OBJECTIVE: Under- and overnutrition are associated with a worse prognosis and constitute independent risk factors for morbidity and mortality. It is increasingly important to understand the factors that affect nutritional and metabolic statuses. The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between the pepsinogen I/II ratio and several ...

This work reports isolation of an unusual lignan with a bicyclic [2.2.2] octene skeleton, named rufescenolide (1), from stems of Cordia rufescens, along with β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, syringaldehyde, 3-β-O-d-glucopyranosyl-sitosterol, methyl caffeate, 4-methoxy-protocatechuic acid and methyl rosmarinate. Structural characterizations employed IR spectroscopic, ESIHRMS and mono and dimensional NMR spectroscopy.

A new flavellagic acid derivative, 3,3',4,4'-tetra-O-methylflavellagic acid and six known compounds were isolated from the stems of Rhodomyrtus tomentosa while a new phloroglucinol, named rhodomyrtosone I, and six known compounds were isolated from the fruit. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses as well as by comparisons with related compounds.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) accumulate in mammalian testis during puberty and are essential for fertility. To investigate whether lysophospholipid acyltransferases determine the PUFA composition of testicular phospholipids during pubertal development, we compared their mRNA expression, in vitro activity, and specificity with the lipidomic profile of major phospholipids. The accumulation ...

A new diterpene, named yucalexin P-23 (1), together with three known compounds, yucalexin P-15 (2), protocatechuic acid (3), and catalpinic acid (4), was isolated from the stems of Manihot esculenta. Their structures were determined by means of physicochemical evidence and spectral analysis. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited antimicrobial activity.

Miscanthus×giganteus is a source of platform chemicals and bioethanol through fermentation. Cinnamates in leaves and stems were analysed by LC-ESI-MS(n). Free phenols were extracted and separated chromatographically. More than 20 hydroxycinnamates were identified by UV and LC-ESI-MS(n). Comparative LC-MS studies on the leaf extract showed isomers of O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA, ...

Measuring spatial and temporal patterns of cytochemical variation in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) colonies is necessary for understanding the role of cellular communication in spontaneous differentiation, the mechanisms of biological niche creation, and structure-generating developmental processes. Such insights will ultimately facilitate directed differentiation and therewith promote advances in tissue ...

Here, we report the first bioluminescent stem-loop probe, which is 50 times more sensitive and able to achieve a LOD 25 times lower than fluorescent stem-loop probes. Chemical generation of a signal from Renilla luciferase reduces background noise for improved quantitative utility in nucleic acid biomarker detection.

Microaeration (injecting air into the headspace) improved the fermentation of hemicellulose hydrolysates obtained from the phosphoric acid pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse at 170°C for 10min. In addition, with 10% slurries of phosphoric acid pretreated bagasse (180°C, 10min), air injection into the headspace promoted xylose utilization and increased ethanol yields from ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Betulinic acid (BA) is a naturally occurring triterpenoid widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. We previously reported that BA inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced interleukin-6 production through modulation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs). This study attempted to identify other mechanisms through which ...

Clinical evidence implicates peripheral inflammatory diseases as comorbid factors in epilepsy. The present study was designed to determine the effect of the acute phase of antiviral response on seizure susceptibility. Young adult mice were intraperitoneally injected with 12 mg/kg of a viral mimic, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (PIC). After 48 h, seizures were induced ...

The biodegradability of three types of bioplastic pots was evaluated by measuring carbon dioxide produced from lab-scale compost reactors containing mixtures of pot fragments and compost inoculum held at 58°C for 60days. Biodegradability of pot type A (composed of 100% polylactic acid (PLA)) was very low (13±3%) compared to literature ...

Following tissue injury, monocytes can enter the tissue and differentiate into fibroblast-like cells called fibrocytes, but little is known about what regulates this differentiation. Extracellular matrix contains high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HMWHA; ∼2×10(6) Da). During injury, HMWHA breaks down to low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMWHA; ∼0.8-8×10(5) Da). In ...

Nonproteinogenic α- or β-amino acids have attracted tremendous attention, as they are widely utilized for biological, biochemical, pharmaceutical, and asymmetric chemical investigations. Recently, we developed a series of new strategies for preparing achiral and chiral nickel(ii) complexes for the synthesis of amino acids. We applied these new methods utilizing chiral ...

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques were used to elucidate the structure of an exopolysaccharide material previously revealed to be important in formation of aerobic granules. The 1D NMR spectral data acquired showed that this gel-forming polysaccharide was a major component of granular EPS, while 1D and 2D NMR spectra showed ...

Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) are anionic polymers that play key roles in bacterial cell shape, cell division, envelope integrity, biofilm formation, and pathogenesis. B. subtilis W23 and S. aureus both make polyribitol-phosphate (RboP) WTAs and contain similar sets of biosynthetic genes. We use in vitro reconstitution combined with genetics to show ...

Enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL), isolated from the enzymatic hydrolysis residues of the biomass, was liquefied using the mixed solvents of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and glycerol at the temperature of 130-170°C with sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The influences of liquefaction parameters, such as the molecular weight of PEG, mass ratio of ...

The cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus is characterized by an extremely high degree of cross-linking within its peptidoglycan (PGN). Penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) is required for the synthesis of this highly cross-linked peptidoglycan. We found that wall teichoic acids, glycopolymers attached to the peptidoglycan and important for virulence in Gram-positive ...

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was produced from monosaccharide (fructose and glucose), polysaccharide (inulin) and the Jerusalem artichoke juice by a simple one-pot reaction including hydrolysis and dehydration using solid acid under mild condition. Hydrated niobium pentoxide (Nb(2)O(5)·nH(2)O(2)) after pretreatment showed high catalytic activities for dehydration of mono- and polysaccharide to HMF at ...

Lipovitellin (Lv), a glycolipoprotein, is a major component of the egg yolk, which is usually regarded as an energy reserve of nutrients essential for growth and development. We have purified Lv from ovulated eggs of the rosy barb Puntius conchonius by two-step chromatography and characterized it by staining with periodic ...

Leek (Allium porrum) is very commonly used vegetable in Bulgaria and is distinctive with high content of bioactive components1. Previously2 we obtained five crude pectic polysaccharides from leek through consecutive extraction. Some of them appeared to be good stimulators of the immune system. Schols and Voragen3 investigated the composition of ...

Extraction and characterisation of hemicelluloses are very important for converting them into functional materials and chemicals. To develop a method for isolation of hemicelluloses from all cell walls. Sequential steps using 90% dioxane, 80% acidic dioxane, 100% dimethyl sulphoxide and 8% NaOH were used for extraction of the hemicellulosic preparations ...

Polysaccharide lyases (PLs) have been assigned to 21 families based on their sequences, with ~ 50 singletons awaiting further classification. For 19 of these families, the structure of at least one protein is known. In this review, we have analyzed the available structural information and show that presently known PL families ...

Cross-links between plant cell wall polymers negatively impact forage digestibility. Hydroxycinnamates and their oligomers act as cross-links between polysaccharides and/or polysaccharides and lignin. Higher ferulate oligomers such as dehydrotrimers were identified in cereal grains but not in vegetative organs of grasses. The aim of this study was to characterize ester-linked ...

Porcine intestinal mucosa heparin was partially depolymerized by recombinant heparinase 1 (heparin lyase 1, originating from Flavobacterium heparinum and expressed in Escherichia coli) and then fractionated, leading to the isolation of 22 homogeneous oligosaccharides with sizes ranging from disaccharide to hexadecasaccharide. The purity of these oligosaccharides was determined by gel ...

We examined the responses of ultraviolet-absorbing compounds (UVAC) to enhanced UV-B radiation in the aquatic liverwort Jungermannia exsertifolia subsp. cordifolia for 31 days under laboratory conditions. Samples were exposed to three radiation regimes: P (only photosynthetic radiation), PA (photosynthetic + UV-A radiation) and PAB (photosynthetic + UV-A + UV-B radiation). ...

The cell walls in the elongating zone of submerged floating rice internodes show high susceptibility to expansins. When internode sections corresponding to such an elongation zone were incubated for 24h under osmotic stress conditions produced by treatment with 100mM polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG), the cell wall susceptibility to expansins remained ...

Polysaccharides constitute one of the main groups of wine macromolecules, and the difficulty in separating and purifying them has resulted in them being less studied than other wine macromolecules. In this study, the biological activity of a number of polysaccharide fractions obtained from yeast lees, must, and wine has been ...

Fruit of Zizyphus jujuba Mill, a traditional Chinese herb widely consumed in Asian countries, has been reported to possess several vital biological activities. This study intends to develop an appropriate analytical method for isolation of polysaccharides from Z. jujuba fruits and evaluate their antioxidant activity. Initially, powdered Z. jujuba fruits ...

Pectin is a group of carbohydrate polymers constructing the primary cell walls and the middle lamella of terrestrial plants. Herein, we demonstrated the structure and immunomodulatory activity of the major pectic polysaccharide DL-3B(2) isolated from the leaves of Diospyros kaki. Based on composition analysis, methylation analysis, two-step acid hydrolysis, lithium-mediated ...

We have identified an operon and characterized the functions of two genes from the severe food-poisoning bacterium, Bacillus cereus subsp. cytotoxis NVH 391-98, that are involved in the synthesis of a unique UDP-sugar, UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxyxylose (UDP-N-acetyl-xylosamine, UDP-XylNAc). UGlcNAcDH encodes a UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine 6-dehydrogenase, converting UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) to UDP-N-acetyl-glucosaminuronic acid (UDP-GlcNAcA). The second ...

The one-pot acid-catalysed conversion of mono/di/polysaccharides (inulin, xylan, cellobiose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, xylose) into 2-furfuraldehyde (FUR) or 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the presence of aluminium-containing mesoporous TUD-1 (denoted as Al-TUD-1, Si/Al = 21), at 170 degrees C was investigated. Xylose gave 60% FUR yield after 6 h reaction; hexose-based mono/disaccharides gave ...

An acidic O-specific polysaccharide containing L-rhamnose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose, 2,6-dideoxy-2-(N-acetyl-L-threonine)amino-D-galactose, and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-mannuronic acid was obtained by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide of the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans KMM 232 (R-form) followed by gel-permeation chromatography. The polysaccharide was subjected to Smith degradation to give a modified polysaccharide with trisaccharide repeating unit containing ...

Many people prefer to eat peeled apples. The present study investigated the composition of soluble polysaccharides (SP) in peeled apples and its antioxidative and hypolipidemic activity. The yield of SP ranged 0.43-0.88%, having MW ranging 223-848 kDa. All belonged to peptidoglycans. Among the fourteen amino acids found, seven were essential ...

Endotoxins, also referred to as pyrogens, are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) present in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, and represent one of the most dangerous microbiological contaminants in water for hemodialysis and intravenous infusion. A method is presented for the simultaneous detection of endotoxins and other bacterial lysis contaminating species in ...

Raoultella terrigena strain Ez-555-6, isolated from a root nodule of Medicago sativa harvested in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, produces a non-referenced high-molecular-mass exopolysaccharide (EPS). The structure of this EPS was determined using a combination approach including monosaccharide composition (GLC-FID, HPAEC-PAD), determination of glycosylation sites (GLC-EIMS) and 1D/2D NMR ((1)H, (13)C) ...

BACKGROUND: A water-soluble polysaccharide from the seeds of Plantago asiatica L. (P. asiatica L. polysaccharide, PLP) was extracted with hot water and purified by gel filtration chromatography. The chemical characteristics of PLP were determined by high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In addition, the antioxidant ...

Acids, sugars, and sugar alcohols in the fruits of 22 cultivars/origins of three species of hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Citric acid (2.0-8.4 g/100 g dry mass [DM]), quinic acid (0.5-5.6 g/100 g DM), malic acid (0.3-1.1 g/100 g DM), fructose (5.5-18.4 g/100 g ...

LysB, a mycobacteriophage Ms6-encoded protein, was previously identified as a lipolytic enzyme able to hydrolyse the ester bond in lipase and esterase substrates. In the present work, we show that LysB can hydrolyse lipids containing mycolic acids from the outer membrane of the mycobacterial cell wall. LysB was shown to ...

Bacteria are an inimitable source of new glyco-structures potentially useful in medicinal and environmental chemistry. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS; endotoxins) are the major components of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria; being exposed toward the external environment they can undergo structural changes and thus, they often possess peculiar chemical features that allow ...

Gram-reaction-positive, aerobic, non-spore-forming, irregular rod-shaped bacteria, designated AHU1821(T) and AHU1820, were isolated from an ice wedge in the Fox permafrost tunnel, Alaska. The strains were psychrophilic, growing at -5 to 27 °C. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences indicated that the ice-wedge isolates formed a clade distinct ...

On mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide of Escherichia coli O108, the O-polysaccharide was isolated and studied by sugar analysis and one- and two-dimensional 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The polysaccharide was found to contain an unusual higher sugar, 5,7-diacetamido-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-l-glycero-d-galacto-non-2-ulosonic acid (di-N-acetyl-8-epilegionaminic acid, 8eLeg5Ac7Ac). The following structure of the tetrasaccharide repeating ...

Teichoic acids are a major constituent of the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria. Structural characterization of lipoteichoic and teichoic acids isolated from Lactobacillus brevis was undertaken using 1D and 2D NMR experiments as well as chemical methodology. Compositional analysis indicated the presence of high amounts of glycerol, glucose, and alanine. ...

Neutral polysaccharides (NTPS) and acid polysaccharides (ATPS) from tea leaves were obtained on a D315 macroporous anion-exchange resin column chromatography. NTPS and ATPS were sulfated by the pyridine-sulfonic acid method to obtain NTPS-S and ATPS-S. It was found that NTPS was easier sulfated than ATPS. There are strong characteristic absorption ...

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analyses of several oligosaccharides (aldoses) and oligosaccharide alditols derived from agaroses, kappa- and iota-carrageenans using different matrices (2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, nor-harmane, ferulic acid, and the ionic liquid matrices 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid-n-butylamine and ferulic acid-n-butylamine) were conducted. These carbohydrates were selected as model compounds to study the MALDI prompt and ...

The polysaccharide composition of cell wall of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus var. Schattenmorelle) fruit and pomace was investigated. Furthermore, the alcohol insoluble solids composition of 'Kelleriis' and 'Dobreczyn Botermo' varieties were studied too. Yield of alcohol insoluble solids for fruits was lower than 10%, and for pomaces circa 50%. Uronic ...

Cell walls of Bacillus subtilis VKM B-760 and VKM B-764 are characterized by heterogeneous composition of teichoic acids. Polymer I with structure -6)-beta-D-Galp-(1-->1)-sn-Gro-(3-P-, polymer II with structure -6)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->1)-sn-Gro-(3-P-, and a small amount of unsubstituted 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) were detected in strain VKM B-760. Strain VKM B-764 contains an analogous set of ...

Burkholderia kururiensis, strain M130, an endophytic diazotrophic bacterium isolated from rice roots, produces acetylated acidic exopolysaccharides which can be separated by anion exchange chromatography. These were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, methylation analysis and Smith degradation. The exopolysaccharides eluted with 0.5 M NaCl were produced when the bacterium was ...

Staphylococci and most other Gram-positive bacteria incorporate complex teichoic acid (TA) polymers into their cell envelopes. Several crucial roles in Staphylococcus aureus fitness and cell wall maintenance have been assigned to these polymers, which are either covalently linked to peptidoglycan (wall teichoic acid, WTA) or to the cytoplasmic membrane (lipoteichoic ...

To investigate the protective effect of subserosal injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) after endoscopic resection (ER) using ex vivo and in vivo studies. As the first examination, technical application of subserosal injection was tested 10 times using resected porcine stomachs. As the second examination, ER was applied to make six ...