Presence Of Alanine Research Articles

Precooked Jack Bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC] Sprout: Generation of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitory Peptides during Simulated Digestion.

Bioactive peptides generated from jack bean sprouts are reported to function as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors. However, no studies have investigated the effect of precooking followed by simulated digestion using pepsin-pancreatin to increase DPP-IV inhibitory peptide generation in jack bean sprouts. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the generation of DPP-IV inhibitory peptides from precooked jack bean [Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC] sprouts during simulated digestion with pepsin-pancreatin. The results showed that peptide fractions of the sample hydrolysate with molecular weight <1 kDa exhibited the strongest DPP-IV inhibitory activity (84.77%±0.49%) after simulated digestion. This activity was slightly greater than that (74.12%±0.85%) observed prior to simulated digestion. These findings demonstrate that the DPP-IV inhibitory activity of precooked jack bean sprouts can be retained following simulated digestion. Moreover, our investigation revealed the sequences of two novel peptides following simulated digestion with critical amino acids. The presence of alanine and glycine at the penultimate N-terminus of AAGPKP and LGDLLK confirmed the presence of DPP-IV inhibitors. Both peptide sequences are nontoxic and interact with the catalytic sites of enzymes through hydrogen bonds.

Життєздатність ацинарних клітин підшлункової залози та рівень мембранного потенціалу мітохондрій за дії жовчевої кислоти TLC-S

To investigate the mechanism of action of bile acids, TLC-S, the viability of pancreatic acinar cells, and the level of mitochondrial membrane potential were studied using various oxidation substrates. The experiments were conducted on male Wistar rats weighing 250–300 g. A suspension of isolated pancreatic acinar cells was obtained using collagenase (type IV, 0.2 mg/ml). The trypan blue exclusion test assessed cell viability after isolation and the amount was &gt;90 %. The survival of acinar cells after prolonged incubation in different environments was determined by fluorescent dyes propidium iodide (0.5 mg/ml) and Hoechst 33258 (5 mg/ml) dyes. Mitochondrial membrane potential was recorded by adding the dye TMRM (50 nM). Cells were photographed using an inverted microscope Olympus IX73 with a digital camera DP-74. Cell counting and fluorescence intensity of TMRM were analyzed using ImageJ software. It was found that the presence of TLC-S in the medium at a concentration of 0.5 mmol/L, when used as an oxidation substrate for glucose (10 mmol/L), pyruvate (2 mmol/L), or alanine (2 mmol/L), did not significantly affect the proportion of live cells after 2 and 4 hours of incubation. However, when TLC-S was added to the medium at a concentration of 2 mmol/L, the proportion of live cells significantly decreased. This decrease was least pronounced during pyruvate oxidation. Under the action of TLC-S (after 25 min) in the presence of glucose alone, the mitochondrial membrane potential decreased by 9.8 % (P&lt;0.05, n=3), in the presence of alanine (in the presence of glucose) – by 23.5 % (P&lt;0.05, n=4). When pyruvate was added to the medium (in the presence of glucose), the mitochondrial membrane potential likely did not change significantly. These results suggest the presence of several different mechanisms of TLC-S’s negative effects on pancreatic acinar cells: at low concentrations (or at early stages), it disrupts alanine transamination reactions, leading to the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential generation, while at high concentrations, it affects the integrity of plasma and/or intracellular membranes.

Ability of Exogenous or Wort Endogenous Enzymes to Release Free Thiols from Hop Cysteinylated and Glutathionylated S-Conjugates

Following identification of the substantial pool of aromas represented by cysteinylated and glutathionylated precursors in hop, many studies have focused on developing methods for releasing volatile thiols based on chemical hydrolysis or yeast activity. The present work aimed to evaluate the release activity of either commercially available exogenous enzymes or endogenous wort enzymes (issued from hop or malt) on synthetic Cys- or G-precursors of 3SHol, 3SPol, 3SHptol, 3S4MPol and 4S4M2Pone. In a model medium at pH 7.7, both apotryptophanase and cystathionine β-lyase appeared very efficient on Cys-adducts (up to 77.9% release). Interestingly, a slight proportion of this release (up to 0.9%) appeared to result from chemical hydrolysis. In polyphenols rich media such as hop and beer, total release was much lower (under 0.2%). For release from G-adducts, a combination of γGT and apotryptophanase proved to be effective, highlighting for the first time the ability of β-lyase activity to release free PFTs also from CysGly-adducts. The best release rates (above 2% for all thiols) were obtained with a two-step incubation: 75 units γGT with synthetic glutathionylated precursors for 16 h at 37 °C in the presence of alanine followed by apotryptophanase for 7 h at room temperature. The alternative combination of γGT with S. cerevisiae was found to release free thiols more efficiently than yeast activity alone. Compared to commercially available enzymes, endogenous enzymes extracted from hop or malt displayed lower efficiency (below 0.3% for γGT activity and below 0.002% for β-lyase).

Achieving a highly efficient chitosan-based triboelectric nanogenerator via adding organic proteins: Influence of morphology and molecular structure

The utilization of biodegradable materials for the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has provoked intensive interest since the growth of electronic devices tended to operate in proximity of the human body. This work proposed highly efficient biopolymer, based on a chitosan (CS) TENG, by incorporating protein-based compounds as fillers. The effect of different types of protein; albumin, egg-shell membrane (ESM) and silk fiber (SF), with the loaded content on the output performance of TENG was explored. It was found that the output signal can be maintained and even enhanced by embedding interlaced-fiber and making a gauze-like structure inside the CS matrix. Morphologies not only have different types of amino acid side chains, but also affect triboelectric output performance. High content of glycine, alanine and serine consequently increases the output signal by providing additional charges from molecular polarizations. Mixing glycine amino acid in the presence of alanine and serine reduces the centrosymmetric structure of the host amino acid and creates polar domains. Adding SF in CS, therefore, achieves the best output voltage ( V OC ) and current ( I SC ) as compared to other additives. The CS/SF TENG, with 10 wt% SF added, can reach ~ 77 V and ~ 13 µA of V OC and I SC , respectively. Its maximum output power of ~ 202 μW, with power density of 22.4 μW/cm 2 , is 6 times higher than that from pristine CS TENG, which can easily light up 59 light emitting diodes (LEDs) connected in series. Finally, the biodegradability was confirmed at various weeks related to the output measurement of V OC and I SC . After 9 weeks of the soil burial test, the CS/SF still generated ~ 20 V V OC and ~ 2.5 µA I SC with 30% weight loss. • The highly efficient chitosan-based TENG is fabricate by adding organic proteins as fillers. • Molecular polarizations in organic proteins boost the powder density. • The amino acid types and their concentration were proven to have the crucial role in triboelectric performance. • The biodegradability was confirmed at various weeks related to the output measurement of V OC and I SC .

Utility of 3T single-voxel proton MR spectroscopy for differentiating intracranial meningiomas from intracranial enhanced mass lesions.

BackgroundProton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides structural and metabolic information that is useful for the diagnosis of meningiomas with atypical radiological appearance. However, the metabolite that should be prioritized for the diagnosis of meningiomas has not been established.PurposeTo evaluate the differences between the metabolic peaks of meningiomas and other intracranial enhanced mass lesions (non-meningiomas) using MR spectroscopy in short echo time (TE) spectra and the most useful metabolic peak for discriminating between the groups.Material and MethodsThe study involved 9 meningiomas, 22 non-meningiomas, intracranial enhancing tumors and abscesses, and 15 normal controls. The ranking of the peak at 3.8 ppm, peak at 3.8 ppm/Creatine (Cr), β-γ Glutamine-Glutamate (bgGlx)/Cr, N-acetyl compounds (NACs)/Cr, choline (Cho)/Cr, lipid and/or lactate (Lip-Lac) at 1.3 ppm/Cr, and the presence of alanine (Ala) were derived. The metabolic peaks were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. ROC analysis was used to determine the cut-off values for differentiating meningiomas from non-meningiomas using statistically significant metabolic peaks.ResultsThe ranking of the peak at 3.8 ppm among all the peaks, peak at 3.8 ppm/Cr, bgGlx/Cr, Lip-Lac/Cr, and the presence of Ala discriminated meningiomas from non-meningiomas with moderate to high accuracy. The highest accuracy was 96.9% at a threshold value of 3 for the rank of the peak at 3.8 ppm.ConclusionA distinct elevated peak at 3.8 ppm, ranked among the top three highest peaks, allowed the detection of meningiomas.

Investigation of the phosphorene nano-sheet as a sensor for detecting aspartic-acid, alanine and glycine amino acids: A first principle study

In this study, we have theoretically investigated the application of phosphorene nano-sheet as a biosensor for detecting some amino acids such as alanine, glycine and aspartic-acid using density functional theory (DFT). The results of the electronic properties show that the phosphorene nano-sheet has a direct band gap of about 0.84 eV and the presence of alanine, glycine and aspartic-acid adsorbed on the surface of phosphorene reduces the band gap slightly. The charge transfer analysis between phosphorene nano-sheet and the amino acid molecules shows that aspartic-acid molecule acts as an electron donor, while alanine and glycine molecules act as electron acceptors. Our calculations demonstrate that there is a strong anisotropy in electron/hole effective mass mh*) mh*)along armchair and zigzag directions of pristine and molecular adsorbed phosphorene. This leads to a quenching of conductivity in the zigzag direction with respect to the armchair direction. Based on the changes of electron/hole effective mass of phosphorene under the influence of the adsorption of the amino acid molecules, we have suggested a phosphorene-based biosensor. This biosensor has the best sensibility and selectivity when measuring hole effective mass along the armchair direction. The maximum sensibility was found to be around 59.3% to aspartic acid molecule. Our findings confirm that phosphorene nano-sheet can be applied as a promising biosensor for detecting amino acid molecules.

Removal of Lead(II) from Aqueous Solution Using Triton X-114 in the Presence of Alanine or Phenylalanine as Biodegradable System

Abstract The Cloud Point Extraction (CPE) of Pb(II) ion, using Triton X-114/ alanine and Triton X-114/phenyalanine as biodegradable systems, was carried out. The experimental results are expressed by four responses to surfactant concentration, amino acid concentration and temperature variations: extent of solute extraction (E), remaining solute (Xm,w) and surfactant (Xt,w) concentrations in dilute phase and volume fraction of coacervate (}C) at equilibrium. An empirical smoothing method was used, where the results were represented on three dimensional plots using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) and the response surface methodology (RSM). High extraction efficiencies (94% with alanine and 98% with phenylalanine) are reached in optimal conditions. Thereby, solute concentration reduction in the dilute phase is about 4 and 12 times with alanine and phenylalanine, respectively. The pH effect is also studied. Finally, the possibility of recycling the surfactant/amino acid system by pH change is proved.

Red luminescence in europium fluoride – Holmium modified with alanine (EFHA) nanoparticles

Holmium doped EuF3 nanoparticles (EFHA) have been synthesised in presence of alanine using wet chemical method. EFHA nanoparticles belongs to hexagonal phase with a = b = 6.980 Å and c = 7.312 Å. The Debye-Scherer particle size from XRD analysis is 42.79 nm. SEM studies show formation of flakes like structures with granular size of about 14 nm. TEM analysis shows formation of assorted size nanoparticles consisting of hyperboloids, spear shaped structures and globular aggregates. The planes indicated by the SAED pattern remains confirmed from XRD analysis. Multiple peaks below 400 nm in UV –Vis spectra indicate formation of quantum dots. Comparative vibrational analysis of FTIR and FT-Raman has been carried out. PL spectra shows intense peak at 654 nm (red) due to 5D0 → 7F3 transition.

Differential Responses of Liver and Hypothalamus to the Nutritional Condition During Lactation and Adult Life.

It was previously reported that liver glucose metabolism in rats under caloric restriction differs from that of freely-fed rats. This study hypothesized that these changes (1) were related to the expression of hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in metabolic control, and (2) were not a residual effect of litter size. To those purposes, liver glucose metabolism and hypothalamic expression of the orexigenic neuropeptides NPY (neuropeptide Y) and AgRP (agouti gene-related peptide); and of the anorexigenic neuropeptides POMC (pro-opiomelanocortin) and CART (cocaine- and amphetamine-related transcripts) were investigated. Male Wistar rats from two different litter sizes (G6 and G12, with 6 or 12 pups, respectively) were subjected to free feeding (GL, ad libitum), 50% caloric restriction (GR) or caloric restriction+ad libitum refeeding (GRL) until the age of 90 days. Biometric values were lower in GR than in GL, while in GRL they were totally or partially recovered. Blood glucose variation during the pyruvate tolerance test (PTT) was small in GR. During in situ liver perfusion, total, basal, and adrenaline-stimulated liver glucose outputs were high in GR, but additional glucose output in the presence of alanine was negligible. Refeeding (GRL) yielded values close to those of GL. Litter size did not consistently influence any of these variables. The expression of transcripts of the hypothalamic neuropeptides was responsive to feeding regimen, litter size and/or their interaction and differed from G6 to G12, while the metabolic changes of the liver were qualitatively equal in both GR. Therefore, the changes in glucose metabolism in the liver of rats under caloric restriction were not determined by either litter size or hypothalamic neuropeptide expression and were linked only to the prevailing feeding regimen of the adult animal.

UV–vis spectroscopic method for the sensitive and selective detection of mercury by silver nanoparticles in presence of alanine

The present investigation reports highly specific and sensitive colorimetric method for the detection of mercuric ion from aqueous samples using silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Here, Ag NPs was synthesized by chemical reduction method, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as stabilizing agent. The particles were characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), particle size analyser and zeta sizer. The particles were found to be spherical in shape and polydispersed. The effective diameter and zeta potential were determined to be 6 ± 0.8 nm and −39.96 ± 4 mV respectively. The formation of NPs-alanine facilitated the detection of Hg(II) in nano-molar level. The NPs-alanine conjugate solution changed from brownish yellow to colourless with increase in concentration of Hg(II). A good linear relationship was found between absorbance at 398 nm and the Hg(II) concentrations range from 200 to 1000 nM. The paper and hydrogel based probe were developed and found to be highly specific towards the detection of Hg(II). The detection of Hg(II) ions was not influenced by other metal ions. The present investigation may be applied for the assay to detect mercury qualitatively and quantitatively from aqueous samples.

Methylglyoxal impairs β-adrenergic signalling in primary rat adipocytes

Methylglyoxal (MG) is dicarbonyl aldehyde generated intracellularly from glucose and from some other compounds. Its increased formation is associated with several harmful consequences. In the present study, short-term effects of MG on metabolism of isolated rat adipocytes were determined. Insulin-induced lipogenesis was unchanged by MG. However, epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis was shown to be significantly reduced in adipocytes exposed to 200 µM MG. This inhibitory effect was similar in the presence of low and high concentrations of glucose, and also in the presence of alanine. However, MG failed to affect lipolysis induced by forskolin (activator of adenylate cyclase), dibutyryl-cAMP (activator of PKA) and DPCPX (adenosine A1 receptor antagonist). It was also revealed that lipolysis was unchanged by MG in fat cells pre-incubated with this compound, and then stimulated with epinephrine alone. Our results suggest that MG may impair β-adrenergic signalling in rat adipocytes due to interaction with epinephrine, and thereby disturbs lipolysis.

Fluorescence Spectral Studies on the Interaction of Alanine and Valine with Resorcinol-Based Acridinedione Dyes in Aqueous Solution: A Comparative Study with Glycine.

Photophysical studies were carried out for simple amino acids like alanine and valine with resorcinol-based aqueous acridinedione (ADDR) dyes. ADDR dyes exhibit interesting excited-state characteristics on altering the substituents at the 9th and 10th sites (Scheme 1). The longest-wavelength absorption maxima remain the same on adding the amino acids to the fluorophore, whereas the excited-state behavior varies significantly mostly based on the nature of the substituent at the 9th position. The absence of fluorescence enhancement was observed with addition of β-alanine, l-alanine, and l-valine to ADDR1 dye (photoinduced electron transfer, PET), whereas addition of glycine exhibits enhancement accompanied with a shift toward a longer-wavelength region. Interestingly, the addition of amino acids to non-PET dyes results in a fluorescence quenching accompanied with a larger shift toward the shorter-wavelength region. The properties of fluorophore and nonfluorophore dyes in the presence of alanine or valine are found to be entirely different from those of glycine. The interaction of alanine with ADDR dyes is predominantly through H-bonding, but the structural aspects of H-bonding interactions of alanine and water are completely different from those of glycine and water. The time-correlated single-photon counting method portrays the existence of fluorophore in two distinguishable microenvironments in the presence of amino acids. The fluorescence spectral technique used as a tool in elucidating the mode of interaction of dye with neutral amino acids in aqueous solution is illustrated in the present study.

Alanine dehydrogenases in mycobacteria.

Since NAD(H)-dependent L-alanine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.4.1; Ald) was identified as one of the major antigens present in culture filtrates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, many studies on the enzyme have been conducted. Ald catalyzes the reversible conversion of pyruvate to alanine with concomitant oxidation of NADH to NAD+ and has a homohexameric quaternary structure. Expression of the ald genes was observed to be strongly upregulated in M. tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis grown in the presence of alanine. Furthermore, expression of the ald genes in some mycobacteria was observed to increase under respiration-inhibitory conditions such as oxygen-limiting and nutrient-starvation conditions. Upregulation of ald expression by alanine or under respiration-inhibitory conditions is mediated by AldR, a member of the Lrp/AsnC family of transcriptional regulators. Mycobacterial Alds were demonstrated to be the enzymes required for utilization of alanine as a nitrogen source and to help mycobacteria survive under respiration-inhibitory conditions by maintaining cellular NADH/NAD+ homeostasis. Several inhibitors of Ald have been developed, and their application in combination with respiration-inhibitory antitubercular drugs such as Q203 and bedaquiline was recently suggested.

The Most Commonly Seen Metabolites in Intracranial Space Occupying Lesions - A Prospective Study

Background: Intracranial space occupying lesions are defined as lesions occurring within the cranial vault, which can be intra-axial or extra-axial. Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy can be performed in 10 -15 minutes and combined with conventional imaging protocols. Thus MRS offers the possibility of not just visualization of the lesion but also biochemical characterization simultaneously. The present study was aimed at establishing the most commonly seen metabolites in the intracranial space occupying lesions. Methods: The present observational study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, Ananta Institute of medical science and research Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan, on a 1.5 Tesla Siemens MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING equipment and 3.0 TESLA MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING equipment. As reference standards, values of Cho/Cr > 1.5, NAA/Cr 0.8, Lactate >1.34, Lipids >1.4, Glutamate >2.5, Glutamine >2.38, Alanine >1.48 were taken as abnormal. Based on these the lesions were characterised as benign/ malignant and grades of malignancy was determined. The data was arranged in a tabulated version and analysed using SPSS software. Results: Mean Cho/ Cr ratio was high in gliomas, metastasis and meningiomas, while it was normal in DNETs and infections. Highest Mean Cho/Cr value was seen in metastasis (3.48). Abscesses showed presence of lactate, acetone and aminoacids peaks, while acetone and aminoacids were not seen in Tuberculosis or NCC. Lipid peaks were seen in 100% of the cases of Tuberculosis. Conclusions: From the above study, we can conclude that presence of alanine in 100% of meningiomas makes it a useful marker for these tumors. Tuberculomas showed intense signals from lipids, and hence could be separated from Neurocysticercal cysts.

Adaptation and validation of a commercial head phantom for cranial radiosurgery dosimetry end-to-end audit.

To adapt and validate an anthropomorphic head phantom for use in a cranial radiosurgery audit. Two bespoke inserts were produced for the phantom: one for providing the target and organ at risk for delineation and the other for performing dose measurements. The inserts were tested to assess their positional accuracy. A basic treatment plan dose verification with an ionization chamber was performed to establish a baseline accuracy for the phantom and beam model. The phantom and inserts were then used to perform dose verification measurements of a radiosurgery plan. The dose was measured with alanine pellets, EBT extended dose film and a plastic scintillation detector (PSD). Both inserts showed reproducible positioning (±0.5 mm) and good positional agreement between them (±0.6 mm). The basic treatment plan measurements showed agreement to the treatment planning system (TPS) within 0.5%. Repeated film measurements showed consistent gamma passing rates with good agreement to the TPS. For 2%-2 mm global gamma, the mean passing rate was 96.7% and the variation in passing rates did not exceed 2.1%. The alanine pellets and PSD showed good agreement with the TPS (-0.1% and 0.3% dose difference in the target) and good agreement with each other (within 1%). The adaptations to the phantom showed acceptable accuracies. The presence of alanine and PSD do not affect film measurements significantly, enabling simultaneous measurements by all three detectors. Advances in knowledge: A novel method for thorough end-to-end test of radiosurgery, with capability to incorporate all steps of the clinical pathway in a time-efficient and reproducible manner, suitable for a national audit.

Alanine Counteracts the Destabilizing Effect that Urea has on RNase-A.

It is generally believed that organisms use and accumulate methylamine osmolytes to prevent urea's damaging effect on protein stability and activity. However, urea-rich cells not only accumulate methylamines but also many other methylated and non-methylated compounds as well. But, so far it is not known whether osmolytes that are not accumulated in urea-rich cells could also confer urea-counteracting properties. We investigated the behavior of a non-methylamine osmolyte, alanine for its counteracting effect against urea denaturation of a model protein, ribonuclease A (RNase-A). We have measured structure and thermodynamic parameters (Tm, ΔHm, and ΔGD°) of RNase-A in the presence of alanine, urea and their combination. The results were also compared with the ability of glycine (osmolyte lacking one methyl group when compared with alanine) to counter urea's effect on protein stability. We observed that alanine but not glycine counteracts urea's harmful effect on RNase-A stability. The results indicated that alanine (in addition to methylamine osmolytes) may serve as an alternate urea-counteractant. Since glycine fails to protect RNase-A from urea's destabilizing effect, it seems that methylation to glycine might have some evolutionary significance to protect proteins against harmful effects of urea.

A single serine residue determines selectivity to monovalent metal ions in metalloregulators of the MerR family.

MerR metalloregulators alleviate toxicity caused by an excess of metal ions, such as copper, zinc, mercury, lead, cadmium, silver, or gold, by triggering the expression of specific efflux or detoxification systems upon metal detection. The sensor protein binds the inducer metal ion by using two conserved cysteine residues at the C-terminal metal-binding loop (MBL). Divalent metal ion sensors, such as MerR and ZntR, require a third cysteine residue, located at the beginning of the dimerization (α5) helix, for metal coordination, while monovalent metal ion sensors, such as CueR and GolS, have a serine residue at this position. This serine residue was proposed to provide hydrophobic and steric restrictions to privilege the binding of monovalent metal ions. Here we show that the presence of alanine at this position does not modify the activation pattern of monovalent metal sensors. In contrast, GolS or CueR mutant sensors with a substitution of cysteine for the serine residue respond to monovalent metal ions or Hg(II) with high sensitivities. Furthermore, in a mutant deleted of the Zn(II) exporter ZntA, they also trigger the expression of their target genes in response to either Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), or Co(II). Specificity in a stressor's recognition is essential for mounting an appropriate response. MerR metalloregulators trigger the expression of specific resistance systems upon detection of heavy metal ions. Two groups of these metalloregulators can be distinguished, recognizing either +1 or +2 metal ions, depending on the presence of a conserved serine in the former or a cysteine in the latter. Here we demonstrate that the serine residue in monovalent metal ion sensors excludes divalent metal ion detection, as its replacement by cysteine renders a pan-metal ion sensor. Our results indicate that the spectrum of signals detected by these sensors is determined not only by the metal-binding ligand availability but also by the metal-binding cavity flexibility.

Complex formation of cetirizine drug with bivalent transition metal(II) ions in the presence of alanine: synthesis, characterization, equilibrium studies, and biological activity studies

Mononuclear cobalt(II), nickel(II), and copper(II) complexes of cetirizine·2HCl (CTZ = 2-[2-[4-[(4-chlorophenyl)phenyl methyl]piperazine-1-yl]-ethoxy]acetic acid) in the presence of alanine (Ala) as a representative example of amino acids were synthesized and elucidated by different physical techniques. All complexes have been characterized with the help of elemental analyses, molecular weights, molar conductance values, magnetic moments, and spectroscopic data. The measured molar conductance values in DMSO indicate that the complexes are nonelectrolytes. Quantum chemical calculations were performed with semi-empirical method to find the optimum geometry of complexes. The metal–oxygen bond length in the synthesized complexes obeys the order M–OH2 > M–OCTZ > M–OAla. Formation equilibria of the ternary complexes have been investigated. Ternary complexes are formed by a simultaneous mechanism. Stoichiometry and stability constants for the complexes formed are reported. The concentration distributions of various species formed in solution were also evaluated as a function of pH. CTZ and its metal chelates have been screened for their antimicrobial activities against some selected types of gram-positive (G+) and gram-negative (G−) bacteria. They were more active against (G+) than (G−) bacteria.

Fermentative production of rice vinegar usingPichia kudriavzeiiandAcetobacter aceticultures

Rice vinegar was produced using two rice varieties; Basmati (PUSA 1121) and Parmal (PR 116) through submerged fermentation using Pichia kudriavzeii and Acetobacter aceti scaled up to 5 litres. The lab experiments utilizing 8% (w/v) ethanol wine produced 6.51% (w/v) acidity in 28 days for var. PUSA 1121 and 5.08% acetic acid in 25 days for var. PR 116. The scale-up fermentation (5 litres) yielded 5.10% acetic acid in 45 days with 70% recovery (PUSA 1121) and 4.86% (w/v) volatile acidity in 40 days with 74% recovery (PR 116). Elemental analysis (mg/l) showed fermented vinegar to contain Na (527.1 and 183.6), K (323.5 and 379.2), P (227.9 and 450.1), S (670.1 and 761.2), Zn (5.9 and 2.8) and Fe (9.5 and 6.5) for PUSA 1121 and PR 116 vinegar samples, respectively. Qualitatively analysis indicated presence of alanine, leucine, isoleucine, histidine and tryptophan amino acids in the two vinegars.

Ultraviolet radiation induces stress in etiolated Landoltia punctata, as evidenced by the presence of alanine, a universal stress signal: a ¹⁵N NMR study.

Analysis with (15) N NMR revealed that alanine, a universal cellular stress signal, accumulates in etiolated duckweed plants exposed to 15-min pulsed UV light, but not in the absence of UV irradiation. The addition of 10 mm vitamin C, a radical scavenger, reduced alanine levels to zero, indicating the involvement of free radicals. Free D-alanine was detected in (15) N NMR analysis of the chiral amino acid content, using D-tartaric acid as solvent. The accumulation of D-alanine under stress conditions presents a new perspective on the biochemical processes taking place in prokaryote and eukaryote cells.