Kinetics of lactose fermentation in milk with kombucha starter.

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of new, non-conventional starter culture on the kinetics of the lactose transformation during milk fermentation by kombucha, at pH 5.8; 5.4; 5.1; 4.8; and 4.6, at two different temperatures 37 °C and 42 °C. Milk fermentation at 42 °C lasted significantly shorter (about 5 h, 30 min) compared to the fermentation at 37 °C. Changes of lactose concentration at the both temperatures are consisting of two retaining stages and very steep decline in-between. The analysis of the rate curves showed that the reaction rate passes through the maximum after 9 h, 30 min at 37 °C and after 4 h at 42 °C. The sigmoidal saturation curve indicates a complex kinetics of lactose fermentation by kombucha starter.

Effects of high temperatures and drought during anthesis and grain filling period on wheat processing quality and underlying gluten structural changes.

BACKGROUND: Climate changes do not only affect wheat yield, but also its quality. Information on this topic gathered so far is somewhat contradictory and insufficient. Climate changes also affect wheat indirectly through their influence on the ecosystem, including insects and fungi that affect wheat technological quality. The aim of this study was to examine trends in structural and technological changes of wheat quality under conditions typical of climate changes. With this in mind, three groups of wheat varieties with the same Glu-score were examined in three production years, characterized by different production conditions. RESULTS: A production season characterized by climate change conditions results in lower activity of amylolytic enzymes. What is more, it results in lower content of gluten, higher gluten index value, its decrease after 1 h to 37 °C, lower number of free SH groups and higher content of free amino groups, which result in lower alveograph W, lower farinograph WA and higher extensograph dough resistance. CONCLUSION: Variability in wheat quality produced under different climatic conditions is mainly influenced by the production conditions, including their influence on ecosystem factors. The influence of wheat cultivar genetic predisposition is much less expressed. This indicates that differences among cultivars with different Glu-score might be diminished under the influence of altered production conditions, as a consequence of climate change. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Design, synthesis and in vitro antitumour activity of new goniofufurone and 7-epi-goniofufurone mimics with halogen or azido groups at the C-7 position.

A series of new antitumour lactones containing the [3.3.0] bicyclic furano-lactone core and the halogen or azido group at the C-7 position have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro antitumour activity against a panel of human tumour cell lines. Some of the analogues displayed powerful antiproliferative effects to certain human tumour cells, but all of them were devoid of any cytotoxicity towards the normal foetal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5). A SAR study reveals the structural features of these lactones that may affect their antiproliferative activity. These are: the nature of substituent present at the C-7 position, stereochemistry at the C-7 position, the absence of phenyl group at the C-7 position. Flow cytometry data indicate that the cytotoxic effects of the synthesized analogues in a culture of K562 cells are mediated by apoptosis, additionally revealing that these molecules induced changes in cell cycle distribution of these cells. Results of Western blot analysis suggested that the most of synthesized compounds induce apoptosis in K562 cells in caspase-dependent way.

Chemometric approach to texture profile analysis of kombucha fermented milk products.

In the present work, relationships between the textural characteristics of fermented milk products obtained by kombucha inoculums with various teas were investigated by using chemometric analysis. The presented data which describe numerically the textural characteristics (firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity) were analysed. The quadratic correlation was determined between the textural characteristics of fermented milk products obtained at fermentation temperatures of 40 and 43 °C, using milk with 0.8, 1.6 and 2.8% milk fat and kombucha inoculums cultivated on the extracts of peppermint, stinging nettle, wild thyme and winter savory. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed to identify the similarities among the fermented products. The best mathematical models predicting the textural characteristics of investigated samples were developed. The results of this study indicate that textural characteristics of sample based on winter savory have a significant effect on textural characteristics of samples based on peppermint, stinging nettle and wild thyme, which can be very useful in the determination of products texture profile.

Prediction of In-silico ADME Properties of 1,2-O-Isopropylidene Aldohexose Derivatives.

Retention behaviour of molecules mostly depends on their chemical structure. Retention data of biologically active molecules could be an indirect relationship between their structure and biological or pharmacological activity, since the molecular structure affects their behaviour in all pharmacokinetic stages. In the present paper, retention parameters (R M (0)) of biologically active 1,2-O-isopropylidene aldohexose derivatives, obtained by normal-phase thin-layer chromatography (NP TLC), were correlated with selected physicochemical properties relevant to pharmacokinetics, i.e. absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) properties. Conducted correlation analysis showed high dependence between R M (0) and blood brain barrier penetration, skin permeability, enzyme inhibition, binding affinity to nuclear receptor ligand and G protein-coupled receptors, as well as lipophilicity (expressed as Hansh-Leo's parameter Clog P). The statistical validity of the established polynomial dependence of the second degree between R M (0) and mentioned ADME properties was confirmed by standard statistical measures and leave-one-out cross-validation method. On the basis of in-silico calculated ADME properties and retention data, the similarity between studied molecules was examined using principal component analysis (PCA). The obtained results indicate the possibility of predicting ADME properties of studied compounds on the basis of their retention data (R M (0)). These preliminary results could be treated as guideline for selecting new 1,2-O-isopropylidene aldohexose derivatives as drug candidates.

A Review on Kombucha Tea-Microbiology, Composition, Fermentation, Beneficial Effects, Toxicity, and Tea Fungus.

Fermentation of sugared tea with a symbiotic culture of acetic acid bacteria and yeast (tea fungus) yields kombucha tea which is consumed worldwide for its refreshing and beneficial properties on human health. Important progress has been made in the past decade concerning research findings on kombucha tea and reports claiming that drinking kombucha can prevent various types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, promote liver functions, and stimulate the immune system. Considering the widespread reports on kombucha, we recognized the need to review and update the research conducted in relation to kombucha tea, its products and tea fungus. Existing reports have suggested that the protective effects of kombucha tea are as good as those of black tea, however, more studies on kombucha tea and its composition are needed before final conclusions can be made.

Quantitative structure-retention relationship analysis of some xylofuranose derivatives by linear multivariate method.

The relationship between retention behavior of eight 1,2-O-cyclohexylidene xylofuranose derivatives and their molecular characteristics was studied using chemometric Quantitative Structure-Retention Relationships (QSRR) approach. QSRR analysis was carried out on the retention parameter RM0, obtained by normal-phase thin-layer chromatography, by using molecular descriptors, as well as partition coefficient for n-octanol/water bi-phase system (logP). Molecular descriptors were calculated from the optimized structures. Principal component analysis (PCA) followed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) was performed in order to select molecular descriptors that best describe the retention behavior of the compounds investigated, and to determine the similarities between molecules. MLR equations, that represent the retention measure RMo as a function of the in silico molecular descriptors were established. The statistical quality of the generated mathematical models was determined by standard statistical measures and cross-validation parameters. Obtained results indicate that previously mentioned mathematical models are statistically significant and can successfully predict retention behavior of examined xylofuranose derivatives.

Sequence polymorphism of the mitochondrial DNA control region in the population of Vojvodina Province, Serbia.

In order to generate and establish the database for forensic identification purposes in Vojvodina Province (Serbia), the sequence of the hypervariable regions 1 (HV1) and 2 (HV2) of the mtDNA control region were determined in a population of 104 unrelated individuals from Vojvodina Province, using a fluorescent-based capillary electrophoresis sequencing method. A total of 93 different haplotypes were found, of these 83 mtDNA types were unique, nine haplotypes were shared by two individuals and one haplotype by three individuals. The variation of mtDNA HV1 and HV2 regions was confined to 116 nucleotide positions, of which 72 were observed in the HV1 and 44 in the HV2. A statistical estimate of the results for this population showed the genetic diversity of 0.9977 and the random match probability of 1.18%. Haplogroup H was the most common haplogroup (43.3%). Haplogroups observed at intermediate levels included clusters U (13.5%), T (10.6%), J (8.6%) and W (5.8%).