Stability of Hydroxy-α-Sanshool in Medium-Chain Triglyceride Oil and Corresponding Oil/Water Emulsions.

The pungent component of sansho (Japanese pepper, Zanthoxylum pipritum) is sanshool, which is easily oxidized and decomposed. We have previously reported several sanshool stabilizers, such as α-tocopherol (α-Toc). Sansho pericarp powder treated with middle-chain triglycerides (MCTs) can be used to obtain extracts containing hydroxy-α-sanshool (HαS). Although HαS is stabilized when α-Toc is added to the MCT extracts, the loss of HαS is accelerated when it is mixed with a powder such as lactose. The separation of α-Toc from sanshools was thought to inevitably lead to their oxidation. Therefore, using sansho pericarp MCT extracts with or without α-Toc, oil/water (o/w) emulsions were prepared by adding a surfactant, glycerin, and water to these extracts. In both emulsions, HαS was stable in accelerated tests at 50 °C. However, when lactose powder was added to the emulsions and an accelerated test was performed, HαS in the emulsion containing α-Toc was stable, but HαS in the emulsion without α-Toc was unstable. These results highlight the importance of maintaining the close proximity of HαS and α-Toc in the emulsion. The stabilization of sanshools using emulsion technology can facilitate the production of various processed beverages, foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals containing Japanese pepper.

Stabilization of Hydroxy-α-Sanshool by Antioxidants Present in the Genus Zanthoxylum.

Japanese pepper (sansho, Zanthoxylum piperitum) contains several types of sanshools belonging to N-alkylamides. Because of the long-chain unsaturated fatty acids present in their structure, sanshools are prone to oxidative deterioration, which poses problems in processing. In this paper, we evaluated the effects of antioxidants from the genus Zanthoxylum in preventing sanshool degradation using accelerated tests. An ethanolic extract of segment membranes of the sansho fruit pericarp was incubated at 70 °C for 7 days with different antioxidants to determine the residual amount of hydroxy-α-sanshool (HαS) in the extract. α-Tocopherol (α-Toc) showed excellent HαS-stabilizing activity at low concentrations. Among phenolic acids, we noted that the HαS-stabilizing activity increased with the number of hydroxy groups per molecule. For example, gallic acid and its derivatives exhibited excellent sanshool-stabilizing activity. Quercetin was found to be a superior HαS stabilizer compared with hesperetin and naringenin. However, the effective concentration was much higher for phenolic compounds than for α-Toc. These substances are believed to play a role in preventing the decomposition of sanshools in the pericarp of sansho. These sanshool stabilizers should be useful in the development of new beverages, foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals that take advantage of the taste and flavor of sansho.

Highly silver ion selective fluorescence ionophore: fluorescent properties of polythiazaalkane derivatives bearing 8-(7-hydroxy-4-methyl)coumarinyl moiety in aqueous solution and in liquid-liquid extraction systems.

Two novel fluoroionophores, N-(7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin-8-ylmethyl)-3,9-dithia-6-azaundecane (1) and N-(7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin-8-ylmethyl)-3,9-dithia-6-azaundecane (2), were synthesized as fluorescence extractants for selective silver determination. The absorption and fluorescence spectra were measured in aqueous 1,4-dioxane solution (28 v/v%) in the absence and presence of silver ion, and their acid dissociation constants were determined from the pH-dependent spectral changes. In the liquid-liquid extraction of some metal ions from neutral aqueous solution into dichloromethane phase, compounds 1 and 2 exhibited excellent silver ion selectivity, and dramatic fluorescence spectral changes were observed in the dichloromethane solutions containing these compounds. The determination limit of 2 for silver ion was 2.0 x 10(-8) mol dm(-3) in the liquid-liquid extraction.

Molecular design of tetraazamacrocyclic derivatives bearing a spirobenzopyran and three carboxymethyl moieties and their metal-ion complexing behavior.

Tetraazacyclododecane and tetraazacyclotetradecane derivatives bearing a spirobenzopyran and three carboxymethyl moieties, 1 and 2, and a diethylenetriamine derivative bearing a spirobenzopyran and four carboxymethyl moieties 3 were synthesized. The isomerization behaviors based on the spirobenzopyran moiety of these ligands were studied by UV-visible spectrophotometry in aqueous solutions containing various metal ions at neutral pH. These ligands formed stable 1:1 complexes with lanthanide ions, while the spirobenzopyran moiety was isomerized to its corresponding merocyanine form even under dark conditions. In aqueous solutions containing a lanthanide ion, the absorption spectra of 1 or 2 showed remarkable blue shifts, while absorbances at the maximum absorption wavelengths in the visible region were enhanced; such changes are attributable to the isomerization to the merocyanine form of the spirobenzopyran moiety. These results suggest that the phenolate anion of the merocyanine moiety interacts very strongly with a lanthanide ion bound by the complexing moiety because of the high charge density of lanthanide ions. In contrast, the absorbance of merocyanine form was decreased by the complexation of the macrocyclic ligand with transition metal ions, such as Cu2+ and Zn2+. This result indicates that macrocyclic ligands, 1 and 2, formed complexes with transition metal ions only by the aminocarboxylate moieties, and the phenolate ion of merocyanine moiety was not able to participate in the complexation. This conclusion was also demonstrated by density functional theory calculations.

Process for the Purification of cis-p-Coumaric Acid by Cellulose Column Chromatography after the Treatment of the trans Isomer with Ultraviolet Irradiation.

A methanolic solution of trans-p-coumaric acid was exposed to ultraviolet radiation and a mixture solution of the trans and cis isomers was subjected to cellulose column chromatography, eluting with an aqueous 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid solution containing methanol (90:10, v/v). Separation of the trans and cis isomers was achieved. The identity of the cis isomer was confirmed by TLC, HPLC, and NMR. Since both the support and eluent are inexpensive, the cis isomers can be obtained economically on both the laboratory and industrial scales.

Application of photoresponsive polymers carrying crown ether and spirobenzopyran side chains to photochemical valve.

A vinyl copolymer carrying crown ether and spirobenzopyran side chains, which undergoes significant photoinduced rheology changes, i.e., contraction and extension of its polymer chain, was applied to a material for photocontrol system of solvent permeation rate, so-called, photochemical valve. Macroporous polyethylene membranes coated by the crown ether-spirobenzopyran copolymer can work as a functional membrane controlling solvent permeation rate photochemically. UV-light irradiation on the photoresponsive membrane decreased the permeation rate of hexane, due to the increased polarity of the membrane pore, which was in turn derived from the photoisomerization of its spirobenzopyran moiety to the corresponding ionic merocyanine form. The following visible-light irradiation on the membrane restored the permeation rate by isomerization back to the electrically neutral spiropyran form. To the contrary, the permeation of ethanol through the membrane was enhanced by UV-light irradiation due to the increase in the apparent membrane pore size induced by the polymer chain contraction and vice versa by visible light. Similar photoresponses in the permeation rate of nonpolar and polar solvents were also observed with a sintered glass filter modified chemically by both silane-coupling reagents containing crown ether and spirobenzopyran moieties.

Photocontrollable cation extraction with crowned oligo(spirobenzopyran)s.

The photoinduced changes of metal-ion extractability of crown ether derivatives bearing three or four spirobenzopyran moieties and their analogues were studied using 1,2-dichloroethane as the organic solvent. Under dark conditions, these compounds extracted Cu2+, Ag+, and Pb2+ with their counteranions from the aqueous phase to the organic phase. The extraction equilibrium constants of the photochromic crown ether derivatives for Cu2+ and Ag+ were determined successfully. Under UV-light irradiation conditions, the extraction of Cu2+ by crowned tris(spirobenzopyran) was enhanced, while that of Ag+ was suppressed. During the competitive metal-ion extraction of crowned oligo(spirobenzopyran)s between Cu2+ and Ag+, the metal-ion selectivity was reversed explicitly by photoirradiation.

Evaluation of photoinduced changes in stability constants for metal-ion complexes of crowned spirobenzopyran derivatives by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

The photoinduced changes of metal-ion complexing ability of crowned spirobenzopyran derivatives were studied by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Stability constants for the complexation with various metal ions in methanol under visible-irradiation conditions were determined for the first time by ESI-MS. It was found that the stability constants of crowned bis(spirobenzopyran) derivatives with metal ions are decreased dramatically by visible irradiation due to the disappearance of powerful ionic interaction between phenolate anion(s) of the merocyanine form of their spirobenzopyran moiety and a metal ion bound to their crown ether moiety, and the decrease in the stability constants is more pronounced for the multivalent metal-ion complexes. A theoretical consideration was also made to attain reliable values of stability complexes for metal-ion complexes of crown compounds.

Silver Ion Selective Fluoroionophores Based on Anthracene-Linked Polythiazaalkane or Polythiaalkane Derivatives.

A dozen novel fluoroionophores have been synthesized which are polythiazaalkane and polythiaalkane derivatives coupled with an anthracene moiety by methyl, carbonyl, or methylphenylene bridging groups. The protonation and metal ion complexation behavior of analogues were examined in 1,4-dioxane-water solutions spectrophotometrically and spectrophotofluorometrically. The fluoroionophores, 1, 2, 5, and 6 contain basic nitrogen atoms and quench the fluorescence in the free forms because of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from a nitrogen atom to a photoexcited anthracene unit. The fluorescence was recovered by the protonation on the nitrogen atom. The fluorescence intensities of the other fluoroionophores used here were not dependent on the pH of the solution. On the complexation of the protonated fluoroionophores 1, 2, 5, and 6 with metal ions under the acidic condition, the fluorescence intensities were decreased by the addition of silver ion selectively. Under the same conditions, the other fluoroionophores exhibited a decrease of the fluorescence intensity with the addition of silver ion selectively. These results imply that the fluoroionophores could form complexes and release a proton from the nitrogen atom of the protonated fluoroionophores. The quenching of the fluorescence of the complexed fluoroionophores 3, 4, 7, and 8-12 could be caused by the interaction of a silver ion with a pi-electron of the anthracene unit. The degree of spectral change on the complexation with silver ion is primarily dependent on the strength of the interaction of the bound silver ion with nitrogen atom, for 1, 2, 5, and 6, or with a pi-electron of the anthracene unit, for 3, 4, 7, and 8-12.

Photoresponsive liquid membrane transport of alkali metal ions using crowned spirobenzopyrans.

Several azacrown ether derivatives, which are monoaza-12-crown-4, -15-crown-5, and -18-crown-6 and diaza-12-crown-4 and -18-crown-6, bearing one or two spirobenzopyran(s), which we call crowned spirobenzopyran or crowned bis(spirobenzopyran), were synthesized and were used as carriers for liquid membrane transport of alkali metal ions. The passive alkali metal transports through liquid membranes containing crowned spirobenzopyrans were carried out under dark, and UV- and visible-light irradiation conditions. The metal ion transport was accelerated and retarded by UV- and visible-light irradiation, respectively. On the other hand, the photoresponse of the metal ion selectivity in membrane transport by crowned spirobenzopyrans was different, depending on the kind of crown ether units. Especially, diaza-12-crown-4-bis(spirobenzopyran) exhibited an excellently selective and effective transporting ability for Li(+). The uphill transports of Li(+) through a liquid membrane containing monoaza-12-crown-4-spirobenzopyran or diaza-12-crown-4-bis(spirobenzopyran) were realized under the conditions where the same aqueous solution was used as the source and receiving phases with UV and visible lights being irradiated onto the boundary phases between the source and membrane phases and between the receiving and membrane phases, respectively. The uphill transport of Li(+) from the source to receiving phases through a liquid membrane containing a crowned spirobenzopyran was also attained by the proton-concentration gradient between the source and receiving phases under dark conditions, and the transporting ability was remarkably increased by photoirradiation.

Liquid-liquid extraction of alkali metal ions with photochromic crowned spirobenzopyrans.

On the liquid-liquid extraction using 1,2-dichloroethane as an organic solvent, the crowned spirobenzopyrans exhibited textractability in the following order: Li+ >> Na+ > K+ > or = tetramethylammonium ion (TMA+), Li+ > Na+ >> K+ > TMA+, and Na+ > K+ >> Li+ > TMA+ for spirobenzopyran derivatives bearing monoaza-12-crown-4, 1; monoaza-15-crown-5, 2; and monoaza-18-crown-6, 3; respectively, under dark conditions. The ion selectivity of 1 depends on the metal-ion complexing ability of monoaza-12-crown-4. Even 2, which carries a 15-crown-5 moiety, showed Li+ selectivity because of the much stronger interaction of Li+ with the phenolate ion of the merocyanine form of 2 than that of Na+. The Na+ selectivity of 3 is also attributed to the ionic interaction with the phenolate ion of the merocyanine form, since the ionic interaction prefers Na+ to K+ regardless of the higher affinity of the 18-crown-6 ring itself to the latter ion. The Li+ extraction into the organic phase with 1 was enhanced by UV irradiation (300-400 nm), while some depression in the extraction was found by visible irradiation (>500 nm). The effect of visible irradiation on the Li+ complexing ability of 1 was also examined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Synthesis and photochromism of spirobenzopyrans and spirobenzothiapyran derivatives bearing monoazathiacrown ethers and noncyclic analogues in the presence of metal ions.

Spirobenzopyrans bearing monoazathiacrown ethers and noncyclic analogues were synthesized, and their ion-responsive photochromism depending on the dual metal ion interaction with the crown ether and the phenolate anion moieties was examined using alkali and alkaline-earth metal ions, Ag(+), Tl(+), Pb(2+), Hg(2+), and Zn(2+). The prepared spirobenzopyrans showed a selective binding ability to Mg(2+) and Ag(+) with negative and positive photochromism, respectively. Among the metal ions, only Ag(+) facilitated photoisomerization to the corresponding merocyanine form. Depending on the ring size of the monoazathiacrown ether moieties, soft metal ions such as Hg(2+) and Ag(+) showed significant shifts in the UV-vis absorption spectra, while hard metal ions such as Mg(2+), Zn(2+), and Pb(2+) did not afford any meaningful shift. This result reflects that the monoazathiacrown ether and phenolate anion moieties prefer soft and hard metal ions, respectively. Therefore, the Mg(2+) and Ag(+) selectivities are mainly derived from the phenolate anion and monoazathiacrown ether moieties, respectively. On the other hand, a spirobenzothiapyran bearing 3,9-dithia-6-monoazaundecane showed a remarkable selectivity to Ag(+).