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Harvest seasons have important influences on bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of plants. Pyrola [ Pyrola incarnata Fisch.] is rich in antioxidants and is a valuable natural antioxidant food source in northeastern China. In order to well development and utilization of pyrola resources, in the same site, the quality of the different harvest time samples of pyrola was investigated. Variations in the active components and antioxidant activities of pyrola samples collected during six monthly harvests (from May to October) were analyzed. A principal component analysis was used to analysis of the interrelationships among total phenolic content, antioxidant activities and bioactive compound contents. The sample harvested in August had the highest total phenolic content (217.73 ± 9.14 mg/g gallic acid equivalent) and the strongest antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of the August sample was similar to the ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene activities. The results of a principal component analysis indicated that the active components included catechin, hyperin, 2′-O-galloylhyperin and quercitrin, which were strongly associated with the antioxidant activity of the August sample. Hyperin and 2′-O-galloylhyperin are the primary compounds found in pyrola, and they play major roles in mediating antioxidant activity. The August pyrola sample had the highest antioxidant potential and was a new, highly enriched resource for hyperin and 2′-O-galloylhyperin. Thus, August was the ideal time for the pyrola harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A negative pressure cavitation–microwave assisted extraction technique (NMAE) was first applied on extraction of seed oil from yellow horn. The operating conditions were optimized by a Box–Behnken design (BBD) test. Under the optimal conditions, the yield of yellow horn oil seed can reach 52 ± 1%. The extraction kinetics of the NMAE method and soxhlet extraction (SE) method were also investigated. The results indicated that the NMAE method was more effective than the SE method. Therefore, NMAE was an efficient extraction technique for yellow horn seed oil extraction. At last, the extracted oil was used as raw materials for biodiesel production and the main Fatty Acid Methyl Esters contents were analyzed by GC–MS. The conversion yield of biodiesel can reach 96%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flos Lonicerae (FL) was widely planted in China as a kind of pharmaceutical resource. In our research, the variations in content and antioxidant activity of essential oil of FL from five different sites of China were investigated. The results revealed that the essential oil content of samples varied over the range of 0.288 ± 0.015% to 0.387 ± 0.016%. The essential oil antioxidant activity of samples were also determined by scavenging activity against 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid ammonium salt) (ABTS), ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) test and β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching test. The results indicated that the sample from Shaoyang showed better antioxidant activity than the others. And the β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching activity could reach 92.31%, when the concentration of the sample from Shaoyang was 4 mg/mL, indicating that the sample from Shaoyang possessed excellent antioxidant activity. The chemical compositions of the essential oil were finally identified by GC–MS, and more than 20 compounds were identified. Principal component analysis was also performed to investigate the difference of the essential oil samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and effective extraction method, namely negative pressure cavitation-microwave assisted extraction technique (NMAE), was developed for the preparation of extracts of Pyrola incarnata Fisch., which are rich in the main constituents hyperin, 2′-O-galloylhyperin and chimaphilin. Single factor experiments and Box–Behnken design (BBD) were combined with a response surface methodology to examine factors affecting extraction. Maximum extraction yields of hyperin, 2′-O-galloylhyperin and chimaphilin (1.339 ± 0.029, 4.831 ± 0.117 and 0.329 ± 0.011 mg/g, respectively) were achieved under the following optimised conditions: 700 W microwave power, 50 °C extraction temperature, 30:1 mL/g liquid–solid ratio, −0.05 MPa negative pressure, 55% ethanol concentration and 12 min extraction time. First-order kinetics equation demonstrated that NMAE offered significant savings in extraction time, and enhancing extraction efficiency. Furthermore, NMAE extracts yielded excellent antioxidant activity (IC 50 0.121 mg/mL for DPPH 2.896 mmol FeSO 4 /g DW FRAP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern bioreactors primarily focus on fixing enzymes on materials to form fixed bed reactors, but the reaction efficiency is unstable. More importantly, the enzymes easily fall off or even inactivate, and the fluid risks leaking due to excessive pressure during flow. In this study, a directional channel continuous microfluidic reactor with laccase covalently immobilized in the internal channel is made from natural wood. After dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) treatment of delignified wood, the micropores (ray cells, pits and nanopores) in directional channel walls are fully exposed. When the fluid passes through, the turbulence near the pits increases, resulting in good mass and heat transfer, which enhances the catalytic efficiency of laccase. The reactor has good stability and maintains more than 80% substrate conversion in the pH range of 3–7 and the temperature range of 15–55 ℃. In the degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), a 94.42% degradation rate is achieved in only 30 min, and 86.93% efficiency is maintained after 25 cycles of catalysis, indicating its excellent reusability. The directional reactor with porous inner walls is simple to prepare and easy to scale up, which provides excellent convenience for continuous industrial production and shows great commercial application potential. [Display omitted] • The wood-based reactor with pores fully exposed in the inner wall was constructed. • The reactor had low pressure and high mass transfer efficiency under fluid reaction. • The immobilized laccase in the reactor was more stable than free laccase. • The conversion was still stable even after 25 repetitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The antioxidant capacities of pyrola extracts were almost comparable to that of VC and BHT. [•] Pyrola extracts had remarkably large total phenolic and total flavonoid contents. [•] Eight compounds were identified by ESI-MS/MS. [•] Research on the pyrola is scanty, so the research is meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulberry is a traditional crop that has been grown in China for thousands of years. While leaves and fruits of the mulberry have been consumed, mulberry seed use has been less extensive. The goal of this study was to investigate the value of the seeds. Seven cultivars of mulberry were investigated. Oil was extracted from seeds, and the oil content was determined. The primary components of the oils were analyzed using gas chromatography. It was found that all the mulberry cultivars contained high linoleic acid contents, suggesting that mulberry seed may be a potential resource of linoleic acid. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also compared among different mulberry seed oils. The physical and chemical parameters, as well as the antioxidant activity of the mulberry seed, were determined. Principal component analysis indicated that the ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging activity (DPPH) of mulberry seed oil may be due to high phenolic compounds and linoleic acid. The cultivars Dongsheng, Fengtian, and Guisang had the highest antioxidant activities (FRAP, DPPH), and it was proposed that these cultivars would produce the highest quality oil for use as an ingredient for healthcare or functional food use. Image 1 • To evaluate the antioxidant activities of 7 varieties of mulberry seed oil. • Components of mulberry seed oils were analyzed. • PCA was used to evaluate the correlation between components and activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antioxidant additives are commonly used to prevent biodiesel oxidation. Most antioxidant studies have focused on the effects of chemosynthetic antioxidants, but there has been limited research on natural antioxidants. In this study, a cheap and readily available natural antioxidant, Pyrola extract, was applied for biodiesel protection. An immersion test that exposes biodiesel to copper chips was used to compare the antioxidant activities between Pyrola extract and the commercial antioxidants, pyrogallol and BHT. Pyrola extract performs much better than pyrogallol (PY) and BHT on all of the quality characteristics of biodiesel, including acid value, iodine value, peroxide value, and corrosion rate of the coppers. Analysis by gas chromatography also indicates that Pyrola extract helps to maintain the original components of the biodiesel. Due to the simple extraction process and low cost raw materials, Pyrola extract may be a potential antioxidant for protecting biodiesel. The effect investigation of Pyrola extract for biodiesel and analysis of its active ingredients. Image 1 • Pyrola extract is an effective biodiesel antioxidant. • Pyrola extract helps to maintain the original components of biodiesel. • Corrosion of copper was inhibited by Pyrola extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a novel and sustainable biosorbent, regenerated silk fibroin film (rSFF) was successfully prepared and its adsorbability to azo dyes (acid yellow 11, naphthol orange and direct orange S) was measured. At optimal conditions, the adsorption capacity of rSFF for acid yellow 11 reached up to 59.71 mg/g, which was 1.23-fold higher than that of raw silk fibroin fibers. More importantly, rSFF exhibited a high level of flexibility and functionality as well as a good shaping ability, which were crucial for its practical application. The SEM results showed that rSFF was a porous material, indicating that it had more available adsorption sites compared with raw silk fibroin fibers, which might contribute to the higher adsorption capacity of rSFF. Isotherm equilibrium studies revealed that the azo dye adsorption process followed the Langmuir model, indicating that rSFF was a structurally homogenous adsorbent. The recycle test showed that rSFF had potential to be reused in a number of treatment cycles. After five cycles, its adsorbability to acid yellow 11 remained as high as 47.20 mg/g. Finally, a scale-up experiment was performed for rSFF, and the results indicated that it was feasible for rSFF to extend the practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous cellulose beads (CBs) were prepared using ionic liquid as solvent and then further modified using different reagents which were ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylene tetramine (TETA) and 4-aminostyrene (AST). These CBs were used as carrier for immobilization of H 3 PW 12 O 40 (HPW). The immobilized catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy, XRD, ICP atomic emission spectrophotometer. The results indicated that CB-(AST-HPW) n possessed higher amounts of HPW and stronger catalytic activity for biodiesel production. After using CB-(AST-HPW) n for yellow horn oil esterification, the conversion yield reached 96.22% under optimal conditions. The final product of biodiesel prepared with CB-(AST-HPW) n was of high quality. We conclude that cellulose-based immobilized HPW is a novel catalyst potentially suited for biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new extraction method, homogenate-assisted negative pressure cavitation extraction, was designed to extract the main active compounds from Pyrola incarnata Fisch. The influential parameters were optimized by single factor experiments and extraction kinetics. Optimal conditions were set as follows: homogenate time of 120 s, negative pressure of − 0.05 MPa, liquid/solid ratio of 30:1 mL/g, ethanol concentration at 60%, extraction temperature of 50 °C and extraction time of 25 min. Maximum extraction yields of hyperin, 2″-O-galloylhyperin and chimaphilin reached 1.205 ± 0.054, 4.961 ± 0.108 and 0.291 ± 0.016 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay was used to assess the antioxidant activity of the extracts. HNPCE extract had the best antioxidant activity with IC 50 value of 0.144 ± 0.017 mg/mL. The present results showed that HNPCE could be a promising extraction technique used in the extraction of active compounds from plants. Industrial relevance In this work we showed a new extraction method, homogenate-assisted negative pressure cavitation extraction. This novel extraction technique also processes the advantages of potential eco-friendly technology, lower energy consumption, easy operation, shorter time and higher efficiency. It is promising for extensive industry applications in the nature product extraction fields. The results may provide valuable data for industrial scale-up applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To remove the pollutants nitrophenol in wastewater, a bio-inspired dynamic filter (CE-Pd-EPI) with in-situ synthesized palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) was prepared via chemical cross-linking and freeze casting. This bio-inspired filter has a hierarchical dual-porous structure with micron-scale unidirectional channels and nanoscale pores. This hierarchical porous structure facilitates rapid mass transfer of the liquid. Therefore, this filter can completely reduce 4-nitrophenol (4-NP, 2 mM) in 3 min. The rate constant (k) and turnover frequency (TOF) are 2.42 min−1 and 13.17 min−1, respectively, which are better than most reports so far. Moreover, this filter can also instantaneously catalyze the reduction of methylene blue (MB) to colorless. After five cycles, the conversion of 4-NP and MB by the filter still reaches 99.9%, demonstrating its excellent catalytic stability and reusability. In addition, in a continuous fluid catalytic system this filter has a low pressure (only 0.84 kPa) due to its bio-inspired unidirectional channel structure, which is extremely important for continuous industrial application. This bio-inspired dynamic filter has a guiding significance for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater in industrial applications. Therefore, the bio-inspired dynamic filter described in this study has a great potential in the field of water treatment and environmental protection. [Display omitted] • CE-Pd-EPI filter possesses both micron-scale unidirectional channels and nanopores. • CE-Pd-EPI filter can catalyze the reduction of organic pollutants rapidly. • CE-Pd-EPI shows excellent ability of reusability and stability. • This filter has a small pressure in continuous fluid catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PdNPs can be synthesized directly by cellulose solution. • The cellulose-Pd gel can be made into 3D porous microspheres. • The cellulose-PdNPs microspheres can degrade dyes rapidly. In this study, a simple and environmentally friendly method was developed for synthesizing 3D porous cellulose supported palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) catalysts. PdNPs (3.1 ± 1.4 nm) can be synthesized directly by cellulose solution through microwave heating (60 °C, 4 h) and prepared into microspheres by freeze-drying to degrade methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) rapidly. In addition, the reduction ability of cellulose hydroxyl group was proved by XPS and FTIR results. And the contact angle of 38.20° proves its hydrophilic ability. Cellulose-PdNPs microspheres showed high catalytic efficiency achieved 99 % and after multiple cycles it was still higher than 90 %. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper provides some new applications for cellulose, and the cellulose-Pd catalysts prepared by the research also have potential application value in the field of environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A 3D-porous structured cellulose microsphere micro-bioreactor was prepared. • The prepared bioreactor can successfully convert polydatin to resveratrol. • After conversion, the concentration of resveratrol increased by two times. • The prepared bioreactor can maintain 89.2 % activity after 8 reuses. In this study, in order to bio-transform polydatin to resveratrol from Polygonum cuspidatum extract, a 3D-porous structured cellulose microsphere (CMs) immobilized with β-glucosidase acted as a micro-bioreactor. To successfully immobilize β-glucosidase, CMs was treated with epoxidation to attach three different functional amion groups, and finally combined with β-glucosidase. CMs provided large surface area (32.0 m²/g) and many sites for immobilization of β-glucosidase and chemical modification. The porosity of CMs was 90 % and its density was about 1.00 g/m3. According to SEM images, the 3D-porous structure was obviously found and the result of FTIR proved the successful modification of amino groups. The crystal structure of CMs was changed from crystalline cellulose I-β to crystalline cellulose II during the sol-gel method. In the biotransformation tests of the Polygonum cuspidatum extracts, the conversion rate of polydatin reached 93.06 %, and after conversion, the concentration of resveratrol was two times higher than the original Polygonum cuspidatum extract. In addition, the cellulose microsphere micro-bioreactor also possessed good reusability, which could maintain 89.2 % activity after being repeatedly operated 8 times. Therefore, this cellulose microsphere micro-bioreactor can be successfully used to produce resveratrol from polydatin, and this micro-bioreactor may also have the potential to convert other plant glycosides into aglycones. Moreover, because of their good biocompatibility, the 3D porous cellulose microspheres can also be used for immobilization of other enzymes to prepare efficient bioreactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulberry ( Morus alba L.), a traditional industrial crop, has various cultivars and a large planting area in China and consequently, high exploitation potential. The aim of this study was to systematically study the mulberry resources in eastern China. Twenty-four mulberry leaf samples of eight representative cultivars from five provinces in eastern China were investigated. The alkaloid and polyphenols contents were determined by HPLC–MS/MS, and the total polyphenols and flavonoid contents were also obtained. Then, FRAP, ABTS, and DPPH tests were used to determine the antioxidant activity of mulberry leaves. The results indicated that the content of 1-deoxynojirimycin was within the range of 0.438 ± 0.010 mg/g–2.159 ± 0.016 mg/g, and the content of fagomine ranged from 0.379 ± 0.018 mg/g to 1.675 ± 0.021 mg/g. The samples from Anhui had the best antioxidant activity, of which the DPPH free radical-scavenging capacity reached 70.837 ± 1.246%, and the ferric reducing antioxidant power was 258.864 ± 22.718 mmol Fe 2+ /g. The principal component analysis results showed that there was a good correlation between the total polyphenols content, total flavonoid content, chlorogenic acid content, and antioxidant activity. Considering the active ingredient contents and antioxidant activity, we found that Yu711 was the most economically valuable variety, and Anhui is the best location to promote mulberry cultivation in eastern China, which provides a basis for the rational utilization of mulberry industrial products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, porous magnetic cellulose beads (CBs) were prepared and further modified using amines. The CBs appeared to have good spherical shape and three-dimensional (3D) porous structure. In the adsorption tests, the modified cellulose beads (MCBs) showed better adsorption capacities and shorter adsorption times on hyperin and 2′-O-galloylhyperin than the commercial resins. The adsorption may be due to the hydrogen bonding between the target compounds and the amine groups of MCBs. After adsorption and desorption, the contents of hyperin and 2′-O-galloylhyperin reached 1.32% and 3.92%, which were 4.08 and 4.23 times higher than those in the Pyrola extracts. Therefore, the prepared MCBs in this study make an excellent adsorbing material of hyperin and 2′-O-galloylhyperin, and it may have potential for the separation of other natural compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible supercapacitors are an important portable energy storage but suffer from low capacitance, inability to stretch, etc. Therefore, flexible supercapacitors must achieve higher capacitance, energy density, and mechanical robustness to expand the applications. Herein, a hydrogel electrode with excellent mechanical strength was created by simulating the collagen fiber network and proteoglycan in cartilage using silk nanofiber (SNF) network and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The Young's modulus and breaking strength of the hydrogel electrode increased by 205 % and 91 % compared with PVA hydrogel owing to the enhanced effect of the bionic structure, respectively, which are 1.22 MPa and 1.3 MPa. The fracture energy and fatigue threshold reached 1813.5 J/m2 and 1585.2 J/m2, respectively. The SNF network effectively connected carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polypyrrole (PPy) in series, affording a capacitance of 13.62 F/cm2 and energy density of 1.2098 mWh/cm2. This capacitance is the highest among currently reported PVA hydrogel capacitors, which can maintain >95.2 % after 3000 charge–discharge cycles. This capacitance Notably, the cartilage-like structure endowed the supercapacitor with high resilience; thus, the capacitance remained >92.1 % under 150 % deformation and >93.35 % after repeated stretching (3000 times), which was far superior to that of other PVA-based supercapacitors. Overall, this effective bionic strategy can endow supercapacitors with ultrahigh capacitance and effectively ensure the mechanical reliability of flexible supercapacitors, which will help expand the applications of supercapacitors. • This bionic supercapacitor was prepared by imitating the cartilage structure. • Mechanical properties are enhanced owing to the enhancement of bionic structure. • The bionic supercapacitor exhibited an ultrahigh areal capacitance. • Supercapacitor retains almost all capacitance after high and repeated stretching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was applied to optimize the ultrasound-assisted extraction of polysaccharides from mulberry leaves. Under the optimum conditions of an extraction temperature of 57 °C, an extraction time of 80 min and a liquid/solid ratio of 53 mL/g, the mulberry leaf polysaccharide (MLP) yield was 6.92 ± 0.29%. Then, three fractions of MLPs were obtained by deproteinization, dialysis and decolorization. The carbohydrate content, FT-IR spectrum and monosaccharide composition of the MLPs were also investigated. The antioxidant activities of the three fractions were compared, and the results indicated that the antioxidant activities decreased with the increasing MLP purity. Therefore, highly concentrated MLPs were shown to have very little antioxidant activity. After quercetin (10 μg/mL) was added, the antioxidant activities were improved significantly. This result showed that MLPs and quercetin have a synergistic effect on the antioxidant activity. Although the MLPs have very little antioxidant activity alone, they greatly enhance the antioxidant activity of flavonoids. Thus, MLPs can be used as an antioxidant activity enhancer in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disinfecting microbially contaminated water in a safe and sustainable way is a great challenge. The phenolics and flavonoids in plants are ideal antibacterial agents for biosafety. Herein, an all-plant-derived antibacterial sponge with a hierarchical cellular structure was prepared from natural phenolic and flavonoid crude extracts and cellulose for water purification. After being modified by quercetin, the quercetin-cellulose sponge (Q-CS) exhibits great toughness, elasticity and a large specific surface area, which benefited from a unique hierarchical cellular structure. Q-CS shows ultrahigh water flux (4.5 × 105 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1) and excellent antibacterial abilities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (<1.87 % viability). Sponges modified with crude pyrola (P-CS) and mulberry leaf extracts (M-CS) have similar properties compared with Q-CS. The good performances of P-CS and M-CS show the strong antibacterial applications of natural crude extract. This work provides a strategy for fabricating sustainable and safe antibacterial sponges for water disinfection. [Display omitted] • An all-plant-derived hierarchical cellular cellulose sponge is fabricated. • The sponge is tough, elastic and stable because of hierarchical cellular structure. • Phenolics and flavonoids are grafted on cellulose as antibacterial agent. • The sponge shows ultrahigh water flux under 1 bar driving pressure. • The modified sponge has great stable water disinfection ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave-assisted extraction and hydrolysis (MAEHM) and automatic amino acid analyzer (AAA) determination method (MAEHM-AAA) were developed and applied to extract and determine amino acids from mulberry leaves. The optimal extraction conditions were an extraction time of 10 min, an extraction temperature of 110 °C, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1/50 and a microwave power of 400 W. The preponderance of MAEHM was demonstrated by comparison with the conventional heating acid hydrolysis method (CHAHM) using a first-order kinetics equation. The equilibrium concentrations (C ∞) of the target compounds obtained by MAEHM were similar with those obtained by CHAHM. In addition, MAEHM had higher extraction reaction rate constants (k) than CHAHM, which suggests that the target compounds extracted by MAEHM could be much more effectively transferred from the plant matrix into the solvent than those by CHAHM. Compared with the preprocessing time of CHAHM (22 h), the preprocessing time of MAEHM was reduced to 15 min, which substantially reduced detection time. MAEHM-AAA provides a linear response over the concentration range of 0.1–500 nmol/mL with correlation coefficients above 0.99 in all cases. The low limits of detection (LODs) of this method were 0.025–3.75 nmol/mL, which shows its great sensitivity. In addition, the MAEHM was validated in terms of accuracy (the intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were less than 6.62%), precision (80–120%) and stability (recovery was 90.38–121.66%). The MAEMH-AAA method was also successfully applied to quantify 17 target compounds in mulberry leaves. • A rapid and efficient method to extract and determine amino acids was developed. • The extraction time was shortened from 22 h to 15 min. • The method has high precision, high accuracy and good stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regenerated silk fibroin has been widely used in tissue engineering due to its tunable mechanical properties, biocompatibility and degradability, especially in biological scaffolds. In this paper, for the first time, a robust silk fibroin (SF) scaffold with a reinforced concrete structure constructed with silk nanofibers as the skeleton was prepared by combining a CaCl 2 -formic acid (FA-CaCl 2) dissolving system with a freeze-drying method. This method consumes less time and greatly reduces the rate of silk loss, while formic acid can be collected and reused as a solvent during the lyophilization process. Moreover, the SF scaffolds prepared by this method retained the nanofibers of silk, thus preserving the mechanical toughness of the silk nanofibers. On this basis, a reinforced concrete structure with silk nanofibers as the skeleton and amorphous silk as the filler was constructed, which exhibited increased strength and toughness. Effects of preparation conditions (dissolution system, degumming time, silk content) on the mechanical properties and the relationship between structure and mechanical properties of the scaffolds were also studied. Among them, the strength of SF scaffold with degumming time of 10 min, silk content of 20 wt% and directional pores was the best, and its Young's modulus could reach 3.56 MPa. In addition, the scaffolds prepared by this method had good biocompatibility and biodegradability. This study provides a new strategy for manufacturing SF scaffolds and an alternative for the preparation of related silk fibroin materials, which have excellent potential in the field of tissue engineering. • FA-CaCl 2 system combined with freeze drying to prepare SF scaffold for the first time. • Formic acid as a solvent can be collected again after lyophilization. • This method retained the nanofibers of silk. • The reinforced concrete structure was constructed in SF scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] There are few studies that refer to the healthy value of pyrola. [•] The constituents and antioxidant activities of different sites pyrola were analysed. [•] Pyrola is a valuable antioxidant natural source. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of incubation of pigeon pea root extracts with immobilized β-glucosidase on the conversion of genistin to genistein was investigated. β-Glucosidase was effectively immobilized on alginate by the method of crosslinking–entrapment. After optimization, the incubation conditions were as follow, amounts of immobilized β-glucosidase 30U, temperature 30°C, pH=4 and incubation time 2h. On the optimal conditions, about 94.9% of genistin was conversed to genistein, and the content of genistein was 0.689mg/mL, which increased 63.7% after incubation. Immobilized β-glucosidase possessed extended stability and higher reusability. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of genistein, genistin and the extracts with and without incubation were assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay. The IC50 value of extracts after incubation with immobilized β-glucosidase reached 726.21±11.25μg/mL, which was higher than that of the extract (932.76±13.75μg/mL) without incubation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, a three-dimensional porous cellulose-based microsphere material modified with ionic liquid functional groups was prepared. Seven kinds of cellulose microspheres with different ionic liquid groups were successfully produced and were used for the adsorption of Acid Orange 7 dye. Cellulose microsphere modified with 4-methylimidazole, named as CMs4, had the greatest adsorption capacity of 218.6 mg/g and the fastest adsorption rate. CMs4 reached an adsorption capacity of 100 mg/g after only 10 min. Compared with materials in other literatures, CMs4 had an excellent Acid Orange 7 dye adsorption rate. According to the zeta potential analysis, the surface potential of CMs4 depended on the pH. Exploiting this property, cationic and anionic dyes can be separated using CMs4 by changing the pH. Since cellulose materials are renewable and widely available, CMs4 is a promising environmentally friendly material for dye adsorption applications. Cellulose microspheres modified with ionic liquids for rapid removal of AO7. Image 1 • Seven different ionic liquid groups were first modified on cellulose microspheres. • CMs4 had a large adsorption capacity and a rapid adsorption rate for AO7 dye. • CMs4 can separate cationic and anionic dyes by pH control. • CMs4 can be used as a water purification filler due to its fast adsorption capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]