Antioxidant Assessment of Prenylated Stilbenoid-Rich Extracts from Elicited Hairy Root Cultures of Three Cultivars of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea).

Peanut produces prenylated stilbenoids upon biotic stress. However, the role of these compounds against oxidative stress have not been thoroughly elucidated. To this end, the antioxidant capacity of extracts enriched in prenylated stilbenoids and derivatives was studied. To produce these extracts, hairy root cultures of peanut cultivars Hull, Tifrunner, and Georgia Green were co-treated with methyl jasmonate, cyclodextrin, hydrogen peroxide, and magnesium chloride and then the stilbenoids were extracted from the culture medium. Among the three cultivars, higher levels of the stilbenoid derivatives arachidin-1 and arachidin-6 were detected in cultivar Tifrunner. Upon reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl, extracts from cultivar Tifrunner showed the highest antioxidant capacity with an IC50 of 6.004 µg/mL. Furthermore, these extracts had significantly higher antioxidant capacity at 6.25 µg/mL and 3.125 µg/mL when compared to extracts from cultivars Hull and Georgia Green. The stilbenoid-rich extracts from peanut hairy roots show high antioxidant capacity and merit further study as potential nutraceuticals to promote human health.

Cajanolactone A, a stilbenoid from Cajanus cajan, inhibits energy intake and lipid synthesis/storage, and promotes energy expenditure in ovariectomized mice.

BACKGROUND: We had reported that cajanolactone A (CLA) from Cajanus cajan dose-dependently inhibited ovariectomy-induced obesity and liver steatosis in mice, showing potential to prevent postmenopausal obesity and fatty liver. In this study, the role of CLA in the regulation of energy and lipid homeostasis was investigated. METHODS: Ovariectomized mice treated with CLA or vehicle for 12 weeks were performed a 48 h monitoring for energy metabolism and food uptake. After that, hypothalami, perigonadal (pWATs), inguinal (iWATs) and brown (BATs) adipose tissues, livers, sera, and fecal and cecal contents were collected and analyzed. FINDINGS: In CLA-treated mice, we observed reduced food uptake; increased energy expenditure; inhibited expression of orexigenic genes (ORX, ORXR2, pMCH and Gal) in the hypothalami, of lipogenic genes (CD36, SREBP-1c, ChREBP, PPARγ) in the livers, and of lipid storage proteins in the WATs (FSP27, MEST and caveolin-1) and livers (FSP27, Plin2 and Plin5); stimulated expression of metabolism-related proteins (pATGL and Echs1) in the adipose tissues and of thermogenic protein (UCP1) in the inguinal WATs; increased BAT content; increased mitochondria in the pWATs and livers; inhibited angiogenesis in the pWATs; and altered gut microbiome diversity with an increased abundance of Bacteroides. INTERPRETATION: CLA prevents ovariectomy-induced obesity and liver steatosis via regulating energy intake and lipid synthesis/storage, promoting UCP1-dependent heat production, and protecting the mitochondrial function of hepatocytes and adipocytes. The improved gut microecology and inhibited angiogenesis may also contribute to the anti-obese activity of CLA.

Quantification of Trans-resveratrol in Red Wines Using QuEChERS Extraction Combined with Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Resveratrol is one of representative ingredient in red wine, but its quantification is a challenge because of a complex and abundant matrix. In this study, two sample pretreatments, direct dilution and QuEChERS extraction, coupling LCMS analysis were examined for resveratrol quantification. Similar recoveries of 106.4 to 93.7% were obtained for direct dilution and QuEChERS, respectively. With the aid of condition optimization, QuEChERS extraction could concentrate the resveratrol from red wines to improve the detection sensitivity with a LOD value of 2.5 ng/mL, which is four-times greater than the direct dilution approach. As a result, the QuEChERS method can provide a high linearity within the concentration range of 5 - 500 ng/mL, in which direct dilution produced the linear calibration curve within the concentrations of 25 - 500 ng/mL. A high consistency was obtained for both approaches in which intra-day precisions were within 0.5 to 7.2% (n = 3), and the inter-day precisions were within 7.8 to 16.0% (n = 9). Overall, the sample pretreatment of QuEChERS can effectively reduce the matrix effect, which leads LCMS to quantify the low resveratrol abundance of 8.0 ppb in each red wine sample, which is not achieved with the direct dilution approach.

An economical and efficient technology for the extraction of resveratrol from peanut (Arachis hypogaea) sprouts by multi-stage countercurrent extraction.

In this paper, an economical and efficient technology for the extraction of resveratrol from peanut sprouts by multi-stage countercurrent extraction (MSCE) was investigated based on the alkaline extraction and acid precipitation method (AEAP). Firstly, the MSCE equipment and operation procedures were designed. Then, the optimal parameters of MSCE were obtained by using single-factor experiments and Box-Behnken design (BBD) as follows: extraction temperature of 46.6 °C, CaO to raw material ratio of 6:100, water to raw material ratio of 8.8:1 and extraction time of 51.7 min. Finally, the performance of MSCE was compared against the single pot extraction (SPE) under optimal conditions. The results demonstrated that MSCE was a time-saving, energy-saving, and cost-saving extraction technology for manufacturing resveratrol from peanut sprouts.

Experimental benznidazole treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi II strains isolated from children of the Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with Chagas disease

Trypanosoma cruzi strains from distinct geographic areas show differences in drug resistance and association between parasites genetic and treatment response has been observed. Considering that benznidazole (BZ) can reduce the parasite burden and tissues damage, even in not cured animals and individuals, the goal is to assess the drug response to BZ of T. cruzi II strains isolated from children of the Jequitinhonha Valley, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, before treatment. Mice infected and treated with BZ in both phases of infection were compared with the untreated and evaluated by fresh blood examination, haemoculture, polymerase chain reaction, conventional (ELISA) and non-conventional (FC-ALTA) serologies. In mice treated in the acute phase, a significant decrease in parasitaemia was observed for all strains. Positive parasitological and/or serological tests in animals treated during the acute and chronic (95.1-100%) phases showed that most of the strains were BZ resistant. However, beneficial effect was demonstrated because significant reduction (p < 0.05%) and/or suppression of parasitaemia was observed in mice infected with all strains (acute phase), associated to reduction/elimination of inflammation and fibrosis for two/eight strains. BZ offered some benefit, even in not cured animals, what suggest that BZ use may be recommended at least for recent chronic infection of the studied region.

Bioactive stilbenes from Vitis vinifera grapevine shoots extracts.

BACKGROUND: Viticultural residues from commercial viticultural activities represent a potentially important source of bioactive stilbenes such as resveratrol. The main aim of the present study was therefore to isolate, identify and perform biological assays against amyloid-ß peptide aggregation of original stilbenes from Vitis vinifera shoots. RESULTS: A new resveratrol oligomer, (Z)-cis-miyabenol C (3), was isolated from Vitis vinifera grapevine shoots together with two newly reported oligostilbenes from Vitis vinifera shoots, vitisinol C (1) and (E)-cis-miyabenol C (2), and six known compounds: piceatannol, resveratrol, (E)-ε-viniferin (trans-ε-viniferin), ω-viniferin, vitisinol C and (E)-miyabenol C. The structures of these resveratrol derivatives were established on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis including nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. All the newly reported compounds were tested for their anti-aggregative activity against amyloid-ß fibril formation. Vitisinol C was found to exert a significant activity against amyloid-ß aggregation. CONCLUSION: Vitis vinifera grapevine shoots are potentially interesting as a source of new bioactive stilbenes, such as vitisinol C.

Flavonoids from leaves of Derris urucu: assessment of potential effects on seed germination and development of weeds.

In some previous studies, we described the isolation of nine compounds from leaves of Derris urucu, a species found widely in the Amazon rainforest, identified as five stilbenes and four dihydroflavonols. In this work, three of these dihydroflavonols [urucuol A (1), urucuol B (2) and isotirumalin (3)] were evaluated to identify their potential as allelochemicals, and we are also reporting the isolation and structural determination of a new flavonoid [5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-(7,6:5″,6″)-2″,2″-dimethylpyranoflavanone (4)]. We investigated the effects of the dihydroflavonols 1-3 on seed germination and radicle and hypocotyl growth of the weed Mimosa pudica, using solutions at 150 mg.L-1. Urucuol B, alone, was the substance with the greatest potential to inhibit seed germination (26%), while isotirumalin showed greater ability to reduce the development of the hypocotyl (25%), but none of the three substances showed the potential to inhibit radicle. When combined in pairs, the substances showed synergism for the development of root and hypocotyl and effects on seed germination that could be attributed to antagonism. When tested separately, the trend has become more intense effects on seed germination, while for the substances tested in pairs, the intensity of the effect was greater on development of weed.

Quality assessment of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) grown on Prince Edward Island as a source of resveratrol.

Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica , also known as Polygonum cuspidatum) is a common invasive plant species on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, whereas it has been used in Chinese medicine and more recently as a raw material for extracting resveratrol. This paper reports on the quantification of resveratrol, polydatin, emodin, and physcion in roots, stems, and leaves of Japanese knotweed samples from PEI and British Columbia (BC), Canada, and nine provinces of China, by ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The results showed that the root contains a much higher level of resveratrol than the stem and leaf, and it is accumulated in its highest level in October. PEI-grown knotweed contains similar levels of resveratrol and polydatin compared to Chinese samples collected in the month of October, but the contents of the other anthraquinones (emodin and physcion) are different. As such, Japanese knotweed grown in PEI could be a commercially viable source of raw material for resveratrol production; however, caution has to be taken in harvesting the right plant species.