Free and conjugated polyamine content in Citrus sinensis Osbeck, cultivar Brasiliano N.L.92, a Navel orange, at different maturation stages

Biogenic amines, synthesized during physiological metabolic processes of all living organisms, are present in food. At low concentrations, polyamines are essential for cell renewal and growth, but they can be detrimental when consumed in high amount through the diet as they could support abnormal cell growth pathologies. The daily human diet contains more putrescine than spermidine or spermine, mostly derived from fruits. In general, orange fruits contain high levels of put, a fact that could limit their utilization in the daily diet besides the benefits contributed by their strong antioxidant properties. There is therefore an increasing interest in finding plant foods with low polyamine contents, which could provide a staple diet for patients. This paper reports the amounts of free and conjugated polyamines in the flesh and peel (flavedo plus albedo) of unripe, ripe and over ripe fruits of the cultivar Brasiliano, a Navel group orange. The analyses reveal that this particular orange cultivar has low polyamine content and could be suitable for a low polyamine diet

Effect of polyamines on in vitro anther culture of Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan

The improvement of the induction rate in Citrus anther culture is important for taking practical advantage of the haploid potential in breeding. The influence of polyamines on anther culture of Citrus clementina, cv Nules, with particular attention to the free, soluble and insoluble- conjugated polyamine levels, has been investigated. Putrescine, spermidine and putrescine plus spermidine, were added to the standard induction medium. Before culture, spermidine was the most abundant among the free polyamines detected in anthers. The exogenous supply of either putrescine or spermidine, either independently or combined, effected greater uptake and accumulation of polyamines. The addition of 2 mM spermidine to the medium stimulated gametic embryogenesis in clementine Nules, whereas putrescine did not influence embryo production. Regenerants were mostly tri-haploids; a few doubled-haploids and no haploid plants were obtained

Effects of the Number of Actin-Bound S1 and Axial Force on X-Ray Patterns of Intact Skeletal Muscle

Effects of the number of actin-bound S1 and of axial tension on x-ray patterns from tetanized, intact skeletal muscle fibers were investigated. The muscle relaxant, BDM, reduced tetanic M3 meridional x-ray reflection intensity (I(M3)), M3 spacing (d(M3)), and the equatorial I(11)/I(10) ratio in a manner consistent with a reduction in the fraction of S1 bound to actin rather than by generation of low-force S1-actin isomers. At complete force suppression, I(M3) was 78% of its relaxed value. BDM distorted dynamic I(M3) responses to sinusoidal length oscillations in a manner consistent with an increased cross-bridge contribution to total sarcomere compliance, rather than a changed S1 lever orientation in BDM. When the number of actin-bound S1 was varied by altering myofilament overlap, tetanic I(M3) at low overlap was similar to that in high [BDM] (79% of relaxed I(M3)). Tetanic d(M3) dependence on active tension in overlap experiments differed from that observed with BDM. At high BDM, tetanic d(M3) approached its relaxed value (14.34 nm), whereas tetanic d(M3) at low overlap was 14.50 nm, close to its value at full overlap (14.56 nm). This difference in tetanic d(M3) behavior was explicable by a nonlinear thick filament compliance which is extended by both active and passive tension