Toxicity of butylone and its enantiomers to Daphnia magna and its degradation/toxicity potential using advanced oxidation technologies.

Butylone (BTL) is a chiral synthetic cathinone available as a racemate and reported as contaminant in wastewater effluents. However, there are no studies on its impact on ecosystems and possible enantioselectivity in ecotoxicity. This work aimed to evaluate: (i) the possible ecotoxicity of BTL as racemate or its isolated (R)- and (S)- enantiomers using Daphnia magna; and (ii) the efficiency of advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) in the removal of BTL and reduction of toxic effects caused by wastewaters. Enantiomers of BTL were obtained by liquid chromatography (LC) using a chiral semi-preparative column. Enantiomeric purity of each enantiomer was > 97 %. For toxicity assessment, a 9-day sub-chronic assay was performed with the racemate (at 0.10, 1.0 or 10 µg L-1) or each enantiomer (at 0.10 or 1.0 µg L-1). Changes in morphophysiological, behavioural, biochemical and reproductive endpoints were observed, which were dependent on the form of the substance and life stage of the organism (juvenile or adult). Removal rates of BTL in spiked wastewater (10 µg L-1) treated with different AOTs (ultraviolet, UV; ozonation, O3; and UV/O3) were similar and lower than 29 %. The 48 h D. magna acute toxicity assays demonstrated a reduction in the toxicity of the treated spiked effluents, but no differences were found amongst AOTs treatments. These results warn for the contamination and negative impact of BTL on ecosystems and highlight the need for efficient removal processes.

Nasal lavage, blood or sputum: Which is best for phenotyping asthma?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Determination of asthma phenotypes, particularly inflammatory phenotypes, helps guide treatment and management of this heterogeneous disease. Induced sputum cytology has been the gold standard for determination of inflammatory phenotypes, but sputum induction is fairly invasive and technically challenging. Blood and nasal lavage cytology have been suggested as substitutes, but have not been fully verified. The aim of this study is to determine the accuracy of blood and nasal lavage cytometry as indicators of inflammatory phenotypes in asthma. METHODS: Clinical evaluation, Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and spirometry were performed for 121 adult asthma patients, and blood, nasal lavage and induced sputum samples were taken. Eosinophils and neutrophils were counted in three samples from each subject. Inflammatory phenotypes (eosinophilic, neutrophilic, mixed and paucicellular) and cells counts were analysed using Venn diagram and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, respectively. RESULTS: ACQ score, spirometry and bronchodilator response did not differ among subjects with different inflammatory phenotypes. Inflammatory phenotypes defined by nasal lavage cytometry were in better concordance than those defined by blood cell counts with phenotypes determined by sputum cytology, and were significantly correlated with sputum phenotypes. For eosinophilia, nasal lavage cytology showed better accuracy than blood cytology (area under the curve (AUC): 0.89 vs 0.65). For all phenotypes, sensitivity and positive and negative predictive power were higher for nasal lavage cytometry than for blood. Blood cell counts gave a high level of false positives for all inflammatory phenotypes. CONCLUSION: We recommend nasal lavage cytology over blood cell count as a substitute for sputum cytology to identify inflammatory phenotypes in asthma.

Antiulcer and antiproliferative properties of spent brewer's yeast peptide extracts for incorporation into foods.

The main objective was to study the antiulcer and antiproliferative potential of yeast peptide extract for further incorporation into functional foods. Peptide concentrates were obtained by hydrolysis of spent brewer's yeast proteins followed by a filtration process. In order to prove the possible protection of gastric mucosa, an animal model with ulcerative lesions caused by oral administration of absolute ethanol was used. The peptide fraction <3 kDa was able to reduce gastric injuries to significant levels (p < 0.001) and the effective dose (DE50) was 816 mg per kg bw. The cytoprotective effect appears to depend on a prostaglandin-mediated mechanism and also on a nonspecific mechanism. The antiproliferative activity of the extract in nine different human tumoral cell lines was tested. The results exhibited a promising antiproliferative activity against the cell line K-562 (leukemia). The results suggest that a new peptide extract can be used to develop new value-added functional food products, although further studies are required.

Bioactive properties of peptides obtained from Argentinian defatted soy flour protein by Corolase PP hydrolysis.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean meal protein isolate (SPI) obtained under two temperature conditions with Corolase PP was studied, assessing the impact of hydrolysis on potential antioxidant and antihypertensive activities. The protein was isolated from soybean meal under controlled conditions of time and temperature (70 °C, 1h; 90 °C, 30 min). Degree of hydrolysis assessed the progress of hydrolysis at different sampling times. For hydrolysates the antioxidant and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities were measured. As observed, the DH was increasing until reaching 20% at 10h with disappearance of globular proteins and generation of low molecular weight peptides (less than 3kDa). A significant increase in antioxidant and ACE inhibitory capacities was observed. Five main peptides were identified, which may explain through their sequences the bioactive properties analyzed. Through this study was possible to obtain for the first time with Corolase PP soy hydrolysates with potential antioxidant and ACE inhibitory activities, which can be used to obtain new added value functional ingredients from soy meal.