Silencing of the Nonspecific Phospholipase C6(NPC6)Gene Induces Ricinoleic Acid Accumulation in Castor Seeds

Castor,scientifically known as Ricinus communis L.,is among the top ten oil crops globally.It is considered a renewable resource and is commonly referred to as‘green oil’.Castor seeds contain castor oil as their main component,which is predominantly composed of ricinoleic acid.This study utilized RNAi technology to silence the NPC6 gene in NO.2129 castor,resulting in the creation of mutant plants L1 and L2.The weight of 100 dry seed kernels from L1 and L2 exceeds that from NO.2129.The crude fat and ricinoleic acid levels of L1 and L2 were higher than those of NO.2129 at various developmental stages.In the proteomics analysis of 60-day-old castor seeds,a total of 21 differentially expressed proteins were identified,out of which 19 were successfully recognized.Eleven of the differentially expressed proteins identified were legumins,which play a crucial role in nutrient storage within the seed.Silencing the NPC6 gene results in the accumulation of ricinoleic acid in castor seeds.The findings of this study not only enhance our knowledge of NPC6’s role in regulating castor seed oil synthesis but also offer fresh perspectives for investigating oil synthesis and accumulation in other plant species.

STUDIES ON THE ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF POLYPHASE LIPOSOME OF RICINOLEIC ACID CONTAINING SELENIUM

Emulsion and polyphase liposome (PL) of ricinoleic acid (RA) and RA containing selenium (Se-RA) were prepared by tween-80 treatment and injection-ultrasonic method. Their antitumor effects were tested in vitro and in vivo. As a result, the emulsion of RA (91 ) and Sc-RA (92) can completely kill the mouse ascites tumor cells of S180 in vitro (500 μg/ml). While. 97% cells of the control group still survive. When tested in vivo, 91 and 92 were injected into mice peritoneally (200 mg/Kg/day) for 7 days, their inhibit rate on S180 are 30. 6% (P<0. 05) and 33. 3% (P<0. 05) respectively. For the PL of RA (113) and Se-RA (114), the inhibit rate are 58% (P< 0.001) and 61.4% (P<0. 001) respectively (400 mg/kg/day). The result of 3H-TdR incorporation experiment indicates that the possible antitumor mechanism of Se-Ra is that it can inhibit the incorporation of 3H- TdR into tumor cells and hense inhibit the DNA synthesis of the tumor cells.

Biobased Vanillic Acid and Ricinoleic Acid: Building Blocks for Fully Renewable Copolyesters

New fully biobased polyether/esters have been synthesized by a one-pot polymerization reaction of ricinoleic acid(RA),vanillic acid(VA)and ethylene carbonate(EC).In particular,EC selectively reacts with the phenolic group of VA to obtain in-situ 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methoxybenzoate(EV),suitable for subsequent copolymerization with RA.The procedure was carried out in a single step,without any solvent.Chemical structure and thermal properties of the new materials were studied in order to explore relationships between composition and final performances.The combination of EV,bearing a rigid aromatic structure,with RA,characterized by high flexibility and potential biocidal activity,allows the production of a novel class of fully biobased aliphatic-aromatic polymers presenting tuneable thermal properties and suitable for a range of applications,for example,in active packaging and biomedical fields.

Analysis and comparison of tribological performance of fatty acid-based lubricant additives with phosphorus and sulfur

Two environmentally friendly,water-based lubricant additives(phosphorus-containing ricinoleic acid(PRA)and sulfur-containing ricinoleic acid(SRA))were prepared.The lubrication perfor-mance of the additives in a water-based lubricant was tested using a four-ball tribotester.The stainless steel surface was analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and X-ray pho-toelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The additives reduced the coefficient of friction(COF)value,wear scar diameter(WSD)and improved the extreme pressure(PB)value.Water-based fluids con-taining the PRA exhibited lower COF,WSD,and PB values than the SRA.The good tribological performances of the PRA and SRA were attributed to the synergistic action of long aliphatic chains and highly active phosphorus and sulfur elements.

Disposition and fate of polyoxyethylene glycerol ricinoleate as determined by LC-Q-TOF MS coupled with MS^(ALL),SWATH and HR MS/MS techniques

Polyoxyethylene glycerol ricinoleate(PGR) serves as a solubilizer/emulsifier that is commonly used in pharmaceutical formulations despite being associated with severe anaphylactoid hypersensitivity reactions.Cremophor EL?(CrEL) is the most representative PGR produced from reacting ethylene oxide with castor oil.To help clarify the cause of side effects and potentially improve the safety of PGR-based drug delivery vehicle,we have developed separate but related analytical methods for the quantitation of CrEL and its main metabolites,glycerol ethoxylate(GE) and ricinoleic acid(RA).Since CrEL and GE are highly disperse mixtures of polymers that are not amenable to analysis by conventional liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS),we used liquid chromatography-triple-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(LC-Q-TOF MS) combined with product ion data acquisition by MSALLand sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragments mass spectrometry(SWATH MS),respectively to perform the analysis.In contrast,RA is a single molecular entity that could be readily analyzed using conventional LC-HR MS/MS.Selection of specific fragment ions for CrEL,GE,RA and their internal standards enabled a precise quantitation of such a complex analytes system in rat plasma after a single and simple sample preparation method.Assay validation indicated linearity for CrEL,GE and RA over the concentration ranges 0.2~20.0 μg/mL,0.1~10.0 μg/mL and 0.1~20.0 μg/m L,respectively with satisfactory results for other validation parameters.A subsequent pharmacokinetic study involving single intravenous 200 mg/kg injections of CrEL to rats showed the methods enable comprehensive and high throughput quantitation of CrEL and its metabolites in a biological matrix.Our combination of assays provides effective application in investigating the cause of the hypersensitivity reaction of PGR and potentially to improve its safety for using as a vehicle in drug formulations.