Determination of chlorine ions in raw milk by pulsed amperometric detection in a flow injection system.

Chloride ion concentration in milk was determined by pulsed amperometric detection in a flow injection system. Results showed that the Au electrode lost 3 electrons at 1.10 V and formed chloroaurate ions (AuCl4-) by combining with chloride ions, after which AuCl4- was partly reduced to Au at 0.6 V. Based on the electrochemical process, a triple waveform with detection potential of 1.15 V, detection time of 150 ms, oxidation potential of 1.4 V, oxidation time of 550 ms, reduction potential of 0 V, and reduction time of 400 ms was applied to the Au electrode for detecting chloride ion concentration in milk. The approach is rapid and automatic and features a detection limit of 0.005 g/L. The relative standard deviation obtained by 60 repetitive injections reached 1.48% at 2 g/L of NaCl. The method developed using the Au electrode without modification was used to analyze the chloride ion concentration in raw milk without preprocessing. The method showed good agreement with potentiometric titration.

Spatial metabolome of biosynthesis and metabolism in Cyclocarya paliurus leaves.

A large number of plant metabolites were discovered, but their biosynthetic and metabolic pathways are still largely unknown. However, the spatial distribution of metabolites and their changes in metabolic pathways can be supplemented by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) techniques. For this purpose, the combination of desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)-MSI and non-targeted metabolomics was used to obtain the spatial distribution information of metabolites in the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja (C. paliurus). The sample pretreatment method was optimized to have higher detection sensitivity in DESI. The changes of metabolites in C. paliurus were analyzed in depth with the integration of the spatial distribution information of metabolites. The main pathways for biosynthesis of flavonoid precursor and the effect of changes in compound structure on the spatial distribution were found. Spatial metabolomics can provide more metabolite information and a platform for the in-depth understanding of the biosynthesis and metabolism in plants.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Pueraria lobata Provides Candidate Genes Involved in Puerarin Biosynthesis and Its Regulation.

Pueraria lobata is a traditional Chinese herb in which an isoflavone C-glucoside, namely puerarin, has received the utmost interest due to its medicinal properties. To date, the biogenesis of puerarin, especially its C-glucosyl reaction in the pathway, remains poorly understood. Moreover, the transcription factors (TFs) that regulate puerarin biosynthesis in P. lobata have not been reported. Here, we performed phytochemical studies on the different developmental stages of the root, stem, and leaf tissues of two P. lobata cultivars, which suggested that both the roots and stems of P. lobata were the sites of puerarin biosynthesis. RNA-sequencing was conducted with the root and stem tissues of the two cultivars under different stages, and the clean reads were mapped to the recently published genome of P. lobata var. thomsonii, yielding the transcriptome dataset. A detailed analysis of the gene expression data, gene coexpression network, and phylogeny proposed several C-GTs that likely participate in puerarin biosynthesis. The first genome-wide analysis of the whole MYB superfamily in P. lobata presented here identified a total of 123 nonredundant PlMYB genes that were significantly expressed in the analyzed tissues. The phylogenetic analysis of PlMYBs with other plant MYB proteins revealed strong PlMYB candidates that may regulate the biosynthesis of isoflavones, such as puerarin.

Nontargeted metabolomics coupled with multivariate modelling techniques for discrimination of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Ijinskaja leaves from different geographic altitudes.

Altitude-associated nutrition-compositional evaluation is critical for quality control and value determination of plants. Herein, an exploratory study was applied to investigate the differences in the metabolites of Cyclocarya paliurus (CP) leaves from different altitudes (200-1000 m) using a UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics method, employed to create models for discrimination of CP leaves. On the one hand, 70 metabolites exhibiting significant distinctions within various components in different altitude environments were detected and identified, of which majority showed a close connection. High altitude environments with a decrease in temperature accompanied by enhanced UV-B radiation significantly influenced the profile of flavonoids and organic acids. On the other hand, the PLS-DA model (R2 = 0.994 and Q2 = 0.990) with the VIP variable selection method and P-value were selected to characterize fifteen potential differential metabolites. Moreover, the DD-SIMCA model involving the above-mentioned differential compounds showed both good specificity and accuracy of 100%. These results provide guidance for the discrimination of CP leaves from different geographic altitudes, which may be extended to improve the growing conditions of CP leaves.

[Determination of chlorate and perchlorate in milk power by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

An analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed for detecting chlorate and perchlorate residues in milk power. Chlorate and perchlorate in milk power were extracted using a 0.1% (v/v) formic acid-acetonitrile solution. The extract was centrifuged at 10000 r/min for 10 min, and the supernatant was cleaned up on a PRiME HLB column. Separation of chlorate and perchlorate was performed on an ion-exchange column (Thermo Scientific Acclaim TRINITY P1, 50 mm×2.1 mm, 3 µm) by gradient elution using acetonitrile and 20 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution as the mobile phase. The analytes were identified by MS/MS. Quantification was achieved using internal standards. Chlorate and perchlorate demonstrated good linearity in the ranges of 2.0-40.0 and 1.0-20.0 µg/L, respectively, with correlation coefficients (r2) greater than 0.999. The limits of quantification (LOQs) of chlorate and perchlorate were found to be 15.0 and 7.5 µg/kg, respectively. The recoveries of chlorate and perchlorate ranged from 89.24% to 107.85% at the three spike levels of 30.0, 60.0, and 120.0, and 15.0, 30.0, and 60.0 µg/kg, respectively, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 3.15% to 10.42% (n=6). This method is convenient, rapid, accurate, and efficient, thus demonstrating its suitability for use in the determination of chlorate and perchlorate in milk power.