Lipid Profiles in Preliminary Germinated Brown Rice Beverages Compared to Non-Germinated Brown and White Rice Beverages

Brown rice is nutritionally superior to white rice, yet oil rancidity can be problematic during processing and storage regarding sensory attributes. Germinating brown rice is known to generally increase some health-promoting compounds. In response to increasing the consumption of plant-based beverages, we sprouted unstabilized brown rice, using green technologies and saccharification enzymes for value-added beverages. ‘Rondo’ paddy rice was dehulled, sorted and germinated, and beverages were produced and compared against non-germinated brown and white brewers rice beverages. The preliminary germinated brown rice beverage contained significantly higher concentrations of total lipids, diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, free sterols, phytosterol esters and oryzanols than both non-germinated brown and white rice beverages. White rice beverages had significantly higher free fatty acids. Significant lipid losses occurred during sieving, yet novel germinated brown rice beverages contained appreciable levels of valuable health-beneficial lipids, which appeared to form natural emulsions. Further pilot plant investigations should be scaled-up for pasteurization and adjusted through emulsification to ameliorate sieving losses.

Fermented milk cream and its properties

Milk fat has an important role in the formation of fla-vour, aroma, texture proper-ties and quality in milk and dairy products, and milk fat is encapsulated in the glob-ule membrane. Milk fat contains triglycerides, phospholipids, free sterols, β-carotene (provitamin A), fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), sphingomyelins and fatty acids. In addition to its nutritional value, specific short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids found in milk fat are important for health as an energy source for muscle, heart, liver, kid-ney, blood platelets and nervous system. In addition, these fatty acids do not pose a risk of obesity; they also prevent ulcerative colitis, cancer, atherosclerosis and hypertension, and increase natural immunity with their anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. Fermented cream, which has a high fat content, is becoming more and more popular in many countries with its nutritional value and its use for many purposes in culinary culture. The classification of fer-mented creams, fat content, production method and used starter cultures vary by country. In this study, fer-mented cream produced in Turkey and in the world classification, production stages, the parameters af-fecting the sensory and tex-tural properties was investi-gated.

Effects of Plant Sterols Intake on Systematic and Tissue Specific Lipid Metabolism in C57BL/6J Mice

Objectives To investigate the effects of plant sterols intake on systematic and tissue specific lipid metabolism in C57BL/6J mice. Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control diet group (CS) and plant sterol group (PS, 2% plant sterols). After 28 weeks of continuous feeding, the serum of the mice were collected for biochemical and mass spectrometry tests. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and free sterols were determined. The livers and lungs were collected for free sterol quantification and RNA-seq analysis. Results Compared with the CS group, 2% plant sterols intake significantly reduced the levels of TC in the serum of mice (P < 0.05), with the TG level unchanged. The quantitative results of free sterols showed that the concentration of campesterol were increased, and the cholestanol levels were decreased significantly in the serum and liver of the PS group mice. The results of RNA-seq analysis were used to further evaluate its impact on the lipid metabolism related gene expression profile in the livers and lungs. The results showed that HMGCR, SQLE, HMGCS1, SREBF1, and other genes related to cholesterol synthesis in the PS group were significantly up-regulated in the liver, but not in the lung; Among the first 20 targeting pathways related to the action of plant sterols, the liver differentially expressed genes were enriched in lipid metabolism (steroid biosynthesis, terpenoid skeleton biosynthesis, peroxisome, bile acid secretion, PPAR, MAPK, fatty acid metabolism.), inflammation related (Cell adhesion molecules, leukocyte trans-endothelial migration) and amino acid metabolism (glutathione, valine, leucine and isoleucine metabolism). The differential genes in lung tissue are enriched in lipid metabolism (acetone metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, insulin resistance, terpenoid skeleton biosynthesis, iron death, PPAR), cell function (internal Swallowing, aging) and vascular smooth muscle contraction etc. Conclusions Differentially expressed gene networks reflect the multi-dimensional regulation of plant sterols on tissue specific lipid metabolism, which lays a good foundation for further revealing its mechanism. Funding Sources Yihaikerry Nutrition and Food Safety Foundation, Chinese Nutrition Society; Project of Technology Innovation and Application, Chongqing, China

Preliminary Discrimination of Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Brazil by Geographical Origin and Olive Cultivar: A Call for Broader Investigations

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) production in Brazil has been recently established and is growing, but only a few studies have been published on the topic, particularly involving commercial EVOO samples. A preliminary discrimination of Brazilian EVOOs according to olive cultivar and region of production was conducted. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were performed based on the results of recent published work by our research group on the evaluation of the quality parameters, the metabolic profile, and other typical features of commercial EVOOs from Brazil. One of the oleuropein aglycone isomers, linoleic acid, α-tocopherol, and free sterols were found to be the most discriminating variables within the models. PLS-DA also revealed the region of production as a significant factor in samples’ clustering. The present work provides a preview of Brazilian EVOOs typicity and discloses the urge for further investigations with a higher number of commercial samples, from different olive cultivars and production regions. The comprehensive definition of the identity of their chemical profiles could provide Brazilian oils with a significant added value, and possibly show distinctive features that could motivate the future establishment of protected designation of origin.

An Integrated Biomarker Approach Using Flounder to Improve Chemical Risk Assessments in the Heavily Polluted Seine Estuary

The objective of this study was to develop an integrative approach in ecotoxicology (from biomarkers to population genetics) to assess the ecological status of fish populations. Flounders (Platichthys flesus) collected after the spawning season in the heavily polluted Seine estuary were compared with the moderately polluted Bay of Douarnenez. The muscle energetic reserves were highly depleted in Seine vs. Douarnenez fish. The Seine fish displaying a reduced capacity to manage the oxidative stress and a higher energetic metabolism. An increase in the content of muscle membrane phospholipids (sphingomyelin, phosphatidylserine, free sterols) was detected in the Seine vs. Douarnenez fish. The data integration allowed to hypothesize relationships between membrane phospholipids, xenobiotic metabolism, bioenergetics, and antioxidant defence. The genetic diversity considering neutral markers was maintained in the heavily polluted Seine population compared with the Douarnenez population. Finally, we suggest that the high physiological cost of tolerance to toxicants in the Seine flounder population could compromise its capacity to respond in the future to an additional stressor like warming waters in shallow depth. Thus, this population could be submitted to an ecological risk.

THE COMPONENT COMPOSITION OF THE PHYTOSTEROLS OF THE AERIAL PART OF THE HORSETAIL VAR-IEGATED ЕQUISÉTUM VARIEGATUM SCHLEICH. EX. WEB. GROWING IN NORTH-EAST YAKUTIA

It is known that phytosterols have high immunomodulating, hypocholesterolemic and oncoprotective activity and are widely used in medicine. In addition, the plants containing them are used in feed of farm animals as dietary supplements that stimulate growth and the immune system. Promising, but poorly studied, sources of these biologically active compounds may be plants of the class Horsetails (Equisetopsida), grown under extreme conditions of sharply continental climate of Yakutia. The steric composition of the aerial part of the variegated horsetail (Equisétum variegatum) was studied for the first time during the summer and autumn vegetation. It is shown that the composition of the main free sterols includes β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, isofucosterol, as well as a small amount of cholesterol. The total amount of free and bound sterols in the tissues of the aerial part of this species is about 0.5 mg/g dry weight or 2% of the total content of all lipid components. Moreover, the content of free sterols in the aerial part of variegated horsetail is an order of magnitude higher than the content of sterol esters in these tissues. Peculiarities of the seasonal (autumn-summer) dynamics of changes in the relative contents of stigmasterol, campesterol and isofucosterol and the absolute total content of sterols in the aerial part of variegated horsetail are revealed.

Antibacterial activity of steroids isolated from the Madagascar marine sponge Biemna laboutei: Δ7 steroids as new potential agents against pathogenic bacteria

Background: Nowadays, the efficiency of antibiotics is endangered by the development of resistant bacterial strains. Consequently, novel bioactive agents are intensively searched. Marine sponges are well-known for being major sources of bioactive compounds, including unusual sterols. Until now, among sterols, interesting antibacterial activity has been reported exclusively for Δ5 sterols. Objectives: This study aims to describe the steroid composition of the marine sponge Biemna laboutei collected in the North coast of Madagascar, and the antibacterial activity of steroid mixture against human pathogenic strains. Methods: Sponge was extracted in CHCl3/MeOH. Free steroids were separated from other lipids by column chromatography with dichloromethane as specific eluent. Free sterols/steroids and sterol acetates were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Antibacterial activity (Minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC) of steroid fractions was assessed for eight strains using agar diffusion with cellulose disks. Results: Neutral lipids were the major lipid class (79.1% of total lipids) and the dichloromethane eluted fraction contained only free steroids giving rise to the identification of eleven compounds. These components presented exclusively Δ7 unsaturation, including lathosterol as major one (38.4%) and four 3-oxo-steroids (11.8%). The steroid fraction of B. laboutei has demonstrated efficiency against pathogenic strains but more specifically on the gram(+) Bacillus cereus (MIC of 12.5 µg/mL) and Staphylococcus aureus (MIC of 25 µg/mL). This latter bacterium causes several illnesses, some of those strains being antibiotic-resistant and this becomes a worldwide health problem. Conclusion: This is the first report for an antibacterial activity of a mixture of Δ7 steroids against a resistant strain of S. aureus to many antibiotics.

Column chromatography as a method for minor components removal from rapeseed oil

The purpose of this study was to verify the influence of different chromatographic column beds (silicic acid, activated charcoal, aluminum oxide, silica gel) on the concentration of individual minor components (sterols, tocopherols, carotenoids and chlorophyll) in rapeseed oil. With the use of a combination of these beds, a three-stage optimized method for removing minor components from rapeseed oil was developed. It was demonstrated that the combination of silicic acid and activated charcoal removed about half of the sterols present from the oil. Aluminum oxide turned out to be the most effective bed in removing tocopherols, purifying the oil to their minimum level (2.6 mg/kg). All adsorbents used had similar capacity to purify oil from pigments (carotenoids and chlorophyll). In the three-stage purification process free sterols were almost completely removed (to the level 90.0 mg/kg). Purification of β-carotene and chlorophyll from the oil was also very effective. Tocopherols were completely removed with this method, except for a small amount of α-tocopherol (0.4 mg/kg), which results from its relatively weak interaction with a hydrophilic bed. The developed method may be used in studies on the effect of association colloids on bulk oil autoxidation processes.