Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.21 (beta-glucosidase)
 3,280 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nine healthy volunteers were studied before, during, and after ingesting a fermented dairy product containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and mesophilic cultures (Streptococcus lactis and S cremoris) for 3 wk. Hydrogen and methane productions and fecal beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase activities were measured as indicators of fermentation capacity of the colonic flora. Fecal concentrations of nitroreductase, azoreductase, and beta-glucuronidase, which may be implicated in colonic carcinogenesis, were also assessed. Hydrogen and methane productions, fecal beta-galactosidase, beta-glucuronidase, and azoreductase activities did not change over three 3-wk periods whereas fecal beta-glucosidase activity increased (42 +/- 6, 91 +/- 12, and 40 +/- 6 IU/g N, P less than 0.01) and nitroreductase decreased (0.87 +/- 0.13, 0.54 +/- 0.11, and 0.57 +/- 0.08 IU/g N, P less than 0.05).
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PMID:Effect of chronic ingestion of a fermented dairy product containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum on metabolic activities of the colonic flora in humans. 211 57

Using germ-free rats inoculated with a human faecal flora (gnotobiotic rats), the effects of three oligosaccharides (beta-fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), beta-galacto-oligosaccharides (TOS) and alpha-gluco-oligosaccharides (GOS)) on intestinal bacterial metabolism were compared. The animals were fed on either a control diet or diets containing 40 g/kg of GOS, FOS or TOS. FOS and TOS were the preferred growth substrates for Bifidobacteria which increased in number by 2 log values in faeces of rats when compared with rats fed on GOS or control diets. Ingestion of TOS specifically induced hydrolysis of the substrate, and did not modify the activity of any other enzymes measured in the caecum. GOS led to a non-specific enzymic induction of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) and alpha-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20) activities whereas beta-glucuronidase (EC 3.2.1.31) was lowered. Compared with the control group, FOS and TOS diets led to a significant increase in H2 and CH4 excretion; the GOS diet increased only CH4. Analysis of caecal contents revealed a decrease in pH for all diets compared with controls. Total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration increased significantly in all groups, but the SCFA profile differed between treatment groups. It was concluded that the three oligosaccharides studied had different effects which may be linked to their chemical structure. Some of these effects may be beneficial to human health.
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PMID:Compared effects of three oligosaccharides on metabolism of intestinal microflora in rats inoculated with a human faecal flora. 930 20

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of milk and of various fermented milks on the composition and metabolic activities of the intestinal microflora. Groups of eight rats were fed for 6 wk a diet containing 30% nonfermented milk (M), yogurt (Y), milk fermented with Lactobacillus casei (LcFM) or milk fermented with the association of L. casei DN 114.001 and yogurt starters (LcYFM). In the first study, the survival of the lactic acid bacteria from the fermented milks was assessed by bacterial enumeration in feces of germ-free rats (GF rats) fed milk or fermented milks. The metabolic activities of the lactic acid bacteria were studied in these rats by the measurement of glycolytic activities and products of bacterial fermentation, i.e., acetate and lactate (isoforms L and D). In a second study, the effects of fermented milks on the composition and metabolism [gas, glycolytic activities, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), alcohol and ammonia] of human flora were studied using human flora-associated rats (HF rats). In GF rats, the survival of L. casei in the feces did not differ between those fed the LcFM and LcYFM diets. L. bulgaricus was detected in the feces of the rats fed Y, whereas Streptoccus thermophilus was found in the feces of the LcYFM group. In HF rats, fecal concentration of Bifidobacteria was greater in the LcFM group than in the others. beta-Glucuronidase (EC 3.2.1.31) activity was lower in rats fed LcFM and Y than in those fed M and LcYFM, whereas beta-galactosidase (3.2.1.23), alpha-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1 20) and beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) activities were higher in the LcYFM group compared with the others. Methane excretion was higher in rats fed Y than in other groups. Cecal SCFA concentrations did not differ in LcFM, Y and M groups, but total SCFA, acetate, propionate and butyrate were significantly greater in the LcYFM group. These results suggest that milk fermented with the combination of L. casei and yogurt starters leads to specific effects that are different from the simple addition of the effects found with yogurt and milk fermented with L. casei. These specific effects are potentially beneficial to human health.
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PMID:The association of yogurt starters with Lactobacillus casei DN 114.001 in fermented milk alters the composition and metabolism of intestinal microflora in germ-free rats and in human flora-associated rats. 934 56

Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on northern peatland biogeochemistry was studied in a short-term experiment. Eight intact soil cores (11-cm diameter x 40-cm depth) with Juncus and Festuca spp. were collected from a calcareous fen in north Wales. Half of the cores were incubated under 350 ppm CO2 concentration, whilst the other four cores were maintained at 700 ppm CO2. After a 4-month incubation, significantly higher biomass (root + shoot + algal mat) was determined under elevated CO2 conditions. Higher emissions of N2O and CO2, and higher concentration of pore-water DOC (dissolved organic carbon) were also observed under elevated CO2. However, no significant differences were found in CH4 emission or soil enzyme activities (beta-glucosidase, phosphatase, and N-acetylglucosaminidase) in the bulk soil. Overall, the results suggest that elevated CO2 would increase the primary productivity of the fen vegetation, and stimulate N2O and CO2 emissions as a consequence of an enhanced DOC supply from the vegetation to the soil microbes.
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PMID:Effects of elevated CO2 on fen peat biogeochemistry. 1171 4

A rapid protocol was developed to measure 10 different enzymic activities from a large number of 1-cm-sliced freshly collected lake sediments. Layers heavily polluted by organic halogens (4900 mg Cl kg(-1)) revealed severe depression of phosphatase, sulfatase, leucine-aminopeptidase, chitinase, acetate esterase and butyrate esterase activities as compared to layers above and below the most polluted zone. alpha-Glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, beta-xylosidase and palmitate esterase were less affected. Methane oxidation potential was dramatically depressed in the polluted strata whereas tetrachloromethane dehalogenating activity was observed in the polluted sediment only. The sediment layers formed after the chlorine discharges into the lake had diminished to 1/10, and showed restoration of the activities close to those observed in non-recipient sediment, in spite of the persisting presence of >1000 mg of organic chlorine (kg dry wt)(-1). We conclude that certain enzymic activities involved in breakdown or oxidation of organic matter in the sediments are useful probes for assessing the degree of ecological damage and its potential for restoration in recipient lakes of industrial discharges.
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PMID:Evaluation of ecological disturbance and intrinsic bioremediation potential of pulp mill-contaminated lake sediment using key enzymes as probes. 1509 3

To find out microbial metabolic functioning and toxicity in a former sawmill area, carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, 10 hydrolytic enzyme activities, Vibrio fischeri test, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis activity (FDA), soil pH, carbon, nitrogen and pentachlorophenol (PCP) content were measured at four sites. The area is contaminated with aged chlorophenols. Chlorophenol content of soil was analyzed with a novel HPLC-MS technique, which allowed to measure chlorophenols without derivatization. The sites had a pollution gradient from 0.5 to 15 microg PCP g dw of soil(-1). Endogenous carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, butyrate-esterase, acetate-esterase, sulphatase and aminopeptidase activities were lower at the site 2 than 3, although the site 2 and 3 had similar content of carbon and nitrogen. The soil was toxic in V. fischeri test at the site 2, which had high content of PCP (3.93+/-1.00 microg PCP g dw of soil(-1)). The results indicated that endogenous carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, butyrate-esterase, acetate-esterase, sulphatase and aminopeptidase activities were sensitive to PCP in the soil. The results indicated that alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, beta-xylosidase, beta-cellobiosidase, phosphomonoesterase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity and FDA hydrolysis activity were not sensitive to PCP in the soil. Soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus were only slightly vulnerable in the former sawmill area and most sensitive microbial species were probably replaced with more tolerant ones to maintain and recover functioning of the former sawmill soils.
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PMID:Microbial activities in soils of a former sawmill area. 1711 24

The effects of the addition of enzyme products containing cellulase, hemicellulase, and beta-glucosidase to anaerobic digestion systems were studied using JoseTall Wheat Grass (wheat grass) as a model substrate. Anaerobic digestion tests were performed using batch reactors operated at 50 degrees C. The application of enzyme products in three digestion configurations were simulated and investigated: (1) enzyme addition to a single-stage digester, (2) pre-treatment of wheat grass with enzymes followed by a single-stage anaerobic digestion, and (3) enzyme addition to the first stage (hydrolysis and acidification) of a two-stage digestion system. The enzyme products showed positive effects on the solubilization of wheat grass when used alone to treat the wheat grass. However, no significant differences in biogas and methane yields, and volatile solids reduction resulted when the enzyme products were tested in the anaerobic digestion systems. This reveals that the microorganisms present in the inoculum were effective in carrying out the digestion of wheat grass. The types of microorganisms present in the inoculum were identified using 16S rRNA sequence analysis. A comparison of the sequences between the different inocula revealed that the prevalent operational taxonomic units were similar, but that the acidified inoculum contained a higher percentage of the species Thermotogae.
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PMID:The effect of enzyme addition on anaerobic digestion of JoseTall Wheat Grass. 1946 89

Biomass from Miscanthus giganteus, Sida hermaphrodita and Sorghum Moensch was treated with Fenton's reagent for 2 hours under optimal conditions (pH=3, mass ratio of [Fe(2+)]:[H(2)O(2)] equals 1:25 for Miscanthus and Sorghum and 1:15 for Sida). The degrees of delignification were 30.3%, 62.3% and 48.1% for the three plant species, respectively. The volatile fatty acids concentration after chemical pretreatment was high enough for production of biogas with a high methane content. Combined chemical oxidation and enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase and cellobiase led to glucose contents of above 4 g/L. Among the tested plants, the highest biogas production (25.2 Ndm(3)/kg TS fed) with a 75% methane content was obtained with Sorghum Moensch. The results of the three-step process of biomass degradation show the necessity of applying a chemical pretreatment such as oxidation with Fenton's reagent. Moreover, the coagulation of residual Fe(3+) ions is not required for high biogas production.
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PMID:Influence of pretreatment with Fenton's reagent on biogas production and methane yield from lignocellulosic biomass. 2272 85