(R)-panaxadiol by whole cells of filamentous fungus Absidia coerulea AS 3.3382.

The microbial transformation of 20(R)-panaxadiol (PD) by the fungus Absidia coerulea AS 3.3382 afforded three new and three known metabolites. The structures of the metabolites were characterized as 3-oxo-20(R)-panaxadiol (1), 3-oxo-7β- hydroxyl-20(R)-panaxadiol (2), 3-oxo-22β-hydroxyl-20(R)-panaxadiol (3), 3-oxo- 7β,22β-dihydroxyl-20(R)-panaxadiol (4), 3-oxo-7β,24β-dihydroxyl-20(R)-panaxadiol (5), and 3-oxo-7β,24α-dihydroxyl-20(R)-panaxadiol (6).

[Curcumin inhibits iron overload-induced hepatocytic apoptosis and nuclear factor-κB activity].

Objective: Iron is an essential micronutrient for human beings but its overload induces various diseases of liver, the main body storage site for iron, such as liver fibrosis. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol derived from turmeric and has been used widely. Its pharmacological action has attracted great attention in recent years.

[SGP polymorphism in cultivated naked barley from Qinghai-Tibet plateau in China and the relationship between SGPs and starch content].

Starch granule proteins (SGPs) are minor components bound with starch granule, which mutation may be related to starch properties. This study investigated the variation of SGPs in cultivated naked barley from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China for the first time, and the relationship between SGPs and starch content was preliminarily done. Ten major SGPs and 16 types of patterns were present in 66 cultivated naked varieties, indicating SGPs in cultivated naked barley from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China are polymorphic.