Inhibition of gastric H+, K(+)-ATPase activity by compounds from medicinal plants

H+, K(+)-ATPase enzyme is a therapeutic target for the treatment of gastric disturbances. Several medicinal plants and isolated compounds inhibit the acid gastric secretion through interaction with the proton pump. In order to add new properties to some natural constituents, five compounds, a benzylated derivative of vincoside, a diterpene (abietic acid) and three alkaloids (cephaeline, vinblastine and vindoline), were tested for their activities on gastric H+, K(+)-ATPase isolated from rabbit stomach. All the compounds inhibited H+, K(+)-ATPase activity with varied potency. The IC50 value for benzylvincoside was 121 (50-293) microM, and for abietic acid 177 (148-211) microM. The alkaloids cephaeline, vinblastine and vindoline inhibited the H+, K(+)-ATPase activity with IC50 values of 194, 761 and 846 microM, respectively. The results suggest that benzylvincoside, abietic acid and cephaeline can be important sources for the development of anti-secretor agents.     

Axial ligand influence on geometries, charge distributions and electronic structures of iron tetraazamacrocycle [FeTIM(X)(Y)] complexes assessed by Density Functional Theory

We employed the Density Functional Theory along with small basis sets, B3LYP/LANL2DZ, for the study of FeTIM complexes with different pairs of axial ligands (CO, H₂O, NH₃, imidazole and CH₃CN). These calculations did not result in relevant changes of molecular quantities as bond lengths, vibrational frequencies and electronic populations supporting any significant back-donation to the carbonyl or acetonitrile axial ligands. Moreover, a back-donation mechanism to the macrocycle cannot be used to explain the observed changes in molecular properties along these complexes with CO or CH₃CN. This work also indicates that complexes with CO show smaller binding energies and are less stable than complexes with CH₃CN. Further, the electronic band with the largest intensity in the visible region (or close to this region) is associated to the transition from an occupied 3d orbital on iron to an empty π^∗ orbital located at the macrocycle. The energy of this Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) transition shows a linear relation to the total charge of the macrocycle in these complexes as given by Mulliken or Natural Population Analysis (NPA) formalisms. Finally, the macrocycle total charge seems to be influenced by the field induced by the axial ligands.     

Qualitative analysis by online nuclear magnetic resonance using Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence with low refocusing flip angles

The Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) pulse sequence has been used in many applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and low-resolution NMR (LRNMR) spectroscopy. Recently, CPMG was used in online LRNMR measurements that use long RF pulse trains, causing an increase in probe temperature and, therefore, tuning and matching maladjustments. To minimize this problem, the use of a low-power CPMG sequence based on low refocusing pulse flip angles (LRFA) was studied experimentally and theoretically. This approach has been used in several MRI protocols to reduce incident RF power and meet the specific absorption rate. The results for CPMG with LRFA of 3π/4 (CPMG₁₃₅), π/2 (CPMG₉₀) and π/4 (CPMG₄₅) were compared with conventional CPMG with refocusing π pulses. For a homogeneous field, with linewidth equal to Δυ = 15 Hz, the refocusing flip angles can be as low as π/4 to obtain the transverse relaxation time (T₂) value with errors below 5%. For a less homogeneous magnetic field, Δυ = 100 Hz, the choice of the LRFA has to take into account the reduction in the intensity of the CPMG signal and the increase in the time constant of the CPMG decay that also becomes dependent on longitudinal relaxation time (T₁). We have compared the T₂ values measured by conventional CPMG and CPMG₉₀ for 30 oilseed species, and a good correlation coefficient, r = 0.98, was obtained. Therefore, for oilseeds, the T₂ measurements performed with π/2 refocusing pulses (CPMG₉₀), with the same pulse width of conventional CPMG, use only 25% of the RF power. This reduces the heating problem in the probe and reduces the power deposition in the samples.     

A digital image-based method for determining of total acidity in red wines using acid-base titration without indicator

This work proposes the use of digital image-based method for determination of total acidity in red wines by means of acid-base titration without using an external indicator or any pre-treatment of the sample. Digital images present the colour of the emergent radiation which is complementary to the radiation absorbed by anthocyanines present in wines. Anthocyanines change colour depending on the pH of the medium, and from the variation of colour in the images obtained during titration, the end point can be localized with accuracy and precision. RGB-based values were employed to build titration curves, and end points were localized by second derivative curves. The official method recommends potentiometric titration with a NaOH standard solution, and sample dilution until the pH reaches 8.2-8.4. In order to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, titrations of ten red wines were carried out. Results were compared with the reference method, and no statistically significant difference was observed between the results by applying the paired t-test at the 95% confidence level. The proposed method yielded more precise results than the official method. This is due to the trivariate nature of the measurements (RGB), associated with digital images.     

Electroanalytical Performance of (SiPy+Cl−/CuTsPc)5 LbL Film for Detecting Promethazine Hydrochloride

A (SiPy⁺Cl^?/CuTsPc)₅ layer‐by‐layer film was employed for the electroanalytical determination of promethazine hydrochloride in BR buffer pH 5.0 with peaks at 0.48 and 0.79 V. After optimisation of the square‐wave parameters (f=100 s^?1, a=40 mV and ΔE_s=2 mV), the peak at 0.79 V was used for quantification and a detection limit of 8.71×10^?9 mol L^?1 and a quantification limit of 9.31×10^?8 were calculated. The applicability of this procedure was tested on commercial formulations of promethazine hydrochloride by observing the stability, specificity, recovery and precision of the procedure in complex samples, without any preliminary treatment.     

Approach to the study of C-glycosyl flavones acylated with aliphatic and aromatic acids from Spergularia rubra by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection/electrospray ionization multi-stage mass spectrometry

The use of mass spectrometry (MS) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) as working tool for the study of the C-glycosyl flavones acylated with aliphatic and aromatic acids has allowed the tentative characterization of these compounds in Spergularia rubra and the establishment of the position of the acylation on the sugar moiety of the C-glycosylation by use of MS data. The combination of retention time (Rt), ultraviolet (UV) and MS(n) data of the compounds revealed their C-glycosyl flavone nature, being luteolin, apigenin and chrysoeriol derivatives. Ten non-acylated flavones were identified, from which six are described for the first time (one 7-O-glycosyl-6,8-diC-glycosyl flavone, four 6,8-diC-glycosyl flavones and one 2"-O-glycosyl-6-C-glycosyl flavone). Twenty-six acylated derivatives were also found for the first time. These compounds are grouped in three classes, namely, C-glycosyl flavones acylated with aliphatic acids, with aromatic acids or with a mixed acylation. The first group is characterized by the presence of one 6,8-diC-(acetyl)glycosyl flavone, four 6,8-diC-(malonyl)glycosyl flavones and two 7-O-glycosyl-6,8-diC-(malonyl)glycosyl flavones, while in the second one twelve 6,8-diC-(acyl)glycosyl flavones and two 7-O-glycosyl-6,8-diC-(acyl)glycosyl flavones are described. The last class contained five 6,8-diC-(malonyl,acyl)glycosyl flavones. No previous work has described the presence of C-glycosyl flavones acylated with aliphatic acids in this genus.     

Synthesis and application of imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid copolymer for Pb2+ determination by flow-injection thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A novel ion imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid copolymer (IIHC) was synthesized and used as a selective solid sorbent for Pb(2+) ions preconcentration using an on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) system coupled to TS-FF-AAS. The ionic hybrid sorbent was prepared using 1-vinylimidazole and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate as monomers, Pb(2+) ions as template, tetraethoxysilane as reticulating agent and 2,2'-azobis-isobutyronitrile as initiator. The best on-line SPE conditions concerning sorption behavior, including sample pH (6.46), buffer concentration (9.0 mmol L(-1)), eluent (HNO(3)) concentration (0.5 mol L(-1)) and preconcentration flow rate (4.0 mL min(-1)), were optimized by means of full factorial design and Doehlert matrix. The analytical curve ranged from 2.5 to 65.0 μg L(-1) (r=0.999) with limit of detection of 0.75 μg L(-1); the precision (repeatability) calculated as relative standard deviation (n=10) was 5.0 and 3.6% for Pb(2+) concentration of 10.0 and 60.0 μg L(-1), respectively. From on-line breakthrough curve, column capacity was 3.5 mg g(-1). Preconcentration factor (PF), consumptive index (CI) and concentration efficiency (CE) were 128.0, 0.16 mL and 25.6 min(-1), respectively. The selective performance of the sorbent, based on relative selectivity coefficient, was compared to NIC (non imprinted copolymer) for the binary mixture Pb(2+)/Cd(2+), Pb(2+)/Cu(2+) and Pb(2+)/Zn(2+). The results showed that ion imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid polymer had higher selectivity for Pb(2+) than NIC at 64.9, 16.0 and 8.8 folds. The developed method was successfully applied for highly sensitive and selective Pb(2+) determination in different kinds of water samples, parenteral solutions and urine. Accuracy was also assessed by analyzing certified reference fish protein (DORM-3) and marine sediment (MESS-3 and PACS-2) with satisfactory results.     

Total synthesis of (-)-4,8,10-tridesmethyl telithromycin

Novel sources of antibiotics are required to address the serious problem of antibiotic resistance. Telithromycin (2) is a third-generation macrolide antibiotic prepared from erythromycin (1) and used clinically since 2004. Herein we report the details of our efforts that ultimately led to the total synthesis of (-)-4,8,10-tridesmethyl telithromycin (3) wherein methyl groups have been replaced with hydrogens. The synthesis of desmethyl macrolides has emerged as a novel strategy for preparing bioactive antibiotics.     

Fluctuations of the Stokes and anti-Stokes surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering intensities in an electrochemical environment

Stokes and anti-Stokes SERRS intensity fluctuations were observed from a roughened silver electrode immersed in diluted solutions of Brilliant Green (BG), a behaviour linked to single-molecule events. The distributions of the anti-Stokes to Stokes ratios were obtained and their shape showed a strong dependence on the applied potential.