A Green Strategy to Produce Potential Substitute Resource for Bear Bile Using Engineered Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

BackgroundBear bile powder is a precious natural material characterized by high content of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) at a ratio of 1.00–1.50 to taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA).ResultsIn this study, we use the crude enzymes from engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae to directional convert TCDCA from chicken bile powder to TUDCA at the committed ratio in vitro. This S. cerevisiae strain was modified with heterologous 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7α-HSDH) and 7β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7β-HSDH) genes. S. cerevisiae host and HSDH gene combinatorial optimization and response surface methodology was applied to get the best engineered strain and the optimal biotransformation condition, respectively, under which 10.99 ± 0.16 g/L of powder products containing 36.73±6.68 % of TUDCA and 28.22±6.05 % of TCDCA were obtained using 12.00 g/L of chicken bile powder as substrate.ConclusionThis study provides a healthy and environmentally friendly way to produce potential alternative resource for bear bile powder from cheap and readily available chicken bile powder, and also gives a reference for the green manufacturing of other rare and endangered animal-derived valuable resource.

Social Net Work Analysis of gifting bear bile in Viet Nam

The illegal wildlife trade is the major cause for global loss of diversity. In Southeast Asia regions and particularly in Vietnam, the consumption of wildlife products is mostly driven by the demand for food and traditional medicinal products. However, consumers’ motivations are poorly understood. In this study, we use mixed social science approaches and social network analysis to understand the social network influence on the consumption of bear bile through gift-giving practices in Hanoi and Nghe An. The study also provides a deeper understanding of how bear bile is consumed as gifts and the current information on bear bile usage. We found that 97.5% of all interviewees have given or received bear bile and the most common occasion for gift-giving is during visits between closed social circles of family and friends. Other reasons for giving bear bile include illnesses, gratitude, drinking among males, and ulterior motives.

Ursodeoxycholic acid: a systematic review on the chemical and biochemical properties, biosynthesis, sources and pharmacological activities

Background: Background: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a secondary bile acid, is an acidic steroid synthesized from cholesterol in hepatocytes. UDCA is widely used for the treatment of various diseases related to liver injury. The use of UDCA to treat non-liver diseases has also been developed recently, such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and obesity. Due to the important role of UDCA on human health, numerous studies in understanding its chemical and pharmacological properties have been published. Methods: Literature sources were obtained from online databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed using keywords relating to the purpose of study. Critical analysis and review were performed for all literatures. Results: UDCA is a steroid compound with pharmacological properties. Seventeen enzymes are involved in its biosynthesis, which has been proposed in four pathways: classic, alternative, the Yamazaki, and 25-hydroxylation pathways. UDCA can be isolated from bovine bile, bear bile or all Ursidae, human, rabbit, cow, rat, hamster, sheep, pig, and plant. UDCA has been used in the treatment of several diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, hepatolithiasis associated with Caroli syndrome gallstones, cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C virus, chronic heart failure, neurodegenerative diseases, and obesity, as well as in the prevention of cancer. Conclusion: UDCA has a wide range of the pharmacological properties. Further investigations on its efficacy and safety on humans are required before it could be used for several indications. All genes which are responsible for UDCA biosynthesis have been elucidated. That said, further genetic engineering studies in order to find other prospective sources of UDCA could be a challenge for the future research.

Study on the Determination of Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid in Bear Bile Powder by HPLC-MS/MS

Objective — To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the rapid determination of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) in bear bile powder. Method — The chromatographic conditions were optimized. A Hypersil GOLD chromatographic column (Thermo Fisher, 100 mm×2.1 mm) was used with the mobile phase of methanol:water (0.1mmol/l ammonium acetate + 0.1% formic acid) = 75:25 for isocratic elution; the column temperature is 30.0℃; the flow rate is 0.2mL/min; the injection volume is 5uL; the negative ion scanning mode and the select reaction monitoring are used. Through the compound optimization function of the instrument, the two characteristic ion pairs of TUDCA are m/z: 498.5/124.0 and m/z: 498.5/79.8 (quantitative ion pair). Results — The detection limit of this method was 5ng/mL, and the linear range was 20~1000ng/mL (r=0.9993). The same sample was measured in parallel with the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/UV) method, and the analysis results were basically the same. Conclusion — Compared with HPLC/UV, HPLC-MS/MS is simple, more sensitive and accurate for the determination of TUDCA in bear bile powder. The method can be used in the quality assessment and process control of bear bile powder.

How will the end of bear bile farming in Vietnam influence consumer choice?

The Vietnamese Government committed to closing all bear farms in the country by 2022. Some researchers have expressed concerns that ending the commercial farming of bears while demand for bear bile persists could lead to increased hunting pressure on wild bear populations. In this article, we use mixed methods of questionnaires, discrete choice experiments (DCEs), and interviews to investigate current consumer demand for bear bile in Vietnam, with a specific aim of understanding the potential for consumers to seek out wild bear bile. We sampled at seven areas across the country of Vietnam (total respondents = 2,463). We found that when directly estimated, the use of farmed bear bile in the past twelve months was over 20% in only one site; in all other study areas the use of farmed bear bile was lower than 5%. The same site had the highest level of wild bear bile use, at 5%; all other sites were lower. Despite widespread beliefs in farmed and wild bear bile’s efficacy, we found through qualitative interviews with bear bile consumers that there was general apathy about the continued use of bear bile, with respondents saying that they would use another product once bear bile farms were fully gone. Coupled with a strong preference for using synthetic bear bile over wild and farmed bear bile found in the DCEs, we posit that bear bile consumers in Vietnam will be willing to use non-animal-based products, including bear bile plant and Western medicine, to treat future ailments.