Purification and structural determination of hematopoietic stem cell-stimulating monoacetyldiglycerides from Cervus nippon (deer antler)

A mixture of monoacetyldiglycerides was newly isolated from the chloroform extract of antlers of Cervus nippon, guided by the hematopoietic stimulation of stem cells. The structures of monoacetyldiglycerides were determined by various spectroscopic methods: FAB MS, CID tandem MS, and 1D and 2D NMR. A mixture of at least nine inseparable sn-3-monoacetyldiglycerides was identified: 1 [C(39)H(72)O(6) (C16 : 0/C18 : 1)], 2 [C(39)H(72)O(6) (C18 : 1/C16 : 0)], 3 [C(39)H(70)O(6) (C16 : 0/C18 : 2)], 4 [C(39)H(70)O(6) (C18 : 2/C16 : 0)], 5 [C(41)H(74)O(6) (C18 : 0/C18 : 2), 6 [C(41)H(74)O(6) (C18 : 2/C18 : 0)], 7 [C(41)H(74)O(6) (C18 : 1/C18 : 1)], 8 [C(43)H(74)O(6) (C18 : 0/C20 : 4)], and 9 [C(43)H(74)O(6) (C20 : 4/C18 : 0)]. Among these nine monoacetyldiglycerides in deer antlers, compound 3 was one of the major compounds and was efficiently synthesized from glycerol. Spectral data of synthetic monoacetyldiglyceride 3 were compared with the corresponding data for the mixture of natural monoacetyldiglycerides. The mixture of natural monoacetyldiglycerides from deer antlers showed potent activity on the hematopoiesis (stimulation index=1.40+/-0.05, p<0.02 at 1 microg/ml), and synthetic monoacetyldiglyceride 3 showed even better activity (stimulation index=1.54+/-0.12, p<0.001, at 1 microg/ml).     

Antioxidant and anticancer activity of fresh corm extract from Romulea tempskyana (Iridaceae)

The antioxidant and anticancer properties of a medicinal plant, Romulea tempskyana (R. tempskyana) (Iridaceae) were investigated. The fresh corm water extract of R. tempskyana significantly increased cell viability against H(2)O(2) cytotoxicity(.) The extract also showed high inhibition of the lipid peroxidation activity (78.20%), reducing power (IC(50) 64.99?μg?mL(-1)) activity and hydroxyl (IC(50) 38.66?μg?mL(-1)), superoxide (IC(50) 25.99?μg?ml(-1)) and DPPH (IC(50) 19.88?μg?mL(-1)) radical scavenging activity. On the other hand, treatment of the cells with higher extract concentration showed the anticancer activity inducing cytotoxicity. The extract significantly affected Hepatoma G2 and H1299 cell proliferation (IC(50); 103.79 and 88.15?μg?mL(-1)). The amount of MDA (2-fold and 2.5-fold) and activities of several cellular antioxidant enzymes, including Se-GSPx (30%, 15%), non-Se-GSH-Px (11%, 16%) and GST (17%, 23%) increased in Hepatoma G2 and H1299 cells treated with IC(50) concentrations of extract, respectively. These findings suggest that R. tempskyana extract exhibits antioxidant and carcinogenesis-reducing potential.     

The correlation between molecular weight and antitumor activity of galactosaminoglycan (CO-N) from Cordyceps ophioglossoides

A galactosaminoglycan (CO-N) obtained by ultrasonication from a protein-bound polysaccharide SN-C, which was isolated from Cordyceps ophioglossoides culture, has a direct cytotoxicity against tumor cells (Ohmori et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull., 37, 1019 (1989). High performance liquid chromatographic analysis revealed that CO-N shows a broad molecular weight distribution with an average molecular weight of 33000. A potent antitumor activity of CO-N was observed in the higher-molecular-weight fraction on gel filtration, and the low-molecular-weight fraction below 6600 showed a weak activity. However, the depolymerized CO-N (ca. 5500) obtained by further ultrasonication of the original CO-N still retained the antitumor activity of CO-N against Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma or MM46 solid mammary carcinoma.     

Antioxidant activity and total phenols from the methanolic extract of Miconia albicans (Sw.) Triana leaves

Miconia is one of the largest genus of the Melastomataceae, with approximately 1,000 species. Studies aiming to describe the diverse biological activities of the Miconia species have shown promising results, such as analgesic, antimicrobial and trypanocidal properties. M. albicans leaves were dried, powdered and extracted to afford chloroformic and methanolic extracts. Total phenolic contents in the methanolic extract were determined according to modified Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant activity was measured using AAPH and DPPH radical assays. Chemical analysis was performed with the n-butanol fraction of the methanolic extract and the chloroformic extract, using different chromatographic techniques (CC, HPLC). The structural elucidation of compounds was performed using 500 MHz NMR and HPLC methods. The methanolic extract showed a high level of total phenolic contents; the results with antioxidant assays showed that the methanolic extract, the n-butanolic fraction and the isolated flavonoids from M. albicans had a significant scavenging capacity against AAPH and DPPH. Quercetin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, rutin, 3-(E)-p-coumaroyl-α-amyrin was isolated from the n-butanolic fraction and α-amyrin, epi-betulinic acid, ursolic acid, epi-ursolic acid from the chloroformic extract. The results presented in this study demonstrate that M. albicans is a promising species in the search for biologically active compounds.     

Adsorption of Eu(III) from aqueous solution using mesoporous molecular sieve

The adsorption behavior of Eu(III) from aqueous solution to mesoporous molecular sieves (Al-MCM-41) is investigated as a function of contact time, solid content, ionic strength, pH, foreign ions and temperature by using batch technique. The experimental results show that Eu(III) adsorption is strongly dependent on pH values, but independent of ionic strength and foreign cations under our experimental conditions. The kinetic process is described by a pseudo-second-order rate model very well. The adsorption isotherms are simulated by Langmuir model very well. The thermodynamic parameters (∆G°, ∆S°, ∆H°) are calculated from the temperature dependent adsorption isotherms at 293, 313 and 333 K, respectively, and the results suggest that the adsorption of Eu(III) on Al-MCM-41 is a spontaneous and endothermic process. Desorption studies indicate that the adsorbed Eu(III) is very difficult to be desorbed from the solid surface. Al-MCM-41 is a suitable material for the preconcentration and solidification of Eu(III) from large volumes of aqueous solutions.     

Synthesis of high molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution poly(acrylonitrile) via RAFT polymerization

Well‐defined polyacrylonitrile (PAN) of high viscosity‐average molecular weight (M_η = 405,100 g/mol) was successfully synthesized using reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The polymerization exhibits controlled characters: molecular weights of the resultant PANs increasing approximately linearly with monomer conversion and keeping narrow molecular weight distributions. The addition of 0.01 equiv (relative to monomer acrylonitrile) of Lewis acid AlCl₃ in the polymerization system afforded the obtained PAN with an improved isotacticity (by 8%). In addition, the influence of molecular weights and molecular weight distributions of PANs on the morphology of the electrospun fibers was investigated. The results showed that, under the same conditions of electrospinning, average diameter (247–1094 nm) of fibers increased with molecular weights of PANs, and it was much easier to get “uniform” diameter fibers while using PANs with narrow molecular weight distributions as the precursor of electrospinning. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Flocculation activity of anionic copolymers of acrylamide with respect to titanium dioxide suspension as influenced by their molecular properties

The kinetics of sedimentation of titanium dioxide suspension in the presence of ionic (anionic) acrylamide copolymers in the mode of free (unrestricted) sedimentation was studied. The effect of concentration and molecular properties of the copolymers on their flocculation activity was evaluated by sedimentation analysis.     

Uptake of thorium ions from aqueous solutions by a molecular sieve (13X type) powder

The adsorption of thorium(IV) ions on molecular sieve (13X type) powder from aqueous solutions has been studied as a function of shaking time pH, thorium ion concentration and temperature. The conditions of maximum adsorption of thorium ions obeys Langmuir and D-R isotherms over the entire concentration range studied. Thermodynamic quantities such as H, G and S have been calculated fromK _D values determined at various temperatures. The results show endothermic heat of adsorption, but negative free energy value indicates that the process of thorium adsorption on molecular sieve powder is favored at high temperature. The influence of various cations and anions on thorium(IV) ion adsorption was examined. A wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used for measuring the thorium ion concentration in solutions.     

Green synthesis of AgNPs from aqueous extract of Oxalis corniculata and its antibiofilm and antimicrobial activity

The silver nanoparticles OC-AgNPs, synthesized from the aqueous extract of Oxalis corniculata (OC), showed antiviral activity against Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1), and anti-biofilm, and antibacterial activities against human isolates of six multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The OC-AgNP was characterized by UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy; while its morphology and distribution were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that the biogenic OC-AgNPs are spherical with an average diameter of 40 nm and has shown UV-Vis peak at 445 nm. The cytotoxicity and safety of OC-AgNP has been evaluated by MTT assay in Vero cells and triple-negative human breast cancer MDA-MB-468 cells. The plaque reduction assay has been used to test the antiviral activity against HSV-1F. The anti-biofilm activity was assessed by crystal violet staining, followed by light and confocal microscopy; while the antibacterial activity was determined by conventional disk-diffusion and broth-dilution methods. Moreover, the mechanism of anti-biofilm and antibacterial activity was examined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The CC₅₀ (cytotoxicity) on Vero cells was 300 μg/ml; while the survival percentage of MDA-MB-468 cells was 27.12% at 20 μM and 80.97% at 100 μM of, respectively. The OC-AgNP showed moderate antiviral activity against HSV-1F at EC₅₀ of 25 μg/ml; but significantly inhibited the biofilm produced by Pseudomonus aeruginosa and Escherichia coli at 25-50 μg/ml; while at 30-50 μM we observed the dose-dependent lowering of fluorescence intensity under light and confocal microscope. Interestingly, the OC-AgNPs demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20 mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15 mm), Escherichia coli (12 mm), Salmonella typhi (10 mm), Streptococcus pyogenes (11 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (10 mm) with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 0.65–0.90 μM (0.11- 0.153 μg), respectively. Further, the FESEM micrograph showed disruption of membrane structure with the damage of cell membrane integrity of Pseudomonus aeruginosa at its MIC.     

Antioxidant activity optimization and GC-MS profile of aqueous extracts of Vernonanthura patens (Kunth) H. Rob. leaves

Abstract

The temperature and extraction time of aqueous extracts of Vernonanthura patens (Kunth) H. Rob. (AEVP) leaves obtained by decoction were optimized for maximum recovery of DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS⁺ inhibition activity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) using response surface methodology (RSM). A central composite design (CCD) of 13 experimental runs was applied and second order polynomial models were used to describe the responses of the assessed extraction parameters. The optimized conditions: 79.79?°C and 126.23?minutes were found using the composite desirability function. The scavenging activity of assessed extracts could be correlated mostly to the presence of malic acid, succinic acid, α-ketoglutaric acid, citric acid, m-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, inositol, and β-amyrin detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). These results have not been reported and support the potential application of AEVP as natural source of antioxidants.     

Helical nanofibers from aqueous self-assembly of an oligo(p-phenylene)-based molecular dumbbell

We have synthesized an amphiphilic dumbbell-shaped molecule consisting of dodeca-p-phenylene and aliphatic polyether dendrons as flexible end groups. The molecular dumbbell in aqueous solution self-assembles into well-defined left-handed helical cylinders with a diameter (8 nm) of a molecular length scale and a pitch length of 5.6 nm, as confirmed by TEM. These elementary helical fibrils are further assembled to give left-handed superhelical fibers with lengths up to several micrometers. Such a well-defined helical arrangement of conjugated rod building blocks may provide a new strategy for the design of one-dimensional nanostructured materials with biomimetic, electronic, and photonic functions.     

Antioxidant activity of aqueous methanol extracts of Protaetia brevitarsis Lewis (Coleoptera: Scarabaedia) at different growth stages

In this study, we evaluate the antioxidant properties of the various extracts of Protaetia brevitarsis Lewis (Coleoptera: Scarabaedia) at different growth stages. The antioxidant activities of six different extracts from larvae, pupae and imago were measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and singlet oxygen (1O? ). The larval methanol extracts (LME) and imago methanol extracts (IME) displayed the greatest effect in DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assay, but the activity of water extracts was weaker in the all tested assays. However, LME and IME could be compared to ascorbic acid in 1O? quenching ability (the effective concentrations of 50% 1O? quenching: EC?? 0.174, 0.149 and 0.177?mg?mL?1, respectively). The antioxidant ability of the extracts to scavenge free radicals could significantly change the contents of gallic acid equivalent, an important factor based on the value of R2. The results suggest that our study may contribute to the development of new bioactive products with potential applications to reduce oxidative stress as well as play a vital role in protecting insect organisms against oxidative damage caused by undesirable conditions.     

Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of methanolic extract and fractions from Senecio gibbosus subsp. gibbosus (GUSS) DC

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic extract and fractions of Senecio gibbosus subsp. gibbosus aerial parts. The antioxidant activity was assessed by means of two different tests: (1) bleaching of the stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) radical; and (2) lipid peroxidation of liposomes which were prepared from bovine brain extract. In both tests used methanolic extract and AcOEt fraction showed a significant antioxidant effect. The cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract and fractions was carried out using the SRB assay. The methanolic extract demonstrated a good cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and human prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP). Dichloromethane and AcOEt fractions showed the greatest cytotoxic activity, particularly on LNCaP cell line.     

Enzymes and phytochemicals from neem extract robustly tuned the photocatalytic activity of ZnO for the degradation of malachite green (MG) in aqueous media

The malachite green (MG) is very difficult to degrade in water; thus, it needs an efficient photocatalyst. In this study, neem extract was used to tune the surface and crystal properties of ZnO nanostructures for the photodegradation of MG. The biosynthesized ZnO samples were prepared by hydrothermal method in the presence of 5, 10 and 15 mL of neem extract. The structural characterization has shown nanoparticle like morphology of ZnO as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hexagonal phase was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The XRD analysis has shown a shift in the 2 theta towards lower angle for ZnO with increasing amount of neem extract. Also, the crystallite particle size of ZnO was decreased with increasing neem extract. The UV–visible spectroscopy has shown the decrease in the optical band gap of ZnO, and the lowest band gap is possessed by ZnO sample produced with 15 mL of neem extract. The ZnO sample obtained with 15 mL of neem extract has shown approximately 99% degradation efficiency for MG for 70 min in aqueous solution. The superior photocatalytic activity of ZnO sample with 15 mL of neem extract could be attributed from the decrease in charge recombination rate due to the decreased optical band gap and particle size.

     

Mutual binary separations of cadmium(II), indium(III) and thallium(III) as chlorides by their extraction in high molecular weight amines

The extraction of cadmium(II), indium(III) and thallium(III) with high molecular weight amines have been studied from aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions. Using the data mutual binary separations of these three elements with high separation coefficients are proposed. Various variables like type of amine, amine concentration and organic diluent were explored to propose the best conditions of separations.