Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating deep eutectic solvents for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tea infusions via HPLC.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a new class of green "designer solvent"; its physicochemical properties can be easily tuned by adjusting DES' constituents, chemical ratio and water content. In this study, three hydrophobic DESs with low viscosity, low density, and melting points close to room temperature were designed and synthesized. Based on these DESs, an air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction technique was developed based on the solidification of floating DESs for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via HPLC. The microextraction parameters were optimized via the Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodologies. The method shows satisfactory linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9928), a low limit of detection (0.16-0.75 µg L-1) and satisfactory precision (≤2.3%), and was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and PAHs from tea infusions with satisfactory recoveries (82.0-116.6%). This method is simple, rapid, economical, environmentally compatible, dispersive solvent-frees and centrifugation-free, and has promising applications in food safety.

Diverse Terpenoids and Their Associated Antifungal Properties from Roots of Different Cultivars of Chrysanthemum Morifolium Ramat.

Roots provide anchorage and enable the absorption of water and micronutrients from the soil for plants. Besides these essential functions, roots are increasingly being recognized as an important organ for the production of diverse secondary metabolites. The goal of this study was to investigate the chemical composition and function of terpenoid secondary metabolites in roots of different cultivars of the popular ornamental plant Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. Although C. morifolium is known for rich production of secondary metabolites in its flower heads and leaves, the diversity of secondary metabolites in roots remains poorly characterized. In this study, 12 cultivars of C. morifolium were selected for comparative analysis. From their roots, a total of 20 terpenoids were detected, including four monoterpenes, 15 sesquiterpenes, and one diterpene. The cultivar 'She Yang Hong Xin Ju' exhibited the highest concentration of total terpenoids at approximately 730 µg·g-1 fresh weight. Most cultivars contained sesquiterpenes as the predominant terpenoids. Of them, (E)-ß-farnesene was detected in all cultivars. Based on their terpenoid composition, the 12 cultivars were planed into four groups. To gain insights into the function of root secondary metabolites, we performed bioassays to assess their effects on growth of three species of pathogenic fungi: Fusarium oxysporum, Magnaporthe oryzae, and Verticillium dahliae. Significant variability in antifungal activity of the root extracts among different cultivars were observed. The cultivar 'Xiao Huang Ju' was the only cultivar that had significant inhibitory effects on all three species of fungi. Our study reveals the diversity of terpenoids in roots of C. morifolium and their function as a chemical defense against fungi.

The safety and efficacy of acupuncture for epididymitis protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Epididymitis is a common disease in non-specific infections of the male reproductive system. According to the clinical incidence of acute epididymitis and chronic epididymitis, which is more common in chronic epididymitis. There are many clinical trials confirmed that acupuncture treatment can relieve pain and improve symptoms of epididymitis to some extent. In this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for epididymitis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search for PubMed, Cochrane Library, AMED, EMbase, WorldSciNet; Nature, Science online and China Journal Full-text Database (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature CD-ROM Database (CBM), and related randomized controlled trials included in the China Resources Database. The time is limited from the construction of the library to November 2018. We will use the criteria provided by Cochrane 5.1.0 for quality assessment and risk assessment of the included studies, and use the Revman 5.3 and Stata13.0 software for meta-analysis of the effectiveness, recurrence rate, and symptom scores of epididymitis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for epididymitis. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process trial. REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42018111348.