Elisabet Fuguet

ZmMYB31 directly represses maize lignin genes and redirects the phenylpropanoid metabolic flux.

Few regulators of phenylpropanoids have been identified in monocots having potential as biofuel crops. Here we demonstrate the role of the maize (Zea mays) R2R3-MYB factor ZmMYB31 in the control of the phenylpropanoid pathway. We determined its in vitro consensus DNA-binding sequence as ACC(T)/(A) ACC, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) established that it interacts with two lignin gene promoters in vivo. To explore the potential of ZmMYB31 as a regulator of phenylpropanoids in other plants, its role in the regulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway was further investigated in Arabidopsis thaliana. ZmMYB31 downregulates several genes involved in the synthesis of monolignols and transgenic plants are dwarf and show a significantly reduced lignin content with unaltered polymer composition. We demonstrate that these changes increase cell wall degradability of the transgenic plants. In addition, ZmMYB31 represses the synthesis of sinapoylmalate, resulting in plants that are more sensitive to UV irradiation, and induces several stress-related proteins. Our results suggest that, as an indirect effect of repression of lignin biosynthesis, transgenic plants redirect carbon flux towards the biosynthesis of anthocyanins. Thus, ZmMYB31 can be considered a good candidate for the manipulation of lignin biosynthesis in biotechnological applications.

Solute-solvent interactions in micellar electrokinetic chromatography. III. Characterization of the selectivity of micellar electrokinetic chromatography systems.

Several micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) systems (sodium dodecyl sulfate, lithium dodecyl sulfate, lithium perfluorooctanesulfonate, sodium cholate, sodium deoxycholate, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide) have been characterized by means of the solvation parameter model. It has been observed that the coefficients of the correlation equations depend strongly on the particular set of compounds analyzed. Principal component analysis has been used to characterize the 2975 compounds with available solute descriptors and to select an appropriate subset of compounds to be analyzed by MEKC. With this set of compounds, the MEKC systems have been characterized. Principal component analysis has also been used to show the similarities and differences between the properties of the surfactants characterized by MEKC.

High-resolution liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to identify polyphenols from grape antioxidant dietary fiber

Grape antioxidant dietary fiber (GADF) is a dietary supplement that combines the benefits of both fiber and antioxidants that help prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The antioxidant polyphenolic components in GADF probably help prevent cancer in the digestive tract, where they are bioavailable. Mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex plant derivatives such as GADF. We use a combination of MS techniques, namely liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) on a triple quadrupole, for the identification of the polyphenolic constituents of the soluble fraction of GADF. First, we separated the mixture into four fractions which were tested for phenolic constituents using the TOF system in the full scan mode. The high sensitivity and resolution of the TOF detector over the triple quadrupole facilitate the preliminary characterization of the fractions. Then we used LC/ESI-MS/MS to identify the individual phenols through MS/MS experiments (product ion scan, neutral loss scan, precursor ion scan). Finally, most of the identities were unequivocally confirmed by accurate mass measurements on the TOF spectrometer. LC/ESI-TOF-MS combined with MS/MS correctly identifies the bioactive polyphenolic components from the soluble fraction of GADF. High-resolution TOF-MS is particularly useful for identifying the structure of compounds with the same LC/ESI-MS/MS fragmentation patterns.

Metabolites in contact with the rat digestive tract after ingestion of a phenolic-rich dietary fiber matrix.

Grape antioxidant dietary fiber (GADF) is a phenolic-rich dietary fiber matrix. The aim of this work was to determine which phenolic compounds come into contact with colonic epithelial tissue after the ingestion of GADF. By use of HPLC-ESI-MS/MS techniques phenolic metabolites were detected in feces, cecal content, and colonic tissue from rats. Free (epi)catechin (EC) was detected in all three sources, and more than 20 conjugated metabolites of EC were also detected in feces. Fourteen microbially derived phenolic metabolites were also identified in feces, cecal content, and/or colonic tissue. These results show that during transit along the digestive tract, proanthocyanidin oligomers and polymers are depolymerized into EC units. After ingestion of GADF, free EC and its conjugates, as well as free and conjugated microbially derived phenolic metabolites, come into contact with the intestine epithelium for more than 24 h and may be partly responsible for the positive influence of GADF on gut health.

Critical evaluation of buffering solutions for pKa determination by capillary electrophoresis

The performance of the most common and also some other less common CE buffers has been tested for the pKa determination of several types of compounds (pyridine, amines, and phenols). The selected buffers cover a pH ranging from 3.7 to 11.8. Whereas some buffers, like acetic acid/acetate, BisTrisH+/BisTris, TrisH+/Tris, CHES/CHES−, and CAPS/CAPS− can be used with all type of analytes, others like ammonium/ammonia, butylammonium/butylammonia, ethylammonium/ethylammonia, diethylammonium/diethylammonia, and hydrogenphosphate/phosphate are not recommended because they interact with a wide range of compounds. The rest of the tested buffers (dihydrogenphosphate/hydrogenphosphate, MES/MES−, HEPES/HEPES−, and boric acid/borate) can show specific interactions depending on the nature of the analytes, and their use in some applications should be restricted.

New identification of proanthocyanidins in cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum L.) using MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry

The inner bark of Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum L.) is commonly used as a spice and has also been widely employed in the treatment and prevention of disease. The positive health effects associated with the consumption of cinnamon could in part be due to its phenolic composition; proanthocyanidins (PA) are the major polyphenolic component in commercial cinnamon. We present a thorough study of the PA profile of cinnamon obtained using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. In addition to the advantages of MALDI-TOF as a sensitive technique for the analysis of high-molecular-weight compounds, the tandem arrangement allows the identification of the compounds through their fragmentation patterns from MS/MS experiments. This is the first time that this technique has been used to analyze polymeric PA. The results show that cinnamon PA are more complex than was previously thought. We show here for the first time that they contain (epi)gallocatechin and (epi)catechingallate units. As gallates (galloyl moieties) and the pyrogallol group in gallocatechins have been related to the biological activity of grape and tea polyphenols, the presence of these substructures may explain some of the properties of cinnamon extracts. MALDI-TOF/TOF reveals that cinnamon bark PA include combinations of (epi)catechin, (epi)catechingallate, (epi)gallocatechin, and (epi)afzelechin, which results in a highly heterogeneous mixture of procyanidins, prodelphinidins, and propelargonidins.

Solute-solvent interactions in micellar electrokinetic chromatography: IV. Characterization of electroosmotic flow and micellar markers.

A wide study of the compounds and procedures mostly used to determine the electroosmotic flow (EOF) and micelle elution times has been done in seven different micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) systems. These systems are formed from mixtures of an aqueous buffer with the surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate, lithium dodecyl sulfate, lithium perfluorooctane sulfonate, sodium cholate, sodium deoxycholate, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide. The solvation parameter model has been used to evaluate the usefulness of the compounds studied as EOF or micellar markers in each of the seven MEKC systems. It is demonstrated that methanol, acetonitrile and formamide are the best EOF markers, and that dodecanophenone is the best micellar marker.

Fast high-throughput method for the determination of acidity constants by capillary electrophoresis. II. Acidic internal standards

A fast method for the determination of acidity constants by CZE has been recently developed. This method is based on the use of an internal standard of pK(a) similar to that of the analyte. In this paper we establish the reference pK(a) values of a set of 24 monoprotic neutral acids of varied structure that we propose as internal standards. These compounds cover the most usual working pH range in CZE and facilitate the selection of adequate internal standards for a given determination. The reference pK(a) values of the acids have been established by the own internal standard method, i.e. from the mobility differences between different acids of similar pK(a) in the same pH buffers. The determined pK(a) values have been contrasted to the literature pK(a) values and confirmed by determination of the pK(a) values of some acids of the set by the classical CE method. Some systematic deviations of mobilities have been observed in NaOH buffer in reference to the other used buffers, overcoming the use of NaOH in the classical CE method. However, the deviations affect in a similar degree to the test compounds and internal standards allowing thus, the use of NaOH buffer in the internal standard method. This fact demonstrates the better performance of the internal standard method over the classical method to correct mobility deviations, which together with its fastness makes it an interesting method for the routine determination of accurate pK(a) values of new pharmaceutical drugs and drug precursors.

Fast high-throughput method for the determination of acidity constants by capillary electrophoresis: I. Monoprotic weak acids and bases

A new and fast method to determine acidity constants of monoprotic weak acids and bases by capillary zone electrophoresis based on the use of an internal standard (compound of similar nature and acidity constant as the analyte) has been developed. This method requires only two electrophoretic runs for the determination of an acidity constant: a first one at a pH where both analyte and internal standard are totally ionized, and a second one at another pH where both are partially ionized. Furthermore, the method is not pH dependent, so an accurate measure of the pH of the buffer solutions is not needed. The acidity constants of several phenols and amines have been measured using internal standards of known pK(a), obtaining a mean deviation of 0.05 pH units compared to the literature values.

Solute-solvent interactions in micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Selectivity of lithium dodecyl sulfate-lithium perfluorooctanesulfonate mixed-micellar buffers.

The solvation parameter model has been applied to the characterization of micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) systems with mixtures of lithium dodecyl sulfate and lithium perfluorooctanesulfonate as surfactant. The variation in MEKC surfactant composition results in changes in the coefficients of the correlation equation, which in turns leads to information on solute-solvent and solute-micelle interactions. Lithium perfluorooctanesulfonate is more dipolar and hydrogen bond acidic but less polarizable and hydrogen bond basic than lithium dodecyl sulfate. Therefore mixtures of lithium dodecyl sulfate and lithium perfluorooctanesulfonate cover a very wide range of polarity and hydrogen bond properties, which in turn results in important selectivity changes for analytes with different solute properties.