Ascorbic acid, a vitamin, is observed by in vivo 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of rat liver

Impact of Caffeine Consumption on Type 2 Diabetes-Induced Spatial Memory Impairment and Neurochemical Alterations in the Hippocampus

Diabetes affects the morphology and plasticity of the hippocampus, and leads to learning and memory deficits. Caffeine has been proposed to prevent memory impairment upon multiple chronic disorders with neurological involvement. We tested whether long-term caffeine consumption prevents type 2 diabetes (T2D)-induced spatial memory impairment and hippocampal alterations, including synaptic degeneration, astrogliosis, and metabolic modifications. Control Wistar rats and Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats that develop T2D were treated with caffeine (1 g/L in drinking water) for 4 months. Spatial memory was evaluated in a Y-maze. Hippocampal metabolic profile and glucose homeostasis were investigated by ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The density of neuronal, synaptic, and glial-specific markers was evaluated by Western blot analysis. GK rats displayed reduced Y-maze spontaneous alternation and a lower amplitude of hippocampal long-term potentiation when compared to controls, suggesting impaired hippocampal-dependent spatial memory. Diabetes did not impact the relation of hippocampal to plasma glucose concentrations, but altered the neurochemical profile of the hippocampus, such as increased in levels of the osmolites taurine (P < 0.001) and myo-inositol (P < 0.05). The diabetic hippocampus showed decreased density of the presynaptic proteins synaptophysin (P < 0.05) and SNAP25 (P < 0.05), suggesting synaptic degeneration, and increased GFAP (P < 0.001) and vimentin (P < 0.05) immunoreactivities that are indicative of astrogliosis. The effects of caffeine intake on hippocampal metabolism added to those of T2D, namely reducing myo-inositol levels (P < 0.001) and further increasing taurine levels (P < 0.05). Caffeine prevented T2D-induced alterations of GFAP, vimentin and SNAP25, and improved memory deficits. We conclude that caffeine consumption has beneficial effects counteracting alterations in the hippocampus of GK rats, leading to the improvement of T2D-associated memory impairment.

Sugars, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity in passion fruit (Passiflora) cultivars

BACKGROUND

The levels of sugars, ascorbic acid, total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA) were determined in fruit juices from seven passion fruit (Passiflora spp.) cultivars: P. edulis cultivars Purple, Frederick, Yellow, Pink, P. edulis f. flavicarpa, P. maliformis and P. quadrangularis (we also tested this cultivar's mesocarp).

RESULTS

Purple and Yellow P. edulis had significantly higher total sugar, 142.85 ± 0.17 g kg⁻¹ and 139.69 ± 0.12 g kg⁻¹, respectively, than other cultivars. Glucose and fructose content were higher in juice from vine-ripened fruits of Purple, Frederick and Yellow P. edulis, P. quadrangularis and P. maliformis. Sucrose content was significantly higher in juice of non-vine-ripened fruits of P. edulis (Pink) and P. edulis f. flavicarpa. Ascorbic acid, TPC and TAA were significantly higher in vine-ripened Purple and Yellow P. edulis; ranges were 0.22-0.33 g kg⁻¹, 342.80-382.00 mg gallic acid equivalent L⁻¹ and 409.13-586.70 µmol Trolox L⁻¹, respectively. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, the main variables - °Brix, total sugar, glucose, fructose, ascorbic acid, TPC and TAA - formed the characteristics for the group comprising Purple and Yellow P. edulis.

CONCLUSIONS

Glucose, fructose, sucrose, ascorbic acid, TAA and TPC were quantified in passion fruit juices. Variation of the above variables in juices of Passiflora depends on the cultivar and ripeness.

TOCCATA: a customized carbon total correlation spectroscopy NMR metabolomics database

A customized metabolomics NMR database, TOCCATA, is introduced, which uses (13)C chemical shift information for the reliable identification of metabolites, their spin systems, and isomeric states. TOCCATA, whose information was derived from the BMRB and HMDB databases and the literature, currently contains 463 compounds and 801 spin systems, and it can be used through a publicly accessible web server. TOCCATA allows the identification of metabolites in the submillimolar concentration range from (13)C-(13)C total correlation spectroscopy experiments of complex mixtures, which is demonstrated for an Escherichia coli cell lysate, a carbohydrate mixture, and an amino acid mixture, all of which were uniformly (13)C-labeled.

Influence of the cultivar on the organic acid and sugar composition of potatoes

BACKGROUND

Citric, malic, tartaric, oxalic, ascorbic, aconitic and fumaric acids, and sucrose, fructose and glucose, were determined in ten potato cultivars (Azucena negra, Bonita, Bonita negra, Borralla, Colorada de baga, Mora, Negra, Palmera lagarteada, Peluca blanca and Terrenta) from the Canary Islands in order to differentiate them. The influence of the production zone was also considered.

RESULTS

Citric acid and sucrose were the most abundant organic acid and sugar, respectively. There were significant differences in all the analysed sugars and organic acids between the potato cultivars, except for oxalic and malic acids. Differences associated with the production zone were found in the contents of organic acids for some cultivars. Linear discriminant analysis is a useful tool to differentiate the potato samples according to the cultivar and the zone of production.

CONCLUSIONS

Seven organic acids (citric, oxalic, malic, tartaric, aconitic, fumaric, and ascorbic acids) were identified and quantified in potatoes. The main sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) were also determined. The genetic information of the cultivars determines marked differences in sugars and organic acid contents among the analysed potato cultivars. The soil and climatic conditions affect the organic acid and sugar contents of some potato cultivars.

Molecular aspects of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a well known diagnostic tool in radiology that produces unsurpassed images of the human body, in particular of soft tissue. However, the medical community is often not aware that MRI is an important yet limited segment of magnetic resonance (MR) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as this method is called in basic science. The tremendous morphological information of MR images sometimes conceal the fact that MR signals in general contain much more information, especially on processes on the molecular level. NMR is successfully used in physics, chemistry, and biology to explore and characterize chemical reactions, molecular conformations, biochemical pathways, solid state material, and many other applications that elucidate invisible characteristics of matter and tissue. In medical applications, knowledge of the molecular background of MRI and in particular MR spectroscopy (MRS) is an inevitable basis to understand molecular phenomenon leading to macroscopic effects visible in diagnostic images or spectra. This review shall provide the necessary background to comprehend molecular aspects of magnetic resonance applications in medicine. An introduction into the physical basics aims at an understanding of some of the molecular mechanisms without extended mathematical treatment. The MR typical terminology is explained such that reading of original MR publications could be facilitated for non-MR experts. Applications in MRI and MRS are intended to illustrate the consequences of molecular effects on images and spectra.