Physicochemical characteristics of rapidly dried onion powder and its anti-atherogenic effect on rats fed high-fat diet.

Rapidly dried onion (Allium cepa L. cv. Momiji No.

Catalytic reaction mechanism based on alpha-secondary deuterium isotope effects in hydrolysis of trehalose by European honeybee trehalase.

Trehalase, an anomer-inverting glycosidase, hydrolyzes only alpha,alpha-trehalose in natural substrates to release equimolecular beta-glucose and alpha-glucose. Since the hydrolytic reaction is reversible, alpha,alpha-[1,1'-(2)H]trehalose is capable of synthesis from [1-(2)H]glucose through the reverse reaction of trehalase. alpha-Secondary deuterium kinetic isotope effects (alpha-SDKIEs) for the hydrolysis of synthesized alpha,alpha-[1,1'-(2)H]trehalose by honeybee trehalase were measured to examine the catalytic reaction mechanism.

The degree of polymerization of inulin-like fructans affects cecal mucin and immunoglobulin A in rats.

Cecal amounts of mucin and immunoglobulin A (IgA) were examined through the cecal fermentation pattern in Wistar (WS) or Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed inulin-type fructans differing in their degree of polymerization (DP). The animals were fed a control diet or a diet containing one of the fructans with an average DP of 4, 8, 16, or 23, at 60 g/kg diet for 10 d. Cecal fermentation products substantially differed between WS and SD rats fed DP8 fructan, with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as the major organic acids in the former but lactate predominating in the latter.

The formation of argpyrimidine in glyceraldehyde-related glycation.

Three major glyceraldehyde-related advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were formed from a mixture of N(alpha)-acetyllysine, N(alpha)-acetylarginine, and glyceraldehyde. Two of the compounds were MG-H1 and GLAP, as previously reported, and the other compound was identified as N(alpha)-acetyl-N(delta)-(5-hydroxy-4,6-dimethyl-pyrimidin-2-yl)-ornithine, argpyrimidine (APN). APN is a modification product of arginine residue, but it did not form from glyceraldehyde with arginine residue.