Investigation of Maillard reaction involvement in the steam processing of Panax Notoginseng root

Purpose: To explore the possible mechanism of Maillard reaction (MR) involvement in the steam processing of Panax notoginseng (PN) root.Methods: PN root was soaked in water for 24 h and then steamed at 100 °C using an autoclave for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 h, respectively. Several indicators associated with MR during steam processing were measured. The pH and absorbance at 420 nm (A420) of samples were measured using a pH meter and an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, respectively. The contents of 5-hydroxy-methyl-furfural (5-HMF) and sugars were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) while amino acids were evaluated using an automatic amino acid analyzer.Results: During PN root steam processing (0 - 6 h), pH value gradually decreased from 6.35 ± 0.02 to 5.88 ± 0.03 while A420 value gradually increased from 0.23 ± 0.01 to 0.44 ± 0.02. The levels of reducing sugars (maltose and glucose) and amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamate, cysteine, lysine and arginine) in PN root decreased after steaming for 6 h. However, the content of 5-HMF in PN root increased with increase in steaming time.Conclusion: The results indicate that MR occurs during steam processing of PN root, and the reaction mechanism might be closely related to the reaction between the reducing sugars and amino acids.Keywords: Panax notoginseng, Steaming, Reducing sugars, Amino acids, Maillard reactio

Maillard reaction induces changes in saccharides and amino acids during stir-baking of areca nuts

Purpose: To investigate changes in saccharides and amino acids induced by Maillard reaction (MR) during stir-baking of areca nuts (AN).Methods: The pH of aqueous extracts of AN and charred AN (CAN) were measured by a pH meter, and their absorbances at 420 nm were read in an ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer. Changes in saccharides and amino acids were evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and automated amino acid analyzer, respectively.Results: The pH of AN (5.85 ± 0.09) was lower than that of CAN (5.25 ± 0.04). Stir-baking significantly increased the A420 value of AN (0.32 ± 0.01 to 0.62 ± 0.02 (CAN). In addition, the contents of reducing saccharides (fructose and glucose) and free amino acids (serine, lysine, arginine and proline) were significantly decreased in the stir-baked CAN compared with AN.Conclusion: MR, during stir-baking of AN, decreases levels of free amino acids and reducing sugars due probably to the reaction between saccharides and amino acids.Keywords: Areca nut, Stir-baking, Maillard reaction, Reducing sugars, Free amino acid

Risk factors for high-altitude headache upon acute high-altitude exposure at 3700 m in young Chinese men: a cohort study.

BackgroundThis prospective and observational study aimed to identify demographic, physiological and psychological risk factors associated with high-altitude headache (HAH) upon acute high-altitude exposure.MethodsEight hundred fifty subjects ascended by plane to 3700 m above Chengdu (500 m) over a period of two hours. Structured Case Report Form (CRF) questionnaires were used to record demographic information, physiological examinations, psychological scale, and symptoms including headache and insomnia a week before ascending and within 24 hours after arrival at 3700 m. Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk factors for HAH.ResultsThe incidence of HAH was 73.3%. Age (p =0.011), physical labor intensity (PLI) (p =0.044), primary headache history (p <0.001), insomnia (p <0.001), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) (p =0.001), heart rate (HR) (p =0.002), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) (p <0.001), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) (p <0.001) were significantly different between HAH and non-HAH groups. Logistic regression models identified primary headache history, insomnia, low SaO2, high HR and SAS as independent risk factors for HAH.ConclusionsInsomnia, primary headache history, low SaO2, high HR, and high SAS score are the risk factors for HAH. Our findings will provide novel avenues for the study, prevention and treatment of HAH

Structure characterization and antioxidant properties of proteins extracted from the larva of Bombyx mori L.

Purpose: To explore the structural characteristics and antioxidant properties of proteins extracted by salt extraction and ammonium sulfate precipitation (SEAP) from the larvae of Bombyx mori L. (PLB) that died due to infection with Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill.Methods: The extraction yield of PLB was measured, and protein patterns were examined by SDSPAGE. The amino acid composition of PLB was analyzed using an automatic amino acid analyzer while the structural characteristics of PLB were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and UV techniques. In addition, the antioxidant properties of PLB were investigated in vitro.Results: The extraction yield of PLB was 2.16 ± 0.04 %. PLB protein was mainly present in 10 – 20 and 25 – 35 kDa fractions. PLB consisted of 15 types of amino acids. Glu (12.45 ± 0.06), Ala (6.87 ± 0.11) and Val (4.55 ± 0.11) contents of PLB were significantly (p < 0.05) higher relative to that of other amino acids. PLB exhibited the FT-IR and UV spectra characteristics of proteins. In addition, PLB exhibited significant antioxidant effects (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The results indicate that PLB exhibits significant antioxidant effects and may be suitable for development into antioxidant drugs.Keywords: Bombyx mori L., Proteins, Structural characteristics, Antioxidant, Beauveria bassian

A novel strategy for rapid identification of the fruits of Illicium verum and Illicium anisatum using electronic nose and tongue technology

Purpose: To develop an effective and rapid strategy for the identification of fruits of I. verum and I. anisatum based on their odor and taste.Methods: Electronic nose (E-nose) and electronic tongue (E-tongue) technology was used to identify the fruits of I. verum (FIV) and I. anisatum (FIA). Samples of FIA, FIV, and FIA : FIV mixtures in different proportions (1 : 3, 1 : 1, and 3 : 1) were prepared to evaluate the identification abilities of E-nose and Etongue methods. Samples were powdered and sifted through a standard sieve (aperture size 355 ± 13 μm) for E-nose analysis. Each sample was refluxed with water for 1 h before E-tongue analysis. The acquired data were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant factor analysis (DFA).Results: Based on the signals acquired by E-nose and E-tongue analyses, a total of 90 data points each were used for PCA. The three principal component values for E-nose analysis were PC1 = 93.89 %, PC2 = 6.08 %, and PC3 = 0.03 %, and those for E-tongue analysis were PC1 = 98.72 %, PC2 = 0.68 %, and PC3 = 0.57 %. The sample data were significantly divided into two groups representing FIV and FIA. Furthermore, E-nose and E-tongue assessments combined with PCA and DFA analyses effectively identified FIV, FIA and their mixtures.Conclusion: The use of E-nose and E-tongue technology is an effective and rapid strategy to identify the fruits of I. verum and I. anisatum and their mixtures. This strategy may also offer an effective method for detection of adulterants.Keywords: Illicium verum, Illicium anisatum, Discrimination, Electronic nose, Electronic tongue, Safety, Principal component analysis, Discriminant factor analysi

Application of toxicology data reliability assessment method, a toxicological data reliability evaluation tool, in the neurotoxic hazard assessment of glutamate acid and its salts

Objective This paper aims to evaluate data reliability of the neurotoxic hazard assessment of glutamate and its salts and provide recommendations, as well as to improve toxicology data reliability assessment method (TRAM) via trial application. Methods TRAM was used to evaluate the reliability of 60 articles which were selected by the method of systematic review documentation retrieval. The evaluation was based on types of toxicological data involved in each paper (laboratory animal data or human data) and they were scored by reliability criteria. The quality percentage was obtained via calculations to judge reliability categories and give recommendations. It’s necessary to note that the evaluation of each paper was independently completed by two persons in related fields. Results After three rounds of evaluation, the reliability of 12 articles were evaluated as "high" and recommended for priority use. The reliability of 43 articles was rated as "moderate" and can be used. The reliability of 5 articles was evaluated as "low" and not recommended to use. Conclusion TRAM takes both reporting quality and methodological quality into consideration, especially including human data reliability evaluation method which is absent in the other toxicology data reliability assessment tools. TRAM is more suitable for food safety risk assessment. It provides a better objective and scientific guarantee for hazard identification and risk assessment

The impact of electronic health records (EHR) data continuity on prediction model fairness and racial-ethnic disparities

Electronic health records (EHR) data have considerable variability in data completeness across sites and patients. Lack of "EHR data-continuity" or "EHR data-discontinuity", defined as "having medical information recorded outside the reach of an EHR system" can lead to a substantial amount of information bias. The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate (1) how EHR data-discontinuity introduces data bias, (2) case finding algorithms affect downstream prediction models, and (3) how algorithmic fairness is associated with racial-ethnic disparities. We leveraged our EHRs linked with Medicaid and Medicare claims data in the OneFlorida+ network and used a validated measure (i.e., Mean Proportions of Encounters Captured [MPEC]) to estimate patients' EHR data continuity. We developed a machine learning model for predicting type 2 diabetes (T2D) diagnosis as the use case for this work. We found that using cohorts selected by different levels of EHR data-continuity affects utilities in disease prediction tasks. The prediction models trained on high continuity data will have a worse fit on low continuity data. We also found variations in racial and ethnic disparities in model performances and model fairness in models developed using different degrees of data continuity. Our results suggest that careful evaluation of data continuity is critical to improving the validity of real-world evidence generated by EHR data and health equity

Association Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in PPARA and EPAS1 Genes and High-Altitude Appetite Loss in Chinese Young Men

Appetite loss is a common symptom that occurs in high altitude (HA) for lowlanders. Previous studies indicated that hypoxia is the initiating vital factor of HA appetite loss. PPARA, EPAS1, EGLN1, HIF1A, HIF1AN, and NFE2L2 play important roles in hypoxic responses. We aimed to explore the association of these hypoxia-related gene polymorphisms with HA appetite loss. In this study, we enrolled 416 young men who rapidly ascended to Lhasa (3700 m) from Chengdu (<500m) by plane. PPARA, EPAS1, EGLN1, HIF1A, HIF1AN, and NFE2L2 were genotyped by MassARRAY. Appetite scores were measured to identify HA appetite loss. Logistic regression and multiple genetic models were tested to evaluate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and risk of HA appetite loss in crude and adjusted (age and SaO2) analysis. Subsequently, Haploview software was used to analyze the linkage disequilibrium (LD), haplotype construction and the association of diverse haplotypes with the risk of HA appetite loss. Our results revealed that allele “A” in PPARA rs4253747 was significantly associated with the increased risk of HA appetite loss. Codominant, dominant, recessive, and log-additive models of PPARA rs4253747 showed the increased risk of HA appetite loss in the crude and adjusted analysis. However, only dominant, overdominant, and log-additive models of EPAS1 rs6756667 showed decreased risk of HA appetite loss in the crude and adjusted analysis. Moreover, the results from haplotype-based test showed that the rs7292407-rs6520015 haplotype “AC” was associated with HA appetite loss in the crude analysis rather than the adjusted analysis. In this study, we first established the association of SNPs in PPARA (rs4253747) and EPAS1 (rs6756667) genes with susceptibility to HA appetite loss in Han Chinese young men. These findings provide novel insights into understanding the mechanisms involved in HA appetite loss

Inhaled Budesonide and Oral Dexamethasone Prevent Acute Mountain Sickness

AbstractBackgroundThis double-blind, randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate inhaled budesonide and oral dexamethasone compared with placebo for their prophylactic efficacy against acute mountain sickness after acute high-altitude exposure.MethodsThere were 138 healthy young male lowland residents recruited and randomly assigned to receive inhaled budesonide (200 μg, twice a day [bid]), oral dexamethasone (4 mg, bid), or placebo (46 in each group). They traveled to 3900 m altitude from 400 m by car. Medication started 1 day before high-altitude exposure and continued until the third day of exposure. Primary outcome measure was the incidence of acute mountain sickness after exposure.ResultsOne hundred twenty-four subjects completed the study (42, 39, and 43 in the budesonide, dexamethasone, and placebo groups, respectively). Demographic characteristics were comparable among the 3 groups. After high-altitude exposure, significantly fewer participants in the budesonide (23.81%) and dexamethasone (30.77%) groups developed acute mountain sickness compared with participants receiving placebo (60.46%) (P = .0006 and P = .0071, respectively). Both the budesonide and dexamethasone groups had lower heart rate and higher pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) than the placebo group at altitude. Only the budesonide group demonstrated less deterioration in forced vital capacity and sleep quality than the placebo group. Four subjects in the dexamethasone group reported adverse reactions.ConclusionsBoth inhaled budesonide (200 μg, bid) and oral dexamethasone (4 mg, bid) were effective for the prevention of acute mountain sickness, especially its severe form, compared with placebo. Budesonide caused fewer adverse reactions than dexamethasone