M145 is a model strain extensively studied to elucidate the regulation of antibiotic biosynthesis in species. This strain abundantly produces the blue polyketide antibiotic, actinorhodin (ACT), and has a low lipid content. In a process designed to delete the gene encoding the isocitrate lyase () of the glyoxylate cycle, an unexpected variant of was obtained besides deletion mutants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter life in utero and birth, the skin is submitted to an important process of adaptation to a relatively dry gaseous environment. Skin surface lipids (SSLs) contribute actively to the protection of the skin barrier. Within this context, our objective was to study the evolution of each lipid compound during the postnatal period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba genus that causes several diseases namely, amoebic keratitis which is a painful sight threatening eyes disease. Its treatment is difficult and the exploration for new drugs is very important. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the chemical composition of the Essential Oils (EO) obtained from leaves and flowers and aerial parts of Ammoides pusilla by an alternative method "Hydrodistillation''.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent physiological studies indicated that S. lividans metabolism was mainly glycolytic, whereas S. coelicolor metabolism was mainly oxidative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a growing interest worldwide for the production of renewable oil without mobilizing agriculture lands; fast and reliable methods are needed to identify highly oleaginous microorganisms of potential industrial interest. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relevance of attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy to achieve this goal. To do so, the total lipid content of lyophilized samples of five Streptomyces strains with varying lipid content was assessed with two classical quantitative but time-consuming methods, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ATR Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy in transmission mode with KBr pellets and the fast ATR method, often questioned for its lack of reliability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToday, the development of analytic methods brings new scientific insights into the research on the mummification process used by embalmers in ancient Egypt. The application of these techniques of molecular analysis, elementary analysis, botanical analysis and bibliographic analysis of ancient texts allows us to know the composition of mummification balms and material involved in the conservation of the body. Such substances, which are mineral, animal or plant material, played a practical and a symbolic part in the composition of balms used for the preservation of mummified bodies and therefore in the passage to the eternal life after the death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe quality assessment of African traditional herbal medicinal products is a difficult challenge since they are complex mixtures of several herbal drug or herbal drug preparations. The plant source is also often unknown and/or highly variable. Plant metabolites chromatographic profiling is therefore an important tool for quality control of such herbal products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin surface lipids (SSLs), arising from both sebaceous glands and skin removal, form a complex lipid mixture composed of free fatty acids and neutral lipids. They are present in the hydrolipidic film and have a close relationship with the stratum corneum lipids. Thus, SSLs participate in the barrier function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin surface lipids (SSLs) arising from both sebaceous glands and skin removal form a complex lipid mixture composed of free fatty acids and neutral lipids. High-temperature gas chromatography coupled with electron impact or chemical ionization mass spectrometry was used to achieve a simple analytical protocol, without prior separation in classes and without prior cleavage of lipid molecules, in order to obtain simultaneously i) a qualitative characterization of the individual SSLs and ii) a quantitative evaluation of lipid classes. The method was first optimized with SSLs collected from the forehead of a volunteer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to explore the pathophysiological basis of a new rehabilitation therapy in writer's cramp (WC), healthy controls, untreated WC patients and WC patients who recovered a legible handwriting after rehabilitation were explored using magnetoencephalography, and the somatosensory evoked fields of fingers I, II, III and V in the sensory cortex were studied. In the cortex controlling the dystonic limb, the size of the hand representation in the trained patients was similar to that of healthy controls, and significantly different from that of untrained patients. Trained patients exhibited 'super-normal' reorganisation of the finger maps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is remarkable that the famous écorchés of Honoré Fragonard have survived the centuries to reach us today. Studies carried out by several teams have established details of the technique used by Fragonard that help to explain their longevity. The injection of the vessels was achieved by means of a mixture of mutton tallow and pine resin diluted in essence of turpentine and essential oils.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe natural (13)C/(12)C isotope composition (delta(13)C) of plants and organic compounds within plant organs is a powerful tool to understand carbon allocation patterns and the regulation of photosynthetic or respiratory metabolism. However, many enzymatic fractionations are currently unknown, thus impeding our understanding of carbon trafficking pathways within plant cells. One of them is the (12)C/(13)C isotope effect associated with invertases (EC 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new method for N,N'-ethylenebisstearamide (EBS) analysis was developed and validated in normal phase-HP liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) with diol column at 50 degrees C with 100% CHCl(3) at 1 mL min(-1) and evaporative light scattering detection with elution time at 3.0 min. EBS solubility was the best at 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSix different olibanum samples with certified botanical origin were analyzed by headspace SPME-GC/MS in order to define their mono-, sesqui- and diterpenic composition, as pertinent criteria of identification. Boswellia carteri and Boswellia sacra olibanum have quite similar chemical composition, with isoincensole acetate as the main diterpenic biomarker. Although Boswellia serrata olibanum also exhibits this biomarker, the presence of methylchavicol, methyleugenol and an unidentified oxygenated sesquiterpene distinguishes B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to use headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) to reveal the presence of resin in archaeological samples, such as mummification balms, from ancient Egypt. Experiments were first performed with fresh resins of known origin. The SPME fibre readily extracted mono- and sesquiterpenes and, to a lesser extent, diterpenes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been used to determine the nature of organic materials used in mummification balms. A comparative analysis of samples taken from Egyptian mummies is developed. The results are given in two parts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe potential of packed-column subcritical fluid chromatography (SubFC) for the separation of lipid classes has been assessed in this study. Three polar stationary phases were checked: silica, diol, and poly(vinyl alcohol). Carbon dioxide (CO2) with methanol as modifier was used as mobile phase and detection performed by evaporative light scattering detection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was the optimization of headspace SPME conditions for trapping diterpenes present in frankincense (olibanum). Diterpenes like cembrenes or incensole and its derivatives are characteristic of olibanum. So in order to detect by SPME the occurrence of olibanum in archeological objects, it appears essential to have the best extraction conditions for these diterpenes that will be in very small quantities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe carbon isotope composition (delta(13)C) of CO(2) produced in darkness by intact French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) leaves was investigated for different leaf temperatures and during dark periods of increasing length. The delta(13)C of CO(2) linearly decreased when temperature increased, from -19 per thousand at 10 degrees C to -24 per thousand at 35 degrees C. It also progressively decreased from -21 per thousand to -30 per thousand when leaves were maintained in continuous darkness for several days.
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