Analysis of the Volatile Components in the Leaves of Cinna-momum camphora by Static Headspace Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Combined with Accurate Weight Measurement

The volatile components in the leaves of C. camphora were analyzed by static headspace‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS‐GC‐MS) combined with accurate weight measurement. Accurate weight measurement obtained by Time‐of‐Flight mass spectrometry (TOF‐MS) helped to confirm the identification of volatiles in the analysis. 59 volatile components in the leaves of C. camphora were identified, which mainly included cis‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol (5.6%), 3‐hexen‐1‐ol, acetate (Z) (11.1%), β‐caryophyllene (15.4%), bicyclogermarene (8.4%), trans‐nerolidol (19.5%) and 9‐oxofarnesol (7.7%). The results show that method using HS‐GC‐MS combined with accurate weight measurement achieves reliable identification and has extensive application in the analysis of volatile components present in complex samples.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with in situ derivatization coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the determination of 4‐methylimidazole in red ginseng products containing caramel colors

A rapid analytical method was developed for the determination of 4‐methylimidazole from red ginseng products containing caramel colors by using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with in situ derivatization followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Chloroform and acetonitrile were selected as the extraction and dispersive solvents, and based on the extraction efficiency, their optimum volumes were 200 and 100 μL, respectively. The optimum volumes of the derivatizing agent (isobutyl chloroformate) and catalyst (pyridine), pH, and concentration of NaCl in the sample solution were determined to be 25 and 100 μL, pH 7.6, and 0% w/v, respectively. Validation of the optimized method showed good linearity (R² > 0.999), accuracy (≥89.86%), intra‐ (≤6.70%) and interday (≤4.17%) repeatability, limit of detection (0.96 μg/L), and limit of quantification (5.79 μg/L). The validated method was applied to quantify 4‐methylimidazole in red ginseng juices and concentrates, 4‐methylimidazole was only found in red ginseng juices containing caramel colorant (42.91–2863.4 μg/L) and detected in red ginseng concentrates containing >1% caramel colorant.     

Alternating Copolymerization of Ethylene and 5‐Hexen‐1‐ol with [Ethylene(1‐indenyl)(9‐fluorenyl)]‐zirconium Dichloride/Methylaluminoxane as the Catalyst

The copolymerization of ethylene and 5‐hexen‐1‐ol pretreated with trimethylaluminium was performed using [ethylene(1‐indenyl)(9‐fluorenyl)]zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane as the catalyst. The 5‐hexen‐1‐ol unit in the copolymer could be increased to about 50 mol‐% with increasing [5‐hexen‐1‐ol/ethylene[ ratio. ¹³C NMR analysis proved that the poly(ethylene‐co‐(5‐hexen‐1‐ol)) containing 50 mol‐% of 5‐hexen‐1‐ol units is an almost alternating copolymer.     

Copolymerization of ethylene or propylene with α‐olefins containing hydroxyl groups with zirconocene/methylaluminoxane catalyst

Copolymerization of olefins (ethylene and propylene) and 5‐hexen‐1‐ol pretreated with alkylaluminum was performed using [dimethysilylbis(9‐fluorenyl)]zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane as the catalyst. The copolymerization required extra addition of alkylaluminum to prevent deactivation of the catalyst when 5‐hexen‐1‐ol was pretreated with trimethylaluminum, whereas the triisobutylaluminum‐treated system did not require any addition of alkylaluminum. The molecular weight of the copolymer depended on the kind of alkylaluminum compound (masking reagent, additive, and cocatalyst). ¹³C NMR analysis proved that poly(ethylene‐co‐5‐hexen‐1‐ol) containing 50 mol % of 5‐hexen‐1‐ol acted as an alternating copolymer, whereas the poly(propylene‐co‐5‐hexen‐1‐ol) acted as a random copolymer. The surface property of the copolymers was simply evaluated by means of water drop contact angle measurement. It was found that the copolymers containing large amounts of 5‐hexen‐1‐ol units showed good hydrophilic properties. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 52–58, 2004     

Synthesis,characterization and catalytic application of a new organometallic oligomer based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

Although homogeneous catalysts provide high performance and selectivity, the difficulty of separation and recycling of these catalysts has bothered the scientific community worldwide. Therefore, the demand for heterogeneous catalysts that possess the advantages of homogeneous ones, with ease of separation and recyclability remains a topic of major impact. The oligomeric catalyst synthesized in this work was characterized using elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared, ¹³C NMR, ²⁹Si NMR and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopies, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and compared to its homogeneous counterpart [W(CO)₃Br₂(ATC)] in the epoxidation of 1‐octene, cyclooctene, (S )‐limonene, cis ‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol, trans ‐3‐hexen‐1‐ol and styrene. The results showed that the percentage conversion for the homogeneous species [W(CO)₃Br₂(ATC)] was slightly higher than for the oligomeric catalyst (POSS‐ATC‐[W(CO)₃Br₂]). Furthermore, the selectivity for epoxide of the oligomeric catalyst was greater than that of the homogeneous catalyst by about 25% when (S )‐limonene was used. Great conversions (yields) of products were obtained with a wide range of substrates and the catalyst was recycled many times without any substantial loss of its catalytic activity.     

Two new dammarane-type triterpene sapogenins from Chinese red ginseng

Two new dammarane-type triterpene sapogenins were isolated from the Chinese red ginseng. The new sapogenins were named as 24,26-dihydroxy-panaxdiol (1) and 24-hydroxy-panaxdiol (2). Their structures were elucidated by the combined analysis of NMR and mass spectrometry as 20(S),25(R)-epoxydammarane-3β,12β,24β,26-tetraol (1) and 20(S),25-epoxydammarane-3β,12β,24α-triol (2). The complete signal assignments of the two compounds were carried out by 2D NMR spectral and NOE differential spectroscopy analysis.     

Determination of glyoxal,methylglyoxal, and diacetyl in red ginseng products using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with GC–MS

A simple and rapid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was applied for the determination of glyoxal as quinoxaline, methylglyoxal as 2‐methylquinoxaline, and diacetyl as 2,3‐dimethylquinoxaline in red ginseng products. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated under optimum extraction conditions (extraction solvent: chloroform 100 μL, disperser solvent: methanol 200 μL, derivatizing agent concentration: 5 g/L, reaction time: 1 h, and no addition of salt). The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 1.30 and 4.33 μg/L for glyoxal, 1.86 and 6.20 μg/L for methylglyoxal, and 1.45 and 4.82 μg/L for diacetyl. The intra‐ and interday relative standard deviations were <4.95 and 5.80%, respectively. The relative recoveries were 92.4–103.9% in red ginseng concentrate and 99.4–110.7% in juice samples. Red ginseng concentrates were found to contain 191–4274 μg/kg of glyoxal, 1336–4798 μg/kg of methylglyoxal, and 0–830 μg/kg of diacetyl, whereas for red ginseng juices, the respective concentrations were 72–865, 69–3613, and 6–344 μg/L.     

Synthesis of 4‐Arylisocoumarins (=4‐Aryl‐1H‐2‐benzopyran‐1‐ones) through Acidic Hydrolysis of (Z)‐2‐(1‐Aryl‐2‐methoxyethenyl)benzaldehydes,Followed by Oxidation

4‐Arylisocoumarins (=4‐aryl‐1H‐2‐benzopyran‐1‐ones) 6 were prepared from 2‐(1‐aryl‐2‐methoxyethenyl)‐1‐bromobenzenes 1 . Successive treatment of these bromo styrenes with BuLi and 1‐formylpiperidine gave a mixture of (E)‐ and (Z)‐2‐(1‐aryl‐2‐methoxyethenyl)benzaldehydes 2 . Hydrolysis of (Z)‐isomers with conc. HBr, followed by pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) oxidation of the resulting 1H‐2‐benzopyran‐1‐ol derivatives 4 (and 5 ), afforded the desired products.     

State-of-the-art separation of ginsenosides from Korean white and red ginseng by countercurrent chromatography

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) has been one of the most popular herbs used for nutritional and medicinal purposes by the people of eastern Asia for thousands of years. Ginsenosides, the mostly widely studied chemical components of ginseng, are quite different depending on the processing method used. A number of studies demonstrate the countercurrent chromatography (CCC) separation of ginsenosides from several sources; however, there is no single report demonstrating a one-step separation of all of these ginsenosides from different sources. In the present study, we have successfully developed an efficient CCC separation methodology in which the flow-rate gradient technique was coupled with a new solvent gradient dilution strategy for the isolation of ginsenosides from Korean white (peeled off dried P. ginseng) and red ginseng (steam-treated P. ginseng). The crude samples were initially prepared by extraction with butanol and were further purified with CCC using solvent gradients composed of methylene chloride–methanol–isopropanol–water (different ratios, v/v). Gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector was used to analyze the components of the two-phase solvent mixture. Each phase solvent mixture was prepared without presaturation, which saves time and reduces the solvent consumption. Finally, 13 ginsenosides have been purified from red ginseng with the new technique, including Rg₁, Re, Rf, Rg_2, Rb₁, Rb₂, Rc, Rd, Rg₃, Rk₁, Rg₅, Rg₆, and F₄. Meanwhile, eight ginsenosides have been purified from white ginseng, including Rg₁, Re, Rf, Rh_1, Rb₁, Rb₂, Rc, and Rd by using a single-solvent system. Thus, the present technique could be used for the purification of ginsenosides from all types’ ginseng sources. To our knowledge, this is the first report involving the separation of ginsenoside Rg₂ and Rg₆ and the one-step separation of thirteen ginsenosides from red ginseng by CCC.     

Photooxygenation of Pregnanes

The course of the singlet‐oxygen reaction with pregn‐17(20)‐enes and pregn‐5,17(20)‐dienes was studied to compare the reactivity of the two alkene moieties present in some steroid families. Thus, from commercially available (3β,5α)‐hydroxy‐androstan‐17‐one and (3β)‐3‐hydroxyandrost‐5‐en‐17‐one, the following 3‐{[(tert‐butyl)dimethylsilyl]oxy}‐substituted, 17(20)‐unsaturated pregnanes were prepared (see Fig. 1): (3β,5α)‐21‐norpregn‐17(20)‐ene 1 ; (3β,5α,17Z)‐pregn‐17(20)‐ene 2 , (3β,5α,16α,17E)‐pregn‐17(20)‐en‐16‐ol 3 , (16β,5α,17E)‐pregn‐17(20)‐en‐16‐ol 4 , (3β,5α,16β,17E)‐pregn‐17(20)‐en‐16‐ol acetate 5 , (3β,16α)‐21‐norpregna‐5,17(20)‐dien‐16‐ol 6 , (3β,16α,17E)‐pregna‐5,17(20)‐dien‐16‐ol 7 , (3β,17Z)‐pregna‐5,17(20)‐diene 8 , (3β,17E)‐pregna‐5,17(20)‐dien‐21‐ol 9 and (3β,17E)‐5,17(20)‐dien‐21‐ol acetate 10 . The oxygenated products (see Fig. 2) obtained from 1 – 10 and ¹O₂, generated by irradiation of Rose Bengal in ³O₂‐saturated pyridine solution, were characterized by ¹H‐, ¹³C‐NMR, and MS (EI, FAB, HR‐EI, ESI‐ and UV‐MALDI‐TOF) data. Major products were those formed by the ene reaction involving as intermediates the corresponding hydroperoxides and the cyclic tautomers of the allylic hydroperoxides, i.e., the corresponding oxiranium oxide‐like intermediate (Scheme 5).     

Structure elucidation of sweet-tasting cycloartane-type saponins from ginseng oolong tea and Abrus precatorius L. leaves

The composition of ginseng oolong a widely used tea product was investigated. A new sweet-tasting cycloartane-type saponin 3β-O-[β-D-glucuronopyranosyl(1→2)]-β-D-6-acetylglucopyranosyl)-(20S,22S)-3β,22-dihydroxy-9,19-cyclolanost-24-en-26,29-oic acid (9), along with five new compounds, was identified in the methanolic extract of the ginseng oolong tea. Structural elucidation was conducted by spectroscopic methods, including 1D- and 2D-NMR, HR-MS, HPLC-LITMS/MS. It was shown that these compounds have different sugar chains connected to the abrusogenin molecule. Then saponin profiles of four commercially available ginseng oolong samples and Abrus precatorius L. leaves were compared and the presence of three known abrusosides and six new acetyl and malonyl abrusogenin derivatives was proved. The original ginsenosides were not detected in the extract, therefore, abrusosides could serve as a replacement responsible for the sweet taste of the tea.     

Packing considerations of bis‐dimedone derivatives

We have determined the crystal structures of 2,2′‐(4‐fluoro­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hydroxy‐5,5‐di­methyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₃H₂₇FO₄, (I), 2,2′‐(4‐chloro­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hy­droxy‐5,5‐dimethyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₃H₂₇ClO₄, (II), 2,2′‐(4‐hydroxy­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hydroxy‐5,5‐di­methyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₃H₂₈O₅, (III), 2,2′‐(4‐methyl­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hydroxy‐5,5‐di­methyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₄H₃₀O₄, (IV), 2,2′‐(4‐methoxy­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hy­droxy‐5,5‐di­methyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₄H₃₀O₅, (V), and 2,2′‐(4‐N,N′‐di­methyl­amino­phenyl)­methyl­enebis(3‐hydroxy‐5,5‐di­methyl‐2‐cyclo­hexen‐1‐one), C₂₅H₃₃NO₄, (VI). Structures (III) to (VI) of these bis‐dimedone derivatives show nearly the same packing pattern irrespective of the different substituent in the para position of the aromatic ring. However, (II) does not fit into this scheme, although the Cl atom is a substituent not too different from the others. The different packing of the fluoro compound, (I), can be explained by the fact that it crystallizes with two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, which show a different conformation of the dimedone ring. On the other hand, (I) shows a similar packing pattern to bis(2‐hydroxy‐4,4‐di­methyl‐6‐oxo‐1‐cyclo­hexenyl)­phenyl­methane, a compound containing an aromatic ring without any substituent and with Z′ = 2.     

Halogenated Sesquiterpenes from the Marine Red Alga Laurencia saitoi (Rhodomelaceae)

Four new halogenated sesquiterpenes, 10‐bromo‐3‐chloro‐2,7‐epoxychamigr‐9‐en‐8α‐ol ( 1 ), 2,10β‐dibromochamigra‐2,7‐dien‐9α‐ol ( 2 ), (9S)‐2‐bromo‐3‐chloro‐6,9‐epoxybisabola‐7(14),10‐diene ( 3 ), and (9R)‐2‐bromo‐3‐chloro‐6,9‐epoxybisabola‐7(14),10‐diene ( 4 ), were characterized from the marine red alga Laurencia saitoi. In addition, two known halosesquiterpenes, 2,10‐dibromo‐3‐chlorochamigr‐7‐en‐9α‐ol ( 5 ) and isolaurenisol ( 6 ), were also isolated and identified. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive analysis of spectroscopic data.     

Study on the Mechanism of Formation of 1‐Methylheptyl Phenyl Ether by the Isourea Method

The formation of (1R)‐1‐methylheptyl phenyl ether from (2S)‐octan‐2‐ol via its isourea derivative (S)‐ 1 follows a borderline mechanism. The intermediacy of a carbocation (see (S)‐ 2 ) can be demonstrated (Scheme 1). However, the extremely high inversion of configuration and the olefinic by‐products are also indicative of an S_N2 mechanism.     

Synthesis of a new schiff base oxovanadium complex with melamine and 2‐hydroxynaphtaldehyde on modified magnetic nanoparticles as catalyst for allyl alcohols and olefins epoxidation

A new magnetically recoverable nanocatalyst designated as Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@PTMS@Mel‐Naph‐VOcomplex was synthesize by covalent binding of a Schiff base ligand derived from melamine and 2‐hydroxy1naphtaldehyde on the surface of silica coated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles followed by complexation with VO (acac)₂. Characterization of the prepared nanocatalyst was accomplished with FT‐IR, XRD, SEM, HRTEM, VSM and atomic absorption techniques. It was found that the epoxidation of geraniol, trans‐2‐hexen‐1‐ol, 1‐octen‐3‐ol, norbornene, and cyclooctene is highly selective, affording quantitative yields of the corresponding epoxides with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) using Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Mel‐Naph‐VOcomplex as catalyst. High reaction yields, short reaction times, simple experimental and work up procedure, catalyst stability and excellent reusability even after five‐cycles of usage in the case of geraniol are some advantages of this research.     

A useful approach for the differentiation of wines according to geographical origin based on global volatile patterns

In this study, the feasibility of solid‐phase extraction combined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in tandem with partial least squares discriminant analysis was evaluated as a useful strategy to differentiate wines according to geographical origin (Azores, Canary and Madeira Islands) and types (white, red and fortified wine) based on their global volatile patterns. For this purpose, 34 monovarietal wines from these three wine grape‐growing regions were investigated, combining the high throughput extraction efficiency of the solid‐phase extraction procedure with the separation and identification ability. The partial least squares discriminant analysis results suggested that Madeira wines could be clearly discriminated from Azores and Canary wines. Madeira wines are mainly characterized by 2‐ethylhexan‐1‐ol, 3,5,5‐trimethylhexan‐1‐ol, ethyl 2‐methylbutanoate, ethyl dl ‐2‐hydroxycaproate, decanoic acid, 3‐methylbutanoic acid, and (E)‐whiskey lactone, whereas 3‐ethoxypropan‐1‐ol, 1‐octen‐3‐ol, (Z)‐3‐hexenyl butanoate, 4‐(methylthio)‐1‐butanol, ethyl 3‐hydroxybutanoate, isoamyl lactate, 4‐methylphenol, γ‐octalactone and 4‐(methylthio)‐1‐butanol, are mainly associated with Azores and Canary wines. The data obtained in this study revealed that solid‐phase extraction combined with gas chromatography and quadrupole mass spectrometry data and partial least squares discriminant analysis provides a suitable tool to discriminate wines, both in terms of geographical origin as well as wine type and vintage.     

Orthogonal strategy development using reversed macroporous resin coupled with hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography for the separation of ginsenosides from ginseng root extract

Ginsenosides have been widely conceded as having various biological activities and are considered to be the active ingredient of ginseng. Nowadays, preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography is considered to be a highly efficient method for ginseng saponins purification and preparation. However, in the process of practical application, due to the complex and varied composition of natural products and relatively simple pretreatment process, it is likely to block the chromatographic column and affect the separation efficiency and its service life. In this work, an orthogonal strategy was developed; in the first‐dimension separation, reverse‐phase macroporous resin was applied to remove impurities in ginseng crude extracts and classified ginseng extracts into protopanaxatriol and protopanaxadiol fractions. In the second‐dimension separation, the obtained fractions were further separated by a preparative hydrophilic column, and finally yielded 11 pure compounds. Eight of them identified as ginsenoside Rh₁, Rg₂, Rd, Rc, Rb₂, Rb₁, Rg₁, and Re by standards comparison and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The purity of these ginsenosides was assessed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection.     

The hydroxyl radical reaction rate constant and products of 3,5‐dimethyl‐1‐hexyn‐3‐ol

A bimolecular rate constant,k_DHO, of (29 ± 9) × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 was measured using the relative rate technique for the reaction of the hydroxyl radical (OH) with 3,5‐dimethyl‐1‐hexyn‐3‐ol (DHO, HC?CC(OH)(CH₃)CH₂CH(CH₃)₂) at (297 ± 3) K and 1 atm total pressure. To more clearly define DHO's indoor environment degradation mechanism, the products of the DHO + OH reaction were also investigated. The positively identified DHO/OH reaction products were acetone ((CH₃)₂C?O), 3‐butyne‐2‐one (3B2O, HC?CC(?O)(CH₃)), 2‐methyl‐propanal (2MP, H(O?)CCH(CH₃)₂), 4‐methyl‐2‐pentanone (MIBK, CH₃C(?O)CH₂CH(CH₃)₂), ethanedial (GLY, HC(?O)C(?O)H), 2‐oxopropanal (MGLY, CH₃C(?O)C(?O)H), and 2,3‐butanedione (23BD, CH₃C(?O)C(?O)CH₃). The yields of 3B2O and MIBK from the DHO/OH reaction were (8.4 ± 0.3) and (26 ± 2)%, respectively. The use of derivatizing agents O‐(2,3,4,5,6‐pentalfluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) and N,O‐bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) clearly indicated that several other reaction products were formed. The elucidation of these other reaction products was facilitated by mass spectrometry of the derivatized reaction products coupled with plausible DHO/OH reaction mechanisms based on previously published volatile organic compound/OH gas‐phase reaction mechanisms. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36: 534–544, 2004     

Distinguishing Ontario ginseng landraces and ginseng species using NMR-based metabolomics

The use of ¹H-NMR-based metabolomics to distinguish and identify unique markers of five Ontario ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) landraces and two ginseng species (P. quinquefolius and P. ginseng) was evaluated. Three landraces (2, 3, and 5) were distinguished from one another in the principal component analysis (PCA) scores plot. Further analysis was conducted and specific discriminating metabolites from the PCA loadings were determined. Landraces 3 and 5 were distinguishable on the basis of a decreased NMR intensity in the methyl ginsenoside region, indicating decreased overall ginsenoside levels. In addition, landrace 5 was separated by an increased amount of sucrose relative to the rest of the landraces. Landrace 2 was separated from the rest of the landraces by the increased level of ginsenoside R_b1. The Ontario P. quinquefolius was also compared with Asian P. ginseng by PCA, and clear separation between the two groups was detected in the PCA scores plot. The PCA loadings plot and a t-test NMR difference plot were able to identify an increased level of maltose and a decreased level of sucrose in the Asian ginseng compared with the Ontario ginseng. An overall decrease of ginsenoside content, especially ginsenoside R_b1, was also detected in the Asian ginseng’s metabolic profile. This study demonstrates the potential of NMR-based metabolomics as a powerful high-throughput technique in distinguishing various closely related ginseng landraces and its ability to identify metabolic differences from Ontario and Asian ginseng. The results from this study will allow better understanding for quality assessment, species authentication, and the potential for developing a fully automated method for quality control.

Formation of Diastereoisomerically Pure Oxazaphospholes and Their Reaction to Chiral Phosphane‐Borane Adducts

Starting with achiral phosphines and (1S,2S)‐2‐(methylamino)‐1‐phenylpropan‐1‐ol ((+)‐pseudoephedrine) or (1R,2S)‐2‐(methylamino)‐1‐phenylpropan‐1‐ol ((−)‐ephedrine), as chiral auxiliaries, diastereoisomerically pure oxazaphospholes were prepared (Scheme 1). The configuration at the P‐atom is controlled by the configuration at the Ph‐substituted C(1) of (+)‐pseudoephedrine or (−)‐ephedrine, respectively. This was confirmed by X‐ray crystal‐structure analyses of two intermediate compounds in the synthesis route to the chiral triarylborane‐phosphane adducts.