Compound-specific carbon isotope analysis of acetic acid is useful for origin discrimination and quality control of vinegar. Intramolecular carbon isotope distributions, which are each carbon isotope ratios of the methyl and carboxyl carbons in the acetic acid molecule, may be required to obtain more detailed information to discriminate such origin. In this study, improved gas chromatography-pyrolysis-gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-Py-GC-C-IRMS) combined with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used to measure the intramolecular carbon isotope distributions of acetic acid in 14 Japanese vinegars. The results demonstrated that the methyl carbons of acetic acid molecules in vinegars produced from plants were mostly isotopically depleted in (13)C relative to the carboxyl carbon. Moreover, isotopic differences (δ(13)C(carboxyl) - δ(13)C(methyl)) had a wide range from -0.3 to 18.2‰, and these values differed among botanical origins, C3, C4, and CAM plants.

Acetic acid is the main ingredient of vinegar, and the worth of vinegar often depends on the fermentation of raw materials. In this study, we have developed a simple and rapid method for discriminating the fermentation of the raw materials of vinegar by measuring the hydrogen and carbon isotope ratio of acetic acid using head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-high temperature conversion or combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-TC/C-IRMS). The measurement of acetic acid in vinegar by this method was possible with repeatabilities (1sigma) of +/-5.0 per thousand for hydrogen and +/-0.4 per thousand for carbon, which are sufficient to discriminate the origin of acetic acid. The fermentation of raw materials of several vinegars was evaluated by this method.

[1] We present carbon isotopic signatures of methanol and acetaldehyde emitted from biomass burning sources using laboratory experiments. The respective d 13 C of methanol and acetaldehyde emitted from burning experiments of five plant materials (three C 3 and two C 4 plants) were À20-À46% and À11 -À25%. The variation in d 13 C of methanol depends on the d 13 C of the fuel biomass and burning conditions, but the variation in d 13 C of acetaldehyde depends on the d 13 C of fuel biomass and is independent of burning conditions. Combining these observations with previously reported global distributions of fire types, burning conditions, amounts of biomass burned, vegetation types, and emission factors, we estimated the global isotopic signature for biomass burning source as À33 ± 16% for methanol. Citation: Yamada, K., R. Hattori, Y. Ito, H. Shibata, and N. Yoshida (2009), Carbon isotopic signatures of methanol and acetaldehyde emitted from biomass burning source,

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Leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), an enzyme used in the food industry, is an exopeptidase that removes an amino acid residue, primarily leucine (Leu), from the N-terminus of peptides and protein substrates. In this study, we focused on the leucine aminopeptidase A (lapA) gene from Aspergillus oryzae RIB40. To purify and characterize the LapA, lapA was overexpressed in A. oryzae RIB40 using the amyB promoter. LAP activity in the culture supernatant of one transformant harboring the lapA expression plasmid was 33 times that of the host strain. LapA was purified from the culture supernatant of this lapA-overexpressing strain by column chromatography. The purified recombinant LapA had a molecular mass of 33 kDa, and its N-terminal amino acid was the tyrosine at position 80 of the deduced amino acid sequence. Optimal enzyme activity was observed at 60°C and pH 8.5, and the enzyme was stable at temperatures up to 60°C and in the pH range 7.5-11. In transcriptional analysis, lapA was induced under alkaline conditions and expressed at a relatively low level under normal conditions. LapA showed maximum hydrolyzing activity for the substrate leucine para-nitroanilide (Leu-pNA), followed by substrates Phe-pNA (39% activity compared with Leu-pNA), Met-pNA, Lys-pNA, and Arg-pNA. In addition, LapA preferentially hydrolyzed peptides longer than tripeptides.