Chemical Components Research Articles

Rapid identification of various chemical components in Cinnamomi ramulus by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS.

Cinnamomi ramulus (CR) is a common Chinese herbal medicine with a long history. It is often used to treat exogenous wind-cold diseases in clinic, but its chemical compositions remain to be studied. In this study, CR was extracted with 75% ethanol, and UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS combined with data post-processing method was used to identify the chemical components in the extract. Through this technology, the components in CR can be separated and accurately identified. A total of 61 compounds were identified, including 14 simple phenylpropanoids, 3 coumarins, 5 lignans, 14 flavonoids, 10 benzoic acids, 8 organic acids, and 7 others. This study confirmed the existence of these compounds in CR and speculated the cleavage pathways of each compound, which enriched the mass spectrometry data and cleavage rules. This study can provide a reference for CR and other research.

Application of ion chromatographic fingerprint analysis for quality evaluation of tobacco flavors

Tobacco flavor, an important tobacco additive, is an essential raw material in cigarette production that can effectively improve the quality of tobacco products, add aroma and taste, and increase the suction flavor. The quality consistency of tobacco flavors affects the quality stability of branded cigarettes. Therefore, the quality control of tobacco flavors is a major concern for cigarette and flavor manufacturers. Physical and chemical indices, odor similarity, and sensory efficacy are employed to evaluate the quality of tobacco flavors, and the analysis of chemical components in tobacco flavors is usually conducted using gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). However, because the composition of tobacco flavors is complex, their quality cannot be fully reflected using a single component or combination of components. Therefore, establishing an objective analytical method for the quality control of tobacco flavors is of extreme importance. Chromatographic fingerprint analysis is routinely used for the discriminative analysis of tobacco flavors. Chromatographic fingerprints refer to the general characteristics of the concentration profiles of different chemical compounds. In the daily procurement process, fingerprints established by GC and HPLC are effective for the evaluation and identification of tobacco flavors. However, given continuous improvements in aroma-imitation technology, some flavors with high similarity cannot be directly distinguished using existing methods. In this study, a method for the determination of organic acids and inorganic anions in tobacco flavors based on ion chromatography (IC) was developed to ensure the quality consistency of tobacco flavors. A 1.0 g sample of tobacco flavors and 10 mL of deionized water were mixed and vibrated for 30 min. The aqueous sample solution was passed through a 0.45 μm membrane filter and RP pretreatment column in succession to eliminate interferences and then subjected to IC. Standard solutions containing nine organic acids and seven inorganic anions were used to identify the anions in the tobacco flavors, and satisfactory reproducibility was obtained. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for retention times and peak areas were <0.71% and <6.02%, respectively. The chromatographic fingerprints of four types of tobacco flavors (samples A-D) from five different batches were obtained. Nine tobacco flavor samples from different manufacturers (samples AY1-AY3, BY1-BY2, CY1-CY2, DY1-DY2) were also analyzed to obtain their chromatographic fingerprints. Hierarchical cluster and similarity analyses were used to evaluate the quality of tobacco flavors from different manufacturers. Hierarchical clustering refers to the process of subdividing a group of samples into clusters that exhibit a high degree of intracluster similarity and intercluster dissimilarity. The dendrograms obtained using SPSS 12.0 indicated good quality consistency among the samples in different batches. Samples AY3, BY2, CY2, and DY1 clustered with the batches of standard tobacco flavors. Therefore, hierarchical cluster analysis can effectively distinguish the quality of products from different manufacturers. The Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine (version 2.0) was used to evaluate the similarity between the standard tobacco flavors and products from different manufacturers. Among the samples analyzed, samples AY3, BY2, CY2, and DY1 showed the highest similarity values (>97.7%), which was consistent with the results of the hierarchical cluster analysis. This finding indicates that IC combined with chromatographic fingerprint analysis could accurately determine the quality of tobacco flavors. GC combined with ultrasonic-assisted liquid-liquid extraction was also used to analyze the tobacco flavors and verify the accuracy of the proposed method. Compared with GC coupled with ultrasonic-assisted liquid-liquid extraction, IC demonstrated more significant quality differences among certain tobacco flavors.

The Golden Spice for Life: Turmeric with the Pharmacological Benefits of Curcuminoids Components, Including Curcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcumin, and Demethoxycurcumins.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), belonging to the Zingiberaceae family, is a perennial rhizomatous plant of tropical and subtropical regions. The three major chemical components responsible for the biological activities of turmeric are curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin. The literature search included review articles, analytical studies, randomized control experiments, and observations, which have been gathered from various sources, such as Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. A review of the literature was carried out using the keywords: turmeric, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Iranian medicine, traditional Indian medicine, curcumin, curcuminoids, pharmaceutical benefits, turmerone, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin. The main components of the rhizome of the leaf are α-turmerone, β-turmerone, and arturmerone. The notable health benefits of turmeric are antioxidant activity, gastrointestinal effects, anticancer effects, cardiovascular and antidiabetic effects, antimicrobial activity, photoprotector activity, hepatoprotective and renoprotective effects, and appropriate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and inflammatory and edematic disorders. Curcuminoids are phenolic compounds usually used as pigment spices with many health benefits, such as antiviral, antitumour, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, anticancer, and antifungal effects. Curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and demethoxycurcumin are the major active and stable bioactive constituents of curcuminoids. Curcumin, which is a hydroponic polyphenol, and the main coloring agent in the rhizomes of turmeric, has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anticarcinogenic activities, as well as beneficial effects for infectious diseases and Alzheimer's disease. Bisdemethoxycurcumin possesses antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-metastasis activities. Demethoxycurcumin, which is another major component, has anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and anti-cancer activities and is the appropriate candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The goal of this review is to highlight the health benefits of turmeric in both traditional and modern pharmaceutical sciences by considering the important roles of curcuminoids and other major chemical constituents of turmeric.

Epidemiological studies likely need to consider PM2.5 composition even if total outdoor PM2.5 mass concentration is the exposure of interest.

Outdoor fine particulate air pollution, <2.5 µm (PM2.5) mass concentrations can be constructed through many different combinations of chemical components that have varying levels of toxicity. This poses a challenge for studies interested in estimating the health effects of total outdoor PM2.5 (i.e., how much PM2.5 mass is present in the air regardless of composition) because we must consider possible confounders of the version of treatment-outcome relationships. We evaluated the extent of possible bias in mortality hazard ratios for total outdoor PM2.5 by examining models with and without adjustment for sulfate and nitrate in PM2.5 as examples of potential confounders of version of treatment-outcome relationships. Our study included approximately 3 million Canadians and Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios for total outdoor PM2.5 adjusting for sulfate and/or nitrate and other relevant covariates. Hazard ratios for total outdoor PM2.5 and nonaccidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality were overestimated due to the confounding version of treatment-outcome relationships, and associations for lung cancer mortality were underestimated. Sulfate was most strongly associated with nonaccidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality suggesting that regulations targeting this specific component of outdoor PM2.5 may have greater health benefits than interventions targeting total PM2.5. Studies interested in estimating the health impacts of total outdoor PM2.5 (i.e., how much PM2.5 mass is present in the air) need to consider potential confounders of the version of treatment-outcome relationships. Otherwise, health risk estimates for total PM2.5 will reflect some unknown combination of how much PM2.5 mass is present in the air and the kind of PM2.5 mass that is present.

Higher Order Bivariate Bell-Based Apostol-Frobenius-Type Poly-Genocchi Polynomials with Parameters a and b

In this paper, we unveil a novel category of Frobenius-Genocchi polynomials, grounded in the Bell numbers and Apostol-type functions. Our exploration delves into a comprehensive examination of these polynomials, elucidating various properties. Employing diverse analytical methods and leveraging generating functions for Bell-based Apostol-Frobenius-Type poly-Genocchi polynomials of higher order, we derive explicit and implicit summation formulas, complemented by their symmetric identities.

The impact of different types of wastewaters on electrode passivation in electrical coagulation systems

Water is a crucial part of the production process when the company uses reaction or cooling water to create customized goods. It is therefore expected that some of the chemical components from the boats will be present in the water. Ensuring the safety of discharged water into rivers for human consumption is vital, as water supplies are limited and subject to cycles. Industrial wastewater sometimes includes higher concentrations of heavy metals like copper, lead, and other pollutants, whereas domestic wastewater usually has higher amounts of nitrogen and phosphate. Our previous strategy to dealing with these components involved adding chemicals and filtering them, but this method introduced additional compounds into the water sample. Science and technology have advanced alongside sewage treatment techniques. In this paper, we investigated the effects of electrical coagulation on water treatment in a rapidly industrializing environment. The effectiveness of electrical coagulation has been extensively studied, but less is known about how it impacts aquatic habitats and machinery. This work addresses the issue of equipment passivation in a number of potential methods that are related to an improvement in water quality.

A stacking machine learning model for predicting pullout capacity of small ground anchors

Small ground anchors are widely used to fix securing tents in disaster relief efforts. Given the urgent nature of rescue operations, it is crucial to obtain prompt and accurate estimations of their pullout capacity. In this study, a stacking machine learning (ML) model is developed for the rapid estimation of pullout capacity offered by small ground anchors used for temporary tents, leveraging cone penetration data. The proposed stacking model incorporates three ML algorithms as the base regression models: K-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector regression (SVR), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). A dataset comprising 119 in-situ anchor pullout tests, where the cone penetration data were measured, is utilized to train and assess the stacking model performance. Three metrics, i.e., coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE), are employed to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the proposed model and compare its performance against four popular ML models and an empirical formula to highlight the advantages of the proposed stacking approach. The results affirm that the proposed stacking model outperforms other ML models and the empirical approach as achieving higher R2 and lower MAE and RMSE and more predicted data points falling within 20% error line. Thus, the proposed stacking model holds promising potential as a solution for efficiently predicting the pullout capacity of small ground anchors.

New Empirical Formulae for some (p,γ) Reactions of Astrophysical S-factor and Thermonuclear Reaction Rates

New Empirical Formulae for some (p,γ) Reactions of Astrophysical S-factor and Thermonuclear Reaction Rates

Characteristics, sources and potential ecological risk of atmospheric microplastics in Lhasa city

Atmospheric microplastics are important contributors to environmental contamination in aquatic and terrestrial systems and pose potential ecological risks. However, studies on atmospheric microplastics are still limited in urban regions of the Tibetan Plateau, a sentinel region for climate and environmental change under a warming climate. In this study, the occurrence and potential ecological risk of atmospheric microplastics were investigated in samples of suspended atmospheric microplastics collected in Lhasa city during the Tibetan New Year in February 2023. The results show that the average abundance of atmospheric microplastics in Lhasa was 7.15 ± 2.46 MPs m−3. The sizes of the detected microplastics ranged from 20.34 to 297.18 μm, approximately 87% of which were smaller than 100 μm. Fragmented microplastics (95.76%) were the dominant shape, followed by fibres (3.75%) and pellets (0.49%). The primary polymer chemical components identified were polyamide (68.73%) and polystyrene (16.61%). The analysis of meteorological data and the backwards trajectory model indicated the air mass in Lhasa mainly controlled by westwards, and the atmospheric microplastics mainly originated from long-distance atmospheric transport. The potential ecological risk index assessment revealed that the atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa was relatively low. This study provides valuable insights and a scientific foundation for future research on the prevention and control of atmospheric microplastic pollution in Lhasa and other ecologically sensitive cities.

Correlations of chemical weathering indicators with major chemical constituents in sediments to obtain palaeoclimate information from Chaohu Lake, China

The main chemical compositions of 201 surface sediments and 53 deep sediment samples from Chaohu Lake, China, were analysed. Since the surface sediments (0–2 cm depth) in Chaohu Lake are modern sediments, this paper mainly focuses on the deep sediments (50–100 cm depth) in Chaohu Lake. Particle size analysis and magnetization determination of the CH3 and CH4 column sediment samples were carried out. The age determination data of the CH-1 column sediment samples are reported. A systematic study of the rocks and their chemical compositional characteristics in the Chaohu Lake Basin was also carried out. The results of this study show that four positive chemical weathering indicators and one negative chemical weathering indicator are applicable to the study of Chaohu Lake. The mean CIA of the Chaohu Lake sediments was less than 65, indicating that the Chaohu Lake Basin experienced weak chemical weathering and that the palaeoclimate was cold and dry. Vertical variations in the mean grain size and magnetization in the CH3 and CH4 columnar sediments reflect changes in the depositional environment and climate during deposition of the Chaohu Lake sediments. The age data from the CH-1 column sediment samples directly indicate deposition of the deep sediments in Chaohu Lake during the Little Ice Age in eastern China (AD 1380–1880). The Th/U, Sc/Th, Rb/Sr, Na2O/K2O, CaO/MgO and OC/N ratios of the Chaohu sediments reflect palaeoclimate characteristics and the chemical compositions of the source rocks in the Chaohu Lake basin. The correlations of the CIA, CIW, PIA, and CIX with the chemical compositional ratios provide information on the palaeoclimate and the distribution of the chemical compositions. The CIA, CIW, PIA, and CIX were not correlated with Cd, Pb, As, Hg, or P. In contrast, the CIA, CIW, PIA, and CIX were significantly positively correlated with Cr and N. The WIP was inconsistently correlated with the selected chemical components. Therefore, the study of the correlations of chemical weathering indicators with four heavy metals and two eutrophication-related elements is of little significance. The study of the chemical weathering characteristics of deep sediments of inland lakes should be combined with assessment of the geological characteristics of the lake basins, particularly the analysis of the chemical composition of the rocks in the lake basins.

Association between ambient fine particular matter components and subsequent cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older people: a prospective cohort study from eastern China

BackgroundFine particular matter (PM2.5) has been associated with dementia, but limited information is available regarding the association between PM2.5 components and dementia.AimsWe aimed to identify the major components of PM2.5 that affect cognitive function to further investigate its mechanism of action, and develop a prevention strategy for dementia.MethodsIn this study, we included 7804 participants aged ≥ 60 years recruited from seven counties in Zhejiang province, eastern China. The participants completed the baseline survey between 2014 and 2015, and were followed up until the end of 2020. We adopted single-component robust Poisson regression models for analyses, and estimated relative risks and 95% confidence intervals describing associations between the chemical constituents of PM2.5 exposure and incident cognitive impairment in those who were free from cognitive impairment at baseline.ResultsSignificantly positive associations were observed between sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and organic matter in PM2.5 and incident cognitive impairment across different exposure periods; the relative risks of 10-year exposure before enrollment ranged from 1.01 to 1.02. However, we did not find a significant association between black carbon and cognitive impairment. The point estimates of the relative risk values did not change substantially after performing the sensitivity analyses.ConclusionsOur findings strengthen the idea that long-term exposure to PM2.5 mass and its chemical components is associated with an elevated risk of incident cognitive impairment among older adults.

Compositional analysis of tuberose floral cuticle sheds light on scent volatile emission and cuticle deposition

The plant cuticle acts as a vital shield, safeguarding against environmental and biological stresses. Tuberose flowers, specifically the ‘Calcutta Single’ and ‘Calcutta Double’ cultivars of Agave amica (syn. Polianthes tuberosa), are highly prized in India for their aromatic and aesthetic appeal. This research examines the tuberose floral cuticle using GC-MS to identify key chemical components and their characteristics. The analysis uncovered six major chemical classes viz. fatty acids, fatty alcohols, esters, alkanes, alkenes, and aldehydes as the primary constituents of the cuticular wax. Fatty acids and fatty alcohols are dominant in both cultivars, with ‘Calcutta Single’ displaying a higher ester content than ‘Calcutta Double’. This study represents the inaugural in-depth exploration of cuticular wax in tuberose flowers, presenting a comparative investigation into these prominent cultivars.

A Comprehensive Strategy for Metabolites Profiling of Flowers and Leaves from Camellia tienii, an Endemic Golden Tea of Vietnam.

Golden camellia is defined as a species of the Camellia genus with yellow flowers, which have long been used as a medicine, food, and cosmetic in many Asian countries. To date, more than 50 golden camellia species are considered endemic in Vietnam; however, more information is needed about its chemical constituents and biological activity. This work aims to unveil the potential of Camellia tienii Ninh, a golden camellia species, as an herbal beverage by examining the presence and abundance of chemical components in flowers and leaves. A comprehensive strategy has been developed using both liquid and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Specifically, LC-MS-based widely targeted analyses were opted to characterize 158 polar metabolites belonging mainly to flavonoids, catechins, and amino acids classes, and an untargeted approach using GC-MS annotated 42 major volatile compounds such as terpenes and fatty acids. The extensive profile revealed by these techniques could help understand the significant discrimination between two organs. C. tienii flowers accumulated more flavonoids, amino acids, and fatty acids, while leaves contain more terpenes, suggesting different pharmacological properties of these materials. Overall, this pipeline can be applied for other Camellia species and valorization of these valuable resources for health benefits purposes.

Seasonal variation of vessel pits in sapwood: microscopical analyses of the morphology and chemical components of pit membrane encrustations in Fraxinus mandshurica.

Pit pairs and their filter-like partition, i.e. pit membranes, play important roles as water pathways, barriers and regulators in the water-conducting system of angiosperms. In Fraxinus species, the intervessel and vessel-parenchyma pit membranes in sapwood are normally encrusted during winter. Although these encrustations inevitably influence the performance of pits, their properties and functions remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal the morphological and chemical characteristics of encrustations in F. mandshurica in order to deepen understanding of the seasonal encrustation of pit membranes. Seasonal and positional variations in the presence and morphology of encrustations were examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Cryo-FE-SEM for freeze-fixed greenwood samples was conducted to clarify whether encrustations were present in living trees. Chemical components were examined by histochemical staining using light and electron microscopies, immunofluorescence labelling and ultraviolet microspectroscopy. Encrustations began to deposit in fall before leaf senescence and disappeared in spring before bud flushing. They infiltrated within the pit membranes, which suggested that they severely limit the permeation of pits. The encrustations differed in morphology among positions: they entirely filled the pit chambers in latewood, while they covered the pit membranes in earlywood. The encrustations were similarly observed in the samples that were freeze-fixed immediately after collection, indicating that they are present in living trees. The encrustations contained polysaccharides, including xyloglucan and homogalacturonan, and phenolic compounds, possibly including flavonoids and coumarins. These chemical components were also detected in droplets found in the latewood vessels with the encrustations, suggesting that the materials constituting encrustations were supplied through the vessel lumens. Encrustations undoubtedly cover the pit membranes in living F. mandshurica trees in winter and their morphology and chemical composition indicate that they are impermeable, have positional differences in function and are characterised by elaborate deposition/removal processes.

Natural Polymer-Based Hydrogel Dressings for Wound Healing.

Significance: Acute wounds such as severe burns and chronic wounds like diabetic ulcers present a significant threat to human health. Wound dressings made from natural polymers offer inherent properties that effectively enhance wound healing outcomes and reduce healing time. Recent Advances: Numerous innovative hydrogels are being developed and translated to the clinic to successfully treat various wound types. This underscores the substantial potential of hydrogels in the future wound care market. Economically, annual sales of wound care products are projected to reach $15-22 billion by 2024. Critical Issues: While chitosan-, cellulose-, and collagen-based hydrogel dressings are currently commercially available, scaling-up and manufacturing hydrogels for commercial products remain a challenging process. In addition, ensuring the sterility and stability of the chemical or biological components comprising the hydrogel is a critical consideration. Future Directions: In light of the persistent increase in wound fatalities and the resulting economic and social impacts, as well as the importance of educating the public about dietary health and disease, there should be increased investment in new wound care dressings, particularly hydrogels derived from natural products. With numerous researchers dedicated to advancing preclinical hydrogels, the future holds promise for more innovative and more personalized hydrogel wound dressings.

Tuning the Flavin Core via Donor Appendage for Selective Subcellular Bioimaging and PDT Application.

Herein, we report a novel flavin analogue as singular chemical component for lysosome bioimaging, and inherited photosensitizer capability of the flavin core was demonstrated as a promising candidate for photodynamic therapy (PDT) application. Fine-tuning the flavin core with the incorporation of methoxy naphthyl appendage provides an appropriate chemical design, thereby offering photostability, selectivity, and lysosomal colocalization, along with the aggregation-induced emissive nature, making it suitable for lysosomal bioimaging applications. Additionally, photosensitization capability of the flavin core with photostable nature of the synthesized analogue has shown remarkable capacity for generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells, making it a promising candidate for photodynamic therapy (PDT) application.

Borneol essential oil: Enzyme-assisted extraction, inhibitory effect on Propionibacterium acnes, and study on acne treatment mechanism based on network pharmacology-molecular docking

Borneol essential oil (BEO), a plant essential oil derived from hydrodistillation of fresh branches and leaves of Cinnamomum camphora (L.). This study optimized cellulase and xylanase-assisted BEO, extraction using an orthogonal design. Additionally, it explored the inhibitory effects of BEO on Propionibacterium acnes and elucidated the anti-bacterial mechanisms via molecular docking. Furthermore, the acne treatment mechanism of BEO was investigated using network pharmacology-molecular docking. The findings indicated that the concentration of borneol in BEO was 2.34 times higher than that achieved through hydrodistillation. This enhancement was achieved by adding enzymes in a volume equivalent to 2 % of the raw material, followed by a 2-hour enzymolysis process conducted at 40℃. BEO exhibited a significant inhibition zone of 31.6±0.5 mm against Propionibacterium acnes. Molecular docking analysis revealed that six, three, and one chemical components in BEO exhibited molecular binding energies exceeding 5.00 kJ/mol with key target proteins involved in the pathogenesis of Propionibacterium acnes: deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), dermatan sulfate (DsA1), and Christie, Atkins, Munch-Peterson (CAMP), respectively. This indicates a close relationship between the chemical components and the target proteins. Network pharmacology analysis identified 40 common targets between BEO and acne formation, from which 12 key targets were identified. Among these, ovarian steroidogenesis exhibited the highest degree of enrichment in the signaling pathway. These findings provide a scientific foundation for the development of acne treatment cosmetics utilizing BEO.

Computational Assessment of the Phytochemicals of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer Against Dopamine Receptor D1 for Early Huntington's Disease Prophylactics.

A herb, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer has been used traditionally for the treatment of various diseases. In this work, its chemical components have been explored by computational methods for the possibility of therapeutic potential against early Huntington's disease. The molecular docking calculations against dopamine receptor D1 (PDB ID: 7X2F) involved in pathogenesis of early Huntington's disease gave the binding affinities (kcal/mol) of schizandrin (-10.530), ergosterol (-10.124), protopanaxadiol (-9.650), panaxydol (-9.399), diphenhydramine (-9.358), and panasenoside (-9.358). The values for native ligand (-7.748) and some selected drugs, Nefazodone (-9.880), Risperidone (-9.752), and Haloperidol (-9.712) were higher revealing weaker interactions. The stability assessment of top protein-ligand adducts in terms of various geometrical and thermodynamical parameters extracted from 200 ns molecular dynamics simulations pointed to schizandrin, protopanaxadiol, and panasenoside as hit molecules. The minimal translational and rotational motion of the docked ligands at orthosteric pocket of the receptor at near physiological conditions hinted at the probability of it restricting or inhibiting over-activation of DRD1. The sustained thermodynamic spontaneity of complex formation reaction augmented the inferences derived from spatial results. The phytochemicals from Panax ginseng could be used in the prophylactics of early Huntington's disease and recommendation is made for further evaluation by experimental work.

Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of the Hylomecon japonica(Thunb.) Prantl & Kündig - A comprehensive review.

Hylomecon japonica(Thunb.) Prantl & Kündig (Papaveraceae) has a rich history of traditional medicinal uses, particularly in the treatment of bruises, rheumatism, and various ailments. Recent studies have identified alkaloids, saponins, terpenes, phenols, flavonoids, and other compounds in the plant, all of which demonstrate significant pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. While currently valued for its use in wetland plant landscapes and as a garden design color enhancer, ongoing research on the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of Hylomecon japonicais uncovering its potential medical applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review of extraction and separation methods, chemical components, and pharmacological activities of these compounds to further explore the medicinal potential of Hylomecon japonica.

Evaluating The Impact of Increased Heavy Oil Consumption on Urban Pollution Levels through Isotope (δ13C, δ34S, 14C) Composition

The impact of heavy fuel oil (HFO) on the chemical and isotopic composition of submicron particulate matter (PM1) was investigated. For this purpose, we conducted an analysis of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) and multiple isotopes (δ34S, δ13C, 14C) of PM1 and SO2 collected during two heating periods: before (2021–2022) and during the use of HFO (2022–2023) in Vilnius, Lithuania. The results showed that the combustion of HFO increased the concentrations of SO₂ (by 94%) and PM1-related sulfate (by 30%). It also altered the chemical composition of PM1, with sulfate becoming the predominant component (~40%) of WSIIs. The stable sulfur isotope ratios of SO2 (δ34SSO2) and sulfate (δ34SPM1) shifted significantly to more negative values (δ34SSO2 = 0.4‰, δ34SPM1 = −0.3‰) compared to the previous heating period. Anticorrelation between δ¹³C and δ³⁴S values indicated increased contributions of ¹³C-enriched fossil fuel sources (coal and HFO) in EC, although the share of fossil fuels in elemental carbon (EC) slightly decreased during the HFO period. The combustion of HFO affected the concentrations of PM1 chemical components and substantially impacted the isotopic composition and source contributions of sulfate and EC.