In situ bioconversion of coconut oil via coconut solid state fermentation by Geotrichum candidum ATCC 34614

Coconut base solid state fermentation was carried out by Geotrichum candidum ATCC 34614 for in situ coconut oil bioconversion. Coconut oil, which contains highly saturated medium chain triglycerides, was partially bioconverted into a combination of medium chain diglycerides, medium chain monoglycerides and medium chain fatty acids by this fungus lipolytic activity. The product demonstrated improved aroma, flavor, thermal behavior and antibacterial activity. Maximum triglycerides conversion (76.5 %) occurred at 40 % moisture content and 50 % oil content after 25 days of incubation. Bioconverted coconut oil revealed as much as 95 % antibacterial activity as well as altered thermal characteristic towards lower melting and higher crystallization points. The fermented culture also revealed highly fruity and flora notes which contained five main short- and medium-chain esters known as aromatic compounds. The present study established the possibility of using G. candidum ATCC 34614 in coconut solid culture for bioconversion of coconut oil, which improves the fermented product characteristics

Production of a Solvent, Detergent, and Thermotolerant Lipase by a Newly Isolated Acinetobacter sp. in Submerged and Solid-State Fermentations

The lipase production ability of a newly isolated Acinetobacter sp. in submerged (SmF) and solid-state (SSF) fermentations was evaluated. The results demonstrated this strain as one of the rare bacterium, which is able to grow and produce lipase in SSF even more than SmF. Coconut oil cake as a cheap agroindustrial residue was employed as the solid substrate. The lipase production was optimized in both media using artificial neural network. Multilayer normal and full feed forward backpropagation networks were selected to build predictive models to optimize the culture parameters for lipase production in SmF and SSF systems, respectively. The produced models for both systems showed high predictive accuracy where the obtained conditions were close together. The produced enzyme was characterized as a thermotolerant lipase, although the organism was mesophile. The optimum temperature for the enzyme activity was 45°C where 63% of its activity remained at 70°C after 2 h. This lipase remained active after 24 h in a broad range of pH (6–11). The lipase demonstrated strong solvent and detergent tolerance potentials. Therefore, this inexpensive lipase production for such a potent and industrially valuable lipase is promising and of considerable commercial interest for biotechnological applications

Physico-chemical properties of various palm-based diaclyglcyerol oils in comparison with their corresponding palm-based oils

Palm-based diacylglycerol (P-DAG) oils were produced through enzymatic glycerolysis of palm kernel oil (PKO), palm oil (PO), palm olein (POL), palm mid fraction (PMF) and palm stearin (PS). High purity DAG (83–90%, w/w) was obtained and compared to palm-based oils (P-oil) had significantly (P < 0.05) different fatty acid composition (FAC), iodine value (IV) and slip melting point (SMP). Solid fat content (SFC) profiles of P-DAG oils as compared to P-oils had less steep curves with lower SFC at low temperature range (5–10 °C) and the higher complete melting temperatures. Also, P-DAG oils in contrast with P-oils showed endothermic as well as exothermic peaks with higher transition temperatures and significantly (P < 0.05) higher crystallisation onsets, heats of fusion, and heats of crystallisation. Crystal forms for P-DAG oils were mostly in the β form

Updates on Antiobesity Effect of Garcinia Origin (−)-HCA

Garcinia is a plant under the family of Clusiaceae that is commonly used as a flavouring agent. Various phytochemicals including flavonoids and organic acid have been identified in this plant. Among all types of organic acids, hydroxycitric acid or more specifically (−)-hydroxycitric acid has been identified as a potential supplement for weight management and as antiobesity agent. Various in vivo studies have contributed to the understanding of the anti-obesity effects of Garcinia/hydroxycitric acid via regulation of serotonin level and glucose uptake. Besides, it also helps to enhance fat oxidation while reducing de novo lipogenesis. However, results from clinical studies showed both negative and positive antiobesity effects of Garcinia/hydroxycitric acid. This review was prepared to summarise the update of chemical constituents, significance of in vivo/clinical anti-obesity effects, and the importance of the current market potential of Garcinia/hydroxycitric acid

In vivo antidiabetic and acute toxicity of spray-dried Vernonia amygdalina water extract

The spray-dried Vernonia amygdalina water extract was evaluated for antidiabetic effect using normoglycaemic, glucose induced hyperglycaemic and streptozotocin induced diabetic mice. This effect was compared with an oral dose of Momordica charantia. Besides, acute toxicity of the extract was also evaluated at concentration 2000 and 5000 mg/kg body weight. The extract was able to reduce blood glucose level in glucose and streptozotocin induced hyperglycaemic mice without causing hypoglycemic effect on fasting normoglycaemic mice. Moreover, mice appeared to be normal and no mortality was observed in the acute toxicity study after treated with up to 5000mg/kg of extract. These results indicated that the spray-dried Vernonia amygdalina water extract was a potential antidiabetic agent which does not induce hypoglycemic and acute toxicity on normal subject

In vitro antioxidant and in vivo hepatoprotective effect on ethanol-mediated liver damage of spray dried Vernonia amygdalina water extract

Vernonia amygdalina is a strong natural antioxidant that possessed various medicinal properties. In this study, the spray-dried water extract of V. amygdalina was evaluated for its in vitro antioxidant capacity and in vivo hepatoprotective effect against alcoholic-mediated liver damage. Total phenolic and flavonoid content of spray-dried V. amygdalina water extract were determined. Liver enzyme profiles, liver antioxidant level and nitric oxide level were evaluated in alcohol-induced liver injured mice or co-supplement with spray-dried V. amydalina. Water extract of spraydried V. amygalina that contained phenolic content of 24.8±1.5 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and total flavonoid content of 25.7±1.3 mg/g catechin equivalent was able to inhibit 50% of xanthine and tyrosinase oxidation at 170 µg/mL and 2 mg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, extracts at both 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight were able to reduce the levels of Alanine transaminase (ALT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Aspartate transaminase (AST), triglyceride and total bilirubin content inthe alcohol-mediated liver injury in mice. Furthermore, it also helped to increase levels of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and reduce the levels of Nitric oxide (NO) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver of the treated mice. These resultssuggestedthat water extract of spray-dried V. amygdalina exhibited liver protective effect, which could be contributed by its antioxidant properties

Compositional and thermal characteristics of palm olein-based diacylglycerol in blends with palm super olein

Palm olein-based diacylglycerol (POL-DAG) was blended with palm super olein (POoo) in various concentrations (10–90%), with increments of 10% (wt/wt) POL-DAG. The physical and chemical characteristics, i.e., iodine value, acylglycerol content, fatty acid composition, melting and crystallization profiles and solid fat content, for POL-DAG, POoo and their binary blends were evaluated. The mid-infrared FTIR was used to determine the absorption bands of the different concentrations of the oil blends. Only slight differences of FAC and IV were observed. POL-DAG:POoo blends showed significant changes (p < 0.05) in DAG content and decreases in TAG content with increasing POL-DAG content. The DSC thermograms showed that the addition of different concentrations of POL-DAG changed the melting and crystallization behavior of the oil blends (POL-DAG:POoo). The crystallization onset point increased (p < 0.05) with an increasing POL-DAG concentration (10–90%). POL-DAG has the same absorption bands as POoo, with the exception of several minor peaks that appeared at (I) 2954 cm− 1, (II) 1267 cm− 1, (III) 1199 cm− 1, (IV) 1222 cm− 1 and (V) 966 cm− 1. This study will provide essential information for the palm oil industry to identify the most suitable POL-DAG blends with desirable physicochemical properties for food application purposes

Immunomodulatory role of Rhaphidophora korthalsii methanol extract on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation, cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity.

Rhaphidophora korthalsii methanol extract induce the immunomodulatory effect on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). The present study was performed to investigate the immunomodulatory potential of the extract through different tests: MTT assay, BrdU proliferation assay, Trypan blue direct cell counting, cytokine (IL-2, IL-12 and IFN-γ) ELISA assay and Annexin V cytotoxicity assay. Concanavalin A (Con A) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used as positive control. The observed results from all MTT assay, BrdU proliferation assay and Trypan blue direct cell counting showed that the plant extract stimulated the PBMC at 48 and 72 h where 25 μg/ml was the optimum concentration. On the other hand, the results of the cytokines study showed that 25 μg/ml induced the secretion of IL-2 (433 ± 25 pg/ml) and IFN-γ (7336 ± 131.79 pg/ml) but not IL-12 at 72 h only. The activated PBMC also directed the effector cell (K562) in mix culture to undergo apoptosis (12.96 ± 0.57% of early apoptosis and 10.60 ± 0.21% of late apoptosis) at the ratio of 2/1 of PBMC/K562. The present results indicate that R. korthalsii extract showed evidences of immunomodulating activity which may be potential to use as an immunotherapy agent

Antistress and antioxidant effects of virgin coconut oil in vivo

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been consumed worldwide for various health-related reasons and some of its benefits have been scientifically evaluated. Medium-chain fatty acids were found to be a potential antidepressant functional food; however, this effect had not been evaluated in VCO, which is rich in polyphenols and medium-chain fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antistress and antioxidant effects of VCO in vivo, using mice with stress-induced injury. The antistress effect of VCO (administered per os, at a dose of 10 ml/kg body weight) was evaluated using the forced swim test and chronic cold restraint stress models. VCO was able to reduce immobility time and restore oxidative stress in mice post-swim test. Furthermore, mice treated with VCO were found to exhibit higher levels of brain antioxidants, lower levels of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine and reduced weight of the adrenal glands. Consequently, the serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and corticosterone levels were also lower in VCO-treated mice. These results suggest the potential value of VCO as an antistress functional oil

In Vitro and In Vivo Toxicity of Garcinia or Hydroxycitric Acid: A Review

Obesity is one of the pandemic chronic diseases commonly associated with health disorders such as heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes or even cancer. Among the current natural products for obesity and weight control, Garcinia or more specifically hydroxycitric acid (HCA) extracted from Garcinia has been widely used. The evaluation of the potential toxicity of weight control supplement is of the utmost importance as it requires long term continuous consumption in order to maintain its effects. Majority of reports demonstrated the efficacy of Garcinia/HCA without any toxicity found. However, a few clinical toxicity reports on weight-loss diet supplements of which some were combinations that included Garcinia/HCA as an active ingredient showed potential toxicity towards spermatogenesis. Nonetheless, it cannot be concluded that Garcinia/HCA is unsafe. Those products which have been reported to possess adverse effects are either polyherbal or multi-component in nature. To date, there is no case study or report showing the direct adverse effect of HCA. The structure, mechanism of action, long history of the use of Garcinia/HCA and comprehensive scientific evidence had shown &quot;no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)&quot; at levels up to 2800 mg/day, suggesting its safety for use