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

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Molecular characterization using ISSR primers of Magnolia mexicana DC. from two regions in Zongolica, Veracruz, Mexico

Introducción: Magnolia mexicana DC . es una especie amenazada según la NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, situación atribuida a la fragmentación y destrucción del hábitat. No existen estudios sobre la diversidad genética de M. mexicana, a pesar de que es endémica de nuestro país. Objetivo: Evaluar la variabilidad genética en dos poblaciones de M. mexicana mediante marcadores moleculares tipo ISSR. Materiales y métodos: Las colectas provienen de Amatitla y Zapotla en Zongolica, Veracruz. El ADN se extrajo de las hojas jóvenes. Se probaron 55 iniciadores ISSR, se seleccionaron los 10 que produjeron mayor número de bandas con polimorfismo y se amplificaron por PCR. Resultados y discusión: Los iniciadores ISSR mostraron 86 % de polimorfismo. El análisis de agrupamiento, con el método de varianza mínima de Ward, fue capaz de separar las colectas por su procedencia geográfica. El análisis de varianza molecular demostró que la mayor variabilidad (90.88 %) se encuentra dentro de cada población. El índice de diversidad de Shannon-Weaver fue de 0.47 y 0.41 para Amatitla y Zapotla, respectivamente. Conclusión: Las poblaciones de M. mexicana no han sufrido cambios en su estructura genética; no hay evidencia, a nivel genético, de alteraciones ocasionadas por la reducción de poblaciones o fragmentación del hábitat