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Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health
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Mackerel and Seaweed Burger as a Functional Product for Brain and Cognitive Aging Prevention
Publication . Cardoso, Carlos; Valentim, Jorge; Gomes, Romina; Matos, Joana; Rego, Andreia; Coelho, Inês; Delgado, Inês; Motta, Carla; Castanheira, Isabel; Prates, José A.M.; Bandarra, Narcisa M.; Afonso, Cláudia; DQ - Departamento de Química; MEtRICS - Centro de Engenharia Mecânica e Sustentabilidade de Recursos; MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Most world countries are experiencing a remarkable aging process. Meanwhile, 50 million people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementia and there is an increasing trend in the incidence of these major health problems. In order to address these, the increasing evidence suggesting the protective effect of dietary interventions against cognitive decline during aging may suggest a response to this challenge. There are nutrients with a neuroprotective effect. However, Western diets are poor in healthy n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), iodine (I), and other nutrients that may protect against cognitive aging. Given DHA richness in chub mackerel (Scomber colias), high vitamin B9 levels in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), and I abundance in the seaweed Saccorhiza polyschides, a functional hamburger rich in these nutrients by using these ingredients was developed and its formulation was optimized in preliminary testing. The effects of culinary treatment (steaming, roasting, and grilling vs. raw) and digestion on bioaccessibility were evaluated. The hamburgers had high levels of n-3 PUFAs in the range of 42.0–46.4% and low levels of n-6 PUFAs (6.6–6.9%), resulting in high n-3/n-6 ratios (>6). Bioaccessibility studies showed that the hamburgers could provide the daily requirements of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + DHA with 19.6 g raw, 18.6 g steamed, 18.9 g roasted, or 15.1 g grilled hamburgers. Polyphenol enrichment by the seaweed and antioxidant activity were limited. The hamburgers contained high levels of Se and I at 48–61 μg/100 g ww and 221–255 μg/100 g ww, respectively. Selenium (Se) and I bioaccessibility levels were 70–85% and 57–70%, respectively, which can be considered high levels. Nonetheless, for reaching dietary requirements, considering the influence of culinary treatment and bioaccessibility, 152.2–184.2 g would be necessary to ensure daily Se requirements and 92.0–118.1 g for I needs.
Partial replacement of concentrate in the lactating ewe's diet with silages of agro-industrial by-products
Publication . Jerónimo, Eliana; Cachucho, Liliana; Alves, Helder; Guerreiro, Olinda; Paulos, Kátia; Costa, Cláudia; Costa, João; Gomes, Sandra; Alvarenga, Nuno; Alves, Susana P.; Bessa, Rui J. B.; Santos-Silva, José; Dentinho, Maria Teresa P.; GeoBioTec - Geobiociências, Geoengenharias e Geotecnologias; Elsevier BV
The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of concentrate feed with mixed ingredient silages (MIS) produced with agro-industrial by-products in the diets of lactating ewes on the body weight of ewes, growth performance of suckling lambs, composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk, and serum metabolites of the ewe. After lambing, 54 lactating ewes and their lambs were distributed to one of the following experimental diets (18 ewes/diet): C – concentrate diet; SPBG – concentrate and silage containing 200 g/kg sweet potato, 500 g/kg brewers grains and 300 g/kg alfalfa hay; and AHBG – concentrate and silage containing 200 g/kg almond hulls, 600 g/kg brewers grains and 200 g/kg alfalfa hay. Hay was provided ad libitum in all diets. In both silage diets (SPBG and AHBG) the concentrate and silage constitute 33.3 and 66.6 % DM of the diet, respectively. Every day, the ewes received the same amount of the diet, which was completely consumed. Lambs were weighed at birth and weekly during the 8 weeks of trial. In the last 4 weeks of the trial, individual milk samples were collected weekly and then pooled per each ewe for chemical analysis. At the end of the trial, a blood sample was collected from the ewes to analyse serum metabolites. SPBG and AHBG silage showed pH values of 4.00 and 4.29, respectively. Total N as NH3-N and as soluble-N varied from 3.23 to 5.23 and from 348 to 354 g/kg total N, respectively. The animals well accepted the silages. Partial replacement of concentrate with silage of agro-industrial by-products in lactating ewe diets did not affect the growth performance of suckling lambs and the composition of milk. Both silage dietary treatments changed the milk FA composition, reducing the short-chain FA (6:0–14:0), branched-chain FA, and 18:1 trans-10, and increasing the saturated FA 16:0, 18:0, 20:0, 22:0, 23:0 and 24:0 and 18:1 trans-11. Regarding serum metabolites, silage diets increased the urea concentration and decreased the β-hydroxybutyrate concentration. Results showed that ensiling is a good approach to preserving sweet potato, almond hulls, and brewers grains, producing a good quality feed that can be introduced to diets of lactating ewes without compromising animal performance.
Structure-function studies can improve binding affinity of cohesin-dockerin interactions for multi-protein assemblies
Publication . Duarte, Marlene; Alves, Victor D.; Correia, Márcia; Caseiro, Catarina; Ferreira, Luís M. A.; Romão, Maria João; Carvalho, Ana Luísa; Najmudin, Shabir; Bayer, Edward A.; Fontes, Carlos M. G. A.; Bule, Pedro; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; DQ - Departamento de Química; Elsevier
The cellulosome is an elaborate multi-enzyme structure secreted by many anaerobic microorganisms for the efficient degradation of lignocellulosic substrates. It is composed of multiple catalytic and non-catalytic components that are assembled through high-affinity protein-protein interactions between the enzyme-borne dockerin (Doc) modules and the repeated cohesin (Coh) modules present in primary scaffoldins. In some cellulosomes, primary scaffoldins can interact with adaptor and cell-anchoring scaffoldins to create structures of increasing complexity. The cellulosomal system of the ruminal bacterium, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, is one of the most intricate described to date. An unprecedent number of different Doc specificities results in an elaborate architecture, assembled exclusively through single-binding-mode type-III Coh-Doc interactions. However, a set of type-III Docs exhibits certain features associated with the classic dual-binding mode Coh-Doc interaction. Here, the structure of the adaptor scaffoldin-borne ScaH Doc in complex with the Coh from anchoring scaffoldin ScaE is described. This complex, unlike previously described type-III interactions in R. flavefaciens, was found to interact in a dual-binding mode. The key residues determining Coh recognition were also identified. This information was used to perform structure-informed protein engineering to change the electrostatic profile of the binding surface and to improve the affinity between the two modules. The results show that the nature of the residues in the ligand-binding surface plays a major role in Coh recognition and that Coh-Doc affinity can be manipulated through rational design, a key feature for the creation of designer cellulosomes or other affinity-based technologies using tailored Coh-Doc interactions.
Ageing affects the CD4+ T cell polarization and mucosal tropism induced by TLR2/TLR4-activated dendritic cells
Publication . Zúquete, Sara; Ferreira, Mariana; Delgado, Inês L.S.; Rosa, Maria Teresa; Mendes, Ana Catarina; Santos, Dulce; Nolasco, Sofia; Graca, Luis; Leitão, Alexandre; Basto, Afonso P.; Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT); Oxford University Press
Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 activation induces aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes in nonmucosal dendritic cells (DCs) enabling them to metabolize vitamin A into all-trans retinoic acid, which induces the expression of mucosal homing molecules (α4β7 and CCR9) in the activated T cells. Recently, we have shown that the simultaneous activation of nonmucosal DCs through TLR2 and TLR4 maintains such capacity while reinforcing the polarization of primed CD4+ T cells towards Th1. Here, we observed that TLR2/TLR4 stimulation of aged DCs leads to the production of less TNFα and more IL-10 and that CD4+ T cells primed by those DCs express lower levels of the mucosal homing receptor CCR9 and produce less type-1 (IFNγ) and more type-2 (IL-4 and IL-13) cytokines. These results emphasize the importance of considering the age-related alterations in DC function when developing novel immunomodulation strategies that rely on the DC-T cell crosstalk through stimulation of pattern recognition receptors.
Influence of cooking methods and storage time on colour, texture, and fatty acid profile of a novel fish burger for the prevention of cognitive decline
Publication . Valentim, Jorge; Afonso, Cláudia; Gomes, Romina; Gomes-Bispo, Ana; Prates, José A.M.; Bandarra, Narcisa M.; Cardoso, Carlos; DQ - Departamento de Química; MEtRICS - Centro de Engenharia Mecânica e Sustentabilidade de Recursos; Elsevier
Western diets are poor in healthy n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), namely eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), iodine (I), and other nutrients that may protect against cognitive ageing. Given DHA richness in chub mackerel (Scomber colias), high vitamin B9 levels in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), and I abundance in the seaweed Saccorhiza polyschides, a functional hamburger rich in these nutrients by using these ingredients was developed. This research focused on the factors affecting its quality by examining the impact of cooking (steaming at 100 °C, roasting at 180 °C, grilling at 180 °C) and storage time (after 4 and 6 months at −20 °C) upon the product's properties. Cooking treatments were found to influence the burger's colour and texture, whereas storage duration impacted FA levels and the polyene index. Cooked burgers presented lighter (L*, 45.1–55.0 vs 36.9 ± 2.4) and more yellow colouration (b*, 15.8–17.8 vs 13.6 ± 1.0) than raw burgers. Cooked burgers also exhibited higher textural values across various parameters than their raw versions. Grilled burgers (excluding initial time) were firmer (50.0 ± 5.1 N) than those cooked otherwise (37.0–39.9 N). Regarding FA levels, a decrease in DHA was recorded after four months (21.8–23.0% vs 26.4–30.6%). The polyene index followed a similar trajectory, declining from 2.6 to 3.6 initially to 1.8–1.9 in the fourth month. Hence, the studied mackerel burger could be a promising source of EPA, DHA, and other n-3 PUFAs in human diets, optimally with a frozen storage duration of fewer than four months to preserve nutritional integrity.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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6817 - DCRRNI ID
Número da atribuição
UIDB/00276/2020