植物精油生物活性作用机理研究进展

植物精油具有多种生物活性,被广泛应用于医疗保健、食品工业、化妆品、农业等多个领域.本文综述植物精油抗菌、抗癌、抑制肿瘤细胞生长、抗氧化、延缓衰老、防治心血管疾病、抗病毒、消炎等多种生物活性的作用机理,并展望植物精油今后研究的重点及突破方向.     

Fractionation, biochemical characterization and lysosomal phospholipases of human liver

Human liver was homogenised and fractionated by differential centrifugation, and the subcellular fractions were characterised biochemically. Absolute values and distribution patterns of protein and marker enzyme activities obtained from human liver have also been compared with those from rat liver. In addition, acid phospholipase activities have been studied in human liver. On the basis of product formation from stereo-specifically radiolabeled phosphatidylethanolamine substrates, lysosomal phospholipases A1 and A2 with optimal activities at pH 4.7 have been identified in human liver. Acid phospholipase C and lysophospholipase activities, however, were not found in human liver. Cationic amphiphilic drugs inhibited the activities of the acid phospholipases A in human and rat liver lysosomes to about the same extent.     

Screening of Indian plants for biological activity: Part XVI

Alcoholic extracts of 288 of plant materials from 199 plant species have been tested for various biological activities including chemotherapeutic and pharmacological screening. Biological activities, ranging from moderate to good degree, have been observed in 61 plants extracts. Follow up studies have been carried out in these extracts and some of them have shown moderate degree of activities at this Institute. However, none of the extracts was found to be good enough for further development. Results of the present studies, along with chemical investigations on different species of similar genera which were screened earlier, are also discussed.     

Distribution of orphan metabolic activities

A significant fraction (30-40%) of known metabolic activities is currently orphan. Although orphan activities have been biochemically characterized, we do not know a single gene responsible for these reactions in any organism. The problem of orphan activities represents one of the major challenges of modern biochemistry. We analyze the distribution of orphans across biochemical space, through years of enzymatic characterization, and by biological organisms. We find that orphan metabolic activities have been accumulating for many decades. They are widely distributed across enzymatic functional space and metabolic network neighborhoods. Although orphans are relatively more abundant in less studied species, over half of orphan reactions have been experimentally characterized in more than one organism. Shrinking the space of orphan activities will likely require a close collaboration between computational and experimental laboratories.     

Apurinic endonucleases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Three endonuclease activities have been partially purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the basis of their activity against x-irradiated closed-circular supercoiled bacteriophage PM2 DNA. These endonucleases also nick apurinic DNA and two out of the three activities incise DNA UV-irradiated with high doses. The endonuclease activities have also been distinguished on the basis of their magnesium requirement and sensitivity to EDTA.     

Screening of Indian plants for biological activity: Part XIV

Alcoholic extracts of 300 botanically identified plant materials from 275 plant species have been tested for various biological activities including chemotherapeutic and pharmacological screenings. Biological activities have been observed in 111 extracts. Follow-up studies have been carried out in some plants with confirmed activity. The active principles and results of these studies are reported.     

Recent developments in macrolides and ketolides.

Emergence of bacterial resistance to macrolide antibiotics, particularly in Gram-positive bacteria, has been observed. Novel macrolides having C-4" carbamate functional groups and ketolides, the 3-keto derivatives of macrolides, have been found to have activities against macrolide-resistant strains. Several potential non-antibacterial activities of macrolides have been reported, such as inhibition of cytokine production, neutrophil attachment to human bronchial epithelial cells and vesicular transport.     

Enhancement and conservation of inland fisheries resources in China

The inland aquatic ecosystem in China have been largely influenced by large-scale economic activities and over-exploitation of aquatic resources. Fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities have been carried out throughout China. These activities include establishing artificial fish habitat and hatchery, releasing juvenile fish to rivers and lakes, forbidding illegal fishing, and setting up natural reserves. The purpose of these activities is to restore the quantity of inland fisheries resources, guarantee sustainable development of fisheries, maintain biological diversity and keep an ecological balance. These activities, conducted with a variety of methods, numerous species, extensive water areas and large scale programs have played an active role in fisheries resource enhancement and conservation. As a consequence the inland water environment has been improved; the biological diversity and fish catch increased, and the social, ecological and economic benefits have been significantly improved. However, problems such as inappropriate technology and nonstandard operations continue to affect fisheries resource enhancement, conservation and ecological stability. This paper reviews the history and practice of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation in China, analyzes the existing problems and deficiencies in the activities, and finally make some recommendations on technology and procedures to sustain inland fisheries resources.     

Comparative effects of antiepileptics on the alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyltransferase activities in plasma and leukocytes]

Alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyltransferase activities have been compared in plasma and leukocytes from presumably healthy subjects and from epileptic patients under treatment with different antiepileptic drugs. Plasma enzyme activities are always increased by antiepileptic treatment, leukocytic enzyme activities are increased only for some patients. No relation has been observed between the variations in any of the two enzyme activities and plasma level of anticonvulsant drugs.     

Diamine derivatives with antiparasitic activities

There are a lack of effective chemotherapies for many parasitic diseases. Polyamine pathways have been reported as potential targets for the development of new chemotherapies against parasitic diseases. In the present study, different libraries of substituted diamines totalling 78 compounds have been synthesized on solid support and their activities against malaria and leishmania parasites have been determined. Most active compounds demonstrated submicromolar activities against both organisms and their structure-activity relationships are discussed.     

Effect of Arnica montana tincture on some hydrolytic enzyme activities of rat liver in experimental toxic hepatitis]

Effects of tinctura arnica on arginase, adenosine triphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase activities of rats liver in case of experimental toxic hepatitis have been studied. Toxic hepatitis was caused by 2 times interstomach administration of 0.25 ml oil solution of carbon tetrachloride per 100 g of animal weight. 20 mkl/100 g of tinctura arnica was administered every day per os for 14 days. The enzyme activities have been investigated at 3, 7 and 17 days. A significant demention of a studied hydrolytic enzyme activities in rats liver at intoxication of the body by CCI4 has been shown. It has been established that tinctura arnica administered per os to intoxicated animals sped up the normalization of hydrolytic enzyme activities in rat liver.     

Evaluation of some enzymatic methods to measure the bio-activity of aquatic environments

Methods have been evaluated and standardised to measure the phosphatase, saccharase, amylase and lipase enzymatic activities in aquatic environments. The analytical reproducibility, the ecological applicability and the etiology of these activities have been investigated. The usefulness of the various enzymatic assays for routine analyses and for fundamental research of aquatic environments is discussed.     

The Development of the Enzyme Complement in Growing Root Cells

Fifteen serial sections, each 1.0 mm. in length, have been takenfrom the tip towards the base of the bean root. On correspondinggroups of sections determinations have been made of water content,protein content, and of dipeptidase, glycine oxidase, phosphatase,and invertase activities. The number of cells in each sectionof the series has also been determined. From these data unitcell values have been calculated which show how each of thequantities involved changes as the cell grows. It has been shown that four phases are involved in the earlydevelopment of the cell. In the first, which is traversed inthe meristematic zone of the root, the volume increases slightly,the protein content decreases, and the activities of three ofthe enzymes studied also decrease. In the second, volume, proteincontent, and all enzyme activities increase considerably. Inthe third, while the volume enlarges by increase in breadthonly, protein content and enzyme activities decrease. In thefourth, growth has ceased and protein content, and enzyme activitiescontinue to decrease. The significance of these changes in discussed.     

Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of two different species of a Chinese herb I-Tiao-Gung

The anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of two different species of traditional Chinese medicines that shared the same name have been studied. The extracts of Glycine radix have higher activities in free radical-scavenging activity determined with DPPH, reduction in hemoglobin-catalyzed lipid auto-oxidation and inhibition of the lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-catalyzed arachidonate oxidation compared to the activities of extract of Flemingia. One of the significant bioactive constituents of Glycine radix has been isolated and identified as daidzein.     

Monascus pigments

Monascus pigments (MPs) as natural food colorants have been widely utilized in food industries in the world, especially in China and Japan. Moreover, MPs possess a range of biological activities, such as anti-mutagenic and anticancer properties, antimicrobial activities, potential anti-obesity activities, and so on. So, in the past two decades, more and more attention has been paid to MPs. Up to now, more than 50 MPs have been identified and studied. However, there have been some reviews about red fermented rice and the secondary metabolites produced by Monascus, but no monograph or review of MPs has been published. This review covers the categories and structures, biosynthetic pathway, production, properties, detection methods, functions, and molecular biology of MPs.     

Quinazoline-urea,new protein kinase inhibitors in treatment of prostate cancer

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), two protein tyrosine kinases, are involved in pathological disorders and the progression of different types of carcinomas. Concomitant inhibition of both tyrosine kinase activities appears to be an attractive target for cancer chemotherapy. A series of new quinazoline derivatives substituted by amide, urea, or carbamic acid ester groups have been synthesized. The biological activities of these new compounds have been evaluated for their enzyme inhibition and antiproliferative activities.     

葡萄糖衍生物的合成及其模拟SOD的活性研究

 合成含有组氨酸的葡萄糖衍生物,其结构经IR、~1H-NMR及~(13)C-NMR分析得以确证,同时还测定了它们的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)样活性。实验结果表明该衍生物与铜离子形成螯合物后,对超氧负离子自由基有清除作用(但远弱于天然SOD),并且对红细胞膜脂质过氧化有抑制功效。     

Extracellular matrix components and proteolytic enzymes in uterine cervical carcinoma

The important components of mucopolysaccharides and collagen have been analyzed in tissues of control and carcinoma of uterine cervix. Among these components hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate levels were found to be increased, whereas decreased level of collagen was observed in uterine cervical carcinoma. Serum cathepsin B, D and acid and alkaline phosphatases have also been analyzed in controls and carcinoma patients before and after treatments. The activities of these enzymes have been found to increase prominently in advanced stages. Among these enzymes cathepsin B and alkaline phosphatase have exhibited remarkable increase in activity in uterine cervical carcinoma. Different modes of treatment exerted reversion of the elevated activities of these enzymes. However, combined therapy type II (radiation combined with cisplatin and cyclophosphomide) seems to be more effective in reverting the activities of these enzymes to normal levels.     

Kinetic studies of aminoglycoside acetyltransferase and phosphotransferase from Staphylococcus aureus RPAL. Relationship between the two activities

In the Staphylococcus aureus strain harbouring the plasmid RPAL, the resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics results from two inactivating reactions catalyzed by a 6'-N-aminoglycoside acetyltransferase and a 2"-O-amino-glycoside phosphotransferase. These enzymes are copurified with a constant ratio between the two activities, the purification process consisting in affinity chromatography, native electrophoresis and gel exclusion chromatography. The kinetic mechanisms of each activity have been determined from studies of initial velocities, as well as product and dead-end inhibitions. Both activities follow a random rapid equilibrium mechanism. The substrates and cofactors of one reaction have been tested as effectors of the other reaction. No interaction between the two activities has been observed. However, the GTP cofactor of phosphotransferase protects, at weak concentrations, the acetyltransferase against thermal inactivation, which suggests that the two activities may be associated.     

Integrated conservation and development project life cycles in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: Is development overpowering conservation?

The merits of integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs), which aim to provide development incentives to citizens in return for conservation behaviors, have long been debated in the literature. Some of the most common critiques suggest that conservation activities tend to be strongly overpowered by development activities. We studied this assertion through participant observation and archival analysis of five Conservation Area Management Committees (CAMCs) in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal. Committee activities were categorized as conservation activities (policy development and conservation implementation), development activities (infrastructure, health care, education, economic development, and sanitation), or activities related to institutional strengthening (administrative development and capacity building activities). Greater longevity of each ICDP was associated with greater conservation activity in relation to development activities. Project life cycles progressed from a focus on development activities in their early stages, through a transitional period of institutional strengthening, and toward a longer-term focus that roughly balanced conservation and development activities. Results suggest that the ICDP concept, as practiced in ACA, has been successful at building capacity for and interest in conservation amongst local communities. However, success has come over a period of nearly a decade, suggesting that prior conclusions about ICDP failures may have been based on unrealistic expectations of the time needed to influence behavioral changes in target populations.