Perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt.) is a popular food as well as a traditional medicine in Japan, China, and other Asian countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of perilla on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation in vitro and in human subjects. We compared the antioxidant activities of red perilla and green perilla. Both green and red perilla had high 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities and were abundant in polyphenol compounds. In addition, the radical scavenging activity and polyphenol content of red perilla were higher than those of green perilla. Perilla dramatically inhibited azo-radical-induced LDL oxidation and endothelial-cell-mediated LDL oxidation in vitro. Moreover, red perilla significantly increased mRNA and protein expression levels of antioxidant enzymes in endothelial cells. We further examined the antioxidant effects against LDL in human subjects after the consumption of perilla extracts. After oral intake of red perilla, the subjects’ LDL oxidation lag times were significantly longer than those before the intake. Furthermore, lipid peroxide formation and the electrophoretic mobility of LDL decreased markedly. These results suggested that perilla, especially the red variety, had high antioxidant activity and prevented the oxidation of LDL, which is a process strongly related to the development of atherosclerosis.

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Acid value (AV), polar compound content (PC), carbonyl value (CV) and Gardner color of oil used for deep-frying in kitchens at a supermarket, lunch chain store, restaurant, eating house, and hospital were analyzed. All AVs obtained but one (3.38) were within the limit set by the Food Sanitation Act of Japan (AV ≤ 3, peroxide value ≤ 30). However, some oil samples had a PC over 25%, which is beyond the limit legislated by some European countries. When the relation between the Gardner color and the AV, PC, or CV of the oil was investigated, well correlated logarithmic regression curves were obtained from the oil of all kitchens except the hospital kitchen. However, the use of lard-containing canola oil without oil replenishment in the eating house increased color values rapidly. All of the values obtained from pure vegetable oil used almost daily were plotted on a graph. It was found that kitchen-by-kitchen differences in fryer, vegetable oil, frying temperature, heating time, and amounts and kinds of foods fried did not influence the relation between Gardner color value versus AV, PC or CV. In conclusion, frying vegetable oil used in large-scale kitchens without official inspection can be better controlled with Gardner color determination by the operators and administrators. This would improve the quality of the oil ingested by facility patrons.

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Electro-oxidation of CO/H₂ and methanol was performed over a carbon supported Pt-Ru-Fe ternary alloy catalyst prepared via the conventional NaBH₄ reduction method. Physicochemical and electrochemical measurements were used to elucidate the respective roles of Ru and Fe in the ternary catalyst, revealing synergistic effects in the Pt-Ru-Fe catalyst on the electro-oxidation of CO/H₂ and methanol. The methanol oxidation activity of Pt₃Ru₂Fe/C was ca. 2.5 times higher than that of PtRu/C at 0.45 V vs. RHE as a result of enhanced CO tolerance. The enhanced CO tolerance of the Pt-Ru-Fe ternary alloy catalysts was derived from the reaction between the high mobility, weakly adsorbed CO on the Pt site that was electronically modified by alloying with Fe and adsorbed water species on the Ru site. This combination of features produced an improvement in the electro-oxidation of CO/H₂ and methanol at lower potential. On the basis of the data, it was proposed that the addition of a water activator such as Ru is indispensible in the design of multicomponent alloy catalysts for methanol oxidation, and the additional effect derived from an electronic modifier is an important factor for improving the CO and methanol oxidation activity of the catalyst containing the water activator.

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The temperature-concentration phase behavior of nonionic surfactants in an aprotic imidazolium-type room-temperature ionic liquid (RT-IL) was evaluated on the basis of a combination of visual appearance, polarized optical microscopy, and small angle X-ray scattering data. Phytosterol ethoxylates (BPS-n, where n denotes oxyethylene chain lengths of 5, 10, 20, and 30) were used as surfactants in the RT-IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BmimPF₆). The two component mixtures yielded various phases such as discontinuous cubic, hexagonal, and lamellar phases. An increased tendency toward formation of lesser-curved molecular assemblies was observed at higher BPS-n concentrations, at lower temperatures, and for shorter oxyethylene chain surfactants. These trends are similar to those observed in aqueous BPS-n systems; however, notable differences in the phase states of the aqueous system versus the BmimPF₆ system were evident. Comparison with the water system showed that the BmimPF₆ system yielded fewer phases and generally required higher BPS-n concentrations to induce phase transitions. Evaluation of the effects of addition of a third component (e.g., 1-dodecanol and dodecane) to the binary system on the phase behavior showed that at a given composition ratio of BPS-20 to BmimPF₆, the addition of 1-dodecanol generally results in the phase transition to lesser-curved assemblies whereas dodecane generated no significant effects. The observed phase change is satisfactorily rationalized by localized solubilization of the third component into the binary surfactant assemblies.

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A Virginia type peanut mutant with more than 60% oleate content (E2-4-83-12) was selected from an EMS mutagenized population of LF2 (an export type peanut cultivar with 44.2% oleate) by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Cloning and sequencing of FAD2B from LF2 and E2-4-83-12 identified a novel mutation (C313T in the coding region) causing an H105Y substitution in the first histidine box of the FAD2B protein. GC-MS analysis of fatty acids in yeast cells harboring pYES2 with the mutated FAD2B detected no linoleate, confirming that FAD2B from E2-4-83-12 was dysfunctional. Loss-of-function FAD2A and FAD2B together contributed to elevated oleate phenotype of the peanut EMS mutant.

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The potential utility of the widely available waste product, wool textiles, in the adsorption of heavy metals from industrial and other wastewater systems was investigated by proxy experimentation. Carbon fiber was prepared from dyed wool (DW) by calcination at different temperatures (400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C, referred to as DW400, DW600, DW800, and DW1000, respectively). The samples were analyzed in terms of scanning electron microscope images, percentage yield, specific surface area, pore volume, and the pH of an aqueous suspension of virgin dyed wool (V-DW) or the calcined DW. The adsorption of Cu(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions was studied using the batch method, and the effect of contact time and co-existence of metal ions was investigated. Cu(II) and Pb(II) adsorption increased with increasing DW calcination temperature in the order V-DW < DW400 < DW600 < DW800 < DW1000. The maximum equilibrium adsorption of Cu (II) and Pb(II) achieved with DW1000 (79% and 57%, respectively) was reached within 6 h. Fitting of the adsorption isotherm data for Cu(II) and Pb(II) adsorption onto DW1000 to the Freundlich equation was consistent with monomolecular adsorption onto a heterogeneous surface. The rate-limiting step was determined to be chemical sorption by fitting the adsorption kinetics data to pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order models, given that the pseudo second-order model best fit our data. The study demonstrated that DW1000 was useful for purification of wastewater containing Cu(II) and Pb(II).

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A case study of the bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE) was conducted using the biostimulation agent, BD-1. TCE levels were monitored by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Total organic carbon (TOC) and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were analyzed to investigate the environmental fate of BD-1. The effects of BD-1 on microbial activity were investigated using 16S rRNA gene-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. The biodegradation of BD-1 was accompanied by a reduction in TCE, and the initially high TOC levels decreased rapidly as BD-1 was transformed into VFAs. qPCR analysis showed that the genus Dehalobacter became progressively dominant through the experiment. These results suggested that BD-1 might dechlorinate TCE by activating dechlorinating bacteria.

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