Organically 'LINK'

Gas chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry, a technique previously employed to analyze non-volatile pungent components of ginger extracts modified to trimethylsilyl derivatives, was applied successfully for the first time to analyze unmodified partially purified fractions from the dichloromethane extracts of organically grown samples of fresh Chinese white and Japanese yellow varieties of ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae). This analysis resulted in the detection of 20 hitherto unknown natural products and 31 compounds previously reported as ginger constituents. These include paradols, dihydroparadols, gingerols, acetyl derivatives of gingerols, shogaols, 3-dihydroshogaols, gingerdiols, mono- and diacetyl derivatives of gingerdiols, 1-dehydrogingerdiones, diarylheptanoids, and methyl ether derivatives of some of these compounds. The thermal degradation of gingerols to gingerone, shogaols, and related compounds was demonstrated. The major constituent in the two varieties was [6]-gingerol, a chemical marker for Z. officinale. Mass spectral fragmentation patterns for all the compounds are described and interpreted. Anti-inflammatory activities of silica gel chromatography fractions were tested using an in vitro PGE2 assay. Most of the fractions containing gingerols and/or gingerol derivatives showed excellent inhibition of LPS-induced PGE2 production.

organically

When it comes to processed, multi-ingredient foods, the USDA organic standards specify additional considerations. Regulations prohibit organically processed foods from containing artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors and require that their ingredients are organic, with some minor exceptions. For example, processed organic foods may contain some approved non-agricultural ingredients, like enzymes in yogurt, pectin in fruit jams, or baking soda in baked goods.

The absence of a convenient model system to experimentally test the health claims associated with organic foods therefore makes evaluation of any beneficial effect of organically raised foods challenging. In order to develop a better understanding of the potential health benefit of organic food, we used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as an easy to use model system. In the past, Drosophila melanogaster has been successfully used to investigate biological problems such as genetics or developmental biology [8]. Over the last decade, Drosophila has increasingly been used to model human conditions such as immune [9] and cardiac function [10], as well as neurodegenerative diseases [11], infectious diseases [12] and aging [13]. In addition, Drosophila models for metabolic disease have recently been developed: In a model of sucrose overfeeding, Drosophila larvae show symptoms consistent with Type 2 diabetes [14]. Moreover, when the insulin-producing cells (IPC) are ablated, adult Drosophila show signs of Type 1 diabetes. Interestingly, when these IPC-ablated flies are injected with insulin, those symptoms are alleviated [15].

Here, we report on the use of the Drosophila model to assess the health benefits of organically farmed produce. Flies were raised on a variety of diets and their overall health evaluated. Flies raised on organic food showed improved performance on most tests, such as increased fertility and stress resistance.

In order to test directly whether organically farmed food elicits beneficial health effects, we raised fruit flies on diets made from extracts of different produce without any additional supplementation. We then subjected the flies to a series of experiments to determine their overall health.

In order to determine whether organically raised food provided health benefits, we raised fruit flies on a variety of diets made from produce extracts. Using this regime, we were able to test the effects of each food type independently, thus avoiding confounding effects of a mixed diet. Interestingly, flies raised on produce extracts had shorter life spans and reduced fertility compared to flies raised on regular lab food (data not shown). These data suggest that single-component produce extracts do not provide a nutritionally balanced diet for fruit flies. However, this observation provided a convenient platform to determine the health effects of organic foods. We performed tests measuring the longevity, fertility and stress and starvation resistance of flies raised on organic food extracts versus flies raised on conventional food extracts. Our data demonstrate that flies raised on organic food extracts by and large performed better on the majority of health tests (summarized in Table 1). Drosophila raised on diets based on organic foods performed better on 13 of 17 independent tests (15 of 19 if the activity data is considered). Interestingly, almost all negative or neutral results were obtained using raisin diets, suggesting the beneficial health effects of organic diets are dependent on the specific food item, which may explain some of the inconsistent results in the literature. Most importantly, our organic fed fruit flies showed improvements on the most significant measures of health [25]: fertility and longevity (flies raised on organic banana food had an 8% longevity increase that was not quite statistically significant). These data thus demonstrate that the fly system can successfully be used to evaluate health benefits of individual food items, thus providing a convenient tool for nutritional studies.

Another standard, the Global Textile Standard (GOTS), not only looks at the growing and harvesting of organically grown cotton, but also at the entire manufacturing process from farm to factory. It examines things like dyeing and processing and the effects they have on workers and the environment. This means that a final product that is certified to the GOTS standard contains organically grown cotton and was processed and manufactured according to best practices outlined by GOTS.

At REI, the majority of the cotton products sold under the REI Co-op brand are made with organically grown cotton, and we are always looking for ways to use more of it. Several other major brands sold at REI also use organically grown cotton extensively.

I've been growing food organically for over 30 years. I taught the Local Sustainable Agriculture Field Practicum at Stanford University in 2007 and 2008, and my wife and I make our living designing, installing, and maintaining organic vegetable gardens and edible landscapes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

(a) Schematic of the organically functionalized silica microsphere. Inset: Optical microscope image of microsphere coupled with dual microfibers. (b) Photoluminescence of silica substrate deposited with or without organic molecules. (c) Typical optical transmission spectra for TE and TM polarization modes in a functionalized microsphere. (d) Measured TH spectrum (green) and infrared pump spectrum (black). Inset: Scattering CCD image of the TH signal. (e) Comparison of the TH power collected by the probe fiber and pump fiber (100 magnified).

The best way to grow your email list is organically, as opposed to borrowed or purchased email lists. While it can take longer than the alternatives, organic growth is the sure way to an effective email campaign.

Abstract. Iron (Fe) is known to be mostly bound to organic ligands and to limit primary productivity in the Southern Ocean. It is thus important to investigate the bioavailability of organically bound Fe. In this study, we used four phytoplankton species of the Southern Ocean (Phaeocystis sp., Chaetoceros sp., Fragilariopsis kerguelensis and Thalassiosira antarctica Comber) to measure the influence of various organic ligands on Fe solubility and bioavailability. Short-term uptake Fe:C ratios were inversely related to the surface area to volume ratios of the phytoplankton. The ratio of extracellular to intracellular Fe is used to discuss the relative importance of diffusive supply and uptake to control Fe bioavailability. The effect of excess organic ligands on Fe bioavailability cannot be solely explained by their effect on Fe solubility. For most strains studied, the bioavailability of Fe can be enhanced relative to inorganic Fe in the presence of porphyrin, catecholate siderophore and saccharides whereas it was decreased in presence of hydroxamate siderophore and organic amine. For Thalassiosira, iron bioavailability was not affected by the presence of porphyrin, catecholate siderophore and saccharides. The enhancement of Fe bioavailability in presence of saccharides is presented as the result from both the formation of bioavailable (or chemically labile) organic form of Fe and the stabilisation of Fe within the dissolved phase. Given the ubiquitous presence of saccharides in the ocean, these compounds might represent an important factor to control the basal level of soluble and bioavailable Fe. Results show that the use of model phytoplankton is promising to improve mechanistic understanding of Fe bioavailability and primary productivity in HNLC regions of the ocean.