A Sensitive and Rapid UPLC-MS/MS Method for Determination of Monosaccharides and Anti-Allergic Effect of the Polysaccharides Extracted from Saposhnikoviae Radix.

Background: Allergic disease is a common clinical disease. Natural products provide an important source for a wide range of potential anti-allergic agents. This study was designed to evaluate the anti-allergic activities of the water-soluble polysaccharides extracted and purified from Saposhnikoviae Radix (SRPS). The composition and content of monosaccharides were determined to provide a material basis. Methods: An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established to determine the composition and content of SRPS. 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) induced a delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) mouse model orally administrated SRPS for seven consecutive days. Ear swelling, organ index, and serum IgE levels were observed to evaluate the anti-allergic activities. Results: The UPLC-MS/MS analysis showed that SRPS was consisted of eight monosaccharides including galacturonic acid, mannose, glucose, galactose, rhamnose, fucose, ribose, and arabinose with a relative molar ratio of 4.42%, 7.86%, 23.69%, 12.06%, 3.10%, 0.45%, 0.71%, and 47.70%, respectively. SRPS could effectively reduce ear swelling, a thymus index, and a serum IgE levels. Conclusions: The method was simple, rapid, sensitive, and reproducible, which could be used to analyze and determine the monosaccharide composition of SRPS. The vivo experiments demonstrated that SRPS may effectively inhibit development of DNFB-induced DTH. SRPS is a novel potential resource for natural anti-allergic drugs.

Adsorption-desorption characteristics of cadmium in variable charge soils.

Cadmium (Cd) has received considerable attention because of its association with various human health problems. The behavior of adsorption-desorption of Cd at contaminated levels in two variable charge soils were investigated. The red soil (RAR) developed on the Arenaceous rock (clayey, mixed siliceous thermic typic Dystrochrept) adsorbed more Cd2+ than the red soil (REQ) derived from the Quaternary red earths (clayey, kaolinitic thermic plinthite Aquult). The characteristics of Cd adsorption could be described by the Freundlich equation (r2 = 0.997 and 0.989, respectively, for the RAR and REQ) and the simple Langmuir adsorption equation (r2 = 0.985 and 0.977, respectively, for the RAR and REQ). The maximum adsorption values (Xm) that were obtained from the simple Langmuir model were 36.23 mmol Cd2+ kg(-1) soil and 31.15 mmol Cd2+ kg(-1) soil, respectively for the RAR and REQ. Adsorption of Cd2+ decreased soil pH by 1.28 unit for the RAR soil and 1.23 unit for the REQ soil at the highest loading. The distribution coefficient (kd) of Cd in the soil decreased exponentially with increasing Cd2+ loading. The adsorption of cadmium in the two variable charge soils was characterized by a rapid process that lasted approximately 15 min, followed by a slower but longer period. 85.5% and 79.4% of the added Cd were adsorbed within two hours by the RAR and REQ soil, respectively. More Cd2+ was adsorbed at 10 degrees C than at 25 degrees C or 40 degrees C. After five successive desorptions with 0.01 mol L(-1) NaNO3 solution, 53.3% of the total adsorbed Cd2+ in the RAR soil was desorbed and the corresponding value of the REQ soil was 46.5%, indicating that the RAR soil had a lower affinity for Cd2+ than the REQ soil at the same Cd2+ loading.

Effect of land use on microbial biomass-C, -N and -P in red soils.

Eleven red soils varying in land use and fertility status were used to examine the effect of land use on microbial biomass -C, -N and -P. Microbial biomass-C in the red soils ranged from about 68 mg C/kg to 225 mg C/kg, which is generally lower than that reported from other types of soil, probably because of low organic matter and high acidity in the red soils. Land use had considerable effects on the amounts of soil C(mic). The C(mic) was the lowest in eroded fallow land, followed by woodland, tea garden, citrus grove and fallow grassland, and the highest in vegetable and paddy fields. There was significant correlation between C(mic) and organic matter content, suggesting that the influence of land use on C(mic) is mainly related to the input and accumulation of organic matter. Microbial biomass-N in the soils ranged from 12.1 Nmg/kg to 31.7 Nmg/kg and was also affected by land use. The change of N(mic) with land use was similar to that of C(mic). The microbial C/N ratio ranged from 5.2 to 9.9 and averaged 7.6. The N(mic) was significantly correlated with soil total N and available N. Microbial biomass-P in the soils ranged from 4.5 mg P/kg to 52.3 mg P/kg. The microbial C/P ratio was in the range of 4 - 23. The P(mic) was relatively less affected by land use due to differences in fertilization practices for various land use systems.