Separation of scutellarin from crude extracts of Erigeron breviscapus (vant.) Hand. Mazz. by macroporous resins

Scutellarin, a flavone glycoside, popularly used in the treatment of heart disease, has been efficiently separated using macroporous resins from crude extracts of Chinese medicinal plant Erigeron breviscapus (vant.) Hand. Mazz. HPD-800 resin offered the best adsorption and desorption capacity for scutellarin among the eight macroporous resins tested, and its adsorption data at 25 degrees C fit best to the Langmuir isotherm. The dynamic adsorption and desorption experiments have been carried out on a HPD-800 resin packed column to optimize the separation process of scutellarin from the crude extracts of E. breviscapus. After one run treatment with HPD-800 resin, the scutellarin content in the product was increased 15.69-fold from 2.61% to 40.96% with a recovery yield of 95.01%. The preparative separation process via adsorption-desorption method developed in this study provides a new approach for scale-up separation and purification of scutellarin for its wide pharmaceutical use.     

Separation of enzymes from microorganism crude extracts by free-flow zone electrophoresis

Continuous, single-step, state-of-the-art preparative separations of enzymes from microorganism crude extracts by free-flow zone electrophoresis are presented. In the first example, the enzymes formate dehydrogenase, formaldehyde dehydrogenase, and methanol oxidase were continuously separated from Candida boidinii crude extract. Yields of 85% to 95% and purification factors between 3 and 7 were obtained along with a simultaneous separation of the finer cell debris from the enzymes. Using multiple injections of sample, a throughput of 46.2 mg protein/h was recorded. In the second example, a fivefold purification of beta-galactosidase from Escherichia coli was achieved along with complete, simultaneous cell debris separation from the enzyme. The yield of the enzyme was greater than 90%. The preparative free-flow zone electrophoresis experiments were run continuously for a period of 12 h and the separations were found to be stable; i.e., the enzymes and the cell debris eluted at their respective fraction numbers during the entire period. In both examples, choice of the type of buffer played a critical role and had to be investigated and optimized experimentally. Scale-up aspects of the separations are also discussed. Recently, by comparison of free-flow zone electrophoresis with ion-exchange chromatography, we have presented evidence that free-flow electrophoresis separations are governed by net surface charge (S. Nath et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 1993, 42: 829-835). Here, we offer further confirmation of this evidence by comparison of preparative free-flow zone electrophoresis experiments at various pHs on a mixture of two model proteins with analytical electrophoretic titration curves of the proteins. We are thus in a position to predict separations in free-flow zone electrophoresis. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

超声辅助索氏提取忍冬果实中绿原酸的工艺优化

利用超声辅助索氏提取的方法从忍冬果实中提取绿原酸。单因素和正交试验表明,影响绿原酸提取率的主次顺序为:超声温度>乙醇浓度>超声时间>索氏提取时间>液料比;提取的最佳条件为:超声温度60℃,超声时间40min,乙醇浓度70%,液料比(mL∶g)30∶1,索氏提取时间2.5h。忍冬果实中绿原酸的提取率为2.95%;柱色谱分离纯化后的绿原酸红外谱图和标准品的红外谱图基本一致。本研究表明,超声辅助索氏提取忍冬果实中绿原酸的方法,缩短了提取时间,绿原酸提取率高。对忍冬果实的开发利用具有重要的指导意义。     

Arginine metabolism by pumpkin seedlings. Separation of plant extracts by ion exchange resins

Arginine-U-¹⁴C was injected into the cotyledons of 7-day oldpumpkin seedlings. At most, 24% of the administered ¹⁴C wastransported to the axis tissue. The amounts of arginine incorporatedinto cotyledonary protein suggests that turnover was occurringat a rapid rate. Arginine was extensively metabolized, and after96 hr 50% of the administered ¹⁴C had been released as ¹⁴CO₂.The remaining label was primarily in unmetabolized arginine,protein or transported to the axis tissue with little labelin other amino acids. The results suggest that the carbon fromarginine is incorporated into protein or catabolized to CO₂while the carbon for new amino acid skeletons is derived fromsugar. A simple, reproducible method for the quantitative fractionationof plant extracts or hydrolysates of insoluble plant materialinto basic amino acids, acidic amino acids, neutral amino acids,organic acids and sugars was reported. (Received September 10, 1968; )     

桑椹中黄酮类物质的大孔树脂纯化工艺

以桑椹中黄酮类物质的吸附量和解吸率为指标,对比分析HZ-801、HZ-816、HZ-818等12种大孔吸附树脂对桑椹提取液的分离纯化效果,优选出最佳树脂HZ-801并通过对上样液pH、上样液质量浓度、上样量、吸附流速、洗脱剂质量浓度、洗脱剂用量、洗脱流速等影响因素的考察,确定最优工艺:吸附阶段上样液pH=4,上样液质量浓度0.45mg/mL,上样量420mL,吸附流速120mL/h,动态吸附量(干树脂)25.34mg/g,吸附率84.25%;洗脱阶段的洗脱剂体积分数为60%乙醇,洗脱剂用量270mL,洗脱流速120mL/h。此优化工艺条件下的洗脱率为85.78%,总黄酮纯度从23.64%提高到82.36%。     

大孔吸附树脂分离纯化地黄中梓醇工艺的研究

利用大孔吸附树脂分离提取地黄中梓醇。以地黄粗提液中梓醇含量为指标,高效液相色谱(HPLC)为含量测定方法,考察九种不同极性大孔吸附树脂对梓醇的吸附和解吸附性能,筛选出最佳树脂D101进行分离实验。结果表明,D101大孔吸附树脂的静态吸附容量为69.2mg/g干树脂,其吸附等温线符合Langmuir和Freundlich吸附等温式。采用5%乙醇作为洗脱剂,洗脱液减压浓缩后进行硅胶柱层析分离,氯仿：甲醇（8：2）梯度洗脱得到梓醇单体,纯度达90%以上,梓醇得率为6%。     

In vitro inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by crude plant extracts from Colombian flora

The methanol extracts from five different plant families (Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Melastomataceae, Rubiaceae, and Solanaceae) collected at Regional Natural Park Ucumarí (Colombia), were screened for their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity through the modified Ellman's spectrophotometric method. The best inhibitory activities on this study were shown by the extracts of Solanum leucocarpum Dunal (IC50 = 204.59 mg/l) and Witheringia coccoloboides (Damm) (IC50 = 220.68 mg/l), both plants belonging to the Solanaceae family.     

Purification of rat renal renin from crude kidney extracts by diaminohexamethylene-Sepharose chromatography

Renin from rat kidney extracts was adsorbed to diaminohexamethylene-sepharose columns at extremely low ionic strength and neutral pH. Renin was retarded while the column was developed in 1 mM sodiumpyrophosphate and extraneous proteins were removed. Elution of renin was performed using a linear gradient of sodiumpyrophosphate, 1 – 17 mM at pH 6.8. Renin was purified in a yield up to approx. 60 per cent of the applied activity and a purification factor between 5 – 122 depending on the specific activity of the applied sample. The specific activity after this single chromatography of crude rat kidney homogenate on diaminohexamethylene-sepharose showed a median of 11.3 Goldblatt units per mg protein in a range of 5.3 – 42.0 Goldblatt units per mg protein. The renin binding capacity of the column was 1 Goldblatt unit per ml wet gel. The purified renin was subjected to G-100 Sephadex chromatography demonstrating two molecular weight forms of 44000 and 50000 dalton. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated three separate fractions of renin.     

非水介质大孔树脂分离纯化虾壳中虾青素

通过7种大孔树脂对虾青素的静态吸附容量和解析率等指标的考察,筛选出AB-8大孔吸附树脂,用于分离虾壳中虾青素,同时利用高效液相色谱（HPLC）法测量虾青素的含量。结果表明,AB-8树脂对虾青素的吸附量为（24．17±0．5）mg／g,解吸率为95．2％,最大上样量（每g干树脂）以虾青素计为（23．07±0．2）mg,并确定用8倍量柱床体积的乙酸乙酯为洗脱剂,纯化所得虾青素的纯度为14．73％。     

Enzyme fractionation and simultaneous nucleic acid removal from crude cellular extracts by preformed gradient ion exchange gel filtration

A crude cellular lysate (S30) can be fractionated on DEAE Sephadex A-25 gel into major classes including an excluded protein class. The protein class itself can be fractionated simultaneously by applying a salt gradient to the A-25 gel before applying sample. The procedure is rapid, that is, complete in one column liquid volume (or less) of column development. In addition, the fractionating conditions are very mild permitting very high recovery of input enzyme activity in a volume representing minimal dilution of the original sample.     

Calmodulin-dependent activation of calcineurin by chlorogenic acid

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) has been proved to be an activator of calcineurin (CN) in our previous research. In this study, the activation mechanism of CN by CGA was further explored. The results showed that although the purified CN was inactive in vitro if only Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM) existed without Mn(2+)/Ni(2+), CGA activated the inactive CN potently. It was found that CN's activity increased as the concentration of CGA increased and reached a plateau of 4- to 6-fold higher activity using p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) or phosphopeptide (32)P-RII as substrate. And the activation was CaM-dependent. Moreover, the fluorescent emission of CN had a 17 nm red shift in the presence of 128 muM CGA, and the quenching constant was 1.21x10(12) M(-1) . s(-1), which indicated that CGA bound to CN statically and changed its conformation. According to the kinetic analysis, CGA preferred to activate CN in a substrate noncompetitive manner. When Mn(2+) or Ni(2+) presented, CGA also activated CN with CaM-dependency by improving CN's affinity for Mn(2+) or Ni(2+). In addition, the inhibition of CN by Zn(2+) was partially eliminated by CGA chelation. Our findings suggested the activation of CN by CGA was in a CaM-dependent and substrate noncompetitive manner. This might provide the basis for the further study of CN-targeted activators.     

Purification and characterization of a chlorogenic acid hydrolase from Aspergillus niger catalysing the hydrolysis of chlorogenic acid

Among 15 Aspergillus strains, Aspergillus niger BRFM 131 was selected for its high chlorogenic acid hydrolase activity. The enzyme was purified and characterized with respect to its physico-chemical and kinetic properties. Four chromatographic steps were necessary to purify the protein to homogeneity with a recovery of 2%. Km of the chlorogenic acid hydrolase was estimated to be 10 microM against chlorogenic acid as substrate. Under native conditions, the protein presented a molecular mass of 170 kDa, and SDS-PAGE analysis suggested the presence of two identical 80 kDa subunits. Isoelectric point was 6.0; pH optimum for activity was determined to be 6.0 and temperature optima to be 55 degrees C. The N-terminal sequence did not present any homology with other cinnamoyl ester hydrolases previously described suggesting the purification of a new protein. The chlorogenic acid hydrolase was used successfully for the production of caffeic acid, which possesses strong antioxidant properties, from natural substrates specially rich in chlorogenic acid like apple marc and coffee pulp.     

2-Chlorobenzoic acid and 2,5-dichlorobenzoic acid metabolism by crude extracts of Pseudomonas sp. CPE2 strain

F. FAVA, F. BALDONI AND L. MARCHETTI. 1996. Crude extracts of Pseudomonas sp. CPE2 strain, which is capable of growing on 2-chlorobenzoic acid (2–CBA) and 2,5–dichlorobenzoic acid (2,5–dCBA) in the absence of other carbon sources, were found to be capable of bioconverting 2–CBA and 2,5–dCBA to catechol and 4–chlorocatechol, respectively, by a reaction requiring molecular oxygen and exogenous NADH. Extracts obtained from 2–CBA-grown cells in the presence of 2–CBA and from 2,5–dCBA-grown cells in the presence of 2,5–dCBA were found to have activities similarly influenced by the assay parameters pH, temperature, and by concentration of oxygen, protein, Fe²⁺, FAD and NADH in the assay medium. In addition, the activity of the two crude extracts in the presence of 2–CBA or 2,5–dCBA was described by very similar Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters. These observations led to the speculation that a unique broad-spectrum chlorobenzoate 1,2–dioxygenase catalyses the 2–CBA and 2,5–dCBA metabolism both in 2–CBA-and 2,5–dCBA-grown CPE2 cells.     

Antimutagenicity of extracts from crude drugs in Chinese medicines

The antimutagenicity of extracts from crude drugs was studied by the Ames bioassay system. The crude drugs chosen were medical plants used very frequently as Chinese medicines. Each crude drug was extracted with hot water similar to the method of Chinese medical treatment. Antimutagenicity of the extract was found with 4 kinds of crude drugs, Paeoniae radix, Bupleuri radix, Hoelen and Glycyrrhizae radix. Each extract of the crude drug showed a different type of antimutagenic action from the others.     

Antimicrobial activity of crude extracts from mangrove fungal endophytes

The aim of this work was to select endophytic fungi from mangrove plants that produced antimicrobial substances. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) or minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFC) of crude extracts from 150 isolates were determined against potential human pathogens by a colorimetric microdilution method. Ninety-two isolates (61.3%) produced inhibitory compounds. Most of the extracts (28–32%) inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (MIC/MBC 4–200/64–200 μg ml⁻¹). Only two extracts inhibited Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC/MBC 200/>200 μg ml⁻¹). 25.5 and 11.7% inhibited Microsporum gypseum and Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC/MFC 4–200/8–200 μg ml⁻¹ and 8–200/8–200 μg ml⁻¹, respectively), while 7.5% were active against Candida albicans (MIC/MFC 32–200/32–200 μg ml⁻¹). None of the extracts inhibited Escherichia coli. The most active fungal extracts were from six genera, Acremonium, Diaporthe, Hypoxylon, Pestalotiopsis, Phomopsis, and Xylaria as identified using morphological and molecular methods. Phomopsis sp. MA194 (GU592007, GU592018) isolated from Rhizophora apiculata showed the broadest antimicrobial spectrum with low MIC values of 8–32 μg ml⁻¹against Gram-positive bacteria, yeasts and M. gypseum. It was concluded that endophytic fungi from mangrove plants are diverse, many produce compounds with antimicrobial activity and could be suitable sources of new antimicrobial natural products.     

Analytical biochemistry of DNA--protein assemblies from crude cell extracts

Purification of specific DNA-protein complexes is a challenging task, as the involved interactions can be both electrostatic/H-bond and hydrophobic. The chromatographic stringency needed to obtain reasonable purifications uses salts and detergents. However, these components elicit the removal of proteins unspecifically bound to the chromatographic support itself, thus contaminating the purification products. In this work, a photocleavable linker connected the target oligonucleotidic sequence to the chromatographic beads so as to allow the irradiation-based release of the purified DNA-protein complexes off the beads. Our bioanalytical conditions were validated by purifying the tetracycline repressor protein onto a specific oligonucleotide. The purification factor was unprecedented, with a single contaminant. The robustness of our method was challenged by applying it to the purification of multiprotein assemblies forming onto DNA damage-mimicking oligonucleotides. The purified components were identified as well-known DNA repair proteins, and were shown to retain their enzymatic activities, as seen by monitoring DNA ligation products. Remarkably, kinase activities, also monitored, were found to be distinct on the beads and on the purified DNA-protein complexes, showing the benefits to uncouple the DNA-protein assemblies from the beads for a proper understanding of biochemical regulatory mechanisms involved in the DNA-protein assemblies.     

Histological evaluation of brain damage caused by crude quinolizidine alkaloid extracts from lupines

The effects of the intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of crude extracts of lupin quinolizidine alkaloids (LQAs) were studied in adult rat brain tissue. Mature L. exaltatus and L. montanus seeds were collected in western Mexico, and the LQAs from these seeds were extracted and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. This LQA extract was administered to the right lateral ventricle of adult rats through a stainless steel cannula on five consecutive days. While control animals received 10 microl of sesame oil daily (vehicle), the experimental rats (10 per group) received 20 ng of LQA from either L. exaltatus or from L. montanus. All the animals were sacrificed 40 h after receiving the last dose of alkaloids, and their brains were removed, fixed and coronal paraffin sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Immediately after the administration of LQA the animals began grooming and suffered tachycardia, tachypnea, piloerection, tail erection, muscular contractions, loss of equilibrium, excitation, and unsteady walk. In the brains of the animals treated with LQA damaged neurons were identified. The most frequent abnormalities observed in this brain tissue were "red neurons" with shrunken eosinophilic cytoplasm, strongly stained pyknotic nuclei, neuronal swelling, spongiform neuropil, "ghost cells" (hypochromasia), and abundant neuronophagic figures in numerous brain areas. While some alterations in neurons were observed in control tissues, unlike those found in the animals treated with LQA these were not significant. Thus, the histopathological changes observed can be principally attributed to the administration of sparteine and lupanine present in the alkaloid extracts.