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Homocysteine is a risk factor for vascular diseases, and lowering of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) may be beneficial for health. Homocysteine can be remethylated to methionine by betaine -homocysteine methyltransferase using betaine (2(N,N,N-trimethyl)glycine) as methyl donor. A dose of 6 g betaine/d has been used in the treatment of homocystinuria, but data on the dose-response are scarce. Thirty-four healthy men and women were supplied with doses of 1, 3 and 6 g betaine and then with 6 g betaine þ 1 mg folic acid for four consecutive 1-week periods. The mean plasma tHcy concentration decreased by 1·1 (NS), 10·0 and 14·0 % (P, 0·001) after supplementation with 1, 3 and 6 g betaine respectively. A further decrease in plasma tHcy by 5 % (P,0·01) was achieved by combining 1 mg folic acid with the 6 g betaine dose. Plasma betaine increased from 31 (SD 13) to 255 (SD 136) mmol/l in a dose-dependent manner (R 2 0·97). We conclude that plasma tHcy is lowered rapidly and significantly by 3 or 6 g betaine/d in healthy men and women.

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The aim of this study was to determine whether process hygiene in the beverage industry could be improved by applying new coating techniques to process surfaces. Photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) and hydrophobic coatings applied to stainless steel with or without added antimicrobial compounds were studied in laboratory attachment tests and in a 15-month process study. No clear reductions in numbers of attached microbes were obtained with photocatalytic coatings, except for coatings to which silver had been added. These TiO(2)+Ag coatings reduced microbial coverage in laboratory studies and in some process samples. Hydrophobic coatings reduced the area coverage of microorganisms in 4-h laboratory studies but did not affect colony counts in laboratory or process studies. The surfaces had changed from hydrophobic into hydrophilic during the process study. The coatings did not mechanically fully withstand process conditions; part of the hydrophobic coatings had peeled off, most of the precipitated Ag had dissolved, and some of the TiO(2) coatings were damaged. In conclusion, functional coatings have potential for reducing microbial loads on beverage industry surfaces, but these coatings need further development.

The aim of this study was to find out whether the first bacterial colonizers of brewery process surfaces after washing produce acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) quorum sensing signalling molecules. Microbial attachment and biofilm formation was studied by mounting sterile uncoated and coated stainless steel coupons onto critical places of the filling machines in three breweries. In the present study 26 previously deposited bacterial strains, as well as approximately 2,300 colonies from 76 process surface samples, were screened using reporter bacteria Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTLR4. AHL-producing bacteria were detected both from process samples and among the previous isolates. From the process samples, up to 15% of the screened colonies produced AHL molecules. Production of long chain AHLs was more common than short chain AHLs. The identified AHL-producing isolates belonged to the genera Pseudomonas, Serratia, Hafnia, Rahnella, Enterobacter and Aeromonas, which all belong to commonly found primary colonizers of brewery process surfaces. The same microbial genera producing AHL molecules were found from different breweries. Brewery filling equipment is susceptible to microbial attachment and accumulation on surfaces. In the future, inhibition of quorum sensing could be one additional way of controlling biofilm formation.