Candidate foods in the asia-pacific region for cardiovascular protection: nuts, soy, lentils and tempe.
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Cross-cultural and intervention studies increasingly point the way to seeds like nuts, soy and lentils, and products of them like tempe being cardioprotective. Soy and its products (like tofu, tempe, soy drinks and soy desserts) are historically and currently some of the most important foods in the Asian region where diets remain predominantly plant-based. The mechanisms by which these seeds may protect populations against cardiovascular disease are several. They include the minimisation of classical risk factors like positive energy balance leading to obesity, hypertension. dyslipidemia and insulin resistance with hyperglycaemia. However, in addition, they provide compounds like n-3 fatty acids, isoflavones and arginine which are only now recognised for their ability to optimise other pathways which connect lifestyle to cardiovascular disease--like oxidant status, vascular reactivity and myocardial electrical stability and proneness to dysrhythmia. Thus, once an Asian food culture changes on its emphasis on these plant foods, it may place its consumers at cardiovascular risk. (+info)
ITS sequence analysis and phylogenetic inference in the genus Lens mill.
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The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA from cultivated lentil (Lens culinaris subsp. culinaris) and its wild relatives was isolated and analysed for nucleotide sequence variation. Sequence divergence values ranged from no polymorphism within single species and between the cultigen and one accession of its wild progenitor (L. culinaris subsp. orientalis) to 14 base substitutions between L. nigricans and L. lamottei. Jukes and Cantor distance ranged from 0 to 1.79 %. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the divergence of L. nigricans from all species, and the closeness of cultivated lentil to its wild progenitor, although two gene pools could possibly be identified in subsp. orientalis. Based on this study, the two recently recognized species, L. lamottei and L. tomentosus were separated from the other species. Each wild species showed peculiar autapomorphies and, in general, did not display much variation among accessions. The trees using chickpea as an outgroup formed two main clusters, one constituted by L. nigricans only and the other including the remaining taxa. Within this larger group, small subclades could be identified. (+info)
Leucine requirement and splanchnic uptake of leucine in chronically undernourished adult Indian subjects.
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BACKGROUND: We showed previously by the 24-h direct amino acid balance (DAAB) method that the leucine requirement of well-nourished Western and South Asian subjects is approximately 40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). OBJECTIVE: It is not known whether this estimated leucine requirement is applicable in chronic undernutrition; therefore, we assessed the leucine requirement in Indian men with chronic, but stable, undernutrition. DESIGN: We studied 26 chronically undernourished men during 2 randomly assigned 7-d diet periods consisting of an L-amino acid diet (n = 20) and supplying either 14 and 30 (n = 10) or 22 and 40 (n = 10) mg leucine x kg(-1)x d(-1) or consisting of the subjects' habitual cereal-and-lentil-based diets (n = 6). The 24-h DAAB was estimated on day 6 by using a [13C]leucine tracer infusion. The splanchnic uptake of leucine was determined at an intake of 40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) by administering [2H3]leucine orally. RESULTS: By using mixed-models linear regression of leucine balance against leucine intake, we estimated a zero leucine balance at a leucine intake of 39.6 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). The splanchnic first-pass uptake of [2H3]leucine was 22.7% and 11.5% of the intake in the fasted and fed phases, respectively. The subjects were in neutral leucine balance with their habitual cereal-and-lentil-based diets. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the 24-h DAAB approach, a mean leucine requirement of 40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) is proposed for healthy and for chronically undernourished Indian adults. (+info)
Conformational lock and dissociative thermal inactivation of lentil seedling amine oxidase.
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The kinetics of thermal inactivation of copper-containing amine oxidase from lentil seedlings were studied in a 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7, using putrescine as the substrate. The temperature range was between 47-60 degrees C. The thermal inactivation curves were not linear at 52 and 57 degrees C; three linear phases were shown. The first phase gave some information about the number of dimeric forms of the enzyme that were induced by the higher temperatures using the "conformational lock" pertaining theory to oligomeric enzyme. The "conformational lock" caused two additional dimeric forms of the enzyme when the temperature increased to 57 degrees C. The second and third phases were interpreted according to a dissociative thermal inactivation model. These phases showed that lentil amine oxidase was reversibly-dissociated before the irreversible thermal inactivation. Although lentil amine oxidase is not a thermostable enzyme, its dimeric structure can form "conformational lock," conferring a structural tolerance to the enzyme against heat stress. (+info)
The use of a principal axis model to examine individual plant harvest index in four grain legumes.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A principal axis model (PAM) has been proposed to enable the selection of crop ideotypes. The PAM enables plant-to-plant variability within crops to be quantified and compared. The aim of this paper is to validate the PAM for four grain legumes. METHODS: Four grain legumes (Cicer arietinum, Lens culinaris, Lupinus angustifolius, Pisum sativum) were used to quantify the influence of plant-to-plant variability on crop yields. To create variability, populations of 10, 100 and 400 plants m(-2) were established 'on-the-square' with sowing depths of 2, 5 and 10 cm. Further, a central plant was treated with nitrogen and the impact of this on its four neighbouring plants was examined. Seeds were sown and plants harvested individually by hand. KEY RESULTS: Mean individual plant seed weight (SWT) and plant weight (PWT) decreased as plant population increased but there was a consistent and strong (R2 > 0.90) linear relationship between SWT and PWT, with a negative SWT-axis intercept in all species. These components form the basis of the principal axis model (PAM). The PAM was used to summarize the performance of individual plants within a crop and quantify the variability caused by N treatment and the lowest and highest yielding individual plants. A negative SWT-axis intercept indicated that a minimum plant weight (MPW) was required for seed production and therefore the relationship between plant harvest index (PHI) and PWT was asymptotic. The heaviest MPW was calculated for plants grown at the lowest plant population and it was species-dependent, being higher in the larger seeded species. CONCLUSIONS: Agronomic or physiological characteristics that lead to variability in PWT within a population will decrease PHI, and crop yield. The PAM may be useful in breeding programmes to identify plant phenotypes that minimize this plant-to-plant variability. (+info)
The Drosophila acetylcholine receptor subunit D alpha5 is part of an alpha-bungarotoxin binding acetylcholine receptor.
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The central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster contains an alpha-bungarotoxin-binding protein with the properties expected of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. This protein was purified 5800-fold from membranes prepared from Drosophila heads. The protein was solubilized with 1% Triton X-100 and 0.5 M sodium chloride and then purified using an alpha-cobratoxin column followed by a lentil lectin affinity column. The purified protein had a specific activity of 3.9 micromol of 125I-alpha-bungarotoxin binding sites/g of protein. The subunit composition of the purified receptor was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This subunit profile was identical with that revealed by in situ labeling of the membrane-bound protein using the photolyzable methyl-4-azidobenzoimidate derivative of 125I-alpha-bungarotoxin. The purified receptor reveals two different protein bands with molecular masses of 42 and 57 kDa. From sedimentation analysis of the purified protein complex in H2O and D2O and gel filtration, a mass of 270 kDa was calculated. The receptor has a s(20,w) of 9.4 and a Stoke's radius of 7.4 nm. The frictional coefficient was calculated to be 1.7 indicating a highly asymmetric protein complex compatible with a transmembrane protein forming an ion channel. The sequence of a peptide obtained after tryptic digestion of the 42-kDa protein allowed the specific identification of the Drosophila D alpha5 subunit by sequence comparison. A peptide-specific antibody raised against the D alpha5 subunit provides further evidence that this subunit is a component of an alpha-bungarotoxin binding nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from the central nervous system of Drosophila. (+info)
Karyotyping of human oocytes by cenM-FISH, a new 24-colour centromere-specific technique.
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BACKGROUND: Metaphase II (MII) chromosome complements are difficult to karyotype. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency and limitations of centromere-specific multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (cenM-FISH), a new 24 colour FISH technique using centromere-specific probes, to analyse the whole chromosome complement within human oocytes. METHODS: Oocytes were donated by 34 patients undergoing ovarian stimulation and IVF. The MII oocytes were analysed by means of cenM-FISH, while the confirmation of results was performed by FISH and/or by analysing the corresponding first polar bodies using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). RESULTS: A total of 30 cells, corresponding to 16 oocytes and 14 first polar bodies, were successfully karyotyped by either cenM-FISH or CGH. The incidence of aneuploidy was 25%, and eight out of nine aneuploidy events were confirmed by CGH and FISH. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate here for the first time that the identification of any numerical abnormality in oocytes is feasible using cenM-FISH. Despite the fact that the fixation efficiency remains low, the present results confirm the advantage of analysing the whole set of chromosomes to make an accurate estimation of the aneuploidy rate in human oocytes. (+info)
Cortical granules behave differently in mouse oocytes matured under different conditions.
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BACKGROUND: To better understand the differences between in vivo (IVO) and in vitro (IVM) matured oocytes, we studied the chronological changes in cortical granule (CG) distribution and nuclear progression during maturation, and the competence of CG release and embryo development of mouse oocytes matured under different conditions. METHODS: Oocytes matured in vivo or in different culture media were used and CG distribution and release were assessed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled Lens culinaris agglutinin and laser confocal microscopy. RESULTS: Tempos of nuclear maturation and CG redistribution were slower, and competence for CG exocytosis, cleavage and blastulation were lower in the IVM oocytes than in the IVO oocytes. These parameters also differed among oocytes matured in different culture media. Hypoxanthine (HX, 4 mM) blocked germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), postponed CG migration and prevented CG-free domain (CGFD) formation. Cycloheximide (CHX) facilitated both GVBD and CG migration, but inhibited CGFD formation. The presence of serum in maturation media enhanced CG release after aging or activation of oocytes. Maintenance of germinal vesicle intact for some time by a trace amount (0.18 mM) of HX was beneficial to oocyte cytoplasmic maturation. CONCLUSION: CGs behaved differently in mouse oocytes matured under different conditions, and cytoplasmic maturity was not fully achieved in the IVM oocytes. (+info)