The enormity of the zinc deficiency problem and available solutions; an overview

The societal cost of micronutrient deficiency (MND) or the “hidden hunger” is in millions of dollars/year, reducing the GDP of some countries by as much as 11%. Zn is an important micronutrient for both plants and animals. An estimated 17% of the world population, or around 1.1 billion people, are at the risk of zinc (Zn) deficiency. The deficiency has been related to adverse pregnancy outcomes, stunted growth, premature deaths, immune system dysfunctions, neuro-behavioral disorders, and recently with the failure to recover from COVID-19. These health risks associated with Zn deficiency have compelled FAO and WHO to recommend Zn fortification of diet. Correcting Zn deficiency is a challenge due to several reasons. Close to half of the agricultural soils are Zn deficient, and chemical Zn fertilizers are costly and ineffective. Developing Zn-rich crops through plant breeding and genetic engineering is challenging. Zn-dense diet is costly and cannot be implemented in the low-income region most affected by Zn deficiency. Lack of consensus among regulatory bodies on defining and diagnosing Zn deficiency in plants and Humans. Awareness and other sociocultural issues. Among the most important available solutions are zinc biofortification of the cereal crops, use of zinc biofertilizers, development of Zn-efficient crops with reduced phytate content. The use of Zn supplements, dietary modification, and diversification, especially with fish, are proposed as the most accessible and affordable solutions. Awareness programs in areas suffering the most from Zn deficiency are required. Despite the suggestions from FAO and WHO, global efforts to combat Zn deficiency matching those for combating diseases like HIV are not in place. Coordinated efforts of the international community, especially policy-makers, agricultural scientists, dieticians, physicians, and others, are required to address the issue of hidden hunger.     

Interfacial behavior of plant proteins — novel sources and extraction methods

Understanding the air-water and oil-water interfacial behavior of plant proteins is crucial for developing stable emulsions and foams in food systems. Plant crops are often processed into protein extracts with high purity, which primarily consist of globulins. These globulins are often unable to form stiff interfacial layers owing to their compact and highly aggregated state and have inferior functionality compared with animal-derived proteins from milk or eggs. Much of the current focus is on modifying these proteins, whereas better interface stabilizing functionality can also be obtained by choosing more targeted protein extraction methods. This review will highlight the benefits and drawbacks of current and novel protein sources and protein extraction methods with respect to interfacial properties.     

聚酯废弃物改性植物油沥青粘结剂的红外研究

采用蒸馏厂的下脚料——各种植物油沥青(棉油沥青、豆油沥青、混合油沥青)为主要原料,用聚酯废弃物为改性剂,经裂解、酯化等工艺制备成三种铸造用植物油沥青粘结剂(MB)。同时采用红外光谱和热重分析等手段对该三种粘结剂的基团结构,性能与固化机理进行探索,并与合脂粘结剂比较。 结果表明：改性粘结剂的主要成分与合脂粘结剂大致相同,且具有更高的干拉强度、更慢的发气速度等优异性能,达到甚至超过合脂粘结剂的性能,可用于Ⅰ级型芯砂的粘结,而且成本低廉。     

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography for purification of shikonin from the Chinese medicinal plant Lithospermum erythrorhizon

The bioactive compound shikonin was successfully isolated and purified from the crude extract of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc. by preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The preparative HSCCC was performed using a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethylacetate-ethanol-water (16:14:14:5 (v/v)). A total amount of 19.6 mg of shikonin at 98.9% purity was obtained from 52 mg of the crude extract (containing 38.9% shikonin) with 96.9% recovery. The preparative isolation and purification of shikonin by HSCCC was completed in 200 min in a one-step separation.     

Analysis of non-organic elements in plant foliage using polarised X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

An X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method for the rapid and non-destructive analysis of 30 non-organic elements in plant leaves over five orders of magnitude concentration from several percentage of dry weight to sub-milligram per kilogram, is described. There is a growing need for a simple method of monitoring non-organic trace elements in plant material, especially those which accumulate in soils with application of fertilisers, both inorganic and biosolids. Earlier attempts to use XRF for the analysis of plant material suffered from sensitivity loss due to the high background of organic matrices caused by scattering of the X-ray source. We overcome this by using polarised X-ray sources in a Cartesian geometrical arrangement with sample and energy dispersive detector (EDPXRF), a configuration which can achieve an order of magnitude reduction in background compared with unpolarised sources. Further sensitivity gains are made using a high power tube as a source of primary X-rays and for some analytes employing secondary targets for near-monochromatic excitation. Sample preparation is simple involving only pulverising and briquetting of dried samples. Accuracy is evaluated by comparing data obtained for the suite of NIST plant leaf samples (NIST 1515 apple leaves, NIST 1547 peach leaves, NIST 1570a spinach leaves, NIST 1573a tomato leaves and NIST 1575a pine needles) and tobacco leaf standards CTA-OTL-1 and CTA-VTL-2. The data compare well over the whole concentration range and the method provides a rapid analytical tool for monitoring potentially toxic trace elements in all types of foliage with adequate sensitivity for many purposes.     

玫瑰红景天药用历史及功能简介

玫瑰红景天具有上千年的药用历史,是我国传统中药中的瑰宝。大量研究表明,玫瑰红景天提取物对人体中枢神经系统、心血管系统以及内分泌系统具有保护和调节作用,尤其在抗疲劳、抗抑郁、抗肿瘤及提高人体免疫力等方面具有独特的药效。本文介绍了玫瑰红景天的药用开发历史及其特征活性成分的功能,以期提高人们对这种传统中药的认识,为进一步开发玫瑰红景天的药用功能提供借鉴和参考。     

梯度洗脱测定植物源调节剂中内源激素方法探讨

建立了梯度洗脱高效液相色谱法同时测定内源激素赤霉素(GA3)、吲哚乙酸(3-IAA)、脱落酸(ABA)、细胞分裂素(6-BA)和α-萘乙酸(α-NAA)等5种植物内源激素的方法,采用Hypersil ODS C18柱和紫外检测器,以甲醇、乙腈和0.6%的乙酸为流动相梯度洗脱,分别在各组分的保留时间段设置其最佳检测波长,在12 min内可将上述5种内源激素的各组分分离完全,峰形良好,该方法的回收率可达到90%～96%,线性相关系数(r)大于0.998,检出限在0.02～0.3 μg/g之间.还探讨了各组分的最佳检测条件和梯度洗脱存在的问题及解决方法.     

高分辨连续光源原子吸收光谱法测定植物中的硫

硫元素在富燃的乙炔/空气火焰可形成CS双原子分子,在某些特定的波长下,这些CS分子吸收谱线具有原子吸收的轮廓和一定的吸收强度。文章主要研究利用高分辨连续光源原子吸收光谱法,通过测定硫元素在富燃-乙炔/空气火焰条件下形成的CS双原子分子的吸光度值,从而测定植物样品中的硫元素含量。实验对乙炔-空气比例和燃烧器高度等仪器条件进行了优化;实验研究了五种有机溶剂对CS分子吸收产生的影响情况、其他共存元素的光谱干扰和化学干扰以及不同的消解酸种类对测定结果的影响。在优化的条件下,硫在CS 257.961 nm的检出限为14 mg·L-1。通过对植物标准物质中硫含量的测定比对和精密度实验证明, 利用连续光源原子吸收光谱法,在富燃-乙炔/空气焰条件下以CS分子测定植物样品中的硫元素是一种简单、快速、有效的方法。     

NMR imaging of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporis) at various magnetic fields

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been applied to visualize physiological phenomena in plants and agricultural crops. Imaging sequences that result in contrast of a combination of parameters (e.g., proton density, ) cannot be used for a correct and unique interpretation of the results. In this study multiecho imaging together with monoexponential T₂ decay fitting was applied to determine reliable proton density and T₂ distributions over a mushroom. This was done at three magnetic field strengths (9.4, 4.7, and 0.47 T) because susceptibility inhomogeneities were suspected to influence the T₂ relaxation times negatively, and because the inflences of susceptibility inhomogeneities increase with a rise in magnetic field strength. Electron microscopy was used to understand the different T₂'s for the various tissue types in mushrooms. Large influences of the tissue ultrastructure on the observed T₂ relaxation times were found and explained. Based on the results, it is concluded that imaging mushrooms at low fields (around or below 0.47T) and short echo times has strong advantages over its high-field counterpart, especially with respect to quantitative imaging of the water balance of mushrooms. These conclusions indicate general validity whenever NMR imaging contrast is influenced by susceptibility inhomogeneities.     

几种食用植物油发热量的测定

利用WZR-1A型精密微电脑量热计系统地测量了10种食用植物油的恒容燃烧热.准确称取一定量的基准物质,放入氧弹中充人高压纯氧,将测试样品在氧弹中完全燃烧,并记录燃烧前后时间与量热计温度变化数据,运用仪器所带的数据处理软件计算出仪器热容量,然后再准确称取一定量的食用植物油,装入已准确测定热值的燃烧胶囊中后,将测试数据用自编的计算机处理程序对测试数据处理,从而得到食用植物油的燃烧热值.此法准确、简便、实用,可用于日常检测工作.