Cost-efficient and process-efficient separation of geniposide from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis by high-performance counter-current chromatography

Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) fruit: a critical review of its functional nutrients, processing methods, health-promoting effects, comprehensive application and future tendencies

Gardenia fruit (GF) is the mature fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, boasting a rich array of nutrients and phytochemicals. Over time, GF has been extensively utilized in both food and medicinal contexts. In recent years, numerous studies have delved into the chemical constituents of GF and their associated pharmacological activities, encompassing its phytochemical composition and health-promoting properties. This review aims to provide a critical and comprehensive summary of GF research, covering nutrient content, extraction technologies, and potential health benefits, offering new avenues for future investigations and highlighting its potential as an innovative food resource. Additionally, the review proposes novel industrial applications for GF, such as utilizing gardenia yellow/red/blue pigments in the food industry and incorporating it with other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. By addressing current challenges in developing GF-related products, this work provides insights for potential applications in the cosmetics, food, and health products industries. Notably, there is a need for the development of more efficient extraction methods to harness the nutritional components of GF fully. Further research is needed to understand the specific molecular mechanisms underlying its bioactivities. Exploring advanced processing techniques to create innovative GF-derived products will show great promise for the future.

Scale-Up Preparation of Crocins I and II from Gardeniajasminoides by a Two-Step Chromatographic Approach and Their Inhibitory Activity Against ATP Citrate Lyase

Crocins are highly valuable natural compounds for treating human disorders, and they are also high-end spices and colorants in the food industry. Due to the limitation of obtaining this type of highly polar compound, the commercial prices of crocins I and II are expensive. In this study, macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used to purify crocins I and II from natural sources. With only two chromatographic steps, both compounds were simultaneously isolated from the dry fruit of Gardenia jasminoides, which is a cheap herbal medicine distributed in a number of countries. In an effort to shorten the isolation time and reduce solvent usage, forward and reverse rotations were successively utilized in the HSCCC isolation procedure. Crocins I and II were simultaneously obtained from a herbal resource with high recoveries of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively, and high purities of 98.7% and 99.1%, respectively, by HPLC analysis. The optimized preparation method was proven to be highly efficient, convenient, and cost-effective. Crocins I and II exhibited inhibitory activity against ATP citrate lyase, and their IC₅₀ values were determined to be 36.3 ± 6.24 and 29.7 ± 7.41 μM, respectively.

Genipin-Crosslinked Chitosan Gels and Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Regeneration of Cartilage and Bone

The present review article intends to direct attention to the technological advances made since 2009 in the area of genipin-crosslinked chitosan (GEN-chitosan) hydrogels. After a concise introduction on the well recognized characteristics of medical grade chitosan and food grade genipin, the properties of GEN-chitosan obtained with a safe, spontaneous and irreversible chemical reaction, and the quality assessment of the gels are reviewed. The antibacterial activity of GEN-chitosan has been well assessed in the treatment of gastric infections supported by Helicobacter pylori. Therapies based on chitosan alginate crosslinked with genipin include stem cell transplantation, and development of contraction free biomaterials suitable for cartilage engineering. Collagen, gelatin and other proteins have been associated to said hydrogels in view of the regeneration of the cartilage. Viability and proliferation of fibroblasts were impressively enhanced upon addition of poly-l-lysine. The modulation of the osteocytes has been achieved in various ways by applying advanced technologies such as 3D-plotting and electrospinning of biomimetic scaffolds, with optional addition of nano hydroxyapatite to the formulations. A wealth of biotechnological advances and know-how has permitted reaching outstanding results in crucial areas such as cranio-facial surgery, orthopedics and dentistry. It is mandatory to use scaffolds fully characterized in terms of porosity, pore size, swelling, wettability, compressive strength, and degree of acetylation, if the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells is sought: in fact, the novel characteristics imparted by GEN-chitosan must be simultaneously of physico-chemical and cytological nature. Owing to their high standard, the scientific publications dated 2010-2015 have met the expectations of an interdisciplinary audience.

Countercurrent Separation of Natural Products: An Update

This work assesses the current instrumentation, method development, and applications in countercurrent chromatography (CCC) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), collectively referred to as countercurrent separation (CCS). The article provides a critical review of the CCS literature from 2007 since our last review (J. Nat. Prod. 2008, 71, 1489-1508), with a special emphasis on the applications of CCS in natural products research. The current state of CCS is reviewed in regard to three continuing topics (instrumentation, solvent system development, theory) and three new topics (optimization of parameters, workflow, bioactivity applications). The goals of this review are to deliver the necessary background with references for an up-to-date perspective of CCS, to point out its potential for the natural product scientist, and thereby to induce new applications in natural product chemistry, metabolome, and drug discovery research involving organisms from terrestrial and marine sources.

Photovoltaic performance of TiO2 electrode adsorbed with gardenia yellow purified by nonionic polymeric sorbent in dye-sensitized solar cells

To improve the photovoltaic conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), TiO2 electrode adsorbed with gardenia yellow purified by nonionic polymeric sorbent was successfully formulated on nanoporous TiO2 surface. Adsorption and desorption properties of crude gardenia yellow solution on a macroporous resin, XAD-1600, were investigated to purify gardenia yellow because of its strong adsorption and desorption abilities as well as high selectivity. To this end, adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data were measured and fitted using adsorption isotherms and kinetic models. Adsorption and desorption breakthrough curves in a column packed with XAD-1600 resin was obtained to optimize the separation process of gardenia yellow. The photovoltaic performance of the photo-electrode adsorbed with the crude and purified gardenia yellow in DSSCs was compared from current-voltage measurements. The results showed that the photovoltaic conversion efficiency was highly dependent on how to separate and purify gardenia yellow as a photosensitizer.

Separation of chemical constituents from three plant medicines by counter-current chromatography using a three-phase solvent system at a novel ratio

A solvent system of n-hexane, methyl acetate, acetonitrile, and water at a novel volume ratio of 4:3:4:4 forms three layers, i.e. upper phase (UP), middle phase (MP), and lower phase (LP), with a volume ratio of 1:1.20:1.42 at room temperature (25°C). All three two-phases from this three-phase solvent system were successfully used to separate some chemical constituents from three plant medicines with counter-current chromatography (CCC). Eight coumarins (B1-B8) were obtained from petroleum ether extract of fresh roots of Angelica dahurica (Baizhi) with a stationary phase of UP and a mobile phase of LP. Six diarylheptanoids (L1-L6) were obtained from petroleum ether extract of dried rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum (Liangjiang) with a stationary phase of UP and a mobile phase of MP. Three chemical constituents (Z1-Z3) were obtained from ethyl acetate extract of fresh rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides (Zhimu) with a stationary phase of MP and a mobile phase of LP. Preparative HPLC was used for further purification if necessary. Seventeen chemical constituents were identified as oxypeucedanin hydrate (B1), byakangelicin (B2), byakangelicol (B3), bergapten (B4), oxypeucedanin (B5), imperatorin (B6), phellopterin (B7), isoimperatorin (B8), 5-hydroxy-7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone (L1), 7-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-4E-en-3-heptanone (L2), 5-hydroxy-1,7-diphenyl-3-heptanone (L3), 1,7-diphenyl-4E-en-3-heptanone (L4), 5-hydroxy-1,7-diphenyl-4E,6E-dien-3-heptanone (L5), isomers of 1,7-diphenyl-3,5-heptandione and 5-hydroxy-1,7-diphenyl-4E-en-3-heptanone (L6), mangiferin (Z1), timosaponin A-III (Z2), and 2,6,4'-trihydroxy-4-methoxy-benzophenone (Z3) by means of MS, (1)H and (13)C NMR studies. Five compounds of B3, L3, L5, L6, and Z3 were isolated by CCC for the first time.