Natural sulforaphane as a functional chemopreventive agent: including a review of isolation, purification and analysis methods

Epidemiological data show that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk from a number of cancers and chronic diseases. Sulforaphane (SF), a phytochemical constituent of cruciferous vegetables, has been widely researched in recent decades as a potential chemopreventive compound. Nonexistent in intact vegetables, natural SF, is formed from glucoraphanin hydrolyzed by myrosinase. This review summarizes and compares different analysis, isolation and purification methods engaged in SF research. Major important chemopreventive properties of SF investigated in existing research are reviewed and discussed, including antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory functions. Considering the potential applications of SF in the future, metabolism, stability and formulation developments of SF are also discussed. Research opportunities are identified based on the review of existing studies to facilitate future explorations on SF, a promising natural compound in chemopreventive therapy.     

Screening concepts,characterization and structural analysis of microbial-derived bioactive lipopeptides: a review

Lipopeptide biosurfactants are surface active biomolecules that are produced by a variety of microorganisms. Microbial lipopeptides have gained the interest of microbiologists, chemists and biochemists for their high biodiversity as well as efficient action, low toxicity and good biodegradability in comparison to synthetic counterparts. In this report, we review methods for the production, isolation and screening, purification and structural characterization of microbial lipopeptides. Several techniques are currently available for each step, and we describe the most commonly utilized and recently developed techniques in this review. Investigations on lipopeptide biosurfactants in natural products require efficient isolation techniques for the characterization and evaluation of chemical and biological properties. A combination of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques offer opportunities for a better characterization of lipopeptide structures, which in turn can lead to the application of lipopeptides in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agricultural and bioremediation industries.     

Expression,purification, crystallization,and diffraction analysis of a selenomethionyl lipase Lip8 from Yarrowia lipolytica

Yarrowia lipolytica is a nonconventional model micro-organism with multiple biotechnological applications. It is also considered to be an excellent producer for lipase. Genome survey shows that Y. lipolytica possesses various paralogs of genes coding for extracellular, cell-bound, and intracellular lipolytic enzymes. However, little structural information on these isoenzymes is available. With the aim to facilitate crystal structure solution of Lip8, one of the most valuable lipases from Y. lipolytica, a less conventional protein expression technique—selenomethionyl protein expression was used to produce recombinant selenomethionine (SeMet)-Lip8 in Escherichia coli. Finally, three Met residues of Lip8 were all substituted with SeMet. A total of 72?mg of SeMet-Lip8 was obtained from a liter of the SeMet medium. Using sodium acetate as a precipitant and ammonium sulfate as an additive, crystals of the SeMet-Lip8 with 1.9?Å were successfully cultured through hanging-drop vapor diffusion method. The estimated crystal dimensions were 0.11?×?0.11?×?0.14?mm². The crystal belonged to the space group I4 with unit cell parameters a?=?b?=?128.87?Å, c?=?171.77?Å, α?=?β?=?γ?=?90°. It is the second member of lipase crystal family from Y. lipolytica. This work will provide a platform for further studying lipases from a structural insight.     

Agar as a gelling agent: chemical and physical analysis

Agars with different performance in bioassays were analysed for physical and chemical properties. Agars with the highest gel strength had the best performance. Good performance was also related to a low pH of a suspension of agars and to a low sulphur content. The diffusion rate of ions in gels differed between agars, but could not explain differences in agar performance. The time of autoclaving had a marked effect on the gel strength, however, without affecting the performance. Chemical analysis revealed large differences between agars. The best agars had a relatively low salt content. One of the best agars had an extremely high content of trace elements. Agar impurities, especially of the trace elements were tightly bound to the agars. Up to 30% of the Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts were also immobilized in the gel. At pH 4.2, less nitrogen and phosphate were available from the MS medium than at pH 5.7. Chlorine could be washed out completely and appeared to be a good marker for agar quality and purity. With AgNO₃, chlorine contamination could easily be visualized. Received: 28 April 1996 / Revision received: 15 December 1996 / Accepted: 20 January 1997     

金樱子多糖的分离纯化及组成分析

对金樱子多糖的分离纯化方法作了探讨,筛选出较佳的工艺条件,通过紫外分光光度法,红外光谱以及气相色谱法分别对金樱子多糖纯品LP2的纯度,分子构型,单糖组成进行了分析;并通过了DEAE-纤维素（氯型）柱层析得一葡聚糖。     

Activated charcoal: a versatile decolorization agent for the recovery and purification of alkaline protease

The use of activated charcoal for enzyme recovery and purification was investigated and the optimum activated charcoal concentration and the minimum contact time needed for efficient decolorization of an alkaline protease preparation in terms of surface adsorption and retention of enzyme activity were found to be 7.5 g l^–1 and 30 min, respectively. Elevated temperatures had a greater influence on the rate of decolorization which was faster when the protease was refluxed at 60 °C for 10–15 min. These data suggest that the efficient adsorption characteristics of activated charcoal can be exploited for cost-effective downstream processing of alkaline proteases and possibly other enzymes.     

Phosphoserine phosphatase of human brain: Partial purification,characterization, regional distribution,and effect of certain modulators including psychoactive drugs

Phosphoserine phosphatase (PSPase), a cytosolic enzyme has been purified 106 fold from human brain, by employing conventional protein purification techniques. The use of MgCl₂ (10 mM) and chloroform treatment, during purification enabled the removal of non-specific proteins. The final enzyme preparation exhibited a broad pH optimum of 5.6–6.6 and could dephosphorylate bothl andd enantiomers of the phosphoserine, but with different Km values for O-P-L serine (3.6×10^–5M) and O-P-D serine (1×10^–4M). Enzyme activity was found to be specific for phosphoserine, whereas other phosphoesters including phosphothreonine and phosphoproteins such as casein and phosvitin were found to be poor substrates. The enzyme activity was uncompetitively inhibited byl-serine. Further the PSPase activity was inhibited by vanadate, (41%), trifluoperazine (23%), chlorpromazine (34%) at an equimolar concentration of 1 mM, whereas lithium and ethanol did not influence the enzyme activity. Minor tranquilizers such as diazepam and chlordiazepoxide activated the enzyme activity to an extent of 13% and 59% respectively. In addition, species and regionwise heterogeneity was observed with respect to distribution of enzyme activity in six major areas of human, rabbit and rat brains.     

Shikimic acid: review of its analytical, isolation, and purification techniques from plant and microbial sources

Shikimic acid properties and its available analytical techniques are discussed. Plants having the highest content of shikimic acid are shown. The existing isolation methods are analyzed and the most optimal approaches to extracting this acid from natural sources (plants and microorganisms) are considered.     

高效净水细菌的分离鉴定及其净水能力分析

[目的]分离筛选获得能高效净化污水的净化细菌。[方法]利用氨氮降解筛选培养基对某污水处理厂的活性污泥进行净水细菌的分离筛选,并研究分离菌株对污水有机质、氨态氮、总磷与总氮含量的去除效果以及药敏性分析。[结果]比较去除效果,获得了1株最高效的净水细菌,该菌株对污水有机质、氨态氮、总氮与总磷均具有较强的净化效果,其去除率分别达58. 90%、65. 45%、51. 91%和35. 00%。结合菌落形态特征观察、生理生化分析及分子鉴定,鉴定该菌株为暹罗芽胞杆菌(Bacillus siamensis)。该菌株对7种常见抗生素均具有一定敏感性,其中对氨苄青霉素最敏感,卡那霉素次之,对庆大霉素最不敏感。[结论]分离筛选获得1株能高效净化污水的暹罗芽胞杆菌,对常见抗生素具有一定敏感性。     

Preparative-scale isolation and purification of procaryotic and eucaryotic ribosomal 5 S RNA: Bacillus subtilis, Neurospora crassa, and wheat germ

Ribosomal 5 S RNA from three different organisms has been isolated in high yield and purity. Without prior isolation of ribosomes, a presoak in buffer followed by phenol extraction, DE-32 ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-75 gel-permeation chromatography yields at least 5-10 mg of electrophoretically homogeneous 5 S RNA from 100 g of cells. Ribonuclease activity is eliminated by various combinations of low temperature, sodium dodecyl sulfate, phenol, and bentonite. High-molecular-weight contaminants are suppressed by either 65 degrees C heat treatment or lowered sodium dodecyl sulfate concentration. For the eucaryotes, 5.8 S RNA contamination is reduced either by low temperature in the initial solubilization or by postponing 65 degrees C heat treatment until after the phenol extraction step.     

Stochastic matrix models for conservation and management: a comparative review of methods

Stochastic matrix models are frequently used by conservation biologists to measure the viability of species and to explore various management actions. Models are typically parameterized using two or more sets of estimated transition rates between age/size/stage classes. While standard methods exist for analyzing a single set of transition rates, a variety of methods have been employed to analyze multiple sets of transition rates. We review applications of stochastic matrix models to problems in conservation and use simulation studies to compare the performance of different analytic methods currently in use. We find that model conclusions are likely to be robust to the choice of parametric distribution used to model vital rate fluctuations over time. However, conclusions can be highly sensitive to the within-year correlation structure among vital rates, and therefore we suggest using analytical methods that provide a means of conducting a sensitivity analysis with respect to correlation parameters. Our simulation results also suggest that the precision of population viability estimates can be improved by using matrix models that incorporate environmental covariates in conjunction with experiments to estimate transition rates under a range of environmental conditions.     

Plant growth analysis: towards a synthesis of the classical and the functional approach

A method of calculating relative growth rates (RGR) and net assimilation rates is presented. The method is based on the fitting of a polynomial through the relative growth rate values calculated by the 'classical' approach rather than through the In-transformed plant weights as in the 'functional' method. Additional ways of reducing the harvest-to-harvest variation characteristic of the classical approach are discussed. The main advantages of the present approach over the functional one are: (1) The degree of the polynomial can be increased (within certain limits) without inducing spurious fluctuations in RGR. Thus, quite complex trends in RGR can be described. (2) There is little interference between RGR values in different parts of the experiment. The main advantages over the classical approach are: (1) The erratic fluctuations in RGR are dampened. (2) As frequent small harvests are allowed, the workload at each harvest can be diminished and a more reliable impression of ontogenetic drift in RGR can be obtained. (3) RGR is described by a continuous function, thus facilitating further calculations and compilations.     

暗黑鳃金龟气味结合蛋白HparOBP15a基因的克隆及功能分析

【目的】暗黑鳃金龟Holotrichia parallela通过气味结合蛋白(odorant binding protein,OBP)识别性信息素和植物挥发物准确而迅速地定位配偶、寄主植物。本研究通过克隆暗黑鳃金龟气味结合蛋白15a(Hpar OBP15a)基因,解析该基因的编码蛋白特征、组织表达模式及与寄主植物气味等化合物的结合特性方面的研究,为阐明暗黑鳃金龟基于嗅觉识别的寄主植物选择机理奠定理论基础。【方法】根据暗黑鳃金龟成虫触角转录组测序的结果,利用RT-PCR克隆了Hpar OBP15a基因;Real-time PCR方法分析了该基因在成虫不同部位的表达量差异;荧光竞争结合测定了Hpar OBP15a蛋白和58种候选化合物的结合特征。【结果】暗黑鳃金龟Hpar OBP15a基因全长534 bp,编码147个氨基酸,Gen Bank登录号为AK1834747。Hpar OBP15a在触角中特异表达,且在雌虫触角中表达量显著高于雄虫。在被测的58种化合物中,Hpar OBP15a与46种气味化合物具有较好的亲和性,其中与十二烷、十二醇结合能力最强,其解离常数分别为8.5和11.3μmol/L;同时,对性信息素(L-异亮氨酸甲酯和R-芳樟醇)也有一定的结合能力(解离常数分别为21.0和18.5μmol/L)。【结论】Hpar OBP15a具有广泛的气味结合谱,其中对榆树挥发物十二烷的结合能力最强,因此该蛋白可能在暗黑鳃金龟对榆树的定位过程中具有重要作用。     

Human C4 polymorphism: Pedigree analysis of qualitative,quantiative, and functional parameters as a basis for phenotype interpretations

Summary Ten families with 82 members were investigated for C4A- and B polymorphism in a blind trial. Phenotyping was done on neuraminidase treated sera by immunofixation and simulataneously by hemolytic overlay electrophoresis. In addition Rg, Ch, BF, C2, HLA-A, B, C, DR, and GLO were determined. After decoding the samples the reliability of blind typing was found to be 84.4% according to segregation patters. Inconsistencies occurred mostly when A 4, A 2, or A 92 were present. The detection of silent A*Q0 and B*Q0 alleles was more critical than that of difficult allotypes. The quantitation of the C4A/B ratio by densitometry of stained gels or by conventional immunochemical measurements of serum C4 level could not substantially improve the identification of A*Q0 or B*Q0. C4 dependent activity in radial diffusion hemolysis showed satisfactory correspondence with the number of expressed C4B alleles. At least three haplotypes with two C4A genes (duplicated A genes) were observed as ascertained from offspring analysis in accordance with the MHC segregation pattern. Individuals with the duplicated C4A gene (C4A*3. A*2. in the absence of any other expressed A allele or together with C4A*92) showed only partial inhibition of Rodgers antisera. Partial inhibition of Chido antisera was seen in individuals with C4B 2 (in the absence of other B allotypes). The findings support the hypothesis of at least two structural C4 loci. The also demonstrate the inconsistency of quantitative data in the recognition of silent alleles.     

Biosynthesis,isolation, and NMR analysis of leukotriene A epoxides: substrate chirality as a determinant of the cis or trans epoxide configuration

Leukotriene (LT)A₄ and closely related allylic epoxides are pivotal intermediates in lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways to bioactive lipid mediators that include the leukotrienes, lipoxins, eoxins, resolvins, and protectins. Although the structure and stereochemistry of the 5-LOX product LTA₄ is established through comparison to synthetic standards, this is the exception, and none of these highly unstable epoxides has been analyzed in detail from enzymatic synthesis. Understanding of the mechanistic basis of the cis or trans epoxide configuration is also limited. To address these issues, we developed methods involving biphasic reaction conditions for the LOX-catalyzed synthesis of LTA epoxides in quantities sufficient for NMR analysis. As proof of concept, human 15-LOX-1 was shown to convert 15S-hydroperoxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (15S-HPETE) to the LTA analog 14S,15S-trans-epoxy-eicosa-5Z,8Z,10E,12E-tetraenoate, confirming the proposed structure of eoxin A₄. Using this methodology we then showed that recombinant Arabidopsis AtLOX1, an arachidonate 5-LOX, converts 5S-HPETE to the trans epoxide LTA₄ and converts 5R-HPETE to the cis epoxide 5-epi-LTA₄, establishing substrate chirality as a determinant of the cis or trans epoxide configuration. The results are reconciled with a mechanism based on a dual role of the LOX nonheme iron in LTA epoxide biosynthesis, providing a rational basis for understanding the stereochemistry of LTA epoxide intermediates in LOX-catalyzed transformations.     

Isolation and characterization of a granulosis virus from the tomato moth,Lacanobia oleracea,and its potential as a control agent

A disease causing death in Lacanobia oleracea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) occurring in glasshouses in Scotland was shown to be caused by a granulosis virus (GV). Structural properties of the virus were examined by electron microscopy, immunodiffusion, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and restriction endonuclease analysis and compared with an isolate of GV from L. oleracea obtained from France. The two isolates were structurally very similar but could be distinguished by analysis of EcoRI digests of their DNAs. Bioassays of the virus gave LD₅₀ values from 10^4.3 capsules for second-instar larvae to 10^6.6 capsules for fifth-instar larvae. The French isolate was bioassayed in third-instar larvae and was not found to differ significantlyfrom the Scottish isolate. Two small glasshouse trials using the virus to control artificial infestations of L. oleracea indicated that high-volume sprays of virus at 10⁸ to 10⁹ capsules/ml achieved good control. An alternative strategy using much smaller amounts of virus to control the insect is discussed.     

Soybean disease resistance protein RHG1-LRR domain expressed, purified and refolded from Escherichia coli inclusion bodies: preparation for a functional analysis

Introduction and expression of foreign genes in bacteria often results accumulation of the foreign protein(s) in inclusion bodies (IBs). The subsequent processes of refolding are slow, difficult and often fail to yield significant amounts of folded protein. RHG1 encoded by rhg1 was a soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) transmembrane receptor-like kinase (EC 2.7.11.1) with an extracellular leucine-rich repeat domain. The LRR of RHG1 was believed to be involved in elicitor recognition and interaction with other plant proteins. The aim, here, was to express the LRR domain in Escherichia coli (RHG1-LRR) and produce refolded protein. Urea titration experiments showed that the IBs formed in E. coli by the extracellular domain of the RHG1 protein could be solubilized at different urea concentrations. The RHG1 proteins were eluted with 1.0-7.0M urea in 0.5M increments. Purified RHG1 protein obtained from the 1.5 and 7.0M elutions was analyzed for secondary structure through circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Considerable secondary structure could be seen in the former, whereas the latter yielded CD curves characteristic of denatured proteins. Both elutions were subjected to refolding by slowly removing urea in the presence of arginine and reduced/oxidized glutathione. Detectable amounts of refolded protein could not be recovered from the 7.0M urea sample, whereas refolding from the 1.5M urea sample yielded 0.2mg/ml protein. The 7.0M treatment resulted in the formation of a homogenous denatured state with no apparent secondary structure. Refolding from this fully denatured state may confer kinetic and/or thermodynamic constraints on the refolding process, whereas the kinetic and/or thermodynamic barriers to attain the folded conformation appeared to be lesser, when refolding from a partially folded state.     

Potential of isoquercitrin as antisickling agent: a multi-spectroscopic,thermophoresis and molecular modeling approach

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease caused by point mutation in hemoglobin (β-globin gene). Under oxygen saturation, sickle hemoglobin form polymers, leading to rigid erythrocytes. The transition of the blood vessels is altered and initiated by the adhesion of erythrocytes, neutrophils and endothelial cells. Sickle Hemoglobin (HbS) polymerization is a major cause in red blood cells (RBC), promoting sickling and destruction of RBCs. Isoquercitrin, a medicinal bioactive compound found in various medicinal plants, has multiple health benefits. The present study examines the potential of isoquercitrin as an anti-sickle agent, showing a significant decrease in the rate of polymerization as well as sickling of RBCs. Isoquercitrin-induced graded alteration in absorbance and fluorescence of HbS, confirmed their interaction. A negative value of ΔG° strongly suggests that it is a spontaneous exothermic reaction induced by entropy. Negative ΔH° and positive ΔS° predicted that hydrogen and hydrophobic binding forces interfered with a hydrophobic microenvironment of β6Val leading to polymerization inhibition of HbS. HbS-Isoquercitrin complex exhibits helical structural changes leading to destabilization of the HbS polymer as confirmed by CD spectroscopy. MST and DSC results indicate greater changes in thermophoretic mobility and thermal stability of sickle hemoglobin in the presence of isoquercitrin, respectively. These findings were also supported by molecular simulation studies using DOCK6 and GROMACS. Hence, we can conclude that isoquercitrin interacts with HbS through hydrogen bonding, which leads to polymerization inhibition. Consequently, isoquercitrin could potentially be used as a medication for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma