144 research outputs found
Mass Spectrometric Proteomics
As suggested by the title of this Special Issue, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry plays a pivotal role in the field of proteomics. Indeed, the research and review articles published in the Issue clearly evidence how the data produced by this sophisticated methodology may promote impressive advancements in this area. From among the topics discussed in the Issue, a few point to the development of new procedures for the optimization of the experimental conditions that should be applied for the identification of proteins present in complex mixtures. Other applications described in these articles show the huge potential of these strategies in the protein profiling of organs and range from to the study of post-translational tissue modifications to the investigation of the molecular mechanisms behind human disorders and the identification of potential biomarkers of these diseases
Metabolic investigation and activity of Cordyceps militaris and cordycepin in cancer cell lines
Inflammation is a normal reaction to infection or injury, but if the process is not resolved, it can lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer and arthritis. The available treatments for chronic inflammation are often insufficient or have unacceptable side effects, leading to a continued search for anti-inflammatory medicines with novel mechanisms of action. Natural sources are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds and are re-gaining interest. A common problem with natural medicines and natural compounds is their quality, consistency and purity. In this study, metabolomic analysis of Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr., Cordyceps militaris extract was undertaken and thousands of compounds were identified by untargeted metabolomic analysis. Different batches from one producer were similar but had a somewhat variable cordycepin content and large differences in the cordycepin-potentiating compound pentostatin. There were much larger differences between batches from different suppliers. A comparison of the effects of cordycepin and Cordyceps extracts on inflammation in a macrophage cell line suggested that the extract contained additional activity. Untargeted metabolomics of commercially purified cordycepin (sold as 98% pure) revealed that six different batches had large numbers of significant contaminants, which were similar between suppliers. Remarkably, the batches of cordycepin differed in their cordycepin content as well as their potency. Some of the contaminants were tested in tissue culture for effects on inflammation, but many were commercially not available or even not fully identifiable. Pentostatin was also detected in cordycepin preparations. These data suggest that the reported biological activity of cordycepin may not be due to the presence of this compound alone
Metabolic investigation and activity of Cordyceps militaris and cordycepin in cancer cell lines
Inflammation is a normal reaction to infection or injury, but if the process is not resolved, it can lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer and arthritis. The available treatments for chronic inflammation are often insufficient or have unacceptable side effects, leading to a continued search for anti-inflammatory medicines with novel mechanisms of action. Natural sources are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds and are re-gaining interest. A common problem with natural medicines and natural compounds is their quality, consistency and purity. In this study, metabolomic analysis of Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr., Cordyceps militaris extract was undertaken and thousands of compounds were identified by untargeted metabolomic analysis. Different batches from one producer were similar but had a somewhat variable cordycepin content and large differences in the cordycepin-potentiating compound pentostatin. There were much larger differences between batches from different suppliers. A comparison of the effects of cordycepin and Cordyceps extracts on inflammation in a macrophage cell line suggested that the extract contained additional activity. Untargeted metabolomics of commercially purified cordycepin (sold as 98% pure) revealed that six different batches had large numbers of significant contaminants, which were similar between suppliers. Remarkably, the batches of cordycepin differed in their cordycepin content as well as their potency. Some of the contaminants were tested in tissue culture for effects on inflammation, but many were commercially not available or even not fully identifiable. Pentostatin was also detected in cordycepin preparations. These data suggest that the reported biological activity of cordycepin may not be due to the presence of this compound alone
Molecular characterization of Chinese medicinal materials.
Yip Pui Ying.Thesis submitted in: November 2004.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-184).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Abstract --- p.i摘要 --- p.iiiAcknowledgment --- p.vAbbreviations --- p.viiTable of contents --- p.viiiList of Figures --- p.xiiList of Tables --- p.xviiChapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1Chapter 1.1. --- The importance of characterization of Chinese medicinal materials and the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong --- p.1Chapter 1.2. --- Methods for characterization of Chinese medicinal materials --- p.5Chapter 1.3. --- Molecular characterization of Chinese medicinal materials --- p.8Chapter 1.3.1. --- DNA sequencing --- p.9Chapter 1.3.2. --- DNA fingerprinting --- p.14Chapter 1.3.3. --- Nucleic acid hybridization --- p.19Chapter 1.4. --- Objectives --- p.20Chapter Chapter 2 --- Characterization of Plant and Fungal Materials by rDNA ITS Sequence Analysis --- p.22Chapter 2.1. --- Introduction --- p.22Chapter 2.2. --- Materials and Methods --- p.22Chapter 2.2.1. --- Chinese medicinal materials used in this study --- p.22Chapter 2.2.1.1. --- Plants and fungi for interspecific ITS study --- p.22Chapter 2.2.1.2. --- Plant for intraspecific ITS study and locality study --- p.33Chapter 2.2.2. --- Extraction of total DNA --- p.35Chapter 2.2.3. --- PCR amplification of ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rRNA gene --- p.35Chapter 2.2.4. --- Purification of PCR products --- p.38Chapter 2.2.5. --- Cloning using pCR-Script´ёØ Amp SK(+) Cloning Kit --- p.38Chapter 2.2.5.1. --- Polishing --- p.38Chapter 2.2.5.2. --- Ligation of inserts into pCR-Script´ёØ Amp SK(+) cloning vector --- p.38Chapter 2.2.5.3. --- Transformation --- p.40Chapter 2.2.5.4. --- PCR screening of white colonies --- p.40Chapter 2.2.5.5. --- Purification of PCR screening products --- p.41Chapter 2.2.6. --- Sequencing of ITS regions --- p.41Chapter 2.2.6.1. --- Cycle sequencing reaction --- p.41Chapter 2.2.6.2. --- Purification of sequencing extension products --- p.41Chapter 2.2.6.3. --- Electrophoresis by genetic analyzer --- p.42Chapter 2.2.7. --- Sequence analysis and alignment --- p.42Chapter 2.3. --- Results --- p.42Chapter 2.3.1. --- Extraction of total DNA --- p.42Chapter 2.3.2. --- PCR amplification of ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rRNA gene --- p.44Chapter 2.3.2.1. --- Interspecific ITS study --- p.44Chapter 2.3.2.2. --- Intraspecific ITS study --- p.46Chapter 2.3.3. --- Sequence analysis and alignment --- p.47Chapter 2.3.3.1. --- Interspecific ITS study --- p.47Chapter 2.3.3.2. --- Intraspecific ITS study --- p.56Chapter 2.4. --- Discussions --- p.60Chapter 2.4.1. --- rDNA regions used for studying Chinese medicinal materials --- p.60Chapter 2.4.2. --- The results agreed with previously published works --- p.60Chapter 2.4.3. --- Explanation of interspecific results within the Ganoderma genus --- p.60Chapter 2.4.4. --- Implications from interspecific comparisons --- p.60Chapter 2.4.5. --- Implications from intraspecific comparisons --- p.61Chapter Chapter 3 --- .Characterization of Astragalus membranaceus by DNA FingerprintingChapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.62Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.62Chapter 3.2.1 --- Extraction of total DNA --- p.62Chapter 3.2.2 --- Generation and detection of DNA fingerprints by AP-PCR --- p.63Chapter 3.2.3 --- Analysis of DNA fingerprints --- p.63Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.63Chapter 3.3.1 --- Generation of DNA fingerprints by AP-PCR --- p.63Chapter 3.3.2 --- Fingerprint analysis --- p.69Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.85Chapter 3.4.1 --- RP-PCR has been used on Chinese medicinal materials --- p.85Chapter 3.4.2 --- AP-PCR used instead of RAPD --- p.85Chapter 3.4.3 --- Reproducibility and amount of bands --- p.86Chapter 3.4.4 --- Alternatives of electrophoresis process --- p.88Chapter 3.4.5 --- Explanation of results --- p.88Chapter 3.4.6 --- Distinguishing Neimengu and Shanxi samples --- p.89Chapter 3.4.7 --- Further studies --- p.90Chapter Chapter 4 --- Characterization of Plant and Fungal Materials by DNA-DNA Hybridization on Microarrays --- p.91Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.91Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.92Chapter 4.2.1 --- Samples for microarray study --- p.92Chapter 4.2.2 --- Extraction of total DNA --- p.95Chapter 4.2.3 --- Amplification and sequencing of ITS 1 region of rRNA gene --- p.95Chapter 4.2.4 --- Preparation of labeled probe --- p.95Chapter 4.2.5 --- Amplification of ITS1 fragments --- p.97Chapter 4.2.6 --- Preparation of slides --- p.103Chapter 4.2.7 --- Hybridization and washing --- p.104Chapter 4.2.8 --- Scanning and data analysis --- p.105Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.105Chapter 4.3.1 --- DNA extraction --- p.105Chapter 4.3.2 --- Amplification and sequencing of ITS1 region of rRNA gene --- p.107Chapter 4.3.3 --- Preparation of labeled probe and amplification of ITS1 fragments… --- p.112Chapter 4.3.4 --- Preparation of slides --- p.112Chapter 4.3.5 --- Scanning and data analysis --- p.116Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.134Chapter 4.4.1 --- Implications --- p.134Chapter 4.4.2 --- Applying the findings --- p.134Chapter 4.4.3 --- Ways to maximize specificity --- p.137Chapter 4.4.4 --- Optimisation --- p.138Chapter 4.4.5 --- Microarray may be more advantageous over sequencing --- p.138Chapter Chapter Five --- General Discussion and Summary --- p.140Chapter 5.1. --- Objectives of this study --- p.140Chapter 5.2. --- rDNA ITS sequencing --- p.140Chapter 5.2.1. --- Description of the approach and summary of the results --- p.140Chapter 5.2.2. --- Implications from the results --- p.140Chapter 5.2.3. --- Advantages and limitations of DNA sequencing --- p.141Chapter 5.3. --- AP-PCR fingerprinting --- p.141Chapter 5.3.1. --- Description of the approach and summary of the results --- p.141Chapter 5.3.2. --- Advantages and limitations of DNA fingerprinting --- p.142Chapter 5.4. --- DNA-DNA hybridization on microarrays --- p.143Chapter 5.4.1. --- Description of the approach and summary of the results --- p.143Chapter 5.4.2. --- Implications from the results --- p.143Chapter 5.4.3. --- Advantages and limitations of DNA hybridization on microarrays. --- p.144Chapter 5.5. --- Overall summary --- p.144Chapter 5.6. --- Future studies --- p.146References --- p.147Appendix --- p.18
Mycotoxins Occurence in Feed and Their Influence on Animal Health
According to the presented studies, the health condition of animals in rearing and breeding should be regularly monitored. This would allow early detection of delicate deviations in the body of clinically healthy individuals. Unfortunately, regular monitoring of the health of animals in commercial production is not performed. It follows that this type of research should be an introduction to further, more inquisitive steps. This can form the basis for further courses of action, indicating which organs or tissues field doctors or researchers should be interested in and what to pay attention to in order to find the correct answer, concerning the situation in the animal body. In the future, we should determine biomedical markers for use in precision veterinary medicine. In human medicine, this has been practiced with great success. The problem, however, is that we are getting to know more and more substances produced by mold fungi. This causes a build-up of new interpretative problems, causing health conditions (diagnosis), as well as analytical problems. To fully understand the results we need new techniques to assess toxicological and chemical hazards, including those related to undesirable substances. We need a solid knowledge of the biological pathways underlying the toxicity and tolerance to interference factors toxicological processes. We hope that the presented study will allow for a better understanding of mycotoxicoses that bother us and our animals, which will allow for more effective preventive actions
HIV In Communities of Color: The Compendium of Culturally Competent Promising Practices: THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL HEALING IN HIV CLINICAL MANAGEMENT
Softback manual of compiled resources and best practices in connecting clinicians to some of the traditional practices of their patients. Also available for order as CD-ROM.https://dh.howard.edu/nmaetc_pubs/1006/thumbnail.jp
Occurrence and Functions of Endophytic Fungi in Crop Species
In the past few decades, awareness of the basic role that endophytic fungi play in shaping the fitness of both wild and crop plants has increased significantly. The number of papers on the subject is so large that it is becoming difficult to have a complete overview of the state-of-the-art with reference to specific crops. In the absence of readily available documents providing circumstantial information on the endophytic assemblage of plants, the isolation of a certain fungal species may appear to be occasional or trivial; hence, many important findings are at risk of going unnoticed. This Special Issue aims to present a collection of papers dealing with the occurrence and functions of endophytic fungi in crop species. It may represent a useful tool for stakeholders in this particular research field, with a view to stimulating a more thorough consideration of the opportunities deriving from their discoveries
Antioxidant and anti-diabetic status of popular Malay health tonic consumed for wellness: help or hype?
Contemporary Malay health tonics labeled as botanical drinks are advertised in the Malaysian market as effective therapeutic supplements toward improving consumer health. The therapeutic claims associated with high antioxidants are based on the herbal ingredients used, yet unproven by scientific evidence. Moreover, they are mostly sweetened with sugar, which may arise the potential of diabetic risk. Thus, a dire clarification on the potential antioxidant status and diabetic risk of these products is essential to nullify over claims. Eight commercial botanical drinks that serve as health tonics were selected based on their advertisement popularity and traditional medicine sellers’ interview feedbacks. The selected tonics were mutually compared with a green tea (DGT01) as the benchmark for their total phenolic content (TPC); antioxidant activities [the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging inhibition capacities, IC50; Ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP); and Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)], anti-diabetic property through the α-glucosidase inhibition (AGI) and as well as the sugar content. The results were mapped for variations using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Three out of 8 health tonics (NS12, SK53, and MU13) has approximately 3 to 4-fold, 1.1-fold and 2.5-fold higher in TPC, ORAC, and FRAP reducing capacities, respectively. Only NS12 and SK53 showed strong AGI (>80% inhibition). Three tonics, NS12, SK53, and HS06 exhibited precaution levels of sugar with more than 180 mg of total sugars per serving. From the PCA, DGT01 was dissociated from any tonic. NS12 and SK23 were closely related in terms of antioxidant and AGI activities. Although they showed promising therapeutic benefits due to high antioxidant activities and low diabetic risk, the tonics’ efficacies and safety are still dubious shall be verified by reliable clinical trials. The selection of a health tonic shall not only be based on multi antioxidant-rich ingredients but low in sugar for a healthier choice
Correlation between Enzymatic and Non-Enzymatic Antioxidants in Several Edible Mushrooms Species
Characterization of several wild growing and cultivated mushrooms from geographical area of Dambovita County, Romania, in terms of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, through a chemometrics approach, was the aim of this study. Related to the authors’ previous studies, the novelty of this paper consists in deepening research toward the complete characterization of the regional mushroom species through emphasizing their potential as food resources. In the context in which species showed their content in biological active compounds, future practical applications in the area of functional food will be developed by integrating the data concerning their lack of the toxicity and nutritional value too. Lack of data focused on the characterization of mushroom species investigated in the paper supports the significance of this research. The statistical analysis of data highlights the relationship between compounds showing antioxidant activity of autochthonous mushrooms (both cap and stipe)
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