Assessment of various carbon sources and nutrient feeding strategies for Panax ginseng cell culture

Ginseng (root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) cells were cultivated on medium supplemented with various carbohydrates including sucrose, glucose, and fructose, at initial concentrations ranging from 10 to 110 g/L. Sucrose was shown to be the superior carbon source to the monosaccharides for ginseng cell growth and the optimal concentration was between 30 and 50 g/L. An increase in the initial concentration within this range increased the maximum cell density and growth index significantly, whereas much higher concentrations inhibited cell growth. Feeding of sucrose and some other medium components during the growth (fed-batch mode) was more effective in enhancing the cell growth and biomass productivity, increasing the growth index by more than 60–70% and biomass productivity by more than 50%.     

Diffusiophoresis in suspensions of highly charged soft particles

Diffusiophoresis phenomenon of aoft particles suspended in binary electrolyte solutions is explored theoretically in this study based on the spherical cell model, focusing on the chemiphoresis component in absence of diffusion potential. Both the electrostatic and hydrodynamic aspects of the boundary confinement, or steric effect, due to the presence of neighboring particles are examined extensively under various electrokinetic conditions. Significant local extrema are found in mobility profiles expressed as functions of the Debye length in general, synchronized with the strength of the motion-inducing double layer polarization. Moreover, a seemingly peculiar phenomenon is observed that the soft particles may move faster in more concentrated suspensions. The competition between the simultaneous enhancement of the motion-inducing electric driving force and the motion-retarding hydrodynamic drag force from the boundary confinement effect of the neighboring particles is found to be responsible for it. The above findings are also demonstrated experimentally in a very recent study on the diffusiophoretic motion of soft particles through porous collagen hydrogels. The results presented here are useful in various practical applications of soft particles like drug delivery.     

Validation of a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode Array Detection Method for the Separation and Quantification of Antioxidant and Skin Anti-Aging Flavonoids from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. Stamen Extract

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., or the so-called sacred lotus, is a useful aquatic plant in the Nelumbonaceae family that has long been used to prepare teas, traditional medicines as well as foods. Many studies reported on the phytochemicals and biological activities of its leaves and seeds. However, to date, only few studies were conducted on its stamen, which is the most important ingredient for herbal medicines, teas and other phytopharmaceutical products. Thus, this present study focuses on the following: (1) the application of high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection for a validated separation and quantification of flavonoids from stamen; (2) the Nelumbo nucifera stamen’s in vitro and in cellulo antioxidant activities; as well as (3) its potential regarding the inhibition of skin aging enzymes for cosmetic applications. The optimal separation of the main flavonoids from the stamen ethanolic extract was effectively achieved using a core-shell column. The results indicated that stamen ethanolic extract has higher concentration of in vitro and in cellulo antioxidant flavonoids than other floral components. Stamen ethanolic extract showed the highest protective effect against reactive oxygen/nitrogen species formation, as confirmed by cellular antioxidant assay using a yeast model. The evaluation of potential skin anti-aging action showed that the stamen extract has higher potential to inhibit tyrosinase and collagenase compared with its whole flower. These current findings are the first report to suggest the possibility to employ N. nucifera stamen ethanolic extract as a tyrosinase and collagenase inhibitor in cosmetic applications, as well as the utility of the current separation method.     

Unravelling the Helianthus tuberosus L. (Jerusalem Artichoke,Kiku-Imo) Tuber Proteome by Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics

The present research investigates the tuber proteome of the ‘medicinal’ plant Jerusalem artichoke (abbreviated as JA) (Helianthus tuberosus L.) using a high-throughput proteomics technique. Although JA has been historically known to the Native Americans, it was introduced to Europe in the late 19th century and later spread to Japan (referred to as ‘kiku-imo’) as a folk remedy for diabetes. Genboku Takahashi research group has been working on the cultivation and utilization of kiku-imo tuber as a traditional/alternative medicine in daily life and researched on the lowering of blood sugar level, HbA1c, etc., in human subjects (unpublished data). Understanding the protein components of the tuber may shed light on its healing properties, especially related to diabetes. Using three commercially processed JA tuber products (dried powder and dried chips) we performed total protein extraction on the powdered samples using a label-free quantitate proteomic approach (mass spectrometry) and catalogued for the first time a comprehensive protein list for the JA tuber. A total of 2967 protein groups were identified, statistically analyzed, and further categorized into different protein classes using bioinformatics techniques. We discussed the association of these proteins to health and disease regulatory metabolism. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD030744.     

Virtual Screening,Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Streptococcus mutans Mediated Biofilm Inhibitors

Dental caries, a global oral health concern, is a biofilm-mediated disease. Streptococcus mutans, the most prevalent oral microbiota, produces extracellular enzymes, including glycosyltransferases responsible for sucrose polymerization. In bacterial communities, the biofilm matrix confers resistance to host immune responses and antibiotics. Thus, in cases of chronic dental caries, inhibiting bacterial biofilm assembly should prevent demineralization of tooth enamel, thereby preventing tooth decay. A high throughput screening was performed in the present study to identify small molecule inhibitors of S. mutans glycosyltransferases. Multiple pharmacophore models were developed, validated with multiple datasets, and used for virtual screening against large chemical databases. Over 3000 drug-like hits were obtained that were analyzed to explore their binding mode. Finally, six compounds that showed good binding affinities were further analyzed for ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties. The obtained in silico hits were evaluated for in vitro biofilm formation. The compounds displayed excellent antibiofilm activities with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 15.26–250 µg/mL.     

Drug Design—Past,Present, Future

Drug design is a complex pharmaceutical science with a long history. Many achievements have been made in the field of drug design since the end of 19th century, when Emil Fisher suggested that the drug–receptor interaction resembles the key and lock interplay. Gradually, drug design has been transformed into a coherent and well-organized science with a solid theoretical background and practical applications. Now, drug design is the most advanced approach for drug discovery. It utilizes the innovations in science and technology and includes them in its wide-ranging arsenal of methods and tools in order to achieve the main goal: discovery of effective, specific, non-toxic, safe and well-tolerated drugs. Drug design is one of the most intensively developing modern sciences and its progress is accelerated by the implication of artificial intelligence. The present review aims to capture some of the most important milestones in the development of drug design, to outline some of the most used current methods and to sketch the future perspective according to the author’s point of view. Without pretending to cover fully the wide range of drug design topics, the review introduces the reader to the content of Molecules’ Special Issue “Drug Design—Science and Practice”.     

1-氨基环丙烷-1-羧酸的合成: 新型植物生长调节剂

本文报道了合成1-氨基环丙烷-1-羧酸的简便而价廉的方法,即乙酰乙酸乙酯法和α-氰乙酸乙酯法;并测定了产品的结构。     

利用三维虚拟技术突破物质结构教学*——从演示型工具到探索型工具的转变

针对物质结构教学的抽象性,开发了一套基于三维虚拟技术的物质结构教学软件,可对结构模型进行旋转、平移、缩放、切割、镜像、插入或删除原子(团)及启停预先设置的动画等操作,强大的交互功能不仅能对分子或晶体结构如构造异构、立体异构、晶体的堆积方式、晶胞的划分、配位数、晶体结构中的空隙及空间利用率等问题进行效果极佳的可视化教学,另一方面,通过对B₁₂与C₆₀分子空间构型转变的探究揭示数学构型的重要性,通过对六方晶胞占有原子个数的探究修正晶胞模型,通过对金属晶体的4种基本堆积方式成因的探究提出“半密置层”概念来完善紧密堆积规律等案例,展示出三维虚拟技术在微观结构探索发现方面的巨大潜力。     

LC‐PDA‐ESI‐MSn analysis of phenolic and iridoid compounds from Globularia spp.

Plants produce a great number of metabolites with potentially useful biological activities. Species from the genus Globularia (Plantaginaceae) are known as sources of different phenolic and iridoid compounds. Globularia alypum L. is a medicinal plant used as a healing agent in many Mediterranean countries. Similarities in phytochemical composition are often observed for related species. For Globularia spp., such findings were mostly based on identification of several isolated compounds from distinct species. To our knowledge, this is the first study that enables simultaneous comparison of phytochemical profiles from several members of the genus Globularia. Liquid chromatography‐photodiode array detection‐electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry was used for the analysis of methanolic extracts of aerial parts obtained from four Globularia species (G. alypum, G. punctata, G. cordifolia and G. meridionalis). In total, 85 compounds were identified or tentatively identified based on comparison of their retention time, UV and MSⁿ (up to MS⁴) spectra to those of standard compounds and/or to literature data. Among these, high relative amounts of bioactive molecules such as globularin, globularifolin, asperuloside and verbascoside (acteoside) were found. Apart from providing new insights into the phytochemistry and chemotaxonomy of selected Globularia species, results of this study complement existing MS/MS spectral data and could enable easier mass spectrometric profiling of certain bioactive compounds such as iridoids and phenylethanoids in related plant species, genera and families. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

固相萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱测定水果中5种植物生长调节剂残留量

建立了固相萃取/超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)同时测定水果中6-苄基腺嘌呤(6-BA)、噻苯隆、氯吡脲、多效唑和烯效唑5种植物生长调节剂残留量的分析方法。水果样品经乙腈提取,NH2固相萃取小柱进行富集、净化,以二氯甲烷-甲醇(92∶8)为洗脱溶液,浓缩定容后,用Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18(50 mm×2.1 mm,1.7μm)色谱柱分离,流速0.3 m L/min,以水-甲醇为流动相梯度洗脱,于UPLC-MS/MS仪多反应监测(MRM)模式测定,基质匹配标准溶液外标法定量。结果表明,5种植物生长调节剂在5~500 ng/m L浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数(r2)为0.996 1~0.999 6。在0.004,0.02,0.1 mg/kg加标水平下,方法的回收率为75.6%~110.5%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.2%~12.8%,方法检出限(LOD,S/N≥3)为0.001~0.002 mg/kg,定量下限(LOQ,S/N≥10)为0.003~0.006 mg/kg。该方法操作简便、灵敏度高、准确可靠,适用于水果中5种植物生长调节剂残留量的同时测定。