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Toxicology Letters Mar 2022Methanol is present at high concentrations in unrecorded fruit spirits, placing consumers of these beverages at risk of exposure at high levels. When assessing any...
Methanol is present at high concentrations in unrecorded fruit spirits, placing consumers of these beverages at risk of exposure at high levels. When assessing any health risk it is necessary to consider blood methanol levels (BMLs), reference dose (RfD), and maximum tolerable blood methanol level (MTBML). The aim of our study was to estimate daily methanol intake and related BMLs attributable to drinking unrecorded fruit spirits in the European population using a probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation. Data on the concentration of methanol in unrecorded fruit spirits in European Union member states were collected and the health risk posed by consumption of unrecorded fruit spirits was estimated. We found that drinking unrecorded fruit spirits containing methanol at a concentration higher than 8598.1 mg/litre of pure alcohol (p.a.) or 6382.1 mg/litre of p.a. and also at least 10 g ethanol can result in a methanol intake above the RfD by men and women, respectively. We confirmed that consumption of unrecorded fruit spirits containing methanol does not result in BMLs higher than the MTBML. Further studies are required to assess whether there is any health risk from chronic exposure to methanol above the RfD from unrecorded fruit spirits.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Beverages; Ethanol; European Union; Female; Fruit; Humans; Male; Methanol; Monte Carlo Method; Recommended Dietary Allowances; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 34990791
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2021.12.019 -
Medical and Veterinary Entomology Jun 2024The human head lice Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer) (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) are strict, obligate human ectoparasites that spends their entire life cycle in the...
The human head lice Pediculus humanus capitis (De Geer) (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) are strict, obligate human ectoparasites that spends their entire life cycle in the host and cause skin irritation and derived infections. Despite the health-related importance, few studies have evaluated the chemical communication among these insects. Here, we evaluate the response of lice of both sexes to cuticular extracts using two solvents of different polarity (hexane and methanol). Cuticular extracts that elicited an attraction response towards head lice were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the cuticular lipid profile. Both lice sexes were attracted to the hexane extracts but not the methanol extracts, suggesting the non-polarity of the compounds present in the cuticle. Chemical analyses of hexane extracts from males and females showed high similarity in major compounds. This study provides the first evidence that lice respond to cuticle extracts, which may be important to understand aggregation behaviour.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Pediculus; Hexanes; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Methanol; Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 38429866
DOI: 10.1111/mve.12711 -
Journal of Separation Science Mar 2023Currently, little information has been published on the application of ternary eluent compositions in supercritical fluid chromatography for separating peptides. This...
Currently, little information has been published on the application of ternary eluent compositions in supercritical fluid chromatography for separating peptides. This work investigates the benefits of adding acetonitrile to methanol as the modifier. Three cyclic antibiotic peptides (bacitracin, colistin, and daptomycin) ranging between 1000 and 2000 Da were chosen as model substances. The ternary mixture of carbon dioxide, methanol, and acetonitrile is optimized to increase the resolution of the peptide's fingerprint. In addition, varying compositions of methanol and acetonitrile were found to change the elution order of the analytes, which is a valuable tool during method development. An individual gradient method using two Torus 2-PIC columns (each 100 × 3.0 mm, 1.7 μm), carbon dioxide, and a modifier consisting of acetonitrile/methanol/water/methanesulfonic acid (60:40:2:0.1, v:v:v:v) was optimized for each of the peptides. Subsequently, a generic method development protocol applicable to polypeptides is proposed.
Topics: Methanol; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid; Carbon Dioxide; Peptides; Water
PubMed: 36601991
DOI: 10.1002/jssc.202201007 -
Folia Microbiologica Apr 2023Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast, is known to be an efficient host for heterologous proteins production. In this study, a recombinant P. pastoris Y11430 was found...
Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast, is known to be an efficient host for heterologous proteins production. In this study, a recombinant P. pastoris Y11430 was found better for β-glucosidase activity in comparison with a wild type P. pastoris Y11430 strain, and thereby, subjected to methanol intermittent feed profiling for β-glucosidase production. The results showed that at 72 h of cultivation time, the cultures with 16.67% and 33.33% methanol feeding with constant rate could produce the total dry cell weight of 52.23 and 118.55 g/L, respectively, while the total mutant β-glucosidase activities were 1001.59 and 3259.82 units, respectively. The methanol feeding profile was kept at 33% with three methanol feeding strategies such as constant feed rate, linear feed rate, and exponential feed rate which were used in fed-batch fermentation. At 60 h of cultivation, the highest total mutant β-glucosidase activity was 2971.85 units for exponential feed rate culture. On the other hand, total mutant β-glucosidase activity of the constant feed rate culture and linear feed rate culture were 1682.25 and 1975.43 units, respectively. The kinetic parameters of exponential feed rate culture were specific growth rate on glycerol 0.228/h, specific growth of methanol 0.061/h, maximum total dry cell weight 196.73 g, yield coefficient biomass per methanol ([Formula: see text]) 0.57 g/g, methanol consumption rate ([Formula: see text]) 5.76 g/h, and enzyme productivity ([Formula: see text]) 75.96 units/h. In conclusion, higher cell mass and β- glucosidase activity were produced under exponential feed rate than constant and linear feed rates.
Topics: Recombinant Proteins; Methanol; Pichia; Fermentation; Cellulases; Bioreactors
PubMed: 36241938
DOI: 10.1007/s12223-022-01008-w -
Experimental Animals May 2022The methanol metabolite that causes hepatotoxicity is formic acid, generating reactive oxygen radical formation and cell damage. Carvacrol is an antioxidant monoterpenic...
The methanol metabolite that causes hepatotoxicity is formic acid, generating reactive oxygen radical formation and cell damage. Carvacrol is an antioxidant monoterpenic phenol produced from Thymus vulgaris. This study aimed to investigate the effects of carvacrol on methanol-induced oxidative liver damage in rats. Eighteen rats were divided into three groups. Methotrexate was administered orally for 7 days to methotrexate+methanol (MTM) and methotrexate+methanol+carvacrol (MMC) groups. Methotrexate was given before methanol to cause methanol poisoning. Distilled water was given to the healthy group (HG) as a solvent. At the end of the 7th day, 20% methanol was administered orally at a dose of 3 g/kg to the MTM and MMC groups. Four hours after methanol administration, 50 mg/kg carvacrol was injected intraperitoneally into the MMC group. Animals were sacrificed 8 h after carvacrol injection. Biochemical markers were studied in the excised liver tissue and blood serum samples, and histopathological evaluations were made. Severe hemorrhage, hydropic degeneration, pycnosis, and mononuclear cell infiltration were observed in the liver of the MTM group. Additionally, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly higher, and total glutathione (tGSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were significantly lower in the MTM group compared to HG (P<0.001). Carvacrol prevented the increase in MDA, TOS, ALT and AST levels with methanol and the decrease in tGSH and TAS levels (P<0.001), and alleviated the histopathological damage. Carvacrol may be useful in the treatment of methanol-induced liver damage.
Topics: Alanine Transaminase; Animals; Antioxidants; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury, Chronic; Cymenes; Glutathione; Liver; Malondialdehyde; Methanol; Methotrexate; Oxidative Stress; Phenols; Rats; Rats, Wistar
PubMed: 34911876
DOI: 10.1538/expanim.21-0143 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2023Mitochondria participate in many important metabolic processes in the body. The lipid profile of mitochondria is especially important in membrane regulation and pathway...
Mitochondria participate in many important metabolic processes in the body. The lipid profile of mitochondria is especially important in membrane regulation and pathway signaling. The isolation and study of these lipids can provide unparalleled information about the mechanisms behind these cellular processes. In this chapter, we describe a protocol to isolate mitochondrial lipids from homogenized murine optic nerves. The lipid extraction was performed using butanol-methanol (BUME) and subsequently analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Further analysis of the raw data was conducted using LipidSearch™ and MetaboAnalyst 4.0.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Lipids; Mass Spectrometry; Chromatography, Liquid; Methanol; Mitochondria
PubMed: 36653628
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2966-6_1 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022In this work, we carried out studies of the chemical composition of hexane, chloroform and ethanol extracts from two samples of the lichen collected in Algeria. Each...
In this work, we carried out studies of the chemical composition of hexane, chloroform and ethanol extracts from two samples of the lichen collected in Algeria. Each sample of the lichen was collected on two different supports: and . Hexane extracts were prepared, in Soxhlet; each hexane extract was fractionated by its solubility in methanol; the products soluble in methanol were separated (cold): 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane; and the products insoluble in methanol (cold): 1-Cires, 2-Cires. A diazomethane esterified sample of 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane, 1-Cires and 2-Cires was analyzed by GC-MS, and the components were identified as methyl esters. In the 1-Hexane and 2-Hexane fractions, the methyl esters of the predominant fatty acids in the lichen were identified: palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid and stearic acid; a hydrocarbon was also identified: 13-methyl-17-norkaur-15-ene and several derivatives of orsellinic acid. In the 1-Cires and 2-Cires fractions, the previous fatty acids were no longer observed, and only the derivatives of orsellinic acid were found. The analysis of the 1-Hexane, 2-Hexane fractions by HPLC-MS/MS allows us to identify different chemical components, and the most characteristic products of the lichen were identified, such as Atranol, Chloroatranol, Atranorin and Chloroatranorin. In the fractions of 1-Cires and 2-Cires, the HPLC-MS/MS analysis reveals that they are very similar in their chemical components; the characteristic products of this lichen in this fraction are Atranorin and Chloroatranorin. In the extracts of chloroform, 1-Chloroform and 2-Chloroform, the analysis carried out by HPLC-MS/MS shows small differences in their chemical composition at the level of secondary products; among the products to be highlighted for this work, we have chloroatranorin, the stictic acid, norstictic acid and other derivatives. In the analysis of the most polar extracts carried out in ethanol: 1-Ethanol and 2-Ethanol, HPLC-MS/MS analysis shows very similar chemical compositions in these two extracts with small differences. In these extracts, the following acids were identified as characteristic compounds of this lichen: constictic acid, stictic acid, substictic acid and methylstictic acid. In the HPLC-MS/MS analysis of all these extracts, alectoronic acid was not found.
Topics: Algeria; Chloroform; Ethanol; Fatty Acids; Hexanes; Lichens; Methanol; Parmeliaceae; Phytochemicals; Plant Extracts; Tandem Mass Spectrometry
PubMed: 36014465
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27165229 -
The Journal of Chemical Physics Apr 2022The ability of various cosolutes and cosolvents to enhance or quench solvent density fluctuations at solute-water interfaces has crucial implications on the...
The ability of various cosolutes and cosolvents to enhance or quench solvent density fluctuations at solute-water interfaces has crucial implications on the conformational equilibrium of macromolecules such as polymers and proteins. Herein, we use an extended hydrophobic solute as a model system to study the effect of urea and methanol on the density fluctuations in the solute's solvation shell and the resulting thermodynamics. On strengthening the solute-water/cosolute repulsive interaction, we observe distinct trends in the mutual affinities between various species in, and the thermodynamic properties of, the solvation shell. These trends strongly follow the respective trends in the preferential adsorption of urea and methanol: solute-water/cosolute repulsion strengthens, urea accumulation decreases, and methanol accumulation increases. Preferential accumulation of urea is found to quench the density fluctuations around the extended solute, leading to a decrease in the compressibility of the solvation shell. In contrast, methanol accumulation enhances the density fluctuations, leading to an increase in the compressibility. The mode of action of urea and methanol seems to be strongly coupled to their hydration behavior. The observations from this simple model is discussed in relation to urea driven swelling and methanol induced collapse of some well-known thermo-responsive polymers.
Topics: Methanol; Polymers; Solutions; Solvents; Thermodynamics; Urea; Water
PubMed: 35490025
DOI: 10.1063/5.0090646 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2022The availability of exceptionally strong and tightly regulated promoters is a key feature of Komagataella phaffii (syn. Pichia pastoris), a widely applied yeast...
The availability of exceptionally strong and tightly regulated promoters is a key feature of Komagataella phaffii (syn. Pichia pastoris), a widely applied yeast expression system for heterologous protein production. Most commonly, the methanol-inducible promoter of the alcohol oxidase 1 gene (P) and the constitutive promoter of the glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate dehydrogenase gene (P) have been used. Recently, also promising novel constitutive (P), regulated (P P), and bidirectional promoters (histone promoters and synthetic hybrid variants) have been reported.As natural promoters showed so far limited tunability of expression levels and regulatory profiles, various promoter engineering efforts have been undertaken for P. pastoris . P, P, P, and P have been engineered by systematic deletion studies or random mutagenesis of upstream regulatory sequences. New engineering strategies have focused on P core promoter modifications by random or rational approaches and transcriptional regulatory circuits to render P independent of methanol induction. These promoter engineering efforts in P. pastoris have resulted in improved, sequence-diversified synthetic promoter variants allowing coordinated fine-tuning of gene expression for a multitude of biotechnological applications.
Topics: Gene Expression; Methanol; Pichia; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Saccharomycetales
PubMed: 35781205
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2399-2_10 -
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Jun 2022Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.), an evergreen medium-sized, spiny tree which have vast nutritional values and widely used in ayurvedic medicines and home remedies. The...
BACKGROUND
Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.), an evergreen medium-sized, spiny tree which have vast nutritional values and widely used in ayurvedic medicines and home remedies. The plant has also been a rich source of biologically active compounds. The present study was designed to isolate pure compound from ethyl acetate fraction of methanol extract of leaves and to know the efficacy as antioxidant as well as its anti-tumor activity on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cell (EAC). METHODS: The leaves were extracted with methanol and fractionated with different solvents. The isolation of the compound was carried out by column chromatography from ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and structure was revealed by H-NMR and C NMR. The antioxidant activity was investigated by the scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals as well as the inhibition of oxidative damage of pUC19 plasmid DNA, hemolysis and lipid peroxidation induced by a water-soluble free radical initiator 2,2'-azo (2-asmidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) in human erythrocytes. In vivo anti-tumor activity of the compound was also evaluated by determining the viable tumor cell count, hematological profiles of experimental mice along with observing morphological changes of EAC cells by fluorescence microscope.
RESULTS
The isolated compound kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside effectively inhibited AAPH induced oxidation in DNA and human erythrocyte model and lipid per oxidation as well as a stronger DPPH radical scavenging activity. In anti-tumor assay, at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight exhibit about 70.89 ± 6.62% EAC cell growth inhibition, whereas standard anticancer drug vincristine showed 77.84 ± 6.69% growth inhibition.
CONCLUSION
The compound may have a great importance as a therapeutic agent in preventing oxidative damage of biomolecules and therapeutic use in chemotherapy.
Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Fabaceae; Mannosides; Methanol; Mice; Plant Extracts; Plant Leaves; Proanthocyanidins
PubMed: 35733130
DOI: 10.1186/s12906-022-03633-x