Investigation of the Impact of Gallic Acid, Methyl Gallate and their Combination on the Oxidative Stability of Frying Oli

Introduction  Thermal process is the most prominent option for treating foods. During the heat treatment, food nutrients response simultaneously but adversely under pH, temperature, moisture, and other provided conditions. It might result in an irreversible transformation of composition and structure that influences oxidative stability and sensory properties. The use of antioxidants is one of the most common methods to prevent edible oils oxidation. Safety concerns of synthetic antioxidants including tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) as food additives have led to increasing demands for natural ones. Phenolic compounds such as Gallic Acid (GA) and Methyl Gallate (MG) represent to possess markedly high activity to scavenge free radicals which are among the most powerful natural sources of oxidative inhibitors in foods. Apart from their antioxidant activity, GA and MG also exhibit multiple biological characteristics such as anti-atherogenic, anti-spasmodic, and anti-microbial activities. This study aimed to investigate the oxidative stability of the in-use sunflower (S) and palm (P) oils as affected by the GA, MG, (GA+MG), and TBHQ to clarify their antioxidant behavior. Materials and Methods Antioxidants Gallic acid, Methyl gallate and TBHQ (Purity>98%) were purchased from Sigma Aldrich, USA. All solvents and chemicals were provided from Merck, Germany and Sigma Aldrich, USA with analytical grade. Antioxidant-free sunflower and palm oil were prepared from Three Goals factory, Neyshabur, and potatoes (Agria variety) from Fariman region, Khorasan Razavi.   Results and Discussion Chemical changes, oxidative stability and quality indices of the in-use sunflower oil (S) and palm (P) (65:35 w.t. %) were evaluated during 8-hour heat treatment at 180 °C through GA, MG, GA/MG (25:75, 50:50 and 25:75) and TBHQ. All experiments were carried out in quadruplicate, and data were subjected to analysis of variance (One-way-ANOVA). Mean data were compared based on Duncan's multiple range test at 5% level (p<0.05). Observations of the chemical properties showed that sample S mainly contained Linoleic fatty acid (61.53%) and Oleic acid (25.50%) and for sample P, Oleic acid (41.90%) and the saturated long-chain fatty acid of Palmitic acid (38.9%). Also, the total phenolic content (TPC) and tocopherol (TTC) of sample P were 53.12 and 185)µg.g-1(, respectively, and sample S were 36.01 and 490 )µg.g-1(. The results of oxidation stability test were analyzed based on Carbonyl value (CV), Conjugated diene value (CDV) and acidity (FFA) parameters. According to our findings, all parameters increased significantly at different speeds during the heat treatment (p<0.05). Moreover, the oxidative stability of the in-use oil was significantly promoted by the antioxidants added, meaning that the control treatment and the treatment containing synthetic antioxidant TBHQ had the highest and lowest FFA%, respectively. The CDV of the antioxidant-free treatment was reduced by 68.6% in the presence of GA75+MG25.In addition, the CV change rate of the antioxidant-free sample in the presence of TBHQ was reduced by 70.2%. It was concluded that the natural antioxidants were capable of being competed with TBHQ antioxidants.   Conclusion The results of this study showed that the heat treatment affected the nutritional value, quality indexes and chemical structure of the treatments, decreasing the quality and stability of the oil. As observed, all FFA, CDV and CV parameters increased significantly at different speeds during 8-hour frying process. The analysis also indicated that the oxidative stability of the treatments increased at the presence of antioxidants during the heat treatment at 180 °C. Thus, the control treatment and the treatment containing synthetic antioxidant TBHQ had the highest and lowest acidity, respectively. Also, the CDV of the antioxidant-free treatment decreased by 68.6% in the presence of GA75+ MG25. In addition, the rate of CV changes was declined by 70.2% through the TBHQ. The results indicated the key role of this synthetic antioxidant in preventing the formation of secondary compounds in the advanced stages of oxidation. It is evident that most synthetic antioxidants are volatile and heat sensitive. Furthermore, there are some limitations in applying TBHQ to promote oxidative stability of food products due to its toxic potential. Evidences have also been reported on the mutation caused by  the synthetic antioxidant TBHQ in the living organism's body. Compared to synthetic antioxidants, natural polyphenolic antioxidants such as MG and GA which widely distribute in plants mainly have antioxidative properties. Compared to GA and MG, GA+MG antioxidants have a longer induction period and higher oxidative stability. Promoting oxidative stability with such an arrangement of antioxidants is a good option in taking advantage of this class of natural antioxidants. According to the results of this study, it can be inferred that with a slight increase in natural antioxidants levels, we might be able to obtain the oxidative stability level comparable to the behavior of synthetic antioxidant TBHQ. Of course, it is worth noting that the addition of natural antioxidants to food such as edible oils should also be done according to national and international standards

Investigating hippocampal-neocortical interactions around sharp-wave ripples

Coordinated activity in the hippocampal-neocortical network around hippocampal sharp-wave ripples (SWRs) plays an instrumental role in memory processing in the brain. SWRs occur in both sleep and awake states, though under two significantly different behavioural and chemical circumstances. Previous studies have reported different patterns of peri-SWR neocortical modulations between these states; however, their findings have been limited to one or a few discrete regions of the neocortex. To extend previous findings, we conducted wide-field optical imaging of the mouse neocortical voltage and glutamate activity combined with hippocampal electrophysiological recording. We found topographically- and temporally-organized patterns of neocortical glutamate and voltage activity around sleep and awake SWRs, though with pronounced differences. These findings highlight the state-dependency of the hippocampal-neocortical network’s computations and possibly functions. Moreover, they provide a spatiotemporal map of the neocortex around SWRs that could guide future studies on the role of hippocampal-neocortical interactions in memory consolidation

Taking science to cholera in Bangladesh: the personal odyssey of Dr William B Greenough III and his colleagues

Cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal infectious diseases known. Historically, two major problems have been faced by those who care for patients with cholera: first, how to treat individual patients to prevent rapid death, and second, how to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease in the immediate community and beyond. In this review, we will discuss how clinical scientists have approached these two issues with some personal experiences that Dr William B Greenough III encountered when he was addressing these problems and treating cholera victims at the Pakistan SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory in the early 1960s in Dhaka, East Pakistan

In silico exploration of mouse brain dynamics by focal stimulation reflects the organization of functional networks and sensory processing

Resting-state functional networks such as the default mode network (DMN) dominate spontaneous brain dynamics. To date, the mechanisms linking brain structure and brain dynamics and functions in cognition, perception, and action remain unknown, mainly due to the uncontrolled and erratic nature of the resting state. Here we used a stimulation paradigm to probe the brain’s resting behavior, providing insights on state-space stability and multiplicity of network trajectories after stimulation. We performed explorations on a mouse model to map spatiotemporal brain dynamics as a function of the stimulation site. We demonstrated the emergence of known functional networks in brain responses. Several responses heavily relied on the DMN and were suggestive of the DMN playing a mechanistic role between functional networks. We probed the simulated brain responses to the stimulation of regions along the information processing chains of sensory systems from periphery up to primary sensory cortices. Moreover, we compared simulated dynamics against in vivo brain responses to optogenetic stimulation. Our results underwrite the importance of anatomical connectivity in the functional organization of brain networks and demonstrate how functionally differentiated information processing chains arise from the same system.</jats:p