Notes

Scents inside Sustainable Environments: The Aromatic Cotton Path to Paying.
Prenyl-2-orcinol (4) and geranylgeranyl-2-orcinol (6) showed promising activity against newly transformed schistosomula. The compounds 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 were also screened for antiproliferative or cytotoxic activity against two human cancer lines, viz. prostate adenocarcinoma cells (PC-3) and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29). Compound 6 was determined to be the most effective against both cell lines with IC50 values of 16.1 µM in PC-3 prostate cells and 33.7 µM in HT-29 colorectal cells.Cell adhesion and migration are crucial for cancer progression and malignancy. Drugs available for the treatment of metastatic melanoma are expensive and unfit for certain patients. Therefore, there is still a need to identify new drugs that block tumor cell development. We investigated the effects of Enterolobium contortisiliquum trypsin inhibitor (EcTI), a protease inhibitor, on cell viability, cell migration, invasion, cell adhesion, and cell death (hallmarks of cancer) in vitro using human melanoma cells (SK-MEL-28 and CHL-1). Although EcTI did not affect non-tumor cells, it significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and adhesion of melanoma cells. Investigation of the underlying mechanisms revealed that EcTI triggered apoptosis and nuclear shrinkage, increased PI uptake, activated effector caspases-3/7, and produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, EcTI disrupted the mitochondrial membrane potential, altered calcium homeostasis, and modified proteins associated with survival and apoptosis/autophagy regulation. Acridine orange staining indicated acidic vesicular organelle formation upon EcTI treatment, demonstrating a cell death display. Electronic microscopy corroborated the apoptotic pattern by allowing the visualization of apoptotic bodies, mitochondrial cristae disorganization, and autophagic vesicles. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the anti-cancer properties of the natural EcTI protein, establishing it as a promising new therapeutic drug for use in melanoma treatment.Daylily is a valuable plant resource with various health benefits. Its main bioactive components are phenolic compounds. In this work, four extraction methods, ultrasonic-assisted water extraction (UW), ultrasonic-assisted ethanol extraction (UE), enzymatic-assisted water extraction (EW), and enzymatic-assisted ethanol extraction (EE), were applied to extract phenolic compounds from daylily. Among the four extracts, the UE extract exhibited the highest total phenolic content (130.05 mg/100 g DW) and the best antioxidant activity. For the UE extract, the DPPH value was 7.75 mg Trolox/g DW, the FRAP value was 14.54 mg Trolox/g DW, and the ABTS value was 15.37 mg Trolox/g DW. A total of 26 phenolic compounds were identified from the four extracts, and the UE extract exhibited a higher abundance range of phenolic compounds than the other three extracts. After multivariate statistical analysis, six differential compounds were selected and quantified, and the UE extract exhibited the highest contents of all six differential compounds. The results provided theoretical support for the extraction of phenolic compounds from daylily and the application of daylily as a functional food.Rapeseed is the second most cultivated oilseed after soybean and is mainly used to produce vegetable oil. The by-product rapeseed press cake is rich in high-quality proteins, thus having the possibility of becoming a new plant protein food source. This study aimed to investigate how the precipitation pH affects the protein yield, protein content, and emulsifying properties when industrially cold-pressed rapeseed press cake is used as the starting material. Proteins were extracted under alkaline conditions (pH 10.5) with an extraction coefficient of 52 ± 2% followed by precipitation at various pH (3.0-6.5). The most preferred condition in terms of process efficiency was pH 4.0, which is reflected in the zeta potential results, where the proteins' net charge was 0 at pH 4.2. pH 4.0 also exhibited the highest protein recovery yield (33 ± 0%) and the highest protein concentration (64 ± 1%, dry basis). Proteins precipitated at pH 6.0-6.5 stabilized emulsions with the smallest initial droplet size, although emulsions stabilized by rapeseed protein precipitated at pH 5.0-6.0 showed the highest emulsion stability at 37 °C for 21 days, with a limited layer of free oil. Overall, emulsion stabilized by protein precipitated at pH 5.0 was the most stable formulation, with no layer of free oil after 21 days of incubation.Previous published data from our group showed the encouraging in vitro activities of six phenolic temozolomide (TMZ) ester analogues (ES8-ES12 and ES14) with up to a five-fold increase in potency compared to TMZ against glioblastoma multiform cell lines and TMZ-resistant O6-methylguanine-DNA methyl transferase (MGMT)-positive primary cells. This study investigated the stabilities of the six phenolic TMZ ester analogues in the presence of porcine liver esterase (PLE) as a hydrolytic enzyme, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), monitored by a diode-array detector (DAD). Determining the rates of hydrolysis of the esters provided a useful insight into the feasibility of progressing them to the next phase of drug development. Fifty percent of TMZ esters consisting of para nitro, chloro, phenyl and tolyl groups (ES9, ES10, ES12 and ES14) were hydrolysed within the first 4.2 min of PLE exposure, while the TMZ esters consisting of para methoxy and nitrile groups (ES8 and ES11) demonstrated increased stability, with 50% hydrolysis achieved in 7.3 and 13.7 min, respectively. In conclusion, the survival of these phenolic TMZ esters on route to the target site of a brain tumor would be a challenge, mainly due to the undesirable rapid rate of hydrolysis. These findings therefore pose a question regarding the effectiveness of these esters in an in vivo setting.For the first time, σ-hole interactions within like⋯like carbon-containing complexes were investigated, in both the absence and presence of the external electric field (EEF). The effects of the directionality and strength of the utilized EEF were thoroughly unveiled in the (F-C-F3)2, (F-C-H3)2, and (H-C-F3)2 complexes. In the absence of the EEF, favorable interaction energies, with negative values, are denoted for the (F-C-F3)2 and (H-C-F3)2 complexes, whereas the (F-C-H3)2 complex exhibits unfavorable interactions. Remarkably, the strength of the applied EEF exhibits a prominent role in turning the repulsive forces within the latter complex into attractive ones. The symmetrical nature of the considered like⋯like carbon-containing complexes eradicated the effect of directionality of the EEF. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), and the noncovalent interaction (NCI) index, ensured the occurrence of the attractive forces, and also outlined the substantial contributions of the three coplanar atoms to the total strength of the studied complexes. Symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) results show the dispersion-driven nature of the interactions.The aim of this work was to optimize and characterize nanocomposite films based on gellan gum methacrylate (GG-MA) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for application in the field of wound dressing. The films were produced using the solvent casting technique coupled with a photocuring process. The UV irradiation of GG-MA solutions containing glycerol as a plasticizer and different amounts of silver nitrate resulted in the concurrent crosslinking of the photocurable polymer and a reduction of Ag ions with consequent in situ generation of AgNPs. In the first part of the work, the composition of the films was optimized, varying the concentration of the different components, the GG-MA/glycerol and GG-MA/silver nitrate weight ratios as well as the volume of the film-forming mixture. Rheological analyses were performed on the starting solutions, whereas the obtained films were characterized for their mechanical properties. Colorimetric analyses and swelling studies were also performed in order to determine the AgNPs release and the water uptake capacity of the films. Finally, microbiological tests were carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of the optimized films, in order to demonstrate their possible application as dressings for the treatment of infected hard-to-heal wounds, which is a demanding task for public healthcare.Deep eutectic solvents (DES), compared to classic ones, have interesting properties, such as the ability to solubilize compounds differing in polarity or increased dissolution of selected chemical compounds. They also offer specific interactions between the mobile and stationary phases. Those features make them promising solvents in chromatographic techniques, including the use in the separation of complicated samples. The first quantitative analysis with eutectic thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is presented in the paper. As a case study, five alkaloids from Chelidonium maius were selected as target compounds. A wide range of terpene-based DESs was investigated to develop the chromatographic system, both pure and after dilution. Moreover, a novel approach was employed to adjust polarity, involving mixing DESs differing in chromatographic properties. This procedure has proved to be effective. The best results were obtained with a 21 (wt/wt) mixture of DESs camphor + phenol and menthol + limonene, with a 20% addition of methanol. The chromatographic system was validated and checked on the real sample, which made it the first applicable and operational quantitative eutectic TLC system.Twenty-five elements, including the most essential and toxic metals, were determined in fifty beer samples stored in cans and bottles by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (CVAAS) techniques. The packaging material was analyzed using the Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) technique. The control of the level of individual metals is necessary, not only to maintain the organoleptic properties of the product, but also to fulfill the standards regarding the permissible maximum concentrations. Metals can originate from different sources, including the brewing water, malt grains, hops, adjuncts, fruits, and spices. They may also come from contamination from the brewery equipment, i.e., vessels and tanks, including beer packing, storing and transporting (kegs, casks, cans). Discriminant analysis revealed that the differentiation of three types of beer (Lager, Ale, Craft) was possible, based on elemental concentrations, for the reduced data set after their selection using the Kruskal-Wallis test. read more The analysis of the impact of the packaging material (can or bottle) proved that when this parameter was used as a differentiating criterion, the difference in the content of Na, Al, Cu and Mn can be indicated. The risk assessment analysis showed that the consumption of beer in a moderate quantity did not have any adverse effect in terms of the selected element concentrations, besides Al. However, in the case of Al, the risk related to consumption can be considered, but only for the beer stored in cans produced from aluminum.
Homepage: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/lcl161.html