The production of bioactive agents from lignocelluloses has received limited attention because plant cell walls are essentially non‐bioactive. In this study, a chemical reaction is reported, which ...produces a lignin‐derived antiviral substance from sugarcane bagasse by microwave heating at 200 °C in aqueous glycerol containing 0.5 % H2SO4. The purified fraction, designated as FR200, strongly inhibited the replication of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) in L929 cells without cytotoxicity. HSQC NMR spectra demonstrated that the principal interunit linkages in the native lignin were cleaved by the reaction. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and pyrolysis‐GCMS revealed that FR200 is composed of oligomeric lignin with a weight average molecular weight of approximately 2000. When the bagasse was reacted at lower temperatures, 140 °C and 160 °C, the native lignin substructures were partially retained and the antiviral activity significantly decreased. The results thus indicate that the antiviral activity emerged through severe alteration of the native lignin structure. Furthermore, it was revealed that the antiviral lignin inactivated the EMCV virions through direct contact, as the innate immune system of L929 was not activated by FR200 treatment, and no antiviral activity was found when L929 was pre‐treated with the lignin before viral infection.
Plant cells fighting viruses: The production of bioactive agents from lignocelluloses has received limited attention because plant cell walls are essentially non‐bioactive. In this study, a chemical reaction is reported, which produces a lignin‐derived antiviral substance from sugarcane bagasse by microwave heating at 200 °C in aqueous glycerol containing 0.5 % H2SO4. The purified fraction strongly inhibited the replication of encephalomyocarditis virus in L929 cells without cytotoxicity.
Excessive exposure of skin to UV-A (315–400 nm) and UV-B (280–315 nm) radiation causes premature skin aging, inflammation, and skin cancers. The harmful effects of solar radiation can be minimized ...using UV-absorbing agents. Most available organic UV-absorbing agents are synthetic compounds. UV absorbers were developed herein from a reproducible biomass resource, lignin. Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic polymer with a major absorption maximum in the UV-C (100–280 nm) region but lacks UV-A and UV-B absorption. To produce UV absorbers from lignin, conjugated structures connecting the side chain and aromatic ring must be incorporated to shift the maximum absorption of lignin to the UV-A and UV-B regions. Extensive screening of the degradation reactions of lignin showed that the microwave-assisted alkaline copper oxide reactions yielded lignin-derived monomers and seven dimers with high absorbance in the UV-A and UV-B regions, including the novel compounds 1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propen-1-one and 1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)penta-1,4-dien-3-one. The UV-absorbing compounds have a long conjugated structure comprising aromatic rings and side chains with double bonds and carbonyl groups. The production of UV-A and UV-B absorbing lignin-derived compounds with defined chemical structures from a wide variety of lignified plant biomass sources provides natural UV-absorbing materials with prospects for cosmetics and resin additives.
Anti‐influenza virus effects of cocoa Kamei, Masanori; Nishimura, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Toshio ...
Journal of the science of food and agriculture,
15 March 2016, Letnik:
96, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Abstract
The high growth rate of
Ulva
seaweeds makes it a potential algal biomass resource. In particular,
Ulva meridionalis
grows up to fourfold a day. Here, we demonstrated strong carbon fixation ...by
U. meridionalis
using
13
C stable isotope labelling and traced the
13
C flux through sugar metabolites with isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IR-MS), Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS),
13
C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (
13
C-NMR), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS).
U. meridionalis
was first cultured in
13
C-labelled enriched artificial seawater for 0–12 h, and the algae were collected every 4 h.
U. meridionalis
grew 1.8-fold (dry weight), and the
13
C ratio reached 40% in 12 h, whereas
13
C incorporation hardly occurred under darkness. At the beginning of the light period,
13
C was incorporated into nucleic diphosphate (NDP) sugars in 4 h, and
13
C labelled peaks were identified using FT-ICR-MS spectra. Using semiquantitative
13
C-NMR measurements and GC–MS,
13
C was detected in starch and matrix polysaccharides after the formation of NDP sugars. Moreover, the 14:10 light:dark regime resulted into 85% of
13
C labelling was achieved after 72 h of cultivation. The rapid
13
C uptake by
U. meridionalis
shows its strong carbon fixation capacity as a promising seaweed biomass feedstock.
Pyroligneous acids (PA) from hardwood, softwood, and bamboo significantly disinfected encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV). Twenty-five kinds of phenolic derivatives in the PAs were identified and ...quantified. The total amounts of phenolic compounds in bamboo PA is higher than those in the PAs from softwood and hardwood. Phenol, 2-methoxyphenol, 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, and 2-methoxy-4-ethylphenol are the most abundant compounds in the PAs examined. The activities of all the phenolic compounds against the encephalomyocarditis virus were assessed. The number of phenolic hydroxyl groups significantly affects the antiviral activity, and catechol and its derivatives exhibit higher viral inhibition effects than other phenolic derivatives. In addition, substituents affect the antiviral activity of the compounds. Phenolic compounds with a methyl group show higher activities than with a methoxyl group (e.g., 2-methylphenol > 2-methoxyphenol). Moreover, the relative position of functional groups also plays a key role in the viral inhibition activity (e.g., 2,6-dimethoxyphenol > 3,4-dimethoxyphenol). Thus, PAs contain phenol derivatives with considerable structural diversity and viral inhibition activities, providing a new strategy for virus-inactivation treatment through the optimization of PA-derived phenol structures.
Acid-catalyzed degradation of lignin in toluene containing methanol selectively yields C6–C2 lignin monomers and releases lignin oligomers, a potential raw feedstock for epoxy resins. We herein ...characterize the structures of the lignin oligomers by focusing on the changes in the interunit linkage types during solvolysis. The oligomeric lignin products were analyzed via thioacidolysis and 2D-HSQC-NMR. The results show that lignin oligomers ranging from monomers to tetramers are released through considerable cleavage of the β-O-4 linkages. The lignin oligomers from Cryptomeria japonica (softwood) mainly comprise β-5, β-1, and tetrahydrofuran β-β linkages, whereas Eucalyptus globulus (hardwood) yields oligomers rich in β-1 and syringaresinol β-β linkages. Both wood samples exhibit selective release of β-β dimers and a relative decrease in 5-5 and 4-O-5 bonds during solvolysis. The method presented for the separation of lignin oligomers without β-O-4 linkages and with linkages unique to each wood species will be useful for the production of lignin-based materials.
The pyrolysis product, wood vinegar (WV), from Japanese larch exhibited strong antiviral activity against the encephalomycarditis virus (EMCV). Catechol, 3-methyl-, 4-methyl-, 4-ethyl-, and ...3-methoxycatechol, and 2-methyl-1,4-benzenediol were identified as the major antiviral compounds. The viral inhibition ability of these compounds was affected by the structure and position of the substituent group attached to the aromatic skeleton. The IC
of catechol was 0.67 mg mL
and those of its derivatives were <0.40 mg mL
. Methyl and ethyl substitution in the para position relative to a hydroxyl group obviously increased the antiviral activities. The mode of antiviral action was investigated by adding catechol derivatives at different times of the viral life cycle. It was found that direct inactivations of EMCV by these compounds were the major pathway for the antiviral activity. The effect of catechol derivatives on the host immune system was studied by quantification of Il6 and Ifnb1 expression levels. Increased Il6 expression levels indicate NF-κB activation by reactive oxygen species from auto-oxidations of catechol derivatives, which is also a possible antiviral route. The present research provides indices for production of potent antiviral agents form lignocellulose biomass.
Past research at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) provided a proof-of-principle demonstration that deep learning methods could be effectively employed to compensate for the significant perturbations ...to the transverse electron beam size induced by user-controlled adjustments of the insertion devices. However, incorporating these methods into the ALS’ daily operations has faced notable challenges. The complexity of the system’s operational requirements and the significant upkeep demands has restricted their sustained application during user operation. Here, we introduce the development of a more robust neural network (NN)-based algorithm that utilizes a novel online fine-tuning approach and its systematic integration into the day-to-day machine operations. Our analysis emphasizes the process of NN model selection, demonstrates the superior performance of the NN-based method over traditional feedback methods, and examines the effectiveness and resilience of the new algorithm during user-operation scenarios. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
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