Lipase activity in vesicular systems: Characterization of candida cylindracea lipase and its activity in polymerizable dialkylammonium surfactant vesicles

Lipase from Candida cylindracea (CCL) was incorporated into polymerizable positively charged dialkylammonium bromide surfactant vesicles. The enzyme was incorporated by the use of the dehydration-rehydration method or by incubation. In the latter case, trapping efficiencies of up to 100% could be obtained. Activities of free and vesicle-incorporated CCL were tested for three triglycerides: triacetin, tributyrin, and tricaprylin. Enzyme activity was lowest in homogeneous mixtures (triacetin and small concentrations of tributyrin) and highest in heterogeneous mixtures (tricaprylin and high concentrations of tributyrin). Entrapment in vesicular systems is advantageous, especially in homogeneous reaction mixtures and in the case of the production of insoluble fatty acid (caproate), because inhibition by the acid can be suppressed. The influence of several surface-active additives, including vesicles, on the activity of lipase in triglyceride assays was tested. Vesicles have a positive influence on the activity, whereas other positively charged additives act as inhibitors. In the case of tricaprylin assays, the positively charged additives increase the activity. Finally, tryptic digestion for free and incorporated CCL were compared. Free CCL is readily inactivated, whereas incorporated enzyme is protected from proteolytic degradation

Effect of fatty acid composition of methyl and ethyl esters on the lubricity at different humidities

Lubricity of individual fatty acid methyl or ethyl esters and biodiesel fuels has been measured using a high frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). Tests have been carried out varying the ambient humidity to assess the effect of this parameter on the lubricity of the fuels. The European standard proposes a single humidity correction factor for all the fuels, regardless their composition. It has been proved in this study that this factor is not constant and it depends on the fuel composition. For this reason two different correlations have bee n proposed for the estimation of the humidity correction factor and normalized wear scar as a function of different fuel compositional characteristics. The influence of the water content on the lubricity and the relationship between humidity and water content of the fuel has been studied revealing that the effect of the air humidity is an indirect effect of the hygroscopy of the fuel

Aldehyde Dehidrogenase Level and Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester as Biochemical Markers Persist Longer Than Ethanol in Wistar Rats After Chronic Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol consumption in human has increased from year to year in Indonesia and more recently, anincreasing number of cases of alcohol intoxication, alcoholic liver disease, and death were observed.The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the significance of two known biochemicalmarkers of alcohol given by mouth in the Wistar rats. The study design used was the “Truerandomized experimental post test only control group design". The rats were randomly distributedaccording to the experimental design and were treated daily for six weeks (chronic intake) with 5%and 20% alcohol. This study used 15 rats with 5 rats for treatment group treated with 5% alcohol, 5rats for treatment group treated with 20% alcohol, and 5 rats as control group treated with distilledwater. The biochemical markers were aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters(FAEE). ALDH and FAEE were two biochemical markers of ethanol which are sensitive and specificfor alcohol consumption. The study was conducted in two phases. Initially, rats were treated orallyeveryday for six weeks with 5% and 20% alcohol, and then the blood level of ethanol, ALDH andFAEE were measured. Blood samples were collected at 6 and 24 hours after the last oral intake ofchronic alcohol administration. Qualitative analysis was carried out to detect the presence of ethanol,ALDH, and FAEE in the treatment groups and quantitative analysis to determine their levels in theblood of Wistar rats. Statistical analysis of ALDH was done by using parametric test and the presenceof FAEE persisting longer than ethanol by non-parametric test. The results showed that ALDHpersisted and increased significantly following chronic consumption of alcohol in the rats. Similarly,FAEEs persisted longer than ethanol after alcohol intake. After six hours, the ALDH level increasedby 108.14% in the rat treated chronically with 5% alcohol and by 85.07% in rat treated with 20%alcohol. After 24 hours, FAEE also persisted longer in the blood than ethanol following treatmentwith alcohol 5%. ALDH levels increased by 83.11% after chronic treatment with 5% alcohol and by112.05% in the rats treated with 20% alcohol. In the blood collected 24 hours after the last treatmentwith 5% alcohol, ALDH increased by 95.11% and by 86.79% in the rats treated with 20% alcohol.FAEE persisted longer than ethanol in the blood following administration of 5 % and 20% alcoholboth at 24 hours following chronic treatment. The longer persisting ALDH and FAEE were new andgood biochemical blood markers for chronic alcohol consumption in the Wistar rats

<i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> in the production of whisk(e)y

Whisk(e)y is a major global distilled spirit beverage. Whiskies are produced from cereal starches that are saccharified, fermented and distilled prior to spirit maturation. The strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae employed in whisky fermentations is crucially important not only in terms of ethanol yields, but also for production of minor yeast metabolites which collectively contribute to development of spirit flavour and aroma characteristics. Distillers must therefore pay very careful attention to the strain of yeast exploited to ensure consistency of fermentation performance and spirit congener profiles. In the Scotch whisky industry, initiatives to address sustainability issues facing the industry (for example, reduced energy and water usage) have resulted in a growing awareness regarding criteria for selecting new distilling yeasts with improved efficiency. For example, there is now a desire for Scotch whisky distilling yeasts to perform under more challenging conditions such as high gravity wort fermentations. This article highlights the important roles of S. cerevisiae strains in whisky production (with particular emphasis on Scotch) and describes key fermentation performance attributes sought in distiller’s yeast, such as high alcohol yields, stress tolerance and desirable congener profiles. We hope that the information herein will be useful for whisky producers and yeast suppliers in selecting new distilling strains of S. cerevisiae, and for the scientific community to stimulate further research in this area

Fermentation of Cottonseed and Other Feedstuffs in Cattle Rumen Fluid

Bovine rumen fluid was fermented anaerobically over 48 h with cottonseed, corn, alfalfa, or a mixture of these substrates in anaerobic mineral buffer. Samples taken at different incubation times were derivatized with n-butanol and subjected to gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. No unusual fermentation end-products from the cottonseed substrate were detected. Cottonseed supported rumen fermentation at levels comparable to those of the other substrates. Major components were usually found in the decreasing order of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and valerate, although acetate and propionate concentrations decreased late in the alfalfa and mixed-feed fermentations, eventually allowing butyrate concentrations to exceed those of propionate. As expected, lactate was produced in high concentrations when corn was fermented. The minor components 2-methylpropionate, 2- and 3-methylbutyrate, phenylacetate, phenylpropionate, and caproate also accumulated, with their relative concentrations varying with the substrate. Succinate was produced in substantial amounts only when corn and alfalfa were fermented; it did not accumulate when cottonseed was the substrate. Samples containing cottonseed were derivatized and subjected to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, revealing that gossypol concentrations did not change during fermentation

Ruminal Fermentation of Propylene Glycol and Glycerol

Bovine rumen fluid was fermented anaerobically with 25 mM R-propylene glycol, S-propylene glycol, or glycerol added. After 24 h, all of the propylene glycol enantiomers and approximately 80% of the glycerol were metabolized. Acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, and caproate concentrations, in decreasing order, all increased with incubation time. Addition of any of the three substrates somewhat decreased acetate formation, while addition of either propylene glycol increased propionate formation but decreased that of butyrate. R- and S-propylene glycol did not differ significantly in either their rates of disappearance or the products formed when they were added to the fermentation medium. Fermentations of rumen fluid containing propylene glycol emitted the sulfur-containing gases 1-propanethiol, 1-(methylthio)propane, methylthiirane, 2,4-dimethylthiophene, 1-(methylthio)-1-propanethiol, dipropyl disulfide, 1-(propylthio)-1-propanethiol, dipropyl trisulfide, 3,5-diethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane, 2-ethyl-1,3-dithiane, and 2,4,6-triethyl-1,3,5-trithiane. Metabolic pathways that yield each of these gases are proposed. The sulfur-containing gases produced during propylene glycol fermentation in the rumen may contribute to the toxic effects seen in cattle when high doses are administered for therapeutic purposes

Complex behavioural changes after odour exposure in Drosophila larvae

A variety of odorants attract Drosophila larvae, although this behaviour can be modulated by experience. For instance, larvae pre-exposed to an attractive odorant may subsequently display less attraction towards the same compound. In previous reports, this phenomenon has been interpreted as a drop in olfactory sensitivity, caused by sensory adaptation. We tried to elucidate the basis of this behavioural modification by pre-exposing larvae to various odours. After multiple pre-exposure cycles larvae were repulsed by initially attractive odours, and pre-exposure did not change the threshold concentration driving a behavioural response. We therefore believe that sensitivity to the odorant was only slightly affected in our protocol. Our results thus do not support the previous interpretation and rather suggest that olfactory pre-exposure induces a change in the hedonic value of the odour. Although we did not succeed in elucidating the exact nature of the underlying mechanism, we can reject an association of the odour with the absence of food as an interpretation of the observed behavioural changes; this is because addition of food did not abolish the repulsion to the pre-exposed odour. In addition to ruling out previous interpretations of odour pre-exposure effects, this study stresses the complexity of Drosophila larval behaviour

Production of medium-chain fatty acids and higher alcohols by a synthetic co-culture grown on carbon monoxide or syngas

Synthesis gas, a mixture of CO, H2, and CO2, is a promising renewable feedstock for bio-based production of organic chemicals. Production of medium-chain fatty acids can be performed via chain elongation, utilizing acetate and ethanol as main substrates. Acetate and ethanol are main products of syngas fermentation by acetogens. Therefore, syngas can be indirectly used as a substrate for the chain elongation process.ERC Grant (Project 323009) and the Gravitation Grant (Project 024.002.002) of the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO

Hydrolytic and synthetic activities of esterases produced by Bacillus sp. A60 isolated from an oil contaminated soil

A novel esterase producer strain named Bacillus sp. A60 was isolated from a soil sample contaminated with hydrocarbons. It was found to belong to Bacillus subtilis species through morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. This strain which can tolerate 15% (w/v) NaCl and growth at 55°C, produced an interesting esterase activity in Luria-Bertani medium. Two different molecular weight esterase activities were detected in zymographic assays. Culture supernatant and whole cells showed specific hydrolytic activities of 2.67 ± 0.11 U/mg of protein and 7.07 ± 0.09 U/mg of dry weight, respectively. Concerning ethyl acetate production, conversions of 88.00 ± 0 and 55.58 ± 0.78% were obtained with culture supernatant entrapped in polyacrylamine gel and whole cells, respectively. In addition, the effect of different concentration of LB medium components on both growth and extracellular esterase hydrolytic activity was also discussed.Fil: Loto, Flavia del Valle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Cintia Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Carrizo, Alfonso Emanuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Baigori, Mario Domingo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Pera, Licia Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; Argentin