Saturated very long chain fatty acid configures glycosphingolipid for lysosome homeostasis in long-lived C. elegans

The contents of numerous membrane lipids change upon ageing. However, it is unknown whether and how any of these changes are causally linked to lifespan regulation. Acyl chains contribute to the functional specificity of membrane lipids. In this study, working with C. elegans, we identified an acyl chain-specific sphingolipid, C22 glucosylceramide, as a longevity metabolite. Germline deficiency, a conserved lifespan-extending paradigm, induces somatic expression of the fatty acid elongase ELO-3, and behenic acid (22:0) generated by ELO-3 is incorporated into glucosylceramide for lifespan regulation. Mechanistically, C22 glucosylceramide is required for the membrane localization of clathrin, a protein that regulates membrane budding. The reduction in C22 glucosylceramide impairs the clathrin-dependent autophagic lysosome reformation, which subsequently leads to TOR activation and longevity suppression. These findings reveal a mechanistic link between membrane lipids and ageing and suggest a model of lifespan regulation by fatty acid-mediated membrane configuration.

​Effect of Distillery Spent Wash as Carbon Source in Biofloc System on Nutrient Profile of GIFT Tilapia

Background: Biofloc technology (BFT) is an ecofriendly aquaculture production system. In this, various carbon sources being used for floc production. However, the cheapest carbon source would make it economically feasible. In this context, the present study used purified distillery spent wash (DSW) as a carbon source to evaluate its viability on biofloc composition and carcass quality of GIFT strain. Methods: Nursery trial was conducted in high density poly ethylene (HDPE) outdoor lined pond (0.01 ha) for period of 30 days (8th January to 7th February 2018). In both BFT and control system, proximate composition and fatty acid profile of GIFT tilapia were analyzed at the end of the trial by following the standard method. Result: Dried microbial floc encompassed 16.61 ± 1.2% of crude protein and 15.3 ± 0.01% of linoleic acid. The Whole-body composition of GIFT was not significantly (P greater than 0.05) varied in between biofloc and control. Significantly (P less than 0.05) rich fatty acids found in biofloc fed GIFT whole body except stearic acid, behenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. In the present study, DSW did not show much effect on carcass quality but showed better growth performance of GIFT strain in the BFT system.

Rapid Detection of Fatty Acids in Edible Oils Using Vis-NIR Reflectance Spectroscopy with Multivariate Methods

The composition and content of fatty acids are critical indicators to identify the quality of edible oils. This study was undertaken to establish a rapid determination method for quality detection of edible oils based on quantitative analysis of palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid. Seven kinds of oils were measured to obtain Vis-NIR spectra. Multivariate methods combined with pretreatment methods were adopted to establish quantitative analysis models for the four fatty acids. The model of support vector machine (SVM) with standard normal variate (SNV) pretreatment showed the best predictive performance for the four fatty acids. For the palmitic acid, the determination coefficient of prediction (RP2) was 0.9504 and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was 0.8181. For the stearic acid, RP2 and RMSEP were 0.9636 and 0.2965. In the prediction of arachidic acid, RP2 and RMSEP were 0.9576 and 0.0577. In the prediction of behenic acid, the RP2 and RMSEP were 0.9521 and 0.1486. Furthermore, the effective wavelengths selected by successive projections algorithm (SPA) were useful for establishing simplified prediction models. The results demonstrate that Vis-NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate methods can provide a rapid and accurate approach for fatty acids detection of edible oils.

GC-MS Based Metabolomics Reveals the Synergistic Mechanism of Gardeniae Fructus-Forsythiae Fructus Herb Pair in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury Mouse Model

Compatibility remains among the crucial and significant characteristics of traditional Chinese medicines. The Gardeniae Fructus (FG)-Forsythiae Fructus (FF) herb pair, an epitome of formulations for heat-clearing and detoxification, is extensively used to treat bacterial pneumonia in clinical settings. However, there are few reports on their synergistic effects. This study thus investigated their compatibility by GC-MS based metabolomics using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) mouse model. Differential metabolites were identified by both variable importance in the projection (VIP) > 1 in orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) mode and P < 0.05 . Results of biochemistry and histopathology indicated that FG-FF herb pair exerted more promising lung protective effect than its individual decoction against the LPS-induced ALI model. From the metabolomics study, 32 differential metabolites in vehicle vs. model groups, 21 differential metabolites in FF vs. model groups, 21 differential metabolites in FG vs. model groups, and 20 differential metabolites in FG-FF herb pair vs. model groups were found. Among them, the levels of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, alanine, isophthalic acid, and terephthalic acid were restored significantly in the FF group, while silanol and cholesterol were restored significantly in the FG group. For FG-FF treatment, the amount of behenic acid, a metabolite with anti-inflammatory properties, was increased, while palmitic acid, a proinflammatory metabolite, was decreased. Meanwhile, the two biomarkers were restored more significantly than that by FG or FF treatment, which indicated that the synergistic effects by FF coupled with FG might be attributed to restoring fatty acids metabolic pathway.

Harvest Season Significantly Influences the Fatty Acid Composition of Bee Pollen

Seasonal variations in the fatty acid (FA) compositions of pollen loads collected from the Al-Ahsa Oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia throughout one year were determined to identify the optimal season for harvesting bee pollen rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs) and unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs). The highest values (%) of lipids, linolenic acid (C18:3), stearic acid (C18:0), linoleic acid (C18:2), arachidic acid (C20:0), the sum of the C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3 concentrations, and EFAs were obtained from bee pollen harvested during autumn. The maximum values (%) of oleic acid (C18:1), palmitic acid (C16:0), UFAs, and the UFA/saturated fatty acid (SFA) ratio were found in bee pollen harvested during summer. The highest concentrations (%) of behenic acid (C22:0), lignoceric acid (C24:0), and SFAs were found in bee pollen harvested during winter. Bee pollen harvested during spring ranked second in its oleic, palmitic, linolenic, stearic, arachidic, behenic, and lignoceric acid concentrations and for EFAs, UFAs, and the UFA/SFA ratio. The lowest SFA concentration was found in bee pollen harvested during summer. Oleic, palmitic, and linolenic acids were the most predominant FAs found in bee pollen. It was concluded that the FA composition of bee pollen varied among the harvest seasons due to the influence of the dominant botanical origins. We recommend harvesting pollen loads during spring and summer to feed honeybee colonies during periods of scarcity and for use as a healthy, nutritious food for humans.

A Composite Nanosystem as a Potential Tool for the Local Treatment of Glioblastoma: Chitosan-Coated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Embedded in Electrospun Nanofibers

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most prevalent and aggressive brain tumors for which there is currently no cure. A novel composite nanosystem (CN), consisting of chitosan-coated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (c-SLN) embedded in O-carboxymethyl chitosan (O-CMCS)-containing nanofibers (NFs), was proposed as a potential tool for the local delivery of lipophilic anti-proliferative drugs. Coacervation was selected as a solvent-free method for the preparation of stearic acid (SA) and behenic acid (BA)-based SLN (SA-SLN and BA-SLN respectively). BA-SLN, containing 0.75% w/w BA sodium salt and 3% w/w poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), were selected for the prosecution of the work since they are characterized by the lowest size functional to their subsequent coating and incorporation in nanofibers. BA-SLN were coated with chitosan (CS) by means of a two-step coating method based on the physical absorption of positively charged CS chains on the SLN negative surface. Nile Red (NR), chosen as the hydrophobic model dye, was dissolved in a micellar solution of BA sodium salt and then added with a coacervating solution until pH ≅ 2.5 was reached. Immunocytochemistry analyses highlighted that CS-coated BA-SLN (c-BA-SLN) exhibited a higher accumulation in human glioblastoma cells (U-373) after 6 h than CS-free BA-SLN. Finally, the c-BA-SLN dispersion was blended with a solution consisting of freely soluble polymers (O-CMCS, poly(ethylene oxide) and poloxamer) and then electrospun to obtain NFs with a mean diameter equal to 850 nm. After the NFs dissolution in an aqueous media, c-BA-SLN maintained their physicochemical properties and zeta potential.

Isolation and Identification of Antibacterial Bioactive Compounds From Bacillus megaterium L2

Bacterial metabolites exhibit a variety of biologically active compounds including antibacterial and antifungal activities. It is well known that Bacillus is considered to be a promising source of bioactive secondary metabolites. Most plant pathogens have an incredible ability to mutate and acquire resistance, causing major economic losses in the agricultural field. Therefore, it is necessary to use the natural antibacterial compounds in microbes to control plant pathogens. This study was conducted to investigate the bio-active compounds of Bacillus megaterium L2. According to the activity guidance of Agrobacterium tumefaciens T-37, Erwinia carotovora EC-1 and Ralstonia solanacearum RS-2, five monomeric compounds, including erucamide (1), behenic acid (2), palmitic acid (3), phenylacetic acid (4), and β-sitosterol (5), were fractionated and purified from the crude ethyl acetate extract of B. megaterium. To our knowledge, all compounds were isolated from the bacterium for the first time. To understand the antimicrobial activity of these compounds, and their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) (range: 0.98∼500 μg/mL) were determined by the broth microdilution method. For the three tested pathogens, palmitic acid exhibited almost no antibacterial activity (&gt;500 μg/mL), while erucamide had moderate antibacterial activity (MIC = 500 μg/mL). Behenic acid showed MICs of 250 μg/mL against T-37 and RS-2 strains with an antibacterial activity. β-sitosterol showed significant antimicrobial activity against RS-2. β-sitosterol showed remarkable antimicrobial activity against RS-2 with an MIC of 15.6 μg/mL. In addition, with the antimicrobial activity, against T-37 (62.5 μg/mL) and against EC-1 (125 μg/mL) and RS-2 (15.6 μg/mL) strains notably, phenylacetic acid may be interesting for the prevention and control of phytopathogenic bacteria. Our findings suggest that isolated compounds such as behenic acid, β-sitosterol, and phenylacetic acid may be promising candidates for natural antimicrobial agents.

Antioxidants in processed fruit, essential oil, and seed oils of feijoa

The degradation of nutraceutical properties during processing of the fruits of feijoa (Acca sellowiana), and the characterization of seed oils, and volatile compounds were evaluated. In feijoa fruit dehydrated by a standard convective air process, the total phenols and total flavonoids declined 42%, and the antioxidant capacity determined by ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP declined 26% with respect to lyophilized fruit. In feijoa jam, the reduction of total phenols and flavonoids was 52%, and the reduction in antioxidant capacity was 72%. Vitamin C in the jam was also reduced by the processing. Feijoa seeds had 69.4% unsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic (46.2%) and linolenic (3.7%) acids. Behenic acid was also detected in the seeds but in small amounts (0.91%). The feijoa skin had 31 volatile compounds in two orchards with different climate, one in a tropical highland and the other in a temperate zone. The extraction yield was on average 0.45%. The major compounds in the essential oil of the feijoa skin were 3-hexen-1-yl benzoate, elixene, spathulenol, D-germacrene and alpha-cadinol. In general, the concentration of volatile oils was higher in the temperate zone.