Maize is the most productive and highest value commodity crop in the U.S. and around the world: over 1 billion tons were produced each year in 2013 and 2014 (FAO, 2016). Together, maize, rice, and wheat comprise over 60% of the world’s caloric intake (http://www.fao.org). The importance of maize in terms of production and caloric intake is not a recent development. In fact, Native Americans hav...

Plants have duplicate versions of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (oxPPP) enzymes with a subset localized to the chloroplast. The chloroplast oxPPP provides NADPH and pentose sugars for multiple metabolic pathways. This study identified two loss-of-function alleles of the Zea mays (maize) chloroplast-localized oxPPP enzyme 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH). These mutations caused...

The effect of spent engine oil (SEO) on soil properties and growth of maize (Zea mays L.) was investigated. Five treatments (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 l/kg) of the spent oil were applied to soil in perforated poly bags with maize stands at four weeks after sowing. Soil analysis showed that SEO had no effect on both the pH and texture of the soil. Organic C, N and Mg in the contaminated soils i...

Maize with high grain protein and oil contents offers great advantages for human food and animal feed. In this study, grain protein contents of 282 and 263 F7:8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of 2 crosses were evaluated in 4 environments within and between populations. The RILs were developed from crosses between an inbred high-oil maize line and 2 normal dent inbred maize lines. A total of 16...

Female weanling rats in three equal groups (n 12) were given orally by intubation 1 ml micellar solution of taurocholic acid (10 mM) and either arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6), linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) or eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3) at a concentration of 120 mM. After 1 h the rats were given intragastrically 2 ml absolute ethanol and were killed 1 h later. Rats given oral 20:4 n-6 showed a sig...

Controversies have emerged regarding the beneficial v. detrimental effects of dietary n-6 PUFA. The alteration of the intestinal microbiota, a phenomenon termed dysbiosis, occurs during several chronic inflammatory diseases, but has not been well studied in an aged population. With present ‘Western’ diets predominantly composed of n-6 PUFA, we hypothesised that PUFA-rich diets cause intestinal ...

Maize oil is high in polyunsaturated fat, which is a heart-healthy fat, and low in saturated fat. Extraction of oils from oilseeds is a key step for their commercialization. The extraction process has a direct effect on the quality and quantity of protein and oils obtained. Various methods like cold pressing, solvent, super-critical fluid and aqueous extractions are in practice for oilseed extr...

The rural population in many parts of India consumes sorghum (Jowar) and maize as staple food. The flour made out of these cereals is consumed after cooking or baking on a pan with or without oil. The present study was undertaken in two groups of healthy human volunteers. Each subject of first group consumed ground unrefined sorghum (100g) daily as supper for three weeks in the form of pancake....