The Influence of Ficus deltoidea in Preserving Alveolar Bone in Ovariectomized Rats.

Ficus deltoidea has been shown to possess antioxidant properties that could prevent the development of chronic inflammatory bone diseases. In this study, the efficacy of F. deltoidea in preventing alveolar bone resorption in osteoporotic rats induced by ovariectomy (OVX) was investigated. Twenty-four female Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 6) consisting of sham-operated (SO), ovariectomized control (OVXN), ovariectomized treated with estrogen (OVXP), and ovariectomized treated with F. deltoidea extract (OVXF). At the beginning of the study, two nonovariectomized, healthy rats were sacrificed to serve as baseline (BL). Treatment of the rats commenced two weeks after ovariectomy-the OVXP rats that served as positive control received Premarin® (64.5 µg/kg body weight), while OVXF rats were given F. deltoidea (800 mg/kg body weight); both agents were administered orally for two months. The negative control group of rats (OVXN) and the SO group received deionized water, also administered via oral gavage. At necropsy, morphometric assessment of the interradicular bone of the first molar was carried out using a micro-CT scanner, while quantification of osteoclasts and osteoblasts was performed histologically. The results showed that no statistically significant differences among the groups (p > 0.05) for bone morphometric assessment. However, trabecular thickness in the OVXF group was similar to BL, while trabecular separation and alveolar bone loss height were lower than those of the OVXN group. Histologically, the OVXF group demonstrated a significantly lower number of osteoclasts and a higher number of osteoblasts compared with OVXN (p=0.008 and p=0.019, respectively; p < 0.05). In conclusion, F. deltoidea has the capacity to prevent alveolar bone loss in ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis rats by potentially preserving trabecular bone microarchitecture and to decrease osteoclast and increase osteoblast cell count.

Comparative Study on the Nutritional Value of Pidan and Salted Duck Egg.

Pidan and salted duck eggs are of nutritional rich alternative duck egg products which are predominantly consumed in China, Thailand, South Korea and other Chinese migrated countries. Both eggs are rich in proteins, lipids, unsaturated fatty acids and minerals. A Pidan whole egg contains 13.1% of protein, 10.7% of fat, 2.25% of carbohydrate and 2.3% of ash, whereas the salted duck egg contains 14% of protein, 16.6% of fat, 4.1% of carbohydrate and 7.5% of ash. The fresh duck egg contains a range of 9.30-11.80% of protein, 11.40-13.52% of fat, 1.50-1.74% of sugar and 1.10-1.17% of ash. Proteins, lipids, and ash contents are found to be greatly enhanced during the pickling and salting process of pidan and salted duck eggs. However, the alkaline induced aggregation of pidan leads to degradation and subsequent generation of free peptides and amino acids. Very few amino acids are found to be lost during the pickling and storage. However, no such losses of amino acids are reported in salted duck eggs during the salting process of 14 d. Phospholipids and cholesterol contents are lower in pidan oil and salted duck egg yolk oil. Thus, the pidan and salted duck eggs are nutritionally rich alternatives of duck egg products which will benefit the human health during consumption.

Analysis of 1,2(2,3)- and 1,3-positional isomers of diacylglycerols from vegetable oils by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Separation of 1,2(2,3)- and 1,3-positional isomers of diacylglycerols (DAG) from vegetable oils by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is investigated. The method is based on isocratic elution using 100% acetonitrile and UV detection at 205 nm. The following elution order of DAG molecular species is identified: 1,3-dilinolein < 1,2-dilinolein < 1,3-dimyristin < 1-oleoyl-3-linoleoyl-glycerol < 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycerol < 1(2)-oleoyl-2(3)-linoleoyl-glycerol < 1-linolenoyl-3-stearoyl-glycerol < 1(2)-linolenoyl-2(3)-stearoyl-glycerol < 1,3-diolein < 1-palmitoyl-3-oleoyl-glycerol < 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycerol < 1(2)-palmitoyl-2(3)-oleoyl-glycerol < 1-linoleoyl-3-stearoyl-glycerol < 1,3-dipalmitin < 1(2)-linoleoyl-2(3)-stearoyl-glycerol < 1-oleoyl-3-stearoyl-glycerol < 1,2-dipalmitoyl-rac-glycerol < 1-palmitoyl-3-stearoyl-sn-glycerol < 1,3-distearin < 1,2-distearoyl-rac-glycerol. Linearity is observed over three orders of magnitude. Limits of detection and quantitation range 0.2-0.7 microg/mL for 1,3-dilinolein to 0.6-1.9 microg/mL for 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycerol, respectively. Precision and accuracy of the method are also demonstrated. The method is developed to separate mixtures of DAG molecular species produced from edible oils.

Rapid method for determining malondialdehyde as secondary oxidation product in palm olein system by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

A simple and rapid Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of malondialdehyde as secondary oxidation product in a palm olein system. The FTIR method was based on a sodium chloride transmission cell and utilised a partial least square statistical approach to derive a calibration model. The frequency region combinations that gave good calibration were 2900-2800, and 1800-1600 cm-1. The precision and accuracy, in the range 0-60 mumol malondialdehyde/kg oil, were comparable to those of the modified distillation method with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.9891 and standard error of calibration of 1.49. The calibration was cross-validated and produced an r2 of 0.9786 and standard error of prediction of 2.136. The results showed that the FTIR method is versatile, efficient and accurate, and suitable for routine quality control analysis with the result obtainable in about 2 min from a sample of less than 2 mL.

Degumming of crude palm oil by membrane filtration.

The application of membrane separation in palm oil refining process has potential for energy and cost savings. The conventional refining of crude palm oil results in loss of oil and a contaminated effluent. Degumming of crude palm oil by membrane technology is conducted in this study. The objective of this research is to study the feasibility of membrane filtration for the removal of phospholipids in the degumming of crude palm oil, including analyses of phosphorus content, carotene content free fatty acids (as palmitic acid), colour and volatile matter. A PCI membrane module was used which was equipped with polyethersulfone membranes having a molecular weight cut off of 9,000 (type ES209). In this study, phosphorus content was the most important parameter monitored. The membrane effectively removed phospholipids resulting in a permeate with a phosphorus content of less than 0.3 ppm The percentage removal of phosphorus was 96.4% and was considered as a good removal. Lovibond colour was reduced from 27R 50Y to 20R 30Y. The percentage removal of carotene was 15.8%. The removal of colour was considered good but the removal of carotene was considered insignificant by the membrane. Free fatty acids and volatile matter were not removed. Typical of membrane operations, the permeate flux decreased with time and must be improved in order to be adopted on an industrial scale. Membrane technology was found to have good potential in crude palm oil degumming. However, an appropriate method has to be developed to clean the membranes for reuse.

Optimization considerations for the purification of alpha1-antitrypsin using silica-based ion-exchange adsorbents in packed and expanded beds.

The influences of the fluid superficial velocity, sample concentration, loading volume, and wash cycle on the recovery and corresponding purification factors for alpha1-antitrypsin [syn. alpha1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha1-PI)] from crude mixtures of human plasma proteins were investigated using packed and expanded beds of DEAE-Spherodex LS. As part of this study, the effect of fluid superficial velocity on the bed dispersion number (Dv) and dispersion coefficient (D) for this adsorbent in expanded beds was determined with feedstocks containing human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant of the contaminating proteins in human plasma protein preparations used for the isolation of alpha1-PI. When multicomponent protein feedstocks prepared from human plasma were examined with DEAE-Spherodex LS, reduced chromatographic productivity was observed for alpha1-PI as the extent of column utilization and the superficial velocity were increased, yet the opposite trend was evident for HSA. In particular, higher adsorption capacities and recoveries were obtained for alpha1-PI at lower fluid superficial velocities with both packed and expanded bed conditions. These findings indicate that for process scale purifications of alpha1-PI from multicomponent feedstocks with expanded beds containing this silica-based ion-exchange adsorbent, the optimal range of superficial velocities to achieve the highest bed productivity will not be synonymous with maximally fluidized modes of operation. Rather, the results confirm that the adsorbent has an optimum operational performance when fluidization procedures corresponding to plug flow expansion are employed for the capture of alpha1-PI. These findings also indicate that advantage can be taken of displacement effects between closely related protein species with packed and expanded bed systems containing the DEAE-Spherodex LS type of ion-exchange porous silicas.

Adsorption behavior of multicomponent protein mixtures containing alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor with the anion exchanger, 2-(diethylamino)ethyl-Spherodex.

The equilibrium binding behavior of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-PI) in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA) has been determined in packed bed systems with the anion exchanger, 2-(diethylamino)ethyl (DEAE)-Spherodex. Experimental data derived for the individual proteins were compared with the corresponding data obtained from batch adsorption studies as well as studies in which mixtures of these two proteins were loaded at different concentration ratios onto columns of the same anion exchange adsorbent. The results confirm that alpha 1-PI has a greater affinity for the anion exchanger, although competitive adsorption was observed as the inlet concentration of HSA was increased. Under these conditions, decreased binding capacities and lower dynamic adsorption rates were observed for alpha 1-PI with the DEAE-Spherodex anion exchange adsorbent. The results are discussed in terms of the influence which various contaminants that occur in multicomponent mixtures of proteins from human plasma can have on the equilibrium binding characteristics of a target protein with weak or strong ion exchange adsorbents under conditions approaching concentration overload in preparative chromatographic systems. These investigations have also addressed, as the first part of an iterative approach for the simulation of the adsorption behavior of multicomponent mixtures of human plasma proteins with ion exchange and affinity chromatographic adsorbents, the ability of noncompetitive and competitive Langmuirean models to simulate the adsorption of alpha 1-PI in the presence of different concentrations of HSA to DEAE-Spherodex.