(Press-News.org) Anthocyanins are compounds related to the color of plants. They also have beneficial effects on human health and are used as a supplement. Various species of anthocyanins, divided by their molecular shape, are present in plants. Therefore, simple, and rapid, analytical techniques that can distinguish among these species in crops are necessary for breeding and quality assessment. A team of Nagoya University researchers in Japan has used a technique called probe electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (PESI/MS/MS) to analyze anthocyanins in crops. Their results were published in the journal Horticulture Research.
Conventionally, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry are used to analyze anthocyanins. However, the conventional procedure requires considerable time and work in the pretreatment and chromatography step. Therefore, the team led by Associate Professor Katsuhiro Shiratake turned to the PESI/MS/MS technique that had previously been developed by another member of the team, Professor Kei Zaitsu. Prof. Zaitsu had originally developed the technique to analyze metabolites in living organs, such as the brains of mice. However, for the first time, the team used it for agricultural applications.
The PESI/MS/MS analysis is one ambient MS approach, and much simpler than the conventional approach, as sampling can be easily performed by sticking a probe needle into the sample. The compounds that adhere to the tip of the probe are then ionized using high-voltage electricity and analyzed by PESI/MS/MS. This method could be used to analyze compounds in organisms directly and is also minimally invasive. The group analyzed 16 types of fruits and vegetables and successfully detected 81 types of anthocyanins in only 3 minutes. They also found that their technique could detect anthocyanins in small areas of plants, such as achenes, tiny pips found on the skin of strawberries.
“This study suggests the applicability of PESI/MS/MS to the analysis of not only anthocyanins but also other plant metabolites,” said Shiratake. “Plant metabolites contribute to the quality of crops and their processed products, including their taste, aroma, color, and functionality. By applying PESI/MS/MS to metabolite analyzes of crops and foods, which were typically labor and time-consuming steps, we could dramatically simplify and accelerate the analysis.”
In the future, the team hopes to incorporate one of Prof. Zaitsu’s other platforms, called PiTMaP, which combines PESI/MS/MS with bioinformatics. They expect that this platform will allow them to analyze the targeted metabolites by PESI/MS/MS and analyze data using multivariate analysis and multiple comparisons in a short time. It is expected that the application of this platform on crops and foods will accelerate the analysis of compounds and metabolites that are important to crops and foods.
END
Using a new technique, PESI/MS/MS, to analyze the nutritional compounds in crops
2023-04-13
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
HKU biologists determine the evolutionary age of individual cell types providing critical insights for animal development
2023-04-13
A research team led by Dr Chaogu ZHENG from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has recently made a significant discovery about the evolutionary age of different type of cells in a small animal called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). By using single-cell transcriptomic data and refined phylostratigraphy, the team determines the transcriptomic age of individual cells, which means they are able to estimate the evolutionary origin of different cells based on the age of the genes expressed in the ...
Coral-eating fish poo may act as ‘probiotics’ for reefs
2023-04-13
Until recently, fish that eat coral — corallivores — were thought to weaken reef structures, while fish that consume algae and detritus — grazers — were thought to keep reefs healthy. But scientists have discovered that feces from grazers leave large lesions on coral, possibly because they contain coral pathogens. By contrast, feces from corallivores may provide a source of beneficial microbes that help coral thrive.
“Corallivorous fish are generally regarded as harmful because they bite the corals,” said Dr Carsten Grupstra of Rice University, ...
New study demonstrates hospital safety climate and organizational characteristics predict healthcare-associated infections and occupational health outcomes
2023-04-13
Arlington, Va., April 13, 2023 – New data published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) provide the first published evidence that a positive safety climate and adherence to standard precautions predict key healthcare-associated infection (HAI) and occupational health outcomes among patients and health care workers, respectively. The findings highlight features within hospitals’ organizations and safety climates that could be modified to improve these outcomes.
“Despite the infection prevention and safety benefits associated with standard precautions, generating consistent adherence in the healthcare setting has been ...
Selenium as a predictor of metabolic syndrome in middle age women
2023-04-12
“Recently, optimizing selenium intake in the population to prevent diseases [...] has been an important issue in modern health care worldwide.”
BUFFALO, NY- April 12, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 6, entitled, “Selenium as a predictor of metabolic syndrome in middle age women.”
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a widespread clinical entity that has become almost a global epidemic. Selenium plays an important role in metabolic homeostasis. It has been suggested that it ...
A new vision for soybean meal: designer tempeh
2023-04-12
In a novel effort to create the next generation of plant-based, protein-rich environmentally sustainable and savory alternatives to animal meat, a University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist has turned his attention to soybean meal.
Globally, this byproduct of soybean oil extraction is used almost exclusively for animal feed. In the U.S. alone, some 48 million metric tons of soybean meal was produced in 2022, according to the USDA.
“After the oil extraction, the majority of the protein is in the meal, not the oil,” says Hang ...
Riluzole and Sorafenib in patients with advanced solid tumors: a Phase I trial
2023-04-12
“Our phase I study determined the tolerable dose of this combination and investigated its biologic effects.”
BUFFALO, NY- April 12, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on April 10, 2023, entitled, “A phase I trial of riluzole and sorafenib in patients with advanced solid tumors: CTEP #8850.”
Overexpression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (GRM1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple cancers. Riluzole, an inhibitor of glutamate release, showed synergistic antitumor activity in combination with the multi-kinase inhibitor sorafenib ...
COVID-19 increased weekday screentime for children: study
2023-04-12
The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased weekday screentime for school-aged children says a new study involving the University of Ottawa published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers examined the change in children’s screen time from prior to the pandemic to three separate pandemic waves between 2020 and 2021. Researchers found a boost of up to 1.35 hours per day during the weekdays compared to prior to the pandemic, particularly with school closures at the onset of the pandemic.
While the weekend time was on par with pre-pandemic levels, ...
In search of a better semiconductor chip
2023-04-12
A University of Texas at Arlington materials science and engineering researcher is working on a project to determine when failure happens in electronic device circuits. The research ultimately will help manufacturers design better semiconductor chips.
Choong-Un Kim, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was awarded a $285,0000 grant from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) for the project “Enabling Electromigration Solver for Solder Joint With Various Packaging Structures and Alloys.” This is the latest in a series of grants he has received from SRC that aims to answer the demand for improved device reliability.
The SRC ...
All-optical quantum state sharing via continuous variable system
2023-04-12
Quantum information is a powerful technology for increasing the amount of information that can be processed and communicated securely. Using quantum entanglement to securely distribute a secret quantum state among multiple parties is known as “quantum state sharing.” An important protocol in quantum networks and cryptography, quantum state sharing works like this (in simple terms): a secret quantum state is divided into n shares and given to n players. The secret state can only be reconstructed ...
Father’s alcohol consumption before conception linked to brain and facial defects in offspring
2023-04-12
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects in their unborn child. Now, research at Texas A&M University demonstrates that a father’s alcohol consumption before conception also links to growth defects that affect the development of his offspring’s brain, skull and face.
Research investigating fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) exclusively examines maternal alcohol exposure. However, because men drink more and are more likely to binge drink than women, Dr. Michael Golding, an associate ...