Phytochemistry of Daphne oleoides

Genus Daphne belongs to the Thymelaeaceae family and consists of 70 species. Its various species exist in Europe, Philippine Islands, temperate and subtropical Asia, North Africa, Australia and Pacific. In Pakistan, Daphne is represented by three species. Our focused Daphne oleoides is widely found in diverse climatic conditions from northern cold to central hot regions which creates a rich diversity and novelty in biosynthetic levels of its chemical constituents and hence is a great opportunity. Daphne oeloides is a proven rich source of a variety of unique and interesting nature-made skeletons with a wide range of therapeutic properties. D. oleoides possesses effective therapeutic properties, therefore, has been used in herbal medicines and is still being used to treat various diseases. The modern research by various groups, including ourselves, has resulted in the isolation of a number of natural molecules including some novel tris- and bis- coumarins, daphnane diterpenoids and lignoids. Therefore, due to novelty and richness of the nature-made molecules, and their therapeutic potential combined with our significant work on D. oleoides, this report covers chemical constituents isolated from D. oleoides. The pharmacological activities of the isolated compounds and use of this species in folk medicine have also been reviewed.     

DFT study of the adsorption of microsolvated glycine on a hydrophilic amorphous silica surface

Density functional theory (DFT) periodic ab initio molecular dynamics calculations are used to study the adsorption of gaseous and microsolvated glycine on a hydroxylated, hydrophilic silica surface. The silica model is presented and the interaction of water with surface silanols is studied. The heat of interaction of water is higher with the associated silanols (be they terminal or geminal ones) studied here than with isolated silanols presented in past works. Glycine is stabilized in a parallel mode on the hydroxylated surface. Terminal silanols do not allow the stabilization of the zwitterionic form, whereas geminal silanols do. Molecular dynamics (MD) first-principle calculations show that microsolvated zwitterion glycine directly binds through the carboxylate function to a surface silanol rather than through water molecules. The adsorption mode, whether with or without additional water molecules, is parallel to the surface. The ammonium function does not interact directly with the silanol groups but rather through water molecules. Thus, the carboxylate and ammonium functions exhibit two different reactivities towards silanols. The calculated free energies, taking into account the chemical potentials of water and glycine in the gas phase, suggest the existence of a thermodynamic domain in which the glycine is present in the gas phase as well as strongly adsorbed on specific sites of the surface.     

Nutraceuticals: Transformation of Conventional Foods into Health Promoters/Disease Preventers and Safety Considerations

Nutraceuticals are essential food constituents that provide nutritional benefits as well as medicinal effects. The benefits of these foods are due to the presence of active compounds such as carotenoids, collagen hydrolysate, and dietary fibers. Nutraceuticals have been found to positively affect cardiovascular and immune system health and have a role in infection and cancer prevention. Nutraceuticals can be categorized into different classes based on their nature and mode of action. In this review, different classifications of nutraceuticals and their potential therapeutic activity, such as anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-lipid activity in disease will be reviewed. Moreover, the different mechanisms of action of these products, applications, and safety upon consumers including current trends and future prospect of nutraceuticals will be included.     

Mechanism of the copper-free palladium-catalyzed Sonagashira reactions: multiple role of amines

Amines used as bases in copper-free, palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira reactions play a multiple role. The oxidative addition of iodobenzene with [Pd(0)(PPh(3))(4)] is faster when performed in the presence of amines (piperidine>morpholine). Amines also substitute one ligand L in trans-[PdI(Ph)(L)(2)] (L=PPh(3), AsPh(3)) formed in the oxidative addition. This reversible reaction, which gives [PdI(Ph)L(R(2)NH)], is favored in the order AsPh(3)>PPh(3) and piperidine>morpholine. Two mechanisms are proposed for Sonogashira reactions, depending on the ligand and the amine. When L=PPh(3), its substitution by the amine in trans-[PdI(Ph)(PPh(3))(2)] is less favored than that of the alkyne. A mechanism involving prior coordination of the alkyne is suggested, followed by deprotonation of the ligated alkyne by the amine. When L=AsPh(3), its substitution in trans-[PdI(Ph)(AsPh(3))(2)] by the piperidine is easier than that by the alkyne, leading to a different mechanism: substitution of AsPh(3) by the amine is followed by substitution of the second AsPh(3) by the alkyne to generate [PdI(Ph)(amine)(alkyne)]. Deprotonation of the ligated alkyne by an external amine leads to the coupling product. This explains why the catalytic reactions are less efficient with AsPh(3) than with PPh(3) as ligand.     

Definitions of the degree of polarization of a light beam

A necessary and sufficient condition is derived for certain ad hoc expressions that are frequently used in the literature to represent correctly the degree of polarization of a light beam.     

Nematicons in liquid crystals by modified simple equation method

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper obtains nematicon solutions in liquid crystals by the aid of modified simple equation method. There are four types of nonlinearity studied. They are cubic law, power...     

Synthesis of New Highly Functionalized 1H-Indole-2-carbonitriles via Cross-Coupling Reactions

An approach for the preparation of polysubstituted indole-2-carbonitriles through a cross-coupling reaction of compounds 1-(but-2-ynyl)-1H-indole-2-carbonitriles and 1-benzyl-3-iodo-1H-indole-2-carbonitriles is described. The reactivity of indole derivatives with iodine at position 3 was studied using cross-coupling reactions. The Sonogashira, Suzuki–Miyaura, Stille and Heck cross-couplings afforded a variety of di-, tri- and tetra-substituted indole-2-carbonitriles.     

Influence of Salinity Stress on Color Parameters,Leaf Pigmentation,Polyphenol and Flavonoid Contents,and Antioxidant Activity of Amaranthus lividus Leafy Vegetables

This is the first attempt to evaluate the impact of four salinity levels on the color parameters, pigments, polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacities of four promising A. lividus genotypes. The color parameters, such as the yellowness/blueness (b*) and the chroma (C*); the antioxidant components, such as the polyphenols and flavonoids; and the antioxidant capacities of the leaves were remarkably increased by 39, 1, 5, 10 and 43%, respectively, at 50 mM of NaCl, and by 55, 5, 60, 34, 58 and 82%, respectively, at 100 mM NaCl concentrations. The green tower and SA6 genotypes were identified as tolerant varieties. The total phenolic content (TPC) and the total flavonoid content (TFC) played vital roles in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), and they would be beneficial for the human diet and would serve as good antioxidants for the prevention of aging, and they are also essential to human health. A correlation study revealed the strong antioxidant capacities of the pigments and antioxidant components that were studied. It was revealed that A. lividus could tolerate a certain level of salinity stress without compromising the antioxidant quality of the final product. Taken together, our results suggest that A. lividus could be a promising alternative crop for farmers, especially in saline-prone areas in the tropical and subtropical regions.     

Regioselective One-Pot Synthesis,Biological Activity and Molecular Docking Studies of Novel Conjugates N-(p-Aryltriazolyl)-1,5-benzodiazepin-2-ones as Potent Antibacterial and Antifungal Agents

Novel 1,2,3-triazolo-linked-1,5-benzodiazepinones were designed and synthesized via a Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar alkyne-azide coupling reaction (CuAAC). The chemical structures of these compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, HMBC, HRMS, and elemental analysis. The compounds were screened for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Several compounds exhibited good to moderate activities compared to those of established standard drugs. Furthermore, the binding interactions of these active analogs were confirmed through molecular docking.     

Asymptotic Behavior of Eigenvalues of Variance-Covariance Matrix of a High-Dimensional Heavy-Tailed Lévy Process

Methodology and Computing in Applied Probability - In this paper, we study the limiting behavior of eigenvalues of the variance-covariance matrix of a random sample from a multivariate subordinator...