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Pectins
Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galacturonic acid (a sugar acid derived from galactose) which was isolated and described by Henri Braconnot in 1825. Commercially produced pectin is a white-to-light-brown powder, produced from citrus fruits for use as an edible gelling agent, especially in jams and jellies, dessert fillings, medications, and sweets; as a food stabiliser in fruit juices and milk drinks, and as a source of dietary fiber. Biology Pectin is composed of complex polysaccharides that are present in the primary cell walls of a plant, and are abundant in the green parts of terrestrial plants. Pectin is the principal component of the middle lamella, where it binds cells. Pectin is deposited by exocytosis into the cell wall via vesicles produced in the Golgi apparatus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Middle Lamella
The middle lamella is a layer that cements together the primary cell walls of two adjoining plant cells. It is the first formed layer to be deposited at the time of cytokinesis. The cell plate that is formed during cell division itself develops into middle lamella or lamellum. The middle lamella is made up of calcium and magnesium pectates. In a mature plant cell it is the outermost layer of cell wall. In plants, the pectins form a unified and continuous layer between adjacent cells. Frequently, it is difficult to distinguish the middle lamella from the primary wall, especially in cells that develop thick secondary walls. In such cases, the two adjacent primary walls and the middle lamella, and perhaps the first layer of the secondary wall of each cell, may be called a compound middle lamella. When the middle lamella is degraded by enzymes, as happens during fruit ripening and abscission, the adjacent cells will separate.Raven P. H., Johnson G. B. (2001): Biology. McGraw-Hill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber (fibre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition and can be grouped generally by their solubility, viscosity and Fermentation#Biological role, fermentability which affect how fibers are processed in the body. Dietary fiber has two main subtypes: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber which are components of plant-based foods such as legumes, whole grains, cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nut (fruit), nuts or seeds. A diet high in regular fiber consumption is generally associated with supporting health and lowering the risk of several diseases. Dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides and other plant components such as cellulose, resistant starch, resistant dextrins, inulins, lignins, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides. Food sources of dietary fiber have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Pectinesterase
Pectinesterase (EC 3.1.1.11; systematic name pectin pectylhydrolase) is a ubiquitous cell-wall-associated enzyme that presents several isoforms that facilitate plant cell wall modification and subsequent breakdown. It catalyzes the following reaction: :pectin + ''n'' H2O = ''n'' methanol + pectate It is found in all higher plants as well as in some bacteria and fungi. Pectinesterase functions primarily by altering the localised pH of the cell wall resulting in alterations in cell wall integrity. Pectinesterase catalyses the de-esterification of pectin into pectate and methanol. Pectin is one of the main components of the plant cell wall. In plants, pectinesterase plays an important role in cell wall metabolism during fruit ripening. In plant bacterial pathogens such as ''Erwinia carotovora'' and in fungal pathogens such as ''Aspergillus niger'', pectinesterase is involved in maceration and soft-rotting of plant tissue. Plant pectinesterases are regulated by pectinesterase in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
NOD Mice
Non-obese diabetic or NOD mice, like biobreeding rats, are used as an animal model for type 1 diabetes. Diabetes develops in NOD mice as a result of insulitis, a leukocytic infiltrate of the pancreatic islets. The onset of diabetes is associated with a moderate glycosuria and a non-fasting hyperglycemia. It is recommended to monitor for development of glycosuria from 10 weeks of age; this can be carried out using urine glucose dipsticks. NOD mice will develop spontaneous diabetes when left in a sterile environment. The incidence of spontaneous diabetes in the NOD mouse is 60–80% in females and 20–30% in males. Onset of diabetes also varies between males and females: commonly, onset is delayed in males by several weeks. The mice (as well as C57BL/6 and SJL) are known to carry IgG2c allele. History Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice exhibit a susceptibility to spontaneous development of autoimmune insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The NOD strain and related strains wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the Plant stem, stem. It is able to twist the leaf to face the sun, producing a characteristic foliage arrangement (spacing of blades), and also optimizing its exposure to sunlight. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in some species are called stipules. The terms wikt:petiolate, petiolate and wikt:apetiolate, apetiolate are applied respectively to leaves with and without petioles. Description The petiole is a stalk that attaches a leaf to the plant stem. In petiolate leaves the leaf stalk may be long (as in the leaves of celery and rhubarb), or short (for example basil). When completely absent, the blade attaches directly to the stem and is said to be Sessility (botany), sessile or apetiolate. Subpetiolate leaves have an extremely short petiole, and may appear sessile. The broomrape family Orobanchaceae is an example of a family in which the leaves are always sessile. In some other plant group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen. Generally, the term "deciduous" means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful" and the "falling away after its purpose is finished". In plants, it is the result of natural processes. "Deciduous" has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer, deciduous teeth (baby teeth) in some mammals (including humans); or decidua, the uterine lining that sheds off after birth. Botany In botany and horticulture, deciduous plants, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, are those that lose all of their Leaf, leaves for part of the year. This process is called abscission. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Diet
Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss or gain * Healthy diet, the process of helping to maintain or improve overall health Politics *Diet (assembly), a formal deliberative assembly Current * National Diet, Japan's bicameral legislature, in its current form since 1947, composed of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors * Landtag, a diet of states and provinces in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol in Italy, and the national parliament of Liechtenstein * Bundestag (''Deutscher Bundestag''), the lower house of Germany's Parliament, was established in West Germany in 1949, and all of Germany in 1990 Historical * Diet of Finland, the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 * Diet of Hungary, the legislative assembly of the Kingdom of Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- and Micronutrient, micro-) which can be Metabolism, metabolized to create Food energy, energy and chemical structures; too much or too little of an essential nutrient can cause malnutrition. Nutritional science, the study of nutrition as a hard science, typically emphasizes human nutrition. The type of organism determines what nutrients it needs and how it obtains them. Organisms obtain nutrients by consuming organic matter, consuming inorganic matter, absorbing light, or some combination of these. Some can produce nutrients internally by consuming basic elements, while some must consume other organisms to obtain pre-existing nutrients. All forms of life require carbon, Biological thermodynamics, energy, and water as well as various other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Large Intestine
The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being removed by defecation. The Colon (anatomy), colon (progressing from the ascending colon to the transverse colon, transverse, the descending colon, descending and finally the sigmoid colon) is the longest portion of the large intestine, and the terms "large intestine" and "colon" are often used interchangeably, but most sources define the large intestine as the combination of the cecum, colon, rectum, and anal canal. Some other sources exclude the anal canal. In humans, the large intestine begins in the right iliac region of the pelvis, just at or below the waist, where it is joined to the end of the small intestine at the cecum, via the ileocecal valve. It then continues as the colon ascending colon, ascending the abdomen, across t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a light, Volatility (chemistry), volatile, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odor similar to that of ethanol (potable alcohol), but is more acutely toxic than the latter. Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced through destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. Methanol consists of a methyl group linked to a polar hydroxyl group. With more than 20 million tons produced annually, it is used as a Precursor (chemistry), precursor to other commodity chemicals, including formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl tert-butyl ether, methyl ''tert''-butyl ether, methyl benzoate, anisole, peroxyacids, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Short-chain Fatty Acid
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are fatty acids of two to six carbon atoms. The SCFAs' lower limit is interpreted differently, either with one, two, three or four carbon atoms. Derived from intestine, intestinal microbe, microbial fermentation of indigestible foods, SCFAs in human gut are acetic, propionic and butyric acid. They are the main energy source of colonocytes, making them crucial to gastrointestinal health. SCFAs all possess varying degrees of water solubility, which distinguishes them from longer chain fatty acids that are immiscible. List of SCFAs Functions SCFAs are produced when dietary fiber is fermented in the Colon (anatomy), colon. Macronutrient composition (carbohydrate, protein or fat) of diets affects circulating SCFAs. Acetate, propionate and butyrate are the three most common SCFAs. Butyric acid, Butyrate is particularly important for large intestine, colon health because it is the primary energy source for Gastrointestinal tract#Mucosa, colonocytes (the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
