Study of onion processing waste powder for potential use in food sector

The development of food products that contain value-added dietary fibre beside different classes of phytochemicals is of great interest nowadays. The present research aimed to evaluate the powder obtained from onion processing waste (OPW) for its potential use as a value-added by-product in food sector. Data on chemical and microbiological characterization of onion processing waste powder (OPWP) were obtained. The dietary fibre content and antioxidant activity were also determined. The results showed that the OPWP was a low-calorie natural source of insoluble fibres (60.52±0.13 g/100 g dw), total phenols (41.04±1.22 mg GAE/g dw), and total flavonoids (20.44±1.22 mg QE/g dw). Moreover, the OPWP could be considered as an important source of total fructans (9.04±0.28 g/100 g dw), fructooligosaccharides (2.76 g/100 g dw), and inulin (2.41±0.18 g/100 g dw). In conclusion, this OPWP could be used as a value-added and healthy food ingredient

Production of probiotic Bulgarian yoghurts obtained from an ultrafiltered cow’s milk

peer reviewedUltrafiltration of skim cow’s milk with a UF10-PAN membrane at volume reduction ratios (VRRs) of 2 and 3 was performed. The ultrafiltration retentates obtained were used for production of probiotic yoghurts with three different starters. A control sample was prepared using skim cow’s milk. All yoghurts were analysed according to the following parameters: titratable acidity, dry matter, organoleptic characteristics, number of specific microorganisms (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) and the total count of viable lactic acid bacteria for 28 d of storage. The results showed that the increase in the VRR during ultrafiltration increased the titratable acidity, as well as the dry matter of all yoghurts. Ultrafiltration concentration led to an increase in the count of viable lactic acid bacteria in all yoghurts which improved their functional properties. The highest values of the total number of viable lactic acid bacteria were determined in yoghurts obtained with starter 1CM, followed by starters MZ2 and ZD for both VRRs. Probiotic yoghurts with the highest organoleptic evaluation were obtained from ultrafiltration retentates at VRR = 2 and starters 1CM and MZ2

Characteristics of pectic polysaccharides from leek obtained through consecutive extraction with various reaction agents

Five polysaccharide fractions of commensurable by yield, but different in composition were obtained through consecutive extraction with water, solutions of ammonium oxalate, sodium carbonate, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide from the alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) of leek. In the polyuronide part of these fractions besides galacturonic acid was found also glucuronic acid. In the neutral sugar fraction, the prevailing sugar was galactose, followed by rhamnose. The water-extractable pectic polysaccharide was highly homogenous (93.3% of it had molecular mass of 1.3×10 6 kDa) and protein content of 8% (the highest compared to the other extracted polysaccharides). Extraction with diluted hydrochloric acid yielded polysaccharide with the highest neutral sugar content of 71.1% and a low uronic acids content. The water-and chelate-extractable fractions had a lower L-rhamnose content (2.7% and 2.9%, respectively) and the other polysaccharide fractions from leek were characterized by a high L-rhamnose content (from 14 to 28%). The pectic polysaccharides obtained from leek have shown good immunostimulating properties. The highest immunostimulating activity has been shown by the water-and chelate-extractable polysaccharides, which are also characterized by a high polyuronic acid content and polysaccharides with molecular mass over 10 6 Da

Milking the cow: cattle-derived chimeric ultralong CDR-H3 antibodies and their engineered CDR-H3-only knobbody counterparts targeting epidermal growth factor receptor elicit potent NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity

In this work, we have generated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific cattle-derived ultralong CDR-H3 antibodies by combining cattle immunization with yeast surface display. After immunization, ultralong CDR-H3 regions were specifically amplified and grafted onto an IGHV1-7 scaffold by homologous recombination to facilitate Fab display. Antigen-specific clones were readily obtained by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and reformatted as chimeric antibodies. Binning experiments revealed epitope targeting of domains I, II, and IV of EGFR with none of the generated binders competing with Cetuximab, Matuzumab, or EGF for binding to EGFR. Cattle-derived chimeric antibodies were potent in inducing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) against EGFR-overexpressing tumor cells with potencies (EC50 killing) in the picomolar range. Moreover, most of the antibodies were able to significantly inhibit EGFR-mediated downstream signaling. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a minor fraction of CDR-H3 knobs derived from generated antibodies was capable of independently functioning as a paratope facilitating EGFR binding when grafted onto the Fc part of human IgG1. Besides slightly to moderately diminished capacities, these engineered Knobbodies largely retained main properties of their parental antibodies such as cellular binding and triggering of ADCC. Hence, Knobbodies might emerge as promising tools for biotechnological applications upon further optimization

Agricultural Academy

One of the requirements for a strain to be included in the composition of probiotic preparations is to exhibit antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms. The antimicrobial action of the strain Lactobacillus plantarum X2, isolated from naturally fermented sourdough, against pathogens is examined through co-cultivation of the Lactobacillus strain and each of the pathogens included in the study. The pathogenic microorganisms included in the present research are Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Salmonella abony NTCC 6017, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25293. It is observed that during separate cultivation of Lactobacillus plantarum X2 and each of the pathogens both Lactobacillus plantarum X2 and the pathogen accumulate high concentrations of viable cells. During co-cultivation Lactobacillus plantarum X2 maintains a high concentration of viable cells, while the number of living cells of the pathogen is reduced. The degree of reduction of the cells of the pathogen is strain specifi c and is partially due to the changes in the acidity of the medium as a result of the production of acids by Lactobacillus plantarum X2

Milking the Cow: Cattle-Derived Chimeric Ultralong CDR-H3 Antibodies and Their Engineered CDR-H3-Only Knobbody Counterparts Targeting Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Elicit Potent NK Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity

In this work, we have generated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific cattle-derived ultralong CDR-H3 antibodies by combining cattle immunization with yeast surface display. After immunization, ultralong CDR-H3 regions were specifically amplified and grafted onto an IGHV1-7 scaffold by homologous recombination to facilitate Fab display. Antigen-specific clones were readily obtained by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and reformatted as chimeric antibodies. Binning experiments revealed epitope targeting of domains I, II, and IV of EGFR with none of the generated binders competing with Cetuximab, Matuzumab, or EGF for binding to EGFR. Cattle-derived chimeric antibodies were potent in inducing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) against EGFR-overexpressing tumor cells with potencies (EC50 killing) in the picomolar range. Moreover, most of the antibodies were able to significantly inhibit EGFR-mediated downstream signaling. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a minor fraction of CDR-H3 knobs derived from generated antibodies was capable of independently functioning as a paratope facilitating EGFR binding when grafted onto the Fc part of human IgG1. Besides slightly to moderately diminished capacities, these engineered Knobbodies largely retained main properties of their parental antibodies such as cellular binding and triggering of ADCC. Hence, Knobbodies might emerge as promising tools for biotechnological applications upon further optimization