Cubical d-Polytopes with Few Vertices for d>4

A cubical polytope is a convex polytope all of whose facets are combinatorial cubes. A d-polytope P is called almost simple if, in the graph of P, each vertex of P is d-valent or (d+1)-valent. We show that, for d>4, all but one cubicald -polytopes with up to 2 ^d+1 vertices are almost simple. This provides a complete enumeration of all the cubical d-polytopes with up to 2 ^d+1 vertices, for d>4.     

Leaf Age-Dependent Photosystem II Photochemistry and Oxidative Stress Responses to Drought Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana Are Modulated by Flavonoid Accumulation

We investigated flavonoid accumulation and lipid peroxidation in young leaves (YL) and mature leaves (ML) of Arabidopsis thaliana plants, whose watering stopped 24 h before sampling, characterized as onset of drought stress (OnDS), six days before sampling, characterized as mild drought stress (MiDS), and ten days before sampling, characterized as moderate drought stress (MoDS). The response to drought stress (DS) of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, in both leaf types, was evaluated by estimating the allocation of absorbed light to photochemistry (Φ_PSII), to heat dissipation by regulated non-photochemical energy loss (Φ_NPQ) and to non-regulated energy dissipated in PSII (Φ_NO). Young leaves were better protected at MoDS than ML leaves, by having higher concentration of flavonoids that promote acclimation of YL PSII photochemistry to MoDS, showing lower lipid peroxidation and excitation pressure (1 − q_p). Young leaves at MoDS possessed lower 1 − q_p values and lower excess excitation energy (EXC), not only compared to MoDS ML, but even to MiDS YL. They also possessed a higher capacity to maintain low Φ_NO, suggesting a lower singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation. Our results highlight that leaves of different developmental stage may display different responses to DS, due to differential accumulation of metabolites, and imply that PSII photochemistry in Arabidopsis thaliana may not show a dose dependent DS response.     

Analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids in leaves of Lycium barbarum from different habitats by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry

The leaves of Lycium barbarum (LLB) have been utilized as crude drugs and functional tea for human health in China and Southeast Asia for thousands of years. To control its quality, a rapid and sensitive ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for the first time for simultaneous determination of 10 phenolic acids and flavonoids (including neochlorogenic acid , protocatechuic aldehyde, p‐hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p‐coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin and kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside) in LLB. The separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC C₁₈ chromatographic column (100 × 2.1 mm internal diameter, 1.7 μm particle size) with 0.1% formic acid in water (A)–acetonitrile (B) as the mobile phase under gradient elution. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was adopted to simultaneously monitor the target components. The developed method was fully validated in terms of linearity (r² ≥ 0.9860), precision (RSD ≤ 6.58%), repeatability (RSD ≤ 6.60%), stability (RSD ≤ 6.17%), recovery (95.56–108.06%, RSD ≤ 4.64%) and limit of detection (0.021–0.664 ng/mL) and limit of quantitation (0.069–2.210 ng/mL), and then successfully applied to evaluate the quality of 64 batches of LLB collected from 41 producing areas in four different provinces of China. The results showed that the LLB, especially collected from Inner Mongolia regions, were rich in the phenolic acids and flavonoids. Rutin, kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside and chlorogenic acid are the predominant compounds contained in LLB. The above findings will provide helpful information for the effective utilization of LLB.     

Preparation and Characterization of Bhant Leaves‐derived Nitrogen‐doped Carbon and its Use as an Electrocatalyst for Detecting Ketoconazole

In this study, the electrocatalytic characteristics of nitrogen‐doped carbon (NDC) prepared from Clerodendrum Infortunatum L leaves on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface was evaluated with regards to its ability to detect the electroactive drug ketoconazole (KCZ). The NDC was prepared by carrying out a simple pyrolysis of dry powder of the leaves at 850 °C. The prepared NDC was characterized using field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller analysis, and was then used as an electrode material. The performance of the electrochemical KCZ sensor with the NDC‐modified glassy carbon electrode (NDC/GCE) was found to be optimal when using PBS buffer at pH 3 and a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml of NDC in the conjugate with Nafion polymer. Under these conditions, the NDC/GCE displayed a KCZ detection limit of 3 μM and a linear dependence of its response on KCZ concentration over a wide range of KCZ concentrations from 47 μM to 752 μM (R²=0.9742). These results confirmed the potential of NDC as an electrocatalyst.     

A green protocol for efficient discovery of novel natural compounds: Characterization of new ginsenosides from the stems and leaves of Panax ginseng as a case study

Exploration of new natural compounds is of vital significance for drug discovery and development. The conventional approaches by systematic phytochemical isolation are low-efficiency and consume masses of organic solvent. This study presents an integrated strategy that combines offline comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography, hybrid linear ion-trap/Orbitrap mass spectrometry, and NMR analysis (2D LC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/NMR), aimed to establish a green protocol for the efficient discovery of new natural molecules. A comprehensive chemical analysis of the total ginsenosides of stems and leaves of Panax ginseng (SLP), a cardiovascular disease medicine, was performed following this strategy. An offline 2D LC system was constructed with an orthogonality of 0.79 and a practical peak capacity of 11,000. The much greener UHPLC separation and LTQ-Orbitrap-MS detection by data-dependent high-energy C-trap dissociation (HCD)/dynamic exclusion were employed for separation and characterization of ginsenosides from thirteen fractionated SLP samples. Consequently, a total of 646 ginsenosides were characterized, and 427 have not been isolated from the genus of Panax L. The ginsenosides identified from SLP exhibited distinct sapogenin diversity and molecular isomerism. NMR analysis was finally employed to verify and offer complementary structural information to MS-oriented characterization. The established 2D LC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/NMR approach outperforms the conventional approaches in respect of significantly improved efficiency, much less use of drug materials and organic solvent. The integrated strategy enables a deep investigation on the therapeutic basis of an herbal medicine, and facilitates new compounds discovery in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner as well.     

Phytochemical analysis of non-polar solvent extracts of the Wisteria sinensis leaves

A comparative study on the phytochemical composition of the n-hexane and chloroform extracts from Wisteria sinensis leaves collected in June and October is described. Continuous extraction in Soxhlet apparatus, as well as ultrasound-assisted technique, was used for the preparation of the extracts. All the extracts were analysed by GC/MS method. As a result, α-tocopherol was identified as the main component (56%) of the extracts from October leaves, whereas, β-sitosterol was identified as the main compound (47%) in the extracts from the June leaves. Additionally, pure α-tocopherol was isolated from n-hexane extract of the October leaves using column chromatography. A total of 6.25 mg of α-tocopherol was isolated from 1 g of dried leaves. The presence of the vitamin E in extracts from W. sinensis leaves is described here for the first time.     

树脂吸附法分离纯化桑叶总黄酮(Ⅰ)H103树脂对桑叶水提液中总黄酮的吸附性能

采用大孔吸附树脂法从桑叶水提液中分离黄酮类化合物。通过比较10种大孔吸附树脂对桑叶水提液中总黄酮的吸附特性及机理,发现H103树脂对桑叶总黄酮吸附量大、洗脱容易、吸附速度快,是一种良好的桑叶总黄酮吸附剂。实验表明,H103树脂吸附桑叶黄酮的适宜上样浓度为6.05mg/mL,吸附动力学符合Bangham模型,吸附过程符合内扩散模型。     

New lactoyl glycoside quercetin from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melia azedarach</Emphasis> leaves

In the course of phytochemical investigations of Melia azedarach leaves, a novel cinnamoyl glycoside, cinnamoyl-1-α-L-rhamnoside (1), and a novel acylated quercetin triglycoside, quercetin-3-O-[rhamnosyl 1→6(4″-lactoyl glucoside)]-4′-O-glucoside (2), have been isolated and characterized on the basis of spectroscopic methods, together with the six known flavonoid compounds kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, 3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, 3-O-rhamnoside, and the aglycones quercetin and kaempferol. All isolated compounds have been evaluated for their structures by chromatographic methods, chemical degradation, and UV and NMR spectroscopy. The antioxidant activity of the extract was studied as well. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 12–14, January–February, 2008.     

固相萃取净化-离子色谱测定不同生长期新鲜烟叶中的7种无机阴离子

目的 为了研究不同生长期新鲜烟叶中无机阴离子的含量和变换规律,建立了一种固相萃取净化/离子色谱方法测定新鲜烟叶中的7种无机阴离子（F-,Cl-,Br-,NO2-,NO3-,SO42-,PO43-）。方法 样品经0.1 mol/L NaOH水溶液超声提取,萃取液经RP1.0cc固相萃取柱净化后,使用AS11-HC（4 mm×250 mm）色谱柱进行分离,以KOH为流动相,梯度洗脱。 结果 7种无机阴离子在0.10-5.0 μg/mL范围内具有较好的线性（r>0.996）,检出限在0.01-0.04 μg/mL之间,定量限在0.04-0.14 μg/mL之间,加标回收率为96.3%～102.1%,相对标准偏差（RSD%）在2.7%~4.8%之间。结论 方法前处理操作简单,7种无机阴离子分离好,检测灵敏准确,可用于不同生长时期新鲜烟叶样品中多种无机阴离子含量的检测分析。     

Antioxidant and toxicological evaluation of a Tamarindus indica L. leaf fluid extract

In the scientific community, there is a growing interest in Tamarindus indica L. leaves, both as a valuable nutrient and as a functional food. This paper focuses on exploring its safety and antioxidant properties. A tamarind leaf fluid extract (TFE) wholly characterised was evaluated for its anti-DPPH activity (IC₅₀ = 44.36 μg/mL) and its reducing power activity (IC₅₀ = 60.87 μg/mL). TFE also exhibited a high ferrous ion-chelating capacity, with an estimated binding constant of 1.085 mol L^? 1 while its influence over nitric oxide production in human leucocytes was irregular. At low concentrations, TFE stimulated NO output, but it significantly inhibited it when there was an increase in concentration. TFE was also classified as a non-toxic substance in two toxicity tests: the acute oral toxicity test and the oral mucous irritability test. Further toxicological assays are needed, although results so far suggest that TFE might become a functional dietary supplement.