European Food Research and Technology

Proanthocyanidins extracted from lotus seedpod (LSPC) have been shown to ameliorate cognitive deficits and oxidative damage. However, there is no scientific evidence of combined LSPC and l-cysteine in the treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in animal models. The first aim of this study was to study whether LSPC and l-cysteine combination was more potent than LSPC on improving memory impairment in alcohol-induced mice. The results showed LSPC and l-cysteine combination was more effective than LSPC, as indicated by same behavioral performance in Y-maze, but significantly enhanced total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The second goal of this study was to investigate whether different combination ratio of LSPC to l-cysteine impacts the cognition-enhancing effect in scopolamine-induced memory-deficit mice. Alterations in oxidative stress parameters and cholinergic activity in brains were also determined as possible mechanisms. Both M-Dose and H-Dose of LSPC and l-cysteine combination significantly improved scopolamine-induced memory impairment in Y-maze and step-down avoidance test by improving brain glutathione peroxidase and SOD activities, inhibiting brain malondialdehyde and hippocampus nitric oxide levels, inducible nitric oxide synthase activity in hippocampus and serum, and brain acetylcholinesterase activity. These results indicate that chronic administration of LSPC and l-cysteine combination ameliorates memory impairment, which may be related to inhibition of oxidative stress and improvement of cholinergic activity. These findings suggest LSPC and l-cysteine combination may provide a viable therapy in the treatment for AD and other forms of cognitive impairment.

A photodegradation study of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in peanut oil was performed under UV irradiation at different AFB1 initial concentrations and UV irradiation intensities. The UV intensity and the irradiation duration on the AFB1 photodegradation ratio is more effective, when compared with AFB1 initial concentration, and AFB1 with initial concentration of 2 mg/kg can be degraded thoroughly within 30 min under the intensity of 800 μw/cm2. The photodegradation of AFB1 between the selected ranges of concentrations was proved to follow first-order reaction kinetics well (R 2 ≥ 0.99). The Ames test, employing Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100, was employed to evaluate the residual toxicity of the AFB1 subproducts in peanut oil, and the results indicated that the mutagenic activity of UV-treated samples (800 μw/cm2 × 30 min) was completely lost compared with that of untreated samples, providing clues to the assessment of safety issues of UV method applied in AFB1 decontamination.

 A method was developed for the preparation of glycerol from wines and from naturally occuring lipids. In addition, the D/H isotopic ratios of glycerol from these sources was determined using site specific natural isotopic fractionation. Glycerol from four different sources was examined: glycerol isolated from vegetable oils and animal fats, glycerol obtained by chemical synthesis and glycerol which is a byproduct of the alcoholic fermentation of grape musts. Depending on the origin of the glycerol, different isotopic ratios were found; these can be used for the detection of adulterated food or as proof of the authenticity of a given product, such as wine.

Es wurde eine Analysenmethode zur Bestimmung von OFF-SHOOT-T in pflanzlichen Substraten entwickelt. Der OFF-SHOOT-T-Gehalt wird dabei über die gaschromatographisch bestimmte Octanol-(1)- bzw. Decanol-(1)-Konzentration errechnet. Die Bestimmungsgrenze für die untersuchten Substrate liegt bei 0,1 mg/kg bez. auf Octanol-(1) bzw. Decanol-(1). Die vorliegende Analysenmethode kann zur Untersuchung von Kartoffeln, Zwiebeln, Tabak und anderen pflanzlichen Substraten angewandt werden.