Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., breeding lines differ in secondary metabolite content according to market type

Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., is an important commercial cucurbitaceous vegetable of enormous medicinal value in Asia because of its secondary metabolite content. We report here the characterization and evaluation of open-pollinated (OP) edible South Asian and Southeast Asian types of bitter gourd breeding lines, developed at the World Vegetable Center, for horticultural traits (11 OP) and secondary metabolites (10 OP) and their comparisons with commercial OP and F1 hybrid cultivars. Marketable yields of South Asian and Southeast Asian type breeding lines were comparable to the OP ‘BARI Karella 1’ and the hybrid ‘Benteng’, respectively.The bitter gourd cultivars and breeding lines included in this study exhibited specific patterns for five secondary metabolites (saponins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a and b, and vitamin C): in general the two cultivars and South Asian type breeding lines contained higher levels of secondary metabolites, e.g. carotenoids, than the Southeast Asian bitter gourd breeding lines.Some of these bitter gourd lines will be released to Asian home and school gardeners after conducting multi-location trials across Asia to improve vegetable consumption as a main task of bitter gourd breeding

Plasma metabolic signatures of healthy overweight subjects challenged with an oral glucose tolerance test

Insulin secretion following ingestion of a carbohydrate load affects a multitude of metabolic pathways that simultaneously change direction and quantity of interorgan fluxes of sugars, lipids and amino acids. In the present study, we aimed at identifying markers associated with differential responses to an OGTT a population of healthy adults. By use of three metabolite profiling platforms, we assessed these postprandial responses of a total of 202 metabolites in plasma of 72 healthy volunteers undergoing comprehensive phenotyping and of which half enrolled into a weight-loss program over a three-month period. A standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) served as dietary challenge test to identify changes in postprandial metabolite profiles. Despite classified as healthy according to WHO criteria, two discrete clusters (A and B) were identified based on the postprandial glucose profiles with a balanced distribution of volunteers based on gender and other measures. Cluster A individuals displayed 26% higher postprandial glucose levels, delayed glucose clearance and increased fasting plasma concentrations of more than 20 known biomarkers of insulin resistance and diabetes previously identified in large cohort studies. The volunteers identified by canonical postprandial responses that form cluster A may be called pre-pre-diabetics and defined as “at risk” for development of insulin resistance. Moreover, postprandial changes in selected fatty acids and complex lipids, bile acids, amino acids, acylcarnitines and sugars like mannose revealed marked differences in the responses seen in cluster A and cluster B individuals that sustained over the entire challenge test period of 240 min. Almost all metabolites, including glucose and insulin, returned to baseline values within this timeframe, except a variety of amino acids and here those that have been linked to diabetes development. Analysis of the corresponding metabolite profile in a fasting blood sample may therefore allow for early identification of these subjects at risk for insulin resistance without the need to undergo an OGTT

New coil concept for endoluminal MR imaging: Initial results in staging of gastric carcinoma in correlation with Histopathology

Our aim was to conduct a prospective study to evaluate staging accuracy of a new coil concept for endoluminal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on ex vivo gastric carcinomas. Twenty-eight consecutive patients referred to surgery with a clinically proven primary gastric malignancy were included. Surgical specimens were examined with a foldable and self-expanding loop coil (8-cm diameter) at 1.5 Tesla immediately after total gastrectomy. T1- and T2-weighted and opposed-phase sequences (axial, frontal sections; 3- to 4-mm slice thickness) were acquired. Investigators blinded to any patient information analyzed signal intensity of normal gastric wall, gastric tumor, and lymph nodes. Findings were compared with histopathological staging. On surgical specimens, 2–5 gastric wall layers could be visualized. All gastric tumors (26 carcinomas, two lymphomas) were identified on endoluminal MR data (100%). Overall accuracy for T staging was 75% (18/24); sensitivity to detect serosal involvement was 80% and specificity 89%. N staging correlated in 58% (14/24) with histopathology (N+ versus N−). The endoluminal coil concept is feasible and applicable for an ex vivo setting. Endoluminal MR data provided sufficient detail for gastric wall layer differentiation, and therefore, identification of T stages in gastric carcinoma is possible. Further investigations in in vivo settings should explore the potential of our coil concept for endoluminal MR imaging

Antioxidative protection of dietary bilberry, chokeberry and Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL19 in mice subjected to intestinal oxidative stress by ischemia-reperfusion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in the intestines is an inflammatory condition which activates leukocytes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and leads to lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. Bilberry and chokeberry fruits are rich sources of polyphenols which may act as antioxidants and prevent lipid peroxidation. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) may improve microbial status in the intestines and increase the metabolic activity towards polyphenolic degradation. The aim of the study was to clarify antioxidative effects of bilberry and chokeberry fruits alone and with addition of a LAB-strain, <it>Lactobacillus plantarum </it>HEAL19, in an I/R-model in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male BALB/cJ mice were fed the experimental diets for 10 days. Diets consisted of standard chow supplemented with either bilberry (<it>Vaccinium myrtillus</it>) or chokeberry (<it>Aronia × prunifolia</it>) powder alone or in combination with the LAB-strain <it>Lactobacillus plantarum </it>HEAL19. I/R-injury was induced by holding superior mesenteric artery clamped for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion for 240 minutes. Thereafter, colonic and caecal tissues and contents were collected. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was used as indicator of lipid peroxidation and was measured by a calorimetric assay, lactobacilli were cultured on Rogosa agar plates and <it>Enterobacteriaceae </it>on VRBG agar plates, anthocyanins and phenolic acids were analysed by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MDA was significantly decreased in the colon of groups fed bilberry alone (p = 0.030) and in combination with <it>L. plantarum </it>HEAL19 (p = 0.021) compared to the IR-control but not in chokeberry-fed groups. Supplementation with bilberry or chokeberry alone reduced the total number of lactobacilli on the mucosa. Higher concentrations of anthocyanins were found in the colon than in the caecum content of mice. A more varied composition of different anthocyanins was also observed in the colon content compared to the caecum of bilberry-fed mice. Phenolic acids formed by microbial degradation of the dietary polyphenols in the gut could be detected. More phenolic metabolites were found in the intestines of bilberry-fed mice than in the chokeberry-fed ones.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Bilberry alone and in combination with <it>L. plantarum </it>HEAL19 exerts a better protection against lipid peroxidation than chokeberry. These dietary supplements may be used to prevent or suppress oxidative stress.</p

Data from: Divergence in DNA photorepair efficiency among genotypes from contrasting UV radiation environments in nature

Populations of organisms routinely face abiotic selection pressures, and a central goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of adaptive phenotypes. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of earth’s most pervasive environmental stressors, potentially damaging DNA in any organism exposed to solar radiation. We explored mechanisms underlying differential survival following UVR exposure in genotypes of the water flea Daphnia melanica derived from natural ponds of differing in UVR intensity. The UVR tolerance of a D. melanica genotype from a high-UVR habitat depended on the presence of visible and UV-A light wavelengths necessary for photoenzymatic repair of DNA damage, a repair pathway widely shared across the tree of life. We then measured the acquisition and repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, the primary form of UVR-caused DNA damage, in D. melanica DNA following experimental UVR exposure. We demonstrate that genotypes from high-UVR habitats repair DNA damage faster than genotypes from low-UVR habitats in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation necessary for photoenzymatic repair, but not in dark treatments. Because differences in repair rate only occurred in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation, we conclude that differing rates of DNA repair, and therefore differential UVR tolerance, are a consequence of variation in photoenzymatic repair efficiency. We then rule out a simple gene expression hypothesis for the molecular basis of differing repair efficiency, as expression of the CPD photolyase gene photorepair did not differ among D. melanica lineages, both in the presence and absence of UVR

Divergence in DNA photorepair efficiency among genotypes from contrasting UV radiation environments in nature

Populations of organisms routinely face abiotic selection pressures, and a central goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of adaptive phenotypes. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of earth\u27s most pervasive environmental stressors, potentially damaging DNA in any organism exposed to solar radiation. We explored mechanisms underlying differential survival following UVR exposure in genotypes of the water flea Daphnia melanica derived from natural ponds of differing UVR intensity. The UVR tolerance of a D. melanica genotype from a high-UVR habitat depended on the presence of visible and UV-A light wavelengths necessary for photoenzymatic repair of DNA damage, a repair pathway widely shared across the tree of life. We then measured the acquisition and repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, the primary form of UVR-caused DNA damage, in D. melanica DNA following experimental UVR exposure. We demonstrate that genotypes from high-UVR habitats repair DNA damage faster than genotypes from low-UVR habitats in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation necessary for photoenzymatic repair, but not in dark treatments. Because differences in repair rate only occurred in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation, we conclude that differing rates of DNA repair, and therefore differential UVR tolerance, are a consequence of variation in photoenzymatic repair efficiency. We then rule out a simple gene expression hypothesis for the molecular basis of differing repair efficiency, as expression of the CPD photolyase gene photorepair did not differ among D. melanica lineages, in both the presence and absence of UVR