The investigation on the herbal of Euphorbia humifusa Wild. was carried out to find its anti-HBV constituents. The isolation and purification were performed by chromatography such as macroporous resin, polyamide, Sephadex LH-20, MCI GEL CHP 20P and so on. Based on the spectral analysis, seven phenols were identified as brevifolin (1), brevifolin carboxylic acid (2), methyl brevifolincarboxylate (3), phyllanthussin E methyl ester (4), sanguisorbic acid dilactone (5), 3,3'-2-di-O-methyl ellagic acid (6), ellagic acid (7). Among them, Compounds 2-6 were isolated from this plant for the first time.
Euphorbia ; chemistry ; Phenols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo reveal the mutative discipline of the contents of the phenols in samples from different provenances.

METHODThe contents of magnolol and honokiol in samples from the filial generation of Guanxi, Hubei and Zhejiang provinces were determined respectively by HPLC.

RESULTThere were significant variations between provenances, the contents of honokiol, magnolol and phenols were the highest in samples from Hubei province, those were the lowest in samples from Zhejiang province. There were not only significant differences in polyphenol content between provenances, but also in families in the same provenance and individuals in families.

CONCLUSIONMagnolia polyphenol content and appearance traits were significantly related. The type with the small convex tip (original form) were superior to other types of M. officinalis judging from the characteristics of tree classification. The high quality of M. officinalis should actually be attributed to their local varieties and the breeding strategy of M. officinalis should be paid full attention to the good provenances, good families and good individuals.

Trace chemical constituents from the ethyl acetate extract of Red Yeast Rice were investigated. Four phenolic compounds were isolated by various column chromatographies, and their structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including UV, MS, IR and NMR. The four compounds were identified as 2-methyl-5-(2'R-methyl-4'-hydroxy-butyl)-cinnamic acid(1), 5-(2'-hydroxy-6'-methyl phenyl)-3-methylfuran-2-carboxylic acid(2), daidzein(3), and genistein(4). Compound 1 was new and 2 was firstly discovered from the genus Monascus, while 3-4 were obtained from Red Yeast Rice for the first time.
Biological Products ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Monascus ; Phenols ; chemistry

AIM: To investigate the in vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the methanolic leaf extract of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. (NA). METHODS: The sample was tested using five in vitro antioxidant methods (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazine radical scavenging activity (DPPH), hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity (-OH), nitric oxide scavenging activity (NO), superoxide radical-scavenging activity, and total antioxidant activity) to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant potential of NA and the total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu method). The extract showed good free radical scavenging property which was calculated as an IC50 value. RESULTS: IC50 (Half maximal inhibitory concentration) of the methanolic extract was found to be 57.93 μg·mL(-1) for DPPH, 98.61 μg·mL(-1) for -OH, 91.74 μg·mL(-1) for NO, and 196.07 μg·mL(-1) for superoxide radical scavenging activity. Total antioxidant capacity of the extract was found to be (1198 ± 24.05) mg ascorbic acid for the methanolic extract. Free radical scavenging activity observed in the extracts of NA showed a concentration-dependent reaction. The in vitro scavenging tested for free radicals was reported to be due to high phenolic content in the leaf extract. The leaf extract of NA showed the highest total phenolic content with a value of 78.48 ± 4.2 equivalent mg TAE/g (tannic acid equivalent). CONCLUSIONS N. arbor-tristis leaf extract exhibited potent free radical scavenging activity. The finding suggests that N. arbor-tristis leaves could be a potential source of natural antioxidant.
Antioxidants ; chemistry ; Oleaceae ; chemistry ; Phenols ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry

Lignin degradation products are toxic to microorganisms, which is one of the bottlenecks for fuel ethanol production. We studied the effects of phenolic ketones (4-hydroxyacetophenone, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-acetophenone and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-acetophenone) derived from lignin degradation on ethanol fermentation of xylose and cellular lipid composition of Pichia stipitis NLP31. Ethanol and the cellular fatty acid of yeast were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results indicate that phenolic ketones negatively affected ethanol fermentation of yeast and the lower molecular weight phenolic ketone compound was more toxic. When the concentration of 4-hydroxyacetophenone was 1.5 g/L, at fermentation of 24 h, the xylose utilization ratio, ethanol yield and ethanol concentration decreased by 42.47%, 5.30% and 9.76 g/L, respectively, compared to the control. When phenolic ketones were in the medium, the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids (UFA/SFA) of yeast cells was improved. When 1.5 g/L of three aforementioned phenolic ketones was added to the fermentation medium, the UFA/SFA ratio of yeast cells increased to 3.03, 3.06 and 3.61, respectively, compared to 2.58 of the control, which increased cell membrane fluidity and instability. Therefore, phenolic ketones can reduce the yeast growth, increase the UFA/SFA ratio of yeast and lower ethanol productivity. Effectively reduce or remove the content of lignin degradation products is the key to improve lignocellulose biorefinery.
Acetophenones ; chemistry ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Fermentation ; Industrial Microbiology ; Ketones ; chemistry ; Lignin ; chemistry ; Lipids ; chemistry ; Phenols ; chemistry ; Pichia ; chemistry ; Xylose ; chemistry

Seasonal dynamics of total phenolics (TP), extractable condensed tannins (ECT), protein-bound condensed tannins (PBCT), fiber-bound condensed tannins (FBCT), total condensed tannins (TCT), and protein precipitation capacity (PPC) in young, mature and senescent branchlets of Casuarina equisetifolia were studied at Chishan Forestry Center of Dongshan County, Fujian Province, China. In addition, nitrogen contents of branchlets at the different developmental stages were also determined. The contents of TP and ECT, and PPC in young branchlets were significantly higher than those in mature and senescent branchlets through the season. However, PBCT contents were significantly higher in senescent branchlets than those in young and mature branchlets; FBCT fluctuated with season. Young branchlets had the highest N content, which decreased during branch maturity and senescence. The highest contents of TP and the lowest contents of TCT and N in young and mature branchlets were observed in summer. There was a significant negative correlation between TP and N contents. In contrast, TCT contents were positively correlated to N contents. Nutrient resorption during senescence and high TCT:N ratios in senescent branchlets are the important nutrient conservation strategies for C. equisetifolia.
Nitrogen ; analysis ; Phenols ; analysis ; Seasons ; Tannins ; analysis ; Trees ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo separate and identify chemical constituents from stem barks of male plants of Populus tomentosa.

METHODFresh stem barks of P. tomentosa were extracted with methanol to obtain extracts which were suspended in water and blended successively with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. Various chromatographic techniques were used to separate and purify the constituents extracted with ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions. Their structures were identified on the basis of their physicochemical properties and spectral data.

RESULTTwelve compounds were separated with ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions and identified as benzoic acid (1), daucosterol (2), tremuloidin (3), rhamnocitrin (4), sakuranetin (5), 7-O-methylaromadendrin (6), isograndidentatin A (7), siebolside B (8), sakuranin (9), micranthoside (10), alpha-D-glucopyranose (11), and sucrose (12).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 4-12 were separated from this plant for the first time. Of them, compound 10 was separated from this plant genus for the first time.

This study is to establish the characteristic HPLC chromatogram of phenols in Ephedrae Herba, from which to pick out the marker peaks, followed by the analysis of the regularity of their distribution and content in the herbaceous stems of Ephedra sinica, E. intermedia and E. equisetina. The HPLC-DAD method for the characteristic chromatogram as well as quantitative analysis was established. The separation was carried out on a YMC-Pack ODS-A column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 µm), eluted with the mobile phases as 0.01% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile (B) in a linear gradient (0-10 min, 17% B; 10-25 min, 17%-19% B; 25- 33 min, 19%-48% B; 33-35 min, 48%-51% B; 35-44 min, 51% B). The flow rate was kept at 1.0 mL · min⁻¹. The column tem- perature was 40 °C, and the detection wavelength was set at 350 nm (0-16 min) and 330 nm (16-44 min). Forty-six batches of collected samples from three official origins of Ephedrae Herba were detected, whose liquid chromatograms proven to be helpful to the differentiation of different origins. With principal component analysis and the analysis of distribution of peak area, twelve key peaks from the chromatogram were discussed in details on their contributions to the characteristics and differences of three official origins of the herb: peak area of peak 10, 11, 12 were found out to be significantly higher in E. equisetina than in other two origins, whose sum (higher than 146 mAU in E. equisetina) was useful for the discrimination between E. equisetina and the other two origins; peak area of 1 and 4 were respectively higher in E. sinica and E. intermedia than in other official origins, indicating their important effect on the differen- tiation of corresponding origins; peak 8 and 9 were picked out as two characteristic common peaks in three official origins of the herb, whose peak area showed little difference among different origins; further, peak area of other key peaks in the chromatogram also showed some difference among three origins, which make contributions to the differentiation of origins as well. Then, four phenols as 2"-O-α- L-rhamnosyl-isovitexin (1), vitexin (2), pollenitin B (5) and herbacetin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (6) were quantitative analyzed with the above-mentioned method, with good linear relationship and accuracy (recoveries in a range of 97.8%-102.5%). The content of the four phenols were firstly reported in Ephedrae Herba from official origins, which were respectively trace-1.55 (1), trace-0.160 (2), trace-0.284 (5) and trace-0.620 (6) mg · g⁻¹ in all of the tested samples. In addition, the content of these phenols showed differences in three official origins, especially 1, whose content in E. sinica [(0.670 ± 0.88) mg ± g⁻¹] were significantly higher than in other two origins (lower than 0.16 mg ± g⁻¹ besides sample Ei-060630-2-2), and 6, whose average content in E. equisetina [(0.260 ± 0.039 2) mg · g⁻¹] were twice as high as in E. sinica [(0.120 ± 0.270) mg · g⁻¹] and E. intermedia [(0.136 ± 0.485) mg g⁻¹], indicating the important effects of the two constituents on the differentiation among three official origins of the herb. The method established for the characteristic HPLC chromatogram and quantitative analysis of phenols was simple and accurate, and the marker constituents selected may provide new guides for the discrimination of official origins as well as the improvement of quality criteria of EphedraeHerba.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Ephedra ; chemistry ; Phenols ; analysis

The essential oils are fragrant products whose complex compositions are obtained from various parts of plants by dry or steam distillation. Plants with variable biological activities have been explored worldwide. The presence of a large number of phenols, terpenes and other aromatic compounds make essential oils more precise in their mode of action. Because of this, they are known to possess many biological activities like antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory etc. In this article, we will review the published literature summarizing the chemistry of essential oils and their important biological activities.
Aromatherapy ; Chemistry ; Distillation ; Oils, Volatile ; Phenol ; Phenols ; Steam ; Terpenes

Fifteen compounds were obtained from the twigs and leaves of Caesalpinia minax. Their structures were identified as apigenin (1), 5,7,3',4'- tetrahydroxy-3-methoxyflavone (2), luteolin-5, 3 '-dimethyl-ether (3), thevetiaflavon (4), apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide (5), bonducellin (6), 7-hydroxy-3-( 4-hydroxybenzylidene )-chroman-4-one (7), 3-deoxysappanchalcone (8), 5-acetonyl-7-hydroxy-2-methyl chromone (9), 4-(trans)-acetyl-3,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl-dihydronaphthalenone (10), 4-(cis)-acetyl-3,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl-dihydronaphthalenone (11), vanillic acid (12), omega-hydroxypropioquaiacone (13), syringaresinol (14) and uracil (15). All compounds were isolated from C. minax for the first time. Compounds 1-14 were phenolic compounds and compounds 1-5, 9-13 and 15 were isolated from the genus Caesalpinia for the first time.
Caesalpinia ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Phenols ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry