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Increasing interest has been shown in phenolic compounds for enhancing food quality, but their hydrophilicity restricts application in lipophilic systems. Therefore, in this study, twelve hydroxycinnamates derivatives (alkyl and steryl esters of sinapic acid (SA), caffeic acid (CA), and ferulic acid [FA]) were synthesised and evaluated for antioxidant and cytotoxic characteristics. CA esters had the highest radical scavenging activity (RSA) analysed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays. Values of inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of synthesised compounds were related to their structure and lipophilicity. The effect of these hydroxycinnamic acid esters on the antioxidant potential of real samples (rapeseed oil, margarine and mayonnaise) was estimated. None of the investigated derivatives significantly affected the viability of the model intestinal cells Caco2, while the octyl esters demonstrated a toxic effect at low concentrations. The synthesised esters exerted cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects against transformed cell lines (HeLa and A549). Octyl esters were potent anticancer compounds on two human cancer cell lines. The synthesised phenolipids, as valuable and safe antioxidant additives, can find broader applications in the production of fat-based products to prevent oxidation processes, extend their shelf life and improve quality.

Propolis is known to possess antioxidant activity. However, there is no information on this activity in emulsions O/W. The protective effect of propolis on the oxidation and rheological properties of emulsions O/W containing wheat germ and almond oils was evaluated. Emulsions O/W were prepared with different concentration of propolis extract, almond oil and wheat germ oil. All emulsions physically stable without phase separation were stored at 37 °C for 9 weeks. Chemical composition of propolis was established by Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Rheological characterization of different emulsions was performed evaluating consistency index and flow behavior index. The oxidation was monitored by measuring the lipid hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) methods. Flavonoids, phenolic acid esters, and aromatic acids were the main groups of compounds found in propolis. The results showed that popolis was good antioxidant in the concentration of 0.02 and 0.04% when lipid phase was constituted by almond oil. The rheological behavior is typical of a non-Newtonian fluid, being almond oil more adequate for having a higher stable O/W emulsion.

A method of ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous quantification of 33 active components including 26 coumarins and 7 phenolic acid esters in Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix (NRR). Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Kinetex® C 18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm i.d.; 2.6 μm) with a gradient elution in 18 min. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric detection was conducted in the positive and negative ionization modes with multiple reaction monitoring. All of 33 analytes showed good linearity (R 2  ≥ 0.9919) within the test range. The relative standard deviations of the precision, repeatability and stability were not exceeding 4.97%, and the recoveries were in the range of 85.37%-115.00%. The matrix effect on the response of target analyte was not obvious. The validated method was successfully applied to quantify the 33 components in ten batches of NRR samples. Quantitative results showed the coumarins and phenolic acid esters with large difference in level of content in the herb samples. Furthermore, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were applied to classify and discriminate these samples. The variations of isoimperatorin, notopterol, bergamottin, nodakenin, phenethylferulate were suggested as important indicators of NRR quality. This work may serve for quality identification and comprehensive evaluation of NRR., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A new ferulic acid ester named 4-methyl-3- trans -hexenylferulate ( 1 ), together with eight known phenolic acid esters ( 2 - 9 ), was isolated from the methanolic extract of the roots and rhizomes of Notopterygium incisium . Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic techniques, including 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. 4-Methoxyphenethyl ferulate ( 8 ) NMR data is reported here for the first time. The uptake and transepithelial transport of the isolated compounds 1 - 9 were investigated in the human intestinal Caco-2 cell monolayer model. Compounds 2 and 6 were assigned for the well-absorbed compounds, compound 8 was assigned for the moderately absorbed compound, and compounds 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , and 9 were assigned for the poorly absorbed compounds. Moreover, all of the isolated compounds were assayed for the inhibitory effects against nitric oxide (NO) production in the lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 macrophages model and L-N ⁶-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (L-NIL) was used as a positive control. Compounds 1 , 5 , 8 , and 9 exhibited potent inhibitory activity on NO production with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of 1.01, 4.63, 2.47, and 2.73 μM, respectively, which were more effective than L-NIL with IC 50 values of 9.37 μM. These findings not only enriched the types of anti-inflammatory compounds in N. incisum but also provided some useful information for predicting their oral bioavailability and their suitability as drug leads or promising anti-inflammatory agents., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

High-value coproducts can greatly improve the feasibility of utilizing plant feedstocks for biorefining and biofuel production. Plant polyphenolics have potential application in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Orchard grass varieties have been noted for accumulation of polyphenolic compounds, and the current study determined the soluble phenol profile and content in the orchard grass variety 'Abertop'. Hydroxycinnamates and flavonoids were monitored during the transition from vegetative to flowering stage at maximum crop yield. Caffeic acid derivatives, related to bioactives in the Asian medicinal herb Salvia miltiorrhiza , and novel hydroxycinnamate-flavone conjugates were also identified in extracts. Harvest yields of hydroxycinnamates and flavonoids ranged from 2.6 to 4.0 kg/ha and from 2.1 to 5.1 kg/ha, respectively. Abundant compounds showed high levels of antioxidant activity comparable with that of trolox. Minimal changes in soluble phenol content and composition were observed after ensiling with the exception of increases in caffeic acid, a caffeic acid derivative, and a caffeic acid breakdown product, dihydroxystyrene.