In Silico and In Vitro Analyses of Glucosamine and Indole Acetaldehyde Inhibit Pathogenic Regulator Gene phcA of Ralstonia solanacearum, a Causative Agent of Bacterial Wilt of Tomato.

In this study, medicinal plant (Solanum surattense)-associated bacteria were isolated and their extracellular secondary metabolites were extracted. Dual-plate application of crude secondary metabolites proved that SSL2I and SSL5 had a good inhibitory activity against Ralstonia solanacearum. These biocontrol bacteria were identified as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus velezensis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. The crude extracts of secondary metabolites were identified based on high-resolution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS) analysis. On the basis of HR-LCMS analysis, we selected the compounds such as glucosamine and indole acetaldehyde for in silico analysis and inhibition of pathogenic gene of phcA from R. solanacearum. The specificity of identified pathogenic gene of R. solanacearum and its cytoplasmic localization were identified by BLASTP and PSORTB bioinformatics tools. The protein-protein interaction between the identified secondary metabolites and pathogenic gene revealed that the compound had antagonistic potential against pathogenic gene of phcA. Furthermore, the synthetic forms of the above metabolites showed that both the compounds had the ability to inhibit R. solanacearum under in vitro condition. On the basis of in silico and in vitro analyses, it was concluded that medicinal plant-associated Bacillus spp. could be used as a biocontrol agent in managing wilt disease caused by R. solanacearum.

Identification of the Volatile Components of Galium verum L. and Cruciata leavipes Opiz from the Western Italian Alps.

The chemical composition of the volatile fraction from Galium verum L. (leaves and flowers) and Cruciata laevipes Opiz (whole plant), Rubiaceae, was investigated. Samples from these two plant species were collected at full bloom in Val di Susa (Western Alps, Turin, Italy), distilled in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. A total of more than 70 compounds were identified, making up 92%-98% of the total oil. Chemical investigation of their essential oils indicated a quite different composition between G. verum and C. laevipes, both in terms of the major constituents and the dominant chemical classes of the specialized metabolites. The most abundant compounds identified in the essential oils from G. verum were 2-methylbenzaldheyde (26.27%, corresponding to 11.59 µg/g of fresh plant material) in the leaves and germacrene D (27.70%; 61.63 µg/g) in the flowers. C. laevipes essential oils were instead characterized by two sesquiterpenes, namely ß-caryophyllene (19.90%; 15.68 µg/g) and trans-muurola-4(15),5-diene (7.60%; 5.99 µg/g); two phenylpropanoids, benzyl alcohol (8.30%; 6.71 µg/g), and phenylacetaldehyde (7.74%; 6.26 µg/g); and the green-leaf alcohol cis-3-hexen-1-ol (9.69%; 7.84 µg/g). The ecological significance of the presence of such compounds is discussed.

Effect of Grape Seed and Skin Tannin Molecular Mass and Composition on the Rate of Reaction with Anthocyanin and Subsequent Formation of Polymeric Pigments in the Presence of Acetaldehyde.

Polymeric pigments formed via ethyl linkages between grape tannins and anthocyanins are important to the development of stable red wine color. To determine the effect of tannin structure on the stability and color properties of ethyl-linked polymeric pigments, tannin fractions with average polymerization between 4 and 43 units were prepared from grape skins and seeds and combined with malvidin-3-glucoside (M3G) in model wine containing acetaldehyde. As tannin molecular mass increased, the reaction rate with M3G increased. Compared with skin tannins of comparable molecular mass, seed tannins reacted more rapidly with M3G but were prone to precipitation. This resulted in a loss of polymeric pigments formed from seed tannins, which was greater as tannin molecular mass increased. Aggregation occurred following the reaction of seed tannin with M3G, concomitant with precipitation. The aggregation-precipitation phenomenon was not observed for skin tannin-derived pigments, indicating a greater stability in solution than those formed from seed tannins.

A Probiotic Beverage Made from Tiger-nut Extract and Milk Permeate.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Tiger-nut has long been recognized for its generous health benefits. Milk permeate as a by-product, contains lactose, soluble vitamins and salts. Probiotics are live micro-organisms that confer a benefit on the host. The aim of this work was to use a combination of tiger-nut aqueous extract (TNAE) and UF-milk permeate, fortified with probiotic bacteria, to produce a functional dairy beverage. Material s and Methods: Milk-permeate (65%), TNAE (30%) and sugar (5%) were the best portions used to produce permeate-tiger nut beverage. Three probiotic bacteria mixture including, L. plantarum and L. acidophilus culture (1:1), L. plantarum and B. breve culture (1:1) and L. plantarum with both L. acidophilus and B. breve culture (1:1:1) were added to create 3 permeate-tiger nut beverages namely T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The follow up of their bacteriological, physical and chemical characteristics/changes during a storage period of 10 days was evaluated. RESULTS: No changes in the survival of the probiotics bacteria were observed throughout the storage period (10 days). Meanwhile, T3 has low pH value and acetaldehyde content but has high diacetyl content and antioxidant activity followed by T2 and T1. Permeate-tiger nut beverage fortified with probiotic bacteria exhibited higher lightness and lower redness and structure viscosity than the control from day 5 onwards. Also, T3 was less sensory acceptable compared to the others. CONCLUSION: A mixture of UF-milk permeate (65%), tiger-nut aqueous extract (30%) and 5% sugar, fortified with 1% mixture of probiotic cultures produced a healthy stable beverage.

Direct Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Trifluoromethylated γ-Amino Esters/Lactones via Umpolung Strategy.

Enabled by the discovery of new cinchonium salts and coadditives, a direct and efficient asymmetric access to trifluoromethylated γ-amino esters/lactones has been realized through the enantioselective and diastereoselective umpolung reaction of trifluoromethyl imines with acrylates or α,ß-unsaturated lactones as carbon electrophiles. At 0.5-5.0 mol % catalyst loadings, the newly developed catalytic system activates a variety of imine substrates as unconventional nucleophiles to mediate highly chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective C-C bond forming reactions. The developed synthetic protocol represents an excellent strategy to target a series of versatile and enantiomerically enriched γ-amino esters/lactones in good to excellent yields from the readily available starting materials. Additionally, we found that the epi-vinyl catalysts based on cinchonidine and quinine promote a similarly high enantioselective reaction generating the opposite configuration of chiral products in a highly efficient manner, which allows convenient access to either the R- or S-enantiomer of the chiral amine products in high yields and excellent enantioselectivities.

Validation of a new 96-well plate spectrophotometric method for the quantification of compound 48/80 associated with particles.

A new, simple, inexpensive, and rapid 96-well plate UV spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for the quantification of compound 48/80 (C48/80) associated with particles. C48/80 was quantified at 570 nm after reaction with acetaldehyde and sodium nitroprusside in an alkaline solution (pH 9.6). The method was validated according to the recommendations of the ICH Guidelines for specificity, linearity, range, accuracy, precision, and detection and quantification limits (DL and QL). All the validation parameters were assessed in three different solvents, i.e., deionized water, blank matrix of chitosan nanoparticles, and blank matrix of chitosan/alginate nanoparticles. The method was found to be linear in the concentration range of 5 to 160 µg/ml (R(2)>0.9994). Intraday and interday precision was adequate, with relative standard deviation lower than those given by the Horwitz equation. The mean recoveries of C48/80 from spiked samples ranged between 98.1% and 105.9% for calibration curves done with the blank matrices and between 89.3% and 103.3% for calibration curves done with water, respectively. The DL were lower than 1.01 µg/ml and the QL were lower than 3.30 µg/ml. The results showed that the developed method is sensitive, linear, precise, and accurate for its intended use, with the additional advantages of being cost-effective and time-effective, allowing the use of small-volume samples, and the simultaneous analysis of a large number of samples. The proposed method was already successfully applied to evaluate the loading efficacy of C48/80 chitosan-based nanoparticles and can be easily applied during the development of other C48/80-based formulations.

Fragrance of Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) attracts both floral herbivores and pollinators.

The evolution of floral scent as a plant reproductive signal is assumed to be driven by pollinator behavior, with little attention paid to other potential selective forces such as herbivores. I tested 10 out of the 13 compounds emitted by dioecious Cirsium arvense, Canada thistle, including 2-phenylethanol, methyl salicylate, p-anisaldehyde, benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, phenylacetaldehyde, linalool, furanoid linalool oxides (E and Z), and dimethyl salicylate. Single compounds (and one isomer) set out in scent-baited water-bowl traps trapped over 10 species of pollinators and 16 species of floral herbivores. The two dominant components of the fragrance blend of C. arvense, benzaldehyde and phenylacetaldehyde, trapped both pollinators and florivores. Other compounds attracted either pollinators or florivores. Florivores of C. arvense appear to use floral scent compounds as kairomones; by advertising to pollinators, C. arvense also attracts its own enemies.

Feeding encapsulated ground full-fat soybeans to increase polyunsaturated fat concentrations and effects on flavor volatiles in fresh lamb.

This research assessed the potential of increasing PUFA concentrations and the effect on flavor volatiles in red meat by feeding ground, full-fat soybean supplemented in casein complex. Supplements consisted of untreated ground, full-fat soybean (CO) or ground, full-fat soybeans treated with acetaldehyde (AC) or diacetyl (DA) to form gels. On a DM basis, the control (CO), AC, and DA supplements contained 48.6, 50.0, and 49.1% CP and 17.3, 17.3, and 17.4% fat, respectively. Weaned feeder lambs (n = 18) were divided into three treatment groups with two pens of three lambs per group. One of three supplements (200 g of DM) plus 1 kg DM of a ground corn basal diet and 0.36 kg DM of grass hay was fed daily to each of six lambs in a group for 9 wk. Samples of the intramuscular (LM), intermuscular, subcutaneous, and kidney fat were obtained from each lamb carcass for determination of total lipid contents and fatty acid profiles. Flavor volatiles of broiled LM were also analyzed. Total fat content of the LM was 3.7, 4.6, and 2.6% for lambs consuming diets supplemented with CO, AC, and DA, respectively. Compared with lambs fed the untreated supplement (CO), lambs supplemented with AC or DA had 1) higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of linoleic (4.80 vs. 6.37 or 6.80%) and linolenic (0.28 vs. 0.43 or 0.45%) acids in the LM nonpolar lipids; 2) a higher (P < 0.05) concentration of linoleic acid (22.1 vs. 27.1 or 25.6%), but a lower (P < 0.05) concentration of oleic acid (17.2 vs. 13.0 or 13.1%), in the LM polar lipids; 3) a higher (P < 0.05) concentration of linoleic acid (3.77 vs. 6.13 or 6.06%) in subcutaneous fat; and 4) higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of linoleic (4.46 vs. 7.65 or 7.13%), linolenic (0.50 vs. 0.85 or 0.80%), and stearic (24.9 vs. 27.2 or 26.9%) acids, but a lower (P < 0.05) concentration of oleic acid (39.1 vs. 35.4 or 36.3%), in kidney fat. In broiled LM chops, 21 volatiles were identified, including seven alkanals, seven 2-alkenals, two 2,4-alkadienals, and five other compounds, but most differences in the volatile concentrations among lambs fed the different supplements did not correspond to concentration differences in their precursor fatty acids. Results indicated that compared with the untreated supplement (CO), AC and DA supplements protected linoleic (C 18:2n6) and linolenic (C18:3n3) acids in soybean oil from degradation in the rumen of the lambs, resulting in increased deposition in the muscle and adipose tissues of lamb.

Imaging of hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide-scavenging substances by photon emission.

An imaging system for the hydroperoxide and hydrogen donor was developed by photon emission from the reactive oxygen species-hydrogen donor-KHCO(3)-MeCHO system. Photon intensity (luminance, cd/m(2)) showed a linear correlation with the concentration of some hydroperoxides [hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), tert-butyl hydroperoxide and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide] and that of hydrogen donors (catechins and anthocyanins). The linear relationship between photon intensity and concentration was observed in polyphenol-rich samples, such as teas, berries and currants. Photon intensity from the H(2)O(2)/polyphenol-rich sample-KHCO(3)-MeCHO system corresponded with H(2)O(2)-scavenging activity, rather than with polyphenol contents. It is possible to classify hydrogen donor species according to absorption features using spectral analysis (gallic acid, E(max) 645 nm, catechins, E(max) 610 nm; anthocyanins, E(max) 690-700 nm). This method is a simple and sensitive detection system for hydroperoxide- and H(2)O(2)-scavenging substances.

Headspace constituents of Parkia speciosa seeds.

The headspace of Parkia speciosa seeds was analysed by means of GC and GC-MS and found to contain 21 volatile components. The main constituents were hydrogen sulphide (41.30%), ethanol (39.15%), 1,2,4-trithiolane (4.75%) and acetaldehyde (3.59%), of which 1,2,4-trithiolane was found as one of the main component for the characteristic odour.