Calcium-binding ability of soy protein hydrolysates

This present study investigated the ability of various soy protein hydrolysates (SPHs) in binding calcium. It was demonstrated that the amount of Ca-bound depended greatly on the SPHs obtained using different proteases, which included: neutrase, flavourzyme, protease M and pepsin. The maximum level of Ca-bound (66.9 mg/g) occurred when protease M was used to hydrolyze soy protein. Peptide fragments exhibiting high Ca-binding capacity had molecular weights of either 14.4 or 8–9 kDa. The level of Ca-bound increased linearly with the increment of carboxyl content in SPHs, and further deamidation on SPHs from protease M improved Ca-binding of the hydrolysate.

Effect of rare earths on selective hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene over PtMOx/CNTs catalysts

The effect of rare earths （Sm, Pr, Ce, Nd and La） on the hydrogenation properties ofp-chloronitrobenzene （CNB） over Pt/CNTs catalyst was studied in ethanol at 303 K and normal pressure. The results exhibited that the hydrogenation of p-CNB could be carried out over PtMOx/CNTs catalysts. Both catalytic activities and yields ofp-chloroaniline （CAN） were all improved. PtCeOx/ CNTs catalyst exhibited the best catalytic activity （TOF was 0.47 s^-1） and the highest yield of p-CAN （97.5 mol%）. PtCeOx/CNTs （1.0 wt%） catalyst exhibited good stability on the hydrogenation of p-CNB.

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) analysis of the ripening Vitis amurensis cv. Shuang Hong berry skins

Vitis amurensis is a valuable resource for wine production. Ripening of the grape berry is the key phase which determines the com- position of wine. To better understand the gene expression that manifest in V. amurensis berry skins during the ripening, cDNA library of V. amurensis berry skins was constructed. A total of 935 high quality ex- pressed sequence tags （ESTs） were obtained from the library. These ESTs represent 636 unigenes, including 108 contigs and 528 singletons. The EST analysis was performed and genes were assigned to functional categories according to their primary BLAST match. Of these 25.35% were involved with metabolism, 6.27% with cell rescue and defense, 6.84% energy, 11.68% protein synthesis, 18.8% protein activity regula- tion, 11.11% cell structure, 7.98% transport, 6.27% transcription and the remaining 5.7% were signal transduction. The generated ESTs were characterized by the gene ontology analysis and were categorized ac- cording to its cellular component, molecular function and biological process. In the cDNA library, some genes are relevant to the biosynthesis of anthocyanins, while some genes are related to grape berry maturation.

Expression of structural genes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis of Vitis amurensis

This research was designed to assess the changes in anthocyanin content in grape skins of Vitis amurensis and to explore m RNA transcriptions of 11 structural genes（PAL,CHS3, CHI1, F3H2, F30 H, F3050 H, DFR, LDOX, UFGT,OMT and GST） related to anthocyanin biosynthesis during grape berry development, by the use of HPLC-MS/MS and real-time Q-PCR analysis. Accumulation of anthocyanins began at veraison, continued throughout the later berry development and reached a peak at maturity. Veraison is the time when the berries turn from green to purple. Expression of PAL, CHI1, and LDOX were up-regulated from 2 to4 weeks after flowering（WAF）, down-regulated from6 WAF to veraison, whereas DFR was up-regulated at8 WAF, and then up-regulated from veraison to maturity.CHS3, F3050 H, UFGT, GST, and OMT were down-regulated from 2 WAF to veraison, and then up-regulated from veraison to maturity. The transcriptional expressions of the11 structural genes also showed positive correlations with the anthocyanin content from veraison to maturity. Positive correlations were also observed between OMT transcriptional level and the content of methoxyl-anthocyanins, and between F3050 H transcriptional level and the content of delphinidin anthocyanins. F3H2 and F30 H expression was up-regulated at 2 WAF. F3H2 expression was down-regulated from 4 WAF to veraison and then up-regulated again from veraison to maturity. F30 H expression was down-regulated at 4 WAF and then up-regulated again from 6 WAF to maturity. F30 H transcriptional level was correlated positively with the cyanidin anthocyanin concentration from veraison to maturity. These results indicate that the onset of anthocyanin synthesis during berry development coincides with a coordinated increase in the expression of a number of genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway.

Bioactive substances of various seaweeds and their applications and utilization

Over the past century or more,traditional uses of seaweeds began and initially comprised the simple collection,sorting and drying of seaweeds harvested from the wild,or cast upon the beach,for use as soil“manure/fertilizer/improver”.Some macroalgae were used for unprocessed food purposes and subsequently harvested and cultivated biomasses of selected brown and red seaweeds becameindustrially processed to yield alginates,mannitol,iodine,agar,agarose,carrageenan,and more recently biostimulants,etc.Products from various seaweeds are very diverse and are commonly applied in a range that includes textiles and dying,food/feed and supplements and specialized medical applications.

Extracts from Chinese Seabuckthorn Berry Have Antimicrobial Activity in vitro

Chinese seabuckthorn berry contains functional components. The berry was extracted by ethanol-water solution. MTT assay and growth rate method were applied to determine antibacterial ability in vitro of the extract solution. The antibacterial and antifungal assay indicated that the extract exhibited different degree of inhibitory activity. The result showed that the extract at a concentration of 1 250 mg/L had the maximum inhibitory effect against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. Inhibitory effect against B. subtilis was much larger than that against the other two bacterial species. MIC values(minimum inhibitory concentration) of the extract on three bacterial species were 5 000, 1 250, and 1 000 mg/L respectively. IC_(50)(50% inhibiting concentration) evaluation of Trichoderma viride, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium expansum, and Vintage Red indicated that the berry had the strongest inhibitory effect against P. expansum(5 520 mg/L), while it had the weakest inhibitory effect against R. stolonifer(18 870 mg/L). The results proved that seabuckthorn berry had highly effective and comprehensive antimicrobial function.