Free fatty acids from the crude hexane extract of the aerial parts of Heliotropium indicum Linn. Growing in Phitsanulok, Thailand

Sixteen free fatty acids from the crude hexane extract of the aerial parts of Heliotropium indicum Linn. growing in Phitsanulok, Thailand, have been identified after conversion to their methyl esters with boron trifluoride-methanol followed by quantification by GC-FID and identification by GC-MS analysis. They accounted for 95% of the chromatographable components, with 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, (39.7%), 9-octadecenoic acid (32.4%), hexadecanoic acid (14.2%) and octadecanoic acid (5.1%), as the major constituents. A small amount of 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone and 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol as well as a homologous series of n-alkanes present at trace level and ranging from C25 to C31 was also found (see Table 1). The crude hexane extract has been shown to have modest antituberculosis activity (MIC of 100 mg/mL) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra

Application of transfinite numbers and infinitesimals to measure theory

Measure theory provides one of the most inviting areas in which the transfinite and infinitesimal numbers of non-standard analysis may be applied. This is so because their use becomes not just a convenient tool but an essential requirement for a generalization of the theory

Analytical studies on Australian oil shales

Oil shale samples from the upper and lower units of the bipartite Duaringa oil shale deposit, Queensland Australia, have been analysed using a variety of fast characterisation procedures such as solvent extraction, pyrolysis-GC, isothermal pyrolysis and TGA. A CDS-150 pyroprobe was modified to simulate Fischer assay retort conditions on a micro scale basis and was used for the rapid assessment (pyrolysis-FID) of the hydrocarbon generating potential of these and other oil shale samples. Results obtained for Duaringa were extended to analytical studies on an extensive range of selected Australian and several overseas reference oil shales. An electronically-controlled tube-furnace retort was constructed to provide accurate control over heating rates and pyrolysis environments. The retort was used to produce shale oils for samples from both units of the Duaringa deposit, which were then compared with each other and with a Duaringa reference oil obtained using the conventional Fischer assay procedure. The retort was also used to study the composition of pyrolysate produced over narrow sequential temperature ranges to provide better understanding of retort processes and pyrolysis mechanisms. Solvent extracts of the Duaringa lamosites contain a homologous series of linear alkanals not previously reported in Australian oil shales. Following their characterisation the Duaringa bitumen (based on mass-spectral data and retention-index values) these aldehydes were subsequently detected in extracts from other Australian oil shale deposits. The possible origins and significance of these and other components found in oil shale bitumen are discussed in relation to the source, environment of deposition, maturation and bio-degradation of the kerogen comprising these deposits. Results obtained from the pyrolysis-FID procedures for Duaringa were used to characterise (type) the Australian and overseas oil shales on the basis of their relative abilities to generate (type-dependent) quantities of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) from the pyrolysis of their raw shale. For shales comprising type I and II organic matter, hydrocarbon oil and gas yields correlated positively with Fischer assay oil yields,petrographic data, kerogen content and elemental composition. The procedure provides a rapid and inexpensive screening method for the accurate first assessment of the relative -generating potential of a given deposit. Retort oils from the upper unit (resource seams) and lower unit (\u3e 1000 m) were analysed by extraction and column chromatography, followed by detailed gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of each of the 19 fractions isolated. Hundreds of compounds were identified and their retention indices calculated where the components eluted as discrete peaks in respective gas chromatograms. Least-squares linear regression analysis of these data allowed retention-index equations to be calculated for a wide variety of different compound classes. Collectively this information provides reference data which should allow comprehensive chemical characterisation of shale oil to be achieved without the need for mass spectrometric analysis of each column fraction. Despite the substantial difference in the depth of burial, the chemical composition of the upper- and lower-seam Duaringa shale oils was very similar and found to resemble those from non-carbonaceous seams of other Tertiary Australian deposits (Condor and Rundle). The distribution and relative abundances of some of the isomeric structures encountered in each of them indicate that retort-product concentrations are influenced by relative variations in the thermocatalytic activity of the mineral matrix. Accurate and class-specific quantitative data obtained for Duaringa phenols, nitriles and ketones suggest that these volatile components constitute only a minor portion of the otherwise non-volatile column fractions in which they are found. This implies that gravimetric data published for these compound classes for Condor and Rundle shale oils overestimate their abundance. Data obtained from rapid characterisation techniques were interpreted in relation to the composition of the corresponding retort oils. Advantages and limitations of microscale screening techniques are discussed with reference to results obtained for Duaringa and other Australian oil shale deposits

The chemical constituents and biological activities of the essential oil and the extracts from leaves of Gynura divaricata (L.) DC. growing in Thailand

The chemical constituents of the essential oil from the leaves of Gynura divaricata (L.) DC. were investigated by GC-FID and GC-MS. Seventeen compounds, representing 97.1 % of the chromatographical fraction of the oil, were detected. The major constituents, cubenol (65.7 %) and spathulenol (6.4 %), were isolated using column chromatography and identified by NMR and MS analysis. The antioxidant, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil, the hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of G. divaricata leaves were investigated. The essential oil and the crude extracts showed antioxidant activity using the ABTS and DPPH methods, respectively. The essential oil exhibited significant cytotoxicity against KB, MCF-7 and NCI-H187 cancer cell lines with the IC values of 5.79, 47.44 and 17.65 µg/mL, respectively and had a MIC of 50 μg/mL against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. Cubenol had an IC50 value of 45.37 µg/mL against the NCI-H187 cancer cell line. All extracts were non-cytotoxic against Vero cells. The essential oil and the extracts showed antimicrobial activity using the disc diffusion assay. The methanol extract was the most potent of the three extracts

Volatile changes during dehydration of d\u27Agen prunes

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was used in conjunction with GC-MS to monitor the changes in some major volatile flavors during drying of plums. The aroma profile was significantly modified during the process and substantial loss of the original volatile flavors was observed. The generation of some compounds was shown to be due to the thermal decomposition of carbohydrates. This paper discusses the importance of aroma profiling in detecting the progress of the chemical (degradation) reactions and identifying marker volatiles in quality control of the product

The chemical constituents and the cytotoxicity, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the essential oil of Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff

The essential oil from the leaves of Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff. was isolated by hydrodistillation and its chemical constituents were investigated by a combination of gas chromatographic (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis. Fourteen compounds, comprising 95.0 % of the gas chromatographical oil, were identified. The major constituents were phytol (75.7 %), n-nonacosane (6.5 %) and hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (2.6 %). The oil showed significant cytotoxicity against KB (epidermoid carcinoma of oral cavity), NCI-H187 (small cell lung carcinoma) and Vero cell lines with IC50 values of 27.04, 25.27 and 26.52 µg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the oil was determined using the ABTS radical cation scavenging assay. The oil had less antioxidant activity than the controls, trolox and ascorbic acid. In a disc diffusion assay the oil exhibited antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli with MIC values of 11.75 and 35.25 µg/disc, respectively

Antimicrobial, antimalarial and cytoxicity activities of constituents of a Bhutanese variety of Ajania nubigena

An investigation of the essential oil (EO) and the crude MeOH extract of a Bhutanese variety of Ajania nubigena using GC/GC-MS and NMR found the following: a) one kg of the dried plant material contained 0.7% w/w EO; b) 44 of the 53 GC-FID peaks of the EO were identified with (3R,6R)-linalool oxide acetate (75.8 %) as the major constituent (chemotype II) and chamazulene as a new sub-chemotype; c) purification of the EO furnished (3R,6R)-linalool oxide acetate (1), chamazulene (2), (E)-2-(2,4-hexadiynylidene)-1,6-dioxaspiro[4,4]non-3-ene (3), and (Z)-2-(2,4-hexadinylidene)-1,6-dioxaspiro[4,4]non-3-ene (4); d) from the crude MeOH extract, four flavonoid compounds: 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-1-one (5), oxyanin B (6), luteolin (7) (major) and the luteolin-7-O-�- D-glucoside (8) were isolated; e) among the EO and pure compounds tested for biological activities, compound 7 exhibited a broad range of moderate antiplasmodial, cytoxicity and antimicrobial activities; c) compound 8 showed significant in vitro antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum strains TM4/8.2 and K1CB1 (multidrug resistant strain) and was identified as a potential antimalarial scaffold; and f) the in vitro antimicrobial and cytotoxicity activities were in alignment with the traditional medical uses of this plant and thus substantiate its use in Bhutanese traditional medicine