The production of olive oil is accompanied by the generation of a huge amount of waste and by-products including olive leaves, pomace, and wastewater. The latter represents a relevant environmental issue because they contain certain phytotoxic compounds that may need specific treatments before the expensive disposal. Therefore, reducing waste biomass and valorizing by-products would make olive oil production more sustainable. Here, we explore the biological actions of extracts deriving from olive by-products including olive pomace (OP), olive wastewater (OWW), and olive leaf (OLs) in human colorectal carcinoma HCT8 cells. Interestingly, with the same phenolic concentration, the extract obtained from the OWW showed higher antioxidant ability compared with the extracts derived from OP and OLs. These biological effects may be related to the differential phenolic composition of the extracts, as OWW extract contains the highest amount of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol that are potent antioxidant compounds. Furthermore, OP extract that contains a higher level of vanillic acid than the other extracts displayed a cytotoxic action at the highest concentration. Together these findings revealed that phenols in the by-product extracts may interfere with signaling molecules that cross-link several intracellular pathways, raising the possibility to use them for beneficial health effects.

Keywords: olive by-product; olive leaf; olive wastewater; pomace; reactive oxygen species (ROS).

In contrast to yeast biofilms, those of filamentous fungi are relatively poorly understood, in particular with respect to their regulation. Cunninghamella elegans is a filamentous fungus that is of biotechnological interest as it catabolises drugs and other xenobiotics in an analogous manner to animals; furthermore, it can grow as a biofilm enabling repeated batch biotransformations. Precisely how the fungus switches from planktonic to biofilm growth is unknown and the aim of this study was to shed light on the possible mechanism of biofilm regulation. In dimorphic yeasts, alcohols such as tyrosol and 2-phenylethanol are known to control the yeast-to-hypha switch, and a similar molecule might be involved in regulating biofilm in C. elegans. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of crude ethyl acetate extracts from supernatants of 72 h planktonic and biofilm cultures revealed 3-hydroxytyrosol as a prominent metabolite. Further quantification revealed that the amounts of the compound in planktonic cultures were substantially higher (>10-fold) than in biofilm cultures. In the presence of exogenous 3-hydroxytyrosol the growth of aerial mycelium was inhibited, and there was selective inhibition of biofilm when it was added to culture medium. There was no biotransformation of the compound when it was added to 72 h-old cultures, in contrast to the related compounds tyrosol and 2-phenylethanol, which were oxidised to a number of products. Therefore, we propose that 3-hydroxytyrosol is a new signalling molecule in fungi, which regulates biofilm growth.

Keywords: Biofilm; Biotransformation; Fungi; Quorum sensing; Regulation.

Tyrosol (Tyr) is a natural phenolic antioxidant with diverse biological activities. We compared the anti-inflammatory effects of intravenously administered Tyr versus prednisolone (PSL) in an endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) rat model. Intravenous administration of 100 mg/kg Tyr was performed 2 hr before, simultaneously and 2 hr after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. Tyr treatment was associated with decreased inflammatory cell number, protein concentration, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, PGE2 and NO levels in AqH and improvements in histopathologic evidence of EIU in ocular tissue at 24 hr after LPS injection. 100 mg/kg Tyr and 1 mg/kg PSL (administered on the same schedule as Tyr) had comparable anti-inflammatory effects. Taken together, Tyr may represent a promising therapeutic agent for the management of intraocular inflammatory diseases.

An immobilized whole cell system was successfully performed to produce the most powerful antioxidant, hydroxytyrosol. Bioconversion of tyrosol into hydroxytyrosol was achieved via the immobilization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resting cells in calcium alginate beads. Immobilization was advantageous as it allows immobilized cells to tolerate a greater tyrosol concentration than free cells. The bioconversion yield reached 86% in the presence of 5 g L-1 of tyrosol when cells immobilized in alginate beads were carried out in single batches. Evaluation of kinetic parameters showed the maintenance of the same catalytic efficiency expressed as Kcat/Km for both free and immobilized cells. The use of immobilized cells in repeated batches demonstrated a notable activity stabilization since the biocatalyst reusability was extended for at least four batches with a molar yield greater than 85%.

The individual and combined antioxidant and antiradical capacity of the main minor compounds of virgin olive oil (α-tocopherol, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein aglycone) spiked in Purified Olive Oil (POO) as the lipid matrix model is described. The antioxidant activity was assessed under mild temperature conditions (25 and 40°C) to mimic the autoxidation process during real storage conditions. These results were compared with accelerated (Rancimat Induction Period) and antiradical (DPPH) tests. The higher concentration of o-diphenols (hydroxytyrosol or oleuropein aglycone) in olive oil led to a lower oxidation rate under the conditions studied, resulting in a strong antioxidant effect. Remarkably α-tocopherol acted as a pro-oxidant at 25 and 40°C, in particular during the first oxidation stage. In contrast, this compound behaved as an antioxidant under Rancimat and DPPH conditions. The oxidation rate constant as a function of the concentration of spiked compound fit an exponential decay model very well and therefore the progress of the oxidation reaction could be predicted. No synergistic or antagonistic effects were generally observed when combined antioxidant compounds were assayed.

An electroanalytical methodology was developed for the determination of the total ortho-phenol content of virgin olive oil (VOO) with high sensitivity and reproducibility. The VOO ortho-phenol content depends on its freshness and is normally expressed as HT equivalent. Screen-printed electrodes were used with cyclic voltammetry to investigate the oxidation of catechol, phenol, hydroxytyrosol (HT), tyrosol, caffeic acid and ferulic acid. The oxidation of ortho-phenols and mono-phenols occurs following different mechanisms, and at different potentials. Using screen-printed electrodes and square wave voltammetry, an HT detection limit of 0.40 μM, was obtained. The electroanalytical methodology developed was applied to the determination of ortho-phenol content in fresh and old VOO. The HT equivalent determined for a two-year-old VOO sample was 3mg/kg, for one-year-old samples was 6-7 mg/kg, and for a fresh VOO sample 30 mg/kg, recoveries in the range of 78-93% of HT standard being obtained. The effect of VOO matrix components on the HT standard response was investigated.

From the twigs of Miliusa mollis Pierre, three new compounds including (2S,3S)-2,3-dihydro-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-methyl-5-[1(E)-propenyl]benzofuran, (7S,8S)- threo-Delta8'-4-methoxyneolignan and tyrosol-1-O-beta-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-O-beta-gluco-pyranoside were isolated, along with seven known compounds. Their structures were elucidated through analysis of their spectroscopic data.

The administration of various doses of Rhodiola rosea roots and rhizome spissum with known concentrations of salidroside, n-tyrosol, and rosavine leads to an increase in stress proteins 70 content in human mononuclear cell culture and in tissues of Wistar rats. A one-week peroral administration of Rh. Rosea preparation increases the content of constitutive Hsc70 in liver and the amount of hepatocytes with low succinate dehydrogenase activity. A two-week administration of Rh. Rosea extract leads to an increase in the levels of inducible Hsp70 and constitutive Hsc70 proteins in liver, hippocampus and left heart ventricle. These results are indicative of an increase in nonspecific resistance and the activation of adaptogenic processes.

A simple, sensitive and reliable reversed phase Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography (RRLC) method was developed and validated for six biologically active compounds (salidroside, tyrosol, rosarin, rosavin, rosin and rosiridin) in Rhodiola rosea L. roots and powder extracts. The method uses a Phenomenex C18 (2)-HST column at 40 degrees C with a neutral gradient system mobile phase (H20 and acetonitrile), a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, and UV detection wavelengths set at 205 and 254 nm, simultaneously. Baseline separation of the six active compounds was achieved within 8 minutes. The average percentages of rosavins (rosarin, rosavin, and rosin) in authentic R. rosea roots and root powder extracts were quantitatively determined and a characteristic R. rosea roots RRLC profile was established. The RRLC method is accurate and sensitive; in addition, it effectively increases the sample analysis throughput compared with conventional HPLC.

BACKGROUND

Rhodiola rosea L. (Crassulaceae) products are popular natural remedies with a worldwide distribution. Recent studies have revealed potent CYP inhibition by R. rosea extracts both in vitro and in vivo, but information on in vitro CYP inhibition by commercial products are lacking. Variations in commercial R. rosea product quality have also been published.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluates the variation of in vitro CYP inhibition potential and product quality of six commercially available R. rosea products.

METHODS

Human CYPs isolated from baculovirus-infected cell system were incubated with testosterone (CYP3A4), dextromethorphan (CYP2D6) or phenacetin (CYP1A2). Positive CYP inhibitors ketoconazole (CYP3A4), quinidine (CYP2D6) and β-naphtoflavone (CYP1A2) were used as controls. Quantification of rosavin, rosarin, rosin, tyrosol and salidroside were used to evaluate R. rosea content.

RESULTS

IC50 values ranged from 7.2-106.6 μg/mL for CYP3A4, 13.0-186.1 μg/mL for 2D6 and 10.7-116.0 μg/mL for 1A2. The tincture formulation of R. rosea was the strongest inhibitor giving the lowest IC50 values of 7.2 ± 0.7, 13 ± 1.7 and 10.7 ± 5.6 μg/mL, respectively. CYP3A4 was significantly more inhibited by the different products than CYP1A2 (p < .05). One of the six products did not contain any rosavin, rosarin or rosin and is not a R. rosea product. Constituent concentrations were not linked to enzyme inhibition.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results show a large variation in inhibitory potential between the products. Several of the products demonstrate similar inhibition levels as the product Arctic Root already proven to inhibit CYP enzyme activity in man.

A nondestructive, efficient, and rapid method for quantitative analysis of two bioactive components (salidroside and p-tyrosol) in Rhodiola crenulata, a traditional Tibetan medicine, by Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy was developed. Near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectra in the range of 4000 to 10000 cm(-1) of 50 samples of Rhodiola crenulata with different sources were measured. To get a satisfying result, partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to establish NIR models for salidroside and p-tyrosol content determination. Different preprocessing methods, including smoothing, taking a second derivative, standard normal variate (SNV) transformation, and multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), were investigated to improve the model accuracy of PLSR. The performance of the two final models (salidroside model and p-tyrosol model) was evaluated by factors such as the values of correlation coefficient (R(2)), root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC). The optimal results of the PLSR model of salidroside showed that R(2), RMSEP and RMSEC were 0.99572, 0.0294 and 0.0309, respectively. Meanwhile, in the optimization model of p-tyrosol, the R(2), RMSEP and RMSEC were 0.99714, 0.0154 and 0.0168, respectively. These results demonstrate that FT-NIR spectroscopy not only provides a precise, rapid method for quantitative analysis of major effective constituents in Rhodiola crenulata, but can also be applied to the quality control of Rhodiola crenulata.

Tyrosol, crenulatin and salidroside are the main active constituents of Rhodiola crenulata, with extensive pharmacological activities. In the study, grams of high purity tyrosol, crenulatin and salidroside were simultaneously separated from R. crenulata by the first time. Firstly, R. crenulata was extracted by 70% alcohol. Then, with the yields of three compounds as the index, the macroporous resin was optimized. At last, grams of high purity tyrosol, crenulatin and salidroside were isolated by D-101 macroporousresin, purified by column chromatography. Detected by HPLC, the purity of three compounds were higher than 98%. This method has the advantages of simple process and operation, less dosage of organic solvent, highly yield and reproducibility, suitable for the simultaneously preparation of tyrosol, crenulatin and salidroside.

Novel polyfunctionalized antioxidants, 5-S-lipoylhydroxytyrosol (1) and its disulfide 2, trisulfide 3, and tetrasulfide 4, were prepared from tyrosol and dihydrolipoic acid in the presence, when appropriate, of sulfur. Compound 1 exhibited significant activity in the ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay (1.60 Trolox equiv), whereas polysulfides 2-4 were more efficient in the DPPH reduction assay (88-93% reduction vs 68% by Trolox). At 10 μM concentration, all compounds 1-4 proved to be efficient hydroxyl radical scavengers (56-69% inhibition) in a Fenton reaction assay. When administered to human HepG2 cells, 1-4 proved to be nontoxic and exhibited marked protective effects against reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (60-84% inhibition at 1 μM concentration) and cell damage induced by 400 μM tert-butylhydroperoxide. All compounds 1-4 exhibited overall greater antioxidant activity than hydroxytyrosol.

Nigrosporanenes A (1) and B (2), two new cylohexene derivatives, and tyrosol (3) were isolated from the sea fan-derived fungus Nigrospora sp. PSU-F11, whereas five known compounds: 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4), aplysiopsene D (5), 3-isochromanone (6), (-)-drimenin (7) and diketopiperazine derivative (8), were obtained from the fungus Nigrospora sp. PSU-F12. Their structures were established by spectroscopic evidence. We also tested their cytotoxic (on African green monkey kidney fibroblast and breast cancer cells), antioxidant (in the DPPH assay), and antibacterial (against the standard Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and methicillinresistant S. aureus) activities.

Tyrosol, a natural product present in olive oil and white wine, possesses a wide range of bioactivity. The aim of this study was to optimize the preparation of nanosystems encapsulating tyrosol in carbohydrate matrices and the investigation of their ability to bind with DNA. The first encapsulation matrix of choice was chitosan using the ionic gelation method. The second matrix was β-cyclodextrin (βCD) using the kneading method. Coating of the tyrosol-βCD ICs with chitosan resulted in a third nanosystem with very interesting properties. Optimal preparation parameters of each nanosystem were obtained through two three-factor, three-level Box-Behnken experimental designs and statistical analysis of the results. Thereafter, the nanoparticles were evaluated for their physical and thermal characteristics using several techniques (DLS, NMR, FT-IR, DSC, TGA). The study was completed with the investigation of the impact of the encapsulation on the ability of tyrosol to bind to calf thymus DNA. The results revealed that tyrosol and all the studied systems bind to the minor groove of ctDNA. Tyrosol interacts with ctDNA via hydrogen bond formation, as predicted via molecular modeling studies and corroborated by the experiments. The tyrosol-chitosan nanosystem does not show any binding to ctDNA whereas the βCD inclusion complex shows analogous interaction with that of free tyrosol.

Keywords: DNA binding; Design of Experiment (DoE); chitosan; nanoparticles; tyrosol; β cyclodextrin.

The aim of the present study was to perform a screening of extracts obtained from 15 medicinal plants using water (at 25 and 90 °C) or ethanol (at 25 °C), to bactericidal activity against cariogenic S. mutans ATCC 25175, as well as to carry out the preliminary phytochemical characterization of the extracts and HPLC/MS assay for selected extracts. The extractions were carried out for 5 h at 400 rpm. Only five from 45 tested extracts were selected based on their antibacterial activity. The IC₅₀ varied from of 28 ppm for Quercus ilex up to 250 ppm for Jatropha dioica. Different polyphenolic and quinic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanin or tyrosol were identified by HPLC/MS in selected extracts from Rosa gallica L., Jatropha dioica Sessé, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir, Quercus ilex L., and Solanum nigrum. The obtained results confirm that selected extracts are good candidates to be used for cariogenic bacteria control.

Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance (Oleaceae), its stem barks are known as Cortex fraxini ( qín pí) listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Phytochemical study has indicated that methanol extracts from Qinpi has protective effect on acute liver injury. The present study investigates the hepatoprotective activity of EtOH-water extract from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice. The EtOH-water extract significantly alleviated liver damage as indicated by the decreased levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and reduced the pathological tissue injury induced by CCl4. Quantitative analysis of seven major constituents (1-7) in EtOH-water extract (EWE) was developed by high performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD). The current research indicates that the EWE from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance decreased liver index, inhibited the increase of serum aminotransferase induced by CCl4, and decreased hepatic MDA content, SOD and GSH-Px activities. These results suggested that the pretreatment with EWE protected mice against CCl4-induced liver injuries. Based on the results, the EtOH-water extract from the seeds of F. rhynchophylla Hance is efficacious for prevention and treatment of CCl4-induced hepatic injury in mice. Secoiridoid and tyrosol glucosides might be the active ingredients responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities of hepatoprotection.

A simple gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) based colorimetric assay for the antioxidant activity determination has been developed. The AuNP formation is mediated by extra virgin olive oil (EVOO's) endogenous polyphenols; the reaction is described by a sigmoidal curve. The ratio KAuNPs/Xc(50) (slope of the linear part of the sigmoid/concentration at half value of the absorbance) was found to be the optimal parameter to report the antioxidant capacity with respect to the single KAuNPs or Xc(50) values. The obtained data demonstrated that the compounds with ortho-diphenols functionality are most active in reducing gold (III) to gold (0). Thus, intermediate activity was found for gallic acid, while tyrosol (mono-phenols) had a significant lower activity than the others antioxidant compounds (at least one order of magnitude). In the analysis of olive oil samples, a significant correlation among classical methods used to determine antioxidant activity and the proposed parameter was found with R values in the 0.96-0.97 range.

A series of antioxidants was designed and synthesized based on conjugation of the hepatoprotective flavonolignan silybin with l-ascorbic acid, trolox alcohol or tyrosol via a C12 aliphatic linker. These hybrid molecules were prepared from 12-vinyl dodecanedioate-23-O-silybin using the enzymatic regioselective acylation procedure with Novozym 435 (lipase B) or with lipase PS. Voltammetric analyses showed that the silybin-ascorbic acid conjugate exhibited excellent electron donating ability, in comparison to the other conjugates. Free radical scavenging, antioxidant activities and cytoprotective action were evaluated. The silybin-ascorbic acid hybrid exhibited the best activities (IC50 = 30.2 μM) in terms of lipid peroxidation inhibition. The promising protective action of the conjugate against lipid peroxidation can be attributed to modulated electron transfer abilities of both the silybin and ascorbate moieties, but also to the hydrophobic C12 linker facilitating membrane insertion. This was supported experimentally and theoretically by density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. The results presented here can be used in the further development of novel multipotent antioxidants and cytoprotective agents, in particular for substances acting at an aqueous/lipid interface.

Trichoderma brevicompactum IBT 40841 produces trichodermin, a trichothecene-type toxin that shares most of the steps of its biosynthesis with harzianum A, another trichothecene produced by several Trichoderma species. The first specific step in the trichothecene biosynthesis is carried out by a terpene cylcase, trichodiene synthase, that catalyzes the conversion of farnesyl pyrophosphate to trichodiene and that is encoded by the tri5 gene. Overexpression of tri5 resulted in increased levels of trichodermin production, but also in an increase in tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol production, two antioxidant compounds that may play a regulatory role in trichothecene biosynthesis, and also in a higher expression of three trichothecene genes, tri4, tri6 and tri10, and of the erg1 gene, which participates in the synthesis of triterpenes. The effect of tri5 overexpression on tomato seedling disease response was also studied.

A facile method for enzymatic glycosylation of 4-substituted benzyl alcohols and tyrosol with glucose in a monophasic aqueous-dioxane medium was reported, using a crude meal of apple seed as a new catalyst. The corresponding beta-d-glucosides were synthesized in moderate yields (13.1-23.1%), among which the salidroside was obtained in 15.8% yield.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a chelated zero valent iron as catalyst on the oxidation of six organic acids that are generally found in olive mill wastewater. The reaction was carried out in a stirred tank reactor under extremely mild conditions, a temperature of 30°C and atmospheric pressure. Solutions of 350 mg/L of the six organic compounds were treated individually using zero valent iron particles (15 g), nitrilotriacetic acid disodium salt (NTA, 100mg/L) and air. The efficiency of the process was evaluated to determine the organic compound conversion, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction and the total organic carbon (TOC) reduction. The caffeic, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic and vanillic acids showed a total conversion after 180, 240 and 300 min of reaction, respectively. In turn, coumaric acid, tyrosol and cinnamic acid only reached conversions of 90, 87 and 68%, respectively, after 360 min of reaction. Four mixtures of the six acids with an initial total concentration of 1000 mg/L were also tested and gave an overall conversion of the organic compounds of 92-99% after 360 min of reaction. The COD conversions of the mixtures were always above 84%, but the TOC conversions values were lower, indicating a poorer mineralization.

2-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)ethane-1-ol (tyrosol) and 5-n-alkyl(C19,C21)resorcinols produced by some microorganisms as anabiosis autoregulators (factors d1) inhibit the electron transport and uncouple oxidative phosphorylation in the respiratory chain of rat liver mitochondria: a 50% decrease of the respiratory control is caused by 0.32-0.36 mumol of tyrosol or by 0.21-0.26 mumol of alkylresorcinols per mg of protein. Alkylresorcinols reduce the NADH-dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase activities in mitochondria, whereas tyrosol acts predominantly on the NADH-dehydrogenase activity.