Development of Circulating Ultrasounic-Assisted Online Extraction Coupled to Countercurrent Chromatography and Centrifugal Partition Chromatography for Simultaneous Extraction and Isolation of Phytochemicals: Application to Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort

Circulating ultrasonic-assisted extraction (CUAE) was developed as a novel method for extraction of medicinal herbs, and the method was validated. In addition, the novel hyphenated technique comprising CUAE coupled with countercurrent chromatography (CCC) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) was developed and applied to the continuous extraction and online isolation of chemical constituents from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. The optimum extraction parameters, including the extraction time of 30 min, extraction temperature of 45 °C, ultrasound power of 300 W, and the liquid–solid ratio of 10 mL/g were determined by response surface methodology. Furthermore, a schematic and the mechanism of online CUAE coupled with CCC and CPC were presented. Three lactones, levistolide A (52.2 mg), Z-ligustilide (48.3 mg), and wallichilide (118.2 mg), with respective purities of 95.8, 96.7, and 96.2%, were obtained from 500 g of the L. chuanxiong raw material using CUAE/CCC. In contrast, senkyunolide A (26.2 mg), levistolide A (34.2 mg), and wallichilide (95.1 mg), with respective purities of 96.2, 95.3, and 96.1%, were obtained from 500 g of the L. chuanxiong raw material by using CUAE/CPC employing the two-phase solvent system comprising <i>n</i>-hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water in a volume ratio of 4:3:4:2 (v/v). Compared with reference extraction methods, scientific and systematic extraction and isolation of natural products was achieved with the instrumental setup, and this system has great prospects for industrial application, where the combined use of CCC and CPC can enhance the separation efficiency

Highly Water Stable Lanthanide Metal–Organic Frameworks Constructed from 2,2′-Disulfonyl-4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic Acid: Syntheses, Structures, and Properties

A series of three-dimensional (3D) lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (LnMOFs), (Me₂NH₂)­[LnL­(H₂O)] (Ln = Eu (<b>1</b>), Gd (<b>2</b>), Tb (<b>3</b>), Dy (<b>4</b>); H₄L = 2,2′-disulfonyl-4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid) have been successfully synthesized from H₄L and Ln­(NO₃)₃·6H₂O under solvothermal conditions. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) shows that all LnMOFs <b>1</b>–<b>4</b> are isomorphous and isostructural with a hepta-coordinated Ln­(III) being connected through the carboxylate groups of the L^4– ligands, resulting in the formation of an one-dimensional (1D) inorganic rod-like [Ln­(−COO)₂)]⁺_<i>n</i> chain along the <i>c</i> axis. The infinite 1D chains are further linked by the sulfonate and biphenyl groups, leading to formation of a uninodal 5-connected 3D network with <b>bnn</b> topology. The present LnMOFs are the first example of anionic 3D <b>bnn</b>-net constructed on Ln–O–C rods with channels being filled with (Me₂NH₂)⁺ cations. The L^4– ligand shows a pentadentate coordination mode with two bound sulfonate groups. All the LnMOFs are insoluble in water and highly stable against moisture. Cation-exchange with Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ ions can be easily performed at room temperature (RT). In addition, LnMOFs <b>1</b> and <b>3</b> display characteristic photoluminescence of Eu­(III) and Tb­(III) ions upon excitation at 394 and 353 nm, respectively. The investigation of magnetism demonstrates relatively weak antiferromagnetic interactions between Gd­(III) ions (<i>J</i> = −0.0042(5) cm^–1) in <b>2</b>, and between Dy­(III) ions (θ = −0.20(2) K) in <b>4</b>. The proton conductivity of <b>1</b> is 4.14 × 10^–8 S cm^–1 at 95% relative humidity (RH) and 25 °C

APPLICATION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE COUNTER-CURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY AND MEDIUM-PRESSURE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR RAPID ISOLATION OF LACTONES FROM <i>LIGUSTICUM CHUANXIONG</i> HORT.

<div><p>The root of <i>Ligusticum chuanxiong</i> Hort. is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine for treating headaches, ischemic stroke, anemia, and cerebral vascular disease. High-performance counter-current chromatography was applied to the isolation and purification of four lactones: 75.8 mg senkyunolide A, 3.5 mg levistolide A, 76.3 mg Z-ligustilide, and 0.8 mg wallichilide from 600 mg of the n-hexane extract of chuanxiong. Medium-pressure liquid chromatography was applied to the isolation and purification of one phthalide and two lactones: 2.9 mg chuanxingol, 11.3 mg senkyunolide A, and 20.1 mg Z-ligustilide from 800 mg of 60% ethanol extract of chuanxiong. The system composed of n-hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water in a volume ratio of 4:3:4:2 (<i>v/v</i>) was found to be optimum for HPCCC. The solvent system consisted of acetonitrile (A)−0.5% acetic acid (B) was used for MPLC, the binary gradient elution as follows: 0–40 min, 13%–100% A; and 40–50 min, 100% A. The target components separated by HPCCC and MPLC had higher purity determined by HPLC. The chemical structures of the target components were identified by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).</p> </div

Out of Lust or Jealousy: The Effects of Mate-Related Motives on Study-Time Allocation to Faces Varying in Attractiveness

<div><p>Although a growing number of empirical studies have revealed that activating mate-related motives might exert a specific set of consequences for human cognition and behaviors, such as attention and memory, little is known about whether mate-related motives affect self-regulated learning. The present study examined the effects of mate-related motives (mate-search and mate-guarding) on study-time allocation to faces varying in attractiveness. In two experiments, participants in mate-related priming conditions (Experiment 1: mate-search; Experiment 2: mate-guarding) or control conditions studied 20 female faces (10 highly attractive, 10 less attractive) during a self-paced study task, and then were given a yes/no face recognition task. The finding of Experiment 1 showed that activating a mate-search motive led the male participants to allocate more time to highly attractive female faces (i.e., perceived potential mates) than to less attractive ones. In Experiment 2, female participants in the mate-guarding priming condition spent more time studying highly attractive female faces (i.e., perceived potential rivals) than less attractive ones, compared to participants in the control condition. These findings illustrate the highly specific consequences of mate-related motives on study-time allocation, and highlight the value of exploring human cognition and motivation within evolutionary and self-regulated learning frameworks.</p></div

Mean study times (in seconds) allocated to highly and less attractive female faces for the mate-guarding and anxiety-control conditions in Experiment 2.

<p>Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p

Flow diagram of self-paced study task.

<p>Flow diagram of self-paced study task.</p

Mean study times (in seconds) allocated to highly and less attractive female faces for the mate-search and happiness-control conditions in Experiment 1.

<p>Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p