Triterpene composition and bioactivities of Centella asiatica

Leaves of Centella asiatica (Centella) were analysed for their triterpene composition and bioactivity such as collagen enhancement, antioxidant, anticellulite and UV protection capacity properties. Triterpenes of Centella were measured using HPLC-PAD on an Excil ODS 5 mm (C18) column for the simultaneous determination of asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside. Centella was found to contain significant amounts of madecassoside (3.10 ± 4.58 mg/mL) and asiaticoside (1.97 ± 2.65 mg/mL), but was low in asiatic and madecassic acid. The highest collagen synthesis was found at 50 mg/mL of Centella extracts. The antioxidant activity of Centella (84%) was compared to grape seed extract (83%) and Vitamin C (88%). Its lipolytic activity was observed by the release of glycerol (115.9 μmol/L) at 0.02% concentration. Centella extracts exhibited similar UV protection effect to OMC at 10% concentration. In view of these results, the potential application of Centella in food and pharmaceutical industries is now widely open.     

Transportation in a lithium-ion half-cell

In order to understand the transportation processes in a lithium-ion half-cell during discharge, the concentration profile of lithium-ion in the solution phase is considered. In this paper, the concentration model is solved using finite difference method (FDM). This numerical method is selected and finally compared with one of the analytical methods, that is, separation of variable (SOV). From this comparison, the error is achieved between the FDM and the SOV. The agreement between obtained and published results is verified by root mean square error.     

Adsorption of Copper (II) onto Different Adsorbents

Removal of copper (II) from aqueous solution of CuCl₂·2H₂O by different adsorbents, namely, sissoo sawdust, activated carbon, and fly ash were investigated. Adsorption of copper (II) on sissoo sawdust, activated carbon, and fly ash has been studied using batch techniques. Kinetic and isotherm studies were determined as a function of the solution pH, temperature, contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial adsorbate concentration. Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Temkin isotherms were used to analyze the equilibrium data at different temperatures. The maximum adsorption capacities for copper (II) on sissoo sawdust, activated carbon, and fly ash adsorbents at 30, 40, and 50°C temperatures were found to be 263.2, 166.6, and 142.8; 125.0, 88.49, and 72.46; 69.93, 181.8, and 111.1 mg/g, respectively. The thermodynamics of copper (II) adsorption on sissoo sawdust, activated carbon, and fly ash indicates its spontaneous and endothermic nature. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.     

Morphology and optical investigations of ZnO pyramids and nanoflakes for optoelectronic applications

Zinc-oxide (ZnO) pyramidal and nanoflakes were grown by electrochemical deposition of Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O on n-type Si substrate with different crystallographic orientations and on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass. Various morphological shapes of deposited ZnO nanostructures were observed, which were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The bulk modulus was calculated to determine the material stiffness. Two peaks were observed at room temperature photoluminescence spectrum, i.e., a near-band-edge (NBE) emission in the UV region and a broad deep-level emission (DLE) in the green emission region. The optical properties were calculated to confirm the specific models validity of ZnO nanostructures for optoelectronics. The measured and calculated values show good agreement with other data.     

Monitoring of streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin residual levels in porcine meat press juice and muscle via solid-phase fluorescence immunoassay and confirmatory analysis by liquid chromatography after post-column derivatization

A solid-phase fluorescence immunoassay (SPFIA) that was primarily developed for detection of antibiotic residues in milk was qualitatively applied for the pre-screening of the residues of aminoglycoside antibiotics, streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, in meat press juice. The confirmation of both analytes was performed using a validated method of highperformance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization. The analytical performance was demonstrated by the analysis of pork meat samples spiked at three concentration levels, ranging from 0.25 to 2.5 ppm for each analyte. In general, the recoveries ranged from 80.4 to 81.5% and from 79.6 to 84.4% for streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, respectively, with relative standard deviations lower than 6%. The limits of detection were 0.1 and 0.15 ppm for streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin, respectively, and the limits of quantification of 0.35 and 0.5 ppm are below the maximum residue limits of Codex, the European Union, and the Korean Food and Drug Administration (ranging from 0.5 to 0.6 ppm). Eight real samples collected from the Seoul area were first monitored using SPFIA, and none of them were found positive. These findings are in good accordance with those observed by HPLC analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to monitor the aminoglycoside residues in pork meat press juice using SPFIA.     

Alternative Approach for Specific Tyrosinase Inhibitor Screening: Uncompetitive Inhibition of Tyrosinase by Moringa oleifera

Tyrosinase (TYR) is a type III copper oxidase present in fungi, plants and animals. The inhibitor of human TYR plays a vital role in pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields by preventing synthesis of melanin in the skin. To search for an effective TYR inhibitor from various plant extracts, a kinetic study of TYR inhibition was performed with mushroom TYR. Among Panax ginseng, Alpinia galanga, Vitis vinifera and Moringa oleifera, the extracts of V. vinifera seed, A. galanga rhizome and M. oleifera leaf reversibly inhibited TYR diphenolase activity with IC₅₀ values of 94.8 ± 0.2 µg/mL, 105.4 ± 0.2 µg/mL and 121.3 ± 0.4 µg/mL, respectively. Under the same conditions, the IC₅₀ values of the representative TYR inhibitors of ascorbic acid and kojic acid were found at 235.7 ± 1.0 and 192.3 ± 0.4 µg/mL, respectively. An inhibition kinetics study demonstrated mixed-type inhibition of TYR diphenolase by A. galanga and V. vinifera, whereas a rare uncompetitive inhibition pattern was found from M. oleifera with an inhibition constant of K_ii 73 µg/mL. Phytochemical investigation by HPLC-MS proposed luteolin as a specific TYR diphenolase ES complex inhibitor, which was confirmed by the inhibition kinetics of luteolin. The results clearly showed that studying TYR inhibition kinetics with plant extract mixtures can be utilized for the screening of specific TYR inhibitors.     

Copper-catalyzed oxaziridine-mediated oxidation of C-h bonds

The highly regio- and chemoselective oxidation of activated C-H bonds has been observed via copper-catalyzed reactions of oxaziridines. The oxidation proceeded with a variety of substrates, primarily comprising allylic and benzylic examples, as well as one example of an otherwise unactivated tertiary C-H bond. The mechanism of the reaction is proposed to involve single-electron transfer to the oxaziridines to generate a copper-bound radical anion, followed by hydrogen atom abstraction and collapse to products, with regeneration of the catalyst by a final single-electron transfer event. The involvement of allylic radical intermediates was supported by a radical-trapping experiment with TEMPO.     

Prebiotic activity of polysaccharides extracted from Gigantochloa levis (Buluh beting) shoots

Bamboo shoot crude polysaccharides (BSCP) extracted from the shoots of Gigantochloa levis gave about 3.27 ± 0.18% on dry basis and a very minute percentage of protein (0.02 ± 0.01%). The molecular weight of BSCP estimated by gel chromatography was found to be around 7.49 × 103 Da, while the molecular weights of purified fractions (F1 to F5) were around 1550.96, 1471.63, 1685.78, 1691.61 and 1551.67 Da, respectively. The FTIR spectrum of BSCP revealed the possibility that the extract contains β-glucan, which can be considered a valuable compound for the medical and food industries. These relate to the resistance of BSCP towards artificial human gastric juice which is more than 99%. Prebiotic activity tested using BSCP as a carbon source showed significant increase in the growth of B. animalis ATCC 1053, B. longum BB 536 and L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 as compared to the use of FOS. Survivality of S. choleraesuis JCM 6977 was found to be slower in both BSCP and FOS. Study conducted reflects a good sign for the BSCP to be exploited as a promising prebiotic.