Interview: Tom Spurling

Tom Spurling has over 30 years of experience in R&D in the areas of applied organic chemistry and industrial technology, and has been outspoken on the role and purpose of public sector R&D in Australia's future prosperity. He discusses these issues with Helmut Hugel

Fenugreek increases insulin-stimulated creatine content in l6C11 muscle myotubes

Purpose Creatine uptake by muscle cells is increased in the presence of insulin. Accordingly, compounds with insulin- like actions may also augment creatine uptake. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Trigonella foenumgraecum (fenugreek), an insulin mimetic, increases total intracellular creatine levels in vitro. Methods Total cellular creatine content was measured fluorometrically in L6C11 muscle myotubes treated for 1, 4, and 24 h with 0.5 mM creatine (CR), CR and 20 μg/mL fenugreek seed extract (CR + FEN), CR and 100 nM insulin (CR + INS), and CR + INS + FEN (n = 6 per treatment group). Alterations in the expression of the sodiumand chloride-dependent creatine transporter, SLC6A8, and key signaling proteins in the PI3-K/Akt pathway were determined. Results Compared to control (CON), CR + INS + FEN increased total creatine content after 4 h (P CON and CR at 1 h (P CON, CR, and CR + INS at 4 h (P < 0.05). In contrast, no changes in PKCζ/λ or GLUT4 phosphorylation were detected. Conclusion Fenugreek, when combined with insulin, modulates creatine content via a mechanism which is independent of the activity of SLC6A8, suggesting that an alternative mechanism is responsible for the regulation and facilitation of insulin-mediated creatine uptake in skeletal muscle cells

A Modeling Approach for Orthogonality of Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Separations

A novel method is developed for orthogonality evaluation of comprehensive two-dimensional separations (C2DS). Utilization of efficiency measures such as peak capacity (<i>n</i>_c) can be critically evaluated for C2DS analysis to describe an orthogonal separation of the analytes in a 2D plane. Unlike most previous methods focusing on “bin coverage” over 2D space, rather than taking into account the distribution based on accurate peak retention, in the proposed method, the separation orthogonality of C2DS is divided into two parts (i.e., <i>C</i>_pert and <i>C</i>_peaks). These correspond to peak coverage percent, and 2D distribution correlation of compounds, respectively. Bin occupation and a simple-linear regression model, on the basis of normalized retention times in 2D separation space (¹<i>t</i>_R and ²<i>t</i>_R), are further introduced to quantitatively define the two terms. Orthogonality ranges from 0 to 1 correspond to perfectly correlated and orthogonal separations, respectively, which are presented based on both <i>C</i>_pert and <i>C</i>_peaks considerations. The advantage of this method is the use of separation properties of C2DS to characterize practical 2D peak distribution and does not rely on assumptions or any imposed limitations. Simulation of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) was achieved by using the Abraham solvation parameter model, and applied to generate examples for orthogonality assessment. In this work, 225 compounds comprising a range of chemical classes were simulated for separation on two column set pairs comprising low polarity/polar and moderately polar/polar combinations. Results illustrate that the proposed method applied to GC × GC provides a reasonable assessment of 2D separation performance and may be used to derive optimal experimental conditions when used with an experimental design strategy

Ziziphus spinosa seeds for insomnia : a review of chemistry and psychopharmacology

Background In Chinese medicine, Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chou is widely used for the treatment of insomnia. Purpose/Sections This paper summarises the chemistry, psychopharmacology, and compares the pharmaceutical effects of the seeds of Ziziphus jujuba plant, Ziziphus spinosa (ZS) seeds, with benzodiazepines. Whole extracts and constituent compounds have been evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies. Conclusions ZS secondary metabolites modulate GABAergic activity and the serotonergic system. The actual therapeutic agents require further confirmation/identification so that new insomnia phytomedicines can be discovered

ZrCl₄-Catalyzed C-O Bond to C-N Bond Formation: Synthesis of 1,2,3-Triazoles and Their Biological Evaluation

<div><p></p><p>A simple and efficient protocol was developed for the synthesis of aryl azides directly from aryl carbinols using ZrCl₄ as a Lewis acid catalyst. The azides were converted to novel triazoles under click reaction conditions, which were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against various strains.</p> </div

Chinese herbal medicine for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Age Associated Memory Impairment: a review of randomised controlled trials

This review assesses the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Age Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI). Electronic searches of English and Chinese databases and hand searches of Chinese journal holdings were conducted. Randomised controlled trials comparing orally administered CHM with placebo, no intervention or other therapy were considered. Ginkgo biloba was excluded. Ten trials met inclusion criteria. Eight different CHM were investigated. Methodological quality was assessed using the Jadad scale and five studies scored three or above. Two studies compared CHM with placebo and eight with another intervention. This review found an overall benefit on some outcome measures for the eight CHMs involved in the 10 RCTs but methodological and data reporting issues were evident. Meta-analysis of three studies found the effects of the CHMs were at least equivalent to piracetam on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. No severe adverse events were reported

«Domos omnes quae sunt in contracta Sancti Steffani». Il palazzo nel contesto storico e urbano

This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicines (HM) for treating dementia. Databases in English and Chinese were searched from their inceptions to February 2007. References in reviews and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were screened by hand. Trials comparing orally administered HM with placebo, no intervention or other therapy were considered. Trials on Ginkgo biloba and its extracts were excluded to avoid duplication of existing reviews. Pairs of authors independently applied eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed methodological quality using the Jadad Scale. Thirteen RCTs met the inclusion criteria of three or above on this scale. Six trials compared herbal medicine with placebo, one with no treatment, and the remainder with pharmaceutical intervention. Meta-analyses were performed on common cognitive performance outcome measures. All studies reported HM had significant effects in improving symptoms. In studies that employed active controls, HM was at least as effective as the pharmaceutical intervention. Meta-analyses found HM more effective than no treatment or placebo and at least equivalent to control interventions, although the overall effect was small. No severe adverse events were reported. These trials provide overall positive evidence for the effectiveness and safety of certain HMs for dementia management