Birgit Sehested Hansen

Flavour of sourdough wheat bread crumb

This study investigates the effect of adding sourdough to wheat bread dough on the production of flavour compounds in wheat bread crumb. The sourdoughs were fermented with starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria alone and in combination with sourdough yeasts. The volatile compounds in the bread crumb were isolated by a dynamic headspace technique and extraction analysis, analysed by gas chromatography (GC), and identified on the basis of GC retention times for reference compounds and mass spectrometry (MS). The chemical analyses were combined with sensory evaluation. The volume of the loaves increased significantly when the doughs had 5–20% sourdough added compared with the control bread (bread without sourdough). In the sourdough bread, the content of acetic acid, 2-methylpropanoic acid, and 3-methylbutanoic acid was generally higher, and loaves made with the addition of sourdoughs fermented withLactobacillus plantarum, L. delbrueckii, orL. sanfrancisco had a higher content of 2- or 3-methyl-1-butanol than control bread. Interactions were seen between the starter cultures and the sourdough yeasts, and the production of the following compounds was increased depending on the starter culture used and on the sourdough yeast: ethanol, 2-methylpropanol, 2/3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-phenylethanol, benzyl alcohol, acetic acid, 2-methylpropanoic acid, and 3-methylpropanoic acid. Bread made with an addition of 5% to 15% sourdough fermented withL. sanfrancisco had a pleasant, mild and sour odour and taste.L. plantarum bread had a strong, sour and unpleasant odour and a metallic sour taste with a sour aftertaste, but when the sourdough was also supplemented with the sourdough yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae, the bread attained a more aromatic wheat bread flavour, which may be caused, in part, by a higher content of 2/3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methylpropanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid and 2-phenylethanol.

Interleukin 1 dose-dependently affects the biosynthesis of (pro)insulin in isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

SummaryHuman crude and recombinant interleukin 1 (IL-1) was found to dose- and time-dependently affect the biosynthesis of (pro)insulin in isolated rat islets of Langerhans. Incubation of rat islets with either 0.5 U/ml or 5 U/ml of crude IL-1 for 1 h had no detectable effect on (pro)insulin biosynthesis. After 24 hours of exposure 0.5 U/ml of crude or 0.6 ng/ml of recombinant IL-1 (beta) increased the (pro)insulin biosynthesis by 42% and 58%, respectively, whereas a 10-fold greater concentration of IL-1 decreased the (pro)insulin biosynthesis by 74% and 89%, respectively. The increase in (pro)insulin biosynthesis was accompanied by an increase in total protein biosynthesis indicating a nonspecific stimulatory action of low IL-1 concentrations. In contrast, high IL-1 concentrations caused a more selective decrease of the (pro)insulin biosynthesis when compared to the total protein biosynthesis. In addition, low IL-1 concentrations were found to increase and high concentrations to decrease the relative levels of pre-proinsulin mRNA suggesting that IL-1 may act both at a pre- and post-translational level of insulin biosynthesis.

Islet Cytotoxicity of Interleukin 1: Influence of Culture Conditions and Islet Donor Characteristics

We recently demonstrated that the macrophage product interleukin 1 (IL-1) is cytotoxic to isolated pancreatic islets and hypothesized that IL-1 is responsible for β-cell destruction in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We studied whether the variation in IDDM preponderance with age, sex, and genetic background in vivo is reflected in different susceptibility to IL-1 toxicity of islets in vitro. In addition, we studied the effect of preculture conditions that support endocrine islet cell function and decrease nonendocrine passenger-cell survival on the susceptibility of β-cells to IL-1 because it is unknown whether IL-1 acts directly on β-cells or via passenger cells. No differences in susceptibility to various doses of IL-1-containing mononuclear cell supernatants were found between islets isolated from newborn or adult rats, male or female rats, or rats of four inbred strains, indicating that age, sex, and genetic background do not influence the susceptibility of the β-cell to IL-1. Preculture of islets for 1-7 days in normal atmosphere and preculture of islet clusters in 95% O2 to delete passenger cells did not affect IL-1-mediated cytotoxicity, suggesting that IL-1 acts directly on β-cells. Increasing the glucose concentration (22 mM) in the culture medium, which is known to protect β-cells against alloxan toxicity, reduced IL-1 toxicity. Five or 25% normal human serum as well as 5% normal rat serum, but not equivalent concentrations of human serum albumin, inhibited IL-1 toxicity, indicating the presence of IL-1 inhibitors, IL-1 antagonists, or β-cell-protecting factors in normal serum. The inhibitory action of serum could be counteracted by increasing the dose of IL-1.

Volatile compounds in wheat sourdoughs produced by lactic acid bacteria and sourdough yeasts

ZusammenfassungDer Gehalt flüchtiger Aromastoffe in Weizensauerteigen, mit 4 verschiedenen Starterkulturen desLactobacillus fermentiert, wurde mit dem Gehalt an flüchtigen Aromastoffen in chemisch gesäuerten Teigen verglichen. Sauerteige sowie chemisch gesäuerte Teige wurden außerdem mit Zugabe von 4 verschiedenen Sauerteighefen hergestellt, um den Einfluß einer Hefezugabe auf die Bildung von flüchtigen Aromastoffen zu untersuchen. Die flüchtigen Aromastoffe der Teige wurden durch eine dynamische Headspace-Technik isoliert, gaschromatographisch analysiert, und auf Grund von Retentionszeiten, Referenzstoffen und Massenspektrometrie identifiziert. Wenige flüchtige Aromastoffe wurden von den chemisch gesäuerten Teigen isoliert im Vergleich zu den Sauerteigen. Der Gehalt an flüchtigen Aromastoffen änderte sich mit der verwendeten Starterkultur. Der höchste Gehalt an Ethanol und Ethylacetat bildete sich in Sauerteigen mit heterofermentativen Kulturen, insbesondere bei der Kultur mitL. sanfrancisco. Neben Ethanol warn-Hexanol der dominierende Alkohol in sämtlichen Sauerteigen. Der Gehalt anderer Aromastoffe war gering. Bei den mit Sauerteighefen angesetzten Sauerteigen erhöhte sich die Anzahl und der Gehalt an Aromastoffen. Ein Höchstgehalt an Ethanol, 2-Methyl-1-Propanol und 2/3-Methyl-1-Butanol erwiesen sich in Sauerteigen mitS. cerevisiae, während der höchste Gehalt an Ethylacetat sich in mit dem Stamm A angesetzten Sauerteigen befand. Der Gehalt an Ester, außer Ethylacetat, war gering. Die Carbonyle Acetoin und Diacetyl bildeten sich in kleinen Mengen in Sauerteigen unter Zugabe von Stamm A.AbstractThe content of volatile compounds in wheat sourdoughs fermented with four different starter cultures of the genusLactobacillus was compared with those in chemically acidified doughs. Sourdoughs as well as chemically acidified doughs were also combined with four different sourdough yeasts to investigate the effect of adding yeasts on the production of volatiles. The volatile compounds in the doughs were isolated by a dynamic headspace technique, analysed by gas chromatography (GC), and identified on the basis of GC retention times for reference compounds and mass spectrometry. Few volatile compounds were identified in the chemically acidified doughs compared to the sourdoughs. The content of volatile compounds in the sourdoughs varied with the starter culture used. Ethanol and ethyl acetate were produced in the highest amounts in sourdoughs fermented with heterofermentative cultures, especiallyL. sanfrancisco. Apart from ethanol,n-hexanol was the dominating alcohol in all the sourdoughs. The content of other compounds was low. When sourdough yeasts were added to the sourdoughs, the number and amount of volatile compounds increased. The content of ethanol, 2-methyl-propanol and 2/3-methyl-1-butanol was highest in the sourdoughs with addedSaccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas the ethyl acetate content was highest in the sourdoughs with added strain A. The content of esters other than ethyl acetate was low. The carbonyls acetoin and diacetyl were produced in small amounts in the sourdoughs with the addition of strain A.

Identification and in Vivo and in Vitro Characterization of Long Acting and Melanocortin 4 Receptor (MC4-R) Selective α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone (α-MSH) Analogues

We report in vitro and in vivo data of new α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) analogues which are N-terminal modified with a long chain fatty acid derivative. While keeping the pharmacophoric motif (d-Phe-Arg-Trp) fixed, we tried to improve selectivity and physicochemical parameters like solubility and stability of these analogues by replacing amino acids further away from the motif. Receptor specific changes in binding affinity to the melanocortin receptors were observed between the acetyl derivatives and the fatty acid analogues. Furthermore, amino acids at the N-terminal of α-MSH (Ser-Tyr-Ser) not considered to be part of the pharmacophore were found to have an influence on the MC4/MC1 receptor selectivity. While the acetyl analogues have an in vivo effect for around 7 h, the long chain fatty acid analogues have an effect up to 48 h in an acute feeding study in male Sprague-Dawley rats after a single subcutaneous administration.

New approaches to therapy and diagnosis of diabetes

ConclusionNot only has recombinant DNA added another source of insulin for treatment, but also, and perhaps more important, it has allowed the development of new techniques for studying the structure and function of the B cell at the gene level. We can only hope that this information will bring us closer to the understanding of the disease, so the diabetic patient may benefit from other measures of treatment than the classical replacement therapy introduced by Banting and Best 60 years ago [47].