Evaluation of emmer wheat genetics resources aimed at dietary food production

Emmer wheat cultivated by organic farmers is used as a component of some bio (organic) food products. Its positive influence on consumer health is caused by grain composition. In the set of 8 emmer wheat accessions, the main grain components, bread making characteristics and contents of health supporting chemical substances such as total dietary fibre content and its components, content of total polyphenols plus catechin and ferulic acid contents, vitamins of the B group and E plus total content of carotenoids were evaluated by standard methods

Enrichment of antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in pita made from barley

This study aimed to enhance total antioxidant and vitamin E content of pita bread, by replacing 50% of the standard baker's flour with flours milled from covered (WI2585 and Harrington) or hulless (Finniss) barley genotypes, previously shown to have high antioxidant and vitamin E levels at harvest. Pita breads were made from either 100% baker's flour (control) or 50% malt flour, whole-grain flour, or flour from barley grains pearled at 10%, 15%, and 20% grain weight. Antioxidant capacity and vitamin E content of flours and pitas were determined by their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The physical and sensory properties of the pitas were also assessed. All pitas made from either whole grain or pearled barley flour had a higher antioxidant capacity and most also had higher vitamin E content than standard pita. The antioxidant and vitamin E levels were reduced in pearled compared to whole grains, however the extent of that reduction varied among genotypes. The greatest antioxidant and vitamin E levels were found in pita made from malt flour or Finniss whole grain flour. Furthermore, sensory analysis suggested these pitas were acceptable to consumers and retained similar physical and sensory properties to those in the control pita.Thi Thu Dung Do, Beverly Muhlhausler, Amanda Box and Amanda J. Abl

Potencial antioxidante dos extratos de manjericão (Ocimum basilicum Lamiaceae) e orégano (Origanum vulgare Lamiaceae) em óleo de soja

O presente trabalho teve como objetivos avaliar o potencial antioxidante dos extratos de manjericão (Ocimum basilicum L.) e orégano (Origanum vulgare L.), e medir a estabilidade oxidativa do óleo de soja adicionado de ambos os extratos. Foram obtidos extratos de manjericão e orégano nas formas in natura e seco, a partir das folhas das especiarias submetidas às extrações aquosas, etanólicas e sequenciais por 30 min, na proporção de 1:3 (m/m, especiaria:solvente), sob agitação contínua e temperatura ambiente. Nos extratos foram determinados o valor de concentração eficiente (CE50), a atividade antioxidante máxima (AA) e a quantidade de compostos fenólicos totais (CFT). Os extratos de orégano e manjericão com maior atividade antioxidante foram aplicados no óleo de soja em concentrações que variaram de 250 a 2.000 mg kg-1, para avaliação da estabilidade oxidativa. Os resultados indicaram que os extratos etanólicos de manjericão in natura com CE50 = 863,97 µg mL-1, AA = 35,63% e CFT = 56,55 mg g-1 e orégano seco com CE50 = 415,82 µg mL-1, AA = 48,42% e CFT = 147,96 mg g-1 foram os mais eficientes para serem aplicados ao óleo de soja na concentração de 2.000 mg kg-1, na qual apresentaram a maior estabilidade oxidativa, 21,8 e 15,1 horas, respectivamente. Com base na metodologia empregada e dentro das condições estudadas, concluiu-se que os extratos etanólicos de manjericão in natura e orégano seco revelaram potencial antioxidante quando aplicados em óleo de soja.This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) extracts and to measure the oxidative stability of soybean oil added to both extracts. Basil and oregano extracts were obtained in fresh and dry forms from the leaves of spices subjected to aqueous, ethanol and sequential extraction for 30 min at a ratio of 1:3 (m/m, spice:solvent) and continuously shaken at room temperature. For the extracts, the value of effective concentration (EC50), the maximum antioxidant activity (AA) and the amount of total phenolic compounds (TFC) were obtained. The oregano and basil extracts that had higher antioxidant activity were applied to soybean oil at concentrations ranging from 250 to 2,000 mg kg-1, to evaluate the oxidative stability. The results indicated that the ethanol extracts of fresh basil with EC50 = 863.97 mg mL-1, AA = 35.63% and TFC = 56.55 mg g-1 and dry oregano with EC50 = 415.82 mg mL-1, AA = 48.42% and TFC = 147.96 mg g-1 were more efficient for application in soybean oil at a concentration of 2,000 mg kg-1, which showed the highest oxidative stability, 21.8 and 15.1 hours, respectively. Based on the employed methodology and under the studied conditions, it was concluded that the ethanol extracts of fresh basil and dry oregano showed antioxidant potential when applied in soybean oil.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia de AlimentosUniversidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia de Alimento

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world

\ua9 The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research. The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

Bioprospecting of strains of Streptococcus thermophilus from Indian fermented milk products for folate production

International audienceThis study deals with the bio-prospecting of folate producing strains of Streptococcus thermophilus isolated from milk and different fermented milk products of Indian origin. From a total of 500 randomly selected colonies isolated from 209 different samples, 117 isolates were identified as S. thermophilus by classical biochemical and molecular characterization. Frequency of incidence of S. thermophilus in the different samples of milk and milk products was variable with the highest in the dahi followed by yogurt and lassi and a very low incidence in case of milk and cheese.On screening for folate using a microbiological assay with a tri-enzyme extraction, about 15% of strains was found to produce folate in the range of 40-50 mu g center dot L(-1), 35% in the range of 20-30 mu g center dot L(-1), and the remainder in the range of 4-16 mu g center dot L(-1). Comparative analysis of the random amplification of polymorphic DNA PCR fingerprint profiles was used to characterize interspecific diversity of the ten highest folate producers. The LacZ gene of two of the highest folate producing isolates were sequenced and submitted to GenBank under following accession numbers of FJ161697 and FJ161698

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs

Epidemiology and characterization of<i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i>isolates from humans, raw bovine milk and a dairy plant

SUMMARYGeographically relatedStaphylococcus epidermidisisolates from human patients (n=30), dairy farms (farmers and individual raw milk from cattle,n=36) and a dairy plant (n=55) were examined for epidemiological relatedness by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and, usingin vitromethods, for the ability to produce biofilm and antimicrobial resistance. Methicillin-resistant isolates (MRSE) were also identified and characterized. Isolates from farmers and dairy cattle were found to be genetically related, while isolates from human patients were highly diverse. Some dairy plant isolates (18·2%) were closely related to those from dairy farms. Biofilm production and resistance to antimicrobial agents were most typical for isolates from human patients, of which 76·7% were MRSE. Methicillin resistance was also widespread in farm-related isolates (61·1%). This study indicates the possible transmission ofS. epidermidisbetween cattle and farmers. Dairy products were not proven to be an important source of either human infections or methicillin-resistant strains.</jats:p