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• Rumex abyssinicus is a medicinal plant widely to treat numerous diseases. • Different parts of the plant and methods have been used for the extraction and isolation of secondary metabolites. • Anthraquinones and terpenoids are the major classes of compounds mostly isolated from the plant, in addition to flavonoids, acids and ceramides. • Phytochemicals of the plant have been shown to exhibit significant pharmacological effects in vitro and in vivo. Throughout history, humans have used plants and plant-derived medicines to treat different diseases. Medicinal plants are used to manage a wide range of ailments and have played an essential role in discovering new drugs. Herbal medicines have been reported as promising due to their rich secondary metabolites profile, and many registered new drugs are derived from natural products or their derivatives. Rumex abyssinicus is a flowering plant widely spread in the highlands of tropical Africa. The plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat numerous diseases and has also found applications in textile, tanning, and allied industries. R. abyssinicus is known to produce different classes of secondary metabolites with significant pharmacological effects, including anthraquinones, acids, terpenoids, ceramides, and flavonoids. Their pharmacological potential includes anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, antiviral, antileishmanial, anti-Alzheimer, anti-diabetic, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and nephroprotective effects. This review highlights the investigation carried out on Rumex abyssinicus , focusing mostly on its phytoconstituents, extraction procedure, and their reported pharmacological activities. We also discussed different parts of the plant used to prepare extracts and isolate secondary metabolites from the plant. This investigation demonstrated that R. abyssinicus, a plant widely used in herbal medicine and of pharmacological importance, has yet to be explored enough and thus constitutes an important standpoint for future research in the isolation and identification of novel phytochemicals. In addition, isolated compounds constitute potential candidates that could be explored and developed as potent drugs used in the treatment of various ailments like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer, infectious and inflammatory diseases. Although, this medicinal plant has to be explored; "green extraction" of its high-value phytochemicals is recommended for the safety of ecosystem and conservation of the plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, hot water, 0.1 M HCl and 0.1 M NaOH and 0.1 M NaCl solution were separately used for extraction of blackberry polysaccharides (BPs: Hw, Ac, Al and Na). The physicochemical properties and biological activities were then investigated and compared. Results showed that the extraction yield, molecular weight, monosaccharide composition, particle size, triple-helical structure, surface morphology and rheological properties of BPs were greatly affected by extraction solvents. Bioactivity assays implied that the four BPs showed that the polysaccharides (Hw and Na) with higher molecular weight had stronger antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Moreover, anti-glycated assay indicated that BPs with higher molecular weight and higher content of galacturonic acid possessed better inhibition of AGEs formation. These results suggested that the higher molecular weight of blackberry polysaccharide could be developed as a beneficial bioactive ingredient for diabetes mellitus and complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Unique intracellular metabolome of C. carboxidivorans fermenting CO was identified. • Substantial amounts of fatty acids accumulate in the cells as they ferment CO. • WiPM is the best solvent for extraction of metabolites in C. carboxidivorans. Clostridium carboxidivorans ferments CO, CO 2 , and H 2 via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. CO, CO 2, and H 2 are unique substrates, unlike other carbon sources like glucose, so it is necessary to analyze intracellular metabolite profiles for gas fermentation by C. carboxidivorans for metabolic engineering. Moreover, it is necessary to optimize the metabolite extraction solvent specifically for C. carboxidivorans fermenting syngas. In comparison with glucose media, the gas media allowed significant abundance changes of 38 and 34 metabolites in the exponential and stationary phases, respectively. Especially, C. carboxidivorans cultivated in the gas media showed changes of fatty acid metabolism and higher levels of intracellular fatty acid synthesis possibly due to cofactor imbalance and slow metabolism. Meanwhile, the evaluation of extraction solvents revealed the mixture of water-isopropanol-methanol (2:2:5, v/v/v) to be the best extraction solvent, which showed a higher extraction capability and reproducibility than pure methanol, the conventional extraction solvent. This is the first metabolomic study to demonstrate the unique intracellular metabolite profiles of the gas fermentation compared to glucose fermentation, and to evaluate water-isopropanol-methanol as the optimal metabolite extraction solvent for C. carboxidivorans on gas fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coffee shells were hydrothermally liquefied under FeCl 3 catalysis to produce crude bio-oils at temperatures ranging from 190 to 300 °C. This study investigated the impact of operational parameters (hydrothermal temperature, residence time, Fe3+ catalyst concentration, extraction solvents) on the bio-oil yield. Optimized hydrothermal conditions resulted in a conversion rate of 68.47 % for coffee shells, leading to an 11.51 % yield of light bio-oil extracted from the aqueous phase and a 35.99 % yield of heavy bio-oil from the solid phase. The chemical composition and distillate distribution of the bio-oil were determined through organic element analysis, GC-MS analysis, and TG/DTG analysis. The light bio-oil primarily consisted of furfural derivatives and phenolic derivatives; however, it only accounted for approximately 14.50 % of the total energy recovered from the feedstock. The components present in heavy bio-oils varied depending on the extraction solvents used but mainly comprised fatty acids and their derivatives. Acetone extraction yielded the highest amount of bio-oil; however, its high O/C ratio reduced its higher heating value (HHV). Ethanol extraction also resulted in higher yields but TG/DTG analysis indicated that these fractions contained more refractory volatiles and solid residues compared to other solvents used for extraction. In comparison, n-hexane extraction had a lower yield than both previous methods but offered a lower O/C ratio and higher HHV instead. Our study demonstrated that Fe-catalyzed hydrothermal liquefaction is an efficient method for obtaining value-added compounds and hydrocarbon fuels from coffee shells. [Display omitted] • Coffee shells are hydrothermally liquefied to produce bio-oils under Fe-catalysis. • HTL results in 36.0 wt% heavy bio-oil and 11.5 wt% light bio-oil yields. • The bio-oil extracted by n-hexane has higher hydrocarbon content and HHV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pretreatment procedures are optimized for HPLC-MS/MS detection of isoprenoids. • The first report on releasing algal isoprenoids by NaOH for quantitative analysis. • Isoprenoids are depleted by carotenogenesis while accumulated in the dark. Isoprenoid diphosphates are important precursors actively participating in many downstream metabolisms; they are often in modified forms, e.g. , protein-coupled or esterified form. Therefore, in vivo level of free isoprenoid diphosphates is quite low, ˜0.07 nmol/g fresh weight in plants. In order to directly measure the isoprenoid diphosphate pool during stress-induced accumulation of astaxanthin in Haematococcus pluvialis , the present study optimized several pretreatment procedures to enrich free isoprenoid diphosphates for high-pressure liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) detection. Specifically, different extraction solvents, e.g. , water, methanol, chloroform, and mixture of water, methanol, and chloroform (1:1:1, V/V/V), and solid phase extraction (SPE) columns (OASIS@ WAX and HLB Cartridges) were compared; and gentle decoupling by NaOH or trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was introduced to release free isoprenoid diphosphates. Results found that solvent mixture of water, methanol and chloroform (1:1:1, V/V/V) showed the highest extraction efficiency (R E) for five isoprenoid diphosphates, ranging from 76.83% to 92.43%; HLB column showed the balanced recoveries ranging from 75.29% to 87.54%; and incubation with low NaOH (˜4.7 mmol/L) at 4 °C significantly increased detectable isoprenoid diphosphates in algal cells, some of which were undetectable or in trace level before NaOH decoupling. The method was applied to H. pluvialis cells under various stresses. Low levels of isoprenoid diphosphates were determined in most of the stresses used, e.g. , 0.19 ± 0.09 to 0.98 ± 0.06 mg/g fresh weight (FW) for IPP/DMAPP, 0.35 ± 0.07 mg/g FW for GGPP and undetectable for FPP and GPP; while isoprenoid diphosphates were significantly accumulated in the dark to 3.27 ± 0.05, 0.17 ± 0.09, 1.81 ± 0.16 and 0.58 ± 0.07 mg/g FW for IPP/DMAPP, GPP, FPP and GGPP, respectively. These results implied that isoprenoid diphosphates were exhausted by downstream carotenogenesis under stress. Our work emphasizes NaOH decoupling for exact quantitation of in vivo isoprenoid diphosphates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Development of HPTLC method for the determination of quinalphos in human whole blood. • Optimization of extraction procedure. • Recovery of 93.61% was achieved from diethyl ether extract at pH 3. • Bioanalytical method validation of HPTLC method. • Application of developed procedure in three fatal cases of poisoning. Abstract A simple and rapid procedure for the determination of quinalphos in human whole blood using liquid-liquid extraction and high-performance thin-layer chromatography was developed and validated. Seven different organic solvents were tested for optimum extraction of quinalphos from spiked blood samples. The effect of pH on the extraction yield of quinalphos was also examined. An average recovery of 93.61% was achieved from diethyl ether solvent at pH 3. Chromatographic separation was performed on silica gel 60F 254 plates using mobile phase n -hexane-acetone in the ration 9:1 (v/v). Densitometric detection was carried out at 325 nm in absorbance mode. The interference of other organophosphorus pesticides of forensic relevance was not observed. The linear regression analysis in spiked whole blood samples resulted in linear calibration plot in the range 1 to 100 μg mL–1 with r2 = 0.9981. Sensitivity was represented by LLOQ at 1 μg mL–1. The within-day precision and between-day precision ranged from 0.18 to 1.04%, and 0.14 to 0.79% with an overall average recovery of 91.06% at three concentrations 1, 10, and 50 μg mL–1. No significant decrease in the concentration of quinalphos was observed for samples under different storage conditions. Finally, the developed procedure was applied to postmortem blood samples obtained in three fatal cases of poisoning by quinalphos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract One prevailing issue for assessing the performance of hydrothermal liquefaction is understanding the role of the extraction solvent used for product separation. This study evaluated the extraction agent's impact on the hydrothermal liquefaction products and energy efficiency. Three representative solvents (acetone, dichloromethane, and toluene) were chosen with three representative high-carbohydrate, protein, and ash content feedstocks (Chlorella sp., Nannochloropsis sp., and Enteromorpha pr., respectively). Extraction of the oil using dichloromethane led to the highest biocrude oil yield (dry biomass) for Chlorella sp. (48.8%), toluene for Nannochloropsis sp. (23.3%), and acetone for Enteromorpha pr. (9.8%). The solvent selection led to a maximum variation of 20.4% for all oil yields. Dichloromethane produced high energy recovery values (maximum: 67.1%) and low energy consumption ratios (minimum: 0.06) regardless of the feedstock chemical composition. Dichloromethane also led to consistently high net energy values and high fossil energy ratios amongst all feedstocks. We speculate that the solvent polarity, chemical structure, hydrogen bonding, and dipole-dipole interactions influenced output parameters by the selective isolation and extraction of the chemical compounds in the biocrude oil. This study suggested that the extraction solvent selection should be carefully considered and normalized for the reporting of hydrothermal liquefaction yields and energy efficiency values. Highlights • Solvents impact biocrude production/energy efficiency of hydrothermal liquefaction. • Three solvents led to different C/N/S distributions in the hydrothermal products. • Dichloromethane led to the highest biocrude (48.8%) yield of algae. • Dichloromethane led to the highest energy recovery/lowest energy consumption ratio. • Combined effect of polarity/structure/hydrogen bonding/dipole-dipole interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods were optimized for extraction and quantification of anthocyanins (ACY) and vitamin C in potatoes. Acidified aqueous methanol (70%) was the optimal extraction solvent and freeze-drying significantly improved the extraction yield of ACY. The content of ACY varied widely in five potato cultivars from 0.42 to 3.18 mg/g dry weight, with the latter being the highest value found in the Finnish cultivar ‘Synkeä Sakari’. Compared with dithiothreitol (DTT), tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP) was more efficient in reducing dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) to ascorbic acid (AA) and for quantifying the content of total ascorbic acid (TAA). For raw potatoes, quantification of TAA after treatment with TCEP was more reliable than a direct analysis of AA, whereas AA can be analyzed directly in steam-cooked samples. The TAA contents in the three potato cultivars were around 0.30–0.35 mg/g dry weight. The loss of AA in steam cooking was 24%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascorbic acid or vitamin C is mostly found in natural products such as fruits and vegetables. Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method has been developed to compare the ascorbic acid content in some fresh fruits (apple, orange) and vegetables (carrot, beet, cherry tomato) extracts with two different extraction solvents; i) 9% metaphosphoric acid, ii) 3% citric acid. The compound has been detected and quantified by the use of UPLC equipped with Photodiode Array (PDA) detector. The amount of ascorbic acid detected in fruits and vegetables extracts prepared with the two solvents mentioned was different. For the orange extracted using citric acid 3% recorded the highest concentration of ascorbic acid (38.2mg/100g FW) higher than with 9% metaphosphoric acid (33.3mg/100g FW), respectively the extractions of both varieties of apples, carrot, beet and cherry tomato with metaphosphoric extraction solvent recorded the highest values of ascorbic acid: 4.1mg/100g FW in case of ‘Golden’, 9.92mg/100g FW for carrot and 13.56mg/100g FW for beet. The results showed that ascorbic acid content was higher by extraction with 9% metaphosphoric acid as compared, by extraction with 3% citric acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS) can begin to tease apart the molecular character of sedimentary organic matter (SOM). We therefore tested five different solvents (aqueous base, CHCl 3 , MeOH, pyridine and water) for their ability to extract a representative fraction from two organic rich lacustrine sediments, Mangrove Lake, Bermuda (MLB) and Mud Lake, Florida (MLF). Following comparison using liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and negative ion mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (FTICRMS) we found that pyridine was the optimal solvent, extracting a more diverse (10–100× greater integration for carbonyl, amide and amine groups) and a larger number of peaks on average (1375–1450 vs. 380–1450). Comparison of the pyridine extracts between MLB, MLF and two organic poor sediments from the Mississippi River Delta and Bayou Grande (Pensacola, FL) showed that only 4.9% of the molecular formulae were common to all four and that unique formulae made up the highest proportion of the assignments. The use of pyridine for extracting immature (Holocene) SOM for FTICRMS analysis can therefore be widely applied to immature sediments and produce representative spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two wheat varieties grown in Upper and Delta Egypt were compared for their total phenolic content and antioxidant activities. Three solvent systems have been used to prepare the antioxidant extracts from whole wheat and its bran fraction. The three solvent systems included 50% acetone ( v / v ), 70% methanol ( v / v ) and 70% ethanol ( v / v ). Antioxidant activities were tested using DPPH radical scavenging activity and total flavonoid content. The results showed that the extraction solvents and wheat varieties significantly altered the total phenolics and antioxidant activity of whole wheat and bran, and 50% acetone is a recommended solvent for extracting phenolic compounds from the tested wheat and bran. Also data indicated that the bran fraction was rich in total phenolic content and high power for radical scavenging activity than whole wheat. These results showed that wheat bran could be considered as a potential source of antioxidant agent. Therefore, durum wheat variety (Beni-suef-3) showed high level of total phenol contact and antioxidant properties in bran fraction than common wheat variety (Gemiza-9). So, whole meal wheat products maximize health benefits and strongly recommended for use in food processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, quantitative correlations between the antioxidant properties and the total phenolic content (TPC) of different oil cake extracts were studied. The oil cakes from camelina (Camelina sativa), linseed (Linum usitatissimum), rapeseed (Brassica napus), and two varieties of white mustard (Sinapis alba) were analysed as potential sources of antioxidant compounds. Two solvents of different polarity were used to obtain the extracts, resulting in great variation in antioxidant activity. The highest phenolic content was observed for white mustard, followed by camelina, rapeseed and linseed. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by determination of their reducing capacity, free radical scavenging activity and metal chelating ability, by the β-carotene bleaching method and as the effectiveness of inhibition of conjugate diene and triene formation in the bulk oil. The methanolic extracts exhibited higher reducing power (max. rapeseed), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) scavenging activity (max. rapeseed) and chelating ability (max. linseed), while the ethanolic extracts were more efficient in the β-carotene bleaching test (max. camelina). White mustard extracts inhibited conjugate diene and triene formation the most. These various antioxidant activities were compared to the synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). A lack of positive correlations among the different antioxidant activity assays and total phenolic contents was observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The main goal of this study was to test the usefulness of the Comet assay in the PLHC-1 hepatoma fish cell line as a tool for detecting the presence of genotoxic compounds in contaminated marine sediments. The system has been tested using both model chemicals (benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)) and extracts of sediment samples obtained with solvent dichloromethane/methanol. For all of the analysed sediment extracts as well as for the model chemicals a concentration dependent genotoxic effect was observed. The sediment with the highest observed genotoxic potential was additionally extracted using various solvents in order to test which class of compounds, according to their polarity, is most responsible for the observed genotoxic effect. Non-polar solvents (cyclohexane and dichloromethane) yielded stronger genotoxic effect but the highest level of DNA damage was determined after exposure to sediment extract obtained with the solvent mixture dichloromethane/methanol which extracts a wide range of contaminants. Our results indicate that the PLHC-1 cell line is a suitable in vitro model in sediment genotoxicity assessment and encourage the use of fish cell lines as versatile tools in ecogenotoxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Several species belonging to the genus Rhamnus (Rhamnaceae), comprising ones among which are found the most typical plants of the Italian flora, are known to contain biologically active anthraquinone secondary metabolites. Although several Rhamnus species were so far investigated, no information is available concerning the content and relative abundances of anthraquinones in R. saxatilis. In this study we used a simple, reliable, and accurate analytical method to determine the anthraquinones in bark of R. saxatilis. This allowed us also to trace a comparative study on the efficacy of different extraction solvents in ultrasonication time dependent assays. Separation and quantification of anthraquinones were accomplished using a C18 column with the mobile phase of H2O:methanol (40:60, v/v, 1% formic acid) at a flow rate of 0.7mL/min and a detection wavelength of 254nm, while the qualitative analyses were also achieved at a wavelength of 435nm.Finally, the described HPLC method, was used to obtain a specific chemical fingerprint for this species in comparison with other species from the same family. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Extraction solvents for pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) used to extract polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) from contaminated soil were investigated. The PCDD/PCDFs and Co-PCBs in Certified Reference Material: CRM 0422 (Forest soil) were extracted using toluene, n-hexane, acetone, acetone/toluene and acetone/n-hexane (1:1, v/v). Soxhlet extraction was the reference method. Results demonstrated that PLE using mixed solvents produced better analyte recoveries than the single solvents. However, these results were lower than those for Soxhlet extraction. Additional extraction cycles using mixed solvents achieved better recovery results. Mixed solvents and several extraction cycles were necessary for satisfactory extraction of more tightly bound PCDD/PCDFs and Co-PCBs from soil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Bio-oil yields and quality were affected by extraction solvents and reaction media. • Acetone recovered the highest oil yield produced in water–ethanol mixed solvent. • Ethanol was the least efficient extraction solvent in recovering bio-oil product. • Bio-oil obtained using dichloromethane had higher C/H contents and better quality. • Acetone led to the highest carbon/energy recovery but higher O content in the bio-oil. In this work, the effects of extraction solvents: acetone, ethanol, dichloromethane (DCM) and ethyl acetate (EA), on the yields and characteristics of bio-oil products obtained from liquefaction of rubberwood sawdust (RS) at 300 ℃ for 30 min in water, ethanol or water–ethanol mixed solvent (50/50, v/v) were comparatively studied. When pure water or ethanol was used as the reaction medium, the highest bio-oil yield was obtained by acetone (30.41 wt%) or EA (31.69 wt%), respectively. Besides, significantly higher bio-oil yields were observed in RS liquefaction in water–ethanol mixed solvent with the maximum bio-oil yield of 56.67 wt% obtained by acetone. But ethanol was always the least efficient in recovering bio-oil in all cases. Besides, the elemental analysis showed that DCM was conducive to recover the bio-oil products with lower oxygen contents and the higher HHVs, while the acetone-extracted bio-oils were worse in quality. However, the highest carbon recovery (CR) and energy recovery (ER) were obtained by acetone due to its higher bio-oil yield produced in water–ethanol mixed solvent. As suggested by GC–MS, GPC and TGA analysis, the extraction solvents and reaction mediums both greatly affected the chemical compositions of the bio-oil products. Phenols were dominant in bio-oil products, followed by hydrocarbons, ketones, esters, etc. Acetone tended to extract the bio-oil with larger carbon numbers and molecular weights, which might explain its higher bio-oil recovery yield in water or water–ethanol mixed solvent. DCM was beneficial to recover the bio-oil was more light compounds with smaller molecular weights and lower boiling point distribution. But for the liquefaction in pure ethanol, more similar chemical compositions were observed among different samples when compared to the cases in other reaction mediums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the effect of structural attributes of edible plant tissues on the release of intracellular substances from cell matrices at the postprandial stage, a flavedo layer powder of citrus peel was used as a model of mechanically damaged plant tissue, and elution characteristics of intracellular substances with three types of solvent were investigated. The results showed that the absorbance spectra of extraction solutions were changed by the type of solvent and the average diameter of classified powders. In particular, the influence of particle size on the absorbance spectra appeared as differences in the absorbance level at each wavelength, e.g., the absorbance level of extractions with an average particle size of 711 μm was almost half of that of 71 μm at the range from 490 nm to 520 nm, although each fraction was made from the same source. Additionally, the microscopic observation showed that the percentage of disrupted cells in powders decreased with the average particle size increased. This suggested that the structural attributes of cell-based plant tissue could be linked to the elution properties of intracellular materials and the postprandial nutritional properties of plant-based foods. Image 1 • Structural attributes of plant tissue affect the release of intracellular substances. • Citrus peel powders were used as a model of mechanically damaged plant tissue. • Elution characteristics of intracellular substances were varied by particle size. • Plant-based food structure could be linked to postprandial nutritional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Methanol and dichloromethane were compared as solvent for PE extraction. • Soxhlet, ultrasound and stirring assisted methods were compared for PE extraction. • Different columns and mobile phase for HPLC were evaluated. • Validated method for PE extraction and analysis was presented. Jatropha curcas is a promising non-food source of oil for biodiesel. However, the presence of phorbol esters (PE) is the main limiting factor for utilization of defatted cakes for animal feed. Reliable methods of analysis and quantification of phorbol esters are useful for plant breeding research as well as for detoxification process. Analytical methods for PE extraction show different conditions, temperatures, contact times, solvents and mass/solvent ratio. In this work, methanol and dichloromethane were evaluated as extraction solvent, and Soxhlet, ultrasound and stirring assisted extractions at different times of contact were compared. The quantification was performed by HPLC-DAD. Methanol was more efficient for exhaustive J. curcas PE extraction as compared to dichloromethane. Among the evaluated extraction methods, Soxhlet extraction with methanol during 6 h was the most efficient to quantify PE, showing RSD (Relative Standard Deviation) varying from 3 to 5%. The validated method showed limits of detection and quantification of 0.48 and 1.4 μg, respectively, with good linearity and precision. The specificity of the method was confirmed by LC–MS/MS and UV spectra data using three different columns and mobile phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]