Phenolic profile, antioxidant potential and pigment contents of wild watercress (Nasturtium officinale L.) were studied to assess the potential for future studies and its applications in neutraceuticals and bioactive functional ingredients. Different extracts of watercress (roots, stem and leaves) were analysed for pigment composition, total phenolic contents, and radical scavenging activity. T...

Inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) may represent a new therapeutic strategy against endothelial activation. Sinapic acid (SA), a phenylpropanoid compound, is found in natural herbs and high-bran cereals and has moderate antioxidant activity. We aimed to develop new SA agents with the properties of antioxidation and blocking EC activation for poss...

The effect of fermentation, storage and stewing on the content and composition of anthocyanins as well as antioxidant capacity of red cabbage was studied. The observation of anthocyanins profile by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS was conducted. Red cabbage products contained twenty different nonacylated and acylated anthocyanins with main structure of cyanidin-3-diglucoside-5-glucoside. Treatments applied affec...

Saturation mutagenesis was performed over six residues delimiting the substrate binding pocket of a fungal laccase previously engineered in the lab. Mutant libraries were screened using sinapic acid as a model substrate, and those mutants presenting increased activity were selected for exploring the oxidation of lignin-derived phenols. The latter comprised a battery of phenolic compounds of int...

A glucosyltransferase was isolated from immature “cherry” tomatoes and was partially purified (200-fold) by ammonium sulphate precipitation and successive chromatography on Sephadex G-100 and DEAE-cellulose columns. The enzyme utilised the free hydroxycinnamic acids and UDP-glucose in the formation of their respective glucosides (pH 8.0) and glucose esters (pH 7.0); but did not accept the CoA t...

Lignin biosynthesis in excised tissues of Sorghum vulgare variety Wheatland milo incubated in air with and without prior infiltration with H(2)O was presumably limited by H(2)O(2) production and was dependent upon an endogenous substrate, probably starch. In solution culture without shaking, this conversion of endogenous material was partially blocked at some step prior to p-hydroxycinnamic aci...

Increases in the terrestrial levels of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation (280 to 320 nm) due to diminished stratospheric ozone have prompted an investigation of the protective mechanisms that contribute to UV-B tolerance in plants. In response to UV-B stress, flowering plants produce a variety of UV-absorptive secondary products derived from phenylalanine. Arabidopsis mutants with defects in the s...

A simple and green ultra-high-performance micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) method was developed here, comparing Tween 20 40 for the first time as only mobile phase modifiers with a C18 column. Its application to separation of nine hydroxycinnamic acid (HCA) derivatives (cinnamic, caffeic, ferulic, sinapic, o-, m-, p-coumaric, 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic, chlorogenic acids) made, due their im...