Optimisation of the ultrasound-assisted extraction of betalains and polyphenols from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol

The present study optimised the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of bioactive compounds from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol. Influence of temperature (25.86–54.14 °C) and ultrasonic power densities (UPD) (76.01–273.99 mW/mL) on total betalains (BT), betacyanins (BC), betaxanthins (BX), total polyphenols (TP), antioxidant activity (AA), colour parameters (L*, a*, and b*), amaranthine (A), and isoamaranthine (IA) were evaluated using response surface methodology. Moreover, betalain extraction kinetics and mass transfer coefficients (K_La) were determined for each experimental condition. BT, BC, BX, TP, AA, b*, K_La, and A were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by temperature extraction and UPD, whereas L*, a*, and IA were only affected (p < 0.05) by temperature. All response models were significantly validated with regression coefficients (R²) ranging from 87.46 to 99.29%. BT, A, IA, and K_La in UAE were 1.38, 1.65, 1.50, and 29.93 times higher than determined using conventional extraction, respectively. Optimal UAE conditions were obtained at 41.80 °C and 188.84 mW/mL using the desired function methodology. Under these conditions, the experimental values for BC, BX, BT, TP, AA, L*, a*, b*, K_La, A, and IA were closely related to the predicted values, indicating the suitability of the developed quadratic models. This study proposes a simple and efficient UAE method to obtain betalains and polyphenols with high antioxidant activity, which can be used in several applications within the food industry.     

Oxidative Epigallocatechin Gallate Coating on Polymeric Substrates for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Plant derived flavonoids have not been well explored in tissue engineering applications due to difficulties in efficient formulations with biomaterials for controlled presentation. Here, the authors report that surface coating of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on polymeric substrates including poly (L‐lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers can be performed via oxidative polymerization of EGCG in the presence of cations, enabling regulation of biological functions of multiple cell types implicated in bone regeneration. EGCG coating on the PLLA nanofiber promotes osteogenic differentiation of adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) and is potent to suppress adipogenesis of ADSCs while significantly reduces osteoclastic maturation of murine macrophages. Moreover, EGCG coating serves as a protective layer for ADSCs against oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide. Finally, the in vivo implantation of EGCG‐coated nanofibers into a mouse calvarial defect model significantly promotes the bone regeneration (61.52 ± 28.10%) as compared to defect (17.48 ± 11.07%). Collectively, the results suggest that EGCG coating is a simple bioinspired surface modification of polymeric biomaterials and importantly can thus serve as a promising interface for tuning activities of multiple cell types associated with bone fracture healing.     

基于计算机视觉技术的茶叶品质随机森林感官评价方法研究

为弥补茶叶品质感官审评存在的缺陷，利用计算机视觉技术对茶叶品质进行快速无损评价研究。以碧螺春绿茶为对象，依据专家感官审评结果，将茶样分成4个等级；采用中值滤波及拉普拉斯算子对茶样图像进行预处理，并提取预处理后的茶样图像的颜色特征和纹理特征以表征茶叶图像的外形特征，利用随机森林算法对茶叶外形特征属性进行重要性排序；筛选出重要性较大的特征及随机森林算法中最优的决策树棵数建立感官评价模型，并与建立的支持向量机(SVM)模型性能相比较。结果表明：色调均值、色调标准差、绿体均值、平均灰度级、饱和度均值、红体均值、饱和度标准差、亮度均值、一致性等9个特征属性的重要性较大，且与感官审评特征描述结果相一致；当采用优选出的9个重要性较大的特征及决策数棵数为500时，建立的模型性能最优，模型总体判别率为95.75%，Kappa系数为0.933，OOB误差为5%，较SVM模型分别提高了3.5%，0.066，优选的9个重要性较大的图像特征与感官审评特征描述相一致。研究表明：利用随机森林方法筛选出对茶叶外形特征属性贡献最大的少数几个特征建立模型，模型性能就能达到很好的识别效果，模型得到简化，同时模型精度和稳定性都高于其他方法。     

Oak-Associated Negativicute Equipped with Ancestral Aromatic Polyketide Synthase Produces Antimycobacterial Dendrubins

Anaerobic bacteria have only recently been recognized as a source of antibiotics; yet, the metabolic potential of Negativicutes (Gram-negative staining Firmicutes) such as the oak-associated Dendrosporobacter quercicolus has remained unknown. Genome mining of D. quercicolus and phylogenetic analyses revealed a gene cluster for a type II polyketide synthase (PKS) complex that belongs to the most ancestral enzyme systems of this type. Metabolic profiling, NMR analyses, and stable-isotope labeling led to the discovery of a new family of anthraquinone-type polyphenols, the dendrubins, which are diversified by acylation, methylation, and dimerization. Dendrubin A and B were identified as strong antibiotics against a range of clinically relevant, human-pathogenic mycobacteria.     

Assessment of the in vitro toxicity of calixarenes and a metal-seamed calixarene: a chemical pathway for clinical application

Calixarenes are known to form host–guest complexes and supramolecular nanoassemblies with well-defined architectures. However, the use of these materials in conjunction with drug moieties is still under explored. One reason is the insufficient biocompatibility studies. Our present study represents a systematic in vitro investigation of the cytotoxicity associated with C-methylresorcin[4]arene, C-methylpyrogallol[4]arene, p-phosphonated calix[8]arene and a metal-seamed calixarene–copper(II) complex, using human HEK293 and rat C6G cell lines and two different cell viability assays (MTT and CellTiter-Glo) to avoid species-biased results. All compounds showed low to moderate toxicity. The trend in the CC₅₀ values indicated that the suppression of the coordination ability and the presence of phosphonate groups decrease the overall cytotoxicity of the compounds. The results of this study not only establish calixarenes and their immediate families as potential drug carriers and drug modifiers, but also reveal a pathway for fine-tuning their toxicological behaviour by appropriate chemical modification.     

Ternary choline chloride/caffeic acid/ethylene glycol deep eutectic solvent as both a monomer and template in a molecularly imprinted polymer

A molecularly imprinted polymer based on a ternary deep eutectic solvent comprised of choline chloride/caffeic acid/ethylene glycol was prepared. The caffeic acid in the ternary deep eutectic solvent was used as both a monomer and template. The molecularly imprinted polymer based on the ternary deep eutectic solvent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, atomic force microscopy, and elemental analysis. A series of molecularly imprinted polymers based on choline chloride/caffeic acid/ethylene glycol with different molar ratios was prepared and applied to the molecular recognition of polyphenols. A comparison of the recognition ability of molecularly imprinted polymers to polyphenols revealed that the choline chloride/caffeic acid/ethylene glycol (1:0.4:1, molar ratio) molecularly imprinted polymer had the best molecular recognition effect with 132 μg/g of protocatechuic acid, 104 μg/g of catechins, 80 μg/g of epicatechin, and 123 μg/g of caffeic acid in 6 h, as well as good molecular recognition ability for polyphenols from a Radix Asteris sample. These results show that the ternary deep eutectic solvent based molecularly imprinted polymer is a potential medium that can be applied to drug purification, drug delivery, and drug analysis.     

《茶经》中的中学化学课程资源

唐代陆羽撰写的《茶经》被誉为“茶叶百科全书”,是中国乃至世界上最早关于茶文化的史料,也是保留最完整、最全面的茶学专著。通过探析《茶经》中蕴含的育人价值,挖掘《茶经》中的化学课程资源。在化学教学中,将《茶经》中与化学知识契合的传统文化内容作为情境载体建立学习桥梁,从化学角度对传统文化内容进行再认识,从文化视角感受化学中蕴含的人文底蕴,帮助学习和理解化学知识,增强文化认同感和民族自豪感。依据新课标中的情境素材建议与要求,梳理了《茶经》中可与高中化学教科书相联系的内容,为创设真实的情境提供素材,利用古代茶器具与中学化学实验仪器之间的相似性创设情境。并且提出了关于中学化学教学中有效融入传统文化的几点建议。     

Polyphenol-Based Nanosystems for Next-Generation Cancer Therapy: Multifunctionality,Design, and Challenges

With the continuous updating of cancer treatment methods and the rapid development of precision medicine in recent years, there are higher demands for advanced and versatile drug delivery systems. Scientists are committed to create greener and more effective nanomedicines where the carrier is no longer limited to a single function of drug delivery. Polyphenols, which can act as both active ingredients and fundamental building blocks, are being explored as potential multifunctional carriers that are efficient and safe for design purposes. Due to their intrinsic anticancer activity, phenolic compounds have shown surprising expressiveness in ablation of tumor cells, overcoming cancer multidrug resistance (MDR), and enhancing immunotherapeutic efficacy. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the design, synthesis, and application of versatile polyphenol-based nanosystems for cancer therapy in various modes. Moreover, the merits of polyphenols and the challenges for their clinical translation are also discussed, and it is pointed out that the novel polyphenol delivery system requires further optimization and validation.