Gene clone and functional identification of sterol glycosyltransferases from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis / 中国中药杂志

In this study, the authors cloned a glycosyltransferase gene PpUGT2 from Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis with the ORF length of 1 773 bp and encoding 590 amino acids. The phylogenetic tree revealed that PpUGT2 belonged to the UGT80A subfamily and was named as UGT80A49 by the UDP-glycosyltransferase(UGT) Nomenclature Committee. The expression vector pET28a-PpUGT2 was constructed, and enzyme catalytic reaction in vitro was conducted via inducing protein expression and extraction. With UDP-glucose as sugar donor and diosgenin and pennogenin as substrates, the protein was found with the ability to catalyze the C-3 hydroxyl β-glycosylation of diosgenin and pennogenin. To further explore its catalytic characteristic, 15 substrates including steroids and triterpenes were selected and PpUGT2 showed its activity towards the C-17 position of sterol testosterone with UDP-glucose as sugar donor. Homology modelling and molecule docking of PpUGT2 with substrates predicted the key residues interacting with ligands. The re-levant residues of PpUGT2-ligand binding model were scanned to calculate the corresponding mutants, and the optimized mutants were obtained according to the changes in binding affinity of the ligand with protein and the surrounding residues within 5.0 Å of ligands, which had reference value for design of the mutants. This study laid a foundation for further exploring the biosynthetic pathway of polyphyllin as well as the structure of sterol glycosyltransferases.

Spatial distribution characteristics of metabolities in rhizome of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis: based on MALDI-MSI / 中国中药杂志

In this study, a method was established for in-situ visualization of metabolite distribution in the rhizome of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis. To be specific, through matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging(MALDI-MSI), the spatial locations of steroidal saponins, amino acids, organic acids, phytosterols, phytoecdysones, nucleosides, and esters in rhizome of the medicinal plant were directly analyzed, and six unknown compounds with differential distribution in rhizome tissues were identified. The specific procedure is as follows: preparation of rhizome tissue section, matrix screening and optimization, and MALDI-MSI analysis. The results showed that the steroidal saponins were mainly distributed in the central, amino acids in epidermis and cortex, low-molecular-weight organic acids in central epidermis, phytosterols in the epidermis and lateral cortex, the phytoecdysones in epidermis and cortex, nucleosides(uneven distribution) in epidermis and cortex, growth hormones around the epidermis and cortex, particularly outside the cortex, and esters in cortex with unobvious difference among different tissues. In this study, the spatial distribution of meta-bolites in the rhizome of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was characterized for the first time. The result can serve as a reference for identifying and extracting endogenous metabolites of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, exploring the synthesis and metabolism mechanisms of the metabolites, and evaluating the quality of medicinal materials.

Effect of aqueous extract of Bulbine natalensis Baker stem on haematological and serum lipid profile of male Wistar rats.

Bulbine natalensis stem extract (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight for 14 days) did not significantly alter the red blood cell count, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and red cell distribution width in male Wistar rats. In contrast, the white blood cell count increased by the end of the experimental period. While the levels of neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils decreased after the administration of single dose of the extract (day 1), those of the platelets and monocytes increased. The extract also reduced the levels of basophils and large unstained cells after the seven daily doses. All the doses increased the serum concentrations of cholesterol and triacylglycerols. Whereas the serum concentration of low-density lipoprotein was unaffected throughout the experimental period, the decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was accompanied by increase in the atherogenic index. The results showed that aqueous extract of B. natalensis stem exhibited localized systemic toxicity mainly on the white blood cell count and related indices. The alterations in the serum lipid profile may predispose the animals to atherosclerosis especially when consumed repeatedly for two weeks.

Kuwait medicinal plants phytochemical investigation of dipcadi erythraeum part-1

A detailed Literature survey and phytochemical screening of the active constituents in the bulbs, stems, leaves and flowers of Dipcadi erythraeum

Antiulcerogenic activity of Satavari mandur--an Ayurvedic herbo-mineral preparation.

Satavari mandur (SM) is a herbo-mineral preparation containing Asparagus racemosus, which finds mention in ancient Indian texts for treatment of gastric ulcers. The ulcer protective effect of SM, 125-500 mg/kg given orally, twice daily for three, five and seven days, was studied on cold restraint stress-induced gastric ulcer in rats. The effective regimen was found to be 250 mg/kg given for five days and hence was used for further experiments. SM showed significant protection against acute gastric ulcers induced by pyloric ligation but was ineffective against aspirin- and ethanol-induced ulcers. Further, gastric juice studies showed that, SM significantly increased the mucosal defensive factors like mucus secretion, but had little or no effect on offensive factors like acid and pepsin secretion.

Chemical, physical and morphometric properties of peruvian carrot (Arracacia xanthorrhiza B.) starch

Starch was isolated from Peruvian carrot (PC) -or arracacha- (Arracacia xanthorhiza B.) roots. Its chemical, physical, physicochemical and granular structural properties were compared to those of commercial cassava starch. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a granular size for PC starch ranging between 4 and 26 mum in diameter, with spherical and truncated-egg shapes. PC and cassava starches were similar regarding gross chemical composition and basic physical characteristics but differed in pasting properties, with PC starch showing lower breakdown and consistency indices. The two starches also showed different water absorpption and solubility patterns.

Potential antifilarial activity of roots of Asparagus adscendens Roxb, against Setaria cervi in vitro.

Effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the roots of A. adscendens was studied on the spontaneous movements of whole worm and nerve muscle (n.m.) preparation of S. cervi and on the survival of microfilariae in vitro. Aqueous as well alcoholic extracts caused inhibition of spontaneous motility of whole worm and n.m. preparation of S. cervi characterized by initial, short lasting small increase in amplitude and tone of contractions followed by paralysis. The initial stimulatory effect was not observed by aqueous extract on n.m. preparation. The concentration required to inhibit the movements of n.m. preparation was 1/4th for aqueous and 1/3rd for alcoholic extract suggesting a cuticular permeability barrier. The effect of acetylcholine on n.m. preparation was concentration related being more with a concentration of 5 micrograms/ml as compared to 1 microgram/ml. Both alcoholic as well as aqueous extracts caused death of microfilariae in vitro, LC50 and LC90 being 8 and 16 ng/ml for aqueous, 3 and 12 ng/ml for alcoholic extracts respectively.

Evaluación de la yuca como materia prima no convencional para la industria alimentaria / Cassava evaluation as no convencional resourse for food industry

Se describe brevemente la composición química promedio de la yuca cultivada en diversas regiones de México, siendo el componenete más importante el almidón, que permite el aprovechamiento de un recurso natural como prima no convencional para la industria alimentaria en la elaboración de productos tales como, dextrinas, jarabes glucosados y fructosados. Como ingrediente, el almidón de yuca se utiliza en la producción de alimentos para bebés, embutidos, salsas y mayonesas. Los almidones modificados se emplean principalmente en panadería en la producción de pies, rellenos y producción congelados, ya que por sus características físico-químicas imparten estabilidad y proporcionan un producto final que se mantiene fresco y de excelente textura