Novel Alkaloids from Aspergillus fumigatus VDL36, an Endophytic Fungus Associated with Vaccinium dunalianum.

Eleven alkaloids (1-11) including seven new ones, 1-7, were isolated from the solid fermentation of Aspergillus fumigatus VDL36, an endophytic fungus isolated from the leaves of Vaccinium dunalianum Wight (Ericaceae), a perennial evergreen shrub distributed across the Southwest regions of China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods. The isolates were evaluated for in vitro antifungal activities against five phytopathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum, Coriolus versicolor, Fusarium solani, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium graminearum). As a result, the new compounds fumigaclavine I (1), 13-ethoxycyclotryprostatin A (5), 13-dehydroxycyclotryprostatin A (6), and 12ß-hydroxy-13-oxofumitremorgin C (7) exhibited antifungal activities with MIC values of 7.8-62.5 µg/mL which were comparable to the two positive controls ketoconazole (MIC = 7.8-31.25 µg/mL) and carbendazim (MIC = 1.95-7.8 µg/mL). Furthermore, compounds 1 and 5 demonstrated potent protective and curative effects against the tomato gray mold in vivo. Preliminary structure-activity relationships of the tested indole diketopiperazine alkaloids indicate that the introduction of a substituent group at position C-13 enhances their biological activities.

A comprehensive review on microbial production of 1,2-propanediol: micro-organisms, metabolic pathways, and metabolic engineering.

1,2-Propanediol is an important building block as a component used in the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resin, antifreeze, biofuel, nonionic detergent, etc. Commercial production of 1,2-propanediol through microbial biosynthesis is limited by low efficiency, and chemical production of 1,2-propanediol requires petrochemically derived routes involving wasteful power consumption and high pollution emissions. With the development of various strategies based on metabolic engineering, a series of obstacles are expected to be overcome. This review provides an extensive overview of the progress in the microbial production of 1,2-propanediol, particularly the different micro-organisms used for 1,2-propanediol biosynthesis and microbial production pathways. In addition, outstanding challenges associated with microbial biosynthesis and feasible metabolic engineering strategies, as well as perspectives on the future microbial production of 1,2-propanediol, are discussed.

Comprehensive utilization of corncob for furfuryl alcohol production by chemo-enzymatic sequential catalysis in a biphasic system.

A new process for the production of furfuryl alcohol from corncob was constructed by using deep eutectic solvents and whole cell catalysis in this paper. Firstly, the corncob was treated with deep eutectic solvents to convert the xylan into furfural, and then the pretreated corncob residue was enzymatically hydrolyzed to obtain a glucose-rich enzymatic hydrolysate, which was used to provide NADH for Bacillus coagulans NL01 during the process of furfural reduction. The furfural yield could reach 46% using the selected choline chloride-oxalic acid as catalysts and corncob as substrate under the optimized catalytic condition at 120 °C for 30 min. The final furfuryl alcohol yield of 20.7% was achieved with corncob as substrate. Moreover, this catalytic system realized the recycling of deep eutectic solvents three times, the high-value production of furfuryl alcohol, and the comprehensive utilization of corncob.

One-pot biosynthesis of furfuryl alcohol and lactic acid via a glucose coupled biphasic system using single Bacillus coagulans NL01.

Furfuryl alcohol is an important reduction product from biomass derived furfural. This study developed one-pot biosynthesis of furfuryl alcohol and lactic acid by a glucose coupled biphasic system using single Bacillus coagulans NL01. Water/dioctyl phthalate is chosen as biphasic system to alleviate the toxicity of furfural and furfuryl alcohol. Under the optimal conditions, the high-concentration conversion (208 mM) of furfural was successfully converted in 6 h reaction with 98% furfural conversion and 88% furfuryl alcohol selectivity. Notably, glucose as co-substrate could be effectively converted to lactic acid in this biphasic system. About 264 mM furfuryl alcohol and 64.2 g/L lactic acid were simultaneously produced from 310 mM furfural and 71.3 g/L glucose within 8.5 h by a fed-batch strategy. The developed approach can not only increase the produced furfuryl alcohol concentration but also reduce the cost of overall approach by lactic acid co-production, indicating its potential for industrial applications.

Application of prenatal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging on fetal agenesis of corpus callosum.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic value and clinical application of prenatal ultrasonography (US) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for different types of fetal Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were 42 cases of fetal ACC discovered by routine US, including complete ACC 18 cases and partial ACC 24 cases, checked by MRI within 1 week. The results were confirmed by head ultrasound after birth or brain biopsy after labor induction. RESULTS: From prenatal ultrasonic diagnosis, 18 cases were complete ACC and 24 cases were partial ACC. MRI was able to find complete ACC in 11 cases, partial ACC in 16 cases, and non-ACC in 15 cases. Labor induction or birth confirmed that, 11 cases were complete ACC, 14 cases were partial ACC, and 17 cases were non-ACC.The results of different types of ACC were detected by ultrasound and MRI were statistically significant (p < 0.05).MRI examination was superior to ultrasound in specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden index, and diagnostic index. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is high specific degrees, diagnostic performance is satisfactory, should be use as a necessary method for prenatal definitive diagnosis of ACC. However, prenatal ultrasound can be tested repeatedly and can be combined with blood flow imaging detection in real time, and it is still the preferred method for screening fetal structural malformation in a comprehensive way, which is suitable for general screening of ACC.

Triterpenoid saponins from the buds of Lonicera similis.

Four new lupane triterpenoid saponins, along with one known lupane and eight hederagenin saponins, were isolated from the EtOH extract of the buds of Lonicera similis Hemsl. The structures of the new compounds were established as 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl 23-hydroxybetulinic acid 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside A, 1), 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl 23-hydroxybetulinic acid 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside B, 2), 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl betulinic acid 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside C, 3) and 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranosyl betulinic acid 28-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl ester (lonisimilioside D, 4), respectively. The cytotoxic activities of the isolates against human cancer cell lines HepG2, MCF-7 and A-549 were evaluated. Only the monodesmosidic saponin with a free carboxyl group at C-28 (12) exhibited significant cytotoxicities against HepG2, MCF-7 and A-549 cell lines with the IC50 values of 8.98 ± 0.19, 12.48 ± 0.45 and 11.62 ± 0.54 µM, respectively. Furthermore, Hoechst fluorescence 33342 staining was used to demonstrate that 12 could induce HepG2 and A-549 cells apoptosis significantly.

Cerebral Metabolic Profiling of Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest with and Without Antegrade Selective Cerebral Perfusion: Evidence from Nontargeted Tissue Metabolomics in a Rabbit Model.

BACKGROUND: Antegrade selective cerebral perfusion (ASCP) is regarded to perform cerebral protection during the thoracic aorta surgery as an adjunctive technique to deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). However, brain metabolism profile after ASCP has not been systematically investigated by metabolomics technology. METHODS: To clarify the metabolomics profiling of ASCP, 12 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned into 60 min DHCA with (DHCA+ASCP [DA] group, n = 6) and without ( DHCA [D] group, n = 6) ASCP according to the random number table. ASCP was conducted by cannulation on the right subclavian artery and cross-clamping of the innominate artery. Rabbits were sacrificed 60 min after weaning off cardiopulmonary bypass. The metabolic features of the cerebral cortex were analyzed by a nontargeted metabolic profiling strategy based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Variable importance projection values exceeding 1.0 were selected as potentially changed metabolites, and then Student's t-test was applied to test for statistical significance between the two groups. RESULTS: Metabolic profiling of brain was distinctive significantly between the two groups (Q 2 Y = 0.88 for partial least squares-DA model). In comparing to group D, 62 definable metabolites were varied significantly after ASCP, which were mainly related to amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid metabolism. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that metabolic pathways after DHCA with ASCP were mainly involved in the activated glycolytic pathway, subdued anaerobic metabolism, and oxidative stress. In addition, L-kynurenine (P = 0.0019), 5-methoxyindole-3-acetic acid (P = 0.0499), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (P = 0.0495) in tryptophan metabolism pathways were decreased, and citrulline (P = 0.0158) in urea cycle was increased in group DA comparing to group D. CONCLUSIONS: The present study applied metabolomics analysis to identify the cerebral metabolic profiling in rabbits with ASCP, and the results may shed new lights that cerebral metabolism is better preserved by ASCP compared with DHCA alone.