Determination of total flavonoids content in buckwheat and inhibition of α-amylase activity

Diabetes is one of the most difficult chronic diseases to cure in the world,which seriously affects people’s health and quality of life.Flavonoids in buckwheat can regulate blood glucose levels by inhibitingα-amylase activity.Therefore,sweet buckwheat produced in Inner Mongolia was used as the research object,and buckwheat fl avonoids were extracted by ultrasonic-assisted extraction method.Total fl avonoids content was determined by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry.With acarbose as the positive control,the inhibition test ofα-amylase was carried out by DNS colorimetry to study the inhibition behavior of fl avonoids onα-amylase activity.The results showed that the extraction process of flavonoids was stable and reliable,and the established method for the determination of flavonoids was simple,accurate and reproducible.The total flavonoids content of buckwheat samples was 2.706 mg/g,buckwheat total fl avonoids extraction solution had an inhibitory eff ect onα-amylase,and its median inhibition concentration(IC_(50))was 38.53 mg/mL.The results of this experiment provide a technical reference for the development and utilization of fl avonoids in Inner Mongolia sweet buckwheat,and provide a theoretical reference for the development and application of flavonoid-rich hypoglycemic food.

Chemical Constituents of Pu-erh Tea and Its Inhibition Effect on α-amylase in vitro

[Objective]The aim was to clarify the chemical substance basis of hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering effects of Pu-erh Tea. [Method]Pu-erh Tea was extracted with 95% ethanol,followed by petroleum ether,chloroform,ethyl acetate and n-butanol extraction,after the further purification and through the NKA-9 macroporous resin and many times of Sephadex column chromatography,two compounds were isolated,in the same time,the effect of Uracil and Gallic acid on α-amylase was studied. [Result]The Uracil and Gallic acid were isolated and identified respectively from Pu-erh Tea and the Uracil was firstly isolated from Pu-erh Tea; Gallic acid had strong inhibition on α-amylase. [Conclusion]It could provide some theories on the hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering effects of Pu-erh Tea.

Analysis of α-amylase Inhibitor Content Change in Pu-erh Tea During Pile-fermentation Process

The study was to investigate the changes of α-amylase inhibitor content in Pu-erh tea during pile-fermentation process. Pu-erh tea samples from two regions of Shuangjiang County and Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County of Yunnan Province at various fermentation stages were used as experimental materials to investigate the effect of different fermentation stages on the inhibitory effect to α-amylase; and the change law of the inhibitory effect of c-amylase inhibitor during processing was meanwhile studied by determining the contents of tea polyphenol and amino acid. The results showed that crude meterial of Pu-erh tea presented strong inhibitory effect to α-amylase; this inhibitory effect assumed a de： creasing trend to the minimum at the middle stage of fermentation, whereafter it increased to some extent. Made tea also showed a strong inhibitory effect to α-amylase. During whole processing period, contents of tea polyphenol and amino acid generally assumed a remarkably decreasing trend. Our results provided references for further isolating co-amylase inhibitor from Pu-erh tea and discussing the mechanism of its health care function.

Studies on the Isolation and Screening of α-amylase Producing Strain and Their Enzymatic Properties

[Objective] The aim was to obtain α-amylase producing strains with some excellent properties like high temperature resistance,strong acid resistance,strong alkali resistance,etc..[Method] α-amylase producing strains were isolated and screened; furthermore their enzymatic properties were studied.[Result] 10 strains with an obvious starch hydrolysis cycle were screened out from starch screening plate coated by diluted sample,from which 3 strains with higher α-amylase activity were screened out,that was X6,X8 and X10.As for X6,X8 and X10,their optimum pH values all belonged to neutral,and their optimum temperatures were all 60 ℃.Meanwhile,Ca^2＋ could increase their enzyme thermal stability.When the concentration of Ca^2＋ was 0.02-0.04 mol/L,the enzyme thermal stability of X6 and X8 reached the highest; When the concentration of Ca^2＋ was 0.03-0.04 mol/L,that of X10 reached the highest; When the concentration of Ca^2＋ was increased continuously,those of the 3 strains all decreased.[Conclusion] The research provides theoretical basis for satisfying the demands of different industries for α-amylase with different characteristics.

Thermostable ethanol tolerant xylanase from a cold-adapted marine species Acinetobacter johnsonii

A xylanase-producing bacterium, isolated from deep sea sediments, was identified as the cold-adapted marine species Acinetobacter Johnsonii. A cold-adapted marine species Acinetobacter Johnsonii could grow at 4 ℃. The optimum temperature and pH of xylanase from a cold-adapted marine species Acinetobacter Johnsonii were 55 ℃ and pH 6.0. Xylanase from a cold-adapted marine species Acinetobacter Johnsonii remained at 80% activity after incubation for 1 h at 65 ℃. The xylanase activity was 1.2-fold higher in 4% ethanol solution than in ethanol free solution. Gibbs free energy of denaturation, ΔG, was higher in 4% ethanol solution than in ethanol free solution. Thermostable ethanol tolerant xylanase was valuable for bioethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process with xylan as a carbon source.

Purification and Characterization of a Novel Thermostable Chitinase from Thermomyces lanuginosus SY2 and Cloning of Its Encoding Gene

A novel thermostable extracellular chitinase was purified from the culture filtrate of Thermomyces lanuginosus SY2 by using diethylaminoethyl Sepharose chromatography and Phenyl-Sepharose chromatography. The molecular size of the purified chitinase was estimated to be 48 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The chitinase exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 4.5 and 55℃. The enzyme was stable at 50℃, and its half-life time at 65℃ was 25 rain. The thermostable chitinase was obtained with 60% of the full activity, when it was incubated in the buffer （pH 2.5）. The enzyme showed the unique properties for thermostability and pH stability since it was one of the most thermostable chitinases so far isolated in fungi. Ca^2＋, Ba^2＋, Na^＋, and K^＋ enhanced the enzyme activity, whereas Fe^2＋, Ag^＋, Hg^2＋, and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid caused obvious inhibition. The N-terminal amino acids were AQGYLSVQYFVNWAI. Degenerate primers based on the N-terminal sequences of purified chitinase and a cDNA fragment encoding the chitinase gene were obtained through reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction amplication. The RACE was used to generate full-length cDNA clones. The cDNA of chit contained an open reading frame of 1 326 bp encoding 442 amino acids. The gene chit has been registered in GenBank with accession number DQ092332. The alignment results of putative amino acid sequence showed the lower similarity to other chitinases in family-18 except for the catalytic domain containing two conserved motifs related with catalytic activity of chitinase.

Purification and Characterization of a New Thermostable κ-CarrageenasefromtheMarineBacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. QY203

A new extracellular κ-carrageenase, namely CgkP, 34.0 kDa in molecular weight, was purified from Pseudoalteromonas sp. QY203. CgkP showed relatively high activity at acidities ranging from pH6.0 to pH9.0 and temperatures ranging from 30℃ to 50℃ with the highest activity at 45℃ and pH7.2. Sodium chloride increased its activity markedly, and KC1 increased its activity slightly. The divalent and trivalent metal ions including Cu^2＋, Ni^2＋, Zn^2＋, Mn^2＋, Al^3＋ and Fe^3＋ significantly inhibited its activity, while Mg^2＋ did not. CgkP remained 70% of original activity after being incubated at 40℃ for 48h, and remained 80% of the activity after being incubated at 45℃ for 1 h. It exhibited endo-κ-carrageenase activity, mainly depolymerizing the κ-carrageenan into disaccharide and tetrasaccharide. CgkP was more thermostable than most of previously reported κ-carrageenases with a potential of being used in industry.

Germination and Expression of α-Amylase of KF0680-1 and KF0680-2(Cultivars of Sweet Sorghum) under Salt Stress

[Objective] The aim was to study on germination and expression of α-amy- lase of KF0680-1 and KF0680-2 （cultivars of sweet sorghum） under salt stress. [Method] In the research, KF0680-1 and KF0680-2, cultivars of sweet sorghum, were used to measure related indices of germination and expression of co-amylase to discuss effect of salt stress on two cultivars. [Result] Germination of sweet sorghum would be promoted if treated with salt in low concentration and inhibited if treated in high concentration. In the latter condition, roots and seedlings were smaller than that of control group in length, but expression of s-amylase in the two cultivars was pro- moted under proper salt stress. [Conclusion] The research indicates that KF0680-1 and KF0680-2 are inhibited in growth by salt stress and the latter is stronger in salt resis- tance than the former under low salt concentration. In addition, expression of α-amy- lase could be promoted by salt in proper volume. The results provide references for selection of sweet sorghum which could be planted in northwestern areas.

Thermostable Broad Band Polarizing PVA-Film: Theoretical and Experimental Investigations

In the present work, for the first time on the basis ofpoly （vinyl alcohol） （PVA）, 2- （4-dimethylaminostyryl）-l-ethylquinolinium iodide （quinaldine red （QR）） and trisodium （4E）-5-oxo- 1-（4-sulfonatophenyl）-4-[（4-sulfonatophenyl）hydrazono]-3 pyrazolecarboxylate （tartrazine （T））, thermostable polarizing film in a wide range of spectra （λmax=394-511 nm） with polarization efficiency （PE） = 98% in absorption maximum and stretching degree （Rs） = 3.5 was developed. The basic spectral-polarization parameters （polarization efficiency and transmittance） of oriented colored PVA-films were measured and discussed. During the work it was found that oriented PVA-films are the phenomenon of anisotropy of thermal conductivity （λ｜/λ⊥）. It is a very important parameter for the development of thermostable PVA-polarizing films. For the first time quantum-chemical calculations using density functional theory （DFT） approach for structural analysis and electronic spectrum of the QR were carried out via the B3LYP/dgdzvp and TDB3LYP/dgdzvp methods. Interpretation of absorption strips in visible region of spectrum was also reported. The excitation energies, electronic transitions and oscillator strengths for the studied structures have also been calculated （B3LYP/dgdzvp）. The NBO analysis and Mulliken atomic charges of the QR were carried out.

Discovery and Characterization of a Thermostable Esterase from an Oil Reservoir Metagenome

With the aim of identifying novel thermostable esterases, comprehensive sequence databases and cloned fosmid libraries of metagenomes derived from an offshore oil reservoir on the Norwegian Continental Shelf were screened for enzyme candidates using both sequence-and function-based screening. From several candidates identified in both approaches, one enzyme discovered by the functional approach was verified as a novel esterase and subjected to a deeper characterization. The enzyme was successfully over-produced in Escherichia coli and was shown to be thermostable up to 90°C, with the highest esterase activity on short-chain ester substrates and with tolerance to solvents and metal ions. The fact that the thermostable enzyme was solely found by functional screening of the oil reservoir metagenomes illustrates the importance of this approach as a complement to purely sequence-based screening, in which the enzyme candidate was not detected. In addition, this example indicates the large potential of deep-sub-surface oil reservoir metagenomes as a source of novel, thermostable enzymes of potential relevance for industrial applications.

Characterization of a thermostable manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from inshore hot spring thermophile Thermus sp.JM1

A thermostable superoxide dismutase （SOD） from the inshore thermophile Thermus sp. JM1 was purified to homogeneity by steps of fractional ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose chromatography and Phenyl-Sepharose chromatography. The specific activity of the purified native enzyme was 1 656 U/mg. A sod gene from this strain was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli （E. coli）. The prepared apo-enzyme of the purified recombinant SOD （rSOD） was reconstituted with either Fe or Mn by means of incubation with appropriate metal salts. As a result, only Mn 2＋ - reconstituted rSOD （Mn-rSOD） exhibited the specific activity of 1 598 U/mg. SOD from Thermus sp. JM1 was Mn-SOD, judging by the specific activities analysis of Fe or Mn reconstituted rSODs and the insensitivity of the native SOD to both cyanide and H 2 O 2 . Both the native SOD and Mn- rSOD were determined to be homotetramers with monomeric molecular mass of 26 kDa and 27.5 kDa, respectively. They had high thermostability at 50 ° C and 60 ° C, and showed striking stability across a wide pH span from 4.0 to 11.0.

In vitro α-amylase inhibitory activity and in vivo hypoglycemic effect of methanol extract of Citrus macroptera Montr.fruit

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effects of methanol extract of Citrus macroptera Montr,fruit inα-amylase inhibitory activity(in vitro)and hypoglycemic activity in normal and glucose induced hyperglycemic rats(in vivo).Methods:Fruits of Citrus macroptera without rind was extracted with pure methanol following cold extraction and tested for presence of phytochemical constituents,α-amylase inhibitory activity,and hypoglycemic effect in normal rats and glucose induced hyperglycemic rats.Results:Presence of saponin,steroid and terpenoid were identified in the extract.The results showed that fruit extract had moderateα-amylase inhibitory activity[IC_(50)value=(3.638±0.190)mg/mL]as compared to acarbose.Moreover at 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg doses fruit extract significantly(P<0.05 and P<0.01 respectively)reduced fasting blood glucose level in normal rats as compared to glibenclamide(5 mg/kg).In oral glucose tolerance test,500 mg/kg dose significantly reduced blood glucose level(P<0.05)at 2 h but 1000 mg/kg dose significantly reduced blood glucose level at 2 h and 3 h(P<0.05 and P<0.01 respectively)whereas glibenclamide(5 mg/kg)significantly reduced glucose level at every hour after administration.Overall time effect is also considered extremely significant with F value=23.83 and P value=0.0001 in oral glucose tolerance test.Conclusion:These findings suggest that the plant may be a potential source for the development of new oral hypoglycemic agent.

Comparisons of phaseolin type and α-amylase inhibitor in common bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.)in China

The objective of this study was to characterize the phaseolin type and a-amylase(αAI) level in common bean(Phaseolus vidgaris L.) accessions deposited in the Chinese National Genebank.The 40 accessions sampled were common varieties originating in Asia,North America,South America,Europe,and Africa.No Inca(I-) phaseolin was observed in the accessions.Only four accessions contained Tendergreen(T-) phaseolin and the remaining36 contained Sanilac(S-) phaseolin.aAI proteins extracted from nine accessions showed higher a-amylase inhibitory activity than the control(Phase 2,IC_(50) = 0.65 μg).These common bean accessions have potential use as nutraceutical ingredients.

Overexpression and characterization of a thermostable β-agarase producing neoagarotetraose from a marine isolate Microbulbifer sp.AG1

An agarase gene containing 1 302 bp was cloned from Microbulbifer sp. AG1. It encoded a mature protein of 413 amino acids plus a 20-residue signal peptide. The recombinant enzyme without the signal peptide was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). When agarose was used as a substrate, the optimal temperature and pH for the enzyme were 60℃ and 7.5, respectively. The recombinant agarase showed excellent thermostability with 67% and 19% of residual activities after incubation at 50℃ and 60℃ for 1 h, respectively.Except SDS, the recombinant agarase had a relatively good resistance against the detected inhibitors, detergents and urea denaturant. Thin layer chromatography analysis and enzyme assay using p-nitrophenyl-α/β-Dgalactopyranoside revealed that the recombinant agarase was a β-agarase that degraded agarose into neoagarotetraose as the main end product. The enzymatic hydrolysis products with different degree of polymerization exhibited the antioxidant activities.

Optimization of Growth Conditions to Identify the Superior Bacillus Strain Which Produce High Yield of Thermostable Alpha Amylase

Thermostable α-amylases hold a very important place in commercial industrial applications in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to identify superior Bacillus strain and optimize growth conditions that could yield high α-amylase production. Three Bacillus strains, B. amyloliquefaciens ATCC 23350, B. licheniformis ATCC 14580 and B. megaterium ATCC 14581 were used for the study. Shake flask culture experiments were conducted to identify the effect of various fermentation conditions such as growth temperature, incubation period, carbon source, nitrogen source, initial pH and carbon concentration on extracellular α-amylase production. DNSA assay was carried out to determine the enzyme activity. The highest temperature for enzyme activity was reported by B. licheniformis at 85°C, followed by B. amyloliquefaciens at 75°C and B. megaterium at 45°C. Both B. amyloliquefaciens and B. licheniformis were able to give their optimum enzyme production at 37°C, while B. megaterium at 30°C in 150 rpm with initial pH of 7. B. licheniformis and B. amyloliquefaciens gave their optimum yield of the enzyme after 48 h of incubation while B. megaterium gave after 24 h of incubation. Among the carbon sources tested cassava starch was able to give the highest enzyme production. For B. amyloliquefaciens, the highest yield of the enzyme was obtained with 2% of starch, tryptone as a nitrogen source and initial pH of 7. Maximum enzyme production for B. licheniformis was obtained with 1.5% of starch, KNO3 as a nitrogen source and initial pH of 6. For B. megaterium 1% of starch, tryptone and pH 7.5 induced the optimum α-amylase production. According to the results obtained, B. amyloliquefaciens is the highest thermostable alpha amylase producer. However, according to the industrial requirement, B. licheniformis can also be used as an enzyme producer due to its stability in higher temperatures.

Optimized production and properties of thermostable alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis SHS-04 grown on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) meal

Production of alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis SHS-04 was investigated under different fermentation conditions involving low-cost substrates with the aim of optimizing yield of enzyme. Maximum enzyme production (1616.21 U/mL) was achieved using groundnut meal (0.75%) as nitrogen source and 0.5% glucose as carbon source at 48 h cultivation period, pH 9, 45 ° C and 200 rpm. The yield was 348% increase over comparable control samples. The alkaline protease had optimum temperature of 60 ° C and remarkably exhibited 80% relative activity at 70 ° C. It was highly thermostable showing 98.7% residual activity at 60 ° C after 60 minutes of incubation at pH 9.0 and was stable in the presence of organic solvents studied. These properties indicate the viability of the protease for biotechnological and industrial applications. The optimized yield of enzyme achieved in this study establishes groundnut meal as potential low-cost substrate for alkaline protease production by B. subtilis SHS-04.

Relationship between malt qualities and β-amylase activity and protein content as affected by timing of nitrogen fertilizer application

The effects of different timing of N fertilizer application at the same rate on grain β-amylase activity, protein con- centration, weight and malt quality of barley were studied. Grain β-amylase activity and protein concentration were significantly higher in treatments where all top-dressed N fertilizer was applied at booting stage only or equally applied at two-leaf stage and booting stage than in the treatment where all top-dressed N fertilizer was applied at two-leaf age stage only. On the other hand, grain weight and malt extract decreased with increased N application at booting stage. There were obvious differences between barley varieties and experimental years in the grain and malt quality response to the timing of N fertilizer application. It was found that grain protein concentration was significantly and positively correlated with β-amylase activity, but significantly and nega- tively correlated with malt extract and Kolbach index. The effect of grain protein concentration on malt quality was predominant over the effect of grain β-amylase activity.

Effects of Ionic Surfactants on Bacterial Luciferase and α-Amylase

In order to study the effects of ionic surfactants on bacterial luciferase,the cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium biomide (DTAB) and anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) were chosen.For comparison with bacterial luciferase,α-amylase was used since these two enzymes have similar electrostatic potential and charged active sites.After the enzymes were treated with the surfactants,the catalytic properties of bacterial luciferase andα-amylase were assayed,and fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD) were used to analyze the alteration of the protein structure.The results showed that when the DTAB concentration was low,the cationic surfactant DTAB enhanced the enzymatic activities of bacterial luciferase andα-amylase.On the other hand,the anionic surfactant SDS did not alter the enzymatic activity.The main interaction of cationic surfactant DTAB and the negatively charged surface of the proteins was the ionic interaction,which could alter the environment for the enzyme to work when the DTAB/enzyme molar ratio was low.However,at high cationic surfactant concentration,the ionic interaction and hydrophobic interaction might destroy the secondary and tertiary structures of the proteins,leading to the loss of enzymatic activities.

Topographies of Organized Monolayer of α-Amylase Observed by Atomic Force Microscopy

In this paper, (-amylase organized monolayer was assembled on the surface of the PET-CO2- substrate in different conditions. The different topography of the (-amylase/PET monolayer was obtained by AFM in tapping mode.

Comparative analysis of physicochemical properties,ginsenosides content andα-amylase inhibitory effects in white ginseng and red ginsen

Ginseng(Panax ginseng C.A.Meyer)as a common dietary adjunct is widely applied in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to its health-promoting properties,but the differences between white ginseng and red ginseng was rarely studied.In the present study,color parameters and scanning electron microscope(SEM)were determined to evaluate the differences of ginseng color and microstructure induced by processing procedure.Quantitative analysis of multi-components by a single-marker(QAMS)method and anti-α-amylase activity test were used to assess variations of chemical ingredients and pharmacological activity between white and red ginseng.Finally,molecular docking studies were carried out to screen out the most effective compound againstα-amylase.Results indicated that processing had a significant impact on the physicochemical properties and pharmacological activity of white and red ginseng.After processing,the color value of L*declined significantly.Red ginseng sample displayed a compact structure and presented of a gel layer on the surface compared to white ginseng.Additionally,the content of ginsenosides and the activity of anti-α-amylase decreased.The contents of total ginsenosides were positively correlated with the anti-α-amylase activities of ginseng,and ginsenoside Rb1 might be the most effective compound to inhibit the activity ofα-amylase.