Characterization of Blighia sapida seed extracts.

Blighia sapida, commonly known as the ackee, is a member of the Sapindaceae family. The tree is native to the forests of West Africa and was brought to the Caribbean and later Florida, where it is cultivated as an orchard crop in some areas. Arilli of the fruit are processed to make canned ackee in brine whereas the seeds, raphe and pods are discarded. Physiochemical studies were conducted on extracts of the seed. Qualitative analysis detected the presence of phenolics and reducing sugars. Aqueous extracts of the seeds (ASE) exhibited free radical scavenging activity and had an inhibitory concentration of 2.59 mg/mL. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry led to the identification of several metabolites including amino acids and fatty acids. Hypoglycin B was isolated utilizing ion exchange chromatography. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of hypoglycin B detected a band resonating at 3070 cm-1 which may be attributed to the methylenecyclopropane moiety of hypoglycin B. The seeds had a lipid content of 5.72 ± 0.25 % (w/w). The ackee seed oil (ASO) had a saponification value of 152.07 ± 37 and a carotenoid content of 23.7 ± 1.8 mg/kg. The ackee seeds are a source of bioactive components.

Centering the Strengths of American Indian Culture, Families and Communities to Overcome Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a critical Indigenous health inequity rooted in experiences of colonization and marginalization including disproportionate exposure to stressors, disruption of traditional family and food systems, and attacks on cultural practices that have led to more sedentary lifestyles. Thus, an important step in redressing inequities is building awareness of and interventions attuned to unique Indigenous contexts influencing T2D and Indigenous culture as a pathway to community wellbeing. Using a dynamic, stage-based model of intervention development and evaluation, we detail the creation and evolution of a family-based, culturally centered T2D preventive intervention: Together on Diabetes (later Together Overcoming Diabetes) (TOD). The TOD program was built by and for Indigenous communities via community-based participatory research and has been implemented across diverse cultural contexts. The TOD curriculum approaches health through a holistic lens of spiritual, mental, physical and emotional wellness. Preliminary evidence suggests TOD is effective in reducing diabetes risk factors including lowering BMI and depressive symptoms, and the program is viewed favorably by participants and community members. We discuss lessons learned regarding collaborative intervention development and adaptation across Indigenous cultures, as well as future directions for TOD.

Isolation of natural products by low-pressure column chromatography.

This chapter describes the isolation of natural products using low-pressure column chromatography (LPLC) and provides a brief summary of the adsorption and size exclusion processes involved in LPLC. Different types of stationary phases used in both adsorption and size exclusion LPLC are also presented with specific examples. Various operational parameters in relation to column packing (both wet and dry), column equilibration, sample application, and column development, and a summary of generic procedures for adsorption and size exclusion LPLC are also incorporated in this chapter. Throughout the chapter, several specific examples of the application of LPLC for the isolation of various natural products including alkaloids, coumarins, flavones, and saponins from various plants are given. Many of these examples include a combination of adsorption and size exclusion chromatography to obtain specific compounds.

Evaluation of quality control strategies in Scutellaria herbal medicines.

The statutory regulation of herbal medicines is under review within the United Kingdom (UK) and by 2011 all herbal medicines will require either a Product Licence or a Traditional Herbal Registration. The species Scutellaria baicalensis has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-tumor properties and is one of the most widely used Chinese herbal extracts in Eastern and Western medicines. The bioactivity of this herbal medicine is due to the radical scavenging activities of the flavone components of which there are more than 60. This research has characterised 5 key flavones in 18 extracts of Scutellaria using a combination of HPLC with DAD and MS detection. Employing an internal standard approach, the validated HPLC method afforded good sensitivity and excellent assay precision. Assays for the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total phenol determinations enabled determination of the antioxidant coefficient (PAC) of each Scutellaria extract. The potential usefulness of employing multivariate statistical analysis using a combination of the key parameters collected namely, FRAP activity, total phenol content, levels of 5 flavone biomarkers and the PAC as a means of quality evaluation of the Scutellaria herbal extracts was investigated. The PAC value was predicted by soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) as being the most discriminatory parameter and applying this ranking the herbal extracts were grouped into 3 clusters. The second most influential parameter in determining the clustering of the samples was the level of baicalin in each extract. It is proposed that the PAC value alone or in combination with a chromatographic fingerprint of key biomarkers [e.g. baicalin or (baicalin+baicalein)] may be useful indicators to adopt for the quality control of S. baicalensis.

Differentiation of opium and poppy straw using capillary electrophoresis and pattern recognition techniques.

Opium samples from four different locations and poppy straw from different plant varieties have been assayed using micellar capillary electrophoresis incorporating a sweeping technique. Individual alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, thebaine, oripavine, reticuline and narceine) were quantitatively determined in the different samples by a validated capillary electrophoresis method. Unsupervised pattern recognition of the opium samples and the poppy straw samples using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), showed distinct clusters. Supervised pattern recognition using soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to show individual groupings and allow unknown samples to be classified according to the models built using the CZE assay results.