62 research outputs found
Efficient biotransformation of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs by endophytic and epiphytic fungi from dried leaves of a medicinal plant, Plantago lanceolata L.
In the current study, decomposition of diclofenac, diflunisal, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and piroxicam was tested using nine identified strains of endophytic and epiphytic fungi (from Ascomycota) adapted to natural products resembling the pharmaceuticals. The strains were isolated from a medicinal plant, Plantago lanceolata leaves. Metabolites were tentatively identified by liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS3). Eighteen of the 45 combinations resulted in significant decrease of the concentration of the NSAIDs in model solutions. The most active strains were Aspergillus nidulans and Bipolaris tetramera, while Epicoccum nigrum and Aspergillus niger showed somewhat less potency. Piroxicam and diclofenac were most resistant to biotransformation, while ibuprofen and mefenamic acid were efficiently metabolized by most strains. Ten metabolites could be tentatively identified, including hydroxy-metabolites of all tested NSAIDs, and a dihydroxy-metabolite of piroxicam. This biotransformation is likely to modify the toxicity and bioaccumulation potential of these pharmaceuticals. The results highlight the applicability of polyphenol-rich dried medicinal plant materials as an excellent source of fungi with high biotransforming potential. The results also suggest more in-depth testing of these fungi for biodegradation processes
Myrosinase Compatible Simultaneous Determination of Glucosinolates and Allyl Isothiocyanate by Capillary Electrophoresis Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (CE-MEKC)
Introduction. The functional food Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates which are
decomposed by the myrosinase enzyme upon tissue damage. The isothiocyanates are the most frequent
decomposition products. Because of their various bioactivities, these compounds and the myrosinase is
of high interest to many scientific fields.
Objective. Development of a capillary electrophoresis method capable of myrosinase-
compatible, simultaneous quantification of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates.
Methods. Capillary electrochromatography parameters were optimized, followed by
optimization of a myrosinase-compatible derivatization procedure for isothiocyanates. Vegetable
extracts (Brussels sprouts, horseradish, radish and watercress) were tested for myrosinase activity,
glucosinolate content and isothiocyanate conversion rate. Allyl isothiocyanate was quantified in some
food products.
Results. The method allows quantification of sinigrin, gluonasturtiin and allyl isothiocyanate
after myrosinase compatible derivatization in-vial by mercaptoacetic acid. The chromatograhpic
separation takes 2.5 minutes (short end injection) or 15 minutes (long end injection). For the tested
vegetables, measured myrosinase activity was between 0.960 – 27.694 and 0.461 – 26.322 μmol min-1
mg-1 protein, glucosinolate content was between 0 – 2291.8 and 0 – 248.5 μg g-1 fresh weight for
sinigrin and gluconastrutiin, respectively. The possible specificity of plants to different glucosinolates
was also shown. Allyl isothiocyanate release rate was different in different vegetables (73.13 to 102.13
%). The method could also be used for quantification of allyl isothiocyanate from food products.
Conclusions. The presented capillary electrophoresis method requires a minimal amount of
sample and contains only a few sample preparation steps, and can be used in several applications
(glucosinolate determination, myrosinase activity measurement, isothiocyanate release estimation)
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