Synthesis and characterization of raffinose fatty acid monoesters under ultrasonic irradiation

The degradation kinetics and mechanism of moringin in aqueous solution and the cytotoxicity of degraded products

In this work, we investigated the degradation of moringin (4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]-isothiocyanate), a major bioactive isothiocyanate (ITC) found in moringa seeds (Moringa oleifera Lam), at various food processing conditions. Moringin degrades rapidly to several water-soluble products via a pseudo-first-order kinetics. By analyzing the reaction products, the degradation mechanism was found to be through hydrolyzing to (A) 1-O-(4-hydroxymethylphenyl) α-l-rhamnopyranoside (rhamnobenzyl alcohol RBA) or (B) rhamnobenzylamine. The formed amine further reacts with moringin to form N,N'-bis{4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]}thiourea (di-rhamnobenzyl thiourea, DRBTU). In addition, moringin isomerizes to 4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]thiocyanate (RBTC), which further reacts with moringin to form S,N-bis{4-[(α-l-rhamnosyloxy)benzyl]}-dithiocarbamate (DRBDTC). Furthermore, pH was found to have an effect on the degradation of moringin. RBA and RBTC were major degraded products in neutral and acidic conditions while thiourea (DRBTU) was in alkaline condition. Although moringin showed higher cytotoxicity to cancer cells, its degraded products showed very weak or no activities, suggesting that the isothiocyanate group of ITCs is essential for their cancer chemoprevention activities.

The Effectively Simultaneous Production of Cello-oligosaccharide and Glucose Mono-decanoate from Lignocellulose by Enzymatic Esterification

Cello-oligosaccharide has drawn an increasing attention as the nutritional ingredients of dietary supplements, whose quality is affected by the concentration of monosaccharide. In the present study, an effective process was developed for the simultaneous production of cello-oligosaccharide and glucose mono-decanoate from lignocellulose by enzymatic esterification. During the process, the excessive glucose in cello-oligosaccharide was converted into glucose mono-decanoate, which is a well-known biodegradable nonionic surfactant. The filter paper was initially used as the model to investigate the feasibility of the process, in which the purity of resultant cello-oligosaccharide was increased from 33.3% to 74.3%, simultaneously producing glucose mono-decanoate with a purity of 92.3%. Further verification of 3 kinds of lignocelluloses (switchgrass, cornstalk, and reed) also indicated a good performance of the process. The present process provided an effective strategy to increase the purity of resultant cello-oligosaccharide with the simultaneous production of high value-added products of sugar monoester. Graphical Abstract Simultaneous production of cello-oligosaccharide and glucose mono-decanoate from lignocellulose.

Enzymatic hydrolysis preparation of mono-O-lauroylsucrose via a mono-O-lauroylraffinose intermediate

1'-O-Lauroylsucrose and 6'-O-lauroylsucrose were formed through hydrolysis of the C-6″ galactose group of 1'-O-lauroylraffinose and 6'-O-lauroylraffinose, respectively, in the presence of α-galactosidase. The enzymatic hydrolysis of 1'-O-lauroylraffinose and 6'-O-lauroylraffinose is discussed in detail. Acetic acid-sodium acetate was chosen as the buffer solution of the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction. The optimum conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction were as follows: buffer solution, pH 3.8; enzymatic time, 48 h; and enzymatic temperature, 37 °C. Under the optimal process conditions, the efficiency of α-galactosidase was ca. 82.6%. The isomers were fully compared in solubility, hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) values, critical micelle concentration (CMC), and thermal stability. The results showed that all lauroylsucrose isomers have similar solubilities in polar solvent, HLB values, CMC values, and thermal stabilities.