 in a set of young sporadic somatotropinoma patients (n = 32; mean age of diagnosis 32 years) and familial index cases (n = 14), thus in patients with a disease phenotype similar to that observed in AIP mutation carriers. In addition, expression of Gαi proteins was studied in human growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting and non-functional pituitary tumors. No pathogenic germline mutations affecting the Gαi proteins were detected. The result suggests that loss-of-function mutations of GNAI loci are rare or nonexistent in familial pituitary adenomas.