A graminan type fructan from Achyranthes bidentata prevents the kidney injury in diabetic mice by regulating gut microbiota.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the main cause of end-stage renal disease, and few therapeutic options are available. The root of Achyranthis bidentatae (AB) is commonly used for DKD treatment in Traditional Chinese medicine. However, its mechanisms are still unclear. Here, a graminan type fructan ABPW1 with molecular weight of 3998 Da was purified from AB. It was composed of ß-1,2-linked Fruf, ß-2,6-linked-Fruf and ß-1,2,6-linked-Fruf backbone, and terminated with T-Glcp and 2-Fruf residues. ABPW1 protected against kidney injuries and intestinal barrier disruption in Streptozotocin (STZ)/High fat diet (HFD) mice. It could modulate gut microbiota composition, evidenced by a rise in the abundance of Bacteroide and decreases of Rikenella, Alistipes, Laedolimicola and Faecalibaculum. ABPW1 intervention promoted short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production in STZ/HFD mice, especially propionate and isobutyric acid. Antibiotic treatment further demonstrated the key role of gut microbiota in the renal protective action of ABPW1. In addition, in vitro simulated digestion and fermentation together with in vivo fluorescent labeling studies demonstrated ABPW1 was indigestible in upper digestive tract but could reach the colon and be degraded into SCFAs by gut microbiota there. Overall, these data suggested ABPW1 has the potential application on DKD prevention.

Rapid identification and quantification of Pseudostellaria heterophylla with its adulterants by HPLC-CAD fingerprint combined with improved quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS).

The P. heterophylla and its adulterants were identified by HPLC-CAD fingerprint of sucrose and oligosaccharides in P. heterophylla. The improved quantitative analysis of multi-components with a single marker (iQAMS) was further established for simultaneous determinations of sucrose and oligosaccharides in P. heterophylla. The HPLC-CAD fingerprint and similarity coefficients between P. heterophylla and its adulterants showed significant differences. The relative errors (REs) between iQAMS method and external standard method (ESM) were below 3.00%, but significant difference was shown between iQAMS (different marker for whole program with gradient elution) and QAMS (one marker for whole program with gradient elution), indicating that QAMS method should be improved, especially for gradient elution which influence the response of analytes. The accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and stability of this method were validated which exhibited satisfactory results, indicating that iQAMS method could be used for quantitative analysis of sucrose and oligosaccharides in P. heterophylla instead of ESM. The iQAMS combined with HPLC-CAD fingerprint could be used to determine the content of each oligosaccharide, and it can be used for quality control of P. heterophylla.

Chitosan from the base of Flammulina velutipes stipe alleviates oral Candida albicans infection via modulating Th-17 cell differentiation and Streptococcus mutans.

The base of Flammulina velutipes (F. velutipes) stipe are agricultural wastes generated during the cultivation of edible fungus F. velutipes with high amount of chitin. Herein, this study firstly prepared chitosan from the base of F. velutipes stipe (FVC) and its structure was identified. It was confirmed that FVC acted as an antigenic substance to activate the immune system in vivo and in vitro, drive T cells to differentiate into Th-17 cells, and establish an effective mucosal immune barrier in the oral cavity, thus inhibited C. albicans infection; On the other hand, FVC maintained the oral flora stability and significantly reduced the abundance of Streptococcus spp., which was closely related to C. albicans infection. On this basis, the inhibitory effects of FVC on oral pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei associated with C. albicans infection were further verified, and it was demonstrated that FVC effectively interfered with the growth of pathogenic bacteria by inducing the production of intracellular ROS to damage bacterial cells. Therefore, FVC may be potentially exploited as a novel approach to the prevention and treatment of oral C. albicans infection.

Isolation, purification, and structural characterization of polysaccharides from Codonopsis pilosula and its therapeutic effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in vitro and in vivo.

Codonopsis pilosula is a famous edible and medicinal plants, in which polysaccharides are recognized as one of the important active ingredients. A neutral polysaccharide (CPP-1) was purified from C. pilosula. The structure was characterized by HPSEC-MALLS-RID, UV, FT-IR, GC-MS, methylation analysis, and NMR. The results showed that CPP-1 was a homogeneous pure polysaccharide, mainly containing fructose and glucose, and a small amount of arabinose. Methylation analysis showed that CPP-1 composed of →1)-Fruf-(2→, Fruf-(1→ and Glcp-(1→ residues. Combined the NMR results the structure of CPP-1 was confirmed as α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ [2)-ß-D-Fruf-(1 â†’ 2)-ß-D-Fruf-(1]26 â†’ 2)-ß-D-Fruf with the molecular weight of 4.890 × 103 Da. The model of AML12 hepatocyte fat damage was established in vitro. The results showed that CPP-1 could increase the activity of SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes and reduce the content of MDA, thus protecting cells from oxidative damage. Subsequently, the liver protective effect of CPP-1 was studied in the mouse model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by the high-fat diet. The results showed that CPP-1 significantly reduced the body weight, liver index, and body fat index of NAFLD mice, and significantly improved liver function. Therefore, CPP-1 should be a potential candidate for the treatment of NAFLD.

A polysaccharide NAP-3 from Naematelia aurantialba: Structural characterization and adjunctive hypoglycemic activity.

A novel polysaccharide (NAP-3) was isolated and purified from Naematelia aurantialba after water extraction. The structure of NAP-3, which was determined by FT-IR, HPLC, GC-MS, and NMR, indicated that NAP-3 was a homogeneous polysaccharide with the molecular weight of 428 kDa, mainly consisted of ß-1, 3-D-Manp, ß-1, 2, 3-D-Manp, ß-D-Xylp, ß-1, 4-D-Glcp, ß-1, 4-D-Rhap in a molar ratio of 6.49: 1.11: 2.4: 0.13: 0.83. In vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory assay showed that NAP-3 had a low IC50 value, which exhibited similar enzyme inhibitory activity as acarbose. NAP-3 was evaluated as an adjuvant with metformin for antidiabetic therapy in HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice and insulin resistance HepG2 cells. The combination of NAP-3 and metformin in diabetic mice exhibited significant hypoglycemic activity, reducing body weight, serum insulin levels, glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance, and increasing antioxidant levels compared to metformin alone. The combination of NAP-3 and metformin improved oxidative stress by increasing ROS clearance, thereby enhancing glucose uptake in HepG2 cells. This study provided new data for the study of Naematelia aurantialba polysaccharides and offers a new adjuvant therapy for the treatment of diabetes.

Early Triage of Critically Ill Adult Patients With Mushroom Poisoning: Machine Learning Approach.

BACKGROUND: Early triage of patients with mushroom poisoning is essential for administering precise treatment and reducing mortality. To our knowledge, there has been no established method to triage patients with mushroom poisoning based on clinical data. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to construct a triage system to identify patients with mushroom poisoning based on clinical indicators using several machine learning approaches and to assess the prediction accuracy of these strategies. METHODS: In all, 567 patients were collected from 5 primary care hospitals and facilities in Enshi, Hubei Province, China, and divided into 2 groups; 322 patients from 2 hospitals were used as the training cohort, and 245 patients from 3 hospitals were used as the test cohort. Four machine learning algorithms were used to construct the triage model for patients with mushroom poisoning. Performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), decision curve, sensitivity, specificity, and other representative statistics. Feature contributions were evaluated using Shapley additive explanations. RESULTS: Among several machine learning algorithms, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) showed the best discriminative ability in 5-fold cross-validation (AUC=0.83, 95% CI 0.77-0.90) and the test set (AUC=0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.96). In the test set, the XGBoost model had a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.81-0.99) and a specificity of 0.79 (95% CI 0.73-0.85), whereas the physicians' assessment had a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI 0.72-0.95) and a specificity of 0.66 (95% CI 0.59-0.73). CONCLUSIONS: The 14-factor XGBoost model for the early triage of mushroom poisoning can rapidly and accurately identify critically ill patients and will possibly serve as an important basis for the selection of treatment options and referral of patients, potentially reducing patient mortality and improving clinical outcomes.

Comparison of two commercial methods with a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of multiple mycotoxins in cereals.

Immunoassay-based techniques are important on-site screening tools for the detection of mycotoxins in cereals. This study aims to evaluate the trueness, precision, repeatability and cross-reactivity of commercially available test strips, ELISA kits and UHPLC-MS/MS on analyzing zearalenone, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin and fumonisin B1. The results showed that false negative rate (25.7 %-37.4 %) of all tested mycotoxins by test strips was higher than the false positive rate (0 %-31.0 %). The repeatability of ELISA kits at the declared LOD dispersed from -85.7 % to +98.4 %. ELISA kits were more accurate at 50 % of the maximum residue limit (MRL) of mycotoxins than 150 % and 200 %. All the tested deoxynivalenol/zearalenone derivatives had cross-reactivity with different level, and sample matrix could reinforce this overestimation of target mycotoxin. This study emphasized that higher-quality antibody screening and more analytical performance investigations are need to address for on-site detection of mycotoxins in the future.

Preparation, characterization and immunoregulatory activity of derivatives of polysaccharide from Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC.

A polysaccharide (ALP-1) extracted from Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. was carboxymethylated (C-ALP-1), phosphorylated (P-ALP-1) and acetylated (A-ALP-1) to improve its physicochemical properties and bioactivities. The solubility of all derivatives was increased, and the solubility of A-ALP-1 increased to 137.5 mg/mL, which was much higher than the solubility of ALP-1 (15.0 mg/mL). The results of HPSEC-MALLS-RID showed that the molecular weight of polysaccharides was slightly increased after the modification, and the root mean square radius of rotation (Rz) and morphology of polysaccharides in solution were also changed. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed that the surface morphology of ALP-1 changed dramatically and the crystallinity decreased after structural modification. From thermal analysis results, the T50 of ALP-1, C-ALP-1, P-ALP-1 and A-ALP-1 were 281.34, 292.14, 333.75 and 298.70 °C, which showed that derivatives had stronger thermal stability than ALP-1. The immunomodulatory activity studies displayed that P-ALP-1 showed the best ability to stimulate RAW264.7 macrophages to release NO, and A-ALP-1 showed the best capacity to stimulate TNF-α and IL-6 releasing. These results indicated that chemical modification could enhance the solubility, the thermal stability and immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides, which is beneficial for the development and utilization of natural polysaccharides.

Unraveling metabolic alterations in transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease using MALDI MS imaging with 4-aminocinnoline-3-carboxamide matrix.

Revealing the metabolic abnormalities of central and peripheral systems in Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model is of paramount importance for understanding AD disease. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) is a powerful label-free technique that has been extensively utilized for the interrogation of spatial changes of various metabolites in neurodegenerative disease. However, technical limitations still exist in MALDI MS, and there is a need to improve the performance of traditional MALDI for a deeper investigation of metabolic alterations in the AD mouse model. In this work, 4-aminocinnoline-3-carboxamide (4-AC) was developed into a novel dual-polarity MALDI matrix. Compared with traditionally used MALDI matrices such as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and 9-aminoacridine (9-AA), 4-AC exhibited superior performance in UV absorption at 355 nm, ion yields, background interference, and vacuum stability, making it an ideal MALDI matrix for comprehensive evaluation of metabolic alteration in the brain and serum of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of AD. In total, 93 metabolites exhibited different levels of regional changes in the brain of AD mice as compared to the age-matched controls. Moreover, in the serum of AD mice, 81 altered metabolites distinguishing the AD group from the control were observed by using multivariate statistical analysis. It is expected that the application of the MALDI MSI method developed in this work to visualize the spatio-chemical change of various metabolites may improve our understanding of the etiopathogenesis of AD.

Unveiling spatial metabolome of Paeonia suffruticosa and Paeonia lactiflora roots using MALDI MS imaging.

Paeonia suffruticosa (PS) and Paeonia lactiflora (PL) belong to the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Comparative analysis of the spatial metabolomes of PS and PL has rarely been performed. In this work, combined with multiple matrixes and dual-polarity detection, high mass resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS imaging (MALDI MSI) and MALDI tandem MSI were performed on the root sections of the two Paeonia species. The spatial distributions of many metabolites including monoterpene and paeonol glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, saccharides and lipids were systematically characterized. The ambiguous tissue distribution of the two isomers paeoniflorin and albiflorin were distinguished by tandem MSI using lithium salt doped 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate matrix. In addition, the major intermediates involved in the biosynthetic pathway of gallotannins were successfully localized and visualized in the root sections. High-mass resolution MALDI full-scan MSI provides comprehensive and accurate spatial distribution of metabolites. The analytical power of the technique was further tested in the tandem MSI of two isomers. The ion images of individual metabolites provide chemical and microscopic characteristics beyond morphological identification, and the detailed spatiochemical information could not only improve our understanding of the biosynthetic pathway of hydrolyzable tannins, but also ensure the safety and effectiveness of their medicinal use.

Regulatory effect of chemerin and therapeutic efficacy of chemerin­9 in pancreatogenic diabetes mellitus.

Chemerin is a novel adipokine that regulates immune responses, adipocyte differentiation, and glucose metabolism. However, the role of chemerin in pancreatogenic diabetes mellitus (PDM) remains unknown. PDM is recognized as DM occurring secondary to chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic resection due to the loss of the loss of islet cell mass. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of chemerin in PDM by collecting blooding samples from DM patients and establishing in vivo PDM model. The present study demonstrated that chemerin levels are decreased in the serum of patients with PDM and are negatively associated with the insulin resistance (IR) status. Chemerin levels also decreased during the development of PDM in C57BL/6 mice, together with increasing serum levels of interleukin­1 and tumor necrosis factor­α and decreasing mRNA expression levels of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1). Treatment of PDM model mice with chemerin chemokine­like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) agonist, chemerin­9, elevated the serum levels of chemerin and mRNA expression levels of GLUT2 and PDX1, leading to the alleviation of glucose intolerance and IR in these animals. Together, the accumulated data indicated that chemerin may exert a protective function in PDM, perhaps by regulating perhaps by regulating GLUT2 and PDX1 expression, and that the restoration of the chemerin/CMKLR1 pathway may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for PDM.

Determination of seven oligosaccharides and sucrose in Pseudostellaria heterophylla by pressurized liquid extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with charged aerosol detector and tandem mass spectrometry.

A simple, rapid, and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with charged aerosol detector (UPLC-CAD) method was developed for firstly simultaneous determination of seven oligosaccharides, including two pairs of linear oligosaccharides isomers (DP3-1, DP3-2 and DP4-1, DP4-2) and 3 high branched oligosaccharides (DP 5, 6 and 7), as well as sucrose in Pseudostellaria heterophylla. The separation was performed on a Waters BEH Amide column (2.1 × 150 mm i.d., 1.7 µm) with gradient elution within 20 min. All calibration curves for the investigated analytes showed good linearity (R2 > 0.9992). Their limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were in the ranges of 0.24-1.35 µg/mL and 0.78-4.96 µg/mL, respectively. Repeatability of all investigated components detected in samples was less than 2.9%. All the recoveries of each analyte ranged from 99.2% to 104.3% were acceptable. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-QTOF MS) method was also applied to authenticate the oligosaccharides in different samples by comparing to the isolated standards. Oligosaccharides, especially linear oligosaccharides isomers and high branched oligosaccharides with different degree of polymerization (DP), were firstly identified and determined in P. heterophylla. Their contents in 33 samples of P. heterophylla from different locations was successfully compared, which is helpful to evaluate its quality.

Chemistry, pharmacology and analysis of Pseudostellaria heterophylla: a mini-review.

Pseudostellaria heterophylla is one of the well-known traditional Chinese medicines and has been used in clinics for 100 years in China. The chemistry and pharmacology of P. heterophylla were reviewed to understand its active compounds. Then analysis of these compounds related to quality control of this herb was discussed. For the analysis of chemicals, three aspects have been discussed in this review. The first two aspects focused on the methodologies for analysis of cyclic peptides and carbohydrates in P. heterophylla, respectively. The last one dealt with the other methods used for identification of P. heterophylla. Some rich chemicals such as oligosaccharides in this plant were rarely evaluated. Many analyses were performed on this plant, however, few of them were accepted as quality control method.

Comparison of Antioxidant Activity and Main Active Compounds Among Different Parts of Alpinia officinarum Hance Using High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography-Bioautography.

Background: Alpinia officinarum Hance (ginger family) is an important Chinese medicine, especially in Southern China. Objective: A simple and effective high-performance thin-layer chromatography coupled with 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl bioautography (HPTLC-DPPH) and electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS) method was developed for the bioactivity-based quality control of A. officinarum. Methods: The HPTLC-DPPH and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS were applied for the analysis of different parts of A. officinarum after using methanol extraction for 23 batches of taproot, four batches of aerial, and three batches of fibril parts. Results: The systematic evaluation showed that similar components in taproot and aerial parts make the major antioxidant activity. However, based on our evaluation, the antioxidant ability of the aerial parts is lower than the taproot parts. There is also a significant difference (P < 0.05) between taproot and fibril parts of the root. The chemical structures of compounds with the antioxidant capacity were tentatively identified as 5R-hydroxy-7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone (band 1), kaempferide (band 2), and galangin (band 3) based on ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS analytical results and further confirmed by standards. Conclusions: This identification indicated that two flavonoid compounds and one diarylheptanoid compound possessed high potentials to be used as the antioxidant biomarkers for the quality control of A. officinarum. Highlights: The comparison of different parts could be considered as guidelines for the usage of A. officinarum.

Qualitation and quantification of water soluble non-starch polysaccharides from Pseudostellaria heterophylla in China using saccharide mapping and multiple chromatographic methods.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) from Pseudostellaria heterophylla in China (Guizhou, Anhui and Fujian) were performed using high performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle laser light scattering and refractive index detector (HPSEC-MALLS-RID), saccharide mapping based on polysaccharide analysis by using carbohydrate gel electrophoresis (PACE) and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). Results showed that PACE and HPTLC fingerprints of enzymatic hydrolysates of NSP were similar. Moreover, the results indicated that 1,4-ß-d-Galp, 1,5-α-Araf, 1,4-α-d-GalAp and 1,4-ß-d-Glcp linkages existed in NSP. Based on the results of HPSEC-MALLS/RI, the Mw, Rg, and contents of NSP in P. heterophylla were ranging from 4.37 × 104 to 1.70 × 105 Da, 46.4 to 65.9 nm, and 0.43% to 1.41%, respectively. There were no significant difference (p>0.05) observed among the three main producing areas, which suggested that polysaccharides could be used as marker for quality control of P. heterophylla.

Preparation and Application of Standardized Typical Volatile Components Fraction from Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Step Molecular Distillation.

A green and reliable method using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and molecular distillation (MD) was optimized for the separation and purification of standardized typical volatile components fraction (STVCF) from turmeric to solve the shortage of reference compounds in quality control (QC) of volatile components. A high quality essential oil with 76.0% typical components of turmeric was extracted by SFE. A sequential distillation strategy was performed by MD. The total recovery and purity of prepared STVCF were 97.3% and 90.3%, respectively. Additionally, a strategy, i.e., STVCF-based qualification and quantitative evaluation of major bioactive analytes by multiple calibrated components, was proposed to easily and effectively control the quality of turmeric. Compared with the individual calibration curve method, the STVCF-based quantification method was demonstrated to be credible and was effectively adapted for solving the shortage of reference volatile compounds and improving the QC of typical volatile components in turmeric, especially its functional products.

Preparation and identification of oligosaccharides in lotus seeds and determination of their distribution in different parts of lotus.

Three fractions (I-III) were separated from crude oligosaccharides of lotus seeds by fast protein liquid chromatography with final purity of 97.6, 96.3, and 96.8%, respectively. The fractions were identified as sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose by using TLC, HPLC with charged aerosol detector (CAD), LC-MS, and methylation analysis. Subsequently sucrose and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) with degree of polymerization (DP) 3-5 (raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose) have been quantified by HPLC-CAD for the first time. All calibration curves for investigated analytes showed good linear regression (R2  > 0.9952). Their limit of detection and limit of quantity were in the ranges 0.14-0.28 and 0.36-0.48 µg/mL, respectively. The recoveries ranged from 96.6 to 103.4%. The contents of sucrose and RFOs DP3-DP5 were different in lotus seeds and other parts of lotus samples, but similar in their own variety. Additionally, the distribution of RFOs in different parts of lotus were also compared and the results indicated that RFOs might be mainly synthesized in lotus seeds. This work is helpful for understanding the way of biosynthesis of RFOs in lotus as well as quality control of plants containing RFOs.

Potential molecular mechanisms for fruiting body formation of Cordyceps illustrated in the case of Cordyceps sinensis.

The fruiting body formation mechanisms of Cordyceps sinensis are still unclear. To explore the mechanisms, proteins potentially related to the fruiting body formation, proteins from fruiting bodies, and mycelia of Cordyceps species were assessed by using two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis, and the differential expression proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation tandem time of flight mass spectrometry. The results showed that 198 differential expression proteins (252 protein spots) were identified during the fruiting body formation of Cordyceps species, and 24 of them involved in fruiting body development in both C. sinensis and other microorganisms. Especially, enolase and malate dehydrogenase were first found to play an important role in fruiting body development in macro-fungus. The results implied that cAMP signal pathway involved in fruiting body development of C. sinensis, meanwhile glycometabolism, protein metabolism, energy metabolism, and cell reconstruction were more active during fruiting body development. It has become evident that fruiting body formation of C. sinensis is a highly complex differentiation process and requires precise integration of a number of fundamental biological processes. Although the fruiting body formation mechanisms for all these activities remain to be further elucidated, the possible mechanism provides insights into the culture of C. sinensis.

Microwave-Assisted Extraction, Chemical Structures, and Chain Conformation of Polysaccharides from a Novel Cordyceps Sinensis Fungus UM01.

Cordyceps sinensis is a well-known tonic food with broad medicinal properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the optimization of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and characterize chemical structures and chain conformation of polysaccharides from a novel C. sinensis fungus UM01. Ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography were used to purify the polysaccharides. The chemical structure of purified polysaccharide was determined through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Moreover, high performance size exclusion chromatography combined with refractive index detector and multiangle laser light scattering were conducted to analyze the molecular weight (Mw ) and chain conformation of purified polysaccharide. Based on the orthogonal design L9 , optimal MAE conditions could be obtained through 1300 W of microwave power, with a 5-min irradiation time at a solid to water ratio of 1:60, generating the highest extraction yield of 6.20%. Subsequently, the polysaccharide UM01-S1 was purified. The UM01-S1 is a glucan-type polysaccharide with a (1→4)-ß-d-glucosyl backbone and branching points located at O-3 of Glcp with a terminal-d-Glcp. The Mw , radius of gyration (Rg ) and hydrodynamic radius (Rh ) of UM01-S1 were determined as 5.442 × 10(6)  Da, 21.8 and 20.2 nm, respectively. Using the polymer solution theory, the exponent (ν) value of the power law function was calculated as 0.38, and the shape factor (ρ = Rg /Rh ) was 1.079, indicating that UM01-S1 has a sphere-like conformation with a branched structure in an aqueous solution. These results provide fundamental information for the future application of polysaccharides from cultured C. sinensis in health and functional food area.

Chemical characteristics of different parts of Coreopsis tinctoria in China using microwave-assisted extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography followed by chemometric analysis.

Coreopsis tinctoria, also called "snow chrysanthemum" in China, is a flower tea material that has been reported to possess excellent pharmacological properties such as antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. The chemical characteristics of different parts (flowers, buds, seeds, stems, and leaves) of C. tinctoria were investigated based on microwave-assisted extraction and the simultaneous determination of 13 major active compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography, including taxifolin-7-O-glucoside, chlorogenic acid, (R/S)-flavanomarein, isocoreopsin, quercetagetin-7-O-glucoside, isookanin, 5,7,3',5'-tetrahydroxyflavanone-7-O-glucoside, marein, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, coreopsin, okanin, 5,7,3',5'-tetrahydroxyflavanone, and N(1) ,N(5) ,N(10) ,N(14) -tetra-p-coumaroylspermine. Chemometric analysis based on the contents of investigated compounds from 13 samples showed that C. tinctoria and the related flower tea materials, Chrysanthemum morifolium cv "Hangju" and "Gongju," were in different clusters, and different parts (flowers, buds, seeds, stems, and leaves) of C. tinctoria were obviously different. This study is helpful for the quality control and pharmacological evaluation of different parts from C. tinctoria and its related products.