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The glutamate transporter GLT-1 is highly expressed in astrocytes but also in neurons, primarily in axon terminals. We generated a conditional neuronal GLT-1 KO using synapsin 1-Cre (synGLT-1 KO) to elucidate the metabolic functions of GLT-1 expressed in neurons, here focusing on the cerebral cortex. Both synaptosomal uptake studies and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry demonstrated knockdown of GLT-1 in the cerebral cortex in the synGLT-1 KO mice. Aspartate content was significantly reduced in cerebral cortical extracts as well as synaptosomes from cerebral cortex of synGLT-1 KO compared with control littermates. 13C-Labeling of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates originating from metabolism of [U-13C]-glutamate was significantly reduced in synGLT-1 KO synaptosomes. The decreased aspartate content was due to diminished entry of glutamate into the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Pyruvate recycling, a pathway necessary for full glutamate oxidation, was also decreased. ATP production was significantly increased, despite unaltered oxygen consumption, in isolated mitochondria from the synGLT-1 KO. The density of mitochondria in axon terminals and perisynaptic astrocytes was increased in the synGLT-1 KO. Intramitochondrial cristae density of synGLT-1 KO mice was increased, suggesting increased mitochondrial efficiency, perhaps in compensation for reduced access to glutamate. SynGLT-1 KO synaptosomes exhibited an elevated oxygen consumption rate when stimulated with veratridine, despite a lower baseline oxygen consumption rate in the presence of glucose. GLT-1 expressed in neurons appears to be required to provide glutamate to synaptic mitochondria and is linked to neuronal energy metabolism and mitochondrial function.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT All synaptic transmitters need to be cleared from the extracellular space after release, and transporters are used to clear glutamate released from excitatory synapses. GLT-1 is the major glutamate transporter, and most GLT-1 is expressed in astrocytes. Only 5%-10% is expressed in neurons, primarily in axon terminals. The function of GLT-1 in axon terminals remains unknown. Here, we used a conditional KO approach to investigate the significance of the expression of GLT-1 in neurons. We found multiple abnormalities of mitochondrial function, suggesting impairment of glutamate utilization by synaptic mitochondria in the neuronal GLT-1 KO. These data suggest that GLT-1 expressed in axon terminals may be important in maintaining energy metabolism and biosynthetic activities mediated by presynaptic mitochondria.

Berries of Sorbus species have been used to treat type 2 diabetes in many regions in Europe.To investigate the inhibitory activity of berry extract of Sorbus on the digestive enzymes α-amylase and α-glucosidase, two important targets for management of blood glucose for type 2 diabetics. Furthermore, to test the anti-hyperglycaemic potential of S. norvegica berry extract in vivo.70% acetone berry extracts of 16 Sorbus species were tested in vitro for inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Single berry extracts were analysed byThe lowest ICSorbus species of subspecies Aria have the potential to be used for management of type 2 diabetes.

In drug discovery, lipophilicity is a key parameter for drug optimization. Lipophilicity determinations can be both work and time consuming, especially for non-UV active compounds. Herein, an improved and simple 1H NMR-based method is described to estimate the lipophilicity at physiological pH (log D7.4) in 1-octanol and D2O buffer. The method can be applied to both UV and non-UV active compounds. In addition, neither calibration curves nor internal/external standards are needed. We have demonstrated that log D7.4 can be accurately measured using 1H NMR for compounds within the log D7.4 interval between 0.7 and 3.3. The method was also compared to a previously described HPLC method.

The glutamate transporter GLT-1 is highly expressed in astrocytes but also in neurons, primarily in axon terminals. We generated a conditional neuronal GLT-1 KO using synapsin 1-Cre (synGLT-1 KO) to elucidate the metabolic functions of GLT-1 expressed in neurons, here focusing on the cerebral cortex. Both synaptosomal uptake studies and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry demonstrated knockdown of GLT-1 in the cerebral cortex in the synGLT-1 KO mice. Aspartate content was significantly reduced in cerebral cortical extracts as well as synaptosomes from cerebral cortex of synGLT-1 KO compared with control littermates. (13)C-Labeling of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates originating from metabolism of [U-(13)C]-glutamate was significantly reduced in synGLT-1 KO synaptosomes. The decreased aspartate content was due to diminished entry of glutamate into the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Pyruvate recycling, a pathway necessary for full glutamate oxidation, was also decreased. ATP production was significantly increased, despite unaltered oxygen consumption, in isolated mitochondria from the synGLT-1 KO. The density of mitochondria in axon terminals and perisynaptic astrocytes was increased in the synGLT-1 KO. Intramitochondrial cristae density of synGLT-1 KO mice was increased, suggesting increased mitochondrial efficiency, perhaps in compensation for reduced access to glutamate. SynGLT-1 KO synaptosomes exhibited an elevated oxygen consumption rate when stimulated with veratridine, despite a lower baseline oxygen consumption rate in the presence of glucose. GLT-1 expressed in neurons appears to be required to provide glutamate to synaptic mitochondria and is linked to neuronal energy metabolism and mitochondrial function. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT All synaptic transmitters need to be cleared from the extracellular space after release, and transporters are used to clear glutamate released from excitatory synapses. GLT-1 is the major glutamate transporter, and most GLT-1 is expressed in astrocytes. Only 5%–10% is expressed in neurons, primarily in axon terminals. The function of GLT-1 in axon terminals remains unknown. Here, we used a conditional KO approach to investigate the significance of the expression of GLT-1 in neurons. We found multiple abnormalities of mitochondrial function, suggesting impairment of glutamate utilization by synaptic mitochondria in the neuronal GLT-1 KO. These data suggest that GLT-1 expressed in axon terminals may be important in maintaining energy metabolism and biosynthetic activities mediated by presynaptic mitochondria.

Inhibition of the necrotizing hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2 and protease enzymes in four snake venoms by crude water and ethanol extracts of 88 plant species used against snakebites in traditional Chinese medicine was measured. High-resolution hyaluronidase inhibition profiles were constructed for the 22 plants showing highest hyaluronidase inhibition, and the results were used to guide subsequent structural analysis towards specific hyaluronidase inhibitors. Structural analysis was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography, high-resolution mass spectrometry, solid-phase extraction and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, i.e., HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR. This allowed identification of four non-tannin inhibitors, i.e., lansiumamide B (6) from Clausena excavata Burm.f., myricetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7) from Androsace umbellata (Lour.) Merr., and vitexin (8) and 4',7-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavone-8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside (9) from Oxalis corniculata L. Absolute configuration of 2,3-dihydroxy-N-methyl-3-phenyl-N-[(Z)-styryl]propanamide (1) was determined using the Mosher method, which revealed two enantiomers, i.e., (2S,3R)-2,3-dihydroxy-N-methyl-3-phenyl-N-[(Z)-styryl]propanamide and (2R,3S)-2,3-dihydroxy-N-methyl-3-phenyl-N-[(Z)-styryl]propanamide with a ratio of 7:3.

The crude methanol extract of Pueraria lobata was investigated by dual high-resolution α-glucosidase inhibition and radical scavenging profiling combined with hyphenated HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR. Direct analysis of the crude extract without preceding purification was facilitated by combining chromatograms from two analytical-scale HPLC separations of 120 and 600 μg on-column, respectively. High-resolution α-glucosidase and radical scavenging profiles were obtained after microfractionation of the eluate in 96-well microplates. This allowed full bioactivity profiling of individual peaks in the HPLC chromatogram of the crude methanol extract. Subsequent HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR analysis allowed identification of 21 known compounds in addition to two new compounds, i.e., 3'-methoxydaidzein 8-C-[α-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)]-β-D-glucopyranoside and 6″-O-malonyl-3'-methoxydaidzin, as well as an unstable compound tentatively identified as 3'-de-O-methylpuerariafuran.

Bulbs and leaves of 35 Allium species and cultivars bought or collected in 2010–2012 were investigated with multivariate data analysis, high-resolution α-glucosidase inhibition assays and HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR with the aim of exploring the potential of Allium as a future functional food for management of type 2 diabetes. It was found that 30 out of 106 crude extracts showed more than 80% inhibition of the α-glucosidase enzyme at a concentration of 40 mg/mL (dry sample) or 0.4 g/mL (fresh sample). High-resolution α-glucosidase biochromatograms of these extracts allowed fast identification of three analytes with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, and subsequent HPLC-HRMS-SPE-NMR experiments allowed identification of these as N-p-coumaroyloctopamine, N-p-coumaroyltyramine, and quercetin. The distribution of these three compounds was mapped for all samples by HPLC-ESI-HRMS. Unsupervised principal component analysis of samples from 2012 indicated that a major difference between fresh material and dried material is the increased amount of quercetin, a known α-glucosidase inhibitor.

We present the antimicrobial and hemolytic activities of the decapeptide anoplin and 19 analogs thereof tested against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 33591 (MRSA), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (ATCC 700221) (VRE), and Candida albicans (ATCC 200955). The anoplin analogs contain substitutions in amino acid positions 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. We use these peptides to study the effect of altering the charge and hydrophobicity of anoplin on activity against red blood cells and microorganisms. We find that increasing the charge and/or hydrophobicity improves antimicrobial activity and increases hemolytic activity. For each strain tested, we identify at least six anoplin analogs with an improved therapeutic index compared with anoplin, the only exception being Enterococcus faecium, against which only few compounds are more specific than anoplin. Both 2Nal(6) and Cha(6) show improved therapeutic index against all strains tested.

Introduction The succulent leaf mesophyll in Aloe species supports a burgeoning natural products industry, particularly in Africa. Comparative data necessary to prioritise species with economic potential have been lacking. Objective To survey leaf mesophyll monosaccharide composition in the genus Aloe using a predictive phylogenetic approach. Methodology Monosaccharide composition was assessed in 31 species, representing the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Aloe sensu stricto. Leaf mesophyll polysaccharides were partially hydrolysed in a trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)–SilA assay. Oximes and trimethylsilyl ether products were detected by GC–MS. Constituent monosaccharides accounting for the greatest variation among species were identified by principal component analysis. Two plant DNA barcoding regions were sequenced in 28 of the sampled species and the resulting maximum likelihood tree was used to evaluate phylogenetic signal in monosaccharide composition throughout the genus. Results Nineteen peaks (Rt = 16.76–23.67 min) were identified in the GC–MS spectra. All samples were dominated by one constituent; glucose was the major monosaccharide in 19 species, mannose in eight species, and xylose in one species (Aloidendron pillansii). Three monosaccharides therefore account for 90% of the variation in leaf mesophyll in Aloe. Species which do not share this typical monosaccharide profile appear to group outside the core Aloe clade in the phylogeny. Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest that leaf mesophyll monosaccharide composition is conservative in Aloe. Characterisation of within-species variation and quantitative differences between species will be necessary to authenticate leaf mesophyll products, whereas unusual monosaccharide profiles could be diagnostic in some species. The common glucose–mannose–xylose profile identified in commercially important species is shared by many other Aloe species.

The high-resolution radical scavenging profile of an extract of the endophytic fungus Penicillium namyslowskii was used to target analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry–solid-phase extraction–nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, i.e., HPLC–HRMS–SPE–NMR, for identification of anti-oxidative secondary metabolites. This revealed the two chromatographic peaks with the highest relative response in the radical scavenging profile to be griseophenone C and peniprequinolone. The HPLC–HRMS–SPE–NMR analysis was performed in the tube-transfer mode using a cryogenically cooled NMR probe designed for 1.7 mm NMR tubes. To further explore the potential of the above HPLC–HRMS–SPE–NMR platform for analysis of endophytic extracts, six peaks displaying no radical scavenging activity were also analyzed. This allowed unambiguous identification of six metabolites, i.e., dechlorogriseofulvin, dechlorodehydrogriseofulvin, griseofulvin, dehydrogriseofulvin, mevastatin acid, and mevastatin. The high mass sensitivity of the 1.7 mm cryogenically cooled NMR probe allowed for the first time acquisition of direct detected 13C NMR spectra of fungal metabolites, i.e., dechlorogriseofulvin and griseofulvin, directly from crude extract via HPLC–HRMS–SPE–NMR. Dechlorodehydrogriseofulvin was reported for the first time from nature.

8S-O-acetylepiclavolonine, a new Lycopodium alkaloid, was isolated from the Icelandic club moss Diphasiastrum alpinum and its structure and stereochemistry was determined using a combination of NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The previously described alkaloids 5R,8R-O-acetylfawcettiine, 5R,8S-O-acetyllofoline, lycodoline and anhydrolycodoline were found in D. alpinum for the first time together with previously reported lycopodine and clavolonine. The 1H NMR spectra of 8S-O-acetylepiclavolonine and 5R,8S-O-acetyllofoline, revealed a highly deshielded proton at ca. 12 ppm, which seems to be stabilized by an intramolecular hydrogen bond to the carbonyl oxygen of the 8S-O-acetyl group. The isolated alkaloids were tested toward acetylcholinesterase in vitro without showing significant inhibition.

The present study was carried out to investigate the wound healing potentials of 17 medicinal plants historically used in Ghana for wound healing. Warm and cold water extracts were prepared from the 17 dried plant species and tested in vitro in the scratch assay with NIH 3T3 fibroblasts from mice. The wound healing scratch assay was used to evaluate the effect of the plants on cell proliferation and/or migration in vitro, as a test for potential wound healing properties. After 21 hours of incubation increased proliferation and/or migration of fibroblasts in the scratch assay was obtained for 5 out of the 17 plant species. HPLC separation of the most active plant extract, which was a warm water extract of Philenoptera cyanescens, revealed the wound healing activity to be attributed to rutin and a triglycoside of quercetin. The present study suggests that Allophylus spicatus, Philenoptera cyanescens, Melanthera scandens, Ocimum gratissimum, and Jasminum dichotomum have wound healing activity in vitro.

Drosophila, like most insects, are susceptible to low temperatures, and will succumb to temperatures above the freezing point of their hemolymph. For these insects, cold exposure causes a loss of extracellular ion and water homeostasis, leading to chill injury and eventually death. Chill-tolerant species are characterized by lower hemolymph [Na+] than chill-susceptible species and this lowered hemolymph [Na+] is suggested to improve ion and water homeostasis during cold exposure. It has therefore also been hypothesized that hemolymph Na+ is replaced by other 'cryoprotective' osmolytes in cold-tolerant species. Here, we compared the hemolymph metabolite profiles of five drosophilid species with marked differences in chill tolerance. All species were examined under 'normal' thermal conditions (i.e. 20 degrees C) and following cold exposure (4 h at 0 degrees C). Under benign conditions, total hemolymph osmolality was similar among all species despite chill-tolerant species having lower hemolymph [Na+]. Using NMR spectroscopy, we found that chill-tolerant species instead have higher levels of sugars and free amino acids in their hemolymph, including classical 'cryoprotectants' such as trehalose and proline. In addition, we found that chill-tolerant species maintain a relatively stable hemolymph osmolality and metabolite profile when exposed to cold stress while sensitive species suffer from large increases in osmolality and massive changes in their metabolic profiles during a cold stress. We suggest that the larger contribution of classical cryoprotectants in chill-tolerant Drosophila plays a non-colligative role for cold tolerance that contributes to osmotic and ion homeostasis during cold exposure and, in addition, we discuss how these comparative differences may represent an evolutionary pathway toward more extreme cold tolerance of insects.

Metabolic profiling of natural products is used to map correlated concentration variances of known and unknown secondary metabolites in extracts. NMR-spectroscopy is in this respect regarded as a convenient and reproducible technique with the ability to detect a wide range of small organic compounds. Two-dimensional J-resolved NMR-spectra are used in this context to resolve overlapping signals by separating the effect of J-coupling from the effect of chemical shifts. Often one-dimensional projections of these data are used as input for standard multivariate statistical methods, and only the intensity variances along the chemical shift axis are taken into account. Here, we describe the use of parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) as a tool to preprocess a set of two-dimensional J-resolved spectra with the aim of keeping the J-coupling information intact. PARAFAC is a mathematical decomposition method that fits three-way experimental data to a model whose parameters in this case reflect concentrations and individual component spectra along the chemical shift axis and corresponding profiles along the J-coupling axis. A set of saffron samples, directly extracted with methanol-d(4), were used as a model system to evaluate the feasibility and merits of the method. To successfully use PARAFAC, the two-dimensional spectra (n = 96) had to be aligned and processed in narrow windows (0.04 ppm wide) along the chemical shift axis. Selection of windows and number of components for each PARAFAC-model was done automatically by evaluating amount of explained variance and core consistency values. Score plots showing the distribution of objects in relation to each other, and loading plots in the form of two-dimensional pseudospectra with the same appearance as the original J-resolved spectra but with positive and negative contributions are presented. Loadings are interpreted not only in terms of signals with different chemical shifts but also the associated J-coupling profiles.

Introduction – Rhodiola rosea is a broadly used medicinal plant with largely unexplored natural variability in secondary metabolite levels. Objective – The aim of this work was to develop a non-target procedure for 1H NMR spectroscopic fingerprinting of rhizome extracts for pattern recognition analysis and identification of secondary metabolites responsible for differences in sample composition. To achieve this, plants from three different geographic areas (Swiss Alps, Finland, and Altai region in Siberia) were investigated. Results – A sample preparation procedure was developed in order to remove polymeric polyphenols as the 1H NMR analysis of low-molecular-weight metabolites was hampered by the presence of tannins. Principal component analysis disclosed tight clustering of samples according to population. PCA models based on the aromatic region of the spectra showed that the first two components reflected changes in the content of salidroside and rosavin, respectively, the rosavin content being negatively correlated to that of rhodiocyanoside A and minor aromatics. Score plots and non-parametric variance tests demonstrated population-dependent changes according to harvest time. Data consistency was assessed using score plots and box-and-whisker graphs. In addition, a procedure for presenting loadings of PCA models based on bucketed data as high-resolution plots, which are reminiscent of real 1H NMR spectra and help to identify latent biomarkers, is presented. Conclusion – This study demonstrated the usefulness of the established procedure for multivariate non-target 1H NMR metabolic profiling of Rhodiola rosea. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

1H NMR metabolic profiles of urine from sheep exposed to prenatal nutritional restriction (n = 19) and a control group with normal prenatal nutritional requirements (n = 19), followed by either conventional (n = 10 + 10) or high carbohydrate high fat postnatal diet (n = 9 + 9), were studied. Urine was sampled from 2, 6, 19 and 24-month-old animals receiving differential dietary treatments during the first 6 months and the same normal diet later. Principal component analysis of 1H NMR spectra (n = 164) showed a V-shaped metabolic trajectory as a function of age and diet, starting with urines with a high amount of glucose, indicative of monogastric-like metabolism, and exhibiting concomitant increase of metabolites related to rumen microflora (mainly glycine conjugates of benzoic and phenylacetic acid) as the ruminal metabolism developed. Urines from young (2-month-old) animals exposed to prenatal undernutrition followed by normal postnatal diet showed metabolic patters that are ahead in time on the metabolic trajectory relative to the prenatal control group. No long-term effects of fetal undernutrition, alone or in combination with postnatal hypernutrition were observed.

The aim of this study was to explore feasibility of 1H NMR metabolic fingerprinting for discrimination of authenticity of saffron using principal component analysis (PCA) modeling. Authentic reference Iranian saffron (n = 31) and commercial samples (n = 32) were used. Cross-validated PCA models based on 1H NMR spectra of solutions prepared by direct extraction of grinded saffron with methanol-d4 distinguished reference Iranian saffron samples from commercial samples that formed several distinct clusters, some of which represent falsified samples as confirmed by microscopic analysis. The production sites and drying conditions of the authentic reference Iranian samples were not reflected in the current dataset. Picrocrocin and glycosyl esters of crocetin emerged as the most important 1H NMR markers of authentic saffron by using statistical correlation spectroscopy. In conclusion, 1H NMR spectra of saffron extracts combined with pattern recognition by PCA provide immediate means of unsupervised classification of saffron samples.

Brain activation provokes nonoxidative carbohydrate consumption and during exercise it is dominated by the cerebral uptake of lactate resulting in that up to approximately 1 mmol/ 100 g of glucose equivalents cannot be accounted for by cerebral oxygen uptake. The fate of this 'extra' carbohydrate uptake is unknown, but it may be that brain metabolism is balanced by a yet-unidentified substance(s). This study used a nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics approach to plasma samples obtained from the brachial artery and the right internal jugular vein in 16 healthy young males to identify carbon species going to and from the brain. We observed a carbohydrate accumulation of 255+/-37 micromol/100 g glucose equivalents at exhaustion not accounted for by the oxygen uptake. Although the cumulated uptake was lower than earlier observed, the results show that glucose and lactate are responsible for the majority of the carbon exchange across the brain. Even during intense exercise associated with the largest nonoxidative carbohydrate consumption, the brain did not show significant release of any other metabolite. We conclude that during exercise, the surplus carbohydrate uptake by the brain cannot be accounted for by changes in the NMR-derived plasma metabolome across the brain.

We present the synthesis of a peptide-based bicyclic carbohydrate receptor capable of carbohydrate recognition in 10 % deuterated acetic acid in water. The binding constants were estimated by using NMR spectroscopy, and furthermore, a series of carbohydrate complexes were studied with the use of MS (ESI) of the complex.

Protection against pneumococcal disease is thought to be mediated primarily by antibodies that are opsonic [Musher DM, Chapman AJ, Goree A, Jonsson S, Briles D, Baughn RE. Natural and vaccine-related immunity to Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Infect Dis 1986;154(2):245-56]. Pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is immunogenic and induces type-specific protective immunity. For convenience, the protective capacity of serum antibodies is often evaluated by the measurement of antibody titers in an ELISA test. The pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (CPS) used in ELISA contains several impurities; these include about 5% by weight of teicholic acid (CWPS) and the cholin binding protein, pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) [Sorensen UB, Henrichsen J. C-polysaccharide in a pneumococcal vaccine. Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand C 1984;92(6):351-6; Yu J, Briles DE, Englund JA, Hollingshead SK, Glezen WP, Nahm MH. Immunogenic protein contaminants in pneumococcal vaccines. J Infect Dis 2003;187(6):1019-23]. All individuals have antibodies to CWPS possible as a result of early exposure to pneumococci, Streptocuccus mitis and Streptocuccus oralis [Bergstrom N, Jansson PE, Kilian M, Skov Sorensen UB. Structures of two cell wall-associated polysaccharides of a Streptococcus mitis biovar 1 strain. A unique teichoic acid-like polysaccharide and the group O antigen which is a C-polysaccharide in common with pneumococci. Eur J Biochem 2000;267(24):7147-57. [4]]. The concentration of the CWPS antibodies in non-immunized individuals often exceeds the concentration of the serotype-specific pneumococcal antibodies. Therefore, the pneumococcal ELISA requires an adsorption step to remove the unprotective CWPS antibodies [Konradsen HB, Sorensen UB, Henrichsen J. A modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for measuring type-specific anti-pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide antibodies. J Immunol Meth 1993;164(1):13-20. [5]; Concepcion N, Frasch CE. Evaluation of previously assigned antibody concentrations in pneumococcal polysaccharide reference serum 89SF by the method of cross-standardization. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 1998;5(2):199-204. [6]; Kayhty H, Ahman H, Ronnberg PR, Tillikainen R, Eskola J. Pneumococcal polysaccharide-meningococcal outer membrane protein complex conjugate vaccine is immunogenic in infants and children. J Infect Dis 1995;172(5):1273-8. [7]; Koskela M. Serum antibodies to pneumococcal C polysaccharide in children: response to acute pneumococcal otitis media or to vaccination. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1987;6 (6):519-26. [8]]. Recently a new pneumococcal CPS ELISA was recommended with an extra serum absorption step with 22F CPS to remove antibodies against an extra unknown common cross-reactive component. The aim of this study was to characterize the active component in the 22F capsule. A non-capsulated pneumococci was prepared from a 22F capsulated pneumococci. The cell wall polysaccharide (CWPS2) purified from this pneumococci has a better adsorption potential than 22F capsule in the pneumococci ELISA. Structure characterization of the commercial available CWPS and CWPS2 was done by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The NMR results showed that commercial CWPS had one phosporylcholine per sugar repeat while the CWPS2 had two phosporylcholine per sugar repeat explaining an immunological difference between the two variants of CWPS. In addition the LicD2 gene responsible for the attachment of the second cholin in the CWPS tetra sugar repeat was inactive in the strain used for purifying the commercial CWPS but active in the strain expressing CWPS2.

Protein fibrillation is the pathological hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases and also complicates the manufacturing and use of protein drugs. As a case study, the inhibitory activity of the natural compound aloin against insulin fibrillation was investigated. Based on Thioflavin T assays, high-performance liquid chromatography and transmission electron microscopy it was found that a degradation product of aloin, formed over weeks of storage, was able to significantly inhibit insulin fibrillation. The activity of the stored aloin was significantly reduced in the presence of small amounts of sodium azide or ascorbic acid, suggesting the active compound to be an oxidation product. A high-performance liquid chromatography method and a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method were developed to investigate the degradation products in the aged aloin solution. We found that the major compounds in the solution were aloin A and aloin B. In addition, 10-hydroxy aloin and elgonica dimers were detected in smaller amounts. The identified compounds were isolated and tested for activity by means of Thioflavin T assays, but no activity was observed. Thus, the actual fibrillation inhibitor is an as yet unidentified and potentially metastable degradation product of aloin. These results suggest that degradation products, and in particular oxidation products, are to be considered thoroughly when natural products are investigated for activity against protein fibrillation.

Although cyclic peptide structures are usually investigated as highly constrained scaffolds, cyclic antimicrobial peptides of natural origin often feature flexible residues. Hereby we report our findings concerning a structure-activity study conducted on a model sequence by replacing a glycine residue with a variety of flexible residues (i.e. ω-amino and α,ω-diamino acids). The resulting library has been tested for antimicrobial activity against a wide range of clinically relevant pathogens as well as for toxicity to red blood cells. Circular dichroism and molecular modelling have been used to study changes in conformation. Increments as high as 16-fold in antimicrobial activity (as effective as lipidation) and >2-fold in haemolytic EC50 values were observed. Interestingly, secondary structures can be stabilized by increasing, rather than decreasing, ring flexibility.

It is demonstrated that the H2BC NMR pulse sequence (J. Am. Chem. Soc.2005, 127, 6154, Magn. Reson. Chem.2005, 43, 971-974) offers unambiguous assignments and significant simplification of NMR spectra of large and complex carbohydrates compared to other techniques for the establishment of correlations over more than one bond. H2BC almost exclusively correlates protons and proton-bearing carbon spins separated by two covalent bonds and is independent of occasionally vanishing (2)J(CH) coupling constants, which alleviates the problem of missing two-bond correlations in HMBC spectra. H2BC also solves the problem of distinguishing two- and three-bond correlations in HSQC-TOCSY or HMBC. It is a further asset of H2BC that the experiment is significantly shorter than HMBC and HSQC-TOCSY, and hence less sensitive to transverse relaxation. The H2BC experiment is demonstrated on an approximately 30-residue oligosaccharide from Francisella victoria.

A new, edited HMBC experiment is introduced that leads to two subspectra according to the number of protons attached to 13C nuclei being even or odd, i.e. one subspectrum with C + CH2 and another with CH + CH3. This experiment can be useful for resolving spectral overlap among the typically large number of peaks in HMBC spectra. It is implemented in a broadband version similar to broadband HMBC and demonstrated on prednisolone [(11beta)-11,17,21-trihydroxypregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione].

In this work, development of a new microplate-based high-resolution profiling assay using recombinant human aldose reductase is presented. Used together with high-resolution radical scavenging and high-resolution α-glucosidase assays, it provided the first report of a triple aldose reductase/α-glucosidase/radical scavenging high-resolution inhibition profile - allowing proof of concept with Radix Scutellariae crude extract as a polypharmacological herbal drug. The triple bioactivity high-resolution profiles were used to pinpoint bioactive compounds, and subsequent structure elucidation was performed with hyphenated high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry-solid-phase extraction-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The only α-glucosidase inhibitor was baicalein, whereas main aldose reductase inhibitors in the crude extract were baicalein and skullcapflavone II, and main radical scavengers were ganhuangemin, viscidulin III, baicalin, oroxylin A 7-O-glucuronide, wogonoside, baicalein, wogonin, and skullcapflavone II.

The saponin mixture QH-B from the tree Quillaja saponaria var. Molina was fractionated by RP-HPLC in several steps. The fractions were analyzed by solid-phase extraction NMR (SPE-NMR), a technique combining the workup by solid-phase extraction with on-line coupling to an NMR flow probe. Together with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and comparison with chemical shifts of similar saponins, the structures of both major and minor components in QH-B could be obtained. The procedure described is a simple method to determine the structure of components in a complex mixture. The two major fractions of the mixture were found to contain at least 28 saponins, differing in the carbohydrate substructures. Eight of these have not previously been determined. The 28 saponins formed 14 equilibrium pairs by the migration of an O-acyl group between two adjacent positions on a fucosyl residue.

The design and use of a system consisting of a disposable solid-phase extraction cartridge coupled to an NMR flow-probe (SPE–NMR) is demonstrated. Fractions obtained from high-performance liquid chromatography of an extract of Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) were analysed. The fractions were loaded on SPE cartridges and the compounds were eluted with deuterated methanol directly into the NMR flow-probe. Good-quality NMR spectra were acquired and the structure of the compounds could be determined. The main advantages with SPE–NMR are the simple handling of small amounts of samples, the removal of polar additives and solvents from the preceding separation step allowing optimal conditions for both the chromatography and the NMR spectroscopy and the possibility of automating the procedure. Hence the method can facilitate the structural characterization of small amounts of natural products in complex mixtures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A fraction of saponins from Quillaja saponaria Molina, QH-B, was fractionated by consecutive separations on three different reverse-phase HPLC systems. Eight compounds were isolated and the structures of these were elucidated mainly by sugar analysis and NMR spectroscopy. The structures consisted of a quillaic acid substituted with two different trisaccharides at C-3, beta-D-Galp-(1-->2)-[alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->3)]-beta-D-GlcpA and beta-D-Galp-(1-->2)-[beta-D-Xylp-(1-->3)]-beta-D-GlcpA, and a tetra- or pentasaccharide at C-28, beta-D-Xylp-(1-->4)-[beta-D-Glcp-(1-->3)]-alpha-L-Rhap-(1--> 2)-beta-D-Fucp and beta-D-Apif-(1-->3)-beta-D-Xylp-(1-->4)-[beta-D-Glcp-(1-->3) ]-alpha-L- Rhap-(1-->2)-beta-D-Fucp. These compounds were further substituted with an acyl group either at O-3 or O-4 of the fucose residue, which is the sugar linked to C-28 of the quillaic acid.

Time-based trapping of chromatographically separated compounds onto solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges and subsequent elution to NMR tubes was done to emulate the function of HPLC-NMR for dereplication purposes. Sufficient mass sensitivity was obtained by use of a state-of-the-art HPLC-SPE-NMR system with a cryogenically cooled probe head, designed for 1.7 mm NMR tubes. The resulting (1)H NMR spectra (600 MHz) were evaluated against a database of previously acquired and prepared spectra. The in-house-developed matching algorithm, based on partitioning of the spectra and allowing for changes in the chemical shifts, is described. Two mixtures of natural products were used to test the approach: an extract of Carthamus oxyacantha (wild safflower), containing an array of spiro compounds, and an extract of the endophytic fungus Penicillum namyslowski, containing griseofulvin and analogues. The database matching of the resulting spectra positively identified expected compounds, while the number of false positives was few and easily recognized.

A museum collection of Cinchonae cortex samples (n = 117), from the period 1850-1950, was extracted with a mixture of chloroform-d1, methanol-d4, water-d2, and perchloric acid in the ratios 5 : 5 : 1 : 1. The extracts were directly analyzed using 1H NMR spectroscopy (600 MHz) and the spectra evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) and total statistical correlation spectroscopy (STOCSY). A new method called STOCSY-CA, where CA stands for component analysis, is described, and an analysis using this method is presented. It was found that the samples had a rather homogenous content of the well-known cinchona alkaloids quinine, cinchonine, and cinchonidine without any apparent clustering. Signals from analogues were detected but not in substantial amounts. The main variation was related to the absolute amounts of extracted alkaloids, which was attributed to the evolution of the Cinchona tree cultivation during the period in which the samples were collected.

Solid phase extraction (SPE) was introduced as a crucial step in the HPLC-SPE-NMR technique to enable online analyte enrichment from which proton-detected NMR experiments on submicrogram amounts from complex mixtures were possible. However, the significance of direct-detected (13)C NMR experiments is indubitable in simplifying structural elucidations. In the current study, we demonstrated direct (13)C NMR detection of triterpenoids from a Ganoderma lucidum extract in hyphenation mode. The combined advantage of a cryogenically cooled probe, miniaturization, and multiple trapping enabled the first reported application of HPLC-SPE-NMR analysis using direct-detected (13)C NMR spectra. HPLC column loading, accumulative SPE trappings, and the effect of different elution solvents were evaluated and optimized. A column loading of approximately 600 μg of a prefractionated triterpenoid mixture, six trappings, and an acquisition time of 13 h resulted in spectra with adequate signal-to-noise ratios to detect all C-13 signals.

An extract of Carthamus oxyacantha (wild safflower) was investigated using two approaches: a traditional, nontarget fractionation by VLC and HPLC, and the hyphenated technique HPLC-PDA-HRMS-SPE-NMR followed by targeted isolation of selected constituents for inclusion in a screening library of pure natural products. While the nontarget fractionation involved considerable time spent on pursuing fractions containing well-known or undesired compounds, the hyphenated analysis was considerably faster and required less solvent and other consumables. The results were used to design and execute an optimized, HPLC-HRMS-guided, targeted isolation scheme aiming exclusively at a series of identified spiro compounds. Thus, HPLC-PDA-HRMS-SPE-NMR is a dereplication technique of choice, allowing economical acquisition of comprehensive data about compounds in crude extracts, which can be used for rational, prospective decisions about further isolation efforts. A total of 15 compounds were identified in the extract. Six spiro compounds, of which four have not previously been characterized, and tracheloside (a lignin glucoside) are presented with assigned 1H and 13C chemical shifts.

Rhodiola rosea is a broadly used medicinal plant with largely unexplored natural variability in secondary metabolite levels.The aim of this work was to develop a non-target procedure for ¹H NMR spectroscopic fingerprinting of rhizome extracts for pattern recognition analysis and identification of secondary metabolites responsible for differences in sample composition. To achieve this, plants from three different geographic areas (Swiss Alps, Finland, and Altai region in Siberia) were investigated.A sample preparation procedure was developed in order to remove polymeric polyphenols as the ¹H NMR analysis of low-molecular-weight metabolites was hampered by the presence of tannins. Principal component analysis disclosed tight clustering of samples according to population. PCA models based on the aromatic region of the spectra showed that the first two components reflected changes in the content of salidroside and rosavin, respectively, the rosavin content being negatively correlated to that of rhodiocyanoside A and minor aromatics. Score plots and non-parametric variance tests demonstrated population-dependent changes according to harvest time. Data consistency was assessed using score plots and box-and-whisker graphs. In addition, a procedure for presenting loadings of PCA models based on bucketed data as high-resolution plots, which are reminiscent of real ¹H NMR spectra and help to identify latent biomarkers, is presented.This study demonstrated the usefulness of the established procedure for multivariate non-target ¹H NMR metabolic profiling of Rhodiola rosea.

Metabolite profiling relies on optimal precision of the acquired data, which requires, among others, a high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). In addition, increased S/N will increase the likelihood of identification of new biomarkers. Here we introduce, for the first time in metabolite profiling studies by 1H NMR, an approach to enhance the precision of multivariate regression models by use of the FLIPSY (flip angle adjustable one-dimensional NOESY) pulse sequence, augmented by a homospoil pulse after the presaturation period to provide superior baseline quality. Unlike NOESYPRESAT, the standard one-dimensional (1D) sequence generally used in metabonomic studies, FLIPSY incorporates a variable flip angle, allowing use of the Ernst angle for excitation and thus optimization of S/N ratios according to spin lattice relaxation times (T1) of individual resonances. T1 values of metabolites present in human urine were determined by inversion-recovery experiments and subsequently used in calculations of optimal experimental conditions. Comparison of human urine analysis by the FLIPSY and NOESYPRESAT demonstrated an increase of S/N ratio in the former case that amounts to approximately 7% when measured for the hippurate doublet at delta 7.84. An orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis (O-PLS-DA) model exhibited superior discrimination between controls and simulated phenylketonuria urines when using data generated by the FLIPSY as compared to NOESYPRESAT.

New versions of the H2BC pulse sequence (Nyberg NT, Duus JO, Sorensen OW. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005; 127: 6154) that edit into two subspectra according to the number of protons attached to 13C nuclei being odd or even are introduced. These sequences can be useful for resolving spectral overlap, which is demonstrated on the molecule prednisolone [(11 β)-11,17,21-trihydroxypregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione] Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A novel two-dimensional NMR pulse sequence, H2BC, for long-range correlation of 1H and 13C nuclei is presented. The experiment has several attractive features compared to the widely used HMBC experiment, for example, (a) typically strong enhancement of correlations over two bonds while suppressing those over more bonds, that is, resolving ambiguities in standard HMBC spectra and showing two-bond correlations not present in HMBC spectra, (b) independence of long-range 1H-13C coupling constants, (c) full homo- and heteronuclear decoupling in the indirect dimension and heteronuclear decoupling in the acquisition dimension, (d) pure 2D absorption peak shapes, and (e) a pulse sequence duration significantly shorter than that of HMBC. The experiment is quite complementary to HMBC and does not effect correlations to quaternary carbons that must be obtained by HMBC.

The cover picture shows the artificial molecular recognition of cellobiose in an aqueous environment. The complex depicted forms from an organo-peptidic receptor composed of a bicyclic peptide containing a naphthalene bridge and the disaccharide cellobiose. The complex was analyzed by 2D NMR spectroscopy, and the changes in the chemical shift observed upon receptor titration (shown for 1-H of the naphthalene ring) with cellobiose is in agreement with the structure of the complex. The largest shifts were observed for those receptor protons in immediate contact with the saccharide. The formation of the complex measured by ESI-MS at increasing collision energies is shown in the stacked plot inset and can be performed as a high throughput screening (HTS) of carbohydrate–receptor interaction. Details are discussed in the article by M. Meldal et al. on p. 5003 ff.

Concentrated solutions containing 6-aminocaproic acid and the excipients citric acid and sorbitol have been studied at temperatures of 50°C, 60°C, 70°C and 80°C as well as at 20°C. It has previously been reported that the commonly employed citric acid is a reactive excipient, and it is therefore important to thoroughly investigate a possible reaction between 6-aminocaproic acid and citric acid. The current study revealed the formation of 3-hydroxy-3,4-dicarboxy-butanamide-N-hexanoic acid between 6-aminocaproic acid and citric acid by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Less than 0.03% of 6-aminocaproic acid was converted to 3-hydroxy-3,4-dicarboxy-butanamide-N-hexanoic acid after 30 days of storage at 80°C. Degradation products of 6-aminocaproic acid were also observed after storage at the applied temperatures, e.g., dimer, trimer and cyclized 6-aminocaproic acid, i.e., caprolactam. No reaction products between D-sorbitol and 6-aminocaproic acid could be observed. 3-Hydroxy-3,4-dicarboxy-butanamide-N-hexanoic acid, dimer and caprolactam were also observed after storage at 20°C for 3 months. The findings imply that an oral solution of 6-aminocaproic acid is relatively stable at 20°C at the pH values 4.00 and 5.00 as suggested in the USP for oral formulations. Compliance with the ICH guideline Q3B is expected.