Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from exudates of different plants that is rich in well-known health-relevant phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Propolis ...extracts are very complex matrices difficult to study. Different analytical methods are usable to analyse propolis extracts and to obtain chemical fingerprint but to our knowledge NMR has not previously been used for this purpose.
This study aims to demonstrate that it is possible to use ¹H-NMR for the simultaneous recognition of phenolic compounds in complex matrices, such as propolis extracts, using appropriate tools for spectra pre-treatment and analysis.
In this work 12 typical phenolic propolis compounds (apigenin, chrysin, galangin, kaempferol, quercetin, naringenin, pinocembrin, pinostrobin, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid) were considered as reference compounds and their presence in samples was verified by HPLC-MS. A simple ¹H-NMR sequence was used to obtain spectra of samples. Spectra were pre-treated by using an appropriate tool for spectra alignment and analysed by using software for the study of spectra originated from complex matrices. Sixty-five propolis samples were used to test the proposed identification procedure.
Ten out of 12 considered compounds were identified as statistically significant in most of the samples.
This work suggests that it is possible to efficiently use ¹H-NMR, coupled with appropriate spectral analytical tools, for the simultaneous detection of phenolic compounds in complex matrices.
Obesity alters gut microbiota ecology and associates with low-grade inflammation in humans. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is one of the most efficient procedures for the treatment of morbid ...obesity resulting in drastic weight loss and improvement of metabolic and inflammatory status. We analyzed the impact of RYGB on the modifications of gut microbiota and examined links with adaptations associated with this procedure.
Gut microbiota was profiled from fecal samples by real-time quantitative PCR in 13 lean control subjects and in 30 obese individuals (with seven type 2 diabetics) explored before (M0), 3 months (M3), and 6 months (M6) after RYGB.
Four major findings are highlighted: 1) Bacteroides/Prevotella group was lower in obese subjects than in control subjects at M0 and increased at M3. It was negatively correlated with corpulence, but the correlation depended highly on caloric intake; 2) Escherichia coli species increased at M3 and inversely correlated with fat mass and leptin levels independently of changes in food intake; 3) lactic acid bacteria including Lactobacillus/Leuconostoc/Pediococcus group and Bifidobacterium genus decreased at M3; and 4) Faecalibacterium prausnitzii species was lower in subjects with diabetes and associated negatively with inflammatory markers at M0 and throughout the follow-up after surgery independently of changes in food intake.
These results suggest that components of the dominant gut microbiota rapidly adapt in a starvation-like situation induced by RYGB while the F. prausnitzii species is directly linked to the reduction in low-grade inflammation state in obesity and diabetes independently of calorie intake.
Abstract Introduction Chronic apical periodontitis (CAP) is a frequent condition that has a considerable effect on a patient's quality of life. We aimed to reveal root canal microbial communities in ...antibiotic-naive patients by applying Illumina sequencing (Illumina Inc, San Diego, CA). Methods Samples were collected under strict aseptic conditions from 12 teeth (5 with primary CAP, 3 with secondary CAP, and 4 with a periapical abscess PA) and characterized by profiling the microbial community on the basis of the V6 hypervariable region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene by using Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing combinatorial sequence-tagged polymerase chain reaction products. Results Root canal specimens displayed highly polymicrobial communities in all 3 patient groups. One sample contained 5–8 (mean = 6.5) phyla of bacteria. The most numerous were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes , but Actinobacteria , Fusobacteria , Proteobacteria , Spirochaetes , Tenericutes , and Synergistetes were also present in most of the patients. One sample contained 30–70 different operational taxonomic units; the mean (± standard deviation) was lower in the primary CAP group (36 ± 4) than in the PA (45 ± 4) and secondary CAP (43 ± 13) groups ( P < .05). The communities were individually different, but anaerobic bacteria predominated as the rule. Enterococcus faecalis was found only in patients with secondary CAP. One PA sample displayed a significantly high proportion (47%) of Proteobacteria , mainly at the expense of Janthinobacterium lividum. Conclusions This study provided an in-depth characterization of the microbiota of periapical tissues, revealing highly polymicrobial communities and minor differences between the study groups. A full understanding of the etiology of periodontal disease will only be possible through further in-depth systems-level analyses of the host-microbiome interaction.
In this work, a novel graphene oxide–silica (GO–silica) composite coating was prepared for hollow fiber solid phase microextraction (HF-SPME) of trace Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb followed by on-line ...inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection. The structure of the prepared graphene oxide and GO–silica composite was studied and elucidated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The GO–silica composite coated hollow fiber was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the results show that the GO–silica composite coating possessed a homogeneous and wrinkled structure. Various experimental parameters affecting the extraction of the target metal ions by GO–silica composite coated HF-SPME have been investigated carefully. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LODs, 3σ) for Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb were 7.5, 0.39, 20, 23, 6.7 and 28ngL−1 and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, cMn, Co, Cd=0.05μgL−1, cNi, Cu, Pb=0.2μgL−1, n=7) were 7.2, 7.0, 5.6, 7.3, 7.8 and 4.6%, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed method was validated by the analysis of Certified Reference Material of GSBZ 50009-88 environmental water and the determined values were in a good agreement with the certified values. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of trace metals in real environmental water samples with recoveries ranging from 85 to 119%.
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•Graphene oxide (GO)–silica composite coating was prepared.•The prepared GO–silica coating possesses excellent extraction performance to metal ions with high adsorption capacity and stability.•An on-line GO–silica coated HF-SPME–ICP-MS method was developed for the quantification of trace metal ions in real-world samples.
To compare implants in healthy conditions and implants with peri-implantitis with regard to their clinical parameters and the microbiologic composition at the peri-implant sulcus, inside the implant ...connection, and the gingival sulcus of neighboring teeth.
A cross-sectional study was performed including consecutive patients with implants in healthy conditions and with peri-implantitis. Clinical parameters for which patients were screened included bleeding on probing, pocket depth, and plaque index at six sites. Samples for microbiologic analysis were obtained from three locations: the peri-implant sulcus, inside the implant connection, and the gingival sulcus of neighboring teeth. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out for total counts of 10 microorganisms: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromona gingivalis, Tanerella forsythia, Tanerella denticola, Prevotela intermedia, Peptostreptococcus micros, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, and Candida albicans. The response variables were the percentage of positive sites and total bacterial counts.
One hundred twenty-two implants in 57 patients were analyzed in the healthy group and 113 implants in 53 patients in the peri-implantitis group. Differences between the groups were statistically significant for bruxism, probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, and radiographic bone level. Orange complex species (P intermedia, P micros, F nucleatum) were the most prevalent in the three types of sites for both groups, and prevalence values were higher in the peri-implantitis group. Differences in prevalence between groups were more marked inside the connection than in the peri-implant sulcus. Absolute loads of most microbes and total bacterial counts were higher for the peri-implantitis group in the three locations. Again, differences were bigger inside the connection than at the peri-implant sulcus. Significant interactions were found for prevalence and absolute microbial loads between groups and locations, and for the interaction of group × location.
Clinical and microbiologic differences were observed between healthy subjects and those with peri-implantitis. Microbiologic differences between groups were more marked inside the connection than in the peri-implant sulcus. The potential role of the implant connection as a microbial reservoir for peri-implant diseases and in the outcome of their treatment should be confirmed with further studies.
This study is the first to use a metagenomics approach to characterize the phylogeny and functional capacity of the canine gastrointestinal microbiome. Six healthy adult dogs were used in a crossover ...design and fed a low-fiber control diet (K9C) or one containing 7.5% beet pulp (K9BP). Pooled fecal DNA samples from each treatment were subjected to 454 pyrosequencing, generating 503,280 (K9C) and 505,061 (K9BP) sequences. Dominant bacterial phyla included the Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group and Firmicutes, both of which comprised ∼35% of all sequences, followed by Proteobacteria (13-15%) and Fusobacteria (7-8%). K9C had a greater percentage of Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria, whereas K9BP had greater proportions of the Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group and Firmicutes. Archaea were not altered by diet and represented ∼1% of all sequences. All archaea were members of Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, with methanogens being the most abundant and diverse. Three fungi phylotypes were present in K9C, but none in K9BP. Less than 0.4% of sequences were of viral origin, with >99% of them associated with bacteriophages. Primary functional categories were not significantly affected by diet and were associated with carbohydrates; protein metabolism; DNA metabolism; cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups and pigments; amino acids and derivatives; cell wall and capsule; and virulence. Hierarchical clustering of several gastrointestinal metagenomes demonstrated phylogenetic and metabolic similarity between dogs, humans and mice. More research is required to provide deeper coverage of the canine microbiome, evaluate effects of age, genetics or environment on its composition and activity, and identify its role in gastrointestinal disease.
The Cannabis sativa plant contains more than 120 cannabinoids. With the exceptions of ∆
-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆
-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), comparatively little is known about the pharmacology of ...the less-abundant plant-derived (phyto) cannabinoids. The best-studied transducers of cannabinoid-dependent effects are type 1 and type 2 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R, CB2R). Partial agonism of CB1R by ∆
-THC is known to bring about the 'high' associated with Cannabis use, as well as the pain-, appetite-, and anxiety-modulating effects that are potentially therapeutic. CB2R activation by certain cannabinoids has been associated with anti-inflammatory activities. We assessed the activity of 8 phytocannabinoids at human CB1R, and CB2R in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing these receptors and in C57BL/6 mice in an attempt to better understand their pharmacodynamics. Specifically, ∆
-THC, ∆
-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (∆
-THCa), ∆
-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), CBD, cannabidiolic acid (CBDa), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabichromene (CBC) were evaluated. Compounds were assessed for their affinity to receptors, ability to inhibit cAMP accumulation, βarrestin2 recruitment, receptor selectivity, and ligand bias in cell culture; and cataleptic, hypothermic, anti-nociceptive, hypolocomotive, and anxiolytic effects in mice. Our data reveal partial agonist activity for many phytocannabinoids tested at CB1R and/or CB2R, as well as in vivo responses often associated with activation of CB1R. These data build on the growing body of literature showing cannabinoid receptor-dependent pharmacology for these less-abundant phytocannabinoids and are critical in understanding the complex and interactive pharmacology of Cannabis-derived molecules.
The peer-reviewed marine pharmacology literature from 2009 to 2011 is presented in this review, following the format used in the 1998-2008 reviews of this series. The pharmacology of ...structurally-characterized compounds isolated from marine animals, algae, fungi and bacteria is discussed in a comprehensive manner. Antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral pharmacological activities were reported for 102 marine natural products. Additionally, 60 marine compounds were observed to affect the immune and nervous system as well as possess antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, 68 marine metabolites were shown to interact with a variety of receptors and molecular targets, and thus will probably contribute to multiple pharmacological classes upon further mechanism of action studies. Marine pharmacology during 2009-2011 remained a global enterprise, with researchers from 35 countries, and the United States, contributing to the preclinical pharmacology of 262 marine compounds which are part of the preclinical pharmaceutical pipeline. Continued pharmacological research with marine natural products will contribute to enhance the marine pharmaceutical clinical pipeline, which in 2013 consisted of 17 marine natural products, analogs or derivatives targeting a limited number of disease categories.
Despite less explored than foods from animal origin, plant derived foods also contain biologically active proteins and peptides. Bioactive peptides can be present as an independent entity in the food ...or, more frequently, can be in a latent state as part of the sequence of a protein. Release from that protein requires protein hydrolysis by enzymatic digestion, fermentation or autolysis. Different methodologies have been used to test proteins and peptides bioactivities. Fractionation, separation, and identification techniques have also been employed for the isolation and identification of bioactive proteins or peptides. In this work, proteins and peptides from plant derived foods exerting antihypertensive, antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, antithrombotic, and immunostimulating capacities or ability to reduce food intake have been reviewed.
► Bioactive peptides and proteins for the first time revised in vegetable foods. ► Antihypertensive, antioxidant, and other less occurrence bioactivities are described. ► Sample treatment, fractionation, and separation for peptides and proteins discussed. ► Analytical methods to evaluate bioactivities of peptides and proteins are reviewed.
Fungal marine microorganisms are a valuable source of bioactive natural products. Fungal secondary metabolites mainly comprise alkaloids, terpenoids, peptides, polyketides, steroids, and lactones. ...Proteins and peptides from marine fungi show minimal human toxicity and less adverse effects comparable to synthetic drugs. This review summarizes the chemistry and the biological activities of peptides that were isolated and structurally elucidated from marine fungi. Relevant fungal genera including
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, as well as
were extensively reviewed. About 131 peptides were reported from these 17 genera and their structures were unambiguously determined using 1D and 2D NMR (one and two dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques in addition to HRMS (high resolution mass spectrometry). Marfey and Mosher reactions were used to confirm the identity of these compounds. About 53% of the isolated peptides exhibited cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and antiviral activity, meanwhile, few of them showed antidiabetic, lipid lowering, and anti-inflammatory activity. However 47% of the isolated peptides showed no activity with respect to the examined biological activity and thus required further in depth biological assessment. In conclusion, when searching for bioactive natural products, it is worth exploring more peptides of fungal origin and assessing their biological activities.
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