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Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are natural triterpenoids that have preventive properties such as anti-tumor and anti-hepatitis activities. These triterpenes are known to exist in several medicinal plants and fruit skins. Dried fruits are usually eaten without removing the skin; thus, they may be good resources for oral intake of OA and UA. HPLC analysis of OA and UA contents in a variety of dried fruits showed that raisins contained higher levels of OA than the other fruits investigated, with green raisins containing the highest levels (79.0 mg/100 g). While raisins were found to contain only OA, dried cranberries, blueberries and cherries were shown to contain both OA and UA. The highest level of UA (65.9 mg/100 g) was detected in cranberries, which also exhibited relatively high OA levels (17.8 mg/100 g). Thus, raisins and dried cranberries can be used as rich sources of OA and UA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize grain hardness influences storage pest resistance, a key characteristic valued by smallholder farmers. The structural changes in the endosperm determine grain hardness and are influenced by agronomic practices. The purpose of this study was to establish whether supply of calcium and magnesium based fertilizers can alter physicochemical properties of local and hybrid maize varieties and reduce the infestation by larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae)) during storage. Two local and one hybrid maize varieties commonly grown by smallholder farmers in Malawi were cultivated under three fertilizer treatments (NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium), NPK plus gypsum, and NPK plus dolomite). After harvest, the grains were classified into flint and dent types, followed by P. truncatus infestation and determination of their physicochemical properties. The addition of gypsum and dolomite fertilizers led to higher levels of amylose, total zein and β-14 zein, traits associated with kernel hardness, compared to the application of NPK fertilizer. Moreover, local maize varieties showed higher resistance to P. truncatus infestation, hardness and biochemical properties associated with hardness (total zein, α-19 and β-14 zein, starch lysophosphatidylcholine, and non-starch free fatty acid) compared to hybrid variety. Our study suggests the potential for utilizing Ca and Mg nutrition in maize to improve kernel hardness, thus adoption of gypsum and dolomite by smallholder farmers may be beneficial against P. truncatus during storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on increased levels of policosanol and very long-chain fatty acids in potato pulp fermented with Rhizopus oryzae. Discovery of significant amounts of policosanol and very long-chain fatty acids ranging in carbon length from 22 to 30 in the lipophilic fraction obtain from potato pulp fermented with Rhizopus oryzae; Assertion that these compounds would have originally been present as suberin-related compounds in the periderm of potato tubers and concentrated into potato pulp during the process of starch production; Suggestion that the policosanol and VLFAs extracted from potato pulp with organic solvents have increased after fermentation.

Linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) are polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential for mammalian nutrition, because mammals lack the desaturases required for synthesis of Δ;12 (n-6) and n-3 fatty acids. Many plants can synthesize these fatty acids and, therefore, to examine the effects of a plant desaturase in mammals, we generated transgenic pigs that carried the fatty acid desaturation 2 gene for a Δ12 fatty acid desaturase from spinach. Levels of linoleic acid (18 : 2n-6) in adipocytes that had differentiated in vitro from cells derived from the transgenic pigs were ≈ 10 times higher than those from wild-type pigs. In addition, the white adipose tissue of transgenic pigs contained ≈ 20% more linoleic acid (18:2n-6) than that of wild-type pigs. These results demonstrate the functional expression of a plant gene for a fatty acid desaturase in mammals, opening up the possibility of modifying the fatty acid composition of products from domestic animals by transgenic technology, using plant genes for fatty acid desaturases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sphingolipids are ubiquitous compounds derived from ceramide that consist of a sphingoid long-chain base with a 2-amino group amide linked to fatty acid and are present in the membranes of many organisms. As a principal sphingolipid, Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a free ceramide and its inositol-phosphorylated derivatives (acidic types) but not a neutral glycosylated ceramide, glucosylceramide (cerebroside), which usually appears in eukaryotic cells. When 31 strains accepted in the genera Saccharomyces, Torulaspora, Zygosaccharomyces, and Kluyveromyces were analyzed for sphingolipids, cerebrosides were found in S. kluyveri, Z. cidri, Z. fermentati, K. lactis, K. thermotolerans, and K. waltii. The cerebrosides of S. kluyveri and K. lactis included 9-methyl 4-trans, 8-trans-sphingadienine and its putative metabolic intermediates. A unique characteristic of S. kluyveri was the presence of a trihydroxy sphingoid base, which rarely occurs in fungal cerebrosides. A polymerase chain reaction with primers targeted to the glucosylceramide synthase gene of other microorganisms amplified the fragments of the expected size from S. kluyveri and K. lactis and further extended to the adjacent regions. The presumed protein of S. kluyveri had 54.4% similarity to that of K. lactis, higher than the glucosylceramide synthases from Candida albicans, Pichia pastoris, and other organisms. From these observations, the divergence of S. kluyveri from the lineage of K. lactis in their evolution is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Saccharomyces kluyveri IFO 1685 and Kluyveromyces lactis IFO 1090 synthesize cerebroside containing 9-methyl-trans-4, trans-8-sphingadienine as a sphingoid base. From the genome of the two strains, the regions encompassing Δ8-sphingolipid desaturase were amplified and sequenced. The nucleotide sequences of these regions revealed single open reading frames of 1707 bp for S. kluyveri and 1722 bp for K. lactis, encoding polypeptides of 568 and 573 amino acids with molecular weights of 66.5 and 67.1 kDa, respectively. Conversion of 4-hydroxysphinganine to 4-hydroxy-trans-8-sphingenine in the cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was observed by the expressed gene from K. lactis and not by that from S. kluyveri. These findings may be explained by the difference in substrate specificity for the sphingoid base moiety between Δ8-sphingolipid desaturases of S. kluyveri and K. lactis. Correspondence to: Y. Oda; email: yujioda@affrc.go.jp --> [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucosylceramide (GlcCer), a major sphingolipid in plants, possesses various food functions, including improvement of intestinal impairments. This study evaluated rice cooking conditions and cultivars based on GlcCer levels transferred into the digestive juice using an in vitro digestion model to investigate the factors related to GlcCer availability. GlcCer levels transferred into the digestive juice were higher in rice gruel than in boiled rice. The GlcCer levels in the digestive juice of boiled rice varied based on the rice cultivar, whereas those in rice gruel had no difference. Thus, GlcCer in rice was not fully utilized via digestion. Further, bioaccessibility was related to the amylose ratio and added water content.

Perilla oil is a valuable food source of α-linolenic acids. However, its high reactivity with oxygen shortens its shelf-life after opening. This study investigated the antioxidative profiles of 15 plant materials, including herbs, and examined methods to suppress the oxidation of perilla oil using these plant materials. These plant materials had wide ranges of phenolic, carotenoid, and chlorophyll contents. They exhibit radical scavenging activities and suppress lipid peroxidation, which show highly positive correlations with the phenolic contents. Dipping most of the plant materials examined in perilla oil suppressed its oxidation, and the peroxide values of the oil mixtures indicated a negative correlation with the carotenoid and chlorophyll contents of the plant materials. The leaves of Angelica, Astragalus, and Thyme herbs exhibited the same effect as that of ascorbyl palmitate, which was used as a positive control after 8 wk of incubation in the dark. The suppression of lipid peroxidation was found to be related to the herbal contents of carotenoids and chlorophylls, rather than phenols. Hence, herbal leaves can suppress the oxidation of perilla oil in the dark. The oxidation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could be suppressed effectively by utilizing plant materials with abundant carotenoids and chlorophylls.

Ethanolamine plasmalogen (PlsEtn), a major phospholipid in neuronal membranes [60-90 mol% of ethanolamine glycerophospholipid (EtnGpl)], is specifically decreased in brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study investigated how PlsEtn administration affects cognitive deficits and lipid composition in an animal model of AD. AD model rats were infused with amyloid-β (Aβ) into the cerebral ventricle and divided into three groups. Control, Egg, and Ascidian groups were then orally administered vehicle, egg yolk EtnGpl (260 μmol as EtnGpl/kg BW/day; 10 μmol as PlsEtn/kg BW/day), or ascidian viscera EtnGpl (260 μmol as EtnGpl/kg BW/day; 209 μmol as PlsEtn/kg BW/day), respectively. After 4 weeks of dosing, Aβ-infused rats were tested for learning ability in an 8-arm radial maze. The administration of ascidian viscera EtnGpl improved both reference and working memory-related learning abilities. In lipid analysis, the Ascidian group showed higher levels of PlsEtn species in the plasma, erythrocytes, and liver when compared to other groups. In addition, although there were no differences at levels of total plasmalogen including choline plasmalogen, the Ascidian group had significantly higher levels of 18:0ol/22:6-PlsEtn in the cerebral cortex. These levels of 18:0ol/22:6-PlsEtn in the cerebral cortex were correlated with working memory-related learning ability. Moreover, 18:0ol/22:6-PlsEtn levels in the cerebral cortex showed positive correlations with those in the erythrocytes and liver. In summary, dietary PlsEtn, especially that with 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), may ameliorate learning deficiencies in AD by altering lipid composition in the brain.

Ethanolamine plasmalogen (PlsEtn), which is present at high levels in brains, is believed to be involved in neuronal protection. The present study was performed to search for PlsEtn resources in foodstuffs. The foodstuffs examined showed a wide range of PlsEtn contents from 5 to 549 μmol/100 g wet wt. The marine invertebrates, blue mussel, and ascidian had high PlsEtn contents (over 200 μmol/100 g wet wt). Profiling of the molecular species showed that the predominant fatty acids of PlsEtn species were 20:5 (EPA) and 22:6 (DHA) at the sn-2 position of the glycerol moiety in marine foodstuffs, whereas major PlsEtn species in land foodstuffs were 20:4. Following quantitative analysis by multiple reaction monitoring, the ascidian viscera were shown to contain the highest levels of 18:0/20:5-PlsEtn and 18:0/22:6-PlsEtn (86 and 68 μmol/100 g wet wt, respectively). In order to evaluate a neuronal antiapoptotic effect of these PlsEtn species, human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were treated with ethanolamine glycerophospholipid (EtnGpl), purified from the ascidian viscera, under serum starvation conditions. Extrinsic EtnGpl from ascidian viscera showed stronger suppression of cell death induced by serum starvation than with bovine brain EtnGpl. The EtnGpl from ascidian viscera strongly suppressed the activation of caspase 3. These results suggest that PlsEtn, especially that containing EPA and DHA, from marine foodstuffs is potentially useful for a therapeutic dietary supplement preventing neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

We have developed a new method for determining ethanolamine plasmalogen contents in marine invertebrates. This quantification method involves derivatization of ethanolamine glycerophospholipid (EtnGpl) subclasses, alkenylacyl (plasmalogen), diacyl, and alkylacyl subclasses, by enzyme treatment and acetylation, followed by separation and detection by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD). This method enabled complete separation of the subclasses, and the limit of detection for plasmalogen was 200 ng (260 pmol). The peak area of plasmalogen by ELSD was unaffected by the degree of unsaturated fatty acids in EtnGpl, in contrast to ultraviolet (UV) detection. Thus, this method enables accurate determination of plasmalogen contents in various species containing marine products possessing abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The method developed here was applied to marine invertebrates available in Japan. The examined marine invertebrates showed a wide range of plasmalogen contents ranging from 19 to 504 μmol/100 g wet wt. The plasmalogen levels in samples except those of class Cephalopoda and Crustacea were more than 60 mol% of EtnGpl.

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids can lower the risk of lifestyle-related diseases, therefore, we introduced a plant fatty acid desaturation3 (FAD3) gene into mammalian cells. The FAD3 cDNA was isolated from the immature seeds of scarlet flax and optimized to human high-frequency codon usage for enhancement of its expression levels in mammalian cells (hFAD3). We introduced the gene into bovine muscle satellite cells, which can be differentiated into multilocular adipocytes in vitro. After hFAD3 transfection, the cells were differentiated into adipocytes and their fatty acid composition was analyzed by gas chromatography. The level of alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) in transfected adipocytes increased about ten-fold compared with non-transfected adipocytes. In addition, the levels of docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) in transfected adipocytes were significantly higher than those in non-transfected adipocytes. Moreover, we produced bovine cloned embryos from the hFAD3 cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer. Blastocyst rates of hFAD3 clones were the same as the control clones using the non-transfected cells (21% vs 27%, P > 0.05). hFAD3 transcripts were detected in all of the blastocysts. These results demonstrate the functional expression of a plant hFAD3 in mammalian adipocytes, and normal development of cloned embryos carrying the hFAD3 gene.