Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Based Metabolomics Reveals Key Differences between Brachiaria decumbens and B. brizantha, Two Similar Pastures with Different Toxicities

Long-term bioreactor cultivation affects dioscin content and the ratio of 25(S)- and 25(R)-protodioscin isomers in the suspension cell culture of Dioscorea deltoidea Wall

Bioreactor-grown plant cells have emerged as a sustainable, high-quality source of plant biomass and bioactive phytochemicals alternative to overcollection of pharmaceutically important wild plant species. At the same time, concerns were raised about the potential biosynthetic instability of plant cell cultures during long-term bioreactor cultivation, which was rarely investigated. In this work, this concern was addressed by performing the first long-term (1.5 years) uninterrupted cultivation of Dioscorea deltoidea cell suspension in a 20-L bubble-type bioreactor using fill-and-draw mode with simultaneous monitoring of major bioactive compounds - steroidal glycosides protodioscin and dioscin, using HPLC-ESI-MS. In addition, the ratio of 25(S)/25(R)-isomers of protodioscin showing different pharmacological activities was monitored during the entire cultivation period. The results demonstrated that cell culture productivity (0.33 g/(L·day)), maximum dry weight accumulation (8.5 g/L), viability (80.2 %), and the total content of steroidal glycosides (1.74 % of dry weight) remained high during the entire cultivation. However, the content of dioscin, a spirostanol steroidal glycoside, decreased by 82 % after one year of cultivation. Moreover, the ratio of 25(S)/25(R)-isomers of protodioscin, a furostanol steroidal glycoside, in the cell biomass changed reversely from 0.66 to 1.40 after the first half-year of the cultivation. These results evidenced the complex dynamics of steroidal glycosides biosynthesis in plant cell cultures during the prolonged bioreactor cultivation and advocate for the importance of monitoring both the concentration and the isomeric composition of the desired metabolites to assure high quality of the biotechnologically produced cell biomass.

Real-Time Profiling and Distinction of Lipids from Different Mammalian Milks Using Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry Combined with Chemometric Analysis

The price of mammalian milk from different animal species varies greatly due to differences in their yield and nutritional value. Therefore, the authenticity of dairy products has become a hotspot issue in the market due to the replacement or partial admixture of high-cost milk with its low-cost analog. Herein, four common commercial varieties of milk, including goat milk, buffalo milk, Holstein cow milk, and Jersey cow milk, were successfully profiled and differentiated from each other by rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS) combined with chemometric analysis. This method was developed as a real-time lipid fingerprinting technique. Moreover, the established chemometric algorithms based on multivariate statistical methods mainly involved principal component analysis, orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis, and linear discriminant analysis as the screening and verifying tools to provide insights into the distinctive molecules constituting the four varieties of milk. The ions with m/z 229.1800, 243.1976, 257.2112, 285.2443, 299.2596, 313.2746, 341.3057, 355.2863, 383.3174, 411.3488, 439.3822, 551.5051, 577.5200, 628.5547, 656.5884, 661.5455, 682.6015, and 684.6146 were selected as potential classified markers. The results of the present work suggest that the proposed method could serve as a reference for recognizing dairy fraudulence related to animal species and expand the application field of REIMS technology.

Coleus amboinicus (Lour.) leaves as a modulator of ruminal methanogenesis and biohydrogenation in vitro

Active plant metabolites (APM) are recognized as modifiers of ruminal microbial fermentation including methanogenesis and biohydrogenation of fatty acids (FA). Coleus amboinicus Lour. leaves (CAL) are rich in several APM, which could serve as ruminal fermentation modulators. A phytochemical analysis showed that CAL contain phenolic acids (10.4 mg·g-1 dry matter [DM]; high in rosmarinic acid), flavonoids (2.6 mg·g-1 DM), diterpenes (2 mg·g-1 DM), and linolenic acid (35.4 g (100 g)-1 FA). This study aimed to investigate the effect of CAL on ruminal methanogenesis and biohydrogenation as well as basic fermentation characteristics and microbial populations. The in vitro experiment was carried out using Hohenheim gas test system with 40 mL of buffered ruminal fluid incubated for 24 h at 39 °C in anaerobic conditions. Approximately 400 mg (DM basis) of total mixed ration (TMR) was used as a control substrate and the CAL substrate was used at doses of 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg DM replacing equal amounts of TMR. Addition of CAL decreased methane production up to 30% linearly as the amount of CAL increased (P < 0.05). In vitro dry matter digestibility and ammonia tended to increase with increasing doses of CAL. Concentration of total volatile fatty acids was not affected by the CAL although there appeared to be a minor positive linear trend; however, acetate, butyrate, and isobutyrate proportion increased quadratically (P < 0.001). CAL tended to linearly increase α-linolenic acid and conjugated linoleic acid as well as increased stearic acid concentration in buffered ruminal fluid. CAL particularly increased total protozoa and bacterial populations during fermentation, but inhibited methanogens. It is concluded that the CAL may be promising to be used as a feed additive to decrease methanogenesis as well as biohydrogenation of FA in the rumen.

A Metabolomic Overview of Follicular Fluid in Cows

Follicular fluid (FF) protects the oocyte against proteolysis and extrusion during ovulation, providing an appropriate microenvironment that favors proper embryonic development; thereby, FF plays a key role in embryo quality. Being directly related to cattle breeding, studying FF is extremely important in livestock science to measure cattle fertility. This may eventually help to assess the quality of both meat and milk, products widely consumed worldwide. There is an important commercial interest in the evaluation and characterization of compounds present in the FF of livestock that present greater likelihood of pregnancy. Mass spectrometry is a great ally for this type of analysis and can provide quick and efficient screening for molecular markers in biological samples. The present study demonstrated the potential of high-resolution mass spectrometry in analyzing FF samples from two distinct groups of Nellore cows (Bos indicus): high and low fertility, as determined by the number of oocytes produced. We were able to delineate markers of interest for each group, which may ultimately be related to biochemical pathways that lead to higher or lower reproductive performance.