In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Essential Oil and ß-Bisabolol Derived from Cotton Gin Trash.

Natural α-bisabolol has been widely used in cosmetics and is sourced mainly from the stems of Candeia trees that have become endangered due to over exploitation. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of cotton gin trash (CGT) essential oil and the major terpenoid (ß-bisabolol) purified from the oil were investigated against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages as well as the 3t3 and HS27 fibroblast cell lines. Nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 8 (IL-8) were measured using Greiss reagent, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and cytokine bead array (CBA)-flow cytometry. Non-toxic concentrations of CGT oil and ß-bisabolol (1.6-50.0 µg/mL) significantly inhibited the production of the inflammatory mediators in a dose-dependent manner. Maximal inhibition by ß-bisabolol was 55.5% for NO, 62.3% for PGE2, and 45.3% for TNF-α production in RAW cells. ß-Bisabolol induced a level of inhibition similar to an equal concentration of α-bisabolol (50.0 µg/mL), a known anti-inflammatory agent. These results suggest ß-bisabolol exerts similar in vitro effects to known topical anti-inflammatory agents and could therefore be exploited for cosmetic and therapeutic uses. This is the first study to report the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of ß-bisabolol in CGT essential oil.

Crop fertilisation potential of phosphorus in hydrochars produced from sewage sludge.

Sewage sludges are a rich underused source of phosphorus (P) which contributes to environmental degradation, yet if recaptured, could return significant amounts of P to agricultural systems. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can efficiently recover P, with the added ability to transform P species into potentially more desirable forms for direct application to crops. P dynamics in hydrochars have primarily examined P speciation and chemical extractability as indicators of P bioavailability, but few studies directly evaluate the agronomic effectiveness of hydrochars as P fertilisers. As such, there is a clear need to assess the suitability of hydrochar as a source of bioavailable P in plant systems and the influence of HTC synthesis conditions. Response Surface Modelling of HTC synthesis conditions (pH, temperature and time), revealed initial pH significantly influence P distribution. Mild conditions of 180 °C for 30 min at pH 8.0 maximised P recovery (99%) along with carbon (62%) and nitrogen (43%) in hydrochars. Systematic characterisation of hydrochar P by chemical extraction and P L2,3-edge X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy revealed H2O, NaHCO3 and NaOH- P fractions were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in all hydrochars, while HCl-P fraction increased with HTC temperatures at pH 7. In contrast, P L2,3-edge XANES spectra were remarkably similar in raw sludges and corresponding hydrochars, regardless of HTC temperature or pH, revealing P was predominantly present as ferric phosphate with some hydroxyapatite. Multiple linear regression modelling suggested a significant relationship between chemical extractability and P bioavailability to wheat present in the raw sludges and hydrochars. This research provides further insight into the potential to use hydrothermal treatment for recovery and agricultural reuse of P, the importance of operational conditions on P transformation and the relationship between P speciation and bioavailability. The value of sewage sludge in a more sustainable global P cycle is also highlighted.

Chemical volatiles present in cotton gin trash: A by-product of cotton processing.

Cotton gin trash (CGT), a waste product of cotton gins, make up about 10% of each bale of cotton bolls ginned. The current study investigates high value volatile compounds in CGT to add value to this by-product. The volatile compounds in CGT and different parts of the cotton plant were extracted using various methods, identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and then quantified by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) against available standards. Terpenoids including monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids were found to be the most abundant, making up 64.66% (area under peak) of total volatiles extracted by hydro-distillation. The major extractable terpenoids in CGT were α-pinene (13.69-23.05 µg/g), ß-caryophyllene (3.99-74.32 µg/g), α-humulene (2.00-25.71 µg/g), caryophyllene oxide (41.50-102.08 µg/g) and ß-bisabolol (40.05-137.32 µg/g). Recoveries varied between different extraction methods. The terpenoids were found to be more abundant in the calyx (659.12 µg/g) and leaves (627.72 µg/g) than in stalks (112.97 µg/g) and stems (24.24 µg/g) of the cotton plant, indicating the possible biological origin of CGT volatiles. This study is the first to identify and quantify the different terpenoids present in CGT and significantly, ß-bisabolol, an abundant compound (sesquiterpene alcohol) which may have valuable biological prospects. These findings therefore contribute to identifying alternative management strategies and uses of CGT.

Biological Importance of Cotton By-Products Relative to Chemical Constituents of the Cotton Plant.

Although cultivated for over 7000 years, mainly for production of cotton fibre, the cotton plant has not been fully explored for potential uses of its other parts. Despite cotton containing many important chemical compounds, limited understanding of its phytochemical composition still exists. In order to add value to waste products of the cotton industry, such as cotton gin trash, this review focuses on phytochemicals associated with different parts of cotton plants and their biological activities. Three major classes of compounds and some primary metabolites have been previously identified in the plant. Among these compounds, most terpenoids and their derivatives (51), fatty acids (four), and phenolics (six), were found in the leaves, bolls, stalks, and stems. Biological activities, such as anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory activities, are associated with some of these phytochemicals. For example, ß-bisabolol, a sesquiterpenoid enriched in the flowers of cotton plants, may have anti-inflammatory product application. Considering the abundance of biologically active compounds in the cotton plant, there is scope to develop a novel process within the current cotton fibre production system to separate these valuable phytochemicals, developing them into potentially high-value products. This scenario may present the cotton processing industry with an innovative pathway towards a waste-to-profit solution.

SAGE of the developing wheat caryopsis.

Understanding the development of the cereal caryopsis holds the future for metabolic engineering in the interests of enhancing global food production. We have developed a Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) data platform to investigate the developing wheat (Triticum aestivum) caryopsis. LongSAGE libraries have been constructed at five time-points post-anthesis to coincide with key processes in caryopsis development. More than 90,000 LongSAGE tags have been sequenced generating 29,261 unique tag sequences across all five libraries. Tag abundance, generated from cumulative tag counts, provides insight into the redundancy and diversity of each library. Annotation of the 500 most abundant tags spanning development highlights the array of functional groups being expressed. The relative frequency of these more abundant transcripts allows quantitative analysis of patterns of expression during grain development. We have identified activities of cellular proliferation/differentiation, the accumulation of storage proteins and starch biosynthesis. The abundance of calcium-dependent protein kinases indicate their importance in signalling across development. Acquisition of a broad array of defence coincides with storage accumulation and is dominated by inhibitors of amylase activity. Differential expression profiles of abundant tags from each library reveal the coordinated expression of genes responsible for the cellular events constituting caryopsis development. This SAGE platform has also provided a resource of novel sequence and expression information including the identification of potentially useful promoter activities. Further investigations into both the abundant and low expressing transcripts will provide greater insight into wheat caryopsis development and assist in wheat improvement programmes.

Structure of the Golgi and distribution of reporter molecules at 20 degrees C reveals the complexity of the exit compartments.

Incubating cells at 20 degrees C blocks transport out of the Golgi complex and amplifies the exit compartments. We have used the 20 degrees C block, followed by EM tomography and serial section reconstruction, to study the structure of Golgi exit sites in NRK cells. The dominant feature of Golgi structure in temperature-blocked cells is the presence of large bulging domains on the three trans-most cisternae. These domains extend laterally from the stack and are continuous with "cisternal" domains that maintain normal thickness and alignment with the other stacked Golgi cisternae. The bulging domains do not resemble the perpendicularly extending tubules associated with the trans-cisternae of control cells. Such tubules are completely absent in temperature-blocked cells. The three cisternae with bulging domains can be identified as trans by their association with specialized ER and the presence of clathrin-coated buds on the trans-most cisterna only. Immunogold labeling and immunoblots show a significant degradation of a medial- and a trans-Golgi marker with no evidence for their redistribution within the Golgi or to other organelles. These data suggest that exit from the Golgi occurs directly from three trans-cisternae and that specialized ER plays a significant role in trans-Golgi function.