Hyphenated LC-ABTS$t and LC-DAD-HRMS for simultaneous analysis and identification of antioxidant compounds in Astragalus emarginatus Labill.extracts

The compounds in leaf and stem extracts of Astragalus emarginatus Labill.(AEL),a plant species used in traditional Lebanese medicine,were investigated for antioxidant properties.First,the activity of various extracts was assessed using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity,oxygen radical absorption capacity,and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assays.The extract obtained using 30%ethanol showed the greatest activity.The antioxidant compounds in this extract were screened using a hyphenated high-performance liquid chromatography-2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate)radical(ABTS$t)system before being separated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry and ultra-violet-visible diode array detection.Approximately 40 compounds were identified.Hydroxycinnamates(caffeic,ferulic,and p-coumaric acid derivatives)and flavonoids(quercetin,luteolin,apigenin,and isorhamnetin derivatives)were the two main categories of the identified compounds.The active compounds were identified as caffeic acid derivatives and quercetin glycosides.In addition,the catechol moiety was shown to be key to antioxidant activity.This study showed that AEL is a source of natural antioxidants,which may explain its medicinal use.

Cell Wall Characteristics of a Maize Mutant Selected for Decreased Ferulates

The cross-linked nature of plant cell walls provides structural integrity for continued growth and development, but limits degradation and utilization by ruminants. In grasses a major cross-linking component is ferulic acid that is incorporated into cell walls as an ester linked residue on arabinoxylans. Ferulates can become coupled to each other and to lignin forming a highly cross-linked matrix of carbohydrates and lignin. Seedling ferulate ester mutants (sfe) were produced in maize using the transposon system and evaluated in feeding trials. The work described here was undertaken to characterize changes in the ferulate cross-linked nature as well as other components of the corn cell wall matrix in leaf, sheath and stem tissues. Total ferulates decreased modestly due to the mutation and were more apparent in leaf tissue (16% - 18%) compared to sheath (+5 to?-6% change) and stem (8% - 9% decrease). The most significant changes were in the ether linked ferulates to lignin, both monomer and dehydrodiferulates (14% to 38% decrease). Other characteristics of the cell wall (lignin, neutral sugar composition) also showed modest changes. The change in total ferulates was modest, but led to improved animal performance. These findings suggest that relatively small changes can have a significant impact upon how well plant materials can be broken down and utilized by ruminants such as dairy cows.

Binding of naturally occurring hydroxycinnamic acids to bovine serum albumin

Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) possess numer- ous biological effects including antioxidant, antiallergic, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory activities and due to these properties are widely used in folk medicine. Nevertheless, they can interact with protein molecules and cause some structural and functional changes. The possib- ility of HCAs binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) under physiological conditions was inve- stigated by the UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence quenching method. Apart from rosmarinic acid, all tested HCAs quenched tryptophan fluorescence of BSA in the studied range of concentrations (0-20 μM) mainly by static quenching mechanism (formation of non- fluorescent HCA-BSA complexes). The binding constants, number of binding sites and free energy changes were determined. The binding affinities of HCAs were ranked in the order: chlorogenic acid > sinapic acid ≥ caffeic acid > ferulic acid > o-coumaric acid > p-coumaric acid ≥ m-coumaric acid, which was confirmed by spectral overlaps of BSA emission spectrum with absorption spectrum of HCA. All free energy changes possessed negative sign indicating the spontaneity of HCA-BSA interaction.

Nitric Oxide: The Key Molecule for Polyphenols Antimicrobial Action

The role of hydroxycinnamic acids as antioxidants, in vivo, has been widely discussed, but, recently, a great debate has focused on their antimicrobial action. In general, for the hydroxycinnamic acids’ action, the presence of NO, which is known to be an antimicrobial agent, seems compulsory;its production goes through the intermediacy of the nitrosonium ion, and a very low pH, for instance, as in the stomach, is requested. However, the action of the hydroxycinnamic acids seems to take place even in different biological compartments, i.e., characterized by different pHs and conditions, and then, for NO production, an alternative mechanism could be involved. In this light, evidence for the NO formation, via an E.T. mechanism, even in mildly acidic conditions (pH = 6.4), was obtained by reacting an aqueous buffer solution of acidic nitrite (HNO2) with the hydroxycinnamic acids ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and sinapic. Experiments conducted by EPR spectroscopy, let to detect the NO formation, and the efficiency of the process depending on the available amount of free polyphenol, and the intrinsic nature of the hydroxycinnamic acids. Thus, the production of NO through a non-enzymatic mechanism, in light acidic conditions, would account for the antimicrobial action of hydroxycinnamic acids, even in unconventional biological compartments, and for NO as the key-molecule.

Stability, cytotoxicity, and saturation effect of the free radical-scavenging cinnamic acid-dopamine hybrid antioxidants

Hybrid antioxidants cinnamoyldopamine（2a）, p-coumaroyldopamine（2b）, caffeoyldopamine（2c）, feruloyldopamine（2d） and sinapoyldopamine（2e） were synthesized by conjugation of dopamine（DA） and hydroxycinnamic acids（HCAs）. The stabilities were studied in buffers at p H 1.3, p H 5.0, and p H 7.4 including the human plasma. All the compounds were found highly stable at acidic p H, but underwent hydrolysis at neutral p H. Furthermore, the hydrolysis proceeded much faster in plasma in the following order as indicated by half-life values（t1/2）, 2c（1.21 h）〈2e（1.52 h）〈2d（1.85 h）〈2b（3.38 h）〈2a（3.88 h）, correlating with the number of electron-donating groups. It has been proven by UV spectrum that 2c, 2d, and 2e displayed red shift of more than 50 nm as compared to 2a and 2b, because of the presence of OH and OCH3 groups. In addition, the compounds（2b–e） showed no cytotoxicity on normal HUVEC cells as DA, although 2a displayed a 16% inhibition of proliferation at 40 μM following 48 h incubation. Their free radical-scavenging activities were evaluated using ABTS^＊＋ and superoxide anion assays and the mechanisms were proposed. It was found that they all exhibited higher activities than trolox, a recognized antioxidant. Amazingly, in the case of the hybrids（2a–e）, their activity was higher than that of HCAs while lower or comparable to that of DA, suggesting that there may be a ＂saturation effect＂ with the hybrid molecules in the antioxidant activities.

An Oryza-specific hydroxycinnamoyl tyramine gene cluster contributes to enhanced disease resistance

Genomic clustering of non-homologous genes for the biosynthesis of plant defensive compounds is an emerging theme, but insights into their formation and physiological function remain limited. Here we report the identification of a newly discovered hydroxycinnamoyl tyramine(HT) gene cluster in rice.This cluster contains a pyridoxamine 50-phosphate oxidase(Os PDX3) producing the cofactor pyridoxal50-phosphate(PLP), a PLP-dependent tyrosine decarboxylase(Os Ty DC1), and two duplicated hydroxycinnamoyl transferases(Os THT1 and Os THT2). These members were combined to represent an enzymological innovation gene cluster. Natural variation analysis showed that the abundance of the toxic tyramine intermediate of the gene cluster among different rice accessions is mainly determined by the coordinated transcription of Os Ty DC1 and Os THT1. Further pathogen incubation assays demonstrated that the end products of the HT gene cluster displayed enhanced resistance to the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae(Xoo) and fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae(M. oryzae), and the enhanced resistance is associated with the boost of phytoalexins and the activation of defense response. The unique presence of the HT gene cluster in Oryza AA genome, together with the enrichment of transposon elements within this gene cluster region, provides an evolutionary background to accelerate cluster member combinations. Our study not only discovered a gene cluster involved in the phenylpropanoid metabolism but also addressed the key aspects of gene cluster formation. In addition, our results provide a new metabolic pool for plant defense against pathogens.

Synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives as mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and cytotoxic agents

In order to develop agents with superior chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties against hepatocellular carcinomas, mitochondria-targeted hydroxycinnamic acids(Mito HCAs) were synthesized by conjugation with a triphenylphosphonium cation. These synthetic compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant activities in hepatic mitochondria, including against OH? àand ROO? àinduced lipid peroxidation. H_2O_2 production was decreased significantly by increasing glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities. In addition, cell proliferation data from three cell lines(HepG2, L02 and WI38) indicated that the Mito HCAs were selective for cancer cells. Interestingly, the Mito HCAs both with or without Ca^(2+)triggered mitochondrial dysfunction by inducing mitochondrial swelling, collapsing the mitochondrial membrane potential and causing cytochrome c release. In particular, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore(m PTP), cyclosporin A, attenuated mitochondrial damage and cell apoptosis, indicating that m PTP may be involved in the antiproliferative activity of Mito HCAs.Further studies focused on structural optimization of these compounds are onging.