Adequate comparisons of DNA and cDNA libraries from complex environments require methods for co-extraction of DNA and RNA due to the inherent heterogeneity of such samples, or risk bias caused by variations in lysis and extraction efficiencies. Still, there are few methods and kits allowing simultaneous extraction of DNA and RNA from the same sample, and the existing ones generally require opti...

Codium fragile and Chondrus crispus are, respectively, green and red seaweeds which are abundant along the North Atlantic coasts. We investigated the chemical composition and antiviral activity of enzymatic extracts of C. fragile (CF) and C. crispus (CC). On a dry weight basis, CF consisted of 11% protein, 31% neutral sugars, 0.8% sulfate, 0.6% uronic acids, and 49% ash, while CC contained 27% ...

In this article, we report on the use of miniaturized and automated enzymatic assays as an alternative technology for fast sugar and acid quantification in apples and tomatoes. Enzymatic assays for d-glucose, d-fructose, sucrose, D-sorbitol/xylitol, L-malic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, and L-glutamic acid were miniaturized from the standard 3 mL assays in cuvettes into assays of 200 microL...

Most reports on fruit antioxidant capacities are based on extraction of antioxidants using polar solvents. In banana, little is known about the fate of bioactive compounds during the digestion process, particularly in the food matrix under the gastric and intestinal conditions. In the present study, an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion method was used to simulate physiological conditions of t...

A comparative study of the proteolytic enzymes production using twelve Aspergillus strains previously unused for this purpose was performed by solid state fermentation. A semiquantitative and quantitative evaluation of proteolytic activity were carried out using crude enzymatic extracts obtained from the fermentation cultures, finding seven strains with high and intermediate level of protease a...

A vast majority of the studies addressing the free radicals including hydroxyl radical is a damage compound of biochemical molecules such as DNA, proteins and lipids. When free radicals specially hydroxyl radical are not adequately removed from the body, it may damage biological macromolecules, leading to a variety of disease occurs. Therefore, the body should be protected by an enzymatic or no...

Enzymes are remarkable catalysts that lie at the heart of biology, accelerating chemical reactions to an astounding extent with extraordinary specificity. Enormous progress in understanding the chemical basis of enzymatic transformations and the basic mechanisms underlying rate enhancements over the past decades is apparent. Nevertheless, it has been difficult to achieve a quantitative understa...

The green seaweed Enteromorpha prolifera was used as a feedstock for the production of enzymatic hydrolysate using cellulase. The selection of the conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis of the biomass was carried out for different enzyme doses and incubation periods. The obtained extract was examined in terms of its multielemental composition, content of polyphenols and antibacterial properties (t...

Life as we know it heavily relies on biological catalysis, in fact, in a very nonromantic version of it, life could be considered as a series of chemical reactions, regulated by the guarding principles of thermodynamics. In ancient times, a beating heart was a good sign of vitality, however, to me, it is actually the presence of active enzymes that counts… Though we do not usually pay attention...

BACKGROUND Nerium oleander L. (syn. Nerium indicum Mill, Nerium odorum Aiton) belongs to the family Apocynaceae. It is used for its anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer and hepatoprotective activities in traditional medicine. Previous pharmacognostic studies suggested that 70 % hydro-methanolic extracts of oleander possess potent free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory activities...