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The dried ripe fruit of Terminalia chebula Retz. is a common Chinese materia medica, and ellagic acid (EA), isolated from the plant, is an important bioactive component for medicinal purposes. This study aimed to delineate the optimal extraction parameters for extracting the EA content from Chebulae Fructus (CF), focusing on the variables of ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, liquid–solid ratio, and extraction time. Utilizing a combination of the response surface methodology (RSM) and an artificial neural network (ANN), we systematically investigated these parameters to maximize the EA extraction efficiency. The extraction yields for EA obtained under the predicted optimal conditions validated the efficacy of both the RSM and ANN models. Analysis using the ANN-predicted data showed a higher coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.9970 and a relative error of 0.79, compared to the RSM's 2.85. The optimal conditions using the ANN are an ethanol concentration of 61.00%, an extraction temperature of 77 °C, a liquid–solid ratio of 26 mL g−1 and an extraction time of 103 min. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the industrial-scale optimization process for EA extraction from CF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To recognize the key ester‐related volatile compounds, 5 types of peaches including 54 late‐ripening peach materials were examined by headspace solid‐phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and E‐nose. Here, a large number of esters were identified to be released by ripe peach fruits and were mainly characterized by fruity, green, and fatty notes. The variety and content of esters had greatly changed within or between cultivars, indicating that the fruit volatiles were highly differentiated depending on the specific genotypes and cultivation conditions. The ester types showed that fatty acid‐derived C6 alcohols and methyl‐/ethyl‐ short‐chain alcohol were the main ester precursors, which were more likely to be utilized and well selected by alcohol acyltransferases, whereas the preference of acyl donors was not observed. The common peach type, which exhibited a unique volatile profile, displayed broader diversity and more abundant characteristics in ester‐related volatiles than the other four types. A total of 19 key esters were identified as the main components and the content of most esters showed no significant difference among different peach types. Some key esters had even been enriched in nectarines. Moreover, the multiple discriminant analysis revealed a possible relationship between peach types and the domestication of the peach evolution. This study investigated ester‐related volatiles released by different types of peach fruits and can be further used to evaluate the peach qualities, providing an important reference for peach breeding and processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted the solid fermentation process of Dioscorea nipponica using endophytic fungi C39 to determine the changes in the diosgenin concentration. The results revealed that endophytic fungi C39 could effectively biotransform the saponin components in D. nipponica. Moreover, the maximum increase in the diosgenin concentration reached 62.67% in 15 days of solid fermentation. MTT assay results demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of the fermentation drugs on four types of cancer cells (liver cancer cells (HepG2), stomach cancer cells (BGC823), cervical cancer cells (HeLa), and lung cancer cells (A549)) were better than those of the crude drugs obtained from D. nipponica. The chemical composition of the samples obtained before and after the biotransformation of D. nipponica was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. A total of 32 compounds were identified, 21 of which have been reported in Dioscorea saponins and the ChemSpider database and 11 compounds were identified for the first time in D. nipponica. The biotransformation process was inferred based on the variation trend of saponins, which included transformation pathways pertaining to glycolytic metabolism, ring closure reaction, dehydrogenation, and carbonylation. The cumulative findings provide the basis for the rapid qualitative analysis of the saponin components of D. nipponica before and after biotransformation. The 11 metabolites obtained from biotransformation are potential active ingredients obtained from D. nipponica, which can be used to further identify pharmacodynamically active substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its ornamental and medicinal value, pear flower has been historically loved and used in China. However, the current understanding of their odor-active compounds and aroma profiles is rather limited. This work aimed to evaluate and compare the overall aroma profile of pear flowers; the volatiles in flowers of seven pear cultivars (Anli, Bayuesu, Golden, Brown peel, KorlaXiangli, Lyubaoshi, Xizilü) were analyzed using solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). A total of 93 volatile compounds were identified and quantified within the amount of volatiles in the range of 62.7–691.8 μg kg−1 (FW) and showed high and significant variability in different cultivars. Anli and Brown peel flowers showed a relatively higher volatile abundance, while KorlaXiangli flowers were significantly lower than other cultivars. Although the composition of volatiles depended on the existence of different chemical classes, the odor activity values (OAVs) and odor descriptions showed some aldehydes were part of their main peculiarities and were considered as the basic active odorants that presented strong intensity of citrus and floral odor. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed the pear flower of different cultivars could be arranged in different clusters by the identified odorants. This study provides first-hand knowledge regarding pear flower aroma profiles, and that the cultivar differences were critical for the overall pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium sp. C39 is an endophytic fungus of Dioscorea nipponica Makino. Symbiosis of Fusarium sp. C39 with Rhizoma Dioscoreae Nipponicae (RDN) can significantly increase the content of saponin, which provides a new approach for saponin production and reduces the pressure on natural sources of saponins. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear, limiting its application. In this study, the genome of Fusarium sp. C39 was sequenced, the gene functions were predicted via gene annotation, and the genome was compared to the genomes of four related species. Fusarium sp. C39 is predicted to encode many key enzyme genes involved in saponin synthesis, which could transform the mevalonate, isopentenyl pyrophosphate, and various intermediate compounds present in the RDN extract into saponins. The Fusarium sp. C39 genome contains specific genes that are conducive to its endophytic lifestyle and can provide abundant raw materials for saponin synthesis. Based on the genomic analysis, we proposed the mechanism by which Fusarium sp. C39 generates saponins and provides a theoretical basis for rapid, efficient, low‐cost production of saponins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Peach (Prunus persica L.) is an ancient fruit tree that originated from China. It is the climacteric fruit belonging to genus Prunus in family Rosaceae. Ethylene, which is produced during ripening, accelerates fruit softening, and therefore peaches cannot be stored for a long time. Materials and Methods To study the mechanism of fruit late ripening, transcriptome analysis of the fruit of a late-ripening mutant of 'Jinghong' peach was performed to identify genes and pathways involved in fruit late ripening. Results A total of 1805, 1511, and 2309 genes were found to be differentially expressed in W2_vs_M1, W3_vs_M2, and W3_vs_M3, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes showed they were related to carotenoid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism plant hormone signal transduction, flavonoid biosynthesis, and photosynthesis. The expression trends of ripening-related genes that encode transcription factors and plant hormone signal transduction-related genes that encode enzymes were similar. Conclusions It will help to elucidate the transcriptional regulatory network of fruit development in the spontaneous late-ripening mutant of 'Jinghong' peach and provide a theoretical basis for understanding the molecular regulatory mechanism of fruit ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: This work reviews recent advances in the pathways and key enzymes of steroidal saponins biosynthesis and sets the foundation for the biotechnological production of these useful compounds through transformation of microorganisms. Steroidal saponins, due to their specific chemical structures and active effects, have long been important natural products and that are irreplaceable in hormone production and other pharmaceutical industries. This article comprehensively reviewed the previous and current research progress and summarized the biosynthesis pathways and key biosynthetic enzymes of steroidal saponins that have been discovered in plants and microoganisms. On the basis of the general biosynthetic pathway in plants, it was found that the starting components, intermediates and catalysing enzymes were diverse between plants and microorganisms; however, the functions of their related enzymes tended to be similar. The biosynthesis pathways of steroidal saponins in microorganisms and marine organisms have not been revealed as clearly as those in plants and need further investigation. The elucidation of biosynthetic pathways and key enzymes is essential for understanding the synthetic mechanisms of these compounds and provides researchers with important information to further develop and implement the massive production of steroidal saponins by biotechnological approaches and methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise dyeing recipe prediction is important in the final colour reproduction of textile dyeing and printing products. Currently, the widely used dyeing recipe prediction methods based on colour tri‐stimulus cannot effectively avoid the metamerism phenomenon. An intelligent dyeing recipe prediction model for cotton fabric dyeing is proposed in this paper based on hyperspectral colour measurement and a deep learning algorithm. The hyperspectral colour measurement can obtain three‐dimensional spectral information (X, Y and λ) of fabric samples, and can acquire accurate colour values even with uneven samples if the regional correlation algorithm is used. A deep learning algorithm based on an improved recurrent neural network was then employed to establish the model between spectral reflectance and the dyeing recipe. In total, 343 evenly dyed and 20 unevenly dyed fabric samples were dyed using the dyestuffs of Reactive Red CI 238, Reactive Blue CI 204 and Reactive Yellow CI 206, upon which the recipe prediction model was based, established and evaluated. The experimental results show that the proposed model based on hyperspectral colour measurement and our algorithm can provide higher prediction accuracy for Reactive Red CI 238, Reactive Blue CI 204 and Reactive Yellow CI 206. The relative prediction errors are 3.40%, 2.70% and 3.10%, respectively, for these three types of dyeing recipe, while the relative prediction errors are 19.60%, 22.60% and 11.83%, respectively, using the Datacolor 650 recipe prediction model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposed a novel approach to color measurement of a single yarn using hyperspectral imaging system (HIS). Due to the size of a single yarn, it is impossible for spectrophotometers to measure its color directly. The HIS can acquire the spectral reflectance of continuous bands within a region of interest on a yarn sample, which can achieve color measurement of a single yarn compared with traditional spectrophotometers. A single yarn is segmented from the background by a spectral matching method through adaptively setting threshold of Fréchet distance values. The spectral reflectance of single yarn is specified by a method that lightness of pixels used as weight. The experiment based on Pantone Cotton Chip Set shows that the interinstrument agreement between the HIS and a standard spectrophotometer Datacolor SF650 has a significant improvement after using the R‐Model, and the average percentage improvement of the color difference is up to 54.99%. The yarn segmentation comparative experimental results show that the proposed method to segment single yarn from background is better in retaining the edge information of the yarn than the modified K‐means clustering method, and the color of the yarn segmented by the proposed method is more similar to the actual color of single yarn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed fabrics usually have multiple colors and intricate patterns, which make it difficult to directly measure the colors of the printed fabrics with a traditional spectrophotometer. However, a hyperspectral imaging system (HIS) can measure multiple colors since it acquires the spectral reflectance of a continuous band at every point of the fabric. For multiple-color printed fabrics, color segmentation is also very important. In this paper, color measurement of printed fabrics using the HIS was implemented; an algorithm which combines the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm and the density peaks clustering (DPC) algorithm was then proposed to automatically determine the number of colors on the printed fabric and accurately segment the color regions for measurement. Firstly, the SOM algorithm was used to identify the main clusters, the DPC algorithm with Silhouette Index was then used to identify the optimal number of colors and merge the clusters. Experimental results show that this algorithm not only automatically determines the optimal number of colors for printed fabric and achieves accurate color segmentation, but requires less time for execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine diagnostic performance of qualitative shear wave elastography (SWE) for evaluation of status of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) in comparison with conventional ultrasonograghy (US) and quantitative SWE parameters. Methods: A total of 118 patients were enrolled, who were all scheduled for breast cancer surgery and core needle biopsy. Conventional US and SWE were performed before biopsy. Based on qualitative evaluation of each ALN, the SWE images were classified into four color patterns: Color Pattern 1: homogeneous; Color Pattern 2: filling defect within lymph node (LN); Color Pattern 3: homogeneous within LN with a localized colored area at the margin; and Color Pattern 4: filling defect within LN with a localized colored area at the margin. The diagnostic performances of the three methods were compared. Results: There were 60 metastatic nodes and 61 benign nodes in the 121 ALNs. Benign ALNs were presented as Color Pattern 1 while metastatic ALNs usually were presented as Color Pattern 2 to 4 (p < 0.05). The AUC of qualitative SWE classification was 0.983, higher than that of quantitative SWE parameters and conventional US (p <0.05). The highest diagnostic performance, with AUC of 0.998, could be achieved if both conventional US and qualitative SWE were applied. Conclusion: The qualitative SWE classification of ALNs proposed in our study exhibited better diagnostic performance than quantitative SWE parameters and conventional US, especially for differentiating metastatic ALNs from benign reactive ALNs. More accurate diagnosis could be reached with this new method and unnecessary biopsy might be avoided in the meantime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response surface methodology (RSM) using a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize the conditions for extraction of anti-tumor alkaloids from the stem of Berberis amurensis Rupr. (BAAs). Four independent variables (ethanol concentration, pH value, ratio of liquid to material and extraction time) were investigated and the optimal conditions for BAAs were evaluated by means of response surface methodology (RSM). Moreover, the in vitro anti-tumor activity of BAAs was investigated. The results showed that the experimental data could be fitted to a quadratic polynomial model using correlation analysis of the mathematical regression model. Response surface plots showed that all independent variables significantly influenced the extraction yield of BAAs. The optimum extraction conditions were as follows: ethanol concentration of 67.28%, pH value of 1.81, the ratio of liquid to material of 11.24:1 (mL/g), and extraction time of 1.58 h. The average experimental BAAs yield under the optimum conditions was found to be 24.63 ± 0.28 mg/g, which agreed with the predicted value of 24.33 mg/g. UPLC-PDA analysis showed that berberine was the principal alkaloid compound in B. amurensis Rupr stem. Additionally, BAAs could inhibit MCF-7 and HEPG2 cell proliferation in vitro , and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) at 48 h was around 402.25 and 477.17 μg/mL, respectively. The anti-tumor activity of BAAs were dose-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new caryophyllane derivative, caryophyllenol A, and a new germacrane derivative, isovolvalerenal D, together with 11 known sesquiterpenoids, were isolated from a petroleum ether partition of the roots and rhizomes of Valeriana amurensis. Structure elucidation of caryophyllenol A and isovolvalerenal D was accomplished on the basis of various spectroscopic techniques including HRESIMS and 2D NMR analyses. The structure of caryophyllenol A was further confirmed by X-ray crystallography and using quantum-chemical ECD calculation adopting TDDFT method. Caryophyllenol A and other eight sesquiterpenoids were evaluated for sedative activity with the model of Drosophila melanogaster, and eight of them showed the effect of prolonging the total sleeping time (TST) of D. melanogaster, displaying significant sedative action. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

‘Jin Zhui’ is a spontaneous self-compatible mutant of ‘Ya Li’ (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd. S21S34), the latter displaying a typical S-RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI). The pollen-part mutation (PPM) of ‘Jin Zhui’ might be due to a natural mutation in the pollen-S gene (S34 haplotype). However, the molecular mechanisms behind these phenotypic changes are still unclear. In this study, we identified five SLF (S-Locus F-box) genes in ‘Ya Li’, while no nucleotide differences were found in the SLF genes of ‘Jin Zhui’. Further genetic analysis by S-RNase PCR-typing of selfed progeny of ‘Jin Zhui’ and ‘Ya Li’ × ‘Jin Zhui’ progeny showed three progeny classes (S21S21, S21S34 and S34S34) as opposed to the two classes reported previously (S21S34 and S34S34), indicating that the pollen gametes of ‘Jin Zhui’, bearing either the S21- or S34-haplotype, were able to overcome self-incompatibility (SI) barriers. Moreover, no evidence of pollen-S duplication was found. These findings support the hypothesis that loss of function of S-locus unlinked PPM expressed in pollen leads to SI breakdown in ‘Jin Zhui’, rather than natural mutation in the pollen-S gene (S34 haplotype). Furthermore, abnormal meiosis was observed in a number of pollen mother cells (PMCs) in ‘Jin Zhui’, but not in ‘Ya Li’. These and other interesting findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]