Free radical scavenging activity of the Japanese herbal medicine Toki-Shakuyaku-San (TJ-23) and its effect on superoxide dismutase activity,lipid peroxides,glutamate, and monoamine metabolites in aged rat brain

The free radical scavenging activity of the Japanese herbal medicine, Toki-Shakuyaku-San (TJ-23; TSUMURA & Co., Tokyo, Japan), was examined using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry. TJ-23 scavenged 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH), superoxide (O₂ ⁻), and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) dose-dependently. It also diminished carbon centered radicals (·C) generated by oxidative stress and inhibited thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) formation in mouse cortex homogenate. In addition, the effect of TJ-23 on the concentration of neurotransmitters and TBARS formation, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the cortex, hippocampus and striatum of the aged rat brain was studied. The concentrations of the metabolites of monoamines, glutamate and glutamine were decreased by 4 weeks of oral administration of TJ-23. The SOD activity of mitochondrial fraction was increased and TBARS formation was significantly suppressed. These results suggest that TJ-23 has an antioxidant action and would have a prophylactic effect against free radical-mediated neurological diseases associated with aging.     

Application of a novel bacterial consortium for mineralization of sulphonated aromatic amines

A novel bacterial consortium (TJ-2) for mineralization of aromatic amines resulting from decolorization of azo dyes was developed. Three bacterial strains were identified as Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes (TJ-21,EU072476), Pseudomonas citronellolis (TJ-22,EU072477) and Pseudomonas testosterone (TJ-23,EU072477) by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Aromatic amine mineralization under aerobic conditions was observed to be significantly higher with the consortium as compared to pure strains indicating complementary interactions among these strains. It was observed that more than 90% mineralization of aromatic amines was achieved within 18 h for different initial aromatic amines concentrations. It was also observed that aromatic amine mineralization depends upon the structure of aromatic amine. Para- and meta-hydroxy substituted aromatic amine were easily mineralized as compared to ortho-substituted which undergoes autoxidation when exposed to oxygen. The consortium was capable of mineralizing other aromatic amines, thus, conferring the possibility of application of TJ-2 for the treatment of industrial wastewaters containing aromatic amines.     

Flow injection determination of benzhexol based on its sensitizing effect on the chemiluminescent reaction of Ce(IV)–sulfite

In this paper, a novel chemiluminescent (CL) method for the determination of benzhexol has been developed by combining the flow injection technique and its sensitizing effect on the weak CL reaction between sulfite and acidic cerium(IV). A mechanism for the CL reaction has been proposed on the basis of CL spectra. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method allows the measurement of benzhexol hydrochloride over the range 0.1–10 μg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 (n = 8), a detection limit of 0.02 μg/mL (3σ), and a relative standard deviation for 2.0 μg/mL benzhexol (n = 11) of 1.65%. The utility of this method was demonstrated by determining benzhexol hydrochloride in tablets. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A flow injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of lincomycin in serum using a diperiodato-cuprate (III)-luminol system

In this paper, the novel trivalent copper–periodate complex {K₅[Cu(HIO₆)₂], DPC} has been applied in a luminol‐based chemiluminescence (CL) reaction. Coupled with flow injection (FI) technology, the FI‐CL method was proposed for the determination of lincomycin hydrochloride. The CL reaction between luminol and DPC occurred in an alkaline medium. The CL intensity could be greatly enhanced by lincomycin hydrochloride. The relative CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of lincomycin hydrochloride in the range of 1 × 10^?8 to 5 × 10^?6 g mL^?1 and the detection limit was at the 3.5 × 10^?9 g mL^?1 level. The relative standard deviation at 5 × 10^?8 g mL^?1 was 1.7% (n = 9). The sensitive method was successfully applied to the direct determination of lincomycin hydrochloride (ng mL^?1) in serum. A possible mechanism of the lumonol–DPC CL reaction was discussed by the study of the CL kinetic characteristics and the spectra of CL reaction. The oxidability of DPC was studied by means of its electrochemical response. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New luminol chemiluminescence reaction using diperiodatoargentate as oxidate for the determination of amikacin sulfate

A new chemiluminescence (CL) reaction between luminol and diperiodatoargentate {K₂ [Ag (H₂IO₆) (OH) ₂]} was observed in alkaline medium. The CL intensity could be greatly enhanced by amikacin sulfate. Therefore a new CL method for the determination of amikacin sulfate was built by combining with flow injection technology. A possible mechanism of the CL reaction was proposed via the investigation of the CL kinetic characteristics, the CL spectrum and the UV absorption spectra of some related substance. The concentration range of linear response was 5.1 × 10^?8 to 5.1 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 1.9 × 10^?8 mol L^?1 (3σ). The proposed method had good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 2.8% (n = 7) for 5.1 × 10^?7 mol L^?1 of amikacin sulfate. It was successfully applied to determine amikacin sulfate in serum. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of lansoprazole in pharmaceuticals using flow injection with rhodamine 6G–diperiodatoargentate(III) chemiluminescence detection

A chemiluminescence (CL) method based on rhodamine 6G (R6G)–diperiodatoargentate(III) (silver(III) complex) reaction in acid solution is reported for the determination of lansoprazole (LNP) combined with a flow injection (FI) technique. The most likely mechanism for CL reaction was elucidated considering reported data, spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric studies. The weak CL reaction between R6G and silver(III) complex could be magnanimously increased in the presence of LNP with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.002 mg L⁻¹ (S/N = 3), a linear range of 0.01 to 10 mg L⁻¹ (R² = 0.9997, n = 7), a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.2 to 3.2% (n = 4) and an injection throughput of 140 h⁻¹. No interference activity of commonly found excipients in LNP was detected. After LNP extraction from pharmaceutical samples, the recovery rate ranging from 93 to 110% (RSD, 1.4–3.3%, n = 4) was calculated. The results of the proposed flow CL method were assessed with a spectrophotometric approach applying paired Student's t-test and the calculated value (0.178) was lower than the distributed value (2.20) at a 95% confidence limit.     

Nickel oxide hollow microsphere for the chemiluminescence determination of tuberculostatic drug isoniazid

In this article, nickel(II) oxide (NiO) hollow microspheres (HMSs) were fabricated and used to catalyze chemiluminescence (CL) reaction. The studied CL reaction is the luminol-oxygen reaction that was used as a sensitive analytical tool for measuring tuberculostatic drug isoniazid (IND) in pharmaceutical formulations and water samples. The CL method was established based on the suppression impact of IND on the CL reaction. The NiO HMSs were produced by a simple hydrothermal method and characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. The result of essential parameters on the analytical performance of the CL method, including concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), luminol, and NiO HMSs were investigated. At the optimum conditions, the calibration curve for IND was linear in the range of 8.00 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.00 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ (R² = 0.99). A detection limit (3S) of 2.00 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ was obtained for this method. The acceptable relative standard deviation (RSD) was obtained for the proposed CL method (2.63%, n = 10) for a 5.00 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ IND solution. The mechanism of the CL reaction was also discussed.     

Road density and wetland context alter population structure of a freshwater turtle

Roads are detrimental to wildlife populations that require contiguous networks of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Many species of freshwater turtles are sensitive to habitat fragmentation caused by roads, and are susceptible to road mortality during overland migrations. The common long‐necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) is an Australian freshwater turtle that frequently moves between wetlands, and so populations may incur negative impacts from road effects. Here, we assessed the relationship between C. longicollis and road density and landscape variables within populations inhabiting 20 wetlands distributed throughout greater Melbourne, Australia. The size frequency distribution of C. longicollis at sites surrounded by high road densities was skewed towards larger individuals, but there was no difference in the frequency of juveniles between high and low road density sites. Regression modelling revealed a clear positive relationship between road density and carapace length (CL) of C. longicollis; the mean CL at a site with the highest road density was predicted to be 23% greater than mean CL at a site surrounded by no roads. Female CL was also positively related to road density. There was a clear positive relationship between wetland age and CL, although this relationship was not as strong. While there was no relationship evident between road density and the proportion of female C. longicollis at a site, more females were captured at smaller ephemeral sites surrounded by a high proportion of green open space and located near drainage lines. We did not find evidence of sex‐related differences in road effects. These results suggest that roads may be affecting C. longicollis in the study area, but the direct cause of any effects is difficult to identify.     

Chemiluminescence determination of bromhexine hydrochloride with morin as chemiluminescent reagent

A new chemiluminescence (CL) reaction was observed when cerium(IV) solution was injected into bromhexine hydrochloride–morin solution. Based on this, a flow‐injection CL method for the determination of bromhexine hydrochloride was established. A possible mechanism of the CL reaction was proposed via the investigation of the CL kinetic characteristics, the CL spectrum and the fluorescence spectra of some related substances. Under optimum conditions, the CL signal was correlated linearly with concentration of bromhexine hydrochloride over the range 2.0 × 10^–9–2.0 × 10^–7 g/mL, with a linear correlation of 0.9995. The detection limit was 9 × 10^–10 g/mL bromhexine hydrochloride and the relative standard deviation was 1.0% (c = 2.0 × 10^–8 g/mL bromhexine hydrochloride, n = 11). The method was applied to the determination of bromhexine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine samples with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physiological reactions to a change in light regime in cultured Skeletonema costatum (Bacillariophyta): implications for estimation of phytoplankton biomass

The marine planktonic diatom Skeletonema costatum (Cleve) was grown in batch culture under a 12 h light: 12 h dark (LD) regime for several generations before the experiment. At Time 0, half of the culture was transferred to continuous light (CL). Particulate organic carbon (POC), nitrogen (PON), and photosynthetic pigments (measured by spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography) were monitored for 7 to 9 days in the two cultures. Under CL, POC and PON production were always lower. In addition, we measured a much higher proportion of chlorophyll degradation products (as chlorophyllid a, phaeophytin a and phaeophorbid a (PrD)). These indicate different physiological conditions between the two cultures, as reflected also be the lower POC/PON and chlorophyll a/POC ratios. Under CL illumination cells appear stressed, probably due to the total quantity of light to which cells are exposed. In fact, a higher proportion of the two xanthophylls diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin in the CL culture indicates a photoprotective reaction of the cells. In contrast with the LD culture, parameters measured were not significantly inter-correlated in the CL culture. The lack of correlation between chlorophyll a and POC in CL does not encourage the use of the chlorophyll a/POC ratio as a biomass estimator. On the opposite, the ratio of total pigment content to POC did not vary much as a function of the light condition of the culture, remaining near 0.040 in both light regimes. Although further observations are needed, this index seems to be a reliable indicator of phytoplankton carbon biomass.     

Mechanism of alcohol‐enhanced lucigenin chemiluminescence in alkaline solution

The chemiluminescence (CL) of lucigenin (Luc²⁺) can be enhanced by different alcohols in alkaline solution. The effect of different fatty alcohols on the CL of lucigenin was related to the carbon chain length and the number of hydroxyl groups. Glycerol provides the greatest enhancement. UV/Vis absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra showed that N‐methylacridone (NMA) was produced in the CL reaction in the presence of different alcohols. The peak of the CL spectrum was located at 470 nm in all cases, indicating that the luminophore was always the excited‐state NMA. The quenching of lucigenin CL by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the electron spin resonance (ESR) results with the spin trap of 5,5‐dimethyl‐1‐pyrroline N‐oxide (DMPO) demonstrated that superoxide anions (O₂^?–) were generated from dissolved oxygen in the CL reaction and that glycerol and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) can promote O₂^?? production by the reduction of dissolved oxygen in alkaline solution. It was assumed that the enhancement provided by different alcohols was related to the solvent effect and reducing capacity. Glycerol and DHA can also reduce Luc²⁺ into lucigenin cation radicals (Luc^?+), which react with O₂^?? to produce CL, and glycerol can slowly transform into DHA, which is oxidized quickly in alkaline solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brain Atrophy in a Murine Model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Beneficial Effect of Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41)

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with the main symptoms of chronic fatigue sydrome (CFS) and neuron apoptosis. Nevertheless, no study has been performed directly to explore the relationship between CFS, BDNF and neuron apoptosis. We induced a CFS model by six injections of killed Brucella abortus antigen in BALB/c mice and treated them with Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41). Daily running activity, body weight (BW), ratio of cerebral weight to BW (CW/BW) and expression levels of BDNF and Bcl-2 mRNA in the hippocampus were determined. The daily activity and CW/BW decreased significantly in the CFS model. BDNF and Bcl-2 mRNA expression levels in the hippocampus were suppressed in the CFS model and TJ-41 treated mice, while no significant difference was found between them. We improved a murine model to investigate the relationship between CFS and brain dysfunction. In this model, reduced daily activity might have been associated with decreased hippocampal BDNF mRNA expression, hippocampal apoptosis and brain atrophy. TJ-41 increased the daily running activity of the model, which was independent of brain recovery.     

Identifying a Cinnamoyl Coenzyme A Reductase (CCR) Activity with 4-Coumaric Acid: Coenzyme A Ligase (4CL) Reaction Products in <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Populus tomentosa</Emphasis>

A cinnamoyl coenzyme A reductase (CCR, EC 1.2.1.44), one of the key enzyme involved in lignin biosynthesis, was cloned from Populus tomentosa (Chinese white poplar). At the same time, a 4CL1 gene was cloned from P. tomentosa, too. The two genes were subcloned in pQE31 vector and expressed in Escherichia coli M15. Both of them were purified by Ni-NTA. Purified CCR protein was digested by trypsin and analyzed by HPLC-MS; the peptide segments had 27% similarity with the sequence of the CCR protein. 4CL was thought to be a neighbor enzyme of CCR in lignin biosynthesis. In this paper, a 4CL1 from P. tomentosa was cloned, and its enzyme reaction products were extracted for the substrates of CCR. Three 4CL1 enzyme reaction products were monitored by HPLC-MS and then the CCR enzyme reaction was detected by GC-MS. In the CCR reaction, the three corresponding aldehyde (p-coumaraldehyde, caffealdehyde, and coniferaldehyde) were detected and identified by Frontier3 software. The results showed that the CCR that we cloned from P. tomentosa had affinities with 4CL1 enzyme reaction products and a ptCCR that was cloned from aspen (Li et al., Plant Cell Physiol 46(7):1073–1082, 2005) only had affinity with feruloyl-CoA. The different results maybe depend on the different study method. The method of exacting 4CL enzyme products as the substrates of CCR in the paper was reliable and can be used in lignin biosynthesis network to detect the enzymes in the neighborhood that depended on the polarity of the substrates and products. This CCR gene had eight homology sequence CCR gene when a BLAST was conducted in Populus trichocarpa genome database. The CCR homology genes in Populus suggested that some CCRs may take part in the lignin biosynthesis, too. The gene family would be the hot spot in the future study.     

Determination of dipyridamole using TCPO–H2O2 chemiluminescence in the presence of silver nanoparticles

The method is based on the fact that dipyridamole can enhance the chemiluminescence (CL) emission from the redox reaction of bis (2,4,6‐tricholorophenyl) oxalate (TCPO) with H₂O₂ in the presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The CL reaction mechanism was discussed. The effect of concentrations of TCPO, H₂O₂, AgNPs and pH value on the CL reaction were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the linear dynamic range was 1.0–1000 × 10^?9 g/mL and the detection limit (3σ) was 9 × 10^?10 g/mL. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.8% for 1.0 × 10^?9 g/mL dipyridamole (n = 7). The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of dipyridamole tablets and the recovery was 99–103%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two Divergent Members of 4-Coumarate： Coenzyme A Ligase from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge： cDNA Cloning and Functional Study

4-Coumarate ： coenzyme A Ilgase （4CL） Is one of the key enzymes In phenylpropanoid metabolism leading to series of phenollcs, Including water-soluble phenolic acids, which are important compounds determining the medicinal quality of Danshen （Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge）, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. To Investigate the function of 4CL in the biosynthesis of water-soluble phenolic acid in Danshen, we have cloned two cDNAs （Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2） encoding divergent 4CL members by applying nested reverse transcrlptlon-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） with degenerate primers followed by 5′/3′rapid amplification of cDNA ends （RACE） （Note, these sequence data have been submitted to the GenBank database under accession numbers AY237163 and AY237164）. Either of the coding regions was inserted into a pRSET vector and a kinetic assay was performed with purified recombinant proteins. The substrate utilization profile of Sm4CL1 was distinct from that of Sm4CL2. The Km values of Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2 to 4-coumarlc acid were （72.20±4.10） and （6.50±1.45） μmol/L, respectively. These results, In conjunction with Northern blotting and other information, imply that Sm4CL2 may play an Important role in the biosynthesis of watersoluble phenolic compounds, whereas Sm4CL1 may play a minor role in the pathway. Southern blotting analysis suggested that both Sm4CL1 and Sm4CL2 genes are present as a single copy and are located at different sites In the genome.     

Chemiluminescence (CL) in blood samples reflects leukocyte activation (LA) during anaphylactoid reactions in dogs

Inflammation is accompanied by leukocyte activation (LA). We decribe a simple ex vivo technique for studying LA that might help to find new LA inhibitors for the treatment of pathologic events related to LA. Arterial and venous blood samples obtained from six permanently catheterized beagle dogs ?60, 0, +15 min and +23 h after i.v. challenge with C 48/80, and also blood samples from six normal beagles, were minimally diluted 1:2.5 with buffer. Total leukocyte counts (LC), and luminol amplified CL, induced by opsonized zymosan (C₃-Z), were estimated. Blood samples from dogs elicited CL responses of almost 1/10 the magnitude of erythrocyte-free human leukocytes, whereas blood samples from rats reacted three orders of magnitude less. Obviously quenching of CL by accompanying erythrocytes in blood samples from dogs is not important, for CL correlated almost linearly with the CL in differently diluted samples. In arterial, but not in venous samples from catheterized dogs, absolute CL and LC, both were significantly depressed (p < 0.05) 15 min after C 48/80 challenge. CL/10⁶ leukocytes was augmented twofold. All leukocyte deviations returned to pre-values 23 h post-challenge.     

Perturbation of the tris(2,2′‐bipyridine) ruthenium(II)‐catalyzed Belousov–Zhabotinsky oscillating chemiluminescence reaction by l‐cysteine and its application

Perturbation of the tris(2,2′‐bipyridine)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy)₃²⁺]‐catalyzed Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) oscillating chemiluminescence (CL) reaction induced by l ‐cysteine was observed in the closed system. It was found that the CL intensity was decreased in the presence of l ‐cysteine. Meanwhile, oscillation period and oscillating induction period were prolonged. The sufficient reproducible induction period was used as parameter for the analytical application of oscillating CL reaction. Under the optimum conditions, the changes in the oscillating CL induction period were linearly proportional to the concentration of l ‐cysteine in the range from 8.0 × 10^?7 to 5.0 × 10^?5 mol L^?1 (r = 0.997) with a detection limit of 4.3 × 10^?7 mol L^?1. The possible mechanism of l ‐cysteine perturbation on the oscillating CL reaction was also discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow‐injection chemiluminescence determination of olanzapine using N‐chlorosuccinimide–calcein reaction sensitized by zinc (II)

A novel, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method combined with flow‐injection (FI) has been established for the estimation of olanzapine. This method is based on the CL signal generated between N‐chlorosuccinimide and olanzapine in an alkaline medium in the presence of calcein and Zn(II). Under optimum conditions, the CL signal was proportional to the olanzapine concentration ranging from 1.0 × 10^‐10 to 3.0 × 10^‐7 g/mL. The detection limit is 8.9 × 10^‐11 g/mL olanzapine (3σ) and the relative standard deviation for 3.0 × 10^‐9 g/mL of olanzapine is 1.9% (n = 11). The current CL method was applied to determine olanzapine in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids with satisfactory results. The possible CL reaction mechanism is discussed briefly. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride in milk and egg white samples using Ru(bipy)32+–Ce(SO4)2 chemiluminescence

A novel, rapid and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) is described in this paper. The presented method was based on the fact that OTCH could immensely enhance the CL of the reaction of cerium sulfate and tris(2,2‐bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) in acidic medium. Under optimal experimental conditions, CL intensity was favorably linear for OTCH in the range 5.0 × 10^?7 to 5.0 × 10^?5 g/ml, with a detection limit of 1.5 × 10^?7 g/ml (S/N = 3). The relative standard detection was 4.76% for 5.0 × 10^?6 g/ml (n = 11). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of OTCH in milk and egg white samples. According to the results of the kinetic curves for OTCH in the Ru(bipy)₃²⁺–Ce(SO₄)₂ CL system, together with CL and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectra, the possible mechanism of the CL reaction is discussed briefly.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of lercanidipine based on N‐chlorosuccinimide–eosin Y post‐chemiluminescence reaction

A novel post‐chemiluminescence (PCL) reaction was discovered when lercanidipine was injected into the CL reaction mixture of N‐chlorosuccinimide with alkaline eosin Y in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), where eosin Y was used as the CL reagent and CTAB as the surfactant. Based on this observation, a simple and highly sensitive PCL method combined with a flow injection (FI) technique was developed for the assay of lercanidipine. Under optimum conditions, the CL signal was linearly related to the concentration of lercanidipine in the range 7.0 × 10^‐10 to 3.0 × 10^‐6 g/mL with a detection limit of 2.3 × 10^‐10 g/mL (3σ). The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.1% for 1.0 × 10^‐8 g/mL lercanidipine (n = 13). The proposed method had been applied to the estimation of lercanidipine in tablets and human serum samples with satisfactory results. The possible CL mechanism is also discussed briefly. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.