Nutritive Value of \u3ci\u3eAlopecurus Pratensis, Festuca Rubra, Arrhenatherum Elatius\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eLolium Perenne\u3c/i\u3e Grown in the South of Belgium

In Europe, recent strategies have aimed at encouraging farmers to use production techniques more efficient in preserving the environment and maintaining natural areas. Those strategies have encouraged the use of secondary grass species in forage production systems. However, the nutritive value of those grasses is not well known. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the energy and nitrogen values of Alopecurus pratensis (ALPR), Festuca rubra (FERU) and Arrhenatherum elatius (AREL) under moderate rates of nitrogen (N) application (60 kg N/ha per cut) and a hay-cutting regime (2 cuts/year: 25 May and 9 July). Lolium perenne cv. Bastion (LOPE) was used as a control. The first cut of ALPR was a mixture of 18 April and 25 May cuts

Monitorización de la oxidación del aceite de semillas de sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) suplementado con extractos de vainas de tara (Caesalpinia spinosa) mediante técnicas convencionales y MIR

This work focuses on the characterization of the oxidation of the oil from sacha inchi seeds (Plukenetia volubilis) under accelerated conditions at 60 ºC for 15 days. Five samples were monitored: three supplemented with 200 ppm of non-hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed (for 4 and 9 hours) extracts from tara (Caesalpinia spinosa) pods, one without antioxidant and one with 200 ppm of BHT. Several conventional tech­niques (induction time, peroxide value, conjugated dienoic acid, p-anisidine value, total unsaturated fatty acids and α-linolenic acid contents) and the MIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometric tools were used and com­pared. The results revealed that whatever the antioxidant added, the oil from sacha inchi is fairly stable over time. The results also pointed out that extracts from tara pods, mainly those partially hydrolyzed, were more efficient than BHT against oil oxidation for up to 7 days. Finally, this paper shows that MIR spectroscopy pres­ents an interesting alternative technique for the monitoring of the oxidation of the oil from sacha inchi.Este trabajo se centra en la caracterización de la oxidación de aceites de sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) en condiciones aceleradas a 60 ºC durante 15 días. Se monitorean cinco muestras: tres suplementadas con 200 ppm de extractos no hidrolizados o par­cialmente hidrolizados (durante 4 y 9 horas) de vainas de tara (Caesalpinia spinosa), una sin antioxidante y otra con 200 ppm de BHT. Se utilizan y comparan varias técnicas convencionales (tiempo de inducción, índice de peróxido, ácido dienoico conjugado, índice de p-anisidina, ácidos grasos insaturados totales y contenido de ácido α-linolénico) y la espectroscopía MIR junto con herramientas quimiométricas. Los resultados revelan que, cualquiera que sea el antioxidante agregado, el aceite de sacha inchi es bastante estable a lo largo del tiempo. Los resultados también seña­lan que los extractos de las vainas de tara, principalmente aquellos parcialmente hidrolizados, son más eficientes que el BHT contra la oxidación del aceite hasta los 7 días. Finalmente, el trabajo muestra que la espectroscopía MIR se presenta como una técnica alternativa interesante para el monitoreo de la oxidación del aceite de sacha inchi

Occurrence of ochratoxin A in black pepper, coriander, ginger and turmeric in India

Ochratoxin A (OA) contamination of black pepper, coriander seeds, powdered ginger and turmeric powder was estimated using indirect competitive ELISA. Samples (1 g) were extracted with 0.5% potassium chloride (KCl) in 70% methanol (5 ml) and diluted subsequently to give two-fold to ten-fold step-wise dilutions in phosphate-buffered saline containing 0.05% Tween 20 and 0.2% bovine serum albumin (PBS-T BSA). For extracts from the spices analysed, ELISA estimates of OA concentrations were compared with those made by HPLC. All estimates were within 1-2 standard deviation of the ELISA values. More than 90% of OA added to spice samples was recovered from samples containing between 5 and 100 microg/kg OA. Extracts of OA-free spice samples contained substances that interfered with ELISA, presumably because of non-specific reactions. This effect was avoided by preparing all the test solutions in extracts of OA-free spice samples. In 126 samples obtained from retail shops, OA was found to exceed 10 microg/kg in 14 (in the range of 15-69 microg/kg) of 26 black pepper samples, 20 (in the range of 10-51 microg/kg) of 50 coriander samples, two (23 microg/kg and 80 microg/kg) of 25 ginger samples and nine (in the range of 11-102 microg/kg) of 25 turmeric samples. This is the first record in India of the occurrence of OA in what are some of the most widely used spices in Indian cooking

Accumulation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Adipocytes: Selective Targeting to Lipid Droplets and Role of Caveolin-1

Background : Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental pollutants that preferentially accumulate in lipid-rich tissues of contaminated organisms. Although the adipose tissue constitutes a major intern reservoir of PCBs and recent epidemiological studies associate PCBs to the development of obesity and its related disorders, little is known about the mechanisms involved in their uptake by the adipose tissue and their intracellular localization in fat cells