Nargis Jamila

Determination of minor and trace elements in aromatic spices by micro-wave assisted digestion and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

This study aimed at analyzing the concentrations of 23 minor and trace elements in aromatic spices by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), after wet digestion by microwave system. The analytical method was validated by linearity, detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory values in all cases. Results indicated the presence of variable amounts of both minor and trace elements in the selected aromatic spices. Manganese was high in cinnamon (879.8 μg/g) followed by cardamom (758.1 μg/g) and clove (649.9 μg/g), strontium and zinc were high in ajwain (489.9 μg/g and 84.95 μg/g, respectively), while copper was high in mango powder (77.68 μg/g). On the whole some of the minor and essential trace elements were found to have good nutritional contribution in accordance to RDA. The levels of toxic trace elements, including As, Cd, and Pb were very low and did not found to pose any threat to consumers.

Cholinesterase inhibitory triterpenoids from the bark of Garcinia hombroniana

Abstract Context: Garcinia hombroniana Pierre, known as manggis hutan in Malaysia is a rich source of xanthones and benzophenones. Objectives: This study was aimed to isolate and characterize potential cholinesterase inhibitors from the extracts of G. hombroniana bark and investigate their interactions with the enzymes. Materials and methods: The dichloromethane extract afforded five triterpenoids which were characterized by NMR and mass spectral techniques. Cholinesterase inhibitory assay and molecular docking were performed to get insight of the inhibitory activity and molecular interactions of the compounds. The compounds were also tested for their antioxidant capacity. Results: The isolated triterpenoids were identified as: 2β-hydroxy-3α-O-caffeoyltaraxar-14-en-28-oic acid (1), taraxerol (2), taraxerone (3), betulin (4) and betulinic acid (5). Compound 1 was the most active dual inhibitor of both AChE and BChE. Compound 1 also showed good antioxidant activities. Conclusion: Compound 1 had dual and moderate inhibitory activity on AChE and BChE worthy for further investigations.

Complete NMR assignments of bioactive rotameric (3 → 8) biflavonoids from the bark of Garcinia hombroniana

The genus Garcinia is reported to possess antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, anticancer, hepatoprotective and anti‐HIV activities. Garcinia hombroniana in Malaysia is used to treat itching and as a protective medicine after child birth. This study was aimed to isolate the chemical constituents from the bark of G. hombroniana and explore their possible pharmacological potential. Ethyl acetate extract afforded one new (1) and six (2–7) known 3 → 8 rotameric biflavonoids. Their structures were elucidated by UV, IR and NMR (1D and 2D) spectroscopy together with electron ionization/ESI mass spectrometric techniques and were identified as (2R, 3S) volkensiflavone‐7‐O‐rhamnopyranoside (1), volkensiflavone (2), 4″‐O‐methyl‐volkensiflavone (3), volkensiflavone‐7‐O‐glucopyranoside (4), morelloflavone (5), 3″‐O‐methyl‐morelloflavone (6) and morelloflavone‐7‐O‐glucopyranoside (7). The absolute configuration of compound 1 was assigned by circular dichroism spectroscopy as 2R, 3S. The coexistence of conformers of isolated biflavonoids in solution at 25 °C in different solvents was confirmed by variable temperature NMR studies. At room temperature (25 °C), compounds 1–7 exhibited duplicate NMR signals, while at elevated temperature (90 °C), a single set of signals was obtained. Compound 5 showed significant in vitro antioxidant activities against 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′‐azino‐bis‐3‐ethyl benzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid radicals. The antibacterial studies showed that compounds 5 and 6 are the most active against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Compounds 3 and 6 also showed moderate antituberculosis activity against H38Rv. Based on the research findings, G. hombroniana could be concluded as a rich source of flavanone–flavone (3 → 8) biflavonoids that exhibit rotameric behaviour at room temperature and display significant antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Copyright

Elemental profiling and geographical differentiation of Ethiopian coffee samples through inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and direct mercury analyzer (DMA).

This study was aimed to establish the elemental profiling and provenance of coffee samples collected from eleven major coffee producing regions of Ethiopia. A total of 129 samples were analyzed for forty-five elements using inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-optical emission spectroscopy (OES), ICP-mass spectrometry (MS) and direct mercury analyzer (DMA). Among the macro elements, K showed the highest levels whereas Fe was found to have the lowest concentration values. In all the samples, Ca, K, Mg, P and S contents were statistically significant (p<0.05). Micro elements showed the concentrations order of: Mn>Cu>Sr>Zn>Rb>Ni>B. Contents of the trace elements were lower than the permissible standard values. Inter-regions differentiation by cluster analysis (CA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that micro and trace elements are the best chemical descriptors of the analyzed coffee samples.

Geographical origin authentication of pork using multi-element and multivariate data analyses.

In the recent years, consumers have become increasingly concerned about the authenticity and labeling claims associated with meat and meat based products. In this study, investigating geographical origin authenticity of pork, 323 samples of pork belly were collected from Korea, USA, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium. These were analyzed for twenty-nine macro and trace elements using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and ICP-mass spectrometry (MS). The applied analytical techniques were validated by quality assurance parameters in which the values of correlation coefficient, limits of detection and quantification, precision, and spiking recovery confirmed that the methods were well efficient and in accordance to the criteria set by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) for metals analysis. From the results of multivariate analyses, it was found that the trace elements are promising constituents which could be used to accurately determine the inter-continental provenance of pork.

Determination of volatile organic compounds, catechins, caffeine and theanine in Jukro tea at three growth stages by chromatographic and spectrometric methods.

Tea contains characteristic volatile organic compounds, polyphenols, caffeine and catechins, and is therefore among the most widely consumed beverages all over the world. In this study, fresh Jukro tea leaves collected from Damyang-gun (Jeollanam-do) at 40, 60 and 90day growth stages, were semi-fermented. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were extracted by simultaneous distillation-solvent extraction (SDE) and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Catechins, caffeine and theanine were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 159 VOCs were identified in the analyzed Jukro tea leaves. Comparatively, the increase in the concentrations of VOCs was high in 60day leaves. The content of catechins increased along the three growth stages, whereas caffeine, compared to 90day leaves, was higher for 40 and 60day leaves. Based on the results, the 60day leaves were found to be the most suitable and useful for making semi-fermented Jukro tea.

Nutritional composition, vitamins, minerals and toxic heavy metals analysis of Trianthema portulacastrum L., a wild edible plant from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study aimed at analyzing the nutritional potential of a wild edible plant, Trianthema portulacastrum L. widely used in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The nutritional composition, vitamins, minerals and heavy elements were analyzed following the standard methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). The nutritional assessment included determination of moisture, ash, lipid, fiber, protein, carbohydrate and energy. Among the nutrient values, fiber was found to be the highest (430.0 mg/g), followed by ash (348.0 mg/g), total protein (91.9 mg/g), moisture (80.0 mg/g), carbohydrate (30.2 mg/g) and total lipid (20.0 mg/g). The vitamins analyzed were found to have greater value for riboflavin (2.02 mg/g), than retinol (0.81 mg/g). Among the macro minerals, potassium was present in high concentration (51.6 mg/g) than sodium (44.0 mg/g). The trace elements were assessed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and their decreasing order was Fe>Zn>Mn>Ni>Cu. Two toxic metals, Pb and Cd were present in very minute quantities of 0.08 and 0.0006 mg/g, respectively. The results suggest that T. portulacastrum L. is a good source of fiber, proteins, riboflavin, potassium, sodium and iron. Keywords: Peshawar, Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), Trianthema portulacastrum L., nutritional composition, vitamins, minerals. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(42), pp. 6079-6085

A bioactive cycloartane triterpene from Garcinia hombroniana

Abstract The dichloromethane bark extract of Garcinia hombroniana yielded one new cycloartane triterpene; (22Z,24E)-3β-hydroxycycloart-14,22,24-trien-26-oic acid (1) together with five known compounds: garcihombronane G (2), garcihombronane J (3), 3β acetoxy-9α-hydroxy-17,14-friedolanostan-14,24-dien-26-oic acid (4), (22Z, 24E)-3β, 9α-dihydroxy-17,14-friedolanostan-14,22,24-trien-26-oic acid (5) and 3β, 23α-dihydroxy-17,14-friedolanostan-8,14,24-trien-26-oic acid (6). Their structures were established by the spectral techniques of NMR and ESI-MS. These compounds together with some previously isolated compounds; garcihombronane B (7), garcihombronane D (8) 2,3’,4,5’-tetrahydroxy-6-methoxybenzophenone (9), volkensiflavone (10), 4’’-O-methyll-volkensiflavone (11), volkensiflavone-7-O-glucopyranoside (12), volkensiflavone-7-O-rhamnopyranoside (13), Morelloflavone (14), 3’’-O-methyl-morelloflavone (15) and morelloflavone-7-O-glucopyranoside (16) were evaluated for cholinesterase enzymes inhibitory activities using acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. In these activities, compounds 1–9 showed good dual inhibition on both the enzymes while compounds 10–16 did not reasonably contribute to both the cholinesterases inhibitory effects. Graphical abstract

Nepetanal and nepetanoate: a new diterpene aldehyde and a benzene derivative ester from Nepeta juncea.

One new tricyclic clerodane type diterpene aldehyde nepetanal (1) and one new benzene derivative nepetanoate (2) have been isolated from a plant Nepeta juncea together with two known compounds oleanolic acid (3) and ursolic acid (4). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by means of modern spectroscopic techniques and comparison with literature data. Copyright

Determination of Essential and Toxic Elements in Vegetables from South Korea

ABSTRACT This study reports the determination of trace essential (Co, Cr, Cu, Se, and Zn) and toxic (Al, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) elements in greenhouse tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from supermarkets of Seoul, Busan, Gangneung, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju, South Korea using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and direct mercury analysis. The methods were validated by linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision, accuracy, and recovery measurements that provided satisfactory results in all cases. Among the essential trace elements, Zn was found to have the highest concentrations (0.84–2.5 mg/kg) followed by Cu (0.21–0.62 mg/kg) and Cr (0.01–0.06 mg/kg). The mean concentrations (mg/kg) of the toxic elements were in the order Al > Pb > As > Cd > Hg for tomatoes and cucumbers and Al > Pb > Cd > As > Hg for peppers; all were below the permissible limits set by World Health Organization for human consumption. The estimated dietary intake, target hazard quotients (THQs), and hazard indices of the samples were within safe levels. The combined THQ values for the toxic elements in the vegetables were from 0.002 to 0.012 with significant contribution from arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, and mercury. The results of this study show that trace and toxic elements in the analyzed vegetables do not impose any serious health harmful effects for the population upon consumption.