Retinol and α-Tocopherol Contents, Fat Color, and Lipid Oxidation as Traceability Tools of the Feeding System in Suckling Payoya Kids

The effects of Payoya kid feeding systems on the fat-soluble vitamin (retinol/α-tocopherol) contents, fat content, fat color, and the oxidation index were evaluated to determine their potential for use as feeding system traceability tools. Four groups of Payoya kids (55 animals in total) fed milk exclusively were studied: a group fed a milk replacer (MR) and three groups fed natural milk from dams reared with different management systems (mountain grazing (MG), cultivated meadow (CM) and total mixed ration (TMR)). Kids were slaughtered around one month of age and 8 kg of live weight. Kids from the MG and CM groups presented lower retinol (5.56 and 3.72 µg/mL) and higher α-tocopherol plasma (11.43 and 8.85 µg/mL) concentrations than those from the TMR and MR groups (14.98 and 22.47 µg/mL of retinol; 2.49 and 0.52 µg/mL of α-tocopherol, respectively) (p < 0.001). With respect to fat, kids with a higher intramuscular fat percentage (CM and TMR groups) had lower retinol contents (16.52 and 15.99 µg/mL, respectively) than kids from the MG and MR groups (26.81 and 22.63 µg/mL, respectively) (p < 0.001). A dilution effect of vitamins on fat was shown: the higher the amount of fat, the lower the vitamin concentrations, the higher the lipid oxidation index (MDA), and the lower the SUM (absolute value of the integral of the translated spectra between 450 and 510 nm). A discriminant analysis that included all studied variables showed that 94.4% of the kids were classified correctly according to their feeding system and could allow traceability to the consumer.

Effect of NaCl Replacement by other Salts on the Quality of Bísaro Pork Sausages (PGI Chouriça de Vinhais)

Concerned about the trend to reduce salt consumption, the meat industry has been increasing the strategies to produce and commercialize products where the reduction or even the replacement of NaCl is an important goal. The aim of this study was to test the effect of partial NaCl replacement by KCl and Sub4Salt® on the quality of pork sausages. Three different formulations (NaCl + KCl, NaCl + Sub4Salt®, and KCl + Sub4Salt®) were considered and compared to the control (2% NaCl). Physicochemical properties, chemical composition, and microbiological and sensory characteristics were evaluated. The replacement of NaCl did not affect pH, water activity (aw) or its chemical composition after eight or 16 days ripening time, while a significant sodium reduction was achieved. The oxidation index expressed in TBARS was also not affected by the NaCl substitution and varied between 0.01 to 0.04 of malonaldehyde (MDA) per kg of sample. Similarly, the NaCl replacement did not change the microbiological quality of the sausages, and the production of healthier meat sausages had also no significant effect on their sensory characteristics. Therefore, according to the results obtained, it is viable and a good strategy for the meat industry to produce “reduced sodium content” sausages without affecting their traditional quality.

Improving the efficiency of technological processes for the treatment of highly concentrated wastewater to ensure environmental safety

The complexity of biochemical wastewater treatment is most often due to the presence of a large number of organic impurities, causing the death of the biological community of activated sludge microorganisms. Application of the method of lowering the pH of industrial effluents to minimum value reduces the solubility of organic substances in water, separating them into a separate layer of emulsified wastewater. In this case, the process of removing organic impurities from treated wastewater becomes the most accessible, but also requires solving the problems of technological and environmental safety. Dissolution of wastewater organic impurities separated into a separate layer a solvent – the extractant followed by the extraction of organic components extracted from it, reduces the level of wastewater pollution with organic substances according to the oxidation index (COD) to an acceptable level. The technology of the applied method allows for the final treatment using biological methods; and practically constructively mounts and build a new modernized technological line.

Metformin Activates the Protective Effects of the AMPK Pathway in Acute Lung Injury Caused by Paraquat Poisoning

Objective. To observe whether metformin (MET) plays a protective role in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by paraquat (PQ) poisoning in rats by activating the AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Methods. PQ exposure was used to construct a rat model of ALI and a model of acute type II alveolar epithelial cell (RLE-6TN) injury, and MET intervention was performed. Rat lung tissue samples were collected to evaluate pathological changes in rat lung tissue, the oxidation index, and inflammatory factors; cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assays, and the protein expression levels of phospho-AMPK and phospho-NF-κBp65 in rat lung tissue and RLE-6TN cells were observed by Western blotting. Results. Compared with the PQ group, the MET treatment group showed significantly (1) reduced lung wet/dry ratio (W/D: 4.67±0.31 vs. 5.45±0.40, P<0.001), (2) reduced pathological changes in lung tissue, (3) decreased MDA levels (nmol/mg prot: 2.70±0.19 vs. 3.08±0.15, P<0.001) and increased SOD and GSH-Px activities (U/mg prot: 76.17±5.22 vs. 45.23±6.58, 30.40±2.84 vs. 21.00±3.20; all P<0.001) in lung tissue homogenate, (4) reduced levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in lung tissue homogenates (pg/mL: 47.87±5.06 vs. 66.77±6.55; 93.03±7.41 vs. 107.39±9.81; 75.73±6.08 vs. 89.12±8.94; all P<0.001), (5) increased activity of RLE-6TN cells (%: 0.69±0.09, 0.76±0.06, and 0.58±0.03 vs. 0.50±0.05; all P<0.05), (6) decreased protein levels of phospho-NF-κBp65 in lung homogenates and RLE-6TN cells (p-NF-κB/NF-κB: 0.47±0.09 vs. 0.81±0.13; 0.26±0.07 vs. 0.79±0.13; all P<0.01), and (7) upregulated protein expression of phospho-AMPK in lung homogenates and RLE-6TN cells (p-AMPK/AMPK: 0.88±0.05 vs. 0.36±0.12; 0.93±0.03 vs. 0.56±0.15; all P<0.01). After the addition of the AMPK inhibitor Compound C (Com C), the protein expression levels of phospho-AMPK and phospho-NF-κBp65 returned to baseline. Conclusion. MET can effectively alleviate ALI induced by paraquat poisoning and increase the viability of cells exposed to paraquat. The mechanism may be related to the activation of the AMPK/NF-κB pathway, downregulation of inflammatory mediators such as IL-6 and TNF-α, and upregulation of the SOD and GSH-Px oxidation index, and these effects can be inhibited by the AMPK inhibitor Com C.

Potentialities of the Colombian propolis in pharmaceutics and cosmetics: A standpoint from the quality control

Propolis is a hive product made by bees from vegetable exudates that are mixed with their secretions. The value of this material is established in terms of the content of biologically active molecules, that analytically is represented by parameters such as ethanol-soluble compounds (resins), oxidation index, phenolic compounds and total content of flavonoids. On the contrary, if propolis has a high percentage of waxes, mechanic impurities or heavy metals, it is classified as a sub-standard beekeeping product. On this basis, this research work illustrates the use of quality control as a strategy to identify the possible application of two samples of Colombian propolis for developing innovative pharmaceutic and cosmetic formulations. The results evidence that the investigated samples are low-quality propolis because of their high waxes content. However, far from being a disadvantage, these waxes could generate added value when they are incorporated, for example, in products requiring lipid components as nano and microparticulate systems or nanofibrous composite scaffolds and films.

PO-209 Effects of aerobic exercise on oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota in young obese volunteers

Objective The mean body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of obese and overweight individuals increasing substantially worldwide during the previous three decades. Variation in gut microorganisms might play an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity, but the mechanisms by which gut microbiota promote metabolic disturbances are not well understood. Exercise is associated with altered gut microbial composition, but few studies have investigated whether the gut microbiota and associated metabolites are modulated by exercise training in humans. We explored the impact of 8 weeks aerobic exercise on serum oxidant and anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota. Methods All 40 young male volunteers are enrolled in the study, the lean ones (n=11), which BMI≤22 are as control group. And the obese ones (n=29), which BMI > 28 participated in the 8 weeks aerobic exercise. The body weight and BMI of each volunteers were recorded. The serum malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) were measured by ELISA. The composition and diversity of gut microbiota were analyzed with 16S rDNA sequencing. Results ① Compared with the control, the level of serum GPx, SOD and TAOC decreased significantly (P < 0.001), and the MDA increased significantly (P < 0.001) in the obese group. After the 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention, the MDA level decreased significantly (P＜0.01), the TAOC level increased significantly (P < 0.01), and there were no significant changes in the level of GPX and SOD. ② Compared with the control, the ratio of Bifidobacteriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Verrucomicrobiaceae decreased significantly(p＜0.05) in the obese group, and the ratio of Ruminococcaceae, Helicobacteraceae increased significantly (P＜0.05). After the 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention, the ratio of Bifidobacteriaceae, Alcaligenaceae increased significantly (P＜0.05)，and the ratio of Ruminococcaceae reduced remarkably (p＜0.05). The ACE index was significantly increased after the intervention (P < 0.05). ③ Through the correlation analysis of the data above, there was a certain correlation between the serum oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and gut microbiota composition. After the aerobic exercise, there was a positive correlation between MDA and Ruminococcaceae、TAOC and Bifdobacteriace (P＜0.05)；a negative correlation between MDA and Bifdobacteriace、TAOC and Ruminococcaceae (P＜0.05). After 8 weeks of aerobic exercise, MDA level was negatively correlated with ACE index (r=-0.466，P＜0.05). Conclusions ① Compared with the control, there was a significant increase of serum oxidation index and the serum anti-oxidation index dropped significantly among the obese subjects, which indicated that the accumulation of serum free radicals might be one of the causes of obesity. The 8 weeks aerobic exercise intervention can enhance the antioxidant capacity effectively. ② Compared with the control, the proportion of Bifidobacteriaceae in the obese group was significantly decreased, and the proportion of the bacteria with direct correlation to obesity, such as Ruminococcaceae increased significantly. 8 weeks aerobic exercise could inverse these changes among the obese subjects, suggested that the improvement of body phenotype of obese subjects was closely related to the effective regulation of their gut microbiota structure.The change of ACE index indicated that aerobic exercise could increase the diversity of gut microbiota. ③ Combined the correlation analysis of gut microbiota diversity index showed that there were tight correlation between the serum oxidant/anti-oxidant indexes and the gut microbiota composition and structure. It might caused metabolic disorders and eventually increased fat accumulation and changed the host body phenotype.

Features and role of lipid peroxidation in patients with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1b) before and after antiviral therapy

Aim. To estimate the levels of lipid peroxidation products in erythrocytes of patients with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1b) before the initiation of antiviral therapy and after its completion. Methods. The study included 195 patients with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1b). The levels of conjugated dienes, triene ketones, Schiff bases and oxidation index were measured after extraction of erythrocyte membranes with chloroform/isopropanol (2:1) mixture according to I.D. Stal’naya method modified by I.A. Volchegorskiy. All patients were allocated to four groups depending on the alanine transaminase activity prior to antiviral therapy: the first group (n=52) - with normal levels of the enzyme, the second (n=74) - with elevation not exceeding 3 normal ranges, the third group (n=42) - 3 to 5 normal ranges, the fourth group (n=27) - exceeding 5 normal ranges. Antiviral treatment included pegylated interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for 48 weeks. Results. Level of conjugated dienes, triene ketones, Schiff bases and oxidation index were ranged from 0.71±0.04 to 1.02±0.03, from 0.45±0.08 to 0.94±0.02, 0.17±0.04 to 0.41±0.04 and from 0.91±0.13 to 1.91±0.03 units respectively, which was significantly higher than normal ranges and was directly dependent on the alanine transaminase activity. In addition, in patients who did not respond to antiviral treatment, these parameters were significantly higher compared to patients with immediate virologic response (p 0.01). Conclusion. Patients with chronic hepatitis C had increased levels of lipid peroxidation products in erythrocytes; their high content in patients who did not respond to antiviral treatment may be a predictive factor for antiviral treatment effectiveness.

Effect of ractopamine on the chemical and physical characteristics of pacu(Piaractus mesopotamicus) steaks

The objective was to evaluate the use of ractopamine (RAC) in the diet for pacu (Piaractus mesopotaminus) in the finishing phase on some quality parameters of the fillets. Thirty-five animals weighing 0.868±0.168kg were distributed in a completely randomised design with five treatments (0.0 - control; 11.25, 22.50, 33.75 and 45 ppm of RAC) and seven replicates with two fillets obtained from the same animal. The diets were isocaloric and isoprotein and experimental time was 90 days. RAC did not affect (P>0.05) the initial pH or ph after 24 hours of the fillets. Compared to the control, RAC increased (P<0.05) the moisture content of the fillets in natura and lipid oxidation of samples stored for 12 days in the refrigerator or freezer for 60 days. The RAC in 11.25 ppm reduced (P<0.05) the lipid content, while 45 ppm reduced (P<0.05) the crude protein in the fillets. Considering only RAC, there was a linear increase (P<0.05) in the lipid content (P<0.05) and a linear reduction in crude protein and weight loss after cooking the fillets. There was a quadratic effect (P<0.05) on the ash content, weight loss and lipid oxidation in fillets stored in the refrigerator or freezer. A RAC dose of 33.75 ppm resulted in a lower lipid oxidation index. In conclusion, ractopamine at 11.25 ppm is effective for reducing the fat content in fillets of pacu, although it increases the formation of peroxides in samples kept in the freezer for longer than 60 days. At 33.75 ppm, ractopamine is effective in reducing the effect of oxidation during storage in the refrigerator or freezer.