Prolamin, an important storage protein of grains, is able to dissolve in aqueous ethanol because of its unique hydrophilic−hydrophobic property. The low allergenicity of prolamin makes it a good replacement of gluten to maintain textural properties of gluten-free food; the film-forming property makes it an excellent coating material for candy or nuts to extend shelf life and reduce flavor loss. However, the prolamin extraction process is not environment friendly with high energy and water consumption. The utilization of the switchable extractant will minimize the environmental impact of prolamin processing and get maximum utility out of the extractant and cut down energy and water consumption as well as simplify the extraction procedures. A switchable composite extractant (SCE) has been developed for a complete extraction of zein, which is the most abundant prolamin. By virtue of the solvent temperature-swing property, the SCE-simplified zein extraction increased the solvent usefulness and reduced the energy and water consumption. The electrophoretic patterns of the protein extracted by the SCE and aqueous ethanol showed the same main bands as the commercial counterpart. The extracted zein showed a similar protein recovery rate compared to aqueous ethanol (28.74% vs 29.38%) and a similar amino acid profile and solubility in aqueous ethanol (92.35% vs 92.06%) compared to the commercial counterpart with better tensile properties (4.38 MPa vs 2.68 MPa). The advantages of this new technique are numerous: (a) energy and water consumption was largely reduced; (b) procedures were simplified since no rectification of ethanol was needed; (c) potential harm of ethanol vapor to workers or industrial environment was minimized; and (d) no additional procedure was needed for the recycling of the SCE. This method minimizes the environmental impact of prolamin processing, optimizes the extractant, reduces the energy and water consumption, and simplifies the extraction procedures.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional content of bullfrog meat from different parts of the animal, including fore-chest, thigh and calf. Bullfrog meat was found to be a rich source of proteins, essential amino acids and minerals, but with a low fat content, compared with other aquatic meat products.There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between thigh and calf in mineral content (K, P, Na, Mg, Ca, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn), but the contents of K, P and Mg were higher in thigh and calf than in the fore-chest (p < 0.05). The salt-soluble, water-soluble and insoluble protein bands in SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, from fore-chest, thigh and calf were similar, with the most abundant bands being 35 kDa (salt-soluble protein), 35-48 kDa (water-soluble protein) and 48 kDa (insoluble protein). The results showed that the insoluble protein content in the fore-chest meat was higher than that in the thigh meat and calf meat, but the salt-soluble protein fraction was the most abundant in thigh meat.These results showed that the nutrients in different parts of bullfrog meat were different.

Norisoboldine (NOR), the major isoquinoline alkaloid constituent of a Chinese traditional medicine Radix Linderae, has been demonstrated to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and improve arthritis. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of NOR on bone fracture healing and the underlying mechanisms correlated with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) differentiation to chondrocytes. Our results showed that NOR inhibits the tibia fracture healing process by suppressing cartilage formation, which leads to less endochondral ossification, indicated by less osterix and collage I signaling at the fracture site. Moreover, NOR significantly reduced the differentiation of primary BMSCs to chondrocytes in vitro by reducing the bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) signaling. These findings imply that NOR negatively regulates the healing of the tibial midshaft fracture, which might delay the union of the fractures and should be noticed when used in other treatments.