Determination of carbohydrates in medicinal plants--comparison between TLC, mf-MELDI-MS and GC-MS

Introduction – Quality control in the pharmaceutical and phytopharmaceutical industries requires fast and reliable methods for the analysis of raw materials and final products. Objective – This study evaluates different analytical approaches in order to recognise the most suitable technique for the analysis of carbohydrates in herbal drug preparations. Methodology – The specific focus of the study is on thin‐layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC), and a newly developed mass spectrometric method, i.e. matrix free material enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (mf‐MELDI‐MS). Samples employed in the study were standards and microwave‐assisted water extracts from Quercus. Results – TLC analysis proved the presence of mono‐, di‐ and trisaccharides within the biological sample and hinted at the existence of an unknown carbohydrate of higher oligomerisation degree. After evaluation of different derivatisation techniques, GC‐MS confirmed data obtained via TLC for mono‐ to trisaccharides, delivering additionally quantified values under a considerable amount of time. A carbohydrate of higher oligomerisation degree could not be found. The application of mf‐MELDI‐MS further confirmed the presence of carbohydrates up to trisaccharides, also hinting at the presence of a form of tetrasaccharide. Besides this information, mf‐MELDI‐MS delivered further data about other substances present in the extract. Quantitative determination resulted in 1.750, 1.736 and 0.336 mg/mL for glucose, sucrose and raffinose respectively. Conclusion – Evaluation of all three techniques employed, clearly proved the heightened performance of mf‐MELDI‐MS for the qualitative analysis of complex mixtures, as targets do not need modification and analysis requires only a few minutes. In addition, GC‐MS is suitable for quantitative analysis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长白山暗针叶林苔藓枯落物层的降雨截留过程

对长白山北坡暗针叶林地面苔藓枯落物层 (苔藓植物和枯落叶交织而成的层状结构 )持水能力、截留降雨过程及动态变化进行了研究。结果表明苔藓枯落物层持水能力很强 ,最大持水量相当于 4 .8mm的降雨量 ,这个结果大于将苔藓与枯落物分开来测定的结果之和 ,说明成层结构能够提高持水能力。在一次降雨过程中对降雨截留过程的观测发现 :持水量刚开始随降雨增加而增加 ,到一定量时 ,降雨再增加 ,持水量反而缓慢下降。对持水动态变化一个月的观测 ,表明苔藓枯落物层水分蒸发较快 ,当长时间无雨时 ,持水量显著下降 ,当降雨再次发生时 ,持水量迅速回升 ,这种动态过程伴随着降雨的发生而不断往复。此外 ,在夜间苔藓枯落物层有吸收空气中水气的特点 ,吸收量受空气湿度的影响     

Gluconeogenesis and the peroxisome

The interaction between hydroperoxides, cytochrome P450 and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) has been investigated. The addition of ANS to the cytochrome P450 solution did not effect the P450 Soret absorption peak or the reduced CO difference spectrum, suggesting that ANS may not bind to P450 heme directly. H2O2 or CuOOH alone did not effect ANS fluorescence and absorption spectra indicating that no detectable reaction occurs between hydroperoxide and ANS in the absence of P450. The reconstituted system of cytochrome P450, P450 reductase, lipid and NADPH did not mediate ANS metabolism. In the presence of P450, the addition of either H2O2 or CuOOH, however, leads to a decrease in ANS absorption around 258 nm and 350 nm indicating possible destruction of ANS. ANS destruction was confirmed with the disappearance of the ANS elution peak in the reverse phase HPLC profiles and with the changes in P450-bound ANS fluorescence intensity and the shift of max of ANS. Moreover , a very sensitive method to detect trace fluorescent products of ANS by thin layer chromatography has been developed based on the fact that ANS fluorescence is enhanced more than 1000-fold by the organic solvent butanol. A UV-sensitive fluorescent product was detected on thin layer chromatography profiles of the reaction mixtures. P450 was also observed to be modified by a fluorescent derivative of ANS, when the fluorescence was enhanced by butanol. These results also show that an organic compound which can not be metabolized by the reconstituted system of cytochrome P450 and NADPH-P450 reductase is metabolized by the reconstituted system of P450 and hydroperoxide, suggesting the activities of these two systems may not be completely comparable. (Mol Cell Biochem 167: 159-168, 1997)     

水洞沟12号地点的古环境研究

水洞沟遗址12号地点(SDG12)是一处以细石叶技术为主的旧石器时代末期文化,其文化层埋藏于边沟河Ⅱ级阶地中上部。地层时代从距今4.7万年至1.1万年左右,文化层时代为距今约1.1万年,处于更新世与全新世的过渡时期,略经流水改造,为原地埋藏。孢粉组合特征显示在整个地层发育期内该地区是以麻黄属+藜科+霸王属+蒿属+禾本科组合为主的植被类型,为气候比较干旱-半干旱荒漠草原植被景观。在SDG12地点文化层堆积时期,气候相对暖湿,附近尚生长着沼生植物和榆、栎、桦等温带落叶阔叶乔木,为稀树荒漠草原环境。SDG12地点的古人类活动及古环境特征的分析对了解水洞沟文化的发展与传承有着重要的意义,同时也为中国北方细石叶文化研究提供了确切的地层和材料。     

东灵山地区地表甲虫群落组成及季节变化

本文研究东灵山地区地表甲虫群落的物种组成和季节变化,取样选择在11种不同生境类型内,分别代表该地区的植被类型与环境变化。1999～2000年的野外取样共获得甲虫标本10874号,其中步甲、隐翅虫、叶甲、象甲、拟步甲、金龟和叩甲等7科的个体数量较多,合计占个体总数的83.36%,为该地区地表甲虫的优势类群。选择40个最常见物种统计种类和数量,对生境进行主成分分析排序（PCA）和系统聚类分析,可以将东灵山地区的11种生境类型划归为3类：即梨园岭退耕区的灌丛类型、小龙门林区的森林类型和东灵山主峰区的亚高山植被类型,梨园岭退耕区的辽东栎萌生丛被合并到小龙门林区森林植被类型中,反映了植被类型、海拔高度及受干扰程度可能是决定该地区地表甲虫群落组成和分布的主要因素。研究地表甲虫的季节变化发现其活动高峰多出现在6月和7月,而且在不同生境类型内,优势类群的组成和季节变化有很大差异;小龙门林区内数量分布高于梨园岭退耕区内的分布,尤其在落叶松林和阔叶混交林内的数量优势更加明显。如果按营养层次划分功能群,捕食性类群比例最高,植食性类群次之,腐食性类群最少,捕食性类群的季节活动曲线滞后于植食性类群的活动曲线。     

Analysis of brain and myelin lipids by high-performance thin layer chromatography and densitometry

We have developed a simple method involving high-performance thin layer chromatographic separation of total brain and myelin lipids. Only two solvent systems consisting of chloroform: methanol: acetic acid and water at different concentrations were needed. The plate was then stained with three sequential procedures to visualize phospholipids, cholesterol and galactolipids. Densitometric procedure at each step of staining was utilized to obtain quantitative analysis of brain and myelin samples.     

农田林网化地区近地面层廓线特征研究

大面积林网化地区近地面层大气的系留气球观测发现,近地面层大气的风、温、湿分为两层,即下边界层和扰动边界层,其厚度和廓线分布与理查逊数有关,在中性天气条件下均满足对数分布规律,边界层（特别是扰动边界层）内的摩擦速度Ｕ．＂与旷野对比点的摩擦速度Ｕ０增大１个数量级,而粗糙度Ｚ＂０增大２个数量级,甚至更大。     

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor selectively regulates dendritogenesis of parvalbumin‐containing interneurons in the main olfactory bulb through the PLCγ pathway

Molecular mechanisms of neurotrophin signaling on dendrite development and dynamics are only partly understood. To address the role of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the morphogenesis of GABAergic neurons of the main olfactory bulb, we analyzed mice lacking BDNF, mice carrying neurotrophin‐3 (NT3) in the place of BDNF, and TrkB signaling mutant mice with a receptor that can activate phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) but is unable to recruit the adaptors Shc/Frs2. BDNF deletion yielded a compressed olfactory bulb with a significant loss of parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactivity in GABAergic interneurons of the external plexiform layer. Dendrite development of PV‐positive interneurons was selectively attenuated by BDNF since other Ca²⁺‐binding protein‐containing neuron populations appeared unaffected. The deficit in PV‐positive neurons could be rescued by the NT3/NT3 alleles. The degree of PV immunoreactivity was dependent on BDNF and TrkB recruitment of the adaptor proteins Shc/Frs2. In contrast, PLCγ signaling from the TrkB receptor was sufficient for dendrite growth in vivo and consistently, blocking PLCγ prevented BDNF‐dependent dendrite development in vitro. Collectively, our results provide genetic evidence that BDNF and TrkB signaling selectively regulate PV expression and dendrite growth in a subset of neurochemically‐defined GABAergic interneurons via activation of the PLCγ pathway. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol, 2006     

Understory plant diversity is related to higher variability of vegetative mobility of coexisting species

Theoretical studies claim that if co-occurring species have very different mobilities this will result in greater small-scale species richness, but empirical evidence is still lacking. We measured horizontal vegetative mobility (VM) of 48 herbaceous understory species and estimated small-scale species richness in early and late successional boreonemoral herb-rich coniferous forests in central Estonia. VM of erosulate growth forms was significantly higher than that of hemi-rosette and rosette growth forms. Erosulate species exhibited higher mobility in young stands, but their relative and total cover was considerably higher in old stands. Local plant richness (in 1 × 1 m plots) correlated positively with the variability of VM of species in a plot—larger differences in VM resulted in a higher number of coexisting species. Our results thus suggest that species differences in VM can contribute to small-scale coexistence by providing different ways to colonise empty space. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Culture of Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes: an alternative to animal use

This article reviews the use of an in vitro culture model for the maintenance and proliferation of Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes and the formation of protoscoleces. This model has been used to identify and characterize parasite molecules involved in host-parasite interactions, and is a suitable tool to perform in vitro drug-screening assays. The development of a simple and easy-to-handle assay to determine the effects of drugs on parasite viability, without the need for time-consuming animal experimentation, has opened the way for larger-scale in vitro drug screening.