A comparison study on structure-function relationship of polysaccharides obtained from sea buckthorn berries using different methods:antioxidant and bile acid-binding capacity

In this study,the structural characters,antioxidant activities and bile acid-binding ability of sea buckthorn polysaccharides(HRPs)obtained by the commonly used hot water(HRP-W),pressurized hot water(HRP-H),ultrasonic(HRP-U),acid(HRP-C)and alkali(HRP-A)assisted extraction methods were investigated.The results demonstrated that extraction methods had significant effects on extraction yield,monosaccharide composition,molecular weight,particle size,triple-helical structure,and surface morphology of HRPs except for the major linkage bands.Thermogravimetric analysis showed that HRP-U with filamentous reticular microstructure exhibited better thermal stability.The HRP-A with the lowest molecular weight and highest arabinose content possessed the best antioxidant activities.Moreover,the rheological analysis indicated that HRPs with higher galacturonic acid content and molecular weight showed higher viscosity and stronger crosslinking network(HRP-C,HRP-W and HRP-U),which exhibited stronger bile acid binding capacity.The present findings provide scientific evidence in the preparation technology of sea buckthorn polysaccharides with good antioxidant and bile acid binding capacity which are related to the structure affected by the extraction methods.

Solid components and acid buffering capacity of soils in South China

The effects of soil solid components on soil sensitivity to acid deposition by sequential extraction method were studied. A multiple regression equation of soil sensitivity was set up on the basis of stepwise regression analysis. The results showed that organic matter expressed dual effects that were decided by soil original pH value and exchangeable cation composition on acid buffering reactions. The hydrolysis of activated oxides was a very important proton buffering reaction when in low pH situation. The crystalline oxides also played a role in the buffering reactions, but the role was restricted by the rate of activation of oxides. Meanwhile, the results by stepwise analysis showed that factors that had significant effect on soil acid buffering capacity were content of montmorillite, soil original pH value, Al 0, Mn 0 and CEC in decreasing order. Finally, sixteen soils were classified into four types of sensitive with single index cluster and multiple fuzzy cluster analysis respectively.

Antacid effects of Chinese herbal prescriptions assessed by a modified artificial stomach model

AIM:To assess the antacid effects of the tonic Chinese herbal prescriptions,Si-Jun-Zi-Tang(SJZT) and Shen-Ling-Bai-Zhu-San(SLBZS).METHODS:Decoctions of the tonic Chinese herbal prescriptions,SJZT and SLBZS,were prepared according to Chinese original documents.The pH of the prescription decoctions and their neutralizing effects on artif icial gastric acids were determined and compared with water and the active controls,sodium bicarbonate and colloidal aluminum phosphate.A modified model of Vatier's artificial stomach was used to determine the duration of consistent neutralization effect on artificial gastric acids.The neutralization capacity in vitro was determined with the titration method of Fordtran's model.RESULTS:The results showed that both SJZT and SLBZS have antacid effects in vitro.Compared with the water group,SJZT and SLBZS were found to possess signif icant gastric acid neutralizing effects.The duration for consistent neutralization of SLBZS was signif icantly longer than that of water.Also,SLBZS and SJZT exhibited signif icant antacid capacities compared to water.CONCLUSION:SJZT and SLBZS were consistently active in the artificial stomach model and are suggested to have antacid effects similar to the active control drugs.

Variability in total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant leaf pigments and foliage yield of vegetable amaranth

Twenty vegetable amaranth genotypes were evaluated for total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant leaf pigments, vitamins, and selection of suitable genotypes for extraction of juice in a randomized complete block design（RCBD） with three replications. Vegetable amaranth was rich in chlorophyll, β-cyanins, β-xanthins, betalains, carotene, ascorbic acid and total antioxidant. The genotypes VA14, VA16, VA18, VA15, and VA20 could be selected as amaranth vegtable varieties with high yields and abundance antioxidant leaf pigments and vitamins to produce juice. The genotypes VA13 and VA19 had above-average foliage yield and high antioxidant profiles while the genotypes VA2, VA3, VA9, VA11, VA12, and VA17 had a high antioxidant profiles and below-average foliage yield. These genotypes could be used as a donor parent for integration of potential high antioxidant profiles genes into other genotypes. The correlation study revealed a strong positive association among all the antioxidant leaf pigments, total antioxidant capacity and foliage yield. Selection based on total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant leaf pigments could economically viable to improve the yield potential of vegetable amaranth genotypes. Total carotene and ascorbic acid exhibited insignificant genotypic correlation with all the traits except total antioxidant capacity. This indicates that selection for antioxidant vitamins might be possible without compromising yield loss.

Divergent responses of growth rate and antioxidative system of ten Bacillus strains to acid stresses

Response of growth rate and antioxidative system of ten Bacillus strains to acid stresses was assayed.Strong acid treatment significantly decreased the growth rate of the strains.Acid stresses increased the GPX activity and GSSG content of the tested strains.Divergent changes occurred in ROS and antioxidative system(SOD,CAT,GR,MDA and GSH).Environmental changes including soil acidification exert obvi-ous stresses on soil ecosystems and influence soil microor-ganisms.In this study,ten microbial strains were incubated under different acid treatments to investigate responses of microbial growth and antioxidative system to acid stress.All the strains belong to Bacillus genus,but exhibit distinct ecological functions.We observed that these microbial strains had obviously different pH tolerance threshold,in spite of the close phylogenetic classification among strains.Acid stresses exerted significant effects on microbial antiox-idative system,including superoxide dismutase(SOD),cata-lase(CAT)and glutathione transferring enzymes(GPX and GR)and reactants(GSH and GSSH),but the effects were strain specific.Furthermore,we found acid stress effects on total variances of the investigated microbial antioxidative system along the first two principal components(PCs).Activities of CAT and SOD contributed substantially to PC1 that reflected obvious acid effects on NC7 and ZC4,and closely related to intracellular malondialdehyde content.The GSSG activities and GSH/GSSG contributed greatly to PC2 that unveiled acid stress effects on most of the microbial strains.Our results highlight substantially heterogeneous responses of microbial strains to acid stress and support that phylogenetic closeness does not imply functional similarity of soil microorganisms under environmental changes.

Enhanced Antioxidant Capacities in vivo Caused by the Change in Key Constituent of Terminalia chebula Retz. Treated with Tibet Traditional Process

In order to investigate the chemical-biological relationship caused by the special processing technology,the constituent＇s content and antioxidant capacity in vivo of Euphorbia fischeriana Steud processing Terminalia chebula Retz. have been tested. Taking T. chebula Retz. as control,the content of gallic acid is analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） method. The results show that the increase of gallic acid concentration from 4.54% to 7.46% leads to enhancement of the antioxidant capacities in vivo of the E. fischeriana Steud processing T. chebula Retz. The significant antioxidant capacity in vivo（p〈0.05） of the processed product possesses is better than the unprocessed herb. Its superoxide dismutase（SOD）and malondia-ldehyde（MDA） contents in serum,the MDA content in liver can match the effects of vitamine E when administered at high dosage.