Effect of pectin concentration on emulsifying properties of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae albumin modified by pH-shifting and ultrasonication.

The effect of pectin concentration on the structural and emulsifying properties of black soldier fly larvae albumin (BSFLA) modified by pH-shifting (pH12) and ultrasound (US) was studied. The results (intrinsic fluorescence, surface hydrophobicity, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, and disulfide bonds) showed that modified BSFLA samples, especially pH12-US, were more likely to bind to pectin through hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions due to the unfolding of BSFLA, the collapse of disulfide bonds and exposure of hydrophobic groups. Thus, a BSFLA-pectin complex with smaller particle size, more negative charges, and a relatively loose structure was formed. The emulsifying activity (EAI) and stability index (ESI) of pH12-US modified BSFLA were significantly enhanced by the addition of pectin, reaching the highest values (associated with 174.41 % and 643.22 % increase, respectively) at pectin concentration of 1.0 %. Furthermore, the interface modulus of the emulsion prepared by the modified BSFLA was mainly viscous, and had higher apparent viscosity, smaller particle size and droplet size, contributing to higher EAI and ESI. The study findings suggest the addition of pectin to pH12-US treated BSFLA could be used in industry to prepare BSFLA-pectin emulsion with exceptional/desirable properties.

Baicalin protects human retinal pigment epithelial cell lines against high glucose-induced cell injury by up-regulation of microRNA-145.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus, which is a major reason of blindness. Baicalin (BAI) is a flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis, whose pharmacological characterizes have been widely reported in various diseases. However, it remains unclear the effect of BAI on DR. The study aimed to confirm the protective effect of BAI on DR. METHODS: ARPE-19 cells and HRMECs were exposed to the high glucose (HG) environment to construct a cell injury model. After treatment with HG and BAI, cell viability, apoptosis, inflammatory cytokines and ROS generations were determined in ARPE-19 cells and HRMECs. Subsequently, microRNA-145 (miR-145) inhibitor and its negative control were transfected into ARPE-19 cells, and the regulatory effects on HG-and BAI-co-treated cells were detected. NF-κB and p38MAPK signaling pathways were finally examined to state the underling mechanisms. RESULTS: HG treatment significantly induced ARPE-19 cells and HRMECs injury in vitro. BAI significantly promoted cell proliferation, reduced apoptosis, as well as inhibited the release of IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8 and ROS level in HG-injured ARPE-19 cells and HRMECs. Additionally, the expression level of miR-145 was up-regulated in HG-and BAI-co-treated cells. More importantly, miR-145 inhibition reversed the protective effect of BAI on HG-injured ARPE-19 cells. Besides, we observed that BAI inhibited the activations of NF-κB and p38MAPK pathways by up-regulating miR-145. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrated that BAI exhibited the protective effect against HG-induced cell injury by up-regulation of miR-145.

Biodiesel production from soybean oil deodorizer distillate enhanced by counter-current pulsed ultrasound.

Biodiesel production from soybean oil deodorizer distillate enhanced by counter-current pulsed ultrasound was studied. Effect of static probe ultrasonic enhanced transesterification (SPUE) and counter-current probe ultrasonic enhanced transesterification (CCPUE) on the biodiesel conversion were compared. The results indicated that CCPUE was a better method for enhancing transesterification. The working conditions of CCPUE were studied by single-factor experiment design and the results showed that the optimal conditions were: initial temperature 25 °C, methanol to triglyceride molar ratio 10:1, flow rate 200 mL/min, catalyst content 1.8%, ultrasound working on-time 4 s, off-time 2 s, total working time 50 min. Under these conditions, the average biodiesel conversion of three experiments was 96.1%.