Relationship Between Serum Leptin Concentration and Lipids & Body Mass Index in Patients With Chronic Congestive Heart Failure

Objectives To investigate the relationship of serum leptin concentration with the lipids and body mass index （BMI） in patients with chronic congestive heart failure（CHF）. Methods The serum concentration of leptin in 39 patients with CHF （14 in cardiac function class Ⅱ , 21 in class Ⅲ, 4 in classⅣ , NYHA） and in 46 patients with cardiac function class Ⅰ （NYHA） were assessed by radioimmunoassay. Results The serum concentration of leptin were 9.018±4.519 μg/l in CHF group （cardiac function class Ⅱ 11.492±5.649 μg/l, class Ⅲ 7.763±3.321 μg/l, class Ⅳ 6.100±2.657 μg/l）; 11.674± 6.911 μg/l in class Ⅰ group. The serum concentrations of leptin were significantly lower in CHF group, as compared with class Ⅰ group （P〈 0.05）. Moreover, the decrease of serum leptin concentration was significantly correlated with the decreased serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglyceride, body mass index and left ventricular ejection fraction in CHF group, respectively （P 〈 0.05）. Conclusions The significance of the decrease in serum leptin in CHF patients needs further study.

Vitamin B6 and Lipid Contents in Engraulisjaponica Specifically Caught for Production of Japanese Soup Stock

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between percentage of body lipid and individual vitamin B6 contents in the anchovy used for production of Japanese soup stock. The contents of individual vitamin B6 compound in foods should be determined to estimate the functionality of foods. Anchovies （Engraulisjaponica） for use as production of iriko, which is a raw material for preparation of Japanese soup stock, were caught using a medium-sized purse seine on May 26th, June 1st, and July 6th 2011 in Tachibana Bay, Nagasaki, Japan. Vitamin B6 contents were analyzed by 4-pyridoxolacone-coversion （all-enzymatic） HPLC. The relationship between body length, lipid content and the individual contents of vitamin B6 compounds in the anchovies was determined. The propriety of anchovies for iriko preparation could not be estimated based on the appearance of length of fishes. The anchovies were rich in vitamin B6, especially pyridoxamine 5＇-phosphate, which may prevent diabetic complications. The percentage of body lipid significantly showed a negative correlation with the content of pyridoxamine 5＇-phosphate. The contents of the other vitamin B6 compounds did not show the significant correlation with the percentage of body lipid.

Lipases in the castor bean seed of Chinese varieties:Activity comparison,purification and characterization

The lipase activities in the three main Chinese castor bean varieties [ZiBi 05 （ZB 5）,TongBi 06 （TB 6）,JinBi 02 （JB 2）] were investigated.Two lipases were found in extracts from the endosperms of all the three varieties.One lipase is located in the lipid bodies,showing higher activity at pH 4.5 and exhibiting the highest activity at day 1 of germination.The other lipase is located in the particulates,showing higher activity at pH 9.5 and particularly active at day 4 of germination.The lipid bodies from ZB 5 show the highest lipase activity at day 1 and pH 4.5 among the three varieties during the 8 d of germination.The acid lipase located in the lipid bodies of ZB 5 of germination 1 d was purified to homogeneity by DEAE-sepharose CL-6B and butyl-sepharose CL-4B chromatography after isolation,delipidation and solubilization,with a purification factor of 16.1 and overall activity recovery of 17.7%.The characterizations （such as optimum pH,pH stability,optimum temperature,thermal stability,effect of metal ions,organic solvents stability,substrate specificity） of the purified acid lipase were conducted in detail.A combination of the characterized properties may make this enzyme a useful biocatalyst for industrial application.