Sprouting alters metabolite and peptide contents in the gastrointestinal digest of soybean and enhances in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity

Sprouting of soybeans can enhance the release of health-beneficial bioactive compounds, especially peptides, and metabolites, while gastrointestinal (GI) digestion alters their biotransformation and bioaccessibility. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of soybean sprouting and GI digestion in modulating its anti-inflammatory activity. Soybeans were soaked in water overnight (Day 0) and sprouted for two and four days, subjected to simulated GI digestion, and human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) were pretreated (2 h) with soybean sprout digest (SSD: 1000 μg/mL) before inflammation induction with IL-1β. Pre-treatment with Day 4 SSD specifically reduced the secretion of cytokine IL-8 by 19.5%. Sprouting for four days and GI digestion significantly increased the abundance of metabolites, including valine, isoleucine, citrulline, and trigonelline. Furthermore, the abundance of peptides with polar-hydrophilic and charged amino acids was explicitly accumulated in the Day 4 SSD up to 6-fold. These metabolites and peptides are potentially responsible for the observed anti-inflammatory effects

EST-analysis of the thermo-acidophilic red microalga Galdieriasulphuraria reveals potential for lipid A biosynthesis and unveils the pathway of carbon export from rhodoplasts

Weber APM, Oesterhelt C, Gross W, et al. EST-analysis of the thermo-acidophilic red microalga Galdieriasulphuraria reveals potential for lipid A biosynthesis and unveils the pathway of carbon export from rhodoplasts. Plant Molecular Biology. 2004;55(1):17-32.When we think of extremophiles, organisms adapted to extreme environments, prokaryotes come to mind first. However, the unicellular red micro-alga Galdieria sulphuraria (Cyanidiales) is a eukaryote that can represent up to 90% of the biomass in extreme habitats such as hot sulfur springs with pH values of 0-4 and temperatures of up to 56 degreesC. This red alga thrives autotrophically as well as heterotrophically on more than 50 different carbon sources, including a number of rare sugars and sugar alcohols. This biochemical versatility suggests a large repertoire of metabolic enzymes, rivaled by few organisms and a potentially rich source of thermo-stable enzymes for biotechnology. The temperatures under which this organism carries out photosynthesis are at the high end of the range for this process, making G. sulphuraria a valuable model for physical studies on the photosynthetic apparatus. In addition, the gene sequences of this living fossil reveal much about the evolution of modern eukaryotes. Finally, the alga tolerates high concentrations of toxic metal ions such as cadmium, mercury, aluminum, and nickel, suggesting potential application in bioremediation. To begin to explore the unique biology of G. sulphuraria, 5270 expressed sequence tags from two different cDNA libraries have been sequenced and annotated. Particular emphasis has been placed on the reconstruction of metabolic pathways present in this organism. For example, we provide evidence for (i) a complete pathway for lipid A biosynthesis; (ii) export of triose-phosphates from rhodoplasts; (iii) and absence of eukaryotic hexokinases. Sequence data and additional information are available at http://genomics.msu.edu/galdieria

Sprouting alters metabolite and peptide contents in the gastrointestinal digest of soybean and enhances in-vitro anti-inflammatory activity

Sprouting of soybeans can enhance the release of health-beneficial bioactive compounds, especially peptides, and metabolites, while gastrointestinal (GI) digestion alters their biotransformation and bioaccessibility. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of soybean sprouting and GI digestion in modulating its anti-inflammatory activity. Soybeans were soaked in water overnight (Day 0) and sprouted for two and four days, subjected to simulated GI digestion, and human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) were pretreated (2 h) with soybean sprout digest (SSD: 1000 μg/mL) before inflammation induction with IL-1β. Pre-treatment with Day 4 SSD specifically reduced the secretion of cytokine IL-8 by 19.5%. Sprouting for four days and GI digestion significantly increased the abundance of metabolites, including valine, isoleucine, citrulline, and trigonelline. Furthermore, the abundance of peptides with polar-hydrophilic and charged amino acids was explicitly accumulated in the Day 4 SSD up to 6-fold. These metabolites and peptides are potentially responsible for the observed anti-inflammatory effects

Arabidopsis 10-Formyl Tetrahydrofolate Deformylases Are Essential for Photorespiration[W][OA]

In prokaryotes, PurU (10-formyl tetrahydrofolate [THF] deformylase) metabolizes 10-formyl THF to formate and THF for purine and Gly biosyntheses. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains two putative purU genes, At4g17360 and At5g47435. Knocking out these genes simultaneously results in plants that are smaller and paler than the wild type. These double knockout (dKO) mutant plants show a 70-fold increase in Gly levels and accumulate elevated levels of 5- and 10-formyl THF. Embryo development in dKO mutants arrests between heart and early bent cotyledon stages. Mature seeds are shriveled, accumulate low amounts of lipids, and fail to germinate. However, the dKO mutant is only conditionally lethal and is rescued by growth under nonphotorespiratory conditions. In addition, culturing dKO siliques in the presence of sucrose restores normal embryo development and seed viability, suggesting that the seed and embryo development phenotypes are a result of a maternal effect. Our findings are consistent with the involvement of At4g17360 and At5g47435 proteins in photorespiration, which is to prevent excessive accumulation of 5-formyl THF, a potent inhibitor of the Gly decarboxylase/Ser hydroxymethyltransferase complex. Supporting this role, deletion of the At2g38660 gene that encodes the bifunctional 5,10-methylene THF dehydrogenase/5,10-methenyl THF cyclohydrolase that acts upstream of 5-formyl THF formation restored the wild-type phenotype in dKO plants