Volume 58, Issue 1-2

The siderophores produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens G173 are unusual in several respects. So far all pyoverdins with a C-terminal cyclopeptidic substructure have in common that the ε-amino group of an in-chain Lys is bound amidically to the carboxyl group of a C-terminal Ser or Thr and that N 5 -formyl-N 5 -hydroxy Orn (FoOHOrn) is the next amino acid after Lys. FoOHOrn may (cyclotetrapeptidic structures) be or may not (cyclotripeptidic structures) be followed by a further amino acid. In the pyoverdin described here Orn instead of Lys is the amino acid forming the cycle, FoOHOrn is replaced by AcOHOrn which does not follow the branching Orn but is the penultimate amino acid and finally the last amino acid is Asp. The producing strain which had been classified as Pseudomonas fluorescens may well be a new species. Pyoverdins are frequently accompanied by ferribactins which are considered to be their biogenetic precursors. They always have the same amino acid chain as the co-occurring pyoverdins but the pyoverdin chromophore is replaced by a condensation product of ʟ-Dab and ᴅ-Tyr with the amino group of Tyr bound to the γ-carboxyl group of Glu. A ferribactin having these structural characteristics is produced by the investigated strain, but it is accompanied by derivatives where the α-amino group of Glu is partially or completely transformed into a hydroxamic acid by substitution with a hydroxyl and/or acetyl group

The detailed investigation of a methanolic extract of aerial parts of Achillea nobilis resulted in the isolation of 10 flavonoids. A new C-glycosylflavone, luteolin-6-C-apiofuranosyl-(1‴→2″)-glucoside, was isolated besides orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, isoschaftoside, luteolin- 7-O-β-glucuronide, luteolin-4′-O-β-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-methyl ether and two rare flavonolglycosides, quercetin-3-O-α-arabinosyl-(1‴→6″ )-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-methylether-7-O-β-glucoside. The structures were established either by comparison with authentic substances or by UV, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR spectroscopic methods including 2ᴅ-NMR techniques and ESI-MS

Two new hydroazulenoid (prenyl guaiane) diterpenes, dictyone acetate (2) and 3,4-epoxy 13-hydroxy pachydictyol A (4) were isolated from the petroleum ether fraction of the alcoholic extract of the brown alga, Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux, which was collected from the Red Sea coasts at Hurgada, Egypt, together with three known ones, pachydictyol A (1), dictyone (3) and 11-hydroxypachydictyol A (dictyol E) (5). In addition, the steroidal compound, stigmasta-5,(E)-24(28)-dien-3-β-ol (fucosterol) (6) was also isolated. The structures of the isolated compounds have been determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidences as well as physical and chemical correlation with known compounds. Compounds 1, 2, 3 and 5 showed moderate cytotoxic activity

The aerial parts of Fagonia boveana afforded two new erythroxane-type diterpenes, 3β, 15, 16-trihydroxy-erythrox-4(18)-ene (2) and 15, 16-dihydroxy-cis-ent-erythrox-3-ene (fagonene) (3) together with two known ones; 16-O-acetylfagonone (1) and 7β-hydroxy fagonene (8). Also a new guaiane sesquiterpene alcohol, 6,10-epoxy-4α-hydroxy guaiane type sesquiterpene (4) has been isolated In addition three 8-methoxy flavonols, 8-methoxy-quercetin-3, 7, 3′-trimethyl ether (ternatin) (5), gossypetin, 3, 8, 3′, 4′ tetramethyl ether (6) and herbacetin- 3, 8-dimethyl ether (7) were also isolated. The structures of the isolated compounds have been determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidences as well as physical and chemical correlation with known compounds. On performing different assays for biological activities, 6 displayed significant cytotoxic activity against KA3IT and NIH3T3 cell lines, 8 was the most active antiviral against Herpes simplex type 1 while 7 was the most active cancer-preventive agent using protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitory method

Cytotoxicity-guided fractionation of the alcohol extract of the brown alga, Cystoseira myrica, afforded four new cytotoxic hydroazulene diterpenes, dictyone acetate (2), dictyol F monoacetate (4), isodictytriol monoacetate (6), and cystoseirol monoacetate (8), together with two known cytotoxic hydroazulene diterpenes, pachydictyol A (1) and dictyone (3). The constitution of each isolated compound has been determined on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidence

Two new 3,4 dihydroxycinnamic acid esters have been isolated from Plazia daphnoides. The structures were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy

Hairy root cultures were obtained from diploid and induced tetraploid plants of Datura stramonium and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Twenty alkaloids (19 for diploid and 9 for tetraploid hairy root cultures) were identified. A new tropane ester 3-tigloyloxy-6-propionyloxy-7-hydroxytropane was identified on the basis of mass spectral data. Hyoscyamine was the main alkaloid in both diploid and tetraploid cultures. In contrast to diploid hairy roots, the percentage contributions of the alkaloids, with exceptions for hyoscyamine and apoatropine, were higher in the total alkaloid mixture of tetraploid hairy roots

The new flavonoid glycoside kaempferol-3-O-α→ʟ-rhamnopyranosyl(1→ 2)-O-[α-ʟ-rhamnopyranosyl( 1→6)]-O-β-ᴅ-galactopyranoside-7-O-α-ʟ-rhamnopyranoside was isolated together with (S)-zierin from the leaves of Zollernia ilicifolia (Fabaceae), a medicinal plant used as analgesic and antiulcerogenic effects in Brazilian Tropical Atlantic Rain Forest. The structures were established on the basis of 1 H, 13 C NMR and 2D NMR (COSY, HMBC, HMQC), UV, MS and IV spectra. The infusion of Zollernia ilicifolia was qualitatively compared to the infusion of the espinheiras-santas (Maytenus aquifolium and Maytenus ilicifolia) by HPLCDAD

Several papers have appeared in the literature since 1992 which refer to a major “isoflavonoid” antioxidant in young green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare) as 2″-O-glucosylisovitexin. In the present paper the original NMR data supporting this structural assignment are examined and found to have been misinterpreted. HPLC and NMR data are used to prove that the major flavonoid antioxidants in young green barley leaves are in fact the flavone-C-glycosides, saponarin and lutonarin

The chemical composition of the essential oils of five natural populations of P. ovalifolia from central and southwest China and their interpopulation variability were first analyzed by using GC-MS. Twenty-two essential oil compounds were obtained, in which eighteen ones were identified and characterized representing 95%-96% of the oil composition. Three main chemotypes, i. e., the methyl-acetyl-hydroquinone-rich, hydroquinone-rich, and acetyl-hydroquinone-rich chemotypes, were then differentiated, corresponding to the three groups obtained from the cluster analysis based on the essential oil composition percentages. Genetic variations among the five populations were also investigated using the Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers. Finally, the Mantel test showed that there was a significant correlation between two distance matrices based on the chemical compounds of essential oils and ISSR markers, confirming the congruence of interpopulation relationships in the P. ovalifolia revealed by the chemical and molecular markers

Pleurotus ostreatus strains were cultured in liquid medium and on wheat straw. The yields of lovastatin were compared

Bilobetin and 4‴-O-methylamentoflavone were isolated and identified in the needles of Taxus baccata, for the first time in this species. The antifungal activity of biflavones from T. baccata and Ginkgo biloba, namely amentoflavone, 7-O-methylamentoflavone, bilobetin, ginkgetin, sciadopitysin and 2,3-dihydrosciadopitysin towards the fungi Alternaria alternata, Fusarium culmorum, Cladosporium oxysporum was determined employing computer-aided image analysis couplet to a microscope. Bilobetin exhibited a significant antifungal activity with values of ED 50 14, 11 and 17 μm respectively. This compound completely inhibited the growth of germinating tubes of Cladosporium oxysporum and Fusarium culmorum at a concentration 100 μm. Activity of ginkgetin and 7-O-methylamentoflavone towards Alternaria alternata was stronger than that of bilobetin. Moreover, slight structural changes in the cell wall of Alternaria alternata exposed to ginkgetin at concentration of 200 μm were observed

The Argentinean legume Caesalpinia paraguariensis Burk. (Fabaceae) was selected for further fractionation work based on the strong antimicrobial activity of its CH 2 Cl 2 -MeOH (1:1 v/v) extract against a host of clinically significant microorganisms, including antibiotic resistant strains. 1D and 2D NMR enabled the identification of the novel benzoxecin derivative caesalpinol along with the known compounds bilobetin, stigma-5-en-3-O-β-6′-stearoyl-glucopyranoside, stigma-5-en-3-β-6′-palmitoylglucopyranoside, stigma-5-en-3-β-glucopyranoside, oleanolic acid, 3-O-(E)-hydroxycinnamoyl oleanolic acid, betulinic acid, 3-O-(E)- hydroxycinnamoyl betulinic acid, and lupeol from the active fractions. Oleanolic acid was found active against Bacillus subtilis and both methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus with MICs of 8 (17.5 μm), 8 and 64 (140 μm) μg/ml, respectively. The rest of the compounds, however, did not show activity

To investigate the feasibility of using fresh water from Mangueira Lagoon (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) for biomass production in open raceway ponds (0.7 m long, 0.18 m wide, 0.075 m deep) we studied the influence of nutrient addition (carbon as sodium bicarbonate, nitrogen as urea, phosphate, sulfate, ferric iron, magnesium and potassium) on the growth rate of the cyanobacteria Spirulina platensis using a 2 2 factorial design. In unsupplemented lagoon water production of S. platensis was 0.78 ± 0.01 g/l (dry weight basis) while the addition of 2.88 g/l of sodium bicarbonate (without added urea, phosphate, sulfate or metal ions) resulted in 0.82 ± 0.01 g/l after 400 hours of culture. The further addition of phosphate and metal ions resulted in growth for up to 750 h and a final S. platensis biomass of 1.23 ± 0.04 to 1.34 ± 0.03 g/l

The movements of the lateral leaflets of the Indian telegraph plant Desmodium gyrans (L. F.) DC, have earlier been studied in detail with regards to the effects of chemicals, DC currents, and static magnetic fields. In the present paper we have discussed the oscillation of the lateral leaflets under the influence of white light of various light levels (0-75 μmol · m -2 · s -1 ), produced by an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes). LEDs were used in contrast to fluorescense tubes as in earlier studies in order to minimize changes of wavelength when light intensity was decreased or increased. Furthermore, care was taken to ensure that the temperature in the experimental chamber was constant. When the oscillations were first monitored in bright light, the oscillations were found to be very rapid and with decreasing light intensity the oscillations slowed down. For light levels lower than about 20 μmol · m -2 · s -1 the period of the oscillation of the lateral leaflets was almost constant (or even decreased slightly towards complete darkness). We also show that the oscillations could completely stop under prolonged darkness (for longer than about 6 h) and that such halted oscillations could be restarted in most of the leaflets when he light was turned back on. Such stopping of the oscillation of the lateral leaflets in prolonged darkness suggests that these short period oscillations of the lateral leaflets could have a daily component and in natural environment these oscillations could serve the purpose of optimising the amount of light falling on the leaflets or/and facilitating transpiration of water through stomata. Such a finding could have an implication for the answer to the long standing question of adaptive significance of short period oscillation of the Indian telegraph plant Desmodium gyrans (L.F.) DC

Fifteen bacterial monocultures were isolated from lubricant-contaminated wastewater of an electric power station in Sofia. Six isolates showed best growth in liquid media with 1.5% hexadecane, and on mineral salt agar plates supplemented with one of the following hydrocarbons: n-hexadecane, paraffin, kerosene and samples of wastewater. The ability of all isolates to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and surface-active glycolipids was assessed on the basis of their growth on hydrocarbons. The study of this relatively closed micro-ecosystem revealed the existence of well-balanced microbial consortium where different members have their own role and support each other. On this basis, an alternative approach is proposed for bioaugmented clean up of wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons and organic polymers using a mixed culture of indigenous bacteria that combines the best producers of glycolipids and hydrolytic enzymes

Flash-induced photosynthetic oxygen evolution was measured in cells and thylakoid preparations from the coccoid cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 and from the filamentous cyanobacterium Oscillatoria chalybea. The resulting characteristic flash patterns from these cyanobacteria can be chemically altered by addition of exogenously added substances like CCCP, DCPiP and inorganic salts. Potassium chloride, manganese sulfate and calcium chloride affected the sequences by specific increases in the flash yield and/or effects on the transition parameters. Chloride appeared to exert the strongest stimulatory effect on the oxygen yield. In comparison to chloride, both manganese and calcium did not significantly stimulate the flash amplitudes as such, but improved the functioning of the oxygen evolving complex by decreasing the miss parameter α. Particular effects were observed with respect to the time constants of the relaxation kinetics of the first two flash signals Y 1 /Y 2 of the cyanobacterial patterns. In the presence of the investigated chemicals the amplitudes of the first two flash signals (Y 2 in particular) were increased and the relaxation kinetics were enhanced so that the time constant became about identical to the conditions of steady state oxygen flash amplitudes. The results provide further evidence against a possible participation of either PS I or respiratory processes to Y 1 /Y 2 of cyanobacterial flash patterns. Dramatic effects were observed when protoplasts from Oscillatoria chalybea or cells from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 were exposed to weak far red background illumination. Under these conditions, Y 2 (and to a smaller extent Y 1 ) of otherwise unchanged flash sequences were specifically modified. Y 2 was substantially increased and again the relaxation kinetics were accelerated making the signal indistinguishable from a Y ss signal. From the mathematical fit of the sequences we conclude that S 2 contributes to 10-20% of the S-state distribution (in comparison to 0% in the control). Thus, far red background illumination might represent a valuable means for photosynthetic investigations where high amounts of S 2 are required like e.g. EPR measurements. In such experiments the corresponding EPR signals appeared substantially enhanced following far red preillumination (Ahrling and Bader, unpublished observations). Our results clearly show that the ‚controversial results‘ from parts of the literature suggesting the participation of different mechanisms (net oxygen evolution, inhibited uptake processes etc.) are not required to explain the flash-induced oxygen evolution in cyanobacteria: the seemingly ‚incompatible‘ conditions and conformations can be perfectly interconverted by different modulation techniques (chemicals, far red) of the respective redox condition within the water oxidation complex of photosynthesis

Four new platinum(II) complexes of 3-aminocyclopentanespiro-5-hydantoin (acpsh) and 3-aminocycloheptanespiro-5-hydantoin (achpsh) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and 1 NMR spectra. The spectral analyses indicated a cis-square planar structure of the complexes with ligands coordinated via the NH 2 group. The complexes were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxicity in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, clone F4N, using cell-growth and macromolecular synthesis assay. The compounds, with exception of [Pt(NH 3 )(achpsh)Cl 2 ] (IV), exhibited much lower cytotoxicity than that of cisplatin (DDP). Compound IV was nearly as cytotoxic as DDP. The new complexes exerted low antibacterial activity as assessed by seven bacterial strains

Both enantiomers of (3S)-(-)- and (3R)-(+)-Neodictyoprolenol [(3S,5Z,8Z)-(-)-1,5,8-unde-catrien- 3-ol] were successfully converted to the algal sex pheromone, (1S,2R)-(-)-dictyopterene B and (1R,2S)-(+)-dictyopterene B in high enantiomeric purities (e.e. > 99%), respectively, by the biomimetic reaction involving phosphorylation and elimination under a mild condition

Reproduction and olfactory behavioral responses of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), females to synthetic α-farnesene were observed in the laboratory as well as their reproduction behaviors in an apple orchard. Calling levels were lifted and ovipositional peaks were advanced in codling moth females at presence of 1μg and 0.1 μg of α-farnesene, respectively. Mated females of codling moth more actively responded to 0.01 μg α-farnesene with walking and wing-fanning while walking than to other doses (0.001, 0.1, 1, 10 μg ) and control. The results show that α-farnesene plays important roles in the behaviors of codling moth females. However, the differences between responses to α-farnesene and those to apple volatiles by codling moth females indicate that components other than α-farnesene in apple volatiles also have biological activities

This report describes an intervention study with healthy volunteers (20 smokers, 28 nonsmokers) taking a food additive mainly containing vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (α- tocopherol), ubiquinone (Q10), vitamin A and zinkoxide for four weeks in a double blind, randomized and placebo controlled manner. Before and after the intervention blood was withdrawn and general blood parameters were analyzed. In addition, lipid soluble antioxidants were analyzed in blood plasma by HPLC and the water soluble antioxidative properties were testet with the enzymic xanthin/xanthinoxidase-reaction. In summary the results show that the smoker-verum group exhibit a significant down regulation of the leukocyte counts. The test for antioxidants show the following significant differences after intervention: Smokers exhibit an increase of both vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 and an attenuation of their (before intervention) clearly increased water soluble - antioxidative potential, nonsmokers showed only an increase of vitamin E and trends of an increase of Q10 and water soluble-antioxidative potential. These results may contribute to the discussion of the intrinsic deficiency brought about by smoking and the possible attenuation of part of these deficiency by increasing the intake of certain vitamins or food additives

The antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) of spleen lymphocytes, isolated fromhamsters with progressing myeloid Graffi tumor, was studied. The effect of the application of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, isolated from the fungal strain Humicola lutea (HL SOD), before and during tumor transplantation on the lymphocyte ADCC was examined. Myeloid Graffi tumor cells as target cells were used. Antibodies from a rabbit hyper-immune anti-tumor Graffi cells serum, or from tumor-bearing hamsters serum were used in the test. The leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) in the presence of tumor antigenwas examined also during tumor progression. ADCC of the spleen lymphocytes, determined by both, rabbit and hamster anti-tumor antibodies, decreased during tumor progression. The optimum treatment of the animals by HL SOD induced a 20-30% increase of lymphocyte cytotoxicity againstmyeloid Graffi tumor cells. Cytotoxicity in presence of tumor bearing hamsters serum was twofold lower as compared to that one determined in the presence of rabbit hyper-immune anti-myeloid Graffi tumor cells serum. Leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) index in the presence of tumor antigen increased during tumor development in the groups of treated and untreated animals. The LAI indices of HL SOD-treated tumor-bearing hamsters were lower than that of untreated animals with tumors, what can be explained by a higher adherence ability of leukocytes induced by HL SOD treatment (in formula for calculation of LAI index the adherence value is in the denominator). The results show the beneficial effect of HL SOD on the cell- mediated immune response of myeloid Graffi tumor bearing hamsters, what is probably due to the participation of the enzyme in the host’s oxidant-antioxidant balance

ʟ-Trp and its derivatives were used as model compounds to clarify structural factors which influence the intestinal epithelial permeation and metabolism of amino-acid derivatives. Permeability of model compounds through Caco-2 cells was used as an in vitro absorption model for human intestinal epithelial cells. The influence of compound concentration, the effects of various transporter substrates on permeability coefficients, and pH dependency of permeability coefficients were investigated. The transcellular permeability of Trp and Trp-NH 2 in the direction from the apical side to the basolateral side, in which nutrients and drugs were ordinarily absorbed, declined with increasing concentration and saturated at more than 1 and 0.4 mᴍ, respectively. The permeability coefficients for N-terminal protected Trp derivatives and Ac-Trp-NH 2 showed similar and constant values in both from the apical-to-basolateral and basolateral-to-apical directions. In addition, significant inhibition of the apical-tobasolateral permeation of Trp by Leu and Phe was observed. The permeability coefficient ratio at pH 6.3 to that at pH 7.3 was explained by the ratio of the ionic form to the neutral form of the compounds. Based upon these results and the partition coefficients in the 1-octanol/water system, possible absorption mechanism of Trp and its derivatives across Caco- 2 cells was proposed

Hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) was applied for determination of selenium content in dried aerial parts of wild and cultivated Teucrium species (Lamiaceae) growing in Croatia: T. arduini L., T. chamaedrys L., T. flavum L., T. montanum L., T. polium L., and T. scordium L. subsp. scordioides Schreb. Special attention was paid to the wet oxidation procedure for the sample dissolution. The proposed procedure involved microwave-assisted sample digestion using a mixture of HNO 3 /H 2 O 2 . Wild specimens generally had a higher content of selenium, with concentrations of 0.030-0.095 mg/kg of the dry drug. Cultivated plants contained 0.020-0.055 mg Se/kg

The genus Achillea L. includes more than 100 species and is a polyploid complex of di-, tetra-, hexa- and octaploids, individuals

The functional role of clusterin in apoptosis was examined using flow cytometry. Clusterin cDNA was transfected into the mouse neuroblastoma cell line, B103, in order to determine if clusterin overexpression inhibits apoptosis. The increased clusterin expression level in the B103 cells tended to suppress the apoptotic index. This suggests an association of clusterin gene expression with apoptosis inhibition. These results support the conclusion that clusterin expression in B103 cells has an antiapoptotic influence