Antioxidant activities of Melittis melissophyllum L. (Lamiaceae)

Extracts of Melittis melissophyllum leaves in ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water were evaporated to dryness and dissolved in 50% ethanol to make 10% (w/v) solutions. The potential protective action of the extracts was assessed by the corresponding in vitro and in vivo tests. In the in vitro experiments extracts were tested as potential scavengers of free radicals (DPPH, O?·?, NO, and OH radicals), as well as inhibitors of liposomal peroxidation (LPx). The results obtained show that all extracts (exept n-BuOH extract) are good scavengers of radicals and reduce LPx intensity in liposomes, which points to their protective (antioxidant) activity. In vivo experiments were concerned with antioxidant systems (activities of GSHPx, GSHR, Px, CAT, XOD, GSH content and intensity of LPx) in liver homogenate and blood-hemolysate of experimental animals after their treatment with extracts of M. melissophyllum leaves, or in combination with CCl?. On the basis of the results obtained it can be concluded that the examined extracts have protective (antioxidative) effect and this antioxidative behaviour is more pronounced in liver than in blood-hemolysate. The reason is probably the fact that liver contains other enzymatic systems, which can also participate in the antioxidative mechanism. Of all the extracts the H?O one showed the highest protective activity.     

A Facile One Pot Synthesis of 2-Aryl-4-[2H-2-oxo-[1]benzopyran-3-yl] 2,3-dihydro and 2,5-Dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepines

3-acetyl coumarins on condensation with various aromatic aldehydes in the presence of piperidine gave corresponding chalcones in a solid state under solvent free conditions. These chalcones are isolated and characterized. The in-situ-formed chalcones (1) are also converted into corresponding 2-aryl-4-[2H-2-oxo[1]benzopyran-3-yl]-2,3-dihydro (3) and 2,5-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepines (4) in one step by interacting with orthoamino thiophenol. Both the 2,3-dihydro (3) and 2,5-dihydrobenzothiazepines (4) have been converted into same tetrahydrobenzothiazepine (5). Finally, the tetrahydrobenzo thiazepine (5) is converted into its acetyl derivative (11). The structures of the title compounds have been confirmed on the basis of their microanalytical, IR, ¹ H NMR, and mass spectral data.     

Resonant Delocalization on the Bethe Strip

Recently, Aizenman and Warzel discovered a mechanism for the appearance of absolutely continuous spectrum for random Schrödinger operators on the Bethe lattice through rare resonances (resonant delocalization). We extend their analysis to operators with matrix-valued random potentials drawn from ensembles such as the Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble. These operators can be viewed as random operators on the Bethe strip, a graph (lattice) with loops.     

Role of photoadduct of K4Fe(CN)6 and C3H4N2 in improving thermal stability of polyaniline composite

This paper involves the synthesis of polyaniline composite with photoadduct of potassium hexacyanoferrate and imidazole via photochemical route by oxidative polymerization technique by ammonium persulphate. The photoadduct has been synthesized by photoirradiation followed by substitution with imidazole ligand. The photoaquation, substitution and successful synthesis has been proved by recording pH, UV visible spectra before and after irradiation and XRD of photoadduct. The as synthesized composite has been subjected to various characterizations like elemental analysis, UV–Visible spectra, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TG/DTG. XRD of photoadduct shows crystalline structure which has been retained in the composite, changing the amorphous structure of polyaniline into the crystalline one, hence proving the insertion of photoadduct in the polymer chain. Various parameters like crystallite size (L), interplanar distance (d), micro strain (ε), dislocation density (δ) and distortion parameters (g) were calculated from XRD data. Thermal analysis shows the high thermal stability of composite which can be due to strong interaction between polymer chain and the photoadduct which restricts the thermal motion of polyaniline and thus enhances the thermal stability of composite.     

Simultaneous determination of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime in real urine sample using voltammetric and high-performance liquid chromatographic methods

Two rapid, accurate and sensitive methods are developed and validated for the quantitative simultaneous determination of cefotaxime (CFX) and its active metabolite desacetylcefotaxime (DCFX) in urine.Based on the previous results which showed the four electron reduction of CFX at ≈ −0.5 V, and the new findings that DCFX reduction occurred at more positive potential (−0.23 V), the new adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetric (AdSDPV) method was developed for determination of CFX in the presence of DCFX. Linear responses were observed over a wide concentration range (0.07-0.52 μg/ml for CFX and 0.22-1.3 μg/ml for DCFX) in urine.The second assay involves subsequent separation on a reversed-phase HPLC column, with ultraviolet detection at 262 nm. Retention times were 4.057 and 1.960 min for CFX and DCFX, respectively. Linear responses were observed over a wide range, 0.55-6.60 μg/ml for CFX and 1.10-11.00 μg/ml for DCFX, in urine.The statistical evaluation for both methods was examined by means of within-day repeatability (n = 5) and day-to-day precision (n = 3) and was found to be satisfactory with high accuracy and precision.     

Characterization and quantitative analysis of surfactants in textile wastewater by liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A method based on the application of ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to hybrid quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QqTOF-MS) with an electrospray (ESI) interface has been developed for the screening and confirmation of several anionic and non-ionic surfactants: linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS), alkylsulfate (AS), alkylethersulfate (AES), dihexyl sulfosuccinate (DHSS), alcohol ethoxylates (AEOs), coconut diethanolamide (CDEA), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs), and their degradation products (nonylphenol carboxylate (NPEC), octylphenol carboxylate (OPEC), 4-nonylphenol (NP), 4-octylphenol (OP) and NPEO sulfate (NPEO-SO4). The developed methodology permits reliable quantification combined with a high accuracy confirmation based on the accurate mass of the (de)protonated molecules in the TOFMS mode. For further confirmation of the identity of the detected compounds the QqTOF mode was used. Accurate masses of product ions obtained by performing collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the (de)protonated molecules of parent compounds were matched with the ions obtained for a standard solution. The method was applied for the quantitative analysis and high accuracy confirmation of surfactants in complex mixtures in effluents from the textile industry. Positive identification of the target compounds was based on accurate mass measurement of the base peak, at least one product ion and the LC retention time of the analyte compared with that of a standard. The most frequently surfactants found in these textile effluents were NPEO and NPEO-SO4 in concentrations ranging from 0.93 to 5.68 mg/L for NPEO and 0.06 to 4.30 mg/L for NPEO-SO4. AEOs were also identified.     

Direct formation of beta-glycosides of N-acetyl glycosamines mediated by rare earth metal triflates

A direct, mild and efficient protocol for the preparation of beta-glycosides of N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetyl galactosamine (GalNAc) has been developed using peracetylated beta-GlcNAc and beta-GalNAc as donors. All rare Earth metal triflate promoters screened were found to promote glycosylation with Sc(OTf)(3) being superior in terms of reaction rate. Simple alcohol glycosylation was found to proceed smoothly in refluxing dichloromethane, whereas higher temperatures under microwave conditions were needed to attain acceptable yields with less reactive, carbohydrate based glycosyl acceptors. The protocol developed was applied to provide the first example of direct chemical formation of a disaccharide using both GlcNAc as a glycosyl donor and acceptor. The alpha-acetate donor was found to be significantly less reactive than the corresponding beta-anomer necessitating higher reaction temperatures under which glycoside anomerisation was found to occur. It was established, that the anomerisation only took place in the presence of both Sc(OTf)(3) and acetic acid.     

Steric control of the nuclearity of metallamacrocycles: formation of a hexanuclear gallium metalladiazamacrocycle and a hexadecanuclear manganese metalladiazamacrocycle

An S6-symmetric hexanuclear gallium metalladiazamacrocycle, [Ga(III)(6)L2(6)S6] with a -(lamda delta)(lamda delta)-chiral sequence and an S-symmetric hexadecanuclear manganese metalladiazamacrocycle, [Mn(III)(16)L2(16)S16] with a -(lamda lamda delta delta)(lamda lamda delta delta)-chiral sequence were prepared using the same N2-trans-cinnamoyl-2-hydroxy-3-naphthoylhydrazide (H3L2) as a bridging pentadentate ligand between the metal centers for the formation of a macrocyclic system.     

Simultaneous quantification of withanolides in Withania somnifera by a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method

This paper describes a sensitive, selective, specific, robust, and validated densitometric high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for the simultaneous determination of 3 key withanolides, namely, withaferin-A, 12-deoxywithastramonolide, and withanolide-A, in Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) plant samples. The separation was performed on aluminum-backed silica gel 60F254 HPTLC plates using dichloromethane-methanol-acetone-diethyl ether (15 + 1 + 1 + 1, v/v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The withanolides were quantified by densitometry in the reflection/absorption mode at 230 nm. Precise and accurate quantification could be performed in the linear working concentration range of 66-330 ng/band with good correlation (r2 = 0.997, 0.999, and 0.996, respectively). The method was validated for recovery, precision, accuracy, robustness, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and specificity according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Specificity of quantification was confirmed using retention factor (Rf) values, UV-Vis spectral correlation, and electrospray ionization mass spectra of marker compounds in sample tracks.     

High-performance thin-layer chromatography densitometric method for the simultaneous determination of three phenolic acids in Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry

A simple, precise, and rapid high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 3 phenolic acids, i.e., gallic acid, caffeic acid, and syringic acid, in the dried buds of Syzygium aromaticum, commonly known as clove. HPTLC was performed on silica gel 60F254 plates with toluene-ethyl acetate-formic acid (8 + 2 + 1) mobile phase and densitometric scanning at 280 nm. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity, precision, and repeatability. Instrumental precision coefficient of variation (CV) was 0.88, 0.93, and 0.98% and repeatability of the method (CV) was 0.76, 0.64, and 0.69% for gallic acid, caffeic acid, and syringic acid, respectively. The linear concentration ranges were 400-3200 ng/spot with a correlation coefficient of 0.993 for gallic acid, 440-3520 ng/spot with a correlation coefficient of 0.994 for caffeic acid, and 400-4000 ng/spot with a correlation coefficient of 0.993 for syringic acid. The average recoveries of gallic acid, caffeic acid, and syringic acid were 96.3, 95.7, and 92.4%, respectively. Gallic acid, caffeic acid, and syringic acid were present at levels of 1.58, 0.06, and 0.05% (w/w), respectively, in S. aromaticum. This method is simple, accurate, precise, and economical and can be used for routine quality control.