Secondary metabolites from the mycelia of the fungus Monascus pilosus BCRC 38072

Three new compounds, including two phenylacetic acid derivatives, monaspilosin (1) and monaspiloindole (2), and one pyranoindole alkaloid, monaspyranoindole (3), were isolated from the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the MeOH extract of the mycelia of Monascus pilosus BCRC 38072. Twelve known compounds were also obtained in this study. The structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. This is the first report of Monascus metabolites with an indole ring. All isolates were also evaluated for their scavenging properties toward the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) in TLC autographic and spectroscopic assays.     

New Benzophenone and Bioactive Constituents from Hypericum nagasawae

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - A new benzophenone derivative, hyperinagasone (1), has been isolated from the aerial part of Hypericum nagasawae together with six known compounds, trichadonic acid...     

The Visual Design and Control of Trellis Display

Abstract

Trellis display is a framework for the visualization of data. Its most prominent aspect is an overall visual design, reminiscent of a garden trelliswork, in which panels are laid out into rows, columns, and pages. On each panel of the trellis, a subset of the data is graphed by a display method such as a scatterplot, curve plot, boxplot, 3-D wireframe, normal quantile plot, or dot plot. Each panel shows the relationship of certain variables conditional on the values of other variables. A number of display methods employed in the visual design of Trellis display enable it to succeed in uncovering the structure of data even when the structure is quite complicated. For example, Trellis display provides a powerful mechanism for understanding interactions in studies of how a response depends on explanatory variables. Three examples demonstrate this; in each case, we make important discoveries not appreciated in the original analyses. Several control methods are also essential to Trellis display. A control method is a technique for specifying information so that a display can be drawn. The control methods of Trellis display form a basic conceptual framework that can be used in designing software. We have demonstrated the viability of the control methods by implementing them in the S/S-PLUS system for graphics and data analysis, but they can be implemented in any software system with a basic capability for drawing graphs.     

Isolation of a nitrobenzoate from the leaves of Cinnamomum tenuifolium

Investigation of leaf extract of Cinnamomum tenuifolium (Lauraceae) led to the isolation of one new nitrobenzoate, ethyl 3,5-dihydroxy-4-nitrobenzoate (1), along with four known compounds. This is the first report of Cinnamomum metabolites with a nitro benzenoid derivative. Their structures were determined through in-depth spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses.     

Antioxidant activities of extracts and metabolites isolated from the fungus Antrodia cinnamomea

Three different solvent partitions (n-hexane, ethyl acetate [EtOAc] and n-BuOH) of the culture broth from Antrodia cinnamomea were assayed with two different radical scavenging methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and superoxide radical scavenging (SOD) assay. The EtOAc layer exhibited the best antioxidant activity. Two major antioxidant metabolites were isolated from the active EtOAc layer. The antioxidant activities of compounds 1-6 were further evaluated by DPPH, SOD and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. Compounds 3 and 5 showed stronger free radical scavenging than the reference BHA, ED???=?1.36 and 34.24 μM. Compound 5 displayed moderate SOD activity (ED???=?310.0?μM), and its antioxidant capacity of TEAC value was 2.2 mM trolox equivalency.