Effects of Thai Local Ingredient Odorants,Litsea cubeba and Garlic Essential Oils,on Brainwaves and Moods

The functional food market is growing with a compound annual growth rate of 7.9%. Thai food recipes use several kinds of herbs. Lemongrass, garlic, and turmeric are ingredients used in Thai curry paste. Essential oils released in the preparation step create the flavor and fragrance of the famous tom yum and massaman dishes. While the biological activities of these ingredients have been investigated, including the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the responses to the essential oils of these plants. To investigate the effects of essential oil inhalation on the brain and mood responses, electroencephalography was carried out during the non-task resting state, and self-assessment of the mood state was performed. The essential oils were prepared in several dilutions in the range of the supra-threshold level. The results show that Litsea cubeba oil inhalation showed a sedative effect, observed from alpha and beta wave power reductions. The frontal and temporal regions of the brain were involved in the wave alterations. Garlic oil increased the alpha wave power at lower concentrations; however, a sedative effect was also observed at higher concentrations. Lower dilution oil induced changes in the fast alpha activity in the frontal region. The alpha and beta wave powers were decreased with higher dilution oils, particularly in the temporal, parietal, and occipital regions. Both Litsea cubeba and turmeric oils resulted in better positive moods than garlic oil. Garlic oil caused more negative moods than the others. The psychophysiological activities and the related brain functions require further investigation. The knowledge obtained from this study may be used to design functional food products.     

Determination of niobium(V) and tantalum(V) as 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol–citrate ternary complexes in geological materials by ion-interaction reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the simultaneous separation and determination of Nb(V) and Ta(V) as ternary complexes formed with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) and citrate was developed using ion-interaction reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on a C₁₈ column. Method parameters, such as pre-column complex formation conditions and composition of the complexes were investigated using spectrophotometry and HPLC. Under the optimum conditions, the Nb(V) and Ta(V) complexes were eluted within 12 min with a mobile phase of methanol–water (32:68, v/v) containing 5 mM acetate, 5 mM TBABr and 5 mM citrate buffer at pH 6.5, with detection at 540 nm. A typical separation efficiency was 33 000 and 20 000 theoretical plates per metre for Nb(V) and Ta(V), respectively. The relative standard deviation of retention times for the Nb(V) and Ta(V) complexes were 0.16% and 0.17% and for peak areas were 0.28% and 1.36%, respectively. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio=3) for Nb(V) and Ta(V) were 0.4 ppb and 1.4 ppb, respectively. Results obtained for standard reference rock samples agreed well with certified values and results obtained by inductively coupled plasma MS.     

Purge and trap with monolithic sorbent for gas chromatographic analysis of pesticides in honey

Polydivinylbenzene (P-DVB) and silica monolithic materials were synthesised in capillaries and then used to adsorb nine organonitrogen pesticides extracted from honey. After adsorption, each monolith-capillary was connected to a gas chromatograph (GC) with nitrogen-phosphorous detector (NPD). The silica monolith gave better peak shape and intensity than the P-DVB monolith. Formulation of silica monolith with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) as a sole initiator provided better separation and higher peak intensity, compared to those with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and (3:1) TMOS/MTMS initiators. The optimum internal diameter and length of silica monolith-capillary were 0.25 mm and 5 cm, respectively. The purge and trap conditions were optimised by purging with nitrogen and heating the honey sample solution at 100 °C for 60 min. Recovery of the method was in a range of 84.95–99.71% and the detection limits of the pesticides determined by using GC-NPD and GC-mass spectrometric detector (MSD) ranged between 0.36–1.75 and 0.13–0.25 ng g⁻¹, respectively.     

High-resolution rovibrational study of the Coriolis-coupled ν12 and ν15 modes of [1.1.1]propellane

Infrared spectra of the small strained cage molecule [1.1.1]propellane have been obtained at high resolution (0.0015 cm⁻¹) and the J, K, and l rovibrational structure has been resolved for the first time. We recently used these spectra to obtain combination-differences to deduce ground state parameters for propellane; over 4100 differences from five fundamental and four combination bands were used in the fitting process. The combination-difference approach eliminated potential errors caused by localized perturbations in the upper states and gave well-determined ground state parameters. In the current work, these ground state constants were fixed when fitting the upper state parameters for the ν₁₂ (e′) perpendicular and parallel bands. Over 4000 infrared transitions were fitted for each band, with J, K values ranging up to 71, 51 and 92, 90, respectively. While the transition wavenumbers for both bands can be fit nicely using separate analyses for each band, the strong intensity perturbations observed in the weaker ν₁₂ band indicated that Coriolis coupling between the two modes was significant and should be included. Due to correlations with other parameters, the Coriolis coupling parameter for the ν₁₅ and ν₁₂ interaction is poorly determined by a transition wavenumber fit alone but, fortunately, the intensity perturbations gave useful added constraints on . By combining the wavenumber fit with a fit of experimental intensities, a value of −0.42 was obtained, quite close to the value of −0.44 predicted by Gaussian ab initio density functional calculations using a cc-pVTZ basis. This intensity fit also yielded a (∂μ^z/∂Q₁₅)/(∂μ^x/∂Q_12a) dipole derivative ratio of 36.5, in reasonable agreement with a value of 29.2 predicted by the ab initio calculations. This ratio is unusually high due to large charge movement as the novel central C_axial-C_axial bond is displaced along the symmetry axis of the molecule for the ν₁₅ mode.     

Separation and determination of vanadium in fertiliser by capillary electrophoresis with a light-emitting diode detector

A method has been developed for determination of vanadium, as an anionic ternary complex of vanadium(V) with 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol (PAR) and hydrogen peroxide, after separation by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The optimum conditions for the formation of the ternary complex were acetate buffer (3 mmol L(-1)) at pH 6 containing 0.15 mmol L(-1) PAR and 7.1 mmol L(-1) H(2)O(2). The CE separation was conducted using 15 mmol L(-1) acetate buffer at pH 6 as the background electrolyte; the separation potential was -30 kV and the injection time 100 s. The vanadium complex was detected photometrically at 568 nm, by use of a light-emitting diode (LED); the detection limit was 19 ppb. The method was applied to the analysis of vanadium in fertilisers. Clean-up of the digested fertiliser sample, with Sep-Pak C(18) coated with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, before analysis was used to remove matrix ions which otherwise caused electrophoretic de-stacking. Vanadium levels found in the fertiliser samples by use of the CE method were found to be comparable with results obtained by HPLC and ICP-MS.     

High resolution infrared spectroscopy of [1.1.1]propellane

The infrared spectrum of [1.1.1]propellane has been recorded at high resolution (0.002 cm⁻¹) with individual rovibrational lines resolved for the first time. This initial report presents the ground state constants for this molecule determined from the analysis of five of the eight infrared-allowed fundamentals ν₉(e′), ν₁₀(e′), ν₁₂(e′), , as well as of several combination bands. In nearly all cases it was found that the upper states of the transitions exhibit some degree of perturbation but, by use of the combination difference method, the assigned frequencies provided over 4000 consistent ground state difference values. Analysis of these gave for the parameters of the ground state the following values, in cm⁻¹: B₀ = 0.28755833(14), D_J = 1.1313(5) × 10⁻⁷, D_JK = −1.2633(7) × 10⁻⁷, H_J = 0.72(4) × 10⁻¹³, H_JK = −2.24(13) × 10⁻¹³, and H_KJ = 2.25(15) × 10⁻¹³, where the numbers in parentheses indicate twice the uncertainties in the last quoted digit(s) of the parameters. Gaussian ab initio calculations, especially with the computed anharmonic corrections to some of the spectroscopic parameters, assisted in the assignments of the bands and also provided information on the electron distribution in the bridge-head carbon-carbon bond.     

Biological activities of Peristrophe bivalvis extracts: promising potential for anti-snake venoms against Naja kaouthia and Trimeresurus albolabris venoms

This study evaluates the in vitro anti-snake venom potential of Peristrophe bivalvis (PB) extracts against Naja kaouthia (NK) and Trimeresurus albolabris (TA) venoms, including inhibition of cytotoxic effects and enzymatic activities, and the binding-precipitation of extracts and venom proteins analysis. In addition, the antioxidant, cytotoxic and in vivo acute oral toxic activities of PB extracts are also reported. The in vitro cytotoxic and enzymatic analysis reveals that the ethanol extracts of stems and leaves of PB showed good anti-snake venom activity against NK and TA venoms. In addition, the antioxidant result indicated that only the ethanol extract of leaves exhibited weak DPPH radical-scavenging activity. The ethanol whole-plant extract of PB also showed no cytotoxicity against four cell lines. Moreover, the in vivo acute oral toxicity result of the ethanol whole-plant extract showed that all treated rats did not exhibit abnormal toxic signs or deaths.