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Background Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common late complications of diabetes. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms have been associated with the development of peripheral neuropathy in different populations of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Objective To analyze the prevalence of the +936 C/T VEGF gene polymorphism among patients with DM2 with and without peripheral neuropathy. Study design and methodology 218 unrelated DM2 patients, 90 with and 128 without peripheral neuropathy were genotyped for the +936 C/T VEGF gene polymorphism using PCR amplification followed by restriction length polymorphism analysis. Results The CC homozygous VEGF+936 C/T (rs3025039) was the predominant genotype in DM2 patients with peripheral neuropathy, whereas the predominant genotype in patients without neuropathy was the heterozygous C/T. No statistical association was found between genotype distribution and the presence of neuropathy (p = 0.063). The distribution of the genotypes according to the dominant (CC vs. CT + TT) and recessive (TT vs. CT + CC) models showed that the homozygous CC and TT genotypes, respectively, are not risk factors for neuropathy. The CT genotype conferred a protective effect as seen in the over-dominant model (CT vs. CC + TT) (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.300–0.90; p = 0.019). Conclusion We conclude that the VEGF+936 C/T (rs3025039) gene polymorphisms are related to peripheral neuropathy in Mexican DM2 patients, with the heterozygous genotype potentially conferring a protective effect.

Background The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L) is an exotic fruit native to the Southeast Asia and currently cultivated in different tropical areas, among them in southern Mexico. It is characterized by its nutritionals and functionals properties and has been relevant for its commercialization and acceptance in different countries and Mexico represents one of the main producers and exporter of rambutan in the world. Scope and approach In this review, we summarize information about of the bioactive compounds present in the rambutan fruit, together with the nutritionals properties that it presents as a functional food, with a focus on its by-products (pulp, seed and peel). The rambutan fruit contains important bioactive compounds, mainly the peel has a high content of antioxidants which are of interest in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Key findings and conclusions Extracts of rambutan fruit, mainly from the peel, have been shown to possess phytochemical compounds that exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypoglycemic and anti-proliferative effects in various in vitro and in vivo tests. However, it is necessary to further analyze the nutritional and functional potential of this fruit, the therapeutic mechanisms involved and to develop its industrial process as a functional or nutraceutical food product.

Obesity is a complex, chronic, and multifactorial disease that has become a major, and worldwide, public health problem contributing to an increased number of pathologies, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, thus suggesting a commolon origin. A diet high in sugar and fats coupled with a sedentary lifestyle has a major role in the development of obesity. However, the genetic background has also been associated with body fat accumulation. The aim of this study was to assess the effect ofACE-rs4646994, APOA5-rs662799, and MTP-rs1800591 gene polymorphisms on clinical and biochemical parameters and to evaluate the association with body phenotypes in children and adolescent population of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.Anthropometric, clinical, biochemical parameters and BMI were obtained from 405 children and adolescents. The BMI was used to determine the body phenotype. The rs4646994 gene polymorphism was determined by PCR, whereas rs662799 and rs1800591 were determined by PCR-RFLP. The obtained results were analyzed to determine their association of these single nucleotide polymorphisms with body phenotype and biochemical parameters.TT genotype for APOA5-rs662799 was associated with increased levels of HDL-C in the analyzed population (p0.05). The ACErs4646994gene polymorphism is associated with high Insulin levels, HOMAIR index, and triglyceride levels, mainly when presenting a I/I genotype (p0.05).The polymorphic allele of the ACE gene is capable of modulating triglyceride levels, insulin levels and HOMA-IR index in the evaluated population; it must be highlighted that this has not been reported in other studied populations elsewhere.

Pectin methylesterase is an enzyme with an important in vivo role in plants as well as in food industry. This enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of methyl ester bounds in pectin which is one of the main components of cell wall in plants, producing methanol and free carboxylic groups. The effect of pectin methylesterase in food quality has been extensively studied, producing desirable effects in texture improvement as well as undesirable effects in some beverages. Likewise, the low methoxyl pectin produced by this enzyme has characteristics that contribute to formulate best quality food products. Pectin methylesterase is a ubiquitously enzyme that presents multiple isoforms, but is not only present in plants; it is also found in fungi, bacteria, and yeast, which have specific chemical and physical characteristics. The latter makes the task of analyzing the wide variety of these enzymes with its specific characteristics difficult. Based on this enzyme relevance and the aforementioned, multiple methods have been developed in order to evaluate pectin methylesterase activity with different research objectives. In this paper, the importance of the enzyme as well as advantages and drawbacks of the different methods will be discussed besides applications and evolution of these will be mentioned. Additionally, this paper will improve the understanding of the systems used in pectin methylesterase activity analysis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the fermentation of dietary fiber from green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and prickly pear shell (Opuntia ficus-indica) by Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium bifidum 450B growing as mono-culture and co-culture, the fermentation products, and proteins expressed during this process. The analysis of the fermentation profile showed a major growth of bacteria in the culture media of each dietary fiber supplemented with glucose, and particularly B. bifidum 450B at 48 h showed the highest growth. In the case of the co-culture, the growth was lower indicating the possible negative interaction between L. acidophilus LA-5 and B. bifidum 450B and may be due to the less amount of carbohydrates and the high content of non-soluble fiber that affected the nutrients availability for the bacterial strains. The pH changes indicated the presence of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), being acetate (46-100%) the main SCFA. Changes in the proteome concerned proteins that are involved in carbohydrate and other carbohydrate pathways. The characterization of the bacteria according to the growth, metabolites, and proteins expressed allows understanding the response to the change of environmental conditions and could be useful to understand L. acidophilus LA-5 and B. bifidum 450B strains' adaptation to specific applications.

The rambutan peel (RP) is a relevant source of bioactive molecules, which could be used for application in cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical areas. Total soluble polyphenol content was extracted from Mexican variety rambutan peels using an emergent ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction (U/M-AE) technology. Five extractions were performed using different mass/volume and ethanol/water ratios, 1:16-0, 1:16-70, 1:8-0, 1:8-70, 1:12-30. Condition 1:16-0 was defined as the best extraction condition with 0% ethanol percentage (only water). The content of total soluble polyphenols was 307.57 mg/g. The total bound polyphenol content was 26.53 mg/g. Besides, two separation processes were made with the soluble fraction, the first one was performed using Amberlite XAD-16 (Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, MO, USA), and seven polyphenolic compounds were obtained. The second one was performed using a preparative HPLC (Varian, Palo Alto, CA, USA) equipment obtained fraction where three compounds were obtained: geraniin (main compound), ellagic acid, and ellagic acid pentoside. The major compound isolated in the two separations was geraniin, according to HPLC/ESI/MS (High Performance Liquid Chromatography/ElectroSpray Ionization/Mass) analysis.

Fructose and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) are important ingredients in the food industry. Fructose is considered an alternative sweetener to sucrose because it has higher sweetening capacity and increases iron absorption in children, and FOS's are a source of dietary fiber with a bifidogenic effect. Both compounds can be obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin. However, inulin presents limited solubility at room temperature, thus, fructose and FOS production is carried out at 60°C. Therefore, there is a growing interest to isolate and characterize thermostable inulinases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the capacity of different fungal strains to produce potential thermostable inulinases. A total of 27 fungal strains belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Rhizomucor and Thermomyces were evaluated for production of inulinase under submerged culture using Czapek Dox medium with inulin as a sole carbon source. Strains were incubated at 37°C and 200 rpm for 96 h. Crude enzyme extract was obtained to evaluate inulinase and invertase activity. In order to select the fungal strain with the highest thermostable inulinase production, a selection criterion was established. It was possible to determine the highest inulinase activity for Rhizopus microsporus 13aIV (10.71 U/mL) at 36 h with an optimum temperature of inulinase of 70°C. After 6 h at 60°C, the enzyme did not show any significant loss of activity and retained about 87% activity, while it only retains 57% activity at 70°C. According to hydrolysis products, R. microsporus produced endo and exo-inulinase.

In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of BTEX biodegradation by a consortium acclimatized to unleaded gasoline and bacterial strains isolated from it. The isolates were identified by PCR-amplification of 16S rRNA genes, and BTEX biodegradation was confirmed by the identification of dioxygenase-related proteins. The consortium degraded 95% of total BTEX and the following genera were present in the consortium: Pseudomonas, Shewanella, Burkholderia, Alcanivorax, Rhodococcus, and Bacillus. Strain FMB08, isolated from a consortium, was capable of removing 90% of total BTEX and its 16S rDNA analysis was similar to that of Pseudomonas.