Manufacturing technology of banana-assorted breads: The fermentative characteristics affected by different banana cultivars.

Taiwan produces large quantities of bananas in the southern area. Recently, due to the export quantity has been greatly reduced, in order to efficiently maintain the banana agriculture and economy, the development of alternate uses of bananas has become urgently in need. Bananas contain a fair amount of nutrients with low glycemic index. Currently, as the bread consumption is increasing, we tried to manufacture banana-assorted breads. The desiccated powders of Musa sapientum var TC2-425 Linn [(genomically, called as Musa (AAA) (MA)] and Musa basjoo "Nam Wa" (MB) were separately incorporated at 15%, 20%, and 25% (denoted as MA15-MA25 and MB15-MB25). Results indicated that MA exhibited higher contents of moisture, ash, crude protein, and lutein, while with lower crude fat, crude fibers, carbohydrate, sodium, total soluble sugars, and pectin. The contents of taste compounds (name, samples in decreasing order) were as follows: 5'-CMP (MB25, MB20); 5'-GMP (MA25, MA20); 5'-AMP (MB25, MA15); 5'-XMP (MA25, MA20); 5'-IMP (MA25, MB20, MB25); and 5'-UMP (MA20, MA25, MB20). Hedonic scoring (HS) indicated MA15, MA20, MB15, and MB20 were more acceptable. Textural profile analysis (TPA; for 0-6 days, only 0-4 days are shown) revealed that "flavor," "mouthfeel," "hardness," "gumminess," and "chewiness" were the determinant key roles. Conclusively, due to different chemical constituent of banana, different recipes must be considered. The bread acceptability is affected by the fermentative profile which in turn is governed by the contents of soluble sugars, pectin, taste compounds, and the overall activity of yeast cells.

The antiproliferative effect of sildenafil on pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells is mediated via upregulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 and degradation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension is a group of diseases comprising vascular constriction and by obstructive changes of the pulmonary vasculature. Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, e.g., sildenafil, can alleviate vascular remodeling in the monocrotaline pulmonary hypertension model in rats, and inhibit the proliferation of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro. We examined the ability of sildenafil to inhibit platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced proliferation of porcine pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. METHODS: Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and cell cycle analysis were assessed by MTT assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Western blotting was used to examine protein expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) and phosphorylation level of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2). RESULTS: PDGF increased cell proliferation and the percentage of cells in S phase. These effects were inhibited by pretreatment with sildenafil in a dose-dependent manner. Sildenafil (96 microM) also caused a 67% decrease in PDGF-stimulated ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Sildenafil inhibition of ERK1/2 was accompanied by a rapid induction of MKP-1. Inhibition of the cGMP-dependent kinase I alpha (cGK I alpha) using Rp-8-BrcGMPS (25 microM) blocked sildenafil-induced MKP-1 expression. Either vanadate (12.5 microM), a phosphatase inhibitor, or Rp-8-BrcGMPS abolished the inhibitory effect of sildenafil on PDGF-stimulated phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and restored PDGF-induced cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that sildenafil upregulates MKP-1 expression and promotes degradation of phosphorylation of ERK1/2, which suppresses the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells.