Angiotensin I‐converting enzyme inhibitory and Ca‐binding activities of peptides prepared from tuna cooking juice and spleen proteases

Tuna cooking juice is a by‐product from the tuna canning industry. In this study, tuna cooking juice was hydrolysed by proteases extracted from the spleen. Tuna cooking juice showed the highest ACE inhibitory and Ca‐binding activities after hydrolysis for 270 and 180 min, respectively. The hydrolysate was further fractionated by ultrafiltration. The permeate exhibited highest ACE inhibitory and Ca‐binding activities when passed through 1 and 5 kDa cut‐off membranes, respectively. Gel filtration chromatography was used to determine the MW of bioactive peptides that exhibited highest ACE inhibitory and Ca‐binding activities. Those peptides that exhibited highest ACE inhibitory and Ca‐binding activities were the MW range of 238–829 Da and 1355–1880 Da, respectively. These results suggest that the tuna cooking juice and the spleen protease extract are a potential source of bioactive peptides that can be utilised as bioactive ingredients in functional food and nutraceuticals.     

Protein hydrolysis by protease isolated from tuna spleen by membrane filtration: A comparative study with commercial proteases

Membrane filtration is considered to be a low-cost and large scale method for recovery and purification of enzymes. The trypsin-like serine protease (TSP) was recovered and purified by microfiltration and ultrafiltration from the extract of the spleen of the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacores). The partially purified TSP has the activity of 96.5 U/mL and purity of 74.2 U/mg protein based on casein digesting unit. It has the molecular weight of 24 kDa proved by SDS-PAGE. The potential application of TSP in the protein hydrolysis was investigated in comparison to the use of two commercial proteases, i.e. Alcalase^® 0.6 L and Delvo-Pro under their optimal hydrolysis conditions. The effects of enzymes, substrates and enzyme to substrate ratio on the degree of hydrolysis (DH) were studied. Alcalase showed the highest DH for both casein and soybean isolate. TSP showed higher DH than Delvo-Pro when casein was employed as the substrate. However, TSP showed the lowest DH when soybean protein was used as the substrate. The present study proved that TSP recovered and purified from the tuna canning waste by membrane filtration can be used for protein hydrolysis as well as other commercial proteases.     

Aristolactam-Type Alkaloids from Orophea enterocarpa and Their Cytotoxicities

A new aristolactam, named enterocarpam-III (10-amino-2,3,4,6-tetramethoxy phenanthrene-1-carboxylic acid lactam, 1) together with the known alkaloid stigmalactam (2), were isolated from Orophea enterocarpa. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of interpretation of their spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant cytotoxicities against human colon adenocarcinoma (HCT15) cell line with IC(50) values of 1.68 and 1.32 μM, respectively.     

Lead associated caries development in children living in a lead contaminated area, Thailand

In an observational cross-sectional design, a sample of 292 children aged 6-11 years from two primary schools around a shipyard area, known to be an area contaminated with lead (from the industry), were examined to verify the cariogenicity of lead. The number of decayed and filled surfaces on deciduous teeth (dfs), and the number of decayed, missing, and filled surfaces on permanent teeth (DMFS), the salivary flow rate, pH, buffer capacity, oral hygiene, Lactobacillus spp. and mutans streptococci counts were recorded. The mean (range) of DMFS and dfs were respectively 1.3 (range 0-17) and 13.2 (range 0-45); and the geometric mean blood lead level (PbB) and SD were 7.2 and 1.5 microg/dl. The level of dfs, but not DMFS correlated with the blood lead level (R(s)=0.25, p=0.00 / R(s)=0.09, p=0.14). The odds ratio for DMFS>or=1 and dfs>5 for a doubling of PbB after adjusting for other factors were 1.28 (95%CI, 0.81-2.04; p value=0.35) and 2.39 (95%CI, 1.36-4.20; p value=0.004), respectively. The cariogenicity of lead is evident in deciduous teeth but not in permanent teeth for this age group.     

Chemical composition of enamel and dentine in primary teeth in children from Thailand exposed to lead

Enamel and dentine in teeth of children with high blood levels of lead were analyzed by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and X-ray micro-analyses (XRMA) and compare with teeth from children with low blood levels of lead. The SIMS analysis revealed detectable levels of Pb in dentine close to the pulp. The XRMA analyses could not detect any lead. There were no differences found in lead level in enamel of high lead level exposed teeth from low level exposed. The results confirm that children with high blood levels of lead have an uptake of lead in dentine close to the pulp.     

New electronically tunable current-mode universal biquad filter using translinear current conveyors

In this study, a new electronically tunable current-mode universal filter with two inputs and two outputs employing one translinear current conveyor, one translinear current conveyor with controlled current gain and two grounded capacitors is presented. The proposed circuit offers the following attractive features: realisation of low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, band-stop and all-pass current responses from the same configuration; employment of the minimum active and passive components; no requirement of component matching conditions; independent current-control of the parameters natural frequency (ω_o) and quality factor (Q); low active and passive sensitivities; and high impedance output. The characteristics of the proposed circuit are simulated using PSPICE to confirm the theory.     

Calcium-binding peptides derived from tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) protein hydrolysate

Calcium-binding peptide was derived from protein hydrolysates. In this study, tilapia protein at a concentration of 2 % (w/v) was hydrolyzed using various proteases including Alcalase 2.4 L, Flavourzyme 1,000L, Protease GN, and papain at 50 °C, pH 8 for 6 h. It was found that the degree of hydrolysis increased with the time of the incubation in all cases. The highest calcium-binding capacity of the hydrolysate was 65 mg/g protein at 27.7 % degree of hydrolysis by Alcalase 2.4 L. The molecular weight of the calcium-binding peptides characterized by gel-filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-25 was 1.2 kDa. The calcium-binding motif of the hydrolyzed peptides identified by the automated Edman degradation was a short peptide (Trp-Glu-Trp-Leu-His-Tyr-Trp). The results of this study suggested that tilapia protein is a good source for calcium-binding peptides.