Glycation is a general spontaneous process in proteins which has significant impact on their physical and functional properties. These changes in protein properties could be related to several pathological consequences such as cataract, arteriosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Among the proteins, glycation of Human serum albumin (HSA) is of special interest. Human serum albumin is the most abundant protein in the plasma and because of its high sensitivity for glycation, undergoes structural and functional changes due to binding of reducing sugars in vitro. The glycation process occurs by plasma glucose in vivo which has great impacts on the three dimensional structure of protein. These changes are efficient and stable enough which makes the protein to be considered as a new special disease marker instead of HbA1C for diabetes. In some cases, glycated albumin was used as an alternative marker for glycemic control. Glycated albumin reacts with glucose ten times more rapidly than HbA1C and has shorter half-life which makes it more reliable for indicating glycemic states. In this review, glycation of Human Serum Albumin has been overviewed, starting from overall concepts of glycation, followed by some Examples of pathological consequences of protein glycation. The BSA aggregation was reviewed in terms of structural and biological impacts of glycation on the protein followed by reporting documents which indicate possibility of glycated albumin to be used as specific marker for diabetes. Finally, some of the studies related to the models of glycated albumin have been briefly described, with an emphasis on In vitro studies. It is interesting to note the relationship found between in vitro glycation experiments and the propensity of proteins to form amyloid structures, a point that could be further explored as to its significance in hyperglycemic states.

Phloridzin is the specific and competitive inhibition of sodium/glucose cotransporters in the intestine (SGLT1) and kidney (SGLT2). This property which could be useful in the management of postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetes and related disorders. Phloridzin is one of the dihydrochalcones typically contained in apples and in apple-derived products. The effect of phloridzin orally doses 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg body weight on diabetes was tested in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of diabetes type 1. From beneficial effect of this compound is significant reduction of blood glucose levels and improve dyslipidemia in diabetic rats. As a well-known consequence of becoming diabetic, urine volume and water intake were significantly increased. Administration of phloridzin reduced urine volume and water intake in a dose-dependent manner. Phloretin decreases of food consumption, as well as a marked lowering in the weight. In conclusion, this compound could be proposed as an antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic agent in diabetes and potential therapeutic in obesity.

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Purpose: To assess the potential of Azolla filiculoides, total body collected from a rice farm in northern Iran as source for biodiesel production. C22:6) in the macroalgae biodiesel was confirmed. Methods: Solvent extraction using Soxhlet apparatus with chloroform-methanol (2:1 v/v) solvent blend was used to obtain crude oil from freeze-dried the Azolla plant. Acid-catalyzed transesterification was used to convert fatty acids (FA), monoglycerides (MG), diglycerides (DG) and triglycerides (TG) in the extracts to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by acid-catalyzed methylation. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to analyze the FAMEs in the macroalgae biodiesel. Results: The presence of myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), palmitoleic acid (C16:1), myristic acid (C14:0), stearic acid (C18:3), oleic acid (C18:1) and linoleic acid 9C18:2), eicosenoic acid (C20:1), eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5), erucic acid (C22:1) and docosahexaenoic acid ( Conclusion:The results indicate that biodiesel can be produced from macroalgae and that water fern is potentially an economical source of biodiesel due its ready availability and probable low cost.

Amyloid fibrils are considered as nanostructures that could be formed by ordered self-assembly of the partially-folded states of many different peptides or proteins. In this study, bovine serum albumin was used as a model protein whose ordered aggregation (fibrillation) was optimized. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used in a design that contained a total of 30 experimental trials. The first 24 were organized in a factorial design and from 25 to 30 involved the replications of the central points. Data obtained from RSM were subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analyzed using a second order polynomial equation. Subsequent testing of the suggested experimental parameters was done in vitro with Congo red spectrophotometric assay. Protein concentration, pH, temperature and time of incubation were the variables used in this study. Responses were assessed by measuring absorbance in 540 nm (characteristic of amyloid formation) and maximal wavelength. Concomitant effects of variables were assessed in surface plots that each considered two of the variables. Interestingly, the pattern obtained by monitoring absorbance at 540 nm and absorbance in maximal wavelength were identical in most cases. We are reporting the optimum concentration of protein, pH, temperature and time at 5 mg ml⁻¹, 3.02 and 72 °C and 48 h, respectively. Our findings suggest that use of Congo red spectrophotometric test, as a simple and affordable assay could be suggested as a first test for assessing fibril formation of proteins. Absorbance in maximal wavelength is recommended as a significant indication of fibril formation.