Search results for "Zein"

The Recent Development of a Sweet-Tasting Brazzein and its Potential Industrial Applications

2016

International audience; Brazzein is a small heat- and pH-stable sweet-tasting protein isolated from the West African plant, Pentadiplandra brazzeana. Brazzein combines a highly sweet potency, a long history of human consumption, and a remarkable stability, giving it great potential as a natural sweetener. Due to the difficulties of obtaining brazzein from its natural source, several efforts have been made to express brazzein using various heterologous expression systems. This chapter describes the biochemical, structural, sensory, and physiological properties of brazzein. We will summarize the current knowledge of the structure-activity relationship of brazzein. The biotechnological product…

Effect of genistein and daidzein levels on ovarian response and embryo quality in PGT-A cycles

2019

Antioxidant Activity of Sicilian Pistachio (Pistacia veraL. Var. Bronte) Nut Extract and Its Bioactive Components

2007

Pistacia vera L. is the only species of Pistacia genus producing edible nuts. This paper investigates the antioxidant potential of a Sicilian variety of pistachio nut by chemical as well as biological assays and measured antioxidant vitamins and a number of antioxidant polyphenols in either the hydrophilic and/or the lipophilic nut extract. In accordance with the majority of foods, the total antioxidant activity, measured as a TAA test, was much higher (50-fold) in the hydrophilic than in the lipophilic extract. Substantial amounts of total phenols were measured. The hydrophilic extract inhibited dose-dependently both the metal-dependent and -independent lipid oxidation of bovine liver micr…

Delivering Inorganic and Organic Reagents and Enzymes from Zein and Developing Optical Sensors.

2018

Nowadays, interest in using environmentally friendly materials is increasing in many fields. However, the rational design of sensors with biodegradable materials is a challenge. The main aim of this work is to show the possibility of using zein, a protein from corn, as a biodegradable and low-cost material for immobilizing, stabilizing, and delivering different kind of reagents for developing optical sensors. Enzymes, metallic salts, and aromatic and small organic compounds were tested. In addition, different techniques of immobilization, entrapment and adsorption, were used, and different formats, such as solid devices and also multiwell platforms, were proposed. The capacity of zein for i…

Purification and characterization of recombinant brazzein secreted by the yeast Pichia pastoris

2008

Meeting Abstract; International audience

Carbon fibers as green and sustainable sorbent for the extraction of isoflavones from environmental waters.

2021

Abstract Isoflavones are a group of phytoestrogens of important environmental concern due to their endocrine disrupting effects. This article presents a rapid, green, and sustainable method for determining four isoflavones (daidzein, genistein, formononetin, and biochanin A) in environmental waters complying with current trends in Analytical Chemistry. The method consists of in-syringe dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) as the extraction approach, using carbon fibers as extraction material. The synthesis of carbon fibers is simple and sustainable, since it only requires a natural product such as raw cotton as precursor, which is thermally treated (600 °C for 30 min) in an inert (Ar) a…

Isoflavonoid-based bone-sparing treatments exert a low activity on reproductive organs and on hepatic metabolism of estradiol in ovariectomized rats

2007

International audience; The use of soy isoflavones is a potential alternative to hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal bone-loss prevention. Nevertheless, phytoestrogens can target other organs and may disrupt cell proliferation, or could modify endogenous steroid hormone metabolism. These mechanisms could be linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. We therefore studied the possible side effects of such treatments in an experimental model of menopause. Forty adult female Wistar rats were ovariectomized and fed with a genistein-, daidzein- or equol-supplemented diet at bone-sparing levels (10 mg/kg BW/day) for 3 months. The estrogenic effects were assessed by histological a…

Stabilization of a nutraceutical omega-3 fatty acid by encapsulation in ultrathin electrosprayed zein prolamine.

2010

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid of the omega-3 series (omega-3), which exerts strong positive influences on human health. The target of this study was the stabilization by encapsulation of this bioactive ingredient in zein ultrathin capsules produced by electrospraying. The zein ultrathin DHA encapsulation was observed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to be more efficient against degradation under both ambient conditions and in a confined space (so-called headspace experiment). In the latter case, that more closely simulates a sealed food packaging situation, the bioactive DHA was considerably more stable. By fitting the degradation data to a specific auto-deco…

ASPETTI BIO-TAFONOMICI IN AMBIENTE CARSICO COME INDICATORI DEL RITO DEL MEGARIZEIN

2015

Il culto di Demetra e Kore era uno tra i più diffusi del mondo antico di cultura greca. Tuttavia, a causa della sua forte componente misterica, le modalità secondo le quali si articolavano alcuni riti ad esso connessi rimangono poco chiare e le fonti storiche ci forniscono poche e incerte informazioni in merito. Uno dei riti chiave avveniva durante le Tesmoforie, le principali feste in onore di Demetra e Kore, e consisteva nel rito del Megarizein. Il rituale prevedeva che dei maialini venissero gettati all’interno di cavità ipogee (megara) e che successivamente venissero recuperate le loro carcasse decomposte da offrire alle divinità. Qui presentiamo i risultati preliminari di un esperiment…

Acute effects of three isoflavone class phytoestrogens and a mycoestrogen on cerebral microcirculation.

2007

Phytoestrogens and mycoestrogens are naturally occurring plant and fungus secondary metabolites with estrogen-like structure and/or actions. We aimed to check the hypothesis that phytoestrogens and mycoestrogens, due to their ability to elicit cerebral vasodilation, can induce acute increases in brain blood perfusion. For this purpose, we continuously recorded cerebrocortical perfusion by laser-Doppler flowmetry in anesthetized rats receiving intracarotid infusions (1 mg/kg) of one of the following estrogenic compounds: biochanin A, daidzein, genistein or zearalanone. We have shown the ability of two isoflavone class phytoestrogens (daidzein and biochanin A) and the mycoestrogen zearalanone…