Chemical Fingerprint and Anti-Sickling Activity of Rosmarinic Acid and Methanolic Extracts from Three Species of Ocimum from DR Congo

The aim of this study was to characterize the polyphenolic composition by determination of chemical fingerprints of Methanolic extracts of Ocimum canum Sims, Ocimum basilicum L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. from Democratic Republic of Congo and to compare their antisickling activity of that of rosmarinic acid, the major compound to those of methanolic extracts. Phytochemical analysis performed by TLC and HPLC analysis, showed that rosmarinic acid is the most abundant phenolic acid in these Ocimum species according to the following order O. basilicum L., O. gratissimum L. and O. canum Sims. Methanolic extracts of these three species and pure rosmarinic acid showed significant antisickling activities with minimal concentration of normalization values of 0.18 ± 0.03, 0.23 ± 0.04, 0.26 ± 0.04 and 0.31 ± 0.05 mg/mL for rosmarinic acid, O. basilicum L., O. gratissimum L. and O. canum Sims methanolic extracts respectively. The antisickling activity order is the same as that of the rosmarinic acid content, indicating that this polyphenolic acid would be among the main active molecules in these extracts.

Kinetic Determination of Urea in Milk Powder by Nonlinear Chemical Fingerprint Technique

To detect urea content in milk powder, a nonlinear chemical fingerprint technique was developed. In our study, Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillatory chemical reaction (B-Z) was performed using milk powder and malonic acid as main dissipative substances. The same dosage of milk powder with or without artificially added urea was introduced to “H+ + Ce4+ + + malonic acid” oscillating system, respectively, and nonlinear chemical fingerprints of different milk powder were thus obtained. The proposed method was based on a linear relationship between inductive time of non-linear chemical fingerprints and urea content in milk powder, which held when urea content in milk powder was in the range of 0 - 40 mg/g. A detection limit of 7.8 × 10-3mg/g was also obtained. Our results showed that the method could be used to certify urea content in milk powder without pretreatment of samples, which was more simple and economical compared with traditional methods.

Mass spectral chemical fingerprints reveal the molecular dependence of exhaust particulate matters on engine speeds

Particulate matters（PMs） emitted by automobile exhaust contribute to a significant fraction of the global PMs. Extractive atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry（EAPCI-MS） was developed to explore the molecular dependence of PMs collected from exhaust gases produced at different vehicle engine speeds. The mass spectral fingerprints of the organic compounds embedded in differentially sized PMs（e.g., 0.22–0.45, 0.45–1.00, 1.00–2.00, 2.00–3.00, 3.00–5.00, and 5.00–10.00 μm） generated at different engine speeds（e.g., 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 r/min） were chemically profiled in the mass range of mass to charge ratio（m/z） 50–800. Organic compounds,including alcohols, aldehydes, and esters, were detected in all the PMs tested, with varied concentration levels for each individual PM sample. At relatively low engine speeds（≤ 1500 r/min）, the total amount of organic species embedded in PMs of 0.22–1.00 μm was greater than in PMs of other sizes, while more organic species were found in PMs of5.00–10.00 μm at high engine speeds（≥ 3000 r/min）, indicating that the organic compounds distributed in different sizes of PMs strongly correlated with the engine speed. The experimental data showed that the EAPCI-MS technique enables molecular characterization of PMs in exhaust, revealing the chemical dependence of PMs on the engine speeds（i.e., the combustion conditions） of automobiles.

HPLC Fingerprint - Antioxidant Properties Study of Buckwheat

For quality control of buckwheat, fingerprint-efficacy study of buckwheat was carried out in this work. 2,2＇-Bipyridyl,2,2- diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl radical （DPPH） scavenging activity of the buckwheat was measured using UV spectrometer. Chemical fingerprints of tartary buckwheat from 29 different sources were determined by HPLC-UV and investigated by similarity analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. The fingerprint-efficacy relationship between chemical fingerprint and DPPH radical scavenging activity of tartary buckwheat were established by multi-linear regression analysis. The results showed that the sources of buckwheat had some important influence on the chemical fingerprints and DPPH radical scavenging activity. DPPH radical scavenging activity of tartary buckwheat was stronger than that of common buckwheat, rutin, and kaempferol and some unknown compound might be the major effective components for quality control of tartary buckwheat for its antioxidant activity.

Study of the distribution profile of piperidine alkaloids in various parts of Prosopis juliflora by the application of Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry(DART-MS)

Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry(DART-MS)was applied to identify and study the distribution profile of piperidine alkaloids in different parts of Prosopis juliflora,without isolation and separation of the compounds by standard chromatographic techniques.With the help of DART-MS,chemical fingerprint of raw plant parts were generated,which revealed the presence of piperidine alkaloids in leaf,pod and flower.A comparative study of the distribution pattern,showed variation in the presence and distribution of these alkaloids in various parts of P.juliflora.The leaves and pod displayed the largest alkaloid pattern with a total of 12 different alkaloids in each part,whereas only 4 alkaloids were present in flower.Alkaloids:julifloridine,prosopine,prosopinine and prosafrinine were ubiquitously distributed in all the alkaloid rich plant parts.Juliprosopine was pre-eminet alkaloid in leaf,whereas pod and flower displayed copious amounts of julifloridine.

Systematic review for geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos

In traditional Chinese medicine, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos is commonly used as anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antipyretic herbal medicine, and geo-authentic herbs are believed to present the highest quality among all samples from different regions. To discuss the current situation and trend of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, we searched Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Wanfang, and PubMed. We investigated all studies up to November 2015 pertaining to quality assessment, discrimination, pharmacological effects, planting or processing, or ecological system of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. Sixty-five studies mainly discussing about chemical fingerprint, component analysis, planting and processing, discrimination between varieties, ecological system, pharmacological effects, and safety were systematically reviewed. By analyzing these studies, we found that the key points of geo-authentic Lonicerae Japonicae Flos research were quality and application. Further studies should focus on improving the quality by selecting the more superior of all varieties and evaluating clinical effectiveness.