Algae in heavy metal - polluted environments

Algae are very diverse photosynthetic plants that have neither roots nor leafy shoots and which also lack vascular tissues (VAN DEN HOEK et al., 1995). Most of them are aquatic organisms and occur both in fresh and saline waters, but they also inhabit terrestrial environments. As pioneers, algae take part in primary production and in colonization of poor and degraded habitats. The primary impact of heavy metals on algae is at the biochemical and physiological levels. These biochemical and physiological effects may cause ecological effects. Usually, in heavy metal-polluted environments algal biomass as well as algal species diversity decrease. In such places the sensitive organisms and species in algal communities may be replaced by tolerant ones as a consequence of chemical stress. The observed shift in species composition in a community affected by heavy metals is not a random process; chronic exposure to low concentrations of heavy metals may act as a selection factor. Preliminary studies on algal species diversity and heavy metal resistance of species inhabiting Zn, Pb or Cu polluted sites (near metallurgical and mining plants in Silesia) are described

Dynamics of small-sized Cladocera and their algal diet in lake with toxic cyanobacterial water blooms

Species composition and quantitative structure of small-sized Cladocera community and their algal diet before, during and after cyanobacterial blooms were studied in highly eutrophic lake. The objective of the study was to investigate, how the mass development of toxin-producing cyanobacteria affect the abundances of small-sized Cladocera and their preferences within consumed algal cells. Cyanobacterial blooms were predominantly constituted by microcystin-producing genera Planktothrix, Dolichospermum, Microcystis. The concentration of intracellular microcystins in lake water ranged 0.0–23.61 μg dm−3. Bosmina longirostris, B. coregonii, Diaphanosoma brachyurum and Daphnia cucullata were dominant in Cladocera community. The highest abundances of B. longirostris occurred in periods without cyanobacterial blooms and B. coregonii during blooms and after them. The maximum abundances of D. cucullata were observed before and after the cyanobacterial blooms, while the abundance of D. brachyurum was the highest at the beginning of blooms. Small Bacillariophyceae, small Chlorophyceae and Cryptophyceae were the most abundant among identified algal cells detected in digestive tracts of the Cladocera dominants. Tracts of D. cucullata, B. longirostris and B. coregonii contained the highest number of Bacillariophyceae always before blooms. During cyanobacterial blooms, cells of small Chlorophyceae predominated in tracts of D. cucullata. After bloom, cells of Cryptomonas spp. were mainly consumed both by D. cucullata and by B. coregonii. Fragments of Dolichospermum spp., besides Bacillariophyceae and Cryptomonas spp. cells, were occasionally found in tracts of D. brachyurum. Our study indicated that blooms constituted by toxin-producing cyanobacteria may influence quantitative and qualitative structure of the small-sized Cladocera community

Metal–Flavonoid Interactions—From Simple Complexes to Advanced Systems

For many years, metal–flavonoid complexes have been widely studied as a part of drug discovery programs, but in the last decade their importance in materials science has increased significantly. A deeper understanding of the role of metal ions and flavonoids in constructing simple complexes and more advanced hybrid networks will facilitate the assembly of materials with tailored architecture and functionality. In this Review, we highlight the most essential data on metal–flavonoid systems, presenting a promising alternative in the design of hybrid inorganic–organic materials. We focus mainly on systems containing CuII/I and FeIII/II ions, which are necessary in natural and industrial catalysis. We discuss two kinds of interactions that typically ensure the formation of metal–flavonoid systems, namely coordination and redox reactions. Our intention is to cover the fundamentals of metal–flavonoid systems to show how this knowledge has been already transferred from small molecules to complex materials

Natural Cinnamic Acid Derivatives: A Comprehensive Study on Structural, Anti/Pro-Oxidant, and Environmental Impacts

Cinnamic acid (CA), p-coumaric acid (4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 4-HCA), caffeic acid (3,4-vdihydroxycinnamic acid, 3,4-dHCA), and 3,4,5-trihydroxycinnamic acid (3,4,5-tHCA) were studied for their structural, anti-/pro-oxidant properties and biodegradability. The FT-IR, FT-Raman, UV/Vis, 1H and 13C NMR, and quantum chemical calculations in B3LYP/6-311++G** were performed to study the effect on number and position of hydroxyl group in the ring on the molecular structure of molecules. The antioxidant properties of the derivatives were examined using DPPH● and HO● radicals scavenging assays, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation, as well as the biological antioxidant assay with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Moreover, the pro-oxidant activity of compounds in Trolox oxidation assay was estimated. The effect of the derivatives on environment on the basis of increasing the carbon and nitrogen compounds transformation processes occurring in biological wastewater treatment was studied

Correlations between molecular structure and biological activity in "logical series" of dietary chromone derivatives.

The research was conducted in the "logical series" of seven ligands: chromone, flavone, 3-hydroxyflavone, 3,7-dihydroxyflavone, galangin, kaempferol and quercetin. Each subsequent ligand differs from the previous one, among others by an additional hydroxyl group. The studied chromone derivatives are plant secondary metabolites which play an important role in growth, reproduction, and resistance to pathogens. They are important food ingredients with valuable pro-health properties. The studies of the relationships between their molecular structure and biological activity facilitate searching for new chemical compounds with important biological properties not by trial and error, but concerning the impact of specific changes in their structure on the compound properties. Therefore several pectroscopic methods (FT-IR, FT-Raman, 1H and 13C NMR) were applied to study the molecular structure of the compounds in the series. Moreover the quantum-chemical calculations at B3LYP/6-311++G** were performed to obtained the theoretical NMR spectra, NBO atomic charge, global reactivity descriptors and thermodynamic parameters. The antioxidant activity of the compounds was tested in the DPPH and FRAP assays and the mechanism of antioxidant activity was discussed based on the results on theoretical calculations. The cytotoxicity of the ligands toward human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco2 cells was estimated and correlated with the lipophilicity of the compounds. The principal component analyses (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to study the dependency between the molecular structure of ligands and their biological activity. The experimental data were related to the theoretical ones. The found regular changes in physicochemical properties correlated well with the systematic changes in antioxidant and biological properties

Insight into <i>Trichinella britovi</i> Infection in Pigs: Effect of Various Infectious Doses on Larvae Density and Spatial Larvae Distribution in Carcasses and Comparison of the Detection of Anti-<i>T. britovi</i> IgG of Three Different Commercial ELISA Tests and Immunoblot Assay

There is limited information available on the Trichinella britovi (T. britovi) muscle larvae (ML) distribution in pig muscle and the humoral immune response of pigs infected with moderate doses of this parasite; therefore, this study investigated the infectivity of a Polish strain of T. britovi for pigs, the antibody response of this host to various doses of T. britovi, and the efficiency of three different commercial ELISA kits and an immunoblot assay at detecting anti-T. britovi IgG. No significant differences in terms of the infection level of particular muscles or of whole carcasses between pigs infected with 3000 and those infected with 5000 ML of T. britovi were observed. The highest intensity of T. britovi infection was reported in the diaphragm pillars. The larvae of T. britovi showed homogeneous distribution with respect to the muscle side. Statistically, specific IgG antibodies against excretory–secretory (ES) antigens of Trichinella ML were first detected by all ELISA protocols on day 36 post infection; however, individual pig results showed some differences between the three tests applied. A significant increase in the level of anti-T. britovi IgG was observed between days 36 and 41 post infection, and from day 45 until day 62 after T. britovi infection, production of these antibodies reached its plateau phase. No positive correlation was found between the anti-T. britovi IgG level and the larvae density in 15 different muscles. Sera of T. britovi-infected pigs showed reactivity with T. britovi ML ES antigens of 62, 55, and 52 kDa. The results provide novel information on spatial larvae distribution in muscles and the humoral immune response of pigs exposed to two different doses of a Polish strain of T. britovi, extend knowledge on serological diagnostic tools which may be introduced in veterinary practice for the detection of T. britovi infections in pig production, and offer practical solutions for meat hygiene inspectors in the field at sampling sites when examining pig carcasses for Trichinella

Spectroscopic, Theoretical and Antioxidant Study of 3d-Transition Metals (Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)) Complexes with Cichoric Acid

Cichoric acid (CA) is a derivative of both caffeic acid and tartaric acid. It was isolated for the first time from Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) but it also occurs in significant amounts in Echinacea, particularly E. purpurea, dandelion leaves, basil, lemon balm and in aquatic plants, including algae and sea grasses. It has a wide spectrum of biological properties, including antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and other. The work yielded cichoric acid complexes with selected transition metals, i.e., copper(II), nickel(II), zinc(II) and cobalt(II). In this work the dependency between the molecular structure and biological activity was discussed. The molecular structure was studied by means of infrared spectroscopy (Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) Raman (FT-Raman)), electronic absorption spectroscopy (ultraviolet&ndash;visible (UV/VIS)) and theoretical calculations (density functional theory (DFT), Hartree&ndash;Fock (HF)). Understanding the mechanism of the effect of metals on the electronic system of ligands with biological importance will facilitate in the future the search for new, effective and natural antioxidants. The composition of the studied complexes in aqueous solutions was determined at a constant pH by the Job&rsquo;s method. Antioxidative properties of the tested compounds were determined using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate free radical method), cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and Superoxide Dismutase Activity Assay (SOD)

Synthesis, Spectroscopic, and Theoretical Study of Copper and Cobalt Complexes with Dacarbazine

Dacarbazine (DAC) 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazenyl)imidazole-4-carboxamide is an imidazole-carboxamide derivative that is structurally related to purines. DAC belongs to the triazene compounds, which are a group of alkylating agents with antitumor and mutagenic properties. DAC is a non-cell cycle specific drug, active in all phases of the cellular cycle. In the frame of this work the 3d metal complexes (cobalt and copper) with dacarbazine were synthesized. Their spectroscopic properties by the use of FT-IR, FT-Raman, and 1HNMR were studied. The structures of dacarbazine and its complexes with copper(II) and cobalt(II) were calculated using DFT methods. The effect of metals on the electronic charge distribution of dacarbazine was discussed on the basis of calculated NBO atomic charges. The reactivity of metal complexes in relation to ligand alone was estimated on the basis of calculated energy of HOMO and LUMO orbitals. The aromaticity of the imidazole ring in dacarbazine and the complexes were compared (on the basis of calculated geometric indices of aromaticity). Thermal stability of the investigated 3d-metal complexes with dacarbazine and the products of their thermal decomposition were analyzed

Biologically Active Compounds of Plants: Structure-Related Antioxidant, Microbiological and Cytotoxic Activity of Selected Carboxylic Acids

Natural carboxylic acids are plant-derived compounds that are known to possess biological activity. The aim of this review was to compare the effect of structural differences of the selected carboxylic acids (benzoic acid (BA), cinnamic acid (CinA), p-coumaric acid (p-CA), caffeic acid (CFA), rosmarinic acid (RA), and chicoric acid (ChA)) on the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activity. The studied compounds were arranged in a logic sequence of increasing number of hydroxyl groups and conjugated bonds in order to investigate the correlations between the structure and bioactivity. A review of the literature revealed that RA exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and this property decreased in the following order: RA &gt; CFA ~ ChA &gt; p-CA &gt; CinA &gt; BA. In the case of antimicrobial properties, structure-activity relationships were not easy to observe as they depended on the microbial strain and the experimental conditions. The highest antimicrobial activity was found for CFA and CinA, while the lowest for RA. Taking into account anti-cancer properties of studied NCA, it seems that the presence of hydroxyl groups had an influence on intermolecular interactions and the cytotoxic potential of the molecules, whereas the carboxyl group participated in the chelation of endogenous transition metal ions