Antifungal Activity of Saponins from the Fruit Pericarp of Sapindus mukorossi against Venturia inaequalis and Botrytis cinerea

The antifungal activity of an aqueous extract (AE) and the solid fraction of a chloroform-methanol fruit pericarp extract (CME) of Sapindus mukorossi resolved in water was tested for the first time against Venturia inaequalis and Botrytis cinerea—two important fungal pathogens worldwide. In the greenhouse, a CME (1% vol/vol) spray significantly reduced V. inaequalis symptoms and sporulation (99%) on apple seedling leaves (P ≤ 0.05). In field trials, applications of AE (1% vol/vol) reduced the disease severity of B. cinerea on grape, on average, by 63%. Extracts were fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography and the bioefficacy of the fractions was tested in vitro. Some components of the most fungicidal fraction were identified by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry as saponins: sapindoside B (accounting for ≥98% of the total constituents), hederagenin-pentosylhexoside, and oleanolic acid-hexosyl-deoxyhexosyl-hexoside. This fraction inhibited the mycelial growth of V. inaequalis and B. cinerea by 45 and 43%, respectively.

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Implication of Opioid Receptors in the Antihypertensive Effect of a Novel Chicken Foot-Derived Peptide

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom10070992 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 992

Author(s):

Anna Mas-Capdevila ◽

Lisard Iglesias-Carres ◽

Anna Arola-Arnal ◽

Gerard Aragonès ◽

Begoña Muguerza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Opioid Receptors ◽

High Performance ◽

Antihypertensive Effect ◽

High Resolution Mass Spectrometry ◽

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass

The peptide AVFQHNCQE demonstrated to produce nitric oxide-mediated antihypertensive effect. This study investigates the bioavailability and the opioid-like activity of this peptide after its oral administration. For this purpose, in silico and in vitro approaches were used to study the peptide susceptibility to GI digestion. In addition, AVFQHNCQE absorption was studied both in vitro by using Caco-2 cell monolayers and in vivo evaluating peptide presence in plasma from Wistar rats by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) and by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that peptide AVFQHNCQE was not absorbed. Thus, the potential involvement of opioid receptors in the BP-lowering effect of AVFQHNCQE was studied in the presence of opioid receptors-antagonist Naloxone. No changes in blood pressure were recorded in rats administered Naloxone, demonstrating that AVFQHNCQE antihypertensive effect is mediated through its interaction with opioid receptors. AVFQHNCQE opioid-like activity would clarify the antihypertensive properties of AVFQHNCQE despite its lack of absorption.

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In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.) Taub. extracts against Aspergillus flavus

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9040438 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 438

Author(s):

Lucía S. Di Ciaccio ◽

Alejandra V. Catalano ◽

Paula G. López ◽

Dante Rojas ◽

Diego Cristos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Antifungal Activity ◽

Aspergillus Flavus ◽

High Performance ◽

Colony Growth ◽

Ionization Mass ◽

Esi Ms

Aspergillus flavus is a filamentous, saprophytic fungus, whose colonization occurs mainly in cereal grains and oilseeds once harvested. Under certain conditions, it could produce mycotoxins called aflatoxins, known as powerful human liver carcinogens. The aim of the present study was to describe the antifungal activity of extracts of Peltophorum dubium, a species from northern Argentina (Oriental Chaco), against A. flavus. The antifungal activities of different collection sites are reported. The extracts exhibited a minimum inhibitory concentration of 125 µg/mL, and the differences between the treatments and the inoculum control were 11 mm of P. dubium A and 10 mm of P. dubium F in colony growth. Moreover, hyphae treated with the extracts stained blue with Evans blue showed alterations in the membrane and/or cell wall, allowing the dye income. Bio-guided fractionation, High Performance Liquid Chromatography diode array ultraviolet/visible (HPLC UV/VIS DAD), and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (UPLC ESI-MS) analyses were conducted to characterize the extracts and their active fractions. The HPLC UV/VIS DAD analysis allowed the determination of the presence of flavonoids (flavonols and flavones), coumarins, terpenes, and steroids. UPLC ESI/MS analysis of active fractions revealed the presence of Kaempferol, Apigenin, Naringenin, Chrysin and Daidzein.

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