Effect of Extraction Methods on Polyphenols,Flavonoids, Mineral Elements,and Biological Activities of Essential Oil and Extracts of Mentha pulegium L.

Our study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant properties, antibacterial and antifungal activities, anti-inflammatory properties, and chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs), total phenol, and total flavonoid of wild Mentha pulegium L. This study also determined the mineral (nutritional and toxic) elements in the plant. The EOs were extracted using three techniques—hydro distillation (HD), steam distillation (SD), and microwave-assisted distillation (MAD)—and were analyzed using chromatography coupled with flame ionization (GC-FID) and gas chromatography attached with mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). The antioxidant effects of the EOs were tested with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), while the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the EO and methanolic extract were tested using Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. Twenty-six compounds were identified in the essential oil, representing 97.73% of the total oil, with 0.202% yield. The major components were pulegone (74.81%), menthone (13.01%) and piperitone (3.82%). Twenty-one elements, including macro- and micro-elements (Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Th, U and Zn), were detected using neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), with the concentration of mineral element close to the FAO recommendation. The results show that the EOs and extracts from Mentha pulegium L. had significant antimicrobial activities against the microorganisms, including five human pathogenic bacteria, one yeast (Candida albicans), and one phytopathogenic fungi. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of the leaf extracts were confirmed. The results indicate that the EOs and extracts from Mentha pulegium L. have promising applications in the pharmaceutical industries, clinical applications, and in medical research.     

ZnO nanoparticles embedded in UVM-7-like mesoporous silica materials: Synthesis and characterization

ZnO nanodomains embedded in bimodal mesoporous silica (UVM-7) materials with high Zn content (4≤Si/Zn≤30) have been synthesized by an one-pot surfactant-assisted procedure from a hydro alcoholic medium using a cationic surfactant (CTMABr=cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) as structural directing agent, and starting from molecular atrane complexes of Zn and Si as hydrolytic inorganic precursors. This chemical procedure allows optimizing the dispersion of the ZnO particles in the silica walls. The bimodal mesoporous nature of the final high surface area nano-sized materials is confirmed by XRD, TEM, and N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms. The small intra-particle mesopore system is due to the supramolecular templating effect of the surfactant, while the large pores have their origin in the packing voids generated by aggregation of the primary nanometric mesoporous particles. A limited pore blocking and a high accessibility to the ZnO active nanoparticles have been achieved. The effects induced by the progressive incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles into the mesostructure have been examined, including a careful optical spectroscopic study (PL and UV–visible).     

Clay‐Na as a sorbent for the extraction of anti‐inflammatory compounds in water samples

In this work, clay‐Na particles are used as the adsorbent for the solid‐phase extraction of acidic compounds. The novel sorbent under study is based on high‐specific surface area, cation‐exchange capacity designed specifically to offer ion‐exchange properties with the goal being to selectively extract a group of acidic compounds. The effects of the extraction parameters including extraction elution solvent, sample volume and pH. In optimum conditions, the repeatability for one fiber (n = 3), expressed as % relative standard deviation, was between 0.3 and 4.3% for the acid compounds. The detection limits for the studied acidic compounds were between 0.1–0.6 μg/L. The developed method offers the advantages of being simple to use and having a low cost of equipment.     

Synthesis of New 3-Carboxamidine Iminocoumarins and Benzopyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines

A new approach to synthesis of a series of 3-carboxamidine iminocoumarins derivatives and substituted benzopyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines was developed. The chemical structure of all the compounds was investigated by infrared, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, mass, and elemental analysis. The anticholinesterase activity of compound 12 was evaluated according to the modified Ellman’s method.     

Preparation process of a highly resistant wollastonite bioceramics using local raw materials

Wollastonite (CaSiO₃) is mainly used for traditional ceramics. In this study, wollastonite-based ceramics was obtained by solid state reaction. The starting powders were sintered at different temperatures (850–1,250 °C) for 2 h. Moreover, different amounts of B₂O₃ (0.5–5.0 mass%) have been added. A relative density of about 97% of the theoretical was reached for samples sintered at 1,050 °C for 2 h, containing 3 and 5 mass% B₂O₃. Excellent values of both three point flexural strength (343 ± 34 MPa) and micro-hardness (4.8 GPa) for samples containing 5 mass% B₂O₃, sintered at 1,050 °C for 2 h. Besides this, a relatively low mass loss ratio has been measured (1.1%) for wollastonite samples containing 5 mass% B₂O₃, sintered under the same conditions, after soaking in lactic acid for 9 days. Finally, the bioactivity of wollastonite by the possibility of formation of apatite on the surface of wollastonite immersed in simulated body fluid was confirmed.     

A new class of bent and hyper-bent Boolean functions in polynomial forms

Bent functions are maximally nonlinear Boolean functions and exist only for functions with even number of inputs. This paper is a contribution to the construction of bent functions over ${\mathbb{F}_{2^{n}}}$ (n = 2m) having the form ${f(x) = tr_{o(s_1)} (a x^ {s_1}) + tr_{o(s_2)} (b x^{s_2})}$ where o(s _i ) denotes the cardinality of the cyclotomic class of 2 modulo 2 ⁿ ? 1 which contains s _i and whose coefficients a and b are, respectively in ${F_{2^{o(s_1)}}}$ and ${F_{2^{o(s_2)}}}$ . Many constructions of monomial bent functions are presented in the literature but very few are known even in the binomial case. We prove that the exponents s ₁ = 2 ^m ? 1 and ${s_2={\frac {2^n-1}3}}$ , where ${a\in\mathbb{F}_{2^{n}}}$ (a ?? 0) and ${b\in\mathbb{F}_{4}}$ provide a construction of bent functions over ${\mathbb{F}_{2^{n}}}$ with optimum algebraic degree. For m odd, we give an explicit characterization of the bentness of these functions, in terms of the Kloosterman sums. We generalize the result for functions whose exponent s ₁ is of the form r(2 ^m ? 1) where r is co-prime with 2 ^m  + 1. The corresponding bent functions are also hyper-bent. For m even, we give a necessary condition of bentness in terms of these Kloosterman sums.     

Reactivity of MnII with superoxide. Evidence for a [MnIIIOO]+ unit by low-temperature spectroscopies

Manganese superoxide dismutase cycles between the MnIII and MnII states to produce oxygen and hydrogen peroxide from superoxide. The formation of an adduct has been suggested, but its nature remains questionable because both [MnIIOO-] and [MnIIIOO2-] redox states have been proposed. Study of the reactivity of superoxide with manganese complexes is of current interest. The reaction of [(L)MnII]2+ [L = N-methyl-N,N',N'-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine] with potassium superoxide has been investigated at low temperature in an anhydrous solvent using various techniques. Upon the addition of ca. 2 equiv of potassium superoxide, the [(L)MnII]2+ colorless solution turned blue and the UV-vis spectrum displayed a band at 590 nm (165 M(-1) cm(-1)) and a shoulder at 430 nm (100 M(-1) cm(-1)). Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry showed a peak (m/z = 434.1) assigned to [(L)MnO2]+. The X-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum parallel mode displayed a six-line signal separated by 6.6 mT and centered at 86 mT (g = 8.1). These results support the formation of an [MnIIIOO]+ adduct.     

Mg2Ru2Cl10O·16H2O

Mg₂Ru₂Cl₁₀O·16H₂O {dimagnesium μ‐oxo‐bis­[penta­chloro­ruthenate(IV)] hexa­deca­hydrate} crystallizes in the monoclinic system (space group P2₁/c). The structure consists of layers of [Ru₂Cl₁₀O]⁴⁻ anions, [Mg(H₂O)₆]²⁺ cations and water mol­ecules stacked along the a axis. Only the O atom bonded to Ru occupies the 2a site with symmetry. All the other atoms occupy general 4e sites. The crystal structure is stabilized by O—H⋯O and O—H⋯Cl inter­actions.