Accumulating evidence suggests that dietary taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) exerts beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in the large intestine. In this study, we investigated the possible impact of taurine on human colonic microbiota using our single-batch fermentation system (Kobe University Human Intestinal Microbiota Model; KUHIMM). Fecal samples from eight humans were individually cultivated with and without taurine in the KUHIMM. The results showed that taurine remained largely undegraded after 30 h of culturing in the absence of oxygen, although some 83% of the taurine was degraded after 30 h of culturing under aerobic conditions. Diversity in bacterial species in the cultures was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, revealing that taurine caused no significant change in the diversity of the microbiota; both operational taxonomic unit and Shannon-Wiener index of the cultures were comparable to those of the respective source fecal samples. In addition, principal coordinate analysis indicated that taurine did not alter the composition of bacterial species, since the 16S rRNA gene profile of bacterial species in the original fecal sample was maintained in each of the cultures with and without taurine. Furthermore, metabolomic analysis revealed that taurine did not affect the composition of short-chain fatty acids produced in the cultures. These results, under these controlled but artificial conditions, suggested that the beneficial anti-inflammatory effects of dietary taurine in the large intestine are independent of the intestinal microbiota. We infer that dietary taurine may act directly in the large intestine to exert anti-inflammatory effects.
The primary components of lignocellulosic biomass such as sorghum bagasse are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Each component can be utilized as a sustainable resource for producing biofuels and bio-based products. However, due to their complicated structures, fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass components is required. Organosolv pretreatment is an attractive method for this purpose. However, as organosolv pretreatment uses high concentrations of organic solvents (>50 %), decreasing the concentration necessary for fractionation would help reduce processing costs. In this study, we sought to identify organic solvents capable of efficiently fractionating sorghum bagasse components at low concentrations.Five alcohols (ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and 1-pentanol) were used for organosolv pretreatment of sorghum bagasse at a concentration of 12.5 %. Sulfuric acid (1 %) was used as a catalyst. With 1-butanol and 1-pentanol, three fractions (black liquor, liquid fraction containing xylose, and cellulose-enriched solid fraction) were obtained after pretreatment. Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance analysis revealed that the lignin aromatic components of raw sorghum bagasse were concentrated in the black liquor fraction, although the major lignin side-chain (β-O-4 linkage) was lost. Pretreatment with 1-butanol or 1-pentanol effectively removed p-coumarate, some guaiacyl, and syringyl. Compared with using no solvent, pretreatment with 1-butanol or 1-pentanol resulted in two-fold greater ethanol production from the solid fraction by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.Our results revealed that a low concentration (12.5 %) of a highly hydrophobic solvent such as 1-butanol or 1-pentanol can be used to separate the black liquor from the solid and liquid fractions. The efficient delignification and visible separation of the lignin-rich fraction possible with this method simplify the fractionation of sorghum bagasse.
A renewable raw material, rice straw is pretreated for biorefinery usage. Solution-state two-dimensional (2D) 1H-13 C hetero-nuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, was used to analyze 13 cultivars of rice straw before and after dilute acid pretreatment, to characterize general changes in the lignin and polysaccharide components. Intensities of most (15 of 16) peaks related to lignin aromatic regions, such as p-coumarate, guaiacyl, syringyl, p-hydroxyphenyl, and cinnamyl alcohol, and methoxyl, increased or remained unchanged after pretreatment. In contrast, intensities of most (11 of 13) peaks related to lignin aliphatic linkages or ferulate decreased. Decreased heterogeneity in the intensities of three peaks related to cellulose components in acid-insoluble residues resulted in similar glucose yield (0.45-0.59 g/g-dry biomass). Starch-derived components showed positive correlations (r = 0.71 to 0.96) with glucose, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), and formate concentrations in the liquid hydrolysates, and negative correlations (r = -0.95 to -0.97) with xylose concentration and acid-insoluble residue yield. These results showed the fate of lignin and polysaccharide components by pretreatment, suggesting that lignin aromatic regions and cellulose components were retained in the acid insoluble residues and starch-derived components were transformed into glucose, 5-HMF, and formate in the liquid hydrolysate.
Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are attracting an ever-increasing amount of interest for use as food prebiotics. In this study, we used efficient membrane separation technology to convert lignocellulosic materials into a renewable source of XOS. This study revealed a dual function of nanofiltration membranes by first achieving a high yield of xylobiose (a main component of XOS) from alkali-pretreated empty fruit bunch (EFB) hydrolysate, and then by achieving a high degree of separation for xylose as a monosaccharide product. Alkali pretreatment could increase the xylan content retention of raw EFB from 23.4% to 26.9%, which eventually contributed to higher yields of both xylobiose and xylose. Nanofiltration increased the total amount of XYN10Ks_480 endoxylanase produced from recombinant Streptomyces lividans 1326 without altering its specific activity. Concentrated XYN10Ks_480 endoxylanase was applied to the recovery of both xylobiose and xylose from alkali-pretreated EFB hydrolysate. Xylobiose and xylose yields reached 41.1% and 17.3%, respectively, and when unconcentrated XYN10Ks_480 endoxylanase was applied, those yields reached 35.1% and 8.3%, respectively. The last step in nanofiltration was to separate xylobiose over xylose, and 41.3 g.L−1 xylobiose (90.1% purity over xylose) was achieved. This nanofiltration method should shorten the processes used to obtain XOS as a high-value end product from lignocellulosic biomass.
Stable and long-term electrocatalytic performance towards cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was achieved by impregnation of Pt-based nanoparticles (NPs) on anatase titania (TiO 2 ) support. For example, organometallic precursors PtCODCl 2 and C 10 H 14 CuO 4 and TiO 2 or carbon black (CB) supports were co-reduced using lithium triethylborohydride to achieve intermetallic phase between Pt and Cu on TiO 2 (or CB) under ambient temperature. Finely dispersed PtCu NPs with an average particle size of 3 nm were achieved through wet-chemical synthetic route. Potential cycle with PtCu/CB in 0.1 M HClO 4 aqueous solution between 0.4-1.1 V ( vs. RHE) accelerates ORR (Fig. 1) because of the formation of dealloyed surface of PtCu NPs caused by dissolution of Cu from the surface of PtCu NPs. The dealloyed PtCu/CB showed the highest electrocatalytic activity both in terms of onset potential as well as cathodic current density compared to Pt/CB as well as PtPb/CB and PtNi/CB towards ORR (Fig. 2). The onset potential of PtCu/TiO 2 is shifted to higher electric potential by 180 mV compared to Pt/CB (Fig. 3).
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