Determination of methyl gallate in Bauhinia retusa extract by high-performance liquid and thin-layer chromatography

Two stability-indicating chromatographic methods are reported for the determination of methyl gallate in crude extracts of Bauhinia retusa. Separation by high performance thin layer chromatography was conducted on silica gel aluminum sheets using 9.5:0.5:0.2 (v/v/v) chloroform:methanol:acetic acid at 280 nm. The results from the 2–40 µg/band were used to prepare a linear calibration graph. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.5 and 1.5 µg/band, respectively. The reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic isolation of methyl gallate was performed at ambient temperature with an injection volume of 10 μL. The mobile phase consisted of 40:60 (v/v) methanol:0.1% ortho-phosphoric acid. The separation was performed at 1 mL/min using a detection wavelength of 280 nm. The calibration graph for methyl gallate was rectilinear from 0.02–40 µg/mL with limits of detection and quantitation of 0.004 and 0.010 µg/mL, respectively. For both methods, intra-day and inter-day precision were evaluated and the relative standard deviation was less than 2%, indicating good precision. The robustness was evaluated by making small and deliberate changes to appropriate parameters and the calculated relative standard deviation was less than 2%.The chromatographic methods were employed to determine methyl gallate in crude Bauhinia retusa extracts.     

Specifying the Optimal Transmission Manner in WSNs: Analysis and Simulation

Wireless Personal Communications - Employing multi-hop transmission (MH) in wireless sensor networks achieves the uniform distribution of energy cost between nodes. However, the minimum energy cost...     

Doxazosin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in normotensive patients: a multicenter study

A 16-week, double-blind, placebo controlled, dose titration study was done on 100 normotensive patients age 45 years or older to determine the efficacy and safety of doxazosin, a selective alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Of the 41 efficacy evaluable patients 88% underwent dose titration to a maximum of 8 mg. doxazosin once daily. Maximum and average urinary flow rates increased significantly above baseline with doxazosin (2.9 ml. per second and 1.4 ml. per second, respectively) compared with placebo (0.7 ml. per second and 0.3 ml. per second, respectively). A significant effect on maximum flow rate was noted as early as week 2 of double-blind treatment at the initial efficacy evaluation. Doxazosin was superior to placebo in patient and investigator assessments of total, obstructive and irritative BPH symptoms. The onset of efficacy for total patient-assessed symptoms was significant for doxazosin compared to placebo 4 weeks after the start of the treatment regimen. Statistically significant decreases in mean blood pressure of 4 to 6 mm. Hg were noted with doxazosin compared with placebo. Adverse events, primarily mild to moderate in severity, were reported in 44% of patients given doxazosin and 30% of those given placebo. Our results strongly demonstrate that doxazosin is significantly superior to placebo in the treatment of BPH in normotensive patients, with the patient experiencing significant relief early after initiation of therapy.     

Variations in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivars grown under heat stress

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is considered as important and economic agricultural crop all over the world. For improving the yield and yield attributes, varieties are often produced and evaluated under different growth condition. In the study presented morphological (growth and yield parameters), biochemical (oil, moisture content and radical scavenging activity) and molecular diversity (RAPD and ISSR) of eleven freshmarket tomato (L. esculentum) cultivars (Aledo VF, Carmeuco 201M, Castle-rock, Falkon, Money Maker, Peto 86, Red Star, Super Marmande, Super Queen, Super Strain B, and UC97–3) were analyzed under heat stress in Egypt to assist breeders in selecting heat tolerant cultivars and nutritional quality. Cultivars Aledo, Peto86 and Red Star were found to have the most vigorous growth habit, while cv. Super Queen has the most significant average fruit weight, yield/plant and total yield/m² under heat stress. For nutritional quality cv. Super marmande and cv. Aledo showed the highest oil content while cv. Aledo and cv. Money Maker showed the highest radical scavenging activities (RSA). Molecular polymorphism among cultivars was detected using two molecular markers systems, RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat), providing further facilities for molecular comparison.     

Coriander (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coriandrum sativum</Emphasis> L.) seed oil improves plasma lipid profile in rats fed a diet containing cholesterol

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) seed oil (COR) is a promising oil with high levels of bioactive compounds. Very little information, however, is available on the effect of administration of COR on different aspects of plasma lipid profile in experimental animals. In view of the important implications, the effect of administration of COR and oil blend [a mixture of soybean oil, coriander oil and sunflower oil (4:2:4, w/w/w; Blend)] on the profile of plasma lipids was investigated in 24 male albino rats placed on a cholesterol-rich (1%) basal diet as compared to rats on a cholesterol-free basal diet. Coriander seed oil and Blend were analyzed for composition of fatty acid, sterol and tocopherol. The levels of bioactive compounds (sterols and tocopherols) were higher in COR than in the Blend. In addition, the antiradical potential of COR and Blend was measured and the results showed that COR had stronger radical scavenging activity than Blend. In the biological experiment, rats were divided into four diet groups. The negative control group (control) consumed the basal diet (BD) only, which contained wheat starch, casein and cellulose, as well as mineral and vitamin mixtures. To the BD were added 1 g/100 g cholesterol (Chol/group), or both (Chol/COR group) and (Chol/Blend group). The groups did not differ before the experiment, which lasted 60 days. Plasma total lipids (TL), triacylglycerols (TAG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured at day 15, 30, 45 and 60 during the experiment period. Generally, COR and Blend-supplemented diets decreased the levels of TL, TC, TAG and LDL-C in plasma. In addition, significant increase in the levels of HDL-C was observed for Chol/COR and Chol/Blend groups. The results demonstrated that COR, and to a relatively lesser degree Blend, have hypocholesterolemic properties in rats fed a cholesterol-rich diet.     

Fat-Soluble Bioactives,Fatty Acid Profile and Radical Scavenging Activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Semecarpus anacardium</Emphasis> Seed Oil

Semecarpus anacardium (family Anacardiaceae) has many applications in the Ayurvedic and Siddha systems of medicine in India. Detailed knowledge on the composition of S. anacardium oil, in consideration of potential utilization, is of major importance. In this investigation, column chromatography, gas chromatography, thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography techniques were performed to analyze lipid classes, fatty acids and fat-soluble bioactives of S. anacardium crude seed oil. The amount of neutral lipids in the crude seed oil was the highest, followed by glycolipids and phospholipids, respectively. Linoleic followed by palmitic and oleic were the major fatty acids. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids was higher in neutral lipid classes than in the polar lipids. The main sterol compounds were β-sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol. δ-Tocopherol followed by β-tocopherol were the main tocopherols. When S. anacardium seed oil and extra virgin olive oil were compared for their radical scavenging activity toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical and galvinoxyl radical (by electron spin resonance spectrometry), S. anacardium seed oil exhibited a stronger RSA.     

Phenolic extracts of carrot,grape leaf and turmeric powder: antioxidant potential and application in biscuits

Natural antioxidants have gained interest for their role in preventing lipids oxidation. The goals of this investigation were to study the antioxidant potential of carrot (Daucus carota), grape (Vitis vinifera) leaf and turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder extracts and to evaluate their addition as natural antioxidants in biscuits. Physical and chemical properties of biscuit were evaluated during processing and storage. Electrophoretic properties of biscuit dough were carried out to understand the impact of different extracts on the processing of biscuits. Biscuits prepared with 1 % (w/w) grape leaves ethanol (70 %) extract (GLE), carrot aqueous extract (CE), and tumeric aqueous extract (TE) were acceptable. Among extracts, TE was found to retain only 11.2 % activity, wherein GLE had retained 51.0 % activity after baking, which was comparable to butylated hydroxyanisole and better than tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). TBHQ was found to possess the highest activity, followed by GLE, TE and CE, respectively. The ash content of biscuits enriched with TE and GLE was near to that of the control sample. Addition of CE, GLE and TBHQ reduced the force required for breakage. After 15 days of storage, PV was increased in all samples, but in the case of GLE-enriched sample there was a sudden increase in PV from 0.034 to 0.374. Supportive electrophoresis study indicated that there was no change in the protein subunits of biscuit dough fro different samples. It could be concluded that GLE, CE and TE might be used in biscuit baking as natural antioxidants.     

Rosemary (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosmarinus officinalis</Emphasis>) oil: composition and functionality of the cold-pressed extract

The aim of this work was to investigate cold-pressed rosemary oil (RO) for its lipid classes, subclasses, fatty acid composition, tocochromanols and total phenolics amount. Antiradical activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?) and galvinoxyl radicals, antioxidant activity, as measured by the Rancimat test, as well as antimicrobial activity against food-borne bacteria, and dermatophytic fungi of RO were evaluated. In RO, the amount of neutral lipids was highest (ca. 86%), followed by phospholipids (0.92%) and glycolipids (0.88%). The percentages of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids were 41.7, 42.3, and 15.8%, respectively. Linoleic acid (41.7%) and oleic acid (41.2%) were the major fatty acids while linolenic acid accounted for 1.3% of total fatty acids. The following tocochromanols were detected: α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols, which accounted for 291, 22, 1145, and 41 mg/100 g oil, respectively, as well as α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocotrienols, which accounted for 18, 12, 29, and 158 mg/100 g oil, respectively. RO also contained high levels of phenolic compounds (7.2 mg GAE/g). After 60 min of reaction with free radicals, 67% of DPPH^? and 55% of galvinoxyl radicals were quenched by RO. Rancimat test showed that blending RO with sunflower oil increased the induction period (IP) for blends. The IP of the RO: sunflower oil blend (1:9, v/v) was 390 min, and RO: sunflower oil blend (2:8, v/v) was longer (540 min). RO exhibited high antimicrobial potential against food-borne pathogenic bacteria (E. coli, S. enteritidis, and L. monocytogenes) and high antifungal potential against dermatophyte fungi (T. mentagrophytes, and T. rubrum). RO had unique high level of γ-tocopherol, which is a scavenger of reactive nitrogen species making it a promising material in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.     

Microstructural characterization of rapidly solidified Al-Li-Co powders

A study of the combined effect of alloying elements and melt superheat has been carried out on the as-solidified structure of rapidly solidified Al-Li-Co powders. Three alloys,viz., Al-3 pct Li, Al-3 pct Li-0.4 pct Co, and Al-3 pct Li-0.8 pct Co were chosen, and the liquid melt in each alloy atomized from the temperatures 1173 and 1073 K, using the centrifugal atomization technique. The microstructural characterization was done using light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Four types of microstructures,viz., dendritic, cellular, equiaxed-type, and featureless structures, were observed by light microscopy. The cooling rate, as determined from the same, lay in the range 10⁴ to 10⁶ Ks⁻¹, but was seen to go beyond 10⁷ Ks⁻¹ when estimated from TEM micrographs. On the micro-level, the Al-Li powders were found to exhibit dendritic structures with differing morphologies, whereas low-angle cell walls with perturbed interfaces were the main structural features observed in the Al-Li-Co alloys. Increasing both cobalt content and powder particle diameter favored transition from dendritic into cellular structure. The featureless zone was comprised mainly of elongated columnar grains (0.2 μm width and 1.5 μm length). A mechanism describing the cellular structure formation has been proposed. Aging of the melt-quenched powders at 473 K for times up to 100 hours results in the dissolution of the cellular structure. A mechanism for the same has been postulated. The difference in the superheats chosen in the present work is found not sufficient to cause drastic microstructural changes. Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt