Potent Antidiabetic Activity and Metabolite Profiling of Melicope Lunu‐ankenda Leaves

Diabetes mellitus is normally characterized by chronic hyperglycemia associated with disturbances in the fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism. There is an increasing trend of using natural products instead of synthetic agents as alternative therapy for disorders due to their fewer side effects. In this study, antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of different Melicope lunu‐ankenda (ML) ethanolic extracts were evaluated using inhibition of α‐glucosidase and 2,2‐diphenyl‐l‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals scavenging activity, respectively; whereas, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) and ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC‐MS/MS) techniques were used for metabolite profiling of ML leaf extracts at different concentrations of ethanol and water. Sixty percent of ethanolic ML extract showed highest inhibitory effect against α‐glucosidase enzyme (IC₅₀ of 37 μg/mL) and DPPH scavenging activity (IC₅₀ of 48 μg/mL). Antidiabetic effect of ML extracts was also evaluated in vivo and it was found that the high doses (400 mg/Kg BW) of ML extract exhibited high suppression in fasting blood glucose level by 62.75%. The metabolites responsible for variation among ML samples with variable ethanolic levels have been evaluated successfully using ¹H‐NMR–based metabolomics. The principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares(PLS) analysis scores depicted clear and distinct separations into 4 clusters representing the 4 ethanolic concentrations by PC1 and PC2, with an eigenvalue of 69.9%. Various ¹H‐NMR chemical shifts related to the metabolites responsible for sample difference were also ascribed. The main bioactive compounds identified attributing toward the separation included: isorhamnetin, skimmianine, scopoletin, and melicarpinone. Hence, ML may be used as promising medicinal plant for the development of new functional foods, new generation antidiabetic drugs, as a single entity phytomedicine or in combinational therapy.     

中巴喀喇昆仑公路顺层岩质边坡受力分析

为了深入研究中巴喀喇昆仑公路洪扎河以北地段的顺层岩质边坡弯曲失稳机制,采用材料力学压杆稳定及刚性体平衡原理,在D.S.Cavers的基础上考虑地震力作用,分析得到岩质边坡的三种弯曲模型(平面边坡的柔性弯曲、平面边坡的三铰梁模型、曲线边坡的三绞铰模型)的失稳公式,将地震与非地震作用下平面边坡的柔性弯曲进行对比分析。研究结果表明:当内摩擦角φ_j处于0°~15°范围时,若水平地震加速度方向与岩体弯曲方向相反,平面边坡柔性弯曲模型在地震作用下不易发生弯曲变形;若水平地震加速度方向与岩体弯曲方向一致,地震作用下平面边坡柔性弯曲模型的临界状态总长度l总比非地震作用下的l小,平面边坡在此方向的地震作用下更易发生柔性弯曲变形。     

Structural Characterization of Oat Bran (1→3), (1→4)-β-D-Glucans by Lichenase Hydrolysis Through High-Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection

Cereal mixed linkages (1 → 3) (1 → 4)-β-D-glucan is a linear polysaccharide composed of glucose units. Oat β-glucan is a natural polymer. The main products of β-glucanase are oligosaccharides with DP3 and DP4, i.e., 3-Ob-cellobiosyl-D-glucose and 3-Ob-cellotriosyl-D-glucose, which represent over 90% of the molecule. Keeping in mind all the benefits of oat bran, the present study was planned to investigate the structural properties of oat bran, high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection was used to examine these oligosaccharides. The structural analysis of oat bran of two oat varieties revealed that the ratio of soluble and insoluble triose to tetraose in β-glucan fraction was 1.44 and 1.78, respectively, for Avon variety; while the ratio of soluble and insoluble triose to tetraose in β-glucan fraction for Sargodha-81 was 1.49 and 1.77. The major units determined were cellotriose and cellotetraose. Other units cellopentaose and hexaoses were also existed but in minor fractions. Lichenase hydrolysis high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection appeared to be the best choice for structural analysis of purified samples of mixed-linkage β-glucan.     

Theoretical Investigation for Exploring the Antioxidant Potential of Chlorogenic Acid: A Density Functional Theory Study

The main objective of this research was to conduct a theoretical investigation into the antioxidant properties of chlorogenic acid. Calculations based on the density functional theory were performed using the B3LYP exchange-correlation functional and the 6-311G standard basis set to determine the theoretical parameters, such as bond dissociation enthalpy and spin density. H atom abstraction from ?OH groups was the most representative reaction pathway chosen for this study. From these calculations, it was estimated that bond dissociation enthalpies of hydroxyl groups were in the order of 3’-OH > 4’-OH > 2-OH > 1-OH. Spin densities of O-atoms of free radicals formed (after the removal of H atoms) from the hydroxyl groups of aromatic rings were lower than that of hydroxyl groups of alicyclic rings. On the basis of the calculated results, H atom abstraction from ?OH groups of aromatic ring should be the main mechanism for the antioxidant potential of chlorogenic acid. Moreover, a comparison of bond dissociation enthalpy values for different phenolic acid antioxidants showed that the chlorogenic acid is a potent antioxidant. This theoretical investigation might be helpful for the future applications of chlorogenic acid in the field of the pharmacy and food industries.     

Carob Kibble: A Bioactive‐Rich Food Ingredient

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is well known for its valuable locust bean gum obtained from the carob seeds. Separation of seeds from the pod leaves behind the carob kibble which is a good source of dietary fiber, sugars, and a range of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and pinitol. Bioactive compounds present in carob kibble have been found to be beneficial in the control of many health problems such as diabetes, heart diseases, and colon cancer due to their antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anti‐inflammatory activities. Carob kibble has substantial potential to be used as a food ingredient. This article focuses on the composition, health benefits, and food applications of carob kibble.     

MRT letter: Recovering weak‐textured surfaces using image focus

In nature, objects have partially weak texture and their shape reconstruction using focus based passive methods like shape from focus (SFF), is difficult. This article presents a new SFF algorithm which can compute precise depth of dense as well as weak textured objects. Segmentation is applied to discard wrong depth estimate and then later interpolating them from accurate depth values of their neighbors. The performance of the proposed method is tested, using different image sequences of synthetic and real objects, with varying textures. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.