Secondary Metabolites from Marine Sources with Potential Use as Leads for Anticancer Applications

The development of novel anticancer agents is essential to finding new ways to treat this disease, one of the deadliest diseases. Some marine organisms have proved to be important producers of chemically active compounds with valuable bioactive properties, including anticancer. Thus, the ocean has proved to be a huge source of bioactive compounds, making the discovery and study of these compounds a growing area. In the last few years, several compounds of marine origin, which include algae, corals, and sea urchins, have been isolated, studied, and demonstrated to possess anticancer properties. These compounds, mainly from securamines and sterols families, have been tested for cytotoxic/antiproliferative activity in different cell lines. Bioactive compounds isolated from marine organisms in the past 5 years that have shown anticancer activity, emphasizing the ones that showed the highest cytotoxic activity, such as securamines H and I, cholest-3β,5α,6β-triol, (E)-24-methylcholest-22-ene-3β,5α,6β-triol, 24-methylenecholesta-3β,5α,6β-triol, and 24-methylcholesta-3β,5α,6β-triol, will be discussed in this review. These studies reveal the possibility of new compounds of marine origin being used as new therapeutic agents or as a source of inspiration to develop new therapeutic agents.     

Nonderivatization method for determination of glyphosate,glufosinate, bialaphos,and their main metabolites in environmental waters based on magnetic metal‐organic framework pretreatment

A novel magnetic metal‐organic framework composite was prepared by a self‐assembly approach. The material properties were characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetric analysis, and X‐photoelectron spectroscopy. Then, the as‐prepared material was used as an adsorbent and indicated great enrichment ability toward glyphosate, glufosinate, bialaphos, and their main metabolites aminomethylphosphonic acid and 3‐methylphosphinicopropionic acid. Based on this, an efficient magnetic solid‐phase extraction method combined with ultra high performance liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry for the pretreatment and determination of five target compounds in environmental waters was established. Parameters that could impact on the adsorption performance had been studied in detail. The proposed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of glyphosate, glufosinate, bialaphos, and their main metabolites aminomethylphosphonic acid and 3‐methylphosphinicopropionic acid in environmental water with recoveries in range of 86.2–104.6% with relative standard deviations less than 10%. Desired linearity was achieved varying from 1 to 100 μg/L for five target analytes, respectively. The limits of detection were between 0.01 and 0.03 μg/L.     

Simultaneous quantification of urinary purines and creatinine by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectroscopy and quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry: Method development,validation, and application to gout study

We present an ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectroscopy and quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of ten purines (adenine, hypoxanthine, guanine, xanthine, deoxyadenosine, adenosine, inosine, guanosine, xanthosine, and uric acid) and creatinine in human urine. After chromatographic separation on an ACE Excel 2 AQ column, high abundant creatinine and uric acid and the other low abundant purines were sequentially detected by ultraviolet and quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry within a single run. Method validations including specificity (improved by accurate mass measurement), linearity (correlation coefficients ≥0.9944), limit of quantification (0.002–9.756 µg/mL), intra‐ and interday precision (relative standard deviations ≤9.1 and 14.0%, respectively), accuracy (relative errors ≤13.1%), extraction recovery (between 90.3 and 109.6%), matrix effect (between 85.3 and 110.5%), and stability (relative errors ≤14.3%) were fully evaluated. This approach was applied to characterize the disordered purine metabolism in acute and chronic gout as an example. Quantitative results (normalized by creatinine) showed that an overproduction of urinary purine precursors might be involved in the gout process. The developed method represents a useful tool to investigate the purine disturbances in gout and other relevant diseases.     

TOF-SIMS investigation of Streptomyces coelicolor, a mycelial bacterium

Streptomyces coelicolor is a mycelial microorganism that produces several secondary metabolites, including antibiotics. The physiology of the organism has largely been investigated in liquid cultures due to ease of monitoring different physiological parameters and more homogeneous culture conditions. However, solid cultures reflect the natural physiology of the microorganism better, given that in its natural state it grows in the soil. Imaging mass spectrometry with TOF-SIMS and C₆₀⁺ primary ion beams offers a potential route to studying chemical changes at the molecular level, both intracellular and extracellular that can help in understanding the natural physiology of the microorganism. Here, we report the application of the technique for studying the lateral distribution of the chemical species detected in a population, grown in both liquid and solid cultures. The capability of the technique for studying biological systems with minimal system intervention is demonstrated.     

FeOOH@Metal–Organic Framework Core–Satellite Nanocomposites for the Serum Metabolic Fingerprinting of Gynecological Cancers

High-throughput metabolic analysis is of significance in diagnostics, while tedious sample pretreatment has largely hindered its clinic application. Herein, we designed FeOOH@ZIF-8 composites with enhanced ionization efficiency and size-exclusion effect for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS)-based metabolic diagnosis of gynecological cancers. The FeOOH@ZIF-8-assisted LDI-MS achieved rapid, sensitive, and selective metabolic fingerprints of the native serum without any enrichment or purification. Further analysis of extracted serum metabolic fingerprints successfully discriminated patients with gynecological cancers (GCs) from healthy controls and also differentiated three major subtypes of GCs. Given the low cost, high-throughput, and easy operation, our approach brings a new dimension to disease analysis and classification.     

In Vitro Calli Production Resulted in Different Profiles of Plant-Derived Medicinal Compounds in Phyllanthus amarus

The efficient production of plant-derived medicinal compounds (PDMCs) from in vitro plants requires improvements in knowledge about control of plant or organ development and factors affecting the biosynthesis pathway of specific PDMCs under in vitro conditions, leading to a realistic large-scale tool for in vitro secondary metabolite production. Thus, this study aimed to develop an in vitro technique, through the induction and proliferation of calli, for production of plant fresh weight, and to compare the PDMC profile obtained from the plants versus in vitro calli of Phyllanthus amarus. It was successfully possible to obtain and proliferate two types of calli, one with a beige color and a friable appearance, obtained in the dark using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium plus 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and a second type with a green color, rigid consistency, and nonfriable appearance obtained under light conditions and MS medium plus 6-benzyladenine (6-BA). In vitro micropropagated plants that gave rise to calli were also acclimatized in a greenhouse and cultivated until obtaining the mass for PDMC analysis and used as a control. While the micropropagated-derived plants concentrated the lignans niranthin, nirtetralin, and phyllanthin, the Phyllanthus amarus calli proliferated in vitro concentrated a completely different biochemical profile and synthesis of compounds, such as betulone, squalene, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol, in addition to others not identified by GC-MS database. These results demonstrate the possibility of applying the calli in vitro from Phyllanthus amarus for production of important PDMCs unlike those obtained in cultures of differentiated tissues from field plants.     

Liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry assay for the simultaneous determination of three major flavonoids and their glucuronidated metabolites in rats after oral administration of Artemisia annua L. extract at a therapeutic ultra‐low dose

The traditional antimalarial herb Artemisia annua L., from which artemisinin is isolated, is widely used in endemic regions. It has been suggested that artemisinin activity can be enhanced by flavonoids in A. annua; however, how fast and how long the flavonoids are present in the body remains unknown. In the present study, a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of three major flavonoids components, i.e. chrysosplenol D, chrysoplenetin, and artemetin and their glucuronidated metabolites in rats after oral administrations of A. annua extracts at a therapeutic ultra‐low dose. The concentration of the intact form was determined directly, and the concentration of the glucuronidated form was assayed in the form of flavonoids aglycones, after treatment with β‐glucuronidase/sulfatase. The method was linear in the range of 0.5–300.0 ng/mL for chrysoplenetin and artemetin, and 2–600 ng/mL for chrysosplenol D. All the validation data conformed to the acceptance requirements. The study revealed a significantly higher exposure of the flavonoid constituents in conjugated forms in rats, with only trace intact from. Multiple oral doses of A. annua extracts led to a decreased plasma concentration levels for three flavonoids.     

Characterization of diterpene metabolism in rats with ingestion of seed products from Euphorbia lathyris L. (Semen Euphorbiae and Semen Euphorbiae Pulveratum) using UHPLC-Q-Exactive MS

Previous pharmacological studies have indicated that diterpenoids are the primary effective chemical cluster in the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris L. The seed products are used in traditional Chinese medicine in the forms of Semen Euphorbiae (SE) and Semen Euphorbiae Pulveratum (SEP). However, the metabolism of the plant's diterpenoids has not been well elucidated, which means that the in vivo metabolite products have not been identified. The current study screened the physiological metabolites of six diterpenes [Euphorbia factor L₁ (L1), L₂ (L2), L₃ (L3), L_7a (L7a), L_7b (L7b), and L₈ (L8)] in feces and urine of rats after oral administration of SE and SEP using UHPLC-Q-Exactive MS. A total of 22 metabolites were detected in feces and 8 in urine, indicating that the major elimination route of diterpenoids is via the colon. Hydrolysis, methylation, and glucuronidation served as the primary metabolic pathways of these diterpenoids. In sum, this study contributed to the elucidation of new metabolites and metabolic pathways of SE and SEP, and the new chemical identities can be used to guide further pharmacokinetic studies.     

阵列式光纤光谱仪的小麦霉变在线检测

小麦是我国战略性储藏粮食品种，但小麦易受霉菌感染而发生霉变，影响其食用安全。加强小麦有害霉菌侵染程度的早期检测是控制其危害的需要措施。然而，现有的平板计数和荧光染色等检测方法，普遍存在前处理繁杂、时效性差等不足。故此，拟运用阵列式光纤光谱仪结合化学计量学方法，建立霉变小麦的实时在线检测方法，并为进一步开发粮食品质与安全在线检测装备提供参考。小麦样品经辐照灭菌后分别接种五种谷物中常见有害霉菌：串珠镰刀菌83227、层出镰刀菌195647、雪腐镰刀菌3.503、寄生曲霉3.3950和赭曲霉3.3486，并置于28 ℃和85%相对湿度环境中储藏7 d以加速霉变。在样品储藏的第0，1，3，5和7 d，运用阵列式光纤光谱仪和漫反射探头在线采集样品的漫反射特征光谱，并依据国标平板计数法测定样品菌落总数水平。光谱采集步骤为：在线检测平台上，设置样品运动速度0.15 m·s-1和光谱仪积分时间20 ms，采集波段为600~1 600 nm，重复测量3次。然后，首先对小麦原始光谱进行平滑、多元散射校正和导数变换等预处理以消除光谱噪音；随后，运用主成分分析(PCA)对受不同霉变程度(储藏阶段)的小麦样品进行区分；最后，利用线性判别分析(LDA)和偏最小二乘回归分析(PLSR)建立小麦有害霉菌侵染程度的定性定量分析模型。小麦在储藏期内经历未霉变、开始霉变和严重霉变三个阶段。原始和二阶微分光谱显示霉菌侵染引起小麦光谱特征发生显著改变，PCA结果表明不同储藏阶段(霉变程度)小麦样品存在一定分离趋势。利用前十个主成分得分建立的LDA判别模型，对不同霉变程度小麦样品的识别率达90.0%以上。结果表明：小麦样品菌落总数的PLSR定量预测模型的预测决定系数(R2_p)为0.859 2，预测均方根误差(RMSEP)为0.401 Log CFU·g-1，相对分析偏差(RPD)达2.65。应用阵列式光纤光谱仪结合计量学方法在线评估小麦霉变具有一定可行性。下一步研究中，应扩大样品量，补充自然霉变及受更多代表性霉菌侵染的小麦样品，以不断增强模型的鲁棒性和方法的适用性。     

Simultaneous determination of erlotinib and its isomeric major metabolites in human plasma using isocratic liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and its clinical application

This study developed a method for the simultaneous determination of erlotinib and its isomeric major metabolites, OSI‐413 and OSI‐420, in human plasma using an isocratic liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma specimens deproteinized with acetonitrile were separated using a 3‐µm particle size octadecylsilyl column. The m/z values of the precursor and product ions for the analytes were as follows: erlotinib, 394.2/278.2; and OSI‐413 and OSI‐420, 380.2/278.2. The total run time was 21 min and no peaks interfering with the analytes and internal standard (d₆‐erlotinib) in human plasma were observed. The calibration curves of erlotinib, OSI‐413 and OSI‐420 were linear over the concentration ranges of 10–3000, 2–500 and 2–100 ng/mL, respectively. The pretreatment recovery ratios were >86.1%. The intra‐ and inter‐assay precisions and accuracies were <12.7 and 89.0–108.9% for all analytes. This validated method was applied to the determination of plasma samples in lung cancer patients receiving 150 mg of oral erlotinib. The plasma concentration ranges of erlotinib, OSI‐413 and OSI‐420 were 373–2354, 15.7–379 and 2.5–43.6 ng/mL, respectively. In conclusion, the present method can be helpful for evaluating the plasma exposures of erlotinib and its major isomeric metabolites in clinical settings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.