Evidence suggests that a diet high in fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and phytochemicals including phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids from fruits and vegetables may play a key role in reducing chronic disease risk. Apples are a widely consumed, rich source of phytochemicals, and epidemiological studies have linked th...

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is a potent intestinotropic factor in neonatal and adult animals. However, the GLP-2 responsiveness of the fetal intestine has not been established. To determine how stage of development affects the responsiveness to GLP-2, we examined GLP-2 receptor (GLP-2R) expression, gut morphology, and brush-border enzyme mRNA and activities in late-gestation fetal (n = 7) a...

Specialized neurons within the hypothalamus have the ability to sense and respond to changes in ambient glucose concentrations. We investigated the mechanisms underlying glucose-triggered activity in glucose-excited neurons, using primary cultures of rat hypothalamic neurons monitored by fluorescence calcium imaging. We found that 35% (738 of 2,139) of the neurons were excited by increasing glu...

The specific effect of hyperglycemia on the reported decrease in liver glycogen synthase phosphatase activity was studied in STZ-induced diabetic rats with normal fasting insulinemia. Four groups of animals were investigated: control (nondiabetic), diabetic hyperglycemic (STZ), diabetic normoglycemic (STZ followed by 3-day phloridzin treatment), and a diabetic normoglycemic group injected with ...

The chronic hyperglycemia that occurs in type 2 diabetes may cause deterioration of beta-cell function and insulin resistance in peripheral tissues. Mice that express a dominant-negative IGF-1 receptor, specifically in skeletal muscle (MKR mice), exhibit severe insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and hyper-glycemia. To determine the role of hyperglycemia in the worsening of the ...

Apple quality was investigated in the scab-resistant 'Liberty', 'Santana', and 'Topaz' cultivars and the scab-susceptible 'Golden Delicious' cultivar. Trees subjected to the same crop load were cultivated using either an organic (ORG) or an integrated production (IP) system. Physicochemical properties, phenolic content, and sensorial quality of fruit from both systems were compared. There were ...

Water reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubule of the rat kidney was examined by in vivo microperfusion techniques in order to examine the effect of D-glucose within the tubular lumen. When tubules were perfused with a balanced artificial solution containing Na, K, Cl, HCO3, urea, and D-glucose, absolute reabsorption averaged 4.01 +/- 0.24 nl/min per mm. Addition of D-glucose to the NaCl ...

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) secretion from intestinal L-cells is triggered by luminal nutrients. We reported previously that glucose-triggered GLP-1 release from the L-cell model GLUTag involves closure of ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channels. We show here that GLP-1 secretion and electrical activity of GLUTag cells is triggered not only by metabolizable sugars (glucose or fructose) but also ...

The apple is a food rich in diverse classes of polyphenols (PP), among which the proanthocyanidins (PCs), which are primarily concentrated in the skin, are one of the most abundant. These compounds are of considerable interest for their possible positive health effects because of their antioxidant properties. However, depending on the classes of PP present (chemical composition) and their relat...

Although urea transport is receiving increased attention in mammalian systems, very little is known about urea transport in fish tissues. This study examined mechanisms of urea transport in red blood cells and hepatocytes from the lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula), Atlantic stingray (Dasyatis sabina), turbot (Scopthalmus maximus), redfish (Scianops ocellatus), gulf toadfish (Opsanu...