• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.222-226
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• 1996

The enzymatic synthesis of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (L-DOPA) was examined for the effects of the reaction additives such as sodium borate, alcohol, and organic solvents. The enzyme used was tyrosine phenol-lyase of Citrobacter freundii KCTC 2006 produced in Escherichia coli. The amounts of tyrosine phenol-lyase and pyridoxal-5-phosphate were optimized to 2.0 units/ml and 0.1 mM, respectively, for the synthetic reaction. Sodium borate, a substance that forms a complex with pyrocatechol, reduced the enzyme deactivation by pyrocatechol although it seriously inhibited the enzyme activity. Among the organic solvents tested, dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide, and alcohol increased the productivity of the L-DOPA synthesis. In a reaction system with 5% methanol, L-DOPA concentration increased up to 210 mM after 24 hours, and 77.1% of which was separated as precipitates. The L-DOPA was purified to 99.96% by solubilizing and recrystallyzing the precipitates.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.322-331
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• 2002

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of vitamin $B_{6}$ intake by normal term delivery pregnant women on the concentration of vitamin $B_{6}$ in the material plasma, the umbilical cord plasma, and the placental tissue. Dietary intake data were obtained from a semi-quantitative frequency questionnaire. The daily mean energy and protein intakes were 2189.5 kcal (93.2% of RDA) and 79.3 g (113.3% of RDA), respectively. The average daily vitamin $B_{6}$ intake was 1.7 mg (91.4% of RDA) for the pregnant women. Their main sources of vitamin $B_{6}$ were cereal & starch (50%), and vegetables & fruits (33%). The pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) concentration of the maternal plasma, the umbilical cord plasma, and the placenta were 16.7 $\pm$ 4.1 nmol/1, 61.3 $\pm$ 19.8 nmol/l and 898.6 $\pm$ 159.2 ng/g, respectively. The PLP level was the highest in the placenta. The PLP level of the maternal plasma was significantly lower than the of the umbilical cord plasma (p < 0.001). The PLP level of maternal plasma correlated positively with that of the placenta (p < 0.0001) and the umbilical cord plasma (p < 0.05). Also the PLP level of the placenta correlated positively with that of the umbilical cord plasma (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that the vitamin $B_{6}$ nutritional status of the fetus is affected by placental vitamin $B_{6}$ levels, and that the placental vitamin B$_{6}$ levels reflect the maternal vitamin $B_{6}$ status. The umbilical cord plasma PLP level showed a positive correlation with the gestational length (p < 0.05). A negative association was observed between the PLP level showed of the umbilical cord plasma and the pregnancy weight gain (p < 0.03). The results suggest that the transfer of PLP from maternal plasma to the placental tissue could be an active transport, white the transfer of PLP from the placenta to the fetus is by means of simple diffusion. Thus, neonatal vitamin $B_{6}$ nutrition is influenced by the maternal nutritional status.