13,14-dihydrocoptisine--the genuine alkaloid from Chelidonium majus.

The genuine major benzylisoquinoline alkaloid occurring in the traditional medicinal plant greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) is 13,14-dihydrocoptisine and not - as described previously - coptisine. Structure of 13,14-dihydrocoptisine was elucidated.

Effects of oregano on performance and immunmodulating factors in weaned piglets.

Many health effects can be attributed to the Mediterranean herb oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and several studies demonstrated the improving effect on performance, changes in blood count, antibacterial, antifungal and immunmodulating abilities. The majority of these investigations were carried out with processed essential oil, while whole plant material was only used in a few studies.

Structures of two novel trimeric stilbenes obtained by horseradish peroxidase catalyzed biotransformation of trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin.

Two stilbenes, trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin, as well as a mixture of both, were biotransformed using horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide. Under the applied conditions trans-resveratrol afforded one major product, which was identified as trans-delta-viniferin, a resveratrol-trans-dehydrodimer. Large-scale biotransformation of a mixture of trans-resveratrol and (-)-epsilon-viniferin yielded two novel resveratrol trimers, resviniferin A and resviniferin B, which were obtained in a pure form after fractionation by high-speed countercurrent chromatography and final purification by preparative HPLC.