Characterization and quantitation of anthocyanins and other phenolics in native Andean potatoes.

Andean potatoes are gaining popularity not only for their appealing colors and culinary uses but also for their potential higher content of polyphenolic compounds. The objective of this study was to identify potato varieties with increased phenolic content. This was achieved through characterization and quantitation of the phenolic composition in 20 varieties of native Andean potatoes from 4 different Solanum species with different colors. Major quantitative and qualitative differences among evaluated samples were more dependent on the coloration of the extracted sample rather than on the species. The most predominant anthocyanidins were petunidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-coumaroylrutinoside-5-glucoside in purple and red potato extracts, respectively, while chlorogenic acid and its isomers were the main phenolic compund (43% of the total phenolic content). Our study suggested that the appropriate selection of native potatoes could provide new sources of polyphenolics with health promoting properties and natural pigments with increased stability for food applications.

Improving the screening process for the selection of potato breeding lines with enhanced polyphenolics content.

Efficient selection of potato varieties with enhanced nutritional quality requires simple, rapid, accurate, and cost-effective assays to obtain tuber chemical composition information. Our objective was to develop simple protocols to determine phenolics, anthocyanins, and antioxidant capacity in polyphenolic extracts of potatoes using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate techniques. Lyophilized potato samples (23) were analyzed. Polyphenolic compounds were extracted from potatoes and applied directly applied onto a three-bounce ZnSe crystal for attenuated total reflectance measurements in the infrared region of 4000 to 700 cm (-1). Robust models were generated (r > or = 0.99) with standard error of cross-validation values of 4.17 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g (total phenolics), 0.87 mg pelargonidin-3-glucoside/100 g (monomeric anthocyanins), and 130.8 mumol Trolox equivalent/100 g (antioxidant capacity) potato powder. In addition, classification models discriminated potato samples at the species and variety level. Application of a simple infrared spectroscopic protocol allowed simultaneous rapid quantification of specific nutritional components in potatoes and efficient selection of value-added potato varieties.

NF-kappaB inhibitory activity of compounds isolated from Cantharellus cibarius.

The inhibitory activities of the extracts of Cantharellus cibarius and isolated compounds were investigated in an enzyme-based ELISA NF-kappaB assay. Of the tested compounds, ergosterol, ergosterol peroxide and cerevisterol were noted to have the most potent inhibition of NF-kappaB activation. The ability of the active metabolites to inhibit the NF-kappaB translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus was assessed using a cell-based NF-kappaB assay. The isolated compounds were elucidated through the analysis of various spectroscopic methods.

Effects of a therapeutic laser on the ultrastructural morphology of repairing medial collateral ligament in a rat model.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Low energy laser therapy has been shown to enhance mechanical strength of healing medial collateral ligament (MCL) in rats. The present study investigated its effects on the ultrastructural morphology and collagen fibril profile of healing MCL in rats. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two mature male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used. Twenty-four underwent surgical transection to their right MCLs and eight received only skin wound. Immediately after surgery, eight of the MCL transected rats were treated with a single dose of laser therapy at 63.2 J cm(-2), eight were treated with a single dose of laser therapy at 31.6 J cm(-2), the rest had no treatment and served as control. At 3 and 6 weeks after surgery, the MCLs were harvested and examined with electron microscopy for collagen fibril size, distribution, and alignment. RESULTS: Significant differences (P < 0.001) were found in fibril diameters from the same anatomical site and time period among different groups. The mass-averaged diameters of the laser-treated (64.99-186.29 nm) and sham (64.74-204.34 nm) groups were larger than the control group (58.66-85.89 nm). The collagen fibrils occupied 42.55-59.78, 42.63-53.94, and 36.92-71.64% of the total cross-sectional areas in the laser-treated, control and sham groups, respectively. Mode obliquity was 0.53-0.84 among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Single application of low energy laser therapy increases the collagen fibril size of healing MCLs in rats.

Therapeutic low energy laser improves the mechanical strength of repairing medial collateral ligament.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Low energy laser therapy has been shown to enhance collagen production but its effect on tissue strength is not well reported. We tested the effects of therapeutic laser on the strength of healing medial collateral ligaments (MCLs) in rats. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four rats received surgical transection to their right MCL and eight received sham operation. After surgery, 16 received a single dose of gallium aluminum arsenide laser to their transected MCL for 7.5 minutes (n = 8) or 15 minutes (n = 8) and eight served as control with placebo laser, while the sham group didn't receive any treatment. The MCLs were biomechanically tested at either 3 or 6 weeks post-operation. RESULTS: The normalized ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and stiffness of laser and sham groups were larger than control (P < 0.001). The UTS of laser and sham groups were comparable. Laser and sham groups had improved in stiffness from 3 to 6 weeks (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of low energy laser therapy improves the UTS and stiffness of repairing MCL at 3 and 6 weeks after injury.