Several studies of hypertension have shown that dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has a blood pressure-lowering effect. In the present study, we investigated the effect of dietary ALA on endothelium-dependent vascular reactivity in six-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). At the end of the feeding period, systolic blood pressure in the ALA group was significantly lower than in the control group. There was no significant difference in endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant response between the two diet groups. There was also no significant inter-group difference in the vascular wall thickness and media-to-lumen ratio. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that the blood pressure-lowering mechanism of dietary ALA does not involve increased sensitivity to NO or a change the in vascular morphology of the aorta.

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The objective of this work was to determine some beneficial and bioactive minor lipid components in wheat germ and grape seeds as a result of milling industry of wheat and pressing of grapes in wineries. Sterylglycosides (SG’s) were isolated and fractionate into free and acylated SG’s by TLC and were determine as their1-anthroylnitriles (1-AN) by HPLC. Moreover, 4-desmethylsterols were isolated, derivatized into their trimethyl silyl derivatives and analyzed by GLC. Tocopherols and tocotrienols were directly analyzed by HPLC. In addition, fatty acids composition by GLC was accomplished. The results were compared to three conventional edible oils, namely, corn, sunflower and cottonseed. It was found that the wheat germ oil (WGO) and grape seed oil (GSO) contained reasonable amounts of whole sterols. Sterylglycosides fraction (SG), which have not been evaluated, it was found that the two by-products contained high amounts of SG’s and they were rich in free and acylated campe/stigma SG as well as free and acylated β-sito SG. Total tocopherols and tocotrienols components were found in very high amounts in WGO (1300 ppm) and GSO (380 ppm). It is noteworthy to mention that GSO contained significant amounts of alpha- and gamma-tocotrienols which prevent cardiovascular diseases and contained reasonable amounts of alpha- and gamma-tocopherols. On the other side, it was found that WG and GS oils were enrich in linoleic acid (omega-6), while linolenic acid (omega-3) was present in higher quantity in WGO.

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Structure of diglycerol monolaurate (abbreviated as C₁₂G₂) micelles in nonpolar oils cyclohexane and n-octane as a function of compositions, temperatures, and surfactant chain length has been investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The SAXS data were evaluated by the generalized indirect Fourier transformation (GIFT) method and real-space structural information of particles was achieved. Conventional poly(oxyethylene) type nonionic surfactants do not form reverse micelles in oils unless a trace water is added. However, present surfactant C₁₂G₂ formed reverse micelle (RM) in cyclohexane and n-octane without addition of water at normal room temperature. A clear signature of one dimensional (1-D) micellar growth was found with increasing C₁₂G₂ concentration. On the other hand, increasing temperature or hydrocarbon chain length of surfactant shorten the length of RM, which is essentially a cylinder-to-sphere type transition in the aggregate structure. Drastic changes in the structure of RM, namely, transition of ellipsoidal prolate to long rod-like micelles was observed upon changing oil from cyclohexane to octane. All the microstructural transitions were explained in terms of critical packing parameter.

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The formation of viscoelastic wormlike micelles in mixed amino acid surfactant/nonionic surfactant aqueous systems in the presence of different counterions and salts is reported, and the effects of the different electrolytes on the rheological behavior are discussed. N-dodecanoylglutamic acid (LAD) is neutralized with biologically relevant L-lysine and L-arginine to obtain anionic surfactants (LAD-Lys2, LAD-Arg2) which form aqueous micellar solutions at 25°C. Addition of a nonionic surfactant, tri-ethyleneglycol mono n-tetradecyl ether (C₁₄EO₃), to the aqueous solutions of both LAD-Lys2 and LAD-Arg2 causes the zero-shear viscosity (η₀) to increase with C₁₄EO₃ concentration gradually at first, and then sharply, indicating one-dimensional growth of the aggregates and eventual formation of entangled wormlike micelles. Further addition of C₁₄EO₃ ultimately leads to phase separation of liquid crystals. Such a phase separation, which limits the maximum attainable viscosity, takes place at lower C₁₄EO₃ concentrations for LAD-Lys2 compared to LAD-Arg2 systems.
   It was found that the rheological behavior of micellar solutions is significantly affected by the addition of Na⁺X^- salts (X = Cl^-, Br^-, I^-, NO₃^-). The maximum viscosities obtained for the systems with added salt are all higher than that of the salt-free system, and the onset of wormlike micelle formation shift towards lower nonionic surfactant concentrations upon addition of electrolyte. The maximum attainable thickening effect of anions increases in the order NO₃^->I^->Br^->Cl^-.
   The effect of temperature was also investigated. Phase separation takes place at certain temperature, which depends on the type of anion in the added salt, and decreases in the order I^->NO₃^->Br^-≈Cl^-, in agreement with Hofmeister’s series in terms of amphiphile solubility. The thermoresponsive rheological behavior was also found to be highly dependent on the type of anion, and anomalous trends, i.e. viscosity increase with temperature, were observed for all anions except Br^-.

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We examined the effects of temperature on the rheological behavior of worm-like micelles in a nonionic surfactant system consisting of polyoxyethylene (10) phytosterol (PhyEO₁₀)/glyceryl monocaprylate (GFA-C₈)/Water. First, the phase diagram of a PhyEO₁₀/GFA-C₈/Water system was examined when the weight ratio, R, of GFA-C₈ to the total surfactants was changed keeping the total concentration of the surfactants at 5 wt%. The formation of worm-like micelles was confirmed over a wide temperature range. Next, the effect of temperature on the rheological properties of the worm-like micelles was examined. From steady-flow viscosity measurements of the worm-like micelles, it was found that the zero-shear viscosity (η₀) gave a maximum value more than 1,000 times greater than the minimum value in the temperature range 20 - 50°C. Further, the temperature at which the maximum η₀ was observed decreased with increasing R value. These results indicate that there is an optimal temperature at which the entanglement of worm-like micelles is at its greatest. From dynamic viscoelasticity measurements, it was shown that the viscoelastic behavior observed for the worm-like micelles was consistent with the Maxwell model, which is the basic model for a viscoelastic body. In addition, the plateau modulus (G₀), which reflects the volume fraction of entangled worm-like micelles, gradually increased with increasing temperature, while the relaxation time (τ), which reflects the disentanglement time of the worm-like micelles, rapidly decreased with increasing temperature. From these results, it was clarified that, for a nonionic worm-like micelle, τ influences the change in η₀ more strongly than G₀.

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The present study investigates (1) ozone treatment, (2) adsorption treatment using activated carbon treatment, and (3) ozone treatment with activated carbon for their efficacy in removing 17β-estradiol (E2) present in an aqueous solution. Both ozone and activated carbon treatments for 20 min were effective in removing E2 (initial concentration, 100 mg/L). However, both treatments have been used for two processes, and the disposal time with these treatments is more than that of another treatment. In this study, ozone treatment with activated carbon was investigated with regard to the percentage of E2 removal, pH, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The physical and chemical characteristics of the activated carbon surface were modified due to the ozone treatment: the surface was oxidized by ozone. The surface of activated carbon exhibited polarity groups and became porous after ozone treatment. The amount of E2 adsorbed onto the ozone-treated activated carbon surface was similar to that adsorbed onto the untreated activated carbon surface. The percentage of E2 removal by ozone treatment with activated carbon was greater than that by ozone treatment alone. Moreover, the rate of E2 removal by ozone treatment with activated carbon was higher than that by ozone or activated carbon treatments alone. Ozone with activated carbon treatment may be used for the removal of E2. However, this ozone treatment for the degradation of E2 may have a greater COD than that in the case of activated carbon treatment alone.

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Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common liver disease. NASH is characterized by fatty liver, along with inflammation. Most people with NASH are not aware of their condition, even though NASH can lead to hepatic cirrhosis. Several approaches have been tested to clarify the pathology of NASH. However, the mechanism of onset of NASH was not well-defined. In this study, a supervised multivariate analysis (principal component analysis) approach using direct matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (dMALDI-MS) was applied to the analysis of metabolites in starvation-induced fatty liver tissue sections. This approach does not require complex pretreatments. We investigated the characteristic dynamics of metabolites in fatty liver. This approach can be applied to the analysis of human biopsy specimens of fatty liver in future studies.

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