Pharmacokinetics of chlorogenic acid and rutin in larvae of Heliothis zea

Studies using [³H]chlorogenic acid and [³H]rutin demonstrated that the kinetics of uptake of these plant phenolics into the haemolymph of 5th-instar Heliothis zea (Boddie) following actue oral administration is a first-order process. The total quantity of either phenolic present in the haemolymph within 1 hr amounts to 5% or less of the total ingested dose. Based on TLC analyses, 80% or more of the radioactivity in the haemolymph occurs as the parent phenolic. Retention of [³H]-chlorogenic acid or [³H]-rutin in H. zea following chronic feeding from 1st to 3rd-instar larvae is also linearly related to dietary dose. Chlorogenic acid and rutin are both equitoxic and equivalent in bioavailability to H. zea.Loss of [³H]-rutin from the haemolymph of 5th-instar larvae following injection is biphasic. One half of the injected dose is excreted in the frass in the first 6 hr after injection; the other half is thereafter eliminated at 1/20th of the initial rate. Analyses of extracts of frass by thin-layer chromatography indicate that after either chronic or acute feeding 90% of the ingested phenolic is excreted unchanged. Possible sites and modes of action of phenolics in insects are discussed in light of these findings.     

ULTRASTRUCTURE OF SPONGIOCHLORIS TYPICA DURING SENESCENCE12

The ultrastructural changes which occurred during senescence in the stationary phase of growth of the unicellular green alga Spongiochloris typica were observed. The cell wall consists of a membrane like primary wall and an inner secondary wall which becomes progressively thickened with age of the culture. During senescence the lamellae become more compact within the chloroplast. The major feature of aging is the appearance of lipid bodies which eventually come to occupy a major portion of the cell lumen. The ultrastructural changes observed to occur during senescence are discussed in relation to physiological data.     

NEW TAXONOMIC CRITERIA IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF CHLOROCOCCUM SPECIES. I. PIGMENTATION12

Eighteen isolates of Chlorococcum were incubated under defined culture conditions for 6-7 weeks. At that time, isolates were separated into green, yellow-green, orange, or red color groups according to the color of the cultures. Total chlorophyll, carotenoid concentration, and percentage of carotenoids in relation to total pigment content were measured for each species. Individual carotenoids of each isolate were identified and quantified. Each color group had pigment characteristics which were distinctive. Other studies on Chlorococcum are discussed in relation to this work. It is proposed that pigmentation of old cultures be used as the first criterion for distinguishing species of Chlorococcum.     

Enteroviral and Mumps Meningitis in Toronto, 1963

Virological investigations of 115 children with the aseptic meningitis syndrome during 1963 resulted in the isolation of enteroviruses from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or feces of 21 of 48 children who had no association with mumps. For the third successive year, Echo 9 was the dominant enterovirus in cases of aseptic meningitis in Toronto children, but no rashes were associated with Echo 9 meningitis during 1963, in contradistinction to previous years. Mumps virus was isolated from CSF of 25 patients by inoculation of rhesus monkey kidney cultures, and rising or elevated mumps antihemagglutinin titres in paired sera from a further 33 cases provided laboratory evidence of infection with mumps virus in 58 of 67 patients with mumps meningoencephalitis. No enlargement of salivary glands was noted in 20 laboratory-proved cases of mumps meningoencephalitis. Enteroviral meningitis occurred principally during summer, but the peak of mumps meningoencephalitis occurred during late winter.     

Effect of alloxan-diabetes on multiple forms of hexokinase in adipose tissue and lung

Comparison has been made of the effect of alloxan-diabetes on the multiple forms of hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) in adipose tissue and lung. Types I and II hexokinase were distinguished in adipose tissue by their different stabilities to heat treatment, which made it possible to determine the activity of each form spectrophotometrically; additional confirmatory evidence was obtained from starch-gel electrophoresis. Type II hexokinase was markedly depressed in adipose tissue from alloxan-diabetic rats. Lung contained types I, II and III hexokinase, type I predominating. There was no significant change in the pattern of these multiple forms of hexokinase in lung from alloxan-diabetic rats. These results are discussed in relation to current ideas that the insulin-sensitivity of a tissue may be correlated with the content of type II hexokinase.     

Influence of hormones on the nicotinamide nucleotide coenzymes of adipose tissue

The concentrations of the oxidized and reduced forms of the nicotinamide nucleotides were measured in the epididymal fat pads of normal, alloxan-diabetic and hypophysectomized rats. In both alloxan-diabetic rats and hypophysectomized rats the weight of the adipose tissue fell, as did the total content of NADH and NADPH; in addition, NAD⁺ was decreased in the alloxan-diabetic group. Of these changes the most marked was in NADPH and this was the only significant difference when the results were expressed as nicotinamide nucleotides/mg. of tissue protein. The concentration of NADPH in the hypophysectomized rats was not altered by treatment with growth hormone but was restored to normal by treatment with thyroxine. These results are discussed in relation to the known effect of these hormonal conditions on lipid synthesis in adipose tissue.     

The activities of nicotinamide mononucleotied adenylyltransferase and of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide kinase in the livers of rats subjected to different hormonal treatments

1. The activities of NMN adenylyltransferase and of NAD(+) kinase have been measured in the livers of adrenalectomized or alloxan-diabetic rats and in the livers of rats treated with glucagon, pituitary growth hormone or thyroxine. 2. The activities of these enzymes have been compared with the effects of the same treatments on the nicotinamide nucleotide concentrations in the liver. 3. Alloxandiabetes (+37%) and thyroxine (+27%) both increased the activity of NMN adenylyltransferase. The other treatments were without effect on this enzyme. 4. Only thyroxine increased the activity of NAD(+) kinase significantly (+26%) although both adrenalectomy and glucagon tended to increase its activity. 5. The activity of NAD(+) glycohydrolase was measured in the livers of diabetic rats, and in the livers of rats treated with either growth hormone or thyroxine. Of these treatments, only growth hormone altered the enzyme activity (+26%, calculated on a total hepatic activity basis). 6. Female rats had a greater hepatic NAD(+)-kinase activity than males but there was no sex difference with respect to NMN adenylyltransferase. 7. The lack of correlation between the maximum potential activity of these three enzymes and the known changes of the nicotinamide nucleotides in each of the hormone conditions is discussed.