Role of antioxidant supplementation and exercise regimen in handling oxidative stress from natural PM2.5 exposure due to boreal forest fire

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) exposure induces oxidative stress that causes many negative health outcomes such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease. Research shows that dietary antioxidants and an up-regulated endogenous antioxidant response from exercise play key roles in the antioxidant defense against oxidative stress. This study is the first to use an animal model to investigate the cumulative effects of using lifestyle interventions of antioxidant supplementation (Arthrospira platensis) and exercise regimen on the antioxidant response before, during, and after ambient PM2.5 exposure. In a two-factorial, longitudinal design, sled dogs (n=48) were divided into four groups (exercise and supplemented, exercise, supplemented, and control) to (1) test the effects of exercise and antioxidant regimen on antioxidant response after one month of implemented exercise and supplementation protocol and (2) measure the antioxidant response of all groups during and after a natural forest fire event in 2015. Commercial assays for Total antioxidant Power (TAP) and the enzymatic antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) were used as markers for the total antioxidant response and the endogenous response at all time points. During the forest fire, SOD was increased 5-10-fold over pre/post-exposure levels in all groups suggesting potential implication for using SOD as a marker for the acute response to environmental stress. TAP was increased in the exercise groups after one month of exercise protocol implementation, demonstrating the cytoprotective increase of antioxidants after repeated exercise.Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1 PM2.5 -- 1.2 Oxidative stress and exercise -- 1.3 Antioxidants -- 1.4 Significance and research hypothesis -- Chapter 2 The effects of spirulina supplementation and exercise regimen on the antioxidant response to PM2.5 exposure in sled dogs -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Materials and methods -- 2.2.1 Animals -- 2.2.2 Experimental design -- 2.2.4 Exercise -- 2.2.5 Blood sampling -- 2.2.6 Biochemical analyses -- 2.2.7 Statistics -- 2.3 Results -- 2.4 Discussion -- 2.5 Conclusions -- Chapter 3 Conclusions and future directions -- References

Using water, light, air and spirulina to access a wide variety of polyoxygenated compounds

A new set of completely green methods utilising air, light, water and spirulina to transform readily accessible furan substrates into a diverse range of synthetically useful polyoxygenated motifs commonly found in natural products is presented herein

Nutrition of monogastrics: A summary of research conducted under the German Federal Programme for Organic Agriculture and other forms of Sustainable Agriculture

The thematic focus of monogastric nutrition runs very regularly through the entire federal programme. A strong focus was on the use of feed made from 100% organic origin (EC Eco-Regulation). In experiments in 2006 on the use of roughage in outdoor rearing pigs, for example, it was shown that Jerusalem artichoke can lead to significantly higher weight gains, compared to the control, while weight gain decreased significantly in some cases using other roughages. In another project in 2007, the various processing methods for soybean cake and feed produced therefrom were tested on broiler chickens, laying hens and pigs. The aim was to develop a suitable technology to inactivate the anti-nutritive components in soy and thus to increase the protein digestibility and the nutritional value. At the same time, as part of a broad collaborative project, the use of five different roughages (straw, hay, clover silage, maize silage and Jerusalem artichokes) were compared in organic piglet production. It could be demonstrated that the feeding of various roughages resulted in a stabilisation of the intestinal flora in comparison to the control group. In particular, by feeding various roughages, the Clostridium perfringens population can be significantly reduced. A review of the compensatory protein uptake of organic pigs has found that it cannot be concluded that an economically relevant compensation takes place, and that under the specific feeding restrictions of organic farming GfE recommendations for lysine supply for the initial fattening period are estimated too high. In studies of different genotypes, management and feeding strategies it was also found that turkey diets with reduced ME (metabolisable energy) and amino acid levels, in combination with free-range management, result in a lower animal loss and high growth and carcass performance. In a review of the use of the microalga Spirulina platensis in a feeding trial with fattening broilers a positive dose-response effect was observed. The higher the amount of Spirulina absorbed, the better the carcass weights. Due to the high cost of the Spirulina product (despite improved fattening and carcass performance) the economics of its use in broiler production are unfavourable. Thus the application of this product is only recommended in the first phase of the rearing (1-14 days). The aim of another project was the development of NIRS calibration which allows a more timely determination of the constituents, especially the protein and amino acid contents (AS), of organically produced grain legumes immediately after harvest, in order to create optimal, demand-based rations. In 2007, a database for feed was created to assist in ration design. In 2011 a number of projects started in which various locally available protein feeding stuffs will be tested in different feeding trials with pigs. The supply of essential amino acids within the available protein feed, especially for poultry, is often insufficient, and another research project is testing approaches to produce high-quality protein feed in the form of clover silage and use this feed in feeding trials with laying hens and broilers. The first results of these projects are expected in 2015. Further results from the BÖLN research on animal nutrition in monogastric animals are regularly published at www.bundesprogramm-oekolandbau.de

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Growth Conditions Modify Biomolecole Production in the Microalga Galdieria sulphuraria (Cyanidiophyceae, Rhodophyta)

Algae have multiple similarities with fungi, with both belonging to the Thallophyte, a polyphyletic group of non-mobile organisms grouped together on the basis of similar characteristics, but not sharing a common ancestor. The main difference between algae and fungi is noted in their metabolism. In fact, although algae have chlorophyll-bearing thalloids and are autotrophic organisms, fungi lack chlorophyll and are heterotrophic, not able to synthesize their own nutrients. However, our studies have shown that the extremophilic microalga Galderia sulphuraria (GS) can also grow very well in heterotrophic conditions like fungi. This study was carried out using several approaches such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and infrared spectrophotometry (ATR-FTIR). Results showed that the GS, strain ACUF 064, cultured in autotrophic (AGS) and heterotrophic (HGS) conditions, produced different biomolecules. In particular, when grown in HGS, the algae (i) was 30% larger, with an increase in carbon mass that was 20% greater than AGS; (ii) produced higher quantities of stearic acid, oleic acid, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and ergosterol; (iii) produced lower quantities of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) such as methyl palmytate, and methyl linoleate, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), and poyliunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). ATR-FTIR and principal component analysis (PCA) statistical analysis confirmed that the macromolecular content of HGS was significantly different from AGS. The ability to produce different macromolecules by changing the trophic conditions may represent an interesting strategy to induce microalgae to produce different biomolecules that can find applications in several fields such as food, feed, nutraceutical, or energy production

Commercial Applications of Microalgae

The first use of microalgae by humans dates back 2000 years to the Chinese, who used Nostoc to survive during famine. However, microalgal biotechnology only really began to develop in the middle of the last century. Nowadays, there are numerous commercial applications of microalgae. For example, (1) microalgae can be used to enhance the nutritional value of food and animal feed owing to their chemical composition, (2) they play a crucial role in aquaculture and (3) they can be incorporated into cosmetics. Moreover, they are cultivated as a source of highly valuable molecules. For example, polyunsaturated fatty acid oils are added to infant formulas and nutritional supplements and pigments are important as natural dyes. Stable isotope biochemicals help in structural determination and metabolic studies. Future research should focus on the improvement of production systems and the genetic modification of strains. Microalgal products would in that way become even more diversified and economically competitive

Manipulating cyanobacteria: Spirulina for potential CELSS diet

Spirulina sp. as a bioregenerative photosynthetic and an edible alga for spacecraft crew in a CELSS, was characterized for the biomass yield in batch cultures, under various environmental conditions. The partitioning of the assimalitory products (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) were manipulated by varying the environmental growth conditions. Experiments with Spirulina have shown that under stress conditions (i.e., high light 160 uE/sq m/s, temperature 38 C, nitrogen or phosphate limitation; 0.1 M sodium chloride) carbohydrates increased at the expense of proteins. In other experiments, where the growth media were sufficient in nutrients and incubated under optimum growth conditions, the total of the algal could be manipulated by growth conditions. These results support the feasibility of considering Spirulina as a subsystem in CELSS because of the ease with which its nutrient content can be manipulated

Extraction and purification of exopolysaccharides from exhausted Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) culture systems

Microalgal endo and exopolysaccharides (EPS) are attracting increasing interest for their potential applications in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The standard applications of microbial EPS are as food coatings, emulsifying and gelling agents, flocculants, hydrating agents etc. They present unique biochemical properties that make them interesting from the biotechnological point of view. Their physical-chemical properties are interesting for biomedical applications, since polysaccharides have been demonstrated to possess inhibitory properties against various types of viruses, bacteria and tumors. The purpose of this work is to upgrade the exhausted culture media resulting from the cultivation of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina), in order to extract the exopolysaccharides excreted by the cyanobacterium and test their exploitation potential in a cosmetic context (a body cream). The study results include: defining the composition and the productivity of EPS by the Spirulina culture, developing a suitable application method for the DPPH assay in lipophilic matrices, and evaluation of the antioxidant action of these polymers in the cosmetic field