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Tracing dynamic changes of heterogeneous cell wall components during xylem differentiation is essential for understanding the intricate architecture of wood cell walls at the individual secondary cell wall layer level. Here we employ histochemical- and immunological approaches to visualize the deposition of cellular polymers during xylem differentiation in Pinus bungeana. In axial tracheids, deposition of crystalline cellulose and glucomannan preceded xylan and lignin. Lignification was initiated in primary cell wall corners during development of the S 1 layer and intensified with cell wall thickening. Immunofluorescence labeling showed an earlier deposition of glucomannan than xylan with strong presence in S 1 layer corner regions at early stages of differentiation. Quantification of immunogold-labeled xylan and glucomannan showed distinct increasing trends during thickening of tracheid wall layers with xylan labeling of the S 1 and S 2 layers at the S 3 stage greater than the S 2 stage. Differential cell wall polymer deposition was evident in mature tracheid areas with glucomannan absent in warty layers. Pectins were highly concentrated in unlignified primary cell walls but decreased with axial tracheid wall differentiation. The sequence of polymer deposition in ray cells was similar but lagged behind axial tracheids with ray parenchyma remaining unlignified with thinner cell walls than ray tracheids., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Ugonins are unique flavonoids with cyclohexyl motif from Helminthostachys zeylanica. Ugonins (1-6) from the target plant displayed significant inhibitions against both PTP1B (IC 50 s = 0.6-7.3 μM) and α-glucosidase (IC 50 s = 3.9-32.9 μM), which are crucial enzymes associated with diabetes. A cyclohexyl motif was proved to be the key functionality for PTP1B and α-glucosidase. For example, 1 was 26-fold effective to PTP1B and 15-fold to α-glucosidase than its mother compound, luteolin. This tendency was well elucidated with distinctive differences of binding affinities (K SV ) between ugonins and mother compounds to PTP1B enzyme. Inhibitory mechanisms to PTP1B and α-glucosidase were fully characterized to be competitive, non-competitive and mixed type I according to the position of cyclohexyl functionality. In particular, the ugonin J (1) has a cyclohexyl on the B ring was estimated as a reversible, competitive and a slow binding inhibitor with parameters: K i app  = 0.1234 μM, k 3  = 0.5713 μM -1  min -1 , and k 4  = 0.0705 min -1 . In-depth molecular docking experiments disclosed the specific binding sites and residues of competitive inhibitor (1) and non-competitive inhibitor (4) to PTP1B enzymes. As well, all six ugonins (1-6) also inhibited α-glucosidase effectively, in which cyclohexyl motif was also the key functionality of inhibitions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant central nervous system tumor, with poor prognosis. Temozolomide (TMZ) has been used as a first-line drug for the treatment of GBM for over a decade, but its treatment benefits are limited by acquired resistance. Polysaccharides from Cibotium barometz (CBPs) are polysaccharides purified from the root of Cibotium barometz (L.) J. Sm., possessing sensitizing activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer effect of CBP from different processing methods on U87 cells using a 1 H NMR-based metabolic approach, complemented with qRT-PCR and flow cytometry, to identify potential markers and discover the targets to explore the underlying mechanism. Cibotium barometz is usually processed under sand heating in clinical applications. Polysaccharides from both the processed (PCBP) and raw (RCBP) C. barometz were prepared, and the effect on enhancing the sensitivity to TMZ was investigated in vitro. CBP can significantly increase the toxicity of TMZ to the U87 cell line, promote apoptosis, enhance cell cycle changes, and arrest cells in S phase, and RCBP demonstrated better activity. Multivariate statistical analyses, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structure with discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were used to identify metabolic biomarkers, and 12 metabolites in the cell extract samples were clearly identified as altered after RCBP exposure. NMR-based cell metabolomics provided a holistic method for the identification of CBP's apoptosis-enhancing mechanisms and the exploration of its potential applications in preclinical and clinical studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing Interest These authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) possesses the advantages of being environmentally friendly and easily operated owing to relatively mild reaction conditions. Thus, mucilage from Asplenium australasicum was extracted with xylanase, glucanase and simultaneous application of both enzymatic preparations then investigated for their physicochemical properties. It was observed that compared to the control, the yield of mucilage increased significantly by EAE (from 3.64% to 6.04-6.86%), while the average molecular weight also increased slightly. SEM results showed that enzymes can erode the raw material which contributed to the higher extraction efficiency of polysaccharide. Furthermore, EAE modified the monosaccharide composition profile of A. australasicum mucilage considerably, especially there was a significant increase in glucose and galacturonic acid content. Although the FT-IR fingerprint did not change pronouncedly due to the action of the enzymes, but the degree of polysaccharide branching seemed to be more complicated, thus significantly reducing the intrinsic viscosity and water holding capacity of mucilage., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, considerable attention has been given to plant colorants for use in dyeing applications because of their newly discovered properties such as insect repellency, deodorizing, antioxidant, sun protection, and antibacterial activity. In view of their better biocompatibility, biodegradability, less-toxicity, natural colorants are gaining worldwide interest for producing elegant hues and highly functional value-added textiles. In the present work, we investigated the coloring and functional finishing of wool with Tectona grandis L. leaves extract with the emphasis on effect of metallic salt mordants on colorimetric potential, fastness, radical scavenging potential, and antibacterial activity in an attempt to develop bioactive fibres for use in health care applications. The pretreatment of wool with ferrous sulfate, potassium aluminium sulfate and stannous chloride provided a significant enhancement in CIELa*b* parameters and fastness properties. Antioxidant tests showed that the control dyed wool had excellent radical scavenging activity than mordanted samples. In addition, metal mordants particularly ferrous sulfate enhanced the durability of antibacterial efficacy to several laundering cycles. It can be concluded that the extract of Tectona grandis may be developed as multifunctional finishing agent to impart simultaneous color, antioxidant and antibacterial properties to wool based fabrics., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Four selected grains (brown rice, oat, sorghum, and millet) were subjected to germinate and changes in granule morphology, molecular structure, crystalline structure, and physicochemical properties of isolated starch were investigated. The germinated starches showed pits and holes on the surface of the starch granules and the particle size distributions shifted slightly to smaller size as the germination time increased. Germination led to decrease in amylose content, while molecular weights of the germinated starches showed no significant changes. The relative crystallinity of all selected grain starches decreased significantly during germination. Compared to the native starches, the germinated starches had lower retrogradation enthalpy. Brown rice and oat starches exhibited marginal increases in peak viscosities, whereas those of sorghum and millet starches decreased significantly during germination. Amylose leaching of brown rice and oat starches decreased after germination, whereas sorghum and millet starches showed an increase in amylose leaching., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cell wall polysaccharides in the petioles and pedicels of Qian (Euryale ferox Salisb.) (EFPP) were extracted using ultrasound-assisted technique. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize extraction parameters for the maximum purity of polysaccharides. The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions were extraction temperature of 80 °C, extraction time of 32 min, ultrasonic power of 270W and liquid-to-solid ratio of 40 mL/g. Under the optimal conditions, the experimental purity of polysaccharides was 62.57% ± 1.68%, which was very close to the predicted. The crude EFPP were isolated using DEAE-52 column and four major fractions (EFPP-1, EFPP-2, EFPP-3 and EFPP-4) were obtained. Typical functional groups of polysaccharides were characteristic for EFPP-1, EFPP-3 and EFPP-4 from FT-IR spectrum. Furthermore, the crude EFPP and three fractions (EFPP-1, EFPP-3 and EFPP-4) possessed appreciable in vitro antioxidant effects on α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), hydroxyl radical scavenging and reducing powers. Then, the crude EFPP and EFPP-4 could effective against H2O2-induced injury on HUVEC and VSMC through enhancement of T-AOC, SOD and CAT activities and decrease of MDA content., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The main component presents in the epicuticular waxes of needles of Pinus halepensis and the most of conifers, the secondary alcohol nonacosan-10-ol, has been investigated by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The results obtained from these physical techniques permitted to establish a definitive structural model of the molecular arrangement of this wax, basically in good agreement with the model formulated by other authors from theoretical formulations. Biological implications of the proposed structure have been also formulated.