Amount Of Β-alanine Research Articles

Identification of the biochemical characteristics of developing giant embryo rice grains using non-targeted metabolomics

Giant embryo rice is well known for its high content of nutrients, such as GABA. However, the biochemical characteristics of this grain remain un-elucidated, and little is known about whether additional types of nutritional chemicals accumulate in giant embryo rice. In this study, we compared the metabolome of the developing grain of giant embryo rice, namely, ‘Shangshida No. 5‘, to that of normal embryo rice, namely, ‘Chao2-10‘, using a non-targeted metabolomics approach. Our results showed that more additional nutrients and bioactive compounds that had not been reported previously in other giant embryo rice, such as reduced glutathione, β-alanine, VB6, arabinose, xylitol, and xylose, were present in ‘Shangshida No. 5’ than in ‘Chao2-10‘. Specifically, the amount of β-alanine in ‘Shangshida No. 5’ was 18.71 times that in ‘Chao2-10’ at 45 DAF. These analyses suggest that ‘Shangshida No. 5’ is a high-quality functional rice, and has potential applications in rice nutritional improvements.

Synthesis of positively charged calcium hydroxyapatite nano-crystals and their adsorption behavior of proteins

Positively charged Hap nano-crystals were prepared by using β-alanine and clarified the adsorption affinity of these surface amide functionalized Hap nano-crystals to proteins. Colloidal surface amide functionalized Hap nano-crystals were prepared by wet method in the presence of various amounts of β-alanine by changing molar ratio of β-alanine/Ca (β/Ca ratio) in the solution. The rod-like nano-crystals were lengthened with addition of β-alanine though their width did not vary; carboxyl groups of β-alanine are strongly coordinated to Ca 2+ ions exposed on ac and/or bc faces to inhibit particle growth to a- and/or b-axis directions and enhance the particle growth along to the c-axis. No difference can be recognized on the crystal structure among the synthesized Hap nano-crystals by XRD measurements. However, the large difference was recognized by TG-DTA and FTIR measurements. Those measurements revealed that β-alanine is incorporated on the Hap nano-crystal surface up to the β/Ca ratio of 1.0, though they are absent in the nano-crystals synthesized at β/Ca ratio ≥ 2.0. The zeta potential (zp) of β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals prepared at β/Ca = 0.4 and 1.0 of those incorporating β-alanine exhibited positive charge at pH ≤ 5.9. The saturated amounts of adsorbed BSA for the positively charged β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals were increased 2.3–2.4-fold by their electrostatic attraction force between positively charged β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals and negatively charged BSA molecules. We were able to control the adsorption affinity of Hap nano-crystal by changing their surface charge.

Synthesis of Positively Charged Calcium Hydroxyapatite Nano-Crystals and Their Adsorption Behavior of Proteins

Positively charged calcium hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 ; Hap] nano-crystals were prepared by using β-alanine and clarified the adsorption affinity of these surface amide functionalized Hap nanocrystals to proteins. Colloidal surface amide functionalized Hap nano-crystals were prepared by wet method in the presence of various amounts of β-alanine by changing molar ratio of β-alanine/Ca (β/Ca ratio) in the solution. The rod-like nano-crystals were lengthened with addition of β-alanine though their width did not vary; carboxyl groups of β-alanine are strongly coordinated to Ca2+ ions exposed on ac and/or bc faces to inhibit particle growth to a- and/or β-axis directions and enhance the particle growth along to the c-axis. No difference can be recognized on the crystal structure among the synthesized Hap nano-crystals by XRD measurements. However, the large difference was recognized by TG-DTA and FTIR measurements. Those measurements reveled that β-alanine is incorporated on the β-alanine-Hap nano-crystal surface up to the β/Ca ratio of 1.0, though they are absent in the nano-crystals synthesized at β/Ca ratio>－2.0. The zeta potential (ZP) of β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals prepared at β/Ca =0.4 and 1.0 of those incorporating β-alanine exhibited positive charge at pH<－5.9. The saturated amounts of adsorbed BSA for the positively charged β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals were increased 2.3～2.4-fold by their electrostatic attraction force between positively charged β-alanine-Hap nano-crystals and negatively charged BSA molecules. We were able to control the adsorption affinity of Hap nano-crystal by changing their surface charge.

Vertical fluxes and ecological significance of organic materials during the phytoplankton bloom during austral summer in Breid Bay, Antarctica

A mooring system consisting of an in situ fluorometer at a depth of 50 m and a time-series sediment trap at a depth of 110 m was deployed at the sediment trap site (70°11.536'S; 24°18.679'E; water depth: 300 m) in Breid Bay, Antarctica in austral summer from 28 December 1985 to 13 February 1986. Sinking particles, consisting of diatoms (mainly Thalassiosira antarctica), were analyzed for organic materials, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Vertical fluxes of organic carbon and nitrogen were determined to be within the ranges of 12.3 to 116 mg C m-2 d-1 and 1.79 to 15.4 mg N m-2 d-1, respectively, with maxima in the middle of January 1986, after which time the organic carbon and nitrogen fluxes tended to decrease with a steep gradient. High values of δ13C were found in the organic matter of the sinking particles collected before the middle of January, indicating that the organic matter was derived from the diatoms in the logarithmic phase of their growth. Increased abundance of glucose was found in the water-extractable carbohydrate, which was one of the sinking particles collected in the middle of January. This fact clearly indicated that the diatoms were no longer in the growth phase but rather in the stationary phase, because reserved glucan as well as various cellular organic materials were reportedly accumulated within the algal cells in the stationary phase. Fifteen species of protein amino acids with trace amounts of β-alanine, γ-aminobutyric acid and ornithine were found in the sinking particles upon acid hydrolysis, but the amino acid composition of these samples had not been affected much by biological agents. The essential amino acid index was calculated for the sinking particles collected in the course of the sediment trap experiment. The indices obtained indicated that the sinking particles collected in Breid Bay were more ecologically significant than the sinking and suspended particles from deep waters.