Extraction, separation and kinetics of phenylethanosides from Plantago asiatica L. by an innovative extraction technology-deep eutectic solvent-based ultrasound-assisted extraction.

In this paper, the total phenylethanosides (TPS) were extracted efficiently by an innovative extraction technology--deep eutectic solvent-based ultrasound-assisted extraction (DES-UAE) from Plantago asiatica L. Ten diverse types of DESs were synthesized as alternative extraction solutions. The extraction efficiency of DES-3 (constituted by choline chloride and lactic acid) was much higher than those of other DESs. On the basis of single factor tests and Box-Behnken design (BBD), the optimum processing parameters of DES-UAE as follow: DES-3 with molar ratio of 1:3, extraction temperature 51 °C, solid/liquid 22.5 mg/ml, water content 30%, ultrasonic power 65 W, extraction time 23 min. The extraction efficiency of TPS from Plantago asiatica L. was 8.395 mg/ml, which was more superior than those of organic solvents (water, methanol, 50% methanol, ethanol, 50% ethanol). The extraction kinetics experiment results showed that water content had a significant influence upon the extraction efficiency of TPS. At the same time, AB-8 macroporous resin column was used to efficiently isolate TPS from DES extraction with a recovery rate of 88.5%.

Polyetherimide- and folic acid-modified Fe3 O4 nanospheres for enhanced magnetic hyperthermia performance.

Recent studies have highlighted the development prospects of magnetic hyperthermia in cancer therapy. A few studies on the application of Fe3 O4 nanospheres for the magnetic hyperthermia of gynecological malignancies have achieved certain efficacy, but there was no visible progress currently. In this work, Fe3 O4 nanospheres modified with polyetherimide (PEI) and folic acid (FA) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method for possible utility in biocompatible and active tumor-targeting magnetic induction hyperthermia. The PEI- and FA-coated Fe3 O4 nanospheres showed high crystallinity, well-dispersed spherical structures and ideal Ms value. As a result, the designed Fe3 O4 @ PEI@FA nanospheres achieved higher specific absorption rate (SAR) values at 360 kHz and 308 Oe, as well as excellent biocompatibility in Hela, SKOV3, HEC-1-A and NIH3T3 cells. These nanospheres can be used as an optimal heating agent for the magnetic hyperthermia treatment of gynecological cancers.

WRKY44 represses expression of the wound-induced sesquiterpene biosynthetic gene ASS1 in Aquilaria sinensis.

Agarwood is derived from wounds in Aquilaria trees and is widely used in traditional medicine, incense, and perfume. Sesquiterpenes are one of the main active components in agarwood and are known to be induced by wounding or injury; However, the molecular mechanisms by which wounding leads to sesquiterpene formation remain largely unknown. Agarwood sesquiterpene synthase 1 (ASS1) is one of key enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenes and is a crucial jasmonate (JA)-responsive wound-inducible synthase. However, it is not known why ASS1 is not expressed in healthy trees and how its expression is induced as a result of wounding. Here, we report that ASS1 is a wound-induced gene with a promoter in which a 242-bp region (-973 to -731bp) is identified as the core sequence for responding to wound signals. AsWRKY44 binds directly to this region and represses ASS1 promoter activity. Down-regulation or disruption of AsWRKY44 can relieve the inhibition and activate ASS1 expression. In addition, AsWRKY44 is degraded and the expression of ASS1 is significantly up-regulated in response to exogenous application of methyl jasmonate. Thus, AsWRKY44 is a crucial negative regulator of wound-induced ASS1 transcription, and is central to the mechanism of sesquiterpene biosynthesis in agarwood.

Applicability of multifunctional preprocessing device for simultaneous estimation of spreading of green tea, withering of black tea and shaking of oolong tea.

BACKGROUND: Preprocessing technologies of fresh tea leaves have a great influence on tea quality. A multifunctional preprocessing device for tea raw materials has been designed and utilized as a novel item of equipment to synchronously meet the process needs of spreading of green tea, withering of black tea and shaking of oolong tea. RESULTS: The preprocessing parameters of fresh tea leaves for spreading of green tea, withering of black tea and shaking of oolong tea were optimized by orthogonal experiments. Sensory assessment combined with statistical tools was employed as an analytical method to evaluate the pretreatment effect of processing different sorts of tea. The range analysis and variance analysis of tea sensory evaluation combined with chemical components (total polyphenols, free amino acids and soluble sugar) showed that A3 B2 C3 (70%, 25 °C, 8 h), A1 B3 C1 (60%, 28 °C, 18 h) and A1 B1 C3 (5 min, 20 °C, discontinuous leaf turning c) were considered to be the optimum schemes for the best pretreatment conditions of the above three major processing types of tea, respectively. The verification experiment of the proposed schemes was performed with satisfactory performance. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that a multifunctional preprocessing device for fresh tea leaves can be successfully applied to simultaneously estimate spreading of green tea, withering of black tea and shaking of oolong tea. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

The role of vitamin D and its analogues in the treatment of oral mucosal diseases and periodontal diseases / 口腔疾病防治

@#Vitamin D is an essential nutrient in the body. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to its role in regulating immunity and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the application of vitamin D in vivo may produce some side effects, such as hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria. Some analogs of vitamin D obtained through molecular modification can reduce the side effects while retaining a similar regulatory action as that of vitamin D. The supplementation of vitamin D or the use of vitamin D analogs may contribute to the prevention and treatment of immune inflammatory diseases. This article reviews the role of vitamin D and its analogues in the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal diseases and periodontal diseases. The literature review results show that vitamin D and its analogues can protect the integrity of the oral mucosal barrier, prevent or delay the occurrence of oral lichen planus, and provide a reference value for the prevention and treatment of periodontitis.

Study of the adsorption reactions of thiophene on Cu(I)/HY-Al2O3 by Fourier transform infrared and temperature-programmed desorption: adsorption, desorption, and sorbent regeneration mechanisms.

This work mainly involved the investigation of the adsorption of thiophene on Cu(I)-supported HY-Al(2)O(3). It demonstrated a high sulfur capacity of 10 mg sulfur/g sorbent when the HY/Al(2)O(3) mass ratio was 3, loaded with 12% copper, calcined at 550 °C, and tested at ambient temperature. In situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) results indicated that the adsorption mechanisms on Cu(I)/HY-Al(2)O(3) primarily were π-complexation and sulfur-adsorbent (S-M; σ) bonds. Pyridine-FTIR showed the total weak Lewis acid contribution to the Cu(I)/HY-Al(2)O(3) adsorption desulfurization performance.

Green tea polysaccharide-conjugates protect human umbilical vein endothelial cells against impairments triggered by high glucose.

Hot-water extracts of low-grade green tea were precipitated with ethanol, deproteinized with trichloroacetic acid, neutralized with NaOH and fractionated by DEAE-cellulose DE-52 column chromatography to yield three (3) of unexplored polysaccharide-conjugate fractions termed gTPC1, gTPC2 and gTPC3. Monosaccharide and amino acid composition, contents of total neutral sugars, proteins and moistures, HPGPC distribution and Zeta potentials of gTPC1-3 were investigated. Exposure of human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells to high glucose (33 mM) for 12h significantly decreased cell viability relative to normal glucose control (p<0.001). As compared with cell injury group, gTPC1-3 at all of three dose levels (50, 150 and 300 µg/mL) were found to possess remarkably protective effects on HUVE cells against impairments induced by high glucose in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05, p<0.001). To contribute toward our understanding of the cell-based protection mechanism of gTPC1-3, the latter were subjected to self-oxidation of 1,2,3-phentriol assay, and their scavenging effects were observed as 55.1%, 47.6% and 47.9% at the concentration of 300 µg/mL, respectively. On the basis of the fact that high glucose-induced endothelial dysfunction involves in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and contributes to the vascular complications in patients with diabetes, inhibitory effects of gTPC1-3 on high glucose-mediated HUVE cell loss are, at least in part, correlated with their potential scavenging potency of ROS. Taken together, gTPC1-3 could be developed as non-cytotoxic candidates of therapeutic agent for diabetic vascular complications.

[Effect of 17-beta estradiol on the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand and osteoprotegerin of human periodontal ligament cells during their osteogenic differentiation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of 17-beta estradiol (E(2))on the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand(RANKL) and osteoprotegerin(OPG) in human periodontal ligament cells( hPDLCs) during their osteogenic differentiation. METHODS: hPDLCs of passage four were treated with 0.1% absolute ethyl alcohol (control), 10(-10) mol/L(physiological dose) or 10(-7) mol/L(high dose) E(2) in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS, 10 mmol/L beta-glycerophosphate and 5 microg/mL ascorbic acid for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. Levels of RANKL and OPG mRNA were detected with real-time quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: High dose E(2) induced a time-dependent decrease of RANKL mRNA and expression levels were 31.0%, 23.6% and 15.4% of the controls at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h respectively while expression levels with physiological dose E(2) were 28.4%, 87.3% and 22.6% of the controls respectively. On the other hand, E(2) increased OPG mRNA expression levels of hPDLCs which reached the maximum at 72 h with physiological dose E(2), 210.1% of the controls and with high dose E(2), 171.3% of the controls. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that estrogen may exert anti-resorptive effects on alveolar bone by regulating the expression of RANKL and OPG in hPDLCs during their osteogenic differentiation.