Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Red and Yellow Quinoa (<i>Chenopodium quinoa</i>Willd.) Seeds as Affected by Baking and Cooking Conditions

Seeds with colored testa (seed coat) contain high concentrations of polyphenolic compounds that exhibit high levels of antioxidant activity. Common processing procedures, such as cooking and baking, decrease the levels of these bioactive compounds and consequently, overall antioxidant activity. Here, the effects of baking and cooking processes were examined on total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and ferric-reducing ability of plasma antioxidant activity (FRAP AA) of red and yellow quinoa seeds. Our results indicate that red quinoa seed contains significantly higher levels of TPC, TFC and FRAP AA than yellow quinoa seeds. In addition, cooked and baked quinoa seeds retain most of their TPC, TFC and FRAP AA in the final product. Thus, red quinoa seeds processed by these two methods might be considered a functional food, in addition to its traditional role of providing dietary proteins. Due to their high antioxidant activity, red quinoa seeds might also contribute significantly to the management and/or prevention of degenerative diseases associated with free radical damage.

Effects of Exogenous Vc on Seed Germination and Physiological Properties of Oil Sunflower(Helianthus annuus) under Salt Stress

[Objective] This study aimed to provide the theoretical and technical basis for alleviating salt damages in production practice of oil sunflower （Helianthus annuus）. [Method] Seeds of oil sunflower were used as experimental materials and treated with 120 mmol/L NaCI solution and 0-200 mg/L Vc solution during the germina- tion process, to investigate the effects of exogenous Vc on seed germination and physiological properties of oil sunflower under salt stress. [Result] Under salt stress, with the increase of Vc concentration, germination potential and germination rate of oil sunflower seeds, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and peroxidase （POD） activities and proline （Pro） content of oil sunflower seedlings increased first and then declined, which reached the maixmum in 80 mg/L Vc treatment, 120 mg/L Vc treatment and 80 mg/L Vc treatment, respectively; malondialdehyde （MDA） content of oil sunflower seedlings declined first and then increased, which reached the minimum in 160 mg/L Vc treatment. [Conclusion] To varying degrees, Vc could improve germination potential and germination rate of oil sunflower seeds and promote seedling growth under salt stress, thus alleviating the damages of salt stress to seed germination and seedling growth of oil sunflower.

Kinetic Study on Extraction of Red Pepper Seed Oil with Supercritical CO_2

A mathematical model for extraction of red pepper seed oil with supercritical CO2was proposed.Some factors influencing the process were investigated,including operation pressure,temperature and extraction yield Xe(%).The model was solved by the method of weighted residuals and used to simulate the process numerically.The kinetic equation is expressed as Xe16.8606exp(t/9.98177)16.95457 and the simulation results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data.The optimal operating parameters are 30 MPa,318 K and 60 min.

Add-on therapy of herbal formulation rich in standardized fenugreek seed extract in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with insulin therapy: An efficacy and safety study

Objective: To assess the safety and efficacy of herbal formulation rich in standardized fenugreek seed extract(IND-2) add-on therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) patients who were on insulin treatment in prospective, single arm, open-label, uncontrolled, multicentre trial.Methods: T2DM patients(n=30) with aged 18-80 years who were stabilized on insulin treatment with fasting blood sugar(FBS) level between 100-140 mg/dL received IND-2 capsules(700 mg, thrice a day) for 16 weeks.The primary endpoints were an assessment of FBS at week 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16.Secondary end-points include post-prandial blood sugar level, glycosylated Hb(HbA1c), reduction in the dose of insulin and number of hypoglycemic attacks, and improvement in lipid profile at various weeks.Safety and adverse events(AEs) were also assessed during the study.Results: Study was completed in twenty T2DM patients, and there was no significant reduction in FBS and post-prandial blood sugar level after addon therapy of IND-2.However, add-on therapy of IND-2 significantly reduced(P<0.01) the HbA1c values, requirements of insulin and hypoglycemic events as compared with baseline.Total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins-cholesterol, and low-density lipoproteincholesterol levels were significantly increased(P<0.01) after IND-2 add-on therapy.Body weight and safety outcomes did not differ significantly in IND-2 add-on therapy group at week 16.Additionally, add-on therapy of IND-2 did not produce any serious adverse events.Conclusions: The results of present investigation suggest that add-on therapy of IND-2 with insulin in T2DM patients improves glycaemic control through a decrease in levels of HbA1c and number of insulin doses needed per day without an increase in body weight and risk of hypoglycemia.Thus, IND-2 may provide a safe and well-tolerated add-on therapy option for the management of T2DM.

Composting Efficiency of Urban Forest Litter and River Sediment at Different Proportions

In order to explore a technology for producing organic fertilizer by composting urban forest litter and river sediment passivated by fly ash, an experiment was conducted to study dynamic changes of several parameters including temperature, pH, organic matter, C/N and germination index （GI） during high-temperature composting of urban forest litter and river sediment at five different proportions （1：1 （Ⅰ）, 1：2 （Ⅱ）, 1：3 （Ⅲ）, 2：1 （Ⅳ） and 3：1 （Ⅴ））. Results showed that the temperature and pH increased first and then decreased; at the proportion of 3：1, the temperature increased rapidly and the high-temperature duration was longest （5 d）; at the end of the composting, all the treatments reached the decomposed status, the pH ranged from 7.47 to 8.87, and the organic matter content was reduced by 36%, 38%, 42%, 33% and 29%, respectively, indicating that increasing the proportion of urban forest litter was conducive to reducing the loss of organic matter. Due to low C/N ratio of river sediment, increasing the proportion of urban forest litter was helpful to improve the efficiency of composting. The GI of treatments I, IV and V reached 80% on day 26, 18 and 19 respectively, but the GI of treatments II and III did not reach this level until the end of composting. Considering the quality of fertilizer and efficiency of composting for large-scale production, the proportion between urban forest litter and river sediment is suitable to be set as 3：1 for production of organic fertilizer.

Vitamin C, Grape Seed Extract and Citrus Bioflavonoids Protect the Skin against Photoaging: A Review

The skin is a major protective organ of the body. It is constantly exposed to the environment and is very resilient. But exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun results in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent inflammatory responses that can overwhelm the innate protective mechanisms of the skin. This results in damage and premature aging. Strategies to mitigate this premature photoaging might include avoidance of sunlight. However, some sunlight exposure is beneficial to health. One notable example of this is the production of vitamin D. A more practical approach to preventing adverse effects of UV light in the skin is antioxidant supplementation. Dietary antioxidants may help control ROS propagation following UV light exposure. To further evaluate the utility of antioxidants in protecting the skin, in vitro, in vivo and human studies of three well known dietary antioxidants are reviewed and discussed. The data clearly demonstrate that vitamin C, grape seed extract and citrus bioflavonoids have the potential to reduce the damaging effects of excess sun exposure via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating mechanisms. As such, regular ingestion of dietary antioxidants appears to be a useful strategy for protecting the skin against photoaging.

Antimicrobial Activity of a Cys-Rich Peptide Derived from a Centrosema virginianum Vicilin

Many antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been identified in plants. These peptides are highly divergent at the primary sequence level and vary in their hierarchical structures. Some common biochemical features include the ability to form disulfide bonds, tandemly repeated amino acid sequences and a net charge at pH 7. Unusual Cysteine containing repeats has been identified in several plant seed storage proteins that may act as AMPs. We identified a Cys repeat within a vicilin (seed storage protein) of a wild legume, Centrosema virginianum. Cleavage of the vicilin protein during germination would generate a vicilin derived Cys peptide (VDCP). We investigated the antimicrobial properties of this VDCP and compared its efficacy as an antimicrobial agent to VDCPs from other species. We developed transgenic tobacco plants that expressed cloned sequences encoding the Cysteine repeat unit from C. virginianum, Theobroma cacao and Gossypium hirsutum. Extracts from fully expanded leaves were tested for antimicrobial activity against a fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. The Cys motif from C. virginianum was also expressed in two E. coli cell lines (reducing or oxidizing cytoplasm) and peptide fusion protein fractions were tested for antimicrobial activity against a battery of fungal strains. The unique Cysteine repeat single unit from C. virginianum exhibited antimicrobial properties greater than or equal to the antimicrobial activity associated with expression of the multiple Cys-repeat VDCPs from G. hirsutum or T. cacao in transgenic tobacco. When expressed in bacteria, a C. virginianum VDCP fusion protein exhibited antifungal activity against 3 of the 4 fungi tested. Although the primary role of seed storage proteins is to provide a pool of amino acids and nitrogen for germinating seeds and developing plantlets, it is likely that seed storage protein proteolytic products also provide beneficial antimicrobial properties during germination and young plantlet development.

Automatic Segmentation of Liver from Abdominal Computed Tomography Images Using Energy Feature

Liver Segmentation is one of the challenging tasks in detecting and classifying liver tumors from Computed Tomography(CT)images.The segmentation of hepatic organ is more intricate task,owing to the fact that it possesses a sizeable quantum of vascularization.This paper proposes an algorithm for automatic seed point selection using energy feature for use in level set algorithm for segmentation of liver region in CT scans.The effectiveness of the method can be determined when used in a model to classify the liver CT images as tumorous or not.This involves segmentation of the region of interest(ROI)from the segmented liver,extraction of the shape and texture features from the segmented ROI and classification of the ROIs as tumorous or not by using a classifier based on the extracted features.In this work,the proposed seed point selection technique has been used in level set algorithm for segmentation of liver region in CT scans and the ROIs have been extracted using Fuzzy C Means clustering(FCM)which is one of the algorithms to segment the images.The dataset used in this method has been collected from various repositories and scan centers.The outcome of this proposed segmentation model has reduced the area overlap error that could offer the intended accuracy and consistency.It gives better results when compared with other existing algorithms.Fast execution in short span of time is another advantage of this method which in turns helps the radiologist to ascertain the abnormalities instantly.

Elevated CO_(2) increases shoot growth but not root growth and C:N:P stoichiometry of Suaeda aralocaspica plants

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the eco-physiological responses,in terms of growth and C:N:P stoichiometry of plants cultured from dimorphic seeds of a single-cell C4 annual Suaeda aralocaspica(Bunge)Freitag and Schütze under elevated CO_(2).A climatic chamber experiment was conducted to examine the effects of ambient(720μg/L)and CO_(2)-enriched(1440μg/L)treatments on these responses in S.aralocaspica at vegetative and reproductive stages in 2012.Result showed that elevated CO_(2) significantly increased shoot dry weight,but decreased N:P ratio at both growth stages.Plants grown from dimorphic seeds did not exhibit significant differences in growth and C:N:P stoichiometric characteristics.The transition from vegetation to reproductive stage significantly increased shoot:root ratio,N and P contents,but decreased C:N,C:P and N:P ratios,and did not affect shoot dry weight.Moreover,our results indicate that the changes in N:P and C:N ratios between ambient and elevated CO_(2) are mainly caused by the decrease of N content under elevated CO_(2).These results provide an insight into nutritional metabolism of single-cell C4 plants under climate change.

不同浓度的维生素C对不同品种的甜菜种子引发的影响

本研究旨在探究维生素C对甜菜的引发效果并筛选出适宜的引发处理,同时为甜菜种子包衣剂物料的选择提供相关依据。本试验以TD801和TD802甜菜种子为试验材料,并设计了3个浓度梯度(50、100、200 mg/L),3个的时间处理(8、16、24 h),通过对处理后的甜菜种子的发芽势、发芽率、活力指数、发芽指数以及电导率进行分析比较。结果显示,不同处理下的VC溶液对甜菜种子的引发均有促进效果,其中300 mg/L的VC处理24 h后对TD801种子有显著的提升效果,其发芽势为90.67%,发芽率为92.67%,发芽指数为40.36,活力指数为514.60,此时种子的引发效果最好;而对TD802甜菜种子影响最大的VC浓度则为100 mg/L,处理时间为16 h。由此可见,同种引发剂对不同甜菜材料处理时,其引发的最适浓度不同。

Natural variation in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B OsCOX5B regulates seed vigor by altering energy production in rice

Seed vigor is a crucial trait for the direct seeding of rice.Here we examined the genetic regulation of seed vigor traits in rice,including germination index(GI)and germination potential(GP),using a genome-wide association study approach.One major quantitative trait locus,qGI6/qGP6,was identified simultaneously for both GI and GP.The candidate gene encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B(OsCOX5B)was validated for qGI6/qGP6.The disruption of OsCOX5B caused the vigor traits to be significantly lower in Oscox5b mutants than in the japonica Nipponbare wild type(WT).Gene co-expression analysis revealed that OsCOX5B influences seed vigor mainly by modulating the tricarboxylic acid cycle process.The glucose levels were significantly higher while the pyruvic acid and adenosine triphosphate levels were significantly lower in Oscox5b mutants than in WT during seed germination.The elite haplotype of OsCOX5B facilitates seed vigor by increasing its expression during seed germination.Thus,we propose that OsCOX5B is a potential target for the breeding of rice varieties with enhanced seed vigor for direct seeding.

纳米C⁃S⁃H晶种与掺和料及早强剂复配对混凝土强度的影响

为了提高混凝土早期强度,根据不同混凝土配方的组成差异,将纳米C‐S‐H晶种与掺和料以及早强剂复配,成型不同龄期的混凝土试件,分析复配后混凝土初终凝时间、抗压强度和抗折强度受到的影响。结果表明:粉煤灰和硅灰会降低混凝土的早期抗压和抗折强度,纳米C‐S‐H晶种与粉煤灰、硅灰复配后可减弱粉煤灰、硅灰对强度下降的影响;纳米C‐S‐H晶种可缓解石膏的缓凝作用,并且可以与石膏、硫酸钠、硫铝酸盐水泥发挥协同作用,进一步提高混凝土的早期强度。

纳米C-S-H晶核对水泥浆体流变性能的影响

纳米C-S-H晶核由于对水泥早期水化的显著加速效果逐渐被广泛用作早强剂,通过流变仪测试掺纳米C-S-H晶核水泥浆体的塑性黏度、动态屈服应力、静态屈服应力和触变性,以研究纳米C-S-H晶核对水泥浆体流变性能的影响。结果表明:纳米C-S-H晶核掺入水泥浆体后,水泥浆体塑性黏度、动态屈服应力、静态屈服应力和触变性均随之增加,掺量越大,增加越多。水灰比对水泥浆体的流变性能也具有显著影响,水灰比越小,浆体的塑性黏度、动态屈服应力、静态屈服应力和触变性越大。

NaCl胁迫对藜麦幼苗生长和抗氧化酶活性的影响

以国内首个藜麦自育品种"陇藜1号"为材料,采用温室盆栽法,以蒸馏水处理作为共同对照(CK),分别用100、200、300、400和500mmol/L NaCl水溶液处理藜麦种子和盆栽幼苗,通过测定种子萌发指标及处理后第5、10、15天藜麦幼苗叶片叶绿素、可溶性糖、脯氨酸、MDA含量及抗氧化酶活性,分析NaCl胁迫对藜麦生长发育及其生理特性的影响,探讨藜麦的耐盐生理机制。结果表明:(1)随NaCl浓度的升高,藜麦种子发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和活力指数先升高后下降,且在200 mmol/L NaCl处理下种子各发芽指标均达到最高,比CK分别升高了6.40%、28.18%、20.77%和30.91%。(2)随NaCl浓度的升高,藜麦幼苗根部和茎部生长均受到抑制,且茎部生长受到抑制程度大于根部。(3)随NaCl浓度的升高和处理时间的延长,藜麦幼苗叶片叶绿素含量先升高后下降,可溶性糖、脯氨酸和MDA含量逐渐升高,SOD、POD、CAT和APX活性增强。研究发现,低浓度盐胁迫处理可增加藜麦幼苗叶片内渗透调节物质含量,增强抗氧化酶活性,清除多余活性氧,从而促进幼苗根系生长,提高幼苗耐旱性;初步推断藜麦耐盐阈值为200~300mmol/L NaCl。

NaCl胁迫对藜麦种子萌发和幼苗生理特性的影响

本研究报道了不同浓度NaCl处理对藜麦种子萌发及幼苗生理特性的影响,以确定藜麦的耐盐阈值,为藜麦在盐渍土地种植提供理论依据。结果表明,不同浓度NaCl处理对藜麦种子萌发和幼苗生理特性均产生显著影响,主要表现为,1)随着NaCl浓度的升高,藜麦种子的发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和活力指数均呈逐渐降低的趋势,当NaCl浓度达到3.0%时,藜麦种子几乎不发芽;2)幼苗叶片含水量逐渐降低,可溶性糖、脯氨酸、丙二醛含量、相对电导率及O_2^-·产生速率呈逐渐升高的趋势,叶绿素含量、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性在NaCl浓度为1.8%时达到最大值,而后随着NaCl浓度的升高呈降低的趋势;3)NaCl胁迫显著抑制了藜麦幼苗株高、茎粗的增加,根长的生长随着NaCl浓度的升高呈先增加后减少的趋势,在NaCl浓度为1.8%时根长最长,达到11.73cm。说明低浓度(≤1.8%)NaCl处理对藜麦幼苗生长具有促进作用,而高浓度的NaCl处理则对其有抑制作用。藜麦耐盐阈值为1.8%。

^(60)Co-γ辐照对NaCl胁迫下藜麦种子萌发的影响

采用不同剂量(0～500 Gy)的^(60)Co-γ射线辐照藜麦种子,研究经不同剂量射线辐射处理的藜麦种子在不同浓度NaCl(0～400 mmol/L)胁迫下种子的萌发特性,以期筛选出能够提高藜麦种子耐盐性的最佳辐射剂量。结果表明:随着盐浓度的升高,种子发芽率、发芽势和发芽指数呈逐渐下降趋势,高盐环境下下降较为显著;不同剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照处理对种子萌发的影响因盐浓度的不同而存在差异,即0～200 mmol/L NaCl条件下,种子发芽率及发芽时间随着辐照剂量的增加呈逐渐降低趋势,而300、400 mmol/L NaCl条件下,种子发芽率随着辐照剂量的增加呈先升高后降低趋势,300 Gy是促进高盐环境下种子萌发的最佳辐照剂量。

1-MCP和MJ对菜用大豆采后籽粒营养成分的影响

研究了菜用大豆贮藏期间籽粒蛋白质、脂肪、氨基酸和VC含量的变化,同时评价了菜用大豆籽粒中氨基酸组成和质量。结果表明,菜用大豆籽粒中含有32.82%(干重)蛋白质、24.55%(干重)粗脂肪以及16.92mg/100g(鲜重)的VC,籽粒中必需氨基酸占氨基酸总量的39.46%。采用MJ(茉莉酸甲酯)和l-MCP(1-甲基环丙烯)处理可以使籽粒在贮藏期间保持较高的蛋白质,VC和必需氨基酸含量以及较高的氨基酸评分,而对粗脂肪含量无明显影响。

葡萄籽原花青素降低动脉粥样硬化兔血清C反应蛋白水平

探讨葡萄籽原花青素对动脉粥样硬化兔血清C反应蛋白的作用。 15只雄性新西兰大白兔随机分为正常对照组 (喂饲标准颗粒饲料 )、高脂模型组 (喂饲含 1%胆固醇的颗粒饲料 )和葡萄籽原花青素组 (饲喂含 1%胆固醇和 1%葡萄籽原花青素的颗粒饲料 )。于实验开始前 1天和实验后第 1、2、4、8、12周末取空腹血 ,检测血清C反应蛋白水平。在 12周末 ,所有大白兔经空腹取血后处死 ,取其主动脉进行病理学分析。结果发现 ,与高脂模型组比较 ,葡萄籽原花青素组血清C反应蛋白水平在 1周末即明显降低 (P <0 .0 0 1) ,并维持至实验结束。高脂模型组和葡萄籽原花青素组血清C反应蛋白水平与时间均呈现高度相关性 (r =0 .990 4 7,P <0 .0 0 1和r =0 .74 777,P <0 .0 0 1)。病理学分析发现 ,葡萄籽原花青素组主动脉动脉粥样硬化病变程度 (主动脉壁厚度和泡沫细胞数量 )比高脂模型组明显降低 (P <0 .0 1)。结果提示 ,葡萄籽原花青素具有抗动脉粥样硬化作用 。

烯效唑干拌种对小麦光合作用和^(14)C同化物分配的影响

研究了烯效唑干拌种对小麦生育后期光合作用及14C同化物分配的调节效应。结果表明,烯效唑处理增加了植株冠层叶面积,处理间差异显著,以20mg/kg处理的效果最好。与对照相比,旗叶全展后30d,MDA含量降低了14.3%,可溶性蛋白质和叶绿素含量分别增加了59.4%和12.6%。烯效唑处理提高了小麦旗叶后期光合速率,改变了14C同化物在各器官中的分配比例,分蘖盛期标记的14C同化物分配到穗的比例提高了25.9%;灌浆中期标记的14C同化物分配到主茎穗和分蘖穗的比例分别提高了10.8%和27.2%。

拉肖皂苷元和拉肖皂苷C对油菜种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响

以油菜为试材,研究不同浓度的油菜素内酯、拉肖皂苷元(La)及其糖苷C-拉肖皂苷C(LG-C)对油菜种子萌发及幼苗生长影响。结果表明:随处理浓度不同,油芽种子萌发及幼苗生长有差别,其中浓度为0.05 mg/L拉肖皂苷C对种子萌发和幼苗生长有明显的促进作用,处理后的油菜幼苗干鲜重增加;且这3种化合物均呈现出低浓度促进,高浓度抑制油菜生长趋势,表明适度的激素处理有利于油菜生长和代谢。