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Polysaccharides in brown algae, including the kelp Laminaria japonica, are economically important to both food and pharmaceutical industries. The method used to extract polysaccharides significantly influences their characteristics and functions. In this study, L. japonica polysaccharides (LJP) were extracted using four techniques: hot-water extraction (HWE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), and acid-assisted extraction (AAE). The highest yield (9.73 ± 0.29 %) and sulfate content (12.47 ± 0.79 %) were obtained via UAE, whereas EAE yielded the highest total carbohydrate content (53.50 ± 1.38 %), with an extraction yield of 9.12 ± 0.13 %. The minimum molecular weight (Mw) was found after AAE, whereas a higher Mw was obtained after EAE and HWE, and a homogeneous Mw was obtained after UAE. All four LJP extracts contained a helix-coil conformation based on Congo red staining, with five monosaccharides, fucose, galactose, mannose, xylose, and glucuronic acid, in varying proportions. Polysaccharides extracted via EAE and UAE exhibited higher antioxidant activity with morphological and conformation changes. A significant correlation was noted between sulfate content and antioxidant activity, and antioxidant capacity was positively correlated to mannose content rather than uronic acid. The results indicate UAE to be the best of the four extraction methods for polysaccharides with homogeneous Mw and high antioxidant activity. This study sheds light on the effects of extraction processes on the physiochemical characteristics of polysaccharides and the relationship between chemical composition and antioxidant activities.

The current study was performed to evaluate the possible protective effects of fucoidan (F) and sodium alginate (SA) against lead-induced oxidative damage in vivo, and to identify relevant underlying mechanisms. Health Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into nine groups of ten rats each and treated orally with lead acetate (5 mg/kg, Pb2+) for 4 weeks, then gavaged with DMSA (Meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, 25 mg/kg), F (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) and SA (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) individually after successful modelling. We found that the administration of both F or SA resulted in a beneficial effect by significantly decreasing lead levels (p

Lead, one of the most harmful heavy metals, can cause various hazardous effects on living organisms. This study was undertaken to evaluate the antagonistic and protective effects of two economically important laver species, Pyropia yezoensis and P. haitanensis, against subchronic lead poisoning in rats by a 30-day feeding test. Sixty-four healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into eight groups with eight rats (4♂ + 4♀) per group, among which, one group was served as the control, the others were respectively treated with lead acetate (5 mg/kg b w), and a combination of lead acetate and P. yezoensis or P. haitanensis at different dosages. Weight gain of rats was observed and recorded. Changes in antioxidant indexes, and liver and renal function markers were determined to evaluate the antagonistic effect. Lead content in rats was determined to investigate lead excretion effect of laver. The results showed that exposure to lead caused lead accumulation in kidney and liver, thus leading to significant oxidative damage and impaired liver and renal function compared to the control group. The co-treatment of laver slightly increased body weight compared to the lead-treated group. The co-administration of laver restored liver and renal function of rats by preventing the increment in the activities of alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and aspartate transaminase (AST), and the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr). The increasing of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, and lowering of the enhanced malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of rats were observed in the laver co-treated groups, which indicated that laver enhanced the antioxidative capacity of rats. The laver also enhanced lead content in feces and reduced it in liver and kidney. The results indicated that P. yezoensis and P. haitanensis could maintain or promote the normal physiological and biochemical function of lead-induced subchronic poisoning of rats, probably owing to their enhancements of antioxidant capacity and lead excretion.

A fast method based on QuEChERS methodology for the simultaneous determination of 32 sulfonylurea herbicide residues in sweet corns and green soybeans was developed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The clean-up effects of three dispersive sorbents were evaluated in terms of the residue mass for extracts after evaporation and recoveries. The three sorbents were C18, a mixture of two sorbents--silica coated with zirconium dioxide (Z-Sep) and C18, a bonded C18 zirconia-coated silica (Z-Sep+). As a result, the best effects were obtained from using Z-Sep/C18 sorbents. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile, and salted out with anhydrous magnesium sulphate and sodium chloride. The extracts were cleaned up with dispersive solid phase extraction using Z-Sep/C18 sorbents. Chromatographic analysis was carried out using a CSH C18 column with gradient elution. The pesticides were analyzed by negative electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry under scheduled multiple reaction monitoring mode. The quantification was achieved using matrix-matched standard calibrations as the external standard. The recoveries at fortification levels of 10, 20, 100 µg/kg in sweet corns and green beans ranged from 80.0% to 108.2% with the relative standard deviations of 1.2%-13.0%. The limits of quantification (S/N ≥ 10) were 0.2-5.0 µg/kg. The method has been proven to be simple, sensitive, environmental, and thus suitable for the determination of the 32 sulfonylurea herbicide residues in sweet corns and green soy- beans.

A method for the simultaneous detection of 21 plant growth regulators in fruits by QuEChERS-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed. The samples were initially extracted with acetonitrile containing 1% (v/v) acetic acid, followed by clean-up using the powder of magnesium sulfate and C18. The resulting samples were separated on a C18 column, and detected under positive and negative multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode through polarity switching between time segments. The matrix-matched external standard calibration curves were used for quantitative analysis. The linearities of chlormequat chloride, mepiquat chloride, choline chloride, cyclanilide, forchlorfenuron, thidiazuron, inabenfide, paclobutrazol, uniconazole and triapenthenol were in the concentration range of 0.1-500 microg/L, daminozide and 6-benzylaminopurine in the concentration range of 1.0-500 microg/L, 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid, 2,4-D, cloprop, 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA) and trinexapac-ethyl in the concentration range of 2.0-1 000 microg/L, abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA3), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and indol-3-ylacetic acid (IAA) in the concentration range of 10-1000 microg/L, with the correlation coefficients higher than 0.990. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification of the method were 0.020-6.0 microg/kg and 0.10-15.0 microg/kg, respectively. For all the samples, the average spiked recoveries ranged from 73.0% to 111.0%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 6) were in the range of 3.0% - 17.2%. The method is quick, easy, effective, sensitive and accurate, and can meet the requirements for the determination of the 21 plant growth regulator residues in fruits.

The raw extracts of six vegetables (tomato, green bean, shallot, broccoli, ginger and carrot) were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in full scan mode combined with NIST library search to confirm main matrix compounds. The effects of cleanup and adsorption mechanisms of primary secondary amine (PSA) , octadecylsilane (C18) and PSA + C18 on co-extractives were studied by the weight of evaporation residue for extracts before and after cleanup. The suitability of the two versions of QuEChERS method for sample preparation was evaluated for the extraction of 51 carbamate pesticides in the six vegetables. One of the QuEChERS methods was the original un-buffered method published in 2003, and the other was AOAC Official Method 2007.01 using acetate buffer. As a result, the best effects were obtained from using the combination of C18 and PSA for extract cleanup in vegetables. The acetate-buffered version was suitable for the determination of all pesticides except dioxacarb. Un-buffered QuEChERS method gave satisfactory results for determining dioxacarb. Based on these results, the suitable QuEChERS sample preparation method and liquid chromatography-positive electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry under the optimized conditions were applied to determine the 51 carbamate pesticide residues in six vegetables. The analytes were quantified by matrix-matched standard solution. The recoveries at three levels of 10, 20 and 100 microg/kg spiked in six vegetables ranged from 58.4% to 126% with the relative standard deviations of 3.3%-26%. The limits of quantification (LOQ, S/N > or = 10) were 0.2-10 microg/kg except that the LOQs of cartap and thiofanox were 50 microg/kg. The method is highly efficient, sensitive and suitable for monitoring the 51 carbamate pesticide residues in vegetables.

Arsenic, a potent environmental toxic agent, causes various hazardous effects on human health. This study was performed to evaluate the protective effects of edible marine algae, Laminaria japonica and Porphyra haitanensis, on subchronic stress of rats induced by arsenic trioxide (As2O3). The co-treatment of marine algae could slightly increase the growth rates of body weights compared to the As2O3-treated group. The marine algae application restored liver and renal function by preventing the increment in the activities of alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase, and the levels of total protein, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine. The increase in the contents of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and decrease in the contents of high density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed in algae co-treated groups which indicated that marine algae could reverse the abnormal lipid metabolisms induced by arsenic. Moreover, these algae could protect the rats from lipid peroxidation by restoring the depletion of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and sulfhydryl group contents, and lowering the enhanced malondialdehyde contents. Therefore, evidences indicate that L. japonica and P. haitanensis can serve as an effective regimen for treating arsenic poisoning.