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The objective of this study was to examine the biological activity of kaempferol and its rhamnosides. We isolated kaempferol (1), α-rhamnoisorobin (2), afzelin (3), and kaempferitrin (4) as pure compounds by far-infrared (FIR) irradiation of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) leaves. The depigmenting and anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds was evaluated by analyzing their structure-activity relationships. The order of the inhibitory activity with regard to depigmentation and nitric oxide (NO) production was kaempferol (1) > α-rhamnoisorobin (2) > afzelin (3) > kaempferitrin (4). However, α- rhamnoisorobin (2) was more potent than kaempferol (1) in NF-κB-mediated luciferase assays. From these results, we conclude that the 3-hydroxyl group of kaempferol is an important pharmacophore and that additional rhamnose moieties affect the biological activity negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricated flexible and transparent hydrogen gas sensors based on a palladium-decorated graphene mesh. Electron microscopy analysis confirmed that ~2–3 nm diameter Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the graphene mesh surfaces. The sensors were highly transparent with an average optical transmission of  >90% to visible light and they exhibited good electrical stability with a resistance change of 1.5% under a tensile strain of 1.1% in a cyclic bending-unbending test. Compared with graphene-based sensors, the graphene mesh sensors exhibited a faster response to hydrogen gas with sensitivity as high as ~5% at a low concentration of 10 ppm H2/air, even at room temperature. The enhanced H2 detection characteristic of the graphene mesh sensors is attributed to the existence of edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]