Essential oil of Chrysanthemum indicum L.: potential biocontrol agent against plant pathogen Phytophthora nicotianae.

Phytophthora nicotianae is currently considered one of the most devastating oomycete plant pathogens, and its control frequently relies solely on the use of systemic fungicides. There is an urgent need to find environment-friendly control techniques. This study examined the chemical composition, inhibitory activity, and possible modes of action of the essential oil of Chrysanthemum indicum L. (EOC) flower heads against P. nicotianae. The EOC was obtained using hydrodistillation at a 0.15% yielded. It inhibited mycelial growth and spore germination of P. nicotianae at a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 200 µL/L, and exhibited fumigation effects (92.68% inhibition at 157.48 µL/L). Marked deformation of P. nicotianae mycelia included deformed tip enlargement, shrinkage, and rupture. Further, 55 and 47 compounds were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS analyses, representing 88.2% and 98.91% of the total EOC, respectively. Monoterpenes (25.77%) and sesquiterpenes (54.14%) were the major components identified using GC-MS, whereas monoterpenes were the main constituents in the HS-SPME GC-MS analysis. The higher proportions of sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes could be responsible for the inhibitory activity of EOC, which increased mycelia membrane permeability and the content of mycelial malondialdehyde (MDA) in a dose-dependent manner. Cell death also occurred. Thus, destruction of the cell wall and membrane might be two modes of action of EOC. Our results would be useful for the development of a new plant source of fungicide for P. nicotianae-induced disease.

A new method for hydroxyl radical detection by chemiluminescence of flue-cured tobacco extracts.

Chemiluminescence (CL) reactions usually take place in a severely restricted pH regime, thereby confining their application in media at different pH. In this paper, the CL behavior of tobacco-methanol extract (TME) was explored. Surprisingly, TME exhibited CL behavior upon mixing with Fe2+/H2O2, HRP/H2O2 and gold nanoparticles/H2O2 oxidation systems, i.e., in acidic, neutral and alkaline solution respectively. Addition of different reactive oxygen species scavengers verified that the hydroxyl radical (OH) triggers TME CL reactions. Then, the CL behavior of TME was applied to determine OH in tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ)/H2O2 system in acidic, neutral and alkaline solutions. CL intensity correlated most strongly (R2 = 0.99) with TCBQ concentration, which was used as a means to indirectly denote OH concentration. This implies that OH could be determined by a TME CL method in a semi-quantitative way regardless of pH value. Therefore, the TME CL method may be a promising method for OH determination in various OH-generating systems.

Identification of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Volatiles and Localization of Aroma-Active Constituents by GC-Olfactometry.

For the characterization of chemical components contributing to the aroma of ginger, which could benefit the development of deep-processed ginger products, volatile extracts were isolated by a combination of direct solvent extraction-solvent-assisted flavor evaporation and static headspace analysis. Aroma-impact components were identified by gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry, and the most potent odorants were further screened by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and static headspace dilution analysis (SHDA). The AEDA results revealed that geranial, eucalyptol, ß-linalool, and bornyl acetate were the most potent odorants, exhibiting the highest flavor dilution factor (FD factor) of 2187. SHDA indicated that the predominant headspace odorants were α-pinene and eucalyptol. In addition, odorants exhibiting a high FD factor in SHDA were estimated to be potent aroma contributors in AEDA. The predominant odorants were found to be monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, as along with their oxygenated derivatives, providing minty, lemon-like, herbal, and woody aromas. On the other hand, three highly volatile compounds detected by SHDA were not detected by AEDA, whereas 34 high-polarity, low-volatility compounds were identified only by AEDA, demonstrating the complementary natures of SHDA and AEDA and the necessity of utilizing both techniques to accurately characterize the aroma of ginger.

[The protective effects of Haematococcus pluvialis on the exercise-induced myocardial injury in rat].

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effects of Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis) on myocardial injury of rats induced by endurance and intensive exercise. METHODS: The model was based on intensive endurance training. Sixty-five male aged 42 days Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:control group (C group), general training group (M group), low dose H. pluvialis + training group (HM I group), middle dose H. Pluvialis + training group (HM Ⅱ group), high dose H. pluvialis + training group (HM Ⅲ group). Each group included 12 rats, and the rats were assigned to go on a 42-day swimming training regime. Professional gavage were taken daily. The rats in HM I, HM Ⅱ and HM Ⅲ group were treated with H. pluvialis at the doses of 0.067,0.133 and 0.4 g/kg by ig at 5 ml/kg and the normal saline were given to other groups. After a 42-day swimming training regime, myocardial injury markers such as serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), myocardial superoxide dismutase(SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected, the biochemical indexes such as serum and myocardial endothelin (ET) and calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP)were detected. RESULTS: Serum ALT, lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), creatine kinase(CK), a-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase(a-HBDH), ET, myocardial MDA and ET in M group were significantly higher than those in C group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The myocardial SOD activity and the myocardial and serum CGRP in M group were significantly lower than those in C group(P<0.05 or P<0.01). The contents of serum ALT, LDH and CK in HM groups were lower than those in the M group but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Compared with M group, H. pluvialis could decrease the levels of serum a-HBDH, ET and myocardial ET in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The above mentioned three parameters in HM Ⅲ group were lower than those in HM I group (P<0.05). H. pluvialis could decrease the levels of myocardial MDA and increase the levels of myocardial SOD activity and serum or myocardial CGRP in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The different doses of H.pluvialis can effectively reduce the free radicals caused by endurance and intensive training and enhance the immune function. Meanwhile H.pluvialis is able to guarantee the relative balance in ET an CGRP`s concentration. Therefore, the myocardial lipid peroxidation and myocardial injury are encumbered. Additionaly, high dose of H. pluvialis is proven to be the most effective.

[Effect of treadmill exercise and nutrition supplement on activity and gene expression of rate-limiting enzyme of heme metabolism and globin].

AIM: To investigate the possible role of rate-limiting enzyme of heme metabolism and globin in the development of the low hemoglobin (Hb), red blood (cell) count (RBC) and hematocrit (Hct) after long-term exercise, and effect of nutrition supplement on sports anemia. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 10): control (C), exercise (P) and exercise + nutrition (G). Animals in the P and G groups started treadmill running at 30 m/min, 0% grade, 1 min/time. Running time was gradually increased with 2 min/time during initial 5 weeks and final 4 weeks. In addition, running frequency was 2 times/day except initial 2 weeks. At the end of eleventh week, gene expression of 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS), ferrochelatase, alpha-globin and beta-globin in bone marrow were measured with RT-PCR. Mean-while heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) activity in liver was measured with immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: Eleven weeks of exercise induced a significant increase in HO-1 and a significant increase in gene expression of beta-globin (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively). Treatment with anti-sports anemia compound dosage led to no significant differences in rate-limiting enzyme of heme metabolism and globin in the exercised rats. The G group had a significantly higher HO-1 level in liver than the C group (P < 0.01). These finds showed that exercise was associated with no significant difference in heme synthetase and alpha-globin gene expression, and significant difference in heme catabolic enzyme and beta-globin gene expression. CONCLUSION: The increase of HO-1 activity in liver might be one of the causes of the lower Hb, RBC and Hct status in exercised rats.

[Determination of lactone components in chuanxiong by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography].

A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous determination of four main lactone components including senkyunolide-H, senkyunolide-I, sedanenolide and Z-ligustilide in Chuanxiong, a Chinese herbal medicine. The samples were pretreated using ultrasonic extraction, and 80% ethanol was used as extractant in the experiment. The chromatographic analysis was carried out using an XDB-C8 column and the mobile phase consisted of methanol-1% (volume fraction) acetic acid water (55:45-->100:0, v/v, in 15 min). The flow rate was 0. 8 mL/min. A diode array detector was used to detect the compositions and 280 nm was chosen as the detection wavelength. The whole process could be performed within 15 min. The operating curves were found to be linear over the ranges of 0.4 - 2.2 mg/L (r=0. 9992), 0.4 -2.2 mg/L (r=0.9979), 2.6 -7.8 mg/L (r=0. 9992) and 4.8 14.3 mg/L (r = 0.9998) and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.024, 0.027, 0.018 and 0.011 microg for senkyunolide-H, senkyunolide-I, sedanenolide and Z-ligustilide, respectively. The recoveries of the four lactone components were found in the range of 96% - 108%. The rapid and accurate method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of the four lactone components in Chuanxiong.