The utilization of food waste by microorganisms to produce omega-3 fatty acids or biofuel is a potentially low cost method with positive environmental benefits. In the present study, the marine microorganisms Thraustochytrium sp. AH-2 and Schizochytrium sp. SR21 were used to evaluate the potential of breadcrumbs as an alternate carbon source for the production of lipids under static fermentatio...

Omega-3 fatty acids are products of secondary metabolism, essential for growth and important for human health. Although there are numerous reports of bacterial production of omega-3 fatty acids, less information is available on the biotechnological production of these compounds from bacteria. The production of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3) by a new species of marine bacteria Shewanella el...

BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence that marine omega-3 oils are involved in the reduction of cancer risk and progression. However, the anticancer effect of omega-3 monoglyceride on colorectal cancer has yet to be assessed. The goal of this study was to evaluate the anti-cancer effects of eicosapentaenoic acid monoglyceride (MAG-EPA) in HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells. METHODS The effec...

Obesity rates continue rise to worldwide. In order to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with obesity, as well as alleviate the impact on health care expenditures, the need for efficacious treatment strategies are in high demand. One promising approach is to include a diet high in “functional foods” into a weight loss regimen. Such foods provide an alternative to the limited number o...

Hydrocarbon and pesticide pollution in coastal ecosystems can disturb marine bivalve metabolism. In this study, we characterised four full-length cDNA sequences encoding glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. A BLAST X search showed that these four sequences encode GSTs from four different classes: GST pi, sigma, mu and omega. A phylogenetic analysis of GST w...

Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, the two main omega (ω)-3 fatty acids, have therapeutic and beneficial health effects (Figure 1). Recently these essential long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) have received increased attention in both human and animal nutrition [1,2]. Currently, the principal source of EPA and DHA for human consumption is fish and fish oil. However, m...

Diacronema vlkianum is a marine microalgae for which supposed health promoting effects have been claimed based on its phytochemical composition. The potential use of its biomass as health ingredient, including detox-shakes, and the lack of bioavailability studies were the main concerns. In order to evaluate the microalgae-biomass assimilation and its health-benefits, single-dose (CD1-mice) stud...

Peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIases) are ubiquitous proteins that catalyze the cis-trans isomerization of prolines. A number of proteins, such as Drosophila rhodopsin and the human immunodeficiency viral protein HIV-1 Gag, have been identified as endogenous substrates for PPIases. However, very little is known about the interaction of PPIases with small, disulfide-rich peptides. Marine...

Marine biology is a hybrid subject that combines aspects of organismal function, ecological interaction and the study of marine biodiversity.[1] The earliest studies of marine biology can be traced back to the Phoenicians and the Greeks who are known as the initial explorers of the oceans and their composition.[2] However, it was Aristotle (384-322 BC) who was the first to record any observatio...

External periodic forcing was applied to a chaotic chemical oscillator in experiments on the electrodissolution of Ni in sulfuric acid solution. The amplitude and the frequency (Omega) of the forcing signal were varied in a region around Omega=omega(0), where omega(0) is the frequency of the unforced signal. Phase synchronization occurred with increase in the amplitude of the forcing. For Omega...