Four new species of Phyllosticta from China based on morphological and phylogenetic characterization.

Phyllosticta (Phyllostictaceae, Botryosphaeriales) species are widely distributed globally and constitute a diverse group of pathogenic and endophytic fungi associated with a broad range of plant hosts. In this study, four new species of Phyllosticta, i.e. P. endophytica, P. jiangxiensis, P. machili, and P. xinyuensis, were described using morphological characteristics and multi-locus phylogeny based on the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) with intervening 5.8S rRNA gene, large subunit of rRNA gene (nrLSU), translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (tef1), actin gene (act), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (gapdh). Phyllosticta machili is the first species of this genus reported to infect plants of the Machilus genus.

Raman Spectroscopy Study Structural Changes in Black Bean Protein Isolate upon Ultrasonic-Treatment.

This article focused on the assessment of the potential of Raman spectroscopy for the determination of structural changes in black-bean protein isolate (BBPI) dispersions with low-frequency (20 kHz) ultrasonication applied at various powers (150, 300 or 450 W) and for different durations (12 or 24 min). It also reported on differential scanning calorimetry analyses. A decrease in TD at low- and medium-power ultrasonication confirmed these ultrasonication treatment disrupted internal hydrophobic interactions of protein molecules and broke up unstable aggregates to smaller soluble protein aggregates, while an increase in TD at high-power was attributed to repolymerization of aggregates. Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed a decrease in the α-helix proportion and an increase in ß-sheets after ultrasonic treatment except Sample E (300 W, 24 min). Transformation of aggregation results in a reconstruction in secondary structure of BBPI, especially in ß-sheet structure. Ultrasonic-treatment induced a decrease in the normalized intensity of the Raman band near 760 cm-1 which indicated that Tryptophan residues tended to expose and also indicated protein partially unfolding. No significant difference was found in Tyr doublet ratios between unheated and ultrasound-treated BBPI indicated that ultrasound did not change the microenvironment around tyrosyl residues. While the intensity of 1 450 cm-1 band increased with increasing ultrasonic intensity and treatment time, and then decreased with further increase in power and treatment time. In general, the formation of aggregation transferred g-g-t conformation to t-g-t conformation. Though some mechanism of aggregation-repolymerization of BBPI remains to be clearly defined, Raman spectroscopy provide a feasible tool to study the structural changes of BBPI prepared under different ultrasonic conditions, give a new perspective to elucidation of protein structure.

Blending of soybean oil with selected vegetable oils: impact on oxidative stability and radical scavenging activity.

BACKGROUND: Soybean oil may protect against cancer of the breast and prostate. It may also exert beneficial influence in combination with other oils. Here, blends (20%, v/v) of sea buckthorn oil (SEBO), camellia oil (CAO), rice bran oil (RBO), sesame oil (SEO) and peanut oil (PEO) with soybean oil (SBO) were formulated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Oxidative stability (OS) and radical scavenging activity (RSA) of SBO and blends stored under oxidative conditions (60°C) for 24 days were studied. By blending with different kinds oils, levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased, while monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content increased. Progression of oxidation was followed by measuring peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine (PAV), conjugated dienes (CD) and conjugated trienes (CT). RESULTS: Inverse relationships were noted between PV and OS at termination of storage. Levels of CD and CT in SBO, and blends, increased with increase in time. The impact of SEO as additives on SBO oxidation was the strongest followed by RBO, CAO, SEBO and PNO. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative stability of oil blends was better than SBO, most likely as a consequence of changes in fatty acids and tocopherols' profile, and minor bioactive lipids found in selected oils. The results suggest that these oil blends could contribute as sources of important antioxidant related to the prevention of chronic diseases associated to oxidative stress, such as in cancer and coronary artery disease.