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Background The potassium dichromate oxidation method used in determination of alcohols in fermentation has two major disadvantages. This method cannot be used to determine alcohols in raw fermentation broth samples, which often contain various reducing sugars. The method is not environment friendly due to the carcinogenicity of Cr (VI) used. Results A new method for determination of reducing sugars and total alcohols in raw fermentation broths was developed. The fermentation broth was pretreated to remove proteins, polysaccharides, glycerol and organic acids. The colorimetric change from both total alcohols and reducing sugars by potassium permanganate oxidation was measured. The portion of colorimetric change from oxidation of reducing sugars was determined by DNS test and subtracted. The remaining portion of colorimetric change was then used to calculate the total alcohol concentration in the sample. Conclusions Using this method, total alcohol concentration can be easily and accurately determined in both distilled samples and raw fermentation broth samples. It is fast and environmental friendly.

T1R1/T1R3 modulates the mTOR pathway to regulate milk protein synthesis in the mouse mammary gland in vivo.

Inonotus obliquus (Fr.) Pilat (Hymenochaetaceae) has been widely used as a folk medicine to treat various cancers in Russia, Poland and most of Baltic countries for literally more than four centuries. However, in spite of its therapeutic significance for cancers, this fungus has not been studied systematically for the mechanisms of antitumor activity. In this study, we report the effects of aqueous extracts of I. obliquus (AEI) on inducing apoptosis of Sarcoma 180. AEI prepared from the sclerotium of I. obliquus was either administered to Sarcoma 180-bearing mice or supplemented into the culture of Sarcoma 180 cells. Oral administration of AEI significantly inhibited Sarcoma 180-induced reduction of splenic lymphocytes and proliferation potentials and elicited over-expression of bax gene in Sarcoma 180 cells, leading to the regression of Sarcoma 180 in mice. Supplementation of AEI into the culture of Sarcoma 180 cells resulted in a significant increase in the number of cells in G0-G1 phase and triggered remarkable increment in programmed death (apoptosis) of Sarcoma 180 cells. In addition, AEI showed stimulatory effect on TNF-α release by mice peritoneal macrophages. These results indicated that the antitumor activity of AEI was mediated by protecting splenic lymphocytes from tumor-induced apoptosis and by triggering apoptosis of tumor cells.