Research progress of small molecule fluorescent probes for ferrous ion and heme / 药学学报

Small molecule fluorescent probes have gained widespread attention for their advantages of high selectivity, sensitivity, and easy to operate, and have played a critical role in the detection of various species. They have also demonstrated great potential in the field of biomedical research. Iron, as the most abundant transition metal in the human body, plays a vital role in many physiological functions. Due to the influence of the reductive microenvironment of cell, ferrous ion (Fe2+) is the main component of labile iron in living cells. Heme, consisting of Fe2+ and protoporphyrin IX, is one of the main signaling molecules that wrap biological iron in the human body, and also participates in many physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, the development of small molecule fluorescent probes for detecting Fe2+ and heme as effective monitoring tools will help to further understand their pathological and physiological functions, with potential applications in other fields. This review summarizes the research progress of small molecule fluorescent probes for Fe2+ and heme detection in recent years, and provides insights into future directions for their development.

Beneficial effects of natural Jeju groundwaters on lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats

BACKGROUND: Groundwater is believed to possess many beneficial effects due to its natural source of various minerals. In this study, we examined the effects of natural Jeju groundwater S1 (Samdasoo(TM)), S2 and S3 pumped up from different locations of Jeju Island, Korea, along with local tap water, on body weight gain, serum lipids and lipoproteins, and liver histopathology in high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats. MATERIALS/METHODS: Rats were randomly and equally divided into 6 groups. Different water samples were supplied to the hyperlipidemic rats as their daily drinking water and the widely-used anti-hyperlipidemic drug simvastatin was used as a positive control. Body weight, serum lipids and lipoproteins were measured weekly. Liver weight, liver index and liver histopathology were examined after the execution of the rats. RESULTS: After drinking Jeju groundwaters for two months, S2 but not S3 significantly reduced weight growth and serum triglycerides levels and increased high density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C) without affecting total cholesterol or LDL-C. S1 and particularly S2 significantly reduced the severity of liver hypertrophy and steatosis. All Groundwaters had much higher contents of vanadium (S3>S2>S1>>tap water) whereas S1 and S2 but not S3 markedly blocked autoxidation of ferrous ions. CONCLUSION: Jeju Groundwater S1 and particularly S2 exhibit protective effects against hyperlipidemia and fatty liver and hypothesize that the beneficial effect of Jeju Groundwaters may be contributed from blockade of autoxidation of ferrous ions rather than their high contents of vanadium.

Screening of in vitro antioxidant activity of methanolic leaf and root extracts of Hypochaeris radicata L. (Asteraceae).

The aim of present study was to estimate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and to investigate in vitro antioxidant potential of methanolic leaf and root extracts of the herb, Hypochaeris radicata L. (Asteraceae). Antioxidant activity was assessed by using 2,2- diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH•) assay, reducing power activity, [2,2’-azino-bis(3- ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)] ABTS•+ assay and ferrous ion chelating activity. Here, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), ascorbic acid (ASA), trolox and EDTA were used as standard antioxidants. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also determined and expressed in gallic acid and quercetin equivalent respectively. The results of the study indicate that the methanolic extracts of the leaf and root of H. radicata posses significant scavenging activity against DPPH• (97.99% for leaf and 96.44% for root at 250μg/ml each) and ferrous ions chelating activity (38.69% for leaf and 40.52% for root at 5000μg/ml each), reducing power activity (1.38 absorbance at 600μg/ml for leaf, 0.45 absorbance at 700 μg/ml for root) and free radical scavenging activity (ABTS•+) (2706.73 for leaf and 2028.37μmol for root TE/g). The free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities may be attributed to the presence of adequate phenolic (gallic acid content is 125.5μg/10mg in leaf and 133.06μg/10mg in root) and flavonoid compounds (105.76μg/2mg in leaf and 55.16μg/2mg in root). This study revealed that the methanolic extracts of both leaf and root of H. radicata has demonstrated significant antioxidant activity.

Efecto de adición de iones hierro y zinc sobre la producción de etanol de dos cepas recombinantes de Saccharomyces cerevisiae / The effect of adding iron and zinc ions to ethanol production from two recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

La producción de etanol por fermentación es influenciada por la presencia de iones metálicos como hierro y zinc dado que son cofactores de la enzima alcohol deshidrogenasa. El estudio de este efecto permitiría identificar el comportamiento de los microorganismos fermentadores en sustratos industriales que contienen altas concentraciones de este tipo de iones. Este trabajo evaluó la producción de biomasa, los azúcares residuales y la producción de etanol por fermentación de tres cepas de S. cerevisiae, CBS8066, recombinantes GG570-CIBI y GG570-CIBII, bajo el efecto de la adición de hierro a 0, 50 y 150 M, y zinc a 0 y 50 M. Las cepas presentaron inhibición en la producción de biomasa y etanol bajo efecto de iones de hierro y zinc, siendo dicha inhibición mayor al estar en presencia de zinc o alta concentración de hierro. GG570-CIBI mostró disminución en producción de biomasa de 4 g/L y una caída en producción de etanol de 40% en el tratamiento 150 M hierro-50 M zinc (con respecto al tratamiento basal). GG570-CIBII fue la menos afectada con inhibición en la producción de etanol inferior a 11% a las 20 h de fermentación. Adicionalmente, presentó la mayor producción de etanol cuando hubo adición de 150 M Fe con o sin adición de zinc, siendo dicha producción entre un 9 y 14% superior a la de las cepas CBS8066 y GG570-CIBI respectivamente, bajo las mismas condiciones. Posteriormente, GG570-CIBII será evaluada en sustratos industriales debido a su menor inhibición en la producción de etanol, permitiendo así obtener mejores rendimientos.

The ethanol production by fermentation is influenced by the presence of metallic ions like iron and zinc because these are alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme cofactors. The study of this effect would allow for identifying the behavior of microorganisms in industrial substrates that contain high concentrations of this kind of ions. This work evaluated biomass production, residual sugars and ethanol production by fermentation of three S. cerevisiae strains, CBS8066, recombinants GG570-CIBI and GG570-CIBII, under the effect of the addition of ferrous ion at 0, 50 and 150 M and zinc ion at 0 and 50 M. The strains showed inhibition on biomass and ethanol production under the effect of zinc and ferrous ions, however, this inhibition was greater in the presence of zinc or iron at high concentration. GG570-CIBI showed reduction in biomass production of 4 g/L and an ethanol production drop of 40 % in the treatment 150 M iron–50 M zinc (with respect to the basal treatment). GG570-CIBII was the less affected with an inhibition on ethanol production below 11 % at 20 h of fermentation. Additionally, GG570-CIBII presented the greatest ethanol production when 150 M iron was added to the culture medium with or without zinc addition. In this case, the production was 9 and 14 % greater than ethanol production of CBS8066 and GG570-CIBI respectively, at the same conditions. Later, GG570-CIBII will be evaluated in industrial substrates due to its lower ethanol production inhibition, allowing for obtaining better yields.