W/O/W emulsions can be used to encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic bioactive as nutritional products. However, studies on protein stabilized gel-like W/O/W emulsions have rarely been reported, compared to the liquid state multiple emulsions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different oil-water ratios on the stability of W/O/W emulgels fabricated with salt-soluble proteins (SSPs) of Sipunculus nudus. The physical stability, structural characteristics, rheological properties, and encapsulation stability of vitamin C and β-carotene of double emulgels were investigated. The addition of W/O primary emulsion was determined to be 10% after the characterization of the morphology of double emulsion. The results of microstructure and rheological properties showed that the stability of W/O/W emulgels increased with the increasing concentration of SSPs. Additionally, the encapsulation efficiency of vitamin C and β-carotene were more than 87%, and 99%, respectively, and still could maintain around 50% retention of the antioxidant capacity after storage for 28 days at 4 °C. The aforementioned findings demonstrate that stable W/O/W emulgels are a viable option for active ingredients with an improvement in shelf stability and protection of functional activity.
Download This Paper Open PDF in Browser Add Paper to My Library Share: Permalink Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely Copy URL Copy DOI
To form a stable emulsion system, the water-soluble proteins (WSPs) of Sipunculus nudus were prepared as the sole effective stabilizer for the high internal phase emulsion (HIPEs), of which the influence of the WSPs concentration and environmental stability was investigated. The HIPEs were fabricated using a simple one-pot homogenization process (10,000 rpm/min, 3 min) that involved blending the WSPs (0.1, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt%) with soybean oil (60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90%). The microstructure and properties of stable HIPEs were characterized by particle size, ζ-potential, visual observations, optical microscopy, and dynamic rheology property measurements. As the concentration of WSPs increases, the mean particle diameter of HIPEs decreases, on the contrary, the apparent viscosity and storage modulus gradually increase. At a given emulsifier concentration (3 wt%), the stable and gel-like HIPEs were formed at the oil internal phase (ϕ) values of 70-75%, all the pH range in values from 3 to 9, and the ionic strength from 100 to 500 mM. Furthermore, the HIPEs that were stabilized formed a gel-like state that was relatively stable to heat and storage (30 days). And there was a new phenomenon that the destabilized HIPE of the freeze-thaw treatments could still return to a gel-like state again after homogenizing. The study results suggest that the WSPs of S. nudus as a natural emulsifier could be widely used in the food industry.
To investigate the association between interleukin-21 (IL-21) expression level and virological relapse (VR) of HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) after discontinuance of entecavir (ETV).The serum IL-21 level of 112 CHB patients was measured at 0, 12, 24, 52, and 104 weeks after ETV discontinuance. ELISA was used for the measurement of serum IL-21 level. VR was defined as two continuous examinations with an interval of 1 month with both showing HBV DNA >10 000 copies/mL after drug discontinuance.The serum IL-21 levels at 0, 12, 24, 52, and 104 weeks after discontinuance of ETV were significantly higher in the durable virological remission (DVR) group than in the VR group (all P < .01). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.728 (95% CI: 0.630-0.827, P < .001), while the best cut-off value was 49.8 pg/mL. Multivariate Cox model showed that the factors affecting the relapse included age, followed by HBsAg level at the serological conversion of HBeAg and serum IL-21 level (all P < .05).Serum IL-21 level at ETV discontinuance is an independent risk factor for CHB relapse. IL-21 acts as an immunomodulatory factor in maintaining DVR in HBeAg positive CHB patients after ETV discontinuance.
Objective
To investigate the association between the difference of specific cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) and liver function of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype B and C infections and interleukin (IL)-7 induced follicular helper T lymphocytes (Tfh).
Methods
Sixty-seven patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) hospitalized at Wuxi No.5 People's Hospital from August 2013 to January 2015 were collected and 30 healthy blood donors were set as healthy control group. The peripheral blood IL-7, Tfh, IL-21, HBV specific-CTL, nonspecific CTL, levels of HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBil) were compared between patients with genotype B and C infection, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB, high ALT level and low ALT level. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with IL-7. The t test was used for quantitative data and chi-square test was used for categorical data.
Results
Of the 67 CHB patients with average age of (35.1±11.4), 48 were male and 19 were female; 32 were infected with genotype C and 35 were infected with genotype B; 40 were HBeAg-positive CHB and 27 were HBeAg-negative CHB; 17 were with high ALT levels and 50 were with low ALT levels. IL-7, Tfh, IL-21 and HBV specific-CTL levels in the peripheral blood of genotype C-infected patients were (20.79±4.82) ng/L, (3.93±0.82)%, (24.77±7.52) ng/L and (0.20±0.04)%, respectively, while in genotype B-infected patients, those were (29.13±8.17) ng/L, (5.92±1.92)%, (39.94±24.00) ng/L and (0.40±0.06)%, respectively. Levels of IL-7, Tfh, IL-21 and HBV specific-CTL in genotype C-infected patients were significantly lower than those in genotype B-infected patients (t=5.027, 5.595, 3.553 and 15.133, respectively; all P<0.01). Nonspecific CTL, HBV DNA, ALT and TBil levels in the peripheral blood of genotype C-infected patients were all significantly higher than those in genotype B infected-patients (t=4.899, 6.815, 2.763 and 4.899, respectively; all P<0.01). IL-7, Tfh, IL-21, HBV specific-CTL levels in the peripheral blood of HBeAg-positive patients were significantly lower than those in HBeAg-negative patients (all P<0.01). Nonspecific CTL, HBV DNA, ALT and TBil levels in the peripheral blood of HBeAg-positive patients were all significantly higher than those in HBeAg-negative patients (all P<0.05). IL-7, Tfh, IL-21, HBV specific-CTL levels in the peripheral blood of patients with high ALT levels were all significantly lower than those in patients with low ALT levels (all P<0.01). Nonspecific CTL and HBV DNA levels in the peripheral blood of patients with high ALT levels were both significantly higher than those in patients with low ALT levels (both P<0.01). HBV DNA, IL-21 and nonspecific CTL were all correlated with IL-7 (all P<0.01).
Conclusion
The differences of HBV specific-CTL and liver function in CHB patients infected with genotype B and C may be correlated with interleukin-7 induced Tfh cells.
Key words:
Hepatitis B, chronic; Interleukin-7; Genotype; T-lymphocytes, follicle helper; T-lymphocytes, cytotoxic
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)