Search results for "FATTY ACIDS"
showing 10 items of 719 documents
Trail-following pheromones in basal termites, with special reference to Mastotermes darwiniensis
2007
0098-0331 (Print) Journal Article; In the framework of an evolutionary study, trail pheromones have been studied in the most basal extant termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), and two other basal termites, the Termopsidae Porotermes adamsoni (Porotermitinae) and Stolotermes victoriensis (Stolotermitinae). Although workers of M. darwiniensis do not walk in single file while exploring a new environment under experimental conditions and are unable to follow artificial trails in 'open field' experiments, they do secrete a trail-following pheromone from their sternal glands. This unique behavior might reflect a primitive function of communication of the sternal gland. The major co…
Comparison of Bayesian and numerical optimization-based diet estimation on herbivorous zooplankton
2020
Consumer diet estimation with biotracer-based mixing models provides valuable information about trophic interactions and the dynamics of complex ecosystems. Here, we assessed the performance of four Bayesian and three numerical optimization-based diet estimation methods for estimating the diet composition of herbivorous zooplankton using consumer fatty acid (FA) profiles and resource library consisting of the results of homogeneous diet feeding experiments. The method performance was evaluated in terms of absolute errors, central probability interval checks, the success in identifying the primary resource in the diet, and the ability to detect the absence of resources in the diet. Despite …
Stable isotopes of fatty acids: current and future perspectives for advancing trophic ecology
2020
To understand consumer dietary requirements and resource use across ecosystems, researchers have employed a variety of methods, including bulk stable isotope and fatty acid composition analyses. Compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of fatty acids combines both of these tools into an even more powerful method with the capacity to broaden our understanding of food web ecology and nutritional dynamics. Here, we provide an overview of the potential that CSIA studies hold and their constraints. We first review the use of fatty acid CSIA in ecology at the natural abundance level as well as enriched physiological tracers, and highlight the unique insights that CSIA of fatty acids can p…
Comparative Study of Liposoluble Vitamins and Fatty Acids from Sea Buckthorn Oil, Wheat Germ Oil and Fish Oil
2018
Abstract An important role in human nutrition is played by fats, both of plant and animal origin. Fats are a category of foods rich in liposoluble vitamins and fatty acids. They are widely used in nutrition, in cosmetics, in the content of creams as well as in pharmaceutical products, in the form of dietary supplements, such as capsules with oils rich in fatty acids and the addition of liposoluble vitamins. The objective of this paper was to study the content in vitamins and fatty oils of two vegetable oils (wheat germ and sea buckthorn oils) and an animal oil (fish oil). The results show that these oils are rich in liposoluble vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. Hence, t…
Retroconversion of docosapentaenoic acid (n-6): an alternative pathway for biosynthesis of arachidonic acid in Daphnia magna.
2013
The aim of this study was to assess metabolic pathways for arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) biosynthesis in Daphnia magna. Neonates of D. magna were maintained on [13C] enriched Scenedesmus obliquus and supplemented with liposomes that contained separate treatments of unlabeled docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6), 20:4n-6, linoleic acid (18:2n-6) or oleic acid (18:1n-9). Daphnia in the control treatment, without any supplementary fatty acids (FA) containing only trace amounts of 20:4n-6 (~0.3 % of all FA). As expected, the highest proportion of 20:4n-6 (~6.3 %) was detected in Daphnia that received liposomes supplemented with this FA. Higher availability of 18:2n-6 in the diet increased the proportio…
Biochemical characterization of cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775), another red sea jellyfish in the western mediterranean sea
2021
Increasing frequency of native jellyfish proliferations and massive appearance of non-indigenous jellyfish species recently concur to impact Mediterranean coastal ecosystems and human activities at sea. Nonetheless, jellyfish biomass may represent an exploitable novel resource to coastal communities, with reference to its potential use in the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and nutraceutical Blue Growth sectors. The zooxanthellate jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda, Forsskål, 1775 (Cnidaria, Rhizostomeae) entered the Levant Sea through the Suez Canal and spread towards the Western Mediterranean to reach Malta, Tunisia, and recently also the Italian coasts. Here we report on the biochemical characte…
The drivers of soil microbial communities structure on forest stands along the altitudinal gradient in western carpathians
2020
Abstract This study examines the effect of the soil physicochemical properties and the vegetation diversity and composition on the soil microorganism community structure on the temperate forest stands along the altitudinal gradient. The studied stands were located at three altitudes (600, 900, and 1200 m a.s.l.) on five separate mountain slopes (treated as independent replicates) in the Western Carpathians Mountains (Poland). The soil physicochemical characteristics varied widely between the stands on these same altitude, and only the organic matter content, water-holding capacity and dissolved organic nitrogen differed significantly between the different altitudes, exhibited highest values…
Laurel extracts inhibit quorum sensing, virulence factors and biofilm of foodborne pathogens
2020
Antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-Quorum sensing (QS) and virulence factors inhibitory capacity of different polarity Laurus nobilis extracts against several pathogenic microorganisms were studied. Some extracts exhibited antibiotic effect against Staphylococcus aureus multidrug-resistant strains. However, all extracts (100 µg/mL) inhibited to some extent the biofilm of most bacteria tested (until 40% for Gram-negative and 76% for Gram-positive). Hexane (HE) and chloroform extract (CE) were potent inhibitors of S. aureus biofilm and the microscopies further confirmed an important reduction in adherent cells. Polystyrene surfaces coated with these extracts showed a decrease in bacterial adhes…
Valuable natural products from marine and freshwater macroalgae obtained from supercritical fluid extracts
2017
The biologically active compounds (fatty acids, pigments, phenolics, and flavonoid content) were studied in supercritical fluid extracts from the biomass of marine (Ulva clathrata, Cladophora glomerata, Polysiphonia fucoides, and their multi-species mixture) and freshwater (C. glomerata) macroalgae. Different extraction techniques were used in order to compare differences in the biologically active compound composition of the macroalgal extracts. The results indicated that the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids ranged from C9:0 to C22:0. The analysis of differences in the composition of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids in extracts showed that palmitic acid (C16:0) and oleic acid (C18…
Small-scale variability in geomorphological settings influences mangrove-derived organic matter export in a tropical bay
2017
Abstract. Organic matter (OM) exchanges between adjacent habitats affect the dynamics and functioning of coastal systems, as well as the role of the different primary producers as energy and nutrient sources in food webs. Elemental (C, N, C : N) and isotope (δ13C) signatures and fatty acid (FA) profiles were used to assess the influence of geomorphological setting in two climatic seasons on the export and fate of mangrove OM across a tidally influenced tropical area, Gazi Bay (Kenya). The main results indicate that tidal transport, along with riverine runoff, plays a significant role in the distribution of mangrove organic matter. In particular, a marked spatial variability in the export of…