Abstract In this study, the effects of Tween 40 and ethanol supplementation on the secretion, structure and antioxidant activities of exopolysaccharide (EPS) from Inonotus rickii were investigated. It was observed that Tween 40 and ethanol displayed a stimulatory effect on EPS secretion. The EPSs obtained by the addition of Tween 40 (EPS-T), ethanol (EPS-E) and control (EPS-C) were purified by Sepharose CL-6B gel chromatography and molecular weights of EPS-T, EPS-E and EPS-C were estimated to be 22.1, 30.0, and 40.5 kDa, respectively. Monosaccharide composition analysis indicated that EPS-T, EPS-E and EPS-C were mainly composed of mannose and glucose. Furthermore, EPS-E exhibited better OH• and DPPH scavenging activities than those of EPS-C and EPS-T, which might be associated with its molecular characterization.

ABSTRACT A simple and sensitive method for simultaneous determination of furan and vinyl acetate (VA) in vapor phase of mainstream cigarette smoke with cold trap and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed. A Cambridge filter pad (CFP) was placed in front of the impingers of smoking machine to remove the particle phase from cigarette smoke. Furan and VA in vapor phase of mainstream cigarette smoke were collected in two impingers connected in series by filled with methanol at -78°C. The solutions were added with deuterium-labeled furan-d4 and VA-d6 as internal standards and analyzed by GC-MS. The results showed that the calibration curves for furan and VA were linear (r2 > 0.9995) over the studied concentration range. The intra- and inter-day precision values for furan and VA were <7.07% and <9.62%, respectively. The extraction recoveries of furan and VA were in the range of 94.5-97.7% and 92.3-94.9%, respectively. Moreover, the limits of detection for furan and VA were 0.028 µg mL-1 and 1.3 ng mL-1, respectively. The validated method has been successfully applied to determine the emissions of furan and VA in the vapor phase of mainstream cigarette smoke under International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Canadian Intense (CI) smoking regimen.

In order to comprehensively screen and identify the glycoside compounds in tobacco, a simple, rapid and sensitive method of high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-LIT/MSn) coupled with electrospray ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry (ESI-Orbitrap-MS) was developed for the first time. As a result, twenty-two glycoside compounds, including eleven alcoholic glycosides, eight phenolic glycosides, two ester glycosides and an indole glycoside, were reliably identified from tobacco with high mass accuracy (within 5 mDa). Among them, four compounds were confirmed as novel molecules and other four compounds, as far as we know, were not reported previously in tobacco. This study provided a useful tool to identify the new structures of glycoside compounds in natural products, especially when there were no reference compounds available.

ABSTRACT The effect on different three carbon source (i.e. glucose, fructose and sucrose) on production, chemical characterization and antioxidant activity of exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Phellinus vaninii Ljup was investigated in this study. Amongst carbon sources examined, glucose and sucrose were favorable for the mycelia growth, while the maximum EPS yield was achieved when sucrose was employed. The predominant carbohydrate compositions in EPSs identified were gluconic acid, glucose, mannose and galactose acid. Then, FT-IR spectral analysis revealed prominent characteristic groups in EPSs. EPSs molecule exist as nearly globular shape form in aqueous solution. The variation also affects antioxidant activities by investigated by using hydroxyl and DPPH radical scavenging assay. Sucrose was best carbon source from the viewpoint of antioxidant activity due to the relatively high contents of galactose in the EPS with moderate molecular weight and polydispersity.

Abstract This study evaluated the chemical and volatile composition of jujube wines fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae A1.25 with and without pulp contact and protease treatment during fermentation. Yeast cell population, total reducing sugar and methanol contents had significant differences between nonextracted and extracted wine. The nonextracted wines had significantly higher concentrations of ethyl 9-hexadecenoate, ethyl palmitate and ethyl oleate than the extracted wines. Pulp contact also could enhance phenylethyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, ethyl palmitat and ethyl oleate. Furthermore, protease treatment can accelerate the release of fusel oils. The first principal component separated the wine from the extracted juice without protease from other samples based on the higher concentrations of medium-chain fatty acids and medium-chain ethyl esters. Sensory evaluation showed pulp contact and protease could improve the intensity and complexity of wine aroma due to the increase of the assimilable nitrogen.

RESUMO Penicillium janthinellum sw09, isolado do solo, produz quantidades significativas de uma pectinase extracelular que foi posteriormente caracterizada como exo-poligalacturonase (exo-PG). Ao otimizar as condições de crescimento, P. janthinellum sw09 produz quantidades elevadas de exo-PG (16,54 unidades/ml). A enzima impura foi purificada por cromatografia de filtração em gel e dois picos com atividade elevada de exo-PG (designados como PGI e PGII) foram revelados. Por análise em SDS-PAGE, PGII foi purificada utilizando uma coluna de DEAE-Sepharose FF, observou ser formada por uma única banda com uma massa molecular de 66,2 kDa. PGII purificada exibiu uma actividade máxima a uma temperatura de 45 °C e pH 5,0. Os perfis de estabilidade mostram que PGII é mais estável numa faixa de pH de 4,0-8,0 e abaixo de 60 ° C. O Km e Vmax para a enzima foi de 1,74 mg / ml e 18,08 μmol / (mL • min), respectivamente. Devido a esta caracterização enzimática, pectinase é um candidato atrativo para ser aplicado na degradação da pectina.

ABSTRACT A soil isolate, Penicillium janthinellum sw09 has been found to produce significant amounts of an extracellular pectinase subsequently characterized as exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG). By optimizing growth conditions, P. janthinellum sw09 produced high amount of exo-PG (16.54 units/mL). The crude enzyme was purified by gel filtration chromatography and two exo-PG activity peaks (designated as PGI and PGII) were revealed. On SDS-PAGE analysis, purified PGII using DEAE-Sepharose FF column, was found to be a single band with a molecular mass of 66.2 kDa. The purified PGII exhibited maximal activity at the temperature of 45 oC and pH 5.0. The stability profiles show that PGII is more stable in the pH range of 4.0-8.0 and below 60 oC. The Km and Vmax for the enzyme was 1.74 mg/mL and 18.08 μmol/ (mL•min), respectively. Due to this enzymatic characterization, this pectinase is an attractive candidate for applications in degradation of pectin.

O objetivo do estudo foi investigar o efeito da fumaça de cigarro sobre a produção e caracterização de exopolissacarídeos (EPSs) produzidos por Bifidobacterium. Os cigarros de marca Shanhua (nicotina: 1,1 mg, alcatrão: 11 mg) foram utilizados para preparar um condensado de fumaça de cigarro (CSC). A cepa padrão de Bifidobacterium animalis foi cultivada em meio MRS sob condições anaeróbicas do CSC. Os resultados mostraram que a CSC diminuiu significativamente o crescimento de B. animalis, bem como EPSs e produção de ácido acético. Além disso, duas frações de EPSs (Fr-I e Fr-II) foram isoladas e purificadas para determinação de componentes químicos e moleculares. Pela comparação com o controle, observou-se que o CSC apresentou uma grande diferença na composição de hidratos de carbono EPSs. A massa do peso molecular de Fr-I passou de 3,33 × 105 g / mol (sem CSC) para 2,99 × 105 (com CSC). Em conclusão, os estudos in vitro revelaram que a CSC foi capaz de afetar diretamente a produção de metabolitos de B. animalis, o que pode ser um fator essencial de certas desordens patológicas.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cigarette smoke on the production and characterization of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by Bifidobacterium. Cigarettes of Shanhua brand (nicotine: 1.1 mg, tar: 11 mg) were utilized to prepare a cigarette smoke condensate (CSC). The standard strain of Bifidobacterium animalis was cultured in MRS media under anaerobic addition of CSC. The results showed that CSC significantly decreased the growth of B. animalis as well as EPSs and acetic acid production. Furthermore, two EPSs fractions (Fr-I and Fr-II) were isolated and purified for chemical and molecular determination. By comparison with control, CSC was found to be of great impact on EPSs carbohydrate composition. The molecular weight mass of Fr-I changed from 3.33×105 g/mol (without CSC) to 2.99×105 (with CSC). In conclusion, in vitro studies revealed that CSC was directly able to affect the production of metabolites for B. animalis, which could be an essential factor in certain pathological disorders.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of polysaccharide from Maryland tobacco leaves was studied by response surface methodology. Furthermore, the crude polysaccharide was purified and two components (Fr-I and Fr-II) were obtained. FT-IR spectral analysis of the purified polysaccharide revealed prominent characteristic groups. The monosaccharide composition analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) indicated the main composition between Fr-I and Fr-II was different. Furthermore, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated the degradation temperature (Td) of the Fr-I (241 ºC) was higher than those of Fr-II (216 ºC). Detected by the pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS), it was found that the main kinds of pyrolysis products from both Fr-I and Fr-II were similar. Finally, On the basis of hydroxyl and DPPH radical scavenging assay, Fr-II has stronger antioxidant activities than Fr-I. The thermal behavior and antioxidant activity might be attributed to the configuration of the chemical compositions.