Compounds DRG and DAG, Two Phenol Glycosides, Inhibit TNF-α-stimulated Inflammatory Response through Blocking NF-kB/AKT/JNK Signaling Pathways in MH7A Cells.

Fourteen constituents were recently isolated from the roots of Dendropanax dentiger with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitory effects. However, the effect of 14 constituents on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their action mechanism remain unclear. The study aimed to explore the anti-RA effect and potential mechanism of these constituents in tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-stimulated human RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (MH7A cells). The cell viability, nitric oxide (NO) production, inflammatory cytokine levels, and protein expressions were measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Griess reagent, ELISA, and Western blot assays, respectively. Results showed that 14 constituents (40 µM) have no cytotoxicity for MH7A cells. Among them, two phenols including 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl-1-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (DRG) and 3,4-dimethoxyphenol-ß-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (DAG) were shown to significantly inhibit the NO production with IC50 values of 5.25±0.34 and 5.35±0.31 µM, respectively. They also remarkably decreased the release of interleukin (IL)-2, 6, 8, and interferon (IFN)-γ, as well as prominently reduced the phosphorylation protein levels of p65, IkBα, AKT, and JNK at a concentration of 10 µM. Taken together, DRG and DAG could inhibit TNF-α-induced inflammatory response through blocking NF-kB/AKT/JNK signaling pathways in MH7A cells, thus could be promising against RA and other inflammation-related agents.

Assessment of Cota altissima (L.) J. Gay for phytochemical composition and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antimicrobial activities.

Phytochemical profiles of essential oil (EO), fatty acids, and n-hexane (CAH), diethyl ether (CAD), ethyl acetate (CAE) and methanol extracts (CAM) of Cota altissima L. J. Gay (syn. Anthemis altissima L.) were investigated as well as their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antimicrobial activites. The essential oil was characterized by the content of acetophenone (35.8%) and ß-caryophyllene (10.3%) by GC-MS/FID. Linoleic and oleic acid were found as main fatty acids. The major constituents of the extracts were found to be 5-caffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, isorhamnetin glucoside, quercetin and quercetin glucoside by LC-MS/MS. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were determined by scavenging of DPPH and ABTS free radicals. Also, the inhibitory effects on lipoxygenase and α-glucosidase enzymes were determined. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and yeast pathogens. CAM showed the highest antioxidant activity against DPPH and ABTS radicals with IC50 values of 126.60 and 144.40 µg/mL, respectively. In the anti-inflammatory activity, CAE demonstrated the highest antilipoxygenase activity with an IC50 value of 105.40 µg/mL, whereas, CAD showed the best inhibition of α-glucosidase with an IC50 value of 396.40 µg/mL in the antidiabetic activity. CAH was effective against Staphylococcus aureus at MIC = 312.5 µg/mL. This is the first report on antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of different extracts of C. altissima.

Process characterization and optimization of cold brew coffee: effect of pressure, temperature, time and solvent volume on yield, caffeine and phenol content.

BACKGROUND: Cold brew coffee, based on cold extraction, is rapidly attracting consumers' preference worldwide. Low total solids yield and long extraction times (up to 24 h) are the main drawbacks of this process. Five different treatments were investigated: the traditional cold extraction method, freezing, lyophilization of coffee beans, use of chaotropic salt and reduced pressure extraction. The latter was optimized by applying a Box-Behnken design. Pressure, vacuum cycles, duration of each cycle and mass of ground coffee to water ratio were the optimization parameters. Yield, caffeine and phenol concentration were the response variables. RESULTS: Caffeine concentration and yield were significantly affected by vacuum cycles and by the combination of vacuum cycles and duration of each cycle. Validation of the derived quadratic models for each response variable was performed. Optimum values for highest extraction yield (22%) and phenol concentration as well as mass transfer coefficients of phenol and caffeine were also determined. CONCLUSIONS: Extraction under reduced pressure might be the best treatment for the acceleration of cold brew coffee extraction. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Characteristic Odor of the Japanese Liverwort (Leptolejeunea elliptica).

The volatile components produced by Leptolejeunea elliptica (Lejeuneaceae), which is a liverwort grown on the leaves of tea (Camellia sinensis), were collected and analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS). 1-Ethyl-4-methoxybenzene (1), 1-ethyl-4-hydroxybenzene (2), and 1-acetoxy-4-ethylbenzene (3) were identified as the major components together with several other phenolic compounds, including 1,2-dimethoxy-4-ethylbenzene, and 4-ethylguaiacol in addition to sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, such as α-selinene, ß-selinene, ß-elemene, and ß-caryophyllene. GC/Olfactometry showed the presence of linalool, acetic acid, isovaleric acid, trans-methyl cinnamate, and trans-4,5-epoxy-(2E)-decenal, as the volatile components produced by L. elliptica.

VS2 and its doped composition: Catalytic depolymerization of alkali lignin for increased bio-oil production.

VS2 spheres and VS2 sheets with doped compositions (Mo, Ag and graphite) were successfully prepared by one-step hydrothermal method and characterized by different techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2 adsorption isotherms. Catalysts were applied for the depolymerization of alkali lignin. VS2 spheres exhibited lower yield of degraded lignin and bio-oil than those with VS2 sheets and VS2 flowers heated to 250 °C and held for 1.5 h with 2.0 MPa H2. The catalytic depolymerization performance was markedly affected by the dopant in the VS2 sheets, with the highest degraded lignin yield of 81.22%, achieved over 5 wt% Ag-VS2 at 290 °C under 2.0 MPa H2 for 1.5 h, yielding 61.23% bio-oil. The VS2-based catalysts show excellent selectivity in the interruption of the lignin structure and target production of bio-oil. The bio-oil showed that the relevant contents of a phenolic-type compound changes significantly according to the dopant in the VS2 catalyst.

Phenolics and Antioxidant Capacity of Pitted Olive Pomace Affected by Three Drying Technologies.

This study investigated drum-drying's ability to produce dried food-grade olive pomace as a potential food ingredient that is more nutritionally dense than its freeze-dried and hot-air dried counterparts. The pits and skin were removed from fresh olive pomace, and the remaining pulp was dried to <5% moisture through freeze-drying, hot-air drying, and drum-drying at two rotational speeds. The drying treatments had no significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect on the olive pomace's fat or dietary fiber contents but did increase the L* , a* , and b* color parameter values. Although all the drying treatments significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased the fresh olive pomace's antioxidant capacity, drum-drying preserved the olive pomace's antioxidant capacity significantly (P ≤ 0.05) better than freeze-drying and hot-air drying. The drum-dried samples had concentrations of caffeic acid and verbascoside that were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher than the other dried pomace samples and were not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) different from the fresh pomace. The drum-dried olive pomace contained concentrations of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, vanillic acid, luteolin-7-glucoside, and rutin that were not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) different from the dried sample with the highest concentration of each respective phenolic compound. No oleuropein was found in the fresh or dried olive pomace. The results of this study show that drum-drying is an energy efficient method for converting olive pomace into a stable food-grade supplement that preserves its high phenolic, antioxidant, and dietary fiber contents to potentially benefit human health when incorporated into food or supplement products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pitting and drying converts the olive pomace into a stable form that is free of physical hazards and could be incorporated into food products to increase their nutritional quality through olive pomaces' high fiber, antioxidant, and phenolic contents. Drum-drying allows food-grade olive pomace to retain higher amounts of beneficial soluble phenolics and a higher antioxidant capacity than conventional drying methods, thus furthering olive pomace's potential valorization as a food ingredient.

Ultrasound-assisted adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution by using spent black tea leaves.

This study is conducted to examine the removal of phenol using spent black tea leaves (SBTL) by the process of ultrasound-assisted adsorption. The effect of different treatment processes, i.e., sonolysis, adsorption, and ultrasound-assisted adsorption, was investigated. The morphology of SBTL was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the porous structure of the SBTL was identified before phenol was adsorbed onto the adsorbent. FTIR analysis of SBTL after adsorption showed the presence of an aliphatic band of carboxylic acids which depict degradation of the phenol molecule due to ultrasound-assisted adsorption. The experimental results showed that the hybrid process was found more effective for phenol removal (85%) as determined by a spectrophotometer. The optimum conditions of the reaction parameters were found as: phenol conc. = 25 mg L-1, pH = 3.5, time = 60 min, adsorbent dosage = 800 mg L-1, ultrasound power = 80 W, and operating temperature = 30 ± 2 °C. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were found to be 78 and 39%, respectively. HPLC studies suggest nonselective oxidation of phenol resulting in by-products such as catechol and hydroquinone and finally carboxylic acids and CO2. In order to find reaction kinetics, different kinetic models, viz. pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order models, were studied. The best fit to the isotherm models, i.e., Langmuir and Freundlich, was determined. It is concluded that phenol removal by the hybrid process follows the pseudo-second-order reaction kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model. In addition, thermodynamic studies revealed the nonspontaneous and exothermic nature of the phenol adsorption process.

Fractionation of the more active extracts of Geranium molle L.: a relationship between their phenolic profile and biological activity.

Geranium molle L., commonly known as Dove's-foot Crane's-bill or Dovesfoot Geranium, is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Geraniaceae family. Contrary to many other Geranium species, the bioactivity and the phytochemical composition of G. molle seem not to have attracted attention until a recent study from our group regarding the bioactivity of several aqueous and organic extracts of the plant. In particular, we assessed the cytotoxic activity of these extracts against several human tumor cell lines (breast, lung, cervical and hepatocellular carcinomas) and a non-tumor porcine liver primary cell line, inspired by an ethnopharmacological report describing the traditional use of this medicinal plant in some regions of Northeast Portugal for the treatment of cancer. Following this preliminary evaluation, the most active extracts (acetone and methanol) were fractionated by column chromatography and the resulting fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity against the same cell lines. The bio-guided fractionation of the extracts resulted in several fractions exhibiting improved bioactivity in comparison with the corresponding crude extracts. The fractions obtained from the acetone extract consistently displayed the lowest EC50 and GI50 values and presented the highest content of total phenolic compounds. The phytochemical composition of the most bioactive fractions of the acetone and methanol extracts was also determined and about thirty compounds, mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids, could be identified for the first time in G. molle.

Inositol Derivatives and Phenolic Compounds from the Roots of Taraxacum coreanum.

In this study, the characterization of chemical constituents and biological activity of the roots of Taraxacum coreanum (Asteraceae) was attempted. Phytochemical investigation of the roots of T. coreanum led to the isolation of two new inositol derivatives, taraxinositols A (1) and B (2), and a new phenolic compound, taraxinol (16), together with twenty known compounds including four inositol derivatives, neo-inositol-1,4-bis (4-hydroxybenzeneacetate) (3), chiro-inositol-1,5-bis(4- hydroxybenzeneacetate) (4), chiro-inositol-2,3-bis (4-hydroxybenzeneacetate) (5) and chiro-inositol- 1,2,3-tris (4-hydroxybenzeneacetate) (6), nine phenolic compounds: p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (7), vanillin (8), syringaldehyde (9), vanillic acid (10), 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid (11), 4-hydroxy- phenylacetic acid methyl ester (12), optivanin (13), isoferulic acid (14) and dihydroconiferyl alcohol (15), four coumarins: nodakenetin (17), decursinol (18), prangol (19) and isobyakangelicin (20), and three lignans: syringaresinol-4'-O-ß-d-glucoside (21), syringaresinol (22), and pinoresinol (23). The structures of isolated compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Among the isolated compounds, vanillic acid, isoferulic acid and syringaresinol showed radical scavenging activity with IC50 values ranging from 30.4 to 75.2 µM.

Bifunctional composite from spent "Cyprus coffee" for tetracycline removal and phenol degradation: Solar-Fenton process and artificial neural network.

Removals of tetracycline and photocatalytic degradation of phenol by Fe3O4/coffee residue (MCC) were investigated. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Boehm titration were employed to characterize MCC. Artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the tetracycline (TC) concentration in the column effluent. Maximum tetracycline adsorption capacity of 285.6mg/g was observed in a batch system. High removal efficiency (87%) was obtained at 3.3mL/min flow rate, 8.0cm bed height and 50mg/L influent TC concentration in a column system. Complete degradation of phenol by solar-Fenton was attained at 60min irradiation time. Total organic carbon (TOC) removal increased to 63.3% in the presence of 1.0g/L MCC, 1.2g/L H2O2 and solar irradiation. MCC showed remarkable potential to remove antibiotics from wastewater even in the presence of heavy metal (Ni(2+)) via magnetic separation.

The performance of enhanced coagulation for treating slightly polluted raw water combining polyaluminum chloride with variable charge soil.

The feasibility and effectiveness of treating pollutants in slightly polluted raw water by variable charge soil and polyaluminum chloride (PAC) was investigated. Removal efficiencies of turbidity, phenol, aniline, algae and heavy metals (Cu(2+), Zn(2+) and Pb(2+)) were used to evaluate the coagulation performance. The results indicated that the addition of variable charge soil as a coagulant aid is advantageous due to the improvement of removal efficiencies. The tests also demonstrated that the presence of variable charge soil increased the removal of turbidity rather than adding residuary turbidity. The use of variable charge soil produced settleable flocs of greater density and bigger size. The main mechanism involved in the PAC coagulation was supposed to be sweep flocculation as well as charge-neutralization. Variable charge soil played a promoted aid role by adsorption in the enhanced coagulation process. It is concluded that the enhanced coagulation by PAC and variable charge soil, as coagulant and adsorbent, is more effective and efficient than traditional coagulation.

Tannins and extracts of fruit byproducts: antibacterial activity against foodborne bacteria and antioxidant capacity.

The shelf life of fresh fish and meat transported over long distances could be extended by using plant-based extracts to control spoilage bacteria. The goals of the present study were to identify plant-based extracts that effectively suppress the main spoilage bacteria of chilled fish and lamb and to assess their antioxidant capacity. The phenolic compounds in wood-based tannins and extracts isolated from byproducts of the fruit processing industry were identified and/or quantified. The total phenol content, but not the flavonoid to total phenol ratio, was strongly associated with higher antibacterial activity against several fish and lamb spoilage bacteria in zone of inhibition and minimum inhibitory concentration assays as well as greater antioxidant capacity in the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical assay. The most promising compounds in both cases, and thus good candidates for antibacterial packaging or antioxidant dietary supplements, were mango seed extract and tannic acid containing mostly polygalloyl glucose type phenols.

Investigation of chemical compounds, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of teucrium arduini L. (lamiaceae).

In this paper chemical composition of the essential oil (analysed by GC and GC-MS), the content of phenolic compounds (analysed by HPLC), quantity of total phenols and total flavonoids (analysed by UV/Vis spectrophotometer), antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of ethanolic extracts were investigated in endemic Teucrium arduini L. in population of Mt Biokovo (Croatia). The oil was characterized by a high concentration of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (70.4%) of which ß-caryophyllene (35.2%) and germacrene D (18.7%) being the major compounds. Three phenolic compounds (quercetin, ferulic acid and rosmarinic acid) were identified and quantified in ethanolic extract of T. arduini using HPLC. The results also showed that T. arduini is a source of polyphenolic and other antioxidants with radical-scavenging and chelating properties. The ethanol extracts prepared from the leaf of T. arduini showed broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus brasiliensis, which are susceptible on concentration below or equal to 4.00 mg/mL, whilst Microsporum gypseum was resistant at investigated concentrations.

Estudo da aplicação da tirosinase vegetal no tratamento de efluentes e verificação da genotoxicidade do efluente tratado em células vegetais / Study on tyrosinase application in the treatment of plant effluent and verification of genotoxicity of the treated effluent into plant cells

Os problemas ambientais relacionados à crescente atividade industrial têm gerado preocupações aos órgãos governamentais e entidades de proteção ambientais, sendo necessários estudos de base que busquem novas alternativas para a recuperação de áreas poluídas e a solução de problemas operacionais relacionados com as técnicas empregadas. Um dos compostos mais encontrados em diversos efluentes industriais, principalmente de indústrias bioquímico-farmacêuticas, é o fenol que provoca um impacto danoso no ambiente devido ao fato de ser um poluente tóxico. O presente trabalho propõe, portanto, avaliar a oxidação e destruição do fenol através da utilização da enzima tirosinase extraída de vegetais, cujos resultados podem ser úteis para o tratamento de outros compostos fenólicos como o hormônio 17β-estradiol ou os que se encontram nos efluentes procedentes da produção de azeite ("águas de vegetação") após a recuperação dos polifenóis importantes como antioxidantes. A tirosinase tem a capacidade de transformar fenóis em produtos menos solúveis em água e menos danosos, permitindo assim uma agressão menor ao ambiente. Outro método de remoção do fenol também foi avaliado utilizando queratina extraída de penas de galinha, quitina e quitosana como bioadsorventes. A atividade enzimática foi determinada espectrofotometricamente com soluções de fosfato de potássio e L-tirosina. Para determinar a concentração de fenol aps a oxidação foi utilizada a Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (HPLC). Para estudar a adsorção do fenol aplicou-se o método colorimétrico a partir das soluções de tampão borato, 4 aminoantipirina e ferricianeto de potássio e as absorbâncias foram lidas em espectrofotômetro UV-Vis a 546nm, enquanto a determinação de polifenis presentes na "água de vegetação" foi realizada pelo método Folin-Ciocalteu. A quantidade de tirosinase nas batatas das variedades Ágata e Galette di Bologna apresentou-se muito baixa a ponto de modificarmos a matéria prima para...

Environmental problems related to growing industrial activity have generated concerns among government entities and environmental protection, being necessary more baseline studies that seek new alternatives for the recovery of polluted areas and solution of problems related to the operational techniques employed. One of the compounds most commonly found in many industrial effluents, mainly from biochemical and pharmaceutical industries, is phenol, which causes a detrimental impact on the environment due to its toxicity. Therefore, this work proposes the oxidation and destruction of phenol using the enzyme tyrosinase, extracted from plants, whose results could be useful in the future for the treatment of other phenolic compounds such as 17β-estradiol hormone or those found in the effluent coming from the production for olive oil ("vegetation water") after polyphenols recovery. Such an enzyme has the ability of transforming phenols into products less soluble in water and less dangerous, thereby allowing for a minor impact on the environment. Another method of phenol removal was also evaluated using keratin extracted from chicken feathers, chitin and chitosan as phenol biosorbents. Potassium phosphate buffer and L-tyrosine solutions were used for the determination of enzymatic activity, the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the determination of phenol concentration after oxidation, and a colorimetric method making use of solutions of borate buffer, 4-aminoantipyrine and potassium ferricyanide as well as reading of the absorbance at 546nm to investigate phenol biosorption, while the presence of polyphenols in "vegetation water" was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The presence of the tyrosinase in potato varieties Agata and Galette di Bologna was shown to be very low, thus suggesting to change the biosorbent material. So, additional tests were done on apples, kiwi, banana and mushroom, but only the last showed a considerable activity...

Identification of a germicidal compound against picornavirus in bamboo pyroligneous acid.

The germicidal activity of pyroligneous acid (PA) against a picornavirus, encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), was analyzed, and the component responsible for its disinfectant activity was identified. Bamboo PA (BPA) inactivated EMCV, but neutralization of BPA abolished this activity. Using liquid-liquid phase extraction and silica gel column chromatography, the hydrophobic active fraction of BPA was separated and its 12 major components were identified. The active fraction was reconstructed by mixing synthetic chemicals at the determined concentrations, and a subtraction series of one chemical from the complete mixture was prepared. An in vitro virus assay demonstrated that phenol was the sole germicidal component, and acetic acid augmented the phenol's inactivating activity resulting in >5-log decrease in EMCV infectivity. Considering the low environmental risk of PA, these findings suggest that BPA is a potentially useful agent for preventing viral epidemics in agricultural and human environments.

Evaluation of phenol detoxification by Brassica napus hairy roots, using Allium cepa test.

INTRODUCTION: Meristematic mitotic cells of Allium cepa constitute an adequate material for cytotoxicity and genotoxicity evaluation of environmental pollutants, such as phenol, which is a contaminant frequently found in several industrial effluents. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In the present work, Brassica napus hairy roots (HR) were used for phenol removal assays. The toxicity of post-removal solutions (PRS) and phenol solutions was analyzed. These HR removed the contaminant with high efficiency (100-80% for phenol solutions containing 10-250 mg/L, respectively). Phenol solutions treated with B. napus HR showed a significant reduction of general toxicity compared to untreated phenol solutions, since the IC50 values were 318.39 and 229.02 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, PRS presented lower cytotoxicity and genotoxicity than that found in phenol solutions untreated. The mitotic index (MI) observed in meristematic cells treated with PRS (100 and 250 mg/L of phenol) showed an increase of 35% and 42%, whereas the chromosome aberrations showed a significant decrease. According to these results, B. napus HR cultures could be used for the treatment of solutions contaminated with phenol, since we observed not only high removal efficiency, but also an important reduction of the general toxicity, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity.

Antioxidant and inhibitory effect of red ginger (Zingiber officinale var. Rubra) and white ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) on Fe(2+) induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain in vitro.

Neurodegerative diseases have been linked to oxidative stress arising from peroxidation of membrane biomolecules and high levels of Fe have been reported to play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases and other brain disorder. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the end-product of lipid peroxidation and the production of this aldehyde is used as a biomarker to measure the level of oxidative stress in an organism. The present study compares the protective properties of two varieties of ginger [red ginger (Zingiber officinale var. Rubra) and white ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)] on Fe(2+) induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain in vitro. Incubation of the brain tissue homogenate in the presence of Fe caused a significant increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of the brain. However, the aqueous extract from both varieties of ginger caused a significant decrease in the MDA contents of the brain in a dose-dependent manner. However, the aqueous extract of red ginger had a significantly higher inhibitory effect on both Fe(2+)-induced lipid peroxidation in the rat brain homogenates than that of white ginger. This higher inhibitory effect of red ginger could be attributed to its significantly higher phytochemical content, Fe(2+) chelating ability, OH scavenging ability and reducing power. However, part of the mechanisms through which the extractable phytochemicals in ginger (red and white) protect the brain may be through their antioxidant activity, Fe(2+) chelating and OH scavenging ability. Therefore, oxidative stress in the brain could be potentially managed/prevented by dietary intake of ginger varieties (red ginger and white ginger rhizomes).

Phenol adsorption by activated carbon produced from spent coffee grounds.

The present work highlights the preparation of activated carbons (ACs) using spent coffee grounds, an agricultural residue, as carbon precursor and two different activating agents: water vapor (ACW) and K(2)CO(3) (ACK). These ACs presented the microporous nature and high surface area (620-950 m(2) g(-1)). The carbons, as well as a commercial activated carbon (CAC) used as reference, were evaluated as phenol adsorbent showing high adsorption capacity (≈150 mg g(-1)). The investigation of the pH solution in the phenol adsorption was also performed. The different activating agents led to AC with distinct morphological properties, surface area and chemical composition, although similar phenol adsorption capacity was verified for both prepared carbons. The production of activated carbons from spent coffee grounds resulted in promising adsorbents for phenol removal while giving a noble destination to the residue.

Antibacterial activities of blueberry and muscadine phenolic extracts.

Phenolics are one category of phyto-antimicrobials that refer to the antimicrobial substances extracted from plant sources. This study was undertaken to determine the influence of blueberry and muscadine phenolic extracts on the growths of 2 important foodborne bacterial pathogens, Salmonella Enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes. Cells of S. Enteritidis (n = 4) or L. monocytogenes (n = 4) strains were inoculated (3 log CFU/mL) into tryptic soy broth (TSB) supplemented with 46.25 ppm of muscadine phenolics and 24 ppm of blueberry phenolics, respectively. The inoculated and un-inoculated broth with or without the supplemented phenolics were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Samples were drawn periodically, and cell populations of Salmonella and Listeria were determined on tryptic soy agar (TSA). It was observed that Salmonella was relatively more susceptible than Listeria to the phenolic extracts used in the study. The growth of Salmonella was significantly inhibited in all samples at all sampling points except for the sample that was supplemented with muscadine water extract and drawn at the 24-h sampling point. Blueberry phenolics were relatively more effective than muscadine phenolic extracts in inhibiting the growth of Salmonella. One tested strain of Listeria was more susceptible to ethanol than water phenolic extracts. The study revealed the potentials and limitations of using blueberry and muscadine phenolics to control the growths of selected Salmonella and Listeria strains.

ß-carboline derivatives and diphenols from soy sauce are in vitro quinone reductase (QR) inducers.

A murine hepatoma (Hepa 1c1c7) cellular bioassay was used to guide the isolation of phase II enzyme inducers from fermented soy sauce, using quinone reductase (QR) as a biomarker. A crude ethyl acetate extract, accounting for 8.7% of nonsalt soluble solids of soy sauce, was found to double relative QR specific activity at 25 µg/mL (concentration required to double was defined as a "CD value"). Further silica gel column fractionation yielded 17 fractions, 16 of which exhibited CD values for QR induction of <100 µg/mL. The four most potent fractions were subfractionated by column and preparative thin layer chromatography, leading to the isolation and identification of two phenolic compounds (catechol and daidzein) and two ß-carbolines (flazin and perlolyrin), with respective CD values of 8, 35, 42, and 2 µM. Western blots confirmed that the increases in QR activity corresponded to dose-dependent increases in cellular levels of NAD[P]H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 protein by these four QR inducers. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the ability of ß-carboline-derived alkaloids to induce phase II enzymes.