There are many polysaccharides with biological activities including anti-virus and anti-tumor in the residue produced by the extraction of beta-carotene from Duanaliella salina. In this paper, a method of high performance size-exclusion chromatography coupled with refractive index detection has been developed for the relative molecular mass analysis of the polysaccharides isolated from the residue. The effects of salt and pH values of mobile phase on retention behaviors of five polysaccharides fractions were investigated on two HPSEC columns (Waters Ultrahydragel Linear, 7.8 mm i. d. x 300 mm) connected in series. The results showed that 0. 1 mol/L NaAc buffer solution may be utilized as mobile phase during HPSEC under the conditions of column temperature of 45 degrees C and flow rate of 0.9 mL/min to minimize nonspecific interaction of sulfated polysaccharides fraction (PD4a), complex carbohydrate containing oligonucleic acid (PD4b) and acidic polysaccharide fraction (PD1) with the column matrix. In addition, under the conditions the association effect of the polysaccharide molecules was eliminated. Thereby, the polysaccharide molecules were eluted and separated following equilibrium exclusion mechanism mainly. The weight mean molecular masses (M(w)) of five polysaccharide fractions from D. salina determined under optimum chromatographic conditions were 1 548 000 for PD1, 33 000 for PD2, 67 000 for PD3, 424 000 for PD4a and 10 000 for PD4b. For sulfated polysaccharide fraction PD4a, the relative standard deviations were 1.7% and 0.88% for M(w) and peak area, respectively.

The ionic liquids based simultaneous ultrasonic and microwave assisted extraction (IL-UMAE) technique was first proposed and applied to isolate compounds. The ionic liquids comprising a range of four anions, five 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium derivatives were designed and prepared. The results suggested that varying the anion and cation both had apparent effects on the extraction of phenolics. The results also showed that irradiation power, time and solid-liquid ratio significantly affected the yields. The yields of caffeic acid and quercetin obtained by IL-UMAE were higher than those by regular UMAE. Compared with conventional heat-reflux extraction (HRE), the proposed approach exhibited higher efficiency (8-17% enhanced) and shorter extraction time (from 5h to 30s). The results indicated ILUMAE to be a fast and efficient extraction technique. Moreover, the proposed method was validated by the reproducibility and recovery experiments. The ILUMAE method provided good recoveries (from 96.1% to 105.3%) with RSD lower than 5.2%, which indicated that the proposed method was credible. Based on the designable nature of ionic liquids, and the rapid and highly efficient performance of the proposed approach, ILUMAE provided a new alternative for preparation of various useful substances from solid samples.

The antioxidant activities of each burdock leaves fraction were first investigated alone and in combination with tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). The burdock leaves extract was fractioned with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water, named as PF, EF, BF, and WF, respectively. The EF exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. Although TBHQ exhibited higher lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity than EF, the reducing power, superoxide anion scavenging capability, DPPH radical and hydroxyl radicals scavenging ability of EF were higher than those of synthetic antioxidant (TBHQ). Moreover, a synergistic antioxidant effect between EF and TBHQ was first demonstrated by isobolographic analysis, indicating that EF dramatically enhances the antioxidant efficiency of TBHQ. For all the fractions, the antioxidant capacity had a significant correlation with total phenolic content. The phenolic compounds of the fractions were then identified, namely chlorogenic acid, o-hydrobenzoic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, and rutin. The results indicate that the EF could be used as sources of nature antioxidant in food industry, and allows a decrease of about 4 folds in the amounts of the synthetic compounds used.

A pre-treatment methodology based on the molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MI-SPE) procedure was developed for the determination of bensulfuron-methyl (BSM), tribenuron-methyl (TBM), metsulfuron-methyl (MSM) and nicosulfuron (NS) in soybean samples. A molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by precipitation polymerization using BSM as the template molecule, alpha-methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) as the cross-linker and dichloromethane as the porogen. The binding behaviors of the template BSM and its analogues on the MIP were evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Then, solid phase extraction (SPE) with a BSM molecularly imprinted polymer (BSM-MIP) as adsorbent was investigated and the optimum loading, washing, and eluting conditions for MI-SPE of the selected BSM, MSM, TBM, and NS were established. The optimized MI-SPE procedure was used to extract the sulfonylureas and a high recovery was obtained in the soybean samples.

BACKGROUND Among patients with advanced multivessel coronary disease, left ventricular (LV) function is widely variable, and clinical and angiographic correlates of ventricular dysfunction remain to be defined. METHODS Among 73 339 patients undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization at a single center in China, patients with left ventriculographic assessment were identified with three-vessel coronary disease with or without left main involvement. Clinical and angiographic characteristics were examined among patients with normal or varying extent of LV dysfunction, and predictors of LV impairment (ejection fraction (EF):< 25%, 25%- 40% or > 40%) were determined. RESULTS Among 11 950 patients identified with three-vessel coronary disease, the sample distribution of LVEF was > 40%, n = 10 776; 25%- 40%, n = 948;< 25%, n = 226. Patients with reduced LV function (< 40%) more commonly were male and had a history of myocardial infarction (MI), diabetes or unstable angina. Hypertension was more frequent in those with LVEF ≥ 40%. In a multivariate Logistic regression analysis, prior MI (odds ratio (OR), 3.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.96 - 3.84) was most predictive of LVEF < 40%, followed by male gender, diabetes, and presentation with unstable angina. For LVEF < 25%, only prior MI was identified as a significant correlate of severe LV dysfunction (OR 4.06, 95%CI 3.06 - 5.39). Following exclusion of patients with previous MI (n = 7416), male gender and diabetes were predictive of LVEF < 40%, yet presentation with unstable angina was the only factor significantly associated with LVEF < 25%. CONCLUSION Among individuals identified with three-vessel coronary disease with or without left main involvement, previous MI was the most significant risk factor of LV dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate PillCam COLON capsule endoscopy (PCCE) in the detection of the severity and extent of active ulcerative colitis (UC), in comparison with conventional endoscopy. METHODS: From July 2009 to June 2012, patients with confirmed UC were enrolled in this prospective single-center study. No sooner patients had gone through PCCE solution than they got conventional colonoscopy. The extent of mucosal damage and inflammatory lesions during both modalities were recorded for comparison. In addition, the regimen of bowel preparation, completion rate, colonic cleanliness, compliance or adverse events were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 26 patients were consecutively included, in which one was withdrawn and the other 25 (9 females and 16 males with a mean age of 44.2 years) completed the study. There was significant correlation in the severity (κ = 0.751, P < 0.001) and extent (κ = 0.522, P < 0.001) of UC between PCCE and conventional colonoscopy. In addition, the excellent-good rate of colonic cleanliness in PCCE was 80%. There was no remarkable adverse event during the study. CONCLUSION: PCCE provides an outstanding performance in the detection of the severity and extent of active UC.

Four configurations of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microcavities were designed and fabricated to modulate the optically-pumped lasing characteristics by polymer modification on hexagonal ZnO microrod surfaces. Based on the total internal reflection (TIR) at the boundary of microcavities, the lasing characteristics were improved by reducing the relative refractive index. Considering the different reflective conditions at various side surfaces, the typical lasing mode equation for whispering-gallery microcavity was modified to adapt for general situation even with unsymmetrical structure, and then employed to discuss the observed lasing behaviors, in the polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) modified ZnO microrods, such as mode position, mode numbers and quality factor. The optical field distributions for TE modes of the four configurations were also simulated by 2-dimensional finite difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The simulation agreed well with the experimental results to support the resonance mechanism.

BACKGROUND Restenosis of bare-metal stents (BMS) and drug-eluting stents (DES) has been increasingly treated with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES), but the long-term outcomes are unknown. METHODS In our study, 388 consecutive patients (144 DES restenosis and 244 BMS restenosis) with 400 lesions (147 DES restenosis and 253 BMS restenosis) treated with SES were included. The rates of target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 42 months were analyzed. RESULTS At the mean follow-up of 42 months, the rates of death (3.5% vs. 3.3%, P = 1.000) and myocardial infarction (2.8% vs. 1.2%, P = 0.431) in the DES group and BMS group were comparable. Compared with the BMS group, ischemia-driven TLR occurred with a higher frequency in the DES group (18.8% vs. 10.7%, P = 0.024). This translated into an increased rate of MACE in the DES group (22.2% vs. 14.0%, P = 0.034). Stent thrombosis occurred with a similar frequency in both groups (2.8% vs. 1.6%, P = 0.475). Multivariate analysis showed that DES restenosis (OR = 1.907, 95%CI 1.108 - 3.285, P = 0.020) and smoking (OR = 2.069; 95%CI 1.188 - 3.605; P = 0.010) were independent predictors of MACE. CONCLUSIONS Although SES implantation appears to be safe and effective, it was associated with higher TLR recurrence for DES than BMS restenosis.

Scrotal carcinoma is a rare tumor. We report one case of such disease in a 60-year-old man presenting with an ulcerated-bleeding lesion on the left side of the scrotum and an enlarged lymph node in the left inguinal region. Biopsy of the ulcerated lesion found squamous cell carcinoma of the scrotum. He underwent initial tumor resection and left inguinal lymph node biopsy followed by postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Postoperative pathological examination confirmed well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the scrotum and lymph node metastasis. Five months after the treatment, the size of the lymph node was dramatically decreased, with no signs of tumor progression. Surgical treatment combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy may be an appropriate management approach to achieve palliative symptom relief for this disease.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different amounts of fertilizers on the polysaccharides of Aloe vera plant. There were four different treatments, viz. T1 = 150 % N, T2 = 150 % P, T3 = 150 % K, and T4 = 150 % NPK (50 % N + 50 % P + 50 % K) soil. Crude water-soluble polysaccharides were isolated from the gel juice, skin juice, and flowers of A. vera planted in these soils. RESULTS: Result indicates that skin juice contained 2.4 times the level of polysaccharides in gel juice from one plant, suggesting the potential industrial application of A. vera skin rather than discarding it. After anion-exchange chromatography, neutral polysaccharides accounted for 58.1 % and 78.5 % of the total recovered neutral and acidic polysaccharide preparations from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively, whereas the crude flower polysaccharides were largely composed of weakly acidic polysaccharides (84.2 %). Sugar analysis of the polysaccharides after gel permeation chromatography revealed that glucose and galactose were the most abundant monosaccharide in the neutral polysaccharides from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively. The acidic polysaccharides from the two juices consisted of glucuronic acid, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose with variable proportions. CONCLUSIONS: Except glucuronic acid (15.4 %) in flower acidic polysaccharide, the flower neutral and acidic polysaccharides contained galactose, glucose, and mannose as the main sugar components. Glucuronic acid was the major uronic acid in all acidic polysaccharides from different tissues.

The capsule has been implicated in the virulence of the swine pathogen Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a rod-shaped, intracellular Gram-positive bacterium that has a unique phylogenetic position in the phylum Firmicutes and is a close relative of Mollicutes (mycoplasma species). In this study, we analyzed the genetic locus and composition of the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of the Fujisawa strain of E. rhusiopathiae. Genome analysis of the Fujisawa strain revealed that the genetic locus for capsular polysaccharide synthesis (cps) is located next to a lic operon, which is involved in the incorporation and expression of phosphorylcholine (PCho). Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that cps and lic are transcribed as a single mRNA, indicating that the loci form an operon. Using the cell surface antigen(s)-specific monoclonal antibody MAb (ER21) as a probe, the capsular materials were isolated from the Fujisawa strain by hot water extraction and treatment with DNase, RNase, pronase, and N-acetylmuramidase SG, followed by anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The materials were then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The CPS of E. rhusiopathiae is heterogeneous and consists of the major monosaccharides galacturonic acid, galactose, mannose, glucose, arabinose, xylose, and N-acetylglucosamine and some minor monosaccharides containing ribose, rhamnose, and N-acetylgalactosamine. In addition, the capsule is modified by PCho, which co-migrates with the capsular materials as determined by western immunoblotting and co-localizes on the cell surface by immunogold electron microscopy. Virulence testing of PCho-defective mutants in mice demonstrated that PCho is critical for the virulence of this organism.

The physicochemical components and functional properties of the gum exudates from the trunk of the almond tree (Prunus dulcis) have been investigated, along with the emulsification and foaming properties. The gum exudates are composed on dry weight basis by 2.45% of proteins, 0.85% of fats and 92.36% of carbohydrates. The latter consist of arabinose, xylitol, galactose and uronic acid (46.8 : 10.9 : 35.5 : 6.0 mass ratio) with traces of rhamnose, mannose and glucose. Moreover, gum exudates are rich in minerals, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. The emulsifying capacity was studied for a 20% w/w olive oil in water emulsion as a function of gum concentration (from 3% to 12% w/w in the aqueous phase) as well as pH levels (from 3.0 to 10.0). The most stable and homogeneous emulsion was prepared with an 8% w/w aqueous almond gum solution at a pH between 5.0 and 8.0. In particular, for the same formulation, the emulsion processed by high pressure homogenization (5 passes at 200 MPa) resulted to be extremely stable under accelerated ageing, exhibiting no significant change in droplet size distribution for 14 days at 55 °C. All the tested systems exhibited an extremely low foaming capacity.

Hydrocolloid from tamarillo (Solanum betaceum Cav.) puree was extracted using water and characterised for the first time. Proximate compositions of the extracted hydrocolloid were also determined. Functional characteristics such as water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity, emulsifying activity, emulsion stability, foaming capacity and stability of the hydrocolloid were evaluated in comparison to that of commercial hydrocolloids. Its functional groups and degree of esterification were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Monosaccharide profiling was done using reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Screening of various fruits for high hydrocolloid yield after water extraction resulted in tamarillo giving the highest yield. The yield on dry weight basis was 8.30%. The hydrocolloid constituted of 0.83% starch, 21.18% protein and 66.48% dietary fibre with 49.47% degree of esterification and the monosaccharides identified were mannose, ribose, rhamnose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose and arabinose. Higher oil-holding capacity, emulsifying activity and emulsion stability compared to commercial hydrocolloids propose its possible application as a food emulsifier and bile acid binder. Foaming capacity of 32.19% and good foam stabilisation (79.36% of initial foam volume after 2 h of foam formation) suggest its promising application in frothy beverages and other foam based food products. These findings suggest that water-extracted tamarillo hydrocolloid can be utilised as an alternative to low methoxyl pectin.

Monosaccharide analysis is a critical way to profile the composition of complex carbohydrates. Methods to analyze neutral and amino sugars have been established for a long time, but methods for acidic sugars are rare. The acidic sugars, including uronic acids and sialic acids, are also important components in some complex carbohydrates. In this report, a high-performance anion-exchange chromatography method with pulsed amperometric detection was initially developed to analyze acidic sugars including different uronic acids and sialic acids. Subsequently, a method to profile complete monosaccharides, including most neutral, amino, and acidic sugars, was developed. This method has a limit of quantitation of ~12.5 × 10(-3) nmol for each sugar as well as good linearity over a wide range. This is a convenient procedure because it avoids additional derivatization of monosaccharides and has a broad application to a wide range of complex carbohydrates. The monosaccharide compositions of a variety of complex carbohydrates such as different glycosaminoglycans, alginate, fucoidan, and glycans were profiled by this comprehensive method. In addition, the hydrolysis patterns of these complex carbohydrates are discussed.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Angelica sinensis (AS) is a Chinese herbal medicine traditionally used in prescriptions for replenishing blood and treating abnormal menstruation and other women's diseases. AIM OF THE STUDY This study aimed to separate and identify the major hematopoietic fraction from Angelica sinensis polysaccharides (ASPS), and to investigate the myeloprotective activity of the major bioactive fraction of ASPS as a possible supporting agent for cancer treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS The ASPS was fractionated with DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B column to obtain four fractions (F1, F2, F3 and F4). Each fraction was cultured with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) to collect conditioned medium (CM). The hematopoietic ability of various MNC-CM was then evaluated by the colony-forming assay on CD34(+) cells collected by the MACS method from human umbilical cord blood (UCB). In myeloprotective experiment, Adriblastina was used to act as the myelosuppressive agent. The monosaccharide composition of ASPS was analyzed by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography-pulse amperometric detector. RESULTS The F2 fraction, which was found to have the highest hematopoietic activity, stimulated the human peripheral blood MNCs to secret GM-CSF and IL-3. F2 could also protect the hematopoietic function of CD34(+) cells from Adriblastina. F2 occupies 19% of ASPS and contains 0.53% protein. The monosaccharide composition of F2 was arabinose (51.82%), fructose (1.65%), galactose (29.96%), glucose (4.78%) and galacturonic acid (14.80%), with molecular weight 2.5-295 kDa. CONCLUSIONS The bioactive fraction identified and fractionated from ASPS may be used as a health-promoting agent for anemia patients and cancer patients under chemoradiation treatment.

The main goal of this work was to study the dynamics and biochemical composition of extracellular polysaccharides (ECPS), a fraction of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced during the development of a microphytobenthic biofilm in a European intertidal mudflat (Marennes-Oléron Bay, France) during winter. Microphytobenthic biomass was surveyed during four consecutive emersion periods to confirm the biofilm growth. Bacteria abundance was also checked considering the importance of heterotrophic bacteria observed by various authors in the dynamics of EPS. Various colorimetric assays, coupled to biochemical chromatographic analysis, were used to characterize the three main fractions of extracted EPS: colloidal, bound, and residual. The monosaccharide distribution of colloidal ECPS highlighted their role of carbon source for bacteria (>50% of glucose) even if no increase of colloidal carbohydrate amounts was observed during the tidal exposure. Bound ECPS were composed of deoxy or specific sugars (30% rhamnose) and uronic acids (18% galacturonic acid). Their levels and dynamics could be correlated to the development of the microphytobenthic biofilm, enhancing the stabilization of the sediment or increasing binding forces accordingly. Residual fractions, containing refractory bound ECPS and other internal polymeric substances, were composed of various carbohydrates. The high ratio of glucose in these fractions (18% to 43%) was interesting, as it was once attributed to colloidal sugars due to poor extraction procedures. Finally, the presence of inositol (15%) was significant since no author has highlighted it before, knowing that inositol is a major growth factor for heterotrophic bacteria.

The chemical compositions and bioactivities of crude tea polysaccharides (TPS) from the out-of-date tea leaves (beyond their useful date), namely Xihu Longjing (XTPS), Anxi Tieguanyin (TTPS), Chawentianxia (CTPS) and Huizhoulvcha (HTPS), in market were investigated. These TPS showed similar neutral sugar content and different distribution of molecular weight (1-800 kD). These crude TPS were mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose, and galacturonic acid. IR spectra confirmed that these crude TPS were composed of polysaccharide, protein and uronic acids. These TPS showed similar DPPH scavenging activity and exhibited lower DPPH scavenging activities than Vc within 25-200 μg/mL. However, these TPS with higher concentrations (200-400 μg/mL) showed similar DPPH scavenging activity with Vc. HTPS exhibited significant higher superoxide anion scavenging activity than others TPS and gallic acid. XTPS showed significant higher inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase with inhibitory percentages of 64.35% and 82.24% than others TPS. TTPS, XTPS, and HTPS exhibited similar inhibition ability on α-d-glucosidase and α-amylase. The overdue tea leaves can be a resource of tea polysaccharides as function food.

In the present study, six families of sulfated polysaccharides were obtained from seaweed Dictyopteris delicatula by proteolytic digestion, followed by acetone fractionation and molecular sieving on Sephadex G-100. Chemical analyses demonstrated that all polysaccharides contain heterofucans composed mainly of fucose, xylose, glucose, galactose, uronic acid, and sulfate. The fucans F0.5v and F0.7v at 1.0 mg/mL showed high ferric chelating activity (∼45%), whereas fucans F1.3v (0.5 mg/mL) showed considerable reducing power, about 53.2% of the activity of vitamin C. The fucan F1.5v presented the most prominent anticoagulant activity. The best antiproliferative activity was found with fucans F1.3v and F0.7v. However, F1.3v activity was much higher than F0.7v inhibiting almost 100% of HeLa cell proliferation. These fucans have been selected for further studies on structural characterization as well as in vivo experiments, which are already in progress.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE In Northern America Typha latifolia L.(Typhaceae) fruits are used for more than 4000 years for treatment of skin disorders, burns and as wound dressing to absorb the ichors. AIM OF THE STUDY The following studies attempted to characterize water-soluble polysaccharides from aqueous Typha latifolia extracts and to investigate the influence of the polymers on cell physiology of human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK). MATERIALS AND METHODS Water-soluble raw polysaccharides (RPS) were isolated from Typha latifolia fruits and fractionated by anion exchange chromatography (AEC) and size exclusion chromatography (GPC). Fractions obtained were characterized concerning monosaccharide composition by HPAEC-PAD. The bioactivity of the polysaccharides was investigated on cell viability, proliferation, differentiation and gene expression NHDF of NHEK. RESULTS RPS was fractionated into 5 heterodisperse fractions (TL1-TL5). The polysaccharides were composed mainly of glucose (more than 50% in RPS and TL4), galactose, xylose, mannose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, arabinose, ribose, fucose, rhamnose, and fructose with differing amounts concerning to RPS and AEC-fractions. Proteins were detected in the RPS (10%) and to a less extend in TL1-TL3 (1-3%). TL1-TL3 significantly increased the proliferation of keratinocytes, whereas TL4 was shown to be a potent inductor of the early differentiation process of keratinocytes. Gene expression analysis supported these results since Smad3 and PKC-α, known to be part of signal pathways leading to cell differentiation, were significantly up regulated. Effects on fibroblasts were not observed, indicating cell specific activity of the polysaccharides. CONCLUSION The results clearly indicate a rationale for the traditional use of Typha latifolia fruits extracts for wound healing to the strong stimulatory activity of the polysaccharides on keratinocytes proliferation and early differentiation, major activities necessary for potent wound-healing agents.