柘树根多糖的分离纯化及结构表征

以柘树[Cudrania tricuspidata(Carr.) Bur.]的根为材料, 经热水抽提、木瓜蛋白酶-Sevag法除蛋白、乙醇沉淀和DEAE-Sephadex A-50凝胶柱层析分离纯化, 得到一种水溶性的柘树根多糖(CPS-0). 采用HPLC、糖基组成分析、甲基化分析、GC、GC-MS、NMR(1H NMR, 13C NMR及HMQC)、元素分析、UV和IR等技术对CPS-0的纯度、性质、组成和结构进行表征. 结果表明, CPS-0仅含葡萄糖, 分子量为4.6×103, 主链由1,4-连接的α-D-葡萄糖残基组成, 其侧链由末端及1,4-连接的葡萄糖残基构成, 取代于主链分支点葡萄糖的6位, 平均每10个葡萄糖残基组成的重复单元中含有1个分支.     

The Identification and Quantitative Analysis of Unusual Keto-Carotenoids in Ripe Fruits of Maclura tricuspidate and Its Potential as a Valuable Source of Cryptocapsin

Ripe fruits of Maclura tricuspidata (MT) are used as food material and a natural colorant in Korea. Although MT fruits have a deep red color due to carotenoid-like pigments, their chemical nature has not been explored in detail so far. The present study aimed at elucidating the chemical structures and composition of carotenoids in MT fruits and changes at different maturity stages. Two carotenoids from saponified MT fruit extract were isolated using repeated silica gel column chromatography. Based on interpretations of spectroscopic data, these compounds were determined as keto-carotenoids, i.e., capsanthin (3,3′-dihydroxy-β,κ-caroten-6′-one) and cryptocapsin (3′-hydroxy-β,κ-caroten-6’-one), and the contents of individual carotenoids were quantified with HPLC based on calibration curves obtained from authentic standards. The contents of capsanthin and cryptocapsin in the sample of saponified MT fruits were 57.65 ± 1.97 µg/g and 171.66 ± 4.85 μg/g as dry weight base (dw). The majority of these keto-carotenoids in the MT fruits were present in esterified forms with lauric, myristic or palmitic acid rather than in their free forms. The results also showed that esterification of these compounds occurred starting from early stage (yellow-brownish stage) of maturation. Considering the high cryptocapsin content, MT fruits can be applied as a potentially valuable source of cryptocapsin for food and medicinal application as well as a source of provitamin A.     

Antibacterial Activities of Prenylated Isoflavones from Maclura tricuspidata against Fish Pathogenic Streptococcus: Their Structure-Activity Relationships and Extraction Optimization

Streptococcus zoonotic bacteria cause serious problems in aquaculture with clinical effects on humans. A structure-antibacterial activity relationships analysis of 22 isoflavones isolated from M. tricuspidata (leaves, ripe fruits, and unripe fruits) against S. iniae revealed that prenylation of the isoflavone skeleton was an important key for their antibacterial activities (minimum inhibitory concentrations: 1.95–500 μg/mL). Through principal component analysis, characteristic prenylated isoflavones such as 6,8-diprenlygenistein (4) were identified as pivotal compounds that largely determine each part’s antibacterial activities. M. tiricuspidata ripe fruits (MTF), which showed the highest antibacterial activity among the parts tested, were optimized for high antibacterial activity and low cytotoxicity on fathead minnow cells using Box–Behnken design. Optimized extraction conditions were deduced to be 50%/80 °C/7.5 h for ethanol concentration/extraction temperature/time, and OE-MTF showed contents of 6,8-diprenlygenistein (4), 2.09% with a MIC of 40 µg/mL. These results suggest that OE-MTF and its active isoflavones have promising potential as eco-friendly antibacterial agents against streptococcosis in aquaculture.     

Cudraxanthone D Ameliorates Psoriasis-like Skin Inflammation in an Imiquimod-Induced Mouse Model via Inhibiting the Inflammatory Signaling Pathways

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease accompanied by excessive keratinocyte proliferation. Corticosteroids, vitamin D3 analogs, and calcineurin inhibitors, which are used to treat psoriasis, have diverse adverse effects, whereas natural products are popular due to their high efficiency and relatively low toxicity. The roots of the Cudrania tricuspidata (C. tricuspidata) are known to have diverse pharmacological effects, among which the anti-inflammatory effect is reported as a potential therapeutic agent in skin cells. Nevertheless, its effectiveness against skin diseases, especially psoriasis, is not fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of cudraxanthone D (CD), extracted from the roots the C. tricuspidata Bureau, on psoriasis using an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced mouse model and the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α/interferon (IFN)-γ-activated keratinocytes. IMQ was topically applied to the back skin of C57BL/6 mice for seven consecutive days, and the mice were orally administered with CD. This resulted in reduced psoriatic characteristics, such as the skin thickness and Psoriasis Area Severity Index score, and the infiltration of neutrophils in IMQ-induced skin. CD inhibited the serum levels of TNF-α, immunoglobulin G2a, and myeloperoxidase, and the expression of Th1/Th17 cells in splenocytes. In TNF-α/IFN-γ-activated keratinocytes, CD reduced the expressions of CCL17, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT1 and the nuclear translocation of NF-kB. Taken together, these results suggest that CD could be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of psoriasis.     

New Isoprenylated Xanthones from Cudrania tricuspidata

A phytochemical investigation of the roots of Cudrania tricuspidata afforded three new isoprenylated xanthones, cudratricusxanthones N–P ( 1 – 3 , resp.), together with five known compounds, 4 – 8 . The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses.     

The role of the European Chemicals Bureau in promoting the regulatory use of (Q)SAR methods†

Under the proposed REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of CHemicals) legislation, (Q)SAR models and grouping methods (chemical categories and read across approaches) are expected to play a significant role in prioritising industrial chemicals for further assessment, and for filling information gaps for the purposes of classification and labelling, risk assessment and the assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals. The European Chemicals Bureau (ECB), which is part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), has a well-established role in providing independent scientific and technical advice to European policy makers. The ECB also promotes consensus and capacity building on scientific and technical matters among stakeholders in the Member State authorities and industry. To promote the availability and use of (Q)SARs and related estimation methods, the ECB is carrying out a range of activities, including applied research in computational toxicology, the assessment of (Q)SAR models and methods, the development of technical guidance documents and computational tools, and the organisation of training courses. This article provides an overview of ECB activities on computational toxicology, which are intended to promote the development, validation, acceptance and use of (Q)SARs and related estimation methods, both at the European and international levels.     

Comparison of single and sequential extraction procedures for the study of rare earth elements remobilisation in different types of soils

With the continual increase in the utilisation of rare earth elements (REE) for industrial and agricultural purposes, research into the environmental and biogeochemical behaviour of REE had attracted much interest in recent times. This study principally describes the distribution of REE in four different types of soils like lateritic soil (S-1), in situ natural soil (S-2), soil contaminated by mining activity (S-3) and accidentally polluted soil (S-4) utilizing the optimised BCR sequential extraction procedure and partial extractions with various types of single extractants such as unbuffered salt solutions 0.1 M NaNO₃, 0.01 M CaCl₂, 1 M NH₄NO₃; complexing agents 0.005 M DTPA and 0.05 M EDTA; acid solutions 0.43 M CH₃COOH and 1 M HCl. Comparison of the sum of the four BCR fractions, which included an aqua regia attack on the residue, with the pseudo-total aqua regia digest values to assess the accuracy of the BCR partioning approach has been undertaken. Partial extraction results with several single extractants have also been reported for all the REE elements including yttrium which have been analysed by the optimised BCR procedure. Results obtained after 24 h extraction with each of the single extractant have also been discussed. The extraction with 1 M HCl during 24 h yielded similar quantities of REE as those released under the combined steps of 1, 2 and 3 of the BCR sequential extraction for all the four different type of soil samples indicating that this reagent can be used successfully to estimate the total extractable contents of REE in various types of soil samples.     

Dynamics of three-body half collisions: Ultraviolet and visible photodissociation of s-tetrazine

Ultraviolet (266 nm) and visible (532 nm) photodissociation of collision-free s-tetrazine show asymmetric dynamics with production of one translationally cool and one translationally hot HCN molecule. Furthermore, visible and ultraviolet dynamics are nearly identical, arguing that two-photon excitation is necessary for photodissociation in the visible.     

便携式X射线荧光光谱快速无损分析牛黄清心丸(局方)中汞、砷含量及均匀度

常规湿化学分析方法测定中药中无机元素,需要先将样品消解,再经滴定或者仪器测定,操作繁琐、费时。对于含朱砂或雄黄的制剂,由于汞、砷含量很高,会对实验器皿和仪器造成污染。X射线荧光光谱(XRFS)具有操作简便、分析速度快、多元素同时检测、可实现无损分析等优点。以电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP-OES)为参比,应用便携式XRFS建立了牛黄清心丸(局方)中汞、砷含量的快速无损测定新方法,并首次将X射线荧光光谱技术用于药品的均匀性评价。优化了测量模式,以电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法测定值为参比,建立校正工作曲线用于样品测定。实验表明,便携式X射线荧光光谱法测定Hg和As,精密度高,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别为0.09%和0.23%。测定值与参比值接近,Hg和As的相对平均偏差分别为8.58%和5.95%,符合现场快检的要求。结果显示,2批次样品Hg含量异常低,1批次样品As含量异常高,1个厂家的样品均匀度差。所建方法快速、简便、经济、环保,为含矿物中药的质量控制提供了新的思路。便携式仪器的使用,能高效完成大批量样品的分析,及时发现药品的质量隐患,节约时间、人力和物力,具有良好的应用前景。     

Identification of Novel Parishin Compounds from the Twig of Maclura tricuspidata and Comparative Analysis of Parishin Derivatives in Different Parts

Parishin compounds are rare polyphenolic glucosides mainly found in the rhizome of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Gastrodia elata. These constituents are reported to have several biological and pharmacological activities. In the present study, two novel parishin derivatives not previously reported as plant-based phytochemicals were identified from a twig of Maclura tricuspidata (MT) and two new compounds were elucidated as 1-(4-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)benzyl)-3-hydroxy-3-methylpentane-1,5-dioate (named macluraparishin E) and 1,3-bis(4-(β-d-glucopyranosyloxy)benzyl)-3-hydroxy-3-methylpentane- 1,5-dioate (macluraparishin C), based on the experimental data obtained by UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Additionally, gastrodin, parishin A and parishin B were positively identified by spectroscopic evidence and the comparison of HPLC retention time with the corresponding authentic standards. Gastrodin, parishin A and parishin B, macluraparishin E and macluraparishin C were found to be the most abundant constituents in the MT twig. The compositions and contents of these constituents were found to vary depending on the different parts of the MT plant. In particular, the contents of parishin A, parishin B, macluraparishin C and macluraparishin E were higher in the twig, bark and root than in the leaves, xylem and fruit.