Production of Pectic Oligosaccharides from Citrus Peel via Steam Explosion.

Steam explosion (STEX) of peel from commercially juice-extracted oranges was used to convert peel pectin into pectic oligosaccharides (POSs). Surprisingly uniform populations, based on the polydispersity index (PDI; weight-average molecular weight (M)/number-average molecular weight (M)) of POSs, were obtained from the Hamlin and Valencia varieties of . The POSs from Hamlin and Valencia peel had PDI values of (1.

Galacto-oligosaccharide production by ssp. whole cells and lysates.

β-Galactosidase is currently applied in foods for reduction of lactose but can also be used for its transgalactosylation activity to synthesize galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) as prebiotics. The ability of GRAS-status strains to exhibit such activities would benefit consumers given their extensive history with dairy products. The objective of this study was to characterize the production of GOS in 6 strains for their ability to synthesize GOS in 50 m sodium phosphate (pH 6.

Structural characterization of strawberry pomace.

Strawberries are a nutrient dense food rich in vitamins, minerals, non-nutrient antioxidant phenolics, and fibers. Strawberry fiber bioactive structures are not well characterized and limited information is available about the interaction between strawberry fiber and phenolics. Therefore, we analyzed commercial strawberry pomace in order to provide a detailed carbohydrate structural characterization, and to associate structures with functions.

Antimicrobial activity of thermophilin 110 against the opportunistic pathogen Cutibacterium acnes.

Objective: Thermophilin 110, a bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus thermophilus B59671, inhibited planktonic growth and biofilm formation of Cutibacterium acnes, a commensal skin bacterium associated with the inflammatory disease, acne vulgaris, and more invasive deep tissue infections.

Results: Thermophilin 110 prevented planktonic growth of C. acnes at a concentration ≥ 160 AU mL; while concentrations ≥ 640 AU mL resulted in a > 5 log reduction in viable planktonic cell counts and inhibited biofilm formation.

1D and 2D NMR datasets, resonance assignments and coupling constant analysis of red beet fiber and pectin.

The datasets presented in this article represent detailed NMR spectral analyses on red beet fiber, including the pomace, water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions, as well as the acid-extracted pectin. The samples were solvated in deuterium oxide and investigated by 1D-H, 1D-C NMR, and multiple 2D-NMR experiments, including gCOSY, zTOCSY, HSQC, HMBC, HSQCTOCSY, and H2BC. The NMR chemical shifts, coupling constants and spin-systems were identified for the major carbohydrate residues in each sample.

Cranberry Arabino-Xyloglucan and Pectic Oligosaccharides Induce Growth and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production.

Numerous health benefits have been reported from the consumption of cranberry-derived products, and recent studies have identified bioactive polysaccharides and oligosaccharides from cranberry pomace. This study aimed to further characterize xyloglucan and pectic oligosaccharide structures from pectinase-treated cranberry pomace and measure the growth and short-chain fatty acid production of 86 strains using a cranberry oligosaccharide fraction as the carbon source. In addition to arabino-xyloglucan structures, cranberry oligosaccharides included pectic rhamnogalacturonan I which was methyl-esterified, acetylated and contained arabino-galacto-oligosaccharide side chains and a 4,5-unsaturated function at the non-reducing end.

Identification of Strains Capable of Fermenting Fructo-Oligosaccharides and Inulin.

Novel probiotic strains that can ferment prebiotics are important for functional foods. The utilization of prebiotics is strain specific, so we screened 86 strains and compared them to 2141 for the ability to grow and produce SCFA when 1% inulin or fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) were provided as the carbon source in batch fermentations. When grown anaerobically at 32 °C, ten strains grew on both prebiotic substrates (OD ≥ 1.

Hazards of diethyl phthalate (DEP) exposure: A systematic review of animal toxicology studies.

Background: Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is widely used in many commercially available products including plastics and personal care products. DEP has generally not been found to share the antiandrogenic mode of action that is common among other types of phthalates, but there is emerging evidence that DEP may be associated with other types of health effects.

Objective: To inform chemical risk assessment, we performed a systematic review to identify and characterize outcomes within six broad hazard categories (male reproductive, female reproductive, developmental, liver, kidney, and cancer) following exposure of nonhuman mammalian animals to DEP or its primary metabolite, monoethyl phthalate (MEP).

Quantification of the Uncertainties in Extrapolating From In Vitro Androgen Receptor Antagonism to In Vivo Hershberger Assay Endpoints and Adverse Reproductive Development in Male Rats.

Multiple molecular initiating events exist that disrupt male sexual differentiation in utero including androgen receptor (AR) antagonism and inhibition of synthesis, and metabolism of fetal testosterone. Disruption of androgen signaling by AR antagonists in utero reduces anogenital distance (AGD) and induces malformations in F1 male rat offspring. We are developing a quantitative network of adverse outcome pathways that includes multiple molecular initiating events and key events linking anti-AR activities to permanent reproductive abnormalities.

Novel text analytics approach to identify relevant literature for human health risk assessments: A pilot study with health effects of in utero exposures.

Systematic reviews involve mining literature databases to identify relevant studies. Identifying potentially relevant studies can be informed by computational tools comparing text similarity between candidate studies and selected key (i.e.

Use of the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework to evaluate species concordance and human relevance of Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)-induced male reproductive toxicity.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a phthalate ester used as a plasticizer, and solvent. Studies using rats consistently report that DBP exposure disrupts normal development of the male reproductive system in part via inhibition of androgen synthesis. However, studies using xenograft models report that in human fetal testis DBP exposure is unlikely to impair testosterone synthesis.

Proposed Key Characteristics of Male Reproductive Toxicants as an Approach for Organizing and Evaluating Mechanistic Evidence in Human Health Hazard Assessments.

Background: Assessing chemicals for their potential to cause male reproductive toxicity involves the evaluation of evidence obtained from experimental, epidemiological, and mechanistic studies. Although mechanistic evidence plays an important role in hazard identification and evidence integration, the process of identifying, screening and analyzing mechanistic studies and outcomes is a challenging exercise due to the diversity of research models and methods and the variety of known and proposed pathways for chemical-induced toxicity. Ten key characteristics of carcinogens provide a valuable tool for organizing and assessing chemical-specific data by potential mechanisms for cancer-causing agents.

Hazards of diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) exposure: A systematic review of animal toxicology studies.

Background: Biomonitoring studies indicate a trend towards increased human exposure to diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), a replacement for dibutyl phthalate (DBP). Recent reviews have found DIBP to be a male reproductive toxicant, but have not evaluated other hazards of DIBP exposure.

Objective: To inform chemical risk assessment, we performed a systematic review to identify and characterize outcomes within six broad hazard categories (male reproductive, female reproductive, developmental, liver, kidney, and cancer) following exposure of nonhuman mammalian animals to DIBP or the primary metabolite, monoisobutyl phthalate (MIBP).

Characterizing the role of atrial natriuretic peptide signaling in the development of embryonic ventricular conduction system.

Patients born with congenital heart defects frequently encounter arrhythmias due to defects in the ventricular conduction system (VCS) development. Although recent studies identified transcriptional networks essential for the heart development, there is scant information on the mechanisms regulating VCS development. Based on the association of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) expression with VCS forming regions, it was reasoned that ANP could play a critical role in differentiation of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) and cardiomyocytes (CMs) toward a VCS cell lineage.

Assessment of Health Effects of Exogenous Urea: Summary and Key Findings.

Purpose Of Review: Urea has been utilized as a reductant in diesel fuels to lower emission of nitrogen oxides, igniting interest in probable human health hazards associated with exposure to exogenous urea. Here, we summarize and update key findings on potential health effects of exogenous urea, including carcinogenicity.

Recent Findings: No definitive target organs for oral exposure were identified; however, results in animal studies suggest that the liver and kidney could be potential target organs of urea toxicity.

Electrosprayed Core⁻Shell Composite Microbeads Based on Pectin-Arabinoxylans for Insulin Carrying: Aggregation and Size Dispersion Control.

Aggregation and coalescence are major drawbacks that contribute to polydispersity in microparticles and nanoparticles fabricated from diverse biopolymers. This study presents the evaluation of a novel method for the direct, electrospray-induced fabrication of small, CaCl₂/ethanol-hardened low methoxy pectin/arabinoxylans composite microbeads. The electrospray method was evaluated to control particle size by adjusting voltage, flux, and crosslinking solution content of CaCl₂/ethanol.

Molecular and functional properties of a xylanase hydrolysate of corn bran arabinoxylan.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of arabinoxylans to prepare arabinoxylo-oligosaccharides has been of high interest from the commercial point of view. However, some arabinoxylans, such as those extracted from corn bran, tend to be difficult to hydrolyze into oligosaccharides due to their highly branched structure which limits the action of xylanases. This research presents a new arabinoxylo-oligosaccharide preparation by enzymatic treatment of corn bran with an endoxylanase enzyme.

Recovery of pectic hydrocolloids and phenolics from huanglongbing related dropped citrus fruit.

Background: Citrus pre-harvest fruit drop, caused by huanglongbing infection, has increased dramatically concomitant with declining tree health and crop harvest size. This loss of harvestable fruit is damaging to both growers and juice processors. Recovering and converting this fruit to alternative value added products would benefit the citrus industry.

Effects of β-adrenergic receptor drugs on embryonic ventricular cell proliferation and differentiation and their impact on donor cell transplantation.

β-Adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) and catecholamines are present in rodents as early as embryonic day (E)10.5. However, it is not known whether β-AR signaling plays any role in the proliferation and differentiation of ventricular cells in the embryonic heart.

Pectic oligosaccharide structure-function relationships: Prebiotics, inhibitors of Escherichia coli O157:H7 adhesion and reduction of Shiga toxin cytotoxicity in HT29 cells.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing, food-contaminating Escherichia coli (STEC) is a major health concern. Plant-derived pectin and pectic-oligosaccharides (POS) have been considered as prebiotics and for the protection of humans from Stx. Of five structurally different citrus pectic samples, POS1, POS2 and modified citrus pectin 1 (MCP1) were bifidogenic with similar fermentabilities in human faecal cultures and arabinose-rich POS2 had the greatest prebiotic potential.

Cumulative effects of antiandrogenic chemical mixtures and their relevance to human health risk assessment.

Toxicological studies of defined chemical mixtures assist human health risk assessment by establishing how chemicals interact with one another to induce an effect. This paper reviews how antiandrogenic chemical mixtures can alter reproductive tract development in rats with a focus on the reproductive toxicant phthalates. The reviewed studies compare observed mixture data to mathematical mixture model predictions based on dose addition or response addition to determine how the individual chemicals in a mixture interact (e.

A systematic evaluation of the potential effects of trichloroethylene exposure on cardiac development.

The 2011 EPA trichloroethylene (TCE) IRIS assessment, used developmental cardiac defects from a controversial drinking water study in rats (Johnson et al. [51]), along with several other studies/endpoints to derive reference values. An updated literature search of TCE-related developmental cardiac defects was conducted.