Catalase Assay Kit

Reducing the feed conversion ratio (FCR) in pigs during the grower-finisher phase is crucial for improving the herd's economy, while also reducing nutrient excretion and carbon footprint. Therefore, understanding the biological factors contributing to FCR is important. In this study, sixty grower-finisher gilts were divided between three dietary treatments and fed a low (LCP; 148 g CP/kg), standard (SCP; 152 g CP/kg), or high (HCP; 158 g CP/kg) crude protein (CP) diet from 30 to 115 kg of body weight, for a period of 10 weeks. Feed intake and weight were measured individually. Within each diet, pigs were categorized based on their FCR during the final four growing weeks as the 30 % highest (high FCR), medium 40 %, and 30 % lowest (low FCR). The pigs categorized as low and high FCR were euthanized at 20 weeks of age where pancreatic as well as small (SI) and large intestinal samples were collected, and subsequently subjected to an analysis of enzyme activity and morphological characteristics. Differences with respect to enzyme activity in low compared with high FCR pigs included lower (P = 0.05) trypsin activity, and greater (P = 0.02) alanine aminotransferase activity. There was a tendency for a diet and FCR interaction with respect to aspartate aminotransferase (P = 0.06) and lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.08) activity. In addition, differences in gut morphology between low and high FCR pigs were found, where a thinner (P = 0.04) caecal muscular layer and a tendency (P = 0.07) for shorter distal SI villous height were observed in the low FCR pigs. In conclusion, the results indicate a possible link between the level of feed efficiency of grower-finisher gilts and their pancreatic enzyme activity.

This study explored the effect of geographical and floral origins on the antioxidant activities of Saudi honey samples related to their content of short peptides originated from honeybee proteins. The studied antioxidants were the total protein concentration, catalase activity, phenolic acids and flavonoids. The antioxidant activity assays included were the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and Ascorbic acid Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (AEAC). The studied honey samples were obtained from the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia, namely Asir (65) and Jazan (25). The floral origins of the honey samples were Acacia (51), Ziziphus (4) and polyfloral (35). The LC/MS technique was used to detect the short peptides and the mascot database was used to identify the short peptides, their precursor proteins and the protease enzymes that produce them. Jazan honey was characterized by high number of short peptides. The short peptides were originated from honeybee proteins by the action of proteases from the honeybees and bacteria. The antioxidant activity of the honey samples increase with the increase of their content of short peptides and proteins. The amino acids type and sequence of the short peptides qualify them to act as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertension, immunomodulatory and cholesterol lowering peptides.

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are highly sensitive to elevated temperatures, and rising global temperatures threaten bean production. Plants at the reproductive stage are especially susceptible to heat stress due to damage to male (anthers) and female (ovary) reproductive tissues, with anthers being more sensitive to heat. Heat damage promotes early tapetal cell degradation, and in beans this was shown to cause male infertility. In this study, we focus on understanding how changes in leaf carbon export in response to elevated temperature stress contribute to heat-induced infertility. We hypothesize that anther glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity plays an important role at elevated temperature and promotes thermotolerance. To test this hypothesis, we compared heat-tolerant and susceptible common bean genotypes using a combination of phenotypic, biochemical, and physiological approaches. Our results identified changes in leaf sucrose export, anther sugar accumulation and G6PDH activity and anther H₂O₂ levels and antioxidant-related enzymes between genotypes at elevated temperature. Further, anther respiration rate was found to be lower at high temperature in both bean varieties. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that enhanced male reproductive heat tolerance involves changes in the anther oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, which supplies reductants to critical H₂O₂ scavenging enzymes.

Cellulose valorisation has been successfully addressed for years. However, the use of hemicellulosic hydrolysates is limited due to the presence of C5-sugars and inhibitors formed during pretreatment. Bacillus coagulans is one of the few bacteria able to utilize both C6- and C5-sugars to produce l-lactic acid, but its susceptibility to the lignocellulosic inhibitors needs further investigation. For such a purpose, the tolerance of different B. coagulans strains to increasing concentrations of inhibitors is studied. The isolated A162 strain reached the highest l-lactic acid productivity in all cases (up to 2.4 g L⁻¹  h⁻¹), even in presence of 5 g L⁻¹ of furans and phenols. Remarkably, most of furans and phenolic aldehydes were removed from defined media and hemicellulosic gardening hydrolysate after fermentation with A162. Considering the high productivities and the biodetoxifying effect attained, A162 could be pointed out as a great candidate for valorisation of mixed sugars from hemicellulosic hydrolysates with high inhibitors concentration, promoting the implementation of lignocellulosic biorefineries.