Hydrophilic interaction LC–MS/MS method to avoid endogenous interference in the analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from dietary supplementation of fenugreek

4-Hydroxy isoleucine is one of the potent hypoglycemic active constituents of fenugreek seeds. A method capable of reducing biological interferences is required for bioavailability studies. An isocratic separation of 4-hydroxy isoleucine from endogenous interferences was achieved in ZIC-cHILIC column using 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile (20:80, % v/v) pumped at 0.5 ml/min. Quantification was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of m/z 148.1→102.1 and m/z 276.1→142.2 for 4-hydroxy isoleucine and homatropine (as internal standard), respectively. After full method validation, 4-hydroxy isoleucine levels in human plasma and commercial fenugreek formulations were determined. This method showed good linearity in the range of 50–2000 ng/mL. Intra- and interday accuracies were in the range of 90.64–109.0% and precision was <4.82% CV. The mean (SD) plasma concentration of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in healthy individuals at 2 h after oral administration of fenugreek tablet was found to be 1590 (260) ng/mL. Half of marketed formulations were found to contain <0.05% of 4-hydroxy isoleucine content. We developed a rapid hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for analysis of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human plasma. This method can be applied directly to conduct the clinical pharmacokinetics studies of 4-hydroxy isoleucine in human population.     

Interspecific Variation between the American Quercus virginiana and Mediterranean Quercus Species in Terms of Seed Nutritional Composition,Phytochemical Content,and Antioxidant Activity

This study aimed to evaluate a complete nutritional composition in the seeds Quercus virginiana to compare this nutritional composition with three Mediterranean Quercus species. We analyzed the seed morphometry, proximate composition, phytochemicals, and antioxidant capacity. The seed of Q. virginiana presented the smaller seed size and weight, while Q. suber presented the highest values. Moreover, Q. virginiana seeds showed the highest amounts of sugar and total lipids, digestibility, energy, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. On the other hand, Q. virginiana seeds showed the lowest values of linoleic acid. Moreover, Q. coccifera seeds presented the highest total phenolics and flavonoids contents and antioxidant activity. The clustering analysis revealed a significant similarity in seed morphometry and nutritional composition between the Mediterranean Q. ilex and Q. suber, grouping with the American Q. virginiana, but to a considerable distance; by contrast, the Mediterranean Q. coccifera was the most distant in the clustering analysis. The content of phenolics and flavonoids and digestibility value were the variables that contributed to the separation to a greater extent in the clustering of the four species. The nutritional and biological activity assessment of plant seed may be considered as an essential mission to find new sustainable sources and novel chemical agents. In this sense, Quercus seeds may be an alternative and a competitive food source for the agri-food industry.     

太赫兹成像技术对玉米种子的鉴定和识别

利用太赫兹时域光谱(THz_TDS)测试技术及透射式太赫兹逐点扫描成像技术分别对几种玉米种子DNA和胚的样品进行了光谱和成像测量;利用空间图样成份分析(component spatial pattern analysis)方法对得到的THz像进行识别运算。实验结果表明,几种样品在THz波段都有不同的吸收特性,但都没有明显的吸收峰,不能利用“特征指纹谱”进行识别。用基于THz扫描成像的空间图样成份分析方法能很好地实现不同玉米种子DNA样品的鉴定和识别。与现有的THz图像识别方法相比,这个方法只需要THz像的实验数据和样品的吸收谱信息,不需要样品的其它特征。这项研究为进一步利用THz成像技术实现无损检测、安全检查、质量监测等提供了依据,具有实际应用价值。     

Biomolecules from Plant Wastes Potentially Relevant in the Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Co-Occurring Symptomatology

During and following the processing of a plant’s raw material, considerable amounts are wasted, composted, or redistributed in non-alimentary sectors for further use (for example, some forms of plant waste contribute to biofuel, bioethanol, or biomass production). However, many of these forms of waste still consist of critical bioactive compounds used in the food industry or medicine. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders. The primary treatment is based on symptomatology alleviation and controlled dietary management. Thus, this review aimed to describe the possible relevance of molecules residing in plant waste that can be used to manage IBS and co-occurring symptoms. Significant evidence was found that many forms of fruit, vegetable, and medicinal plant waste could be the source of some molecules that could be used to treat or prevent stool consistency and frequency impairments and abdominal pain, these being the main IBS symptoms. While many of these molecules could be recovered from plant waste during or following primary processing, the studies suggested that enriched food could offer efficient valorization and prevent further changes in properties or stability. In this way, root, stem, straw, leaf, fruit, and vegetable pomaces were found to consist of biomolecules that could modulate intestinal permeability, pain perception, and overall gastrointestinal digestive processes.     

粮谷和油籽中丰索磷残留量的气相色谱及气相色谱／质谱分析

介绍应用气相色谱和气相色谱－质谱法测定及确证粮谷和油籽中丰索磷的残留含量，试样采用水－丙酮提取，提取液经液－液分配后，再以弗罗里硅土柱净化，气相色谱，火焰光度检测器测定，外标法定量，并用气相色谱－质谱针对丰索磷的选择监测离子的种类和丰度比进行敢阳性确证。     

高效凝胶过滤色谱法分离测定豆薯种子蛋白

用高效凝胶蛋白往分离豆薯种子蛋白租提液,结合光电二极管阵列检测器对分离的蛋白峰进行紫外光谱扫描来确认蛋白的纯度,测定了3种蛋白的分子量,采用邻苯二甲醛（OPA）柱后衍生法测定了豆薯种子蛋白的氨基酸含量。     

Optimization of a New Extraction Technique for Analysis of Verbenone and cis-Verbenol in Pine Seeds

Results from a systematic study of the factors affecting extraction of cis-verbenol and verbenone from pine seeds are presented. Five extraction conditions were investigated: extraction solvent, method of extraction, extraction temperature, volume of solvent, and the ratio of the mass of sample to the amount of extraction solvent. The resulting optimized method uses magnetic-stirring-assisted extraction of pine seeds (5 g) with ethyl acetate (75 mL) for 20 min, at room temperature. RSDs were less than 5% for both compounds. GC–FID was used for quantification of cis-verbenol and verbenone in the extracts.     

The Current State of Knowledge on Salvia hispanica and Salviae hispanicae semen (Chia Seeds)

Chia seeds (Salviae hispanicae semen) are obtained from Salvia hispanica L. This raw material is distinguished by its rich chemical composition and valuable nutritional properties. It is currently referred to as “health food”. The purpose of the present work was to perform a literature review on S. hispanica and chia seeds, focusing on their chemical composition, biological properties, dietary importance, and medicinal uses. The valuable biological properties of chia seeds are related to their rich chemical composition, with particularly high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential amino acids, polyphenols, as well as vitamins and bioelements. The available scientific literature indicates the cardioprotective, hypotensive, antidiabetic, and antiatherosclerotic effects of this raw material. In addition, studies based on in vitro assays and animal and human models have proven that chia seeds are characterized by neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. These properties indicate a valuable role of chia in the prevention of civilization diseases. Chia seeds are increasingly popular in functional food and cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. That is attributed not only to their desirable chemical composition and biological activity but also to their high availability. Nevertheless, S. hispanica is also the object of specific biotechnological studies aimed at elaboration of micropropagation protocols of this plant species.     

基于UMAP辅助的模糊C聚类方法进行太赫兹光谱识别

太赫兹(THz)具有低能性、瞬态性、波谱分析能力强的优点,在物质鉴别方面具有广阔的应用前景。现有的基于THz的物质鉴别方法,虽然取得了一定的效果,但是存在容易陷入局部最优的问题,从而导致识别精度不高。均匀流形逼近与投影(UMAP)作为一种非线性降维方法,其假设数据均匀分布在黎曼流形上,可以对具有模糊拓扑结构的流形进行建模。UMAP降维的过程是通过最小化两个拓扑表示之间的交叉熵,从而实现低维空间中数据表示的布局优化。传统的模糊C聚类方法(FCM)在聚类时,初始聚类中心往往随机给定,当初始聚类中心选择不恰当时,容易导致错误的聚类。为此,提出一种基于UMAP辅助的模糊C聚类算法,首先运用UMAP对输入的THz样本矩阵进行降维;再根据类与类之间距离最大化的原则,选择合适的初始聚类中心;最后利用模糊C均值聚类的方法进行聚类。所提出的方法不仅能够解决聚类过程中类与类之间过度拥挤的现象,而且能够反映出类别间的距离信息以便于给样本选择合适的初始聚类中心。为了验证提出的聚类方法的可靠性,运用太赫兹时域光谱技术对鲁棉研28、鲁棉研29、鲁棉研36、中棉28四种不同类型的转基因棉花种子进行了探测,利用基于U...     

Antimicrobial Activities of Plant Extracts against Solanum tuberosum L. Phytopathogens

The purpose of the study was to select an environmentally friendly plant biopesticide to protect seed potatoes against phytopathogens. The scope included the evaluation of the antimicrobial activities of 22 plant water extracts, 22 water-glycol extracts, and 3 subcritical carbon dioxide extracts using the agar diffusion method against 10 potato phytopathogens. For the most effective extracts, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), chemical composition analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and in situ assays on seed potatoes were performed. Garlic water extract was finally selected as the most effective in phytopathogen growth inhibition, both in vitro and in situ, with MIC values ranging between 6.3–25 mg/mL. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural was determined to be the main component of this extract (33.24%). Garlic water extract was proposed as a potential biopesticide against potato phytopathogens.