Oxidation of the flavonol fisetin by polyphenol oxidase

Latent and active aurone synthase from petals of C. grandiflora: a polyphenol oxidase with unique characteristics

Aurone synthase belongs to the novel group 2 polyphenol oxidases and the presented kinetic characterization suggests a differing aurone biosynthesis in Asteraceae species compared to snapdragon. Aurone synthases (AUS) are polyphenol oxidases (PPO) physiologically involved in the formation of yellow aurone pigments in petals of various Asteraceae species. They catalyze the oxidative conversion of chalcones into aurones. Latent (58.9 kDa) and active (41.6 kDa) aurone synthase from petals of C. grandiflora was purified by a quantitative removal of pigments using aqueous two-phase separation and several subsequent chromatographic steps. The purified enzymes were identified as cgAUS1 (A0A075DN54) and sequence analysis revealed that cgAUS1 is a member of a new group of plant PPOs. Mass determination experiments of intact cgAUS1 gave evidence that the C-terminal domain, usually shielding the active site of latent polyphenol oxidases, is linked to the main core by a disulfide bond. This is a novel and unique structural feature of plant PPOs. Proteolytic activation in vivo leads to active aurone synthase possessing a residual peptide of the C-terminal domain. Kinetic characterization of purified cgAUS1 strongly suggests a specific involvement in 4-deoxyaurone biosynthesis in Coreopsis grandiflora (Asteraceae) that differs in various aspects compared to the 4-hydroxyaurone formation in Antirrhinum majus (Plantaginaceae): cgAUS1 is predicted to be localized in the thylakoid lumen, it possesses exclusively diphenolase activity and the results suggest that aurone formation occurs at the level of chalcone aglycones. The latent enzyme exhibits allosteric activation which changes at a specific product concentration to a constant reaction rate. The presented novel structural and functional properties of aurone synthase provide further insights in the diversity and role of plant PPOs.

Cloning and functional expression in E. coli of a polyphenol oxidase transcript from Coreopsis grandiflora involved in aurone formation

Polyphenol oxidases are involved in aurone biosynthesis but the gene responsible for 4-deoxyaurone formation in Asteraceae was so far unknown. Three novel full-length cDNA sequences were isolated from Coreopsis grandiflora with sizes of 1.80kb (cgAUS1) and 1.85kb (cgAUS2a, 2b), encoding for proteins of 68-69kDa, respectively. cgAUS1 is preferably expressed in young petals indicating a specific role in pigment formation. The 58.9kDa AUS1 holoproenzyme, was recombinantly expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The enzyme shows only diphenolase activity, catalyzing the conversion of chalcones to aurones and was characterized by SDS-PAGE and shot-gun type nanoUHPLC-ESI-MS/MS.

Washing of cut persimmon with thyme or lemon essential oils

The aim of this study was to develop a minimally processed persimmon product by applying different concentrations of thyme essential oil or lemon essential oil on the product in order to increase its shelf life. Essential oils were applied on cut persimmon in a preliminary stage of immersion, and the samples were then stored at 4 ℃ for seven days. Moisture content, soluble solids content, antioxidant capacity, total phenols, pH, optical and mechanical properties and microbiology counts were periodically analysed. Noteworthy was that the application of thyme essential oil in the washing stage improved the preservation of the fruits' colour. All samples would be considered safe according to microbiology requirements and based on the period of study, regardless of the type of essential oil applied.

Polyphenol oxidase activity and differential accumulation of polyphenolics in seed coats of pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) characterize postharvest color changes

Postharvest darkening of pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was evaluated in a population of recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between CDC Pintium (a regular-darkening line) and 1533-15 (a slow-darkening line). Flavonoid metabolite concentrations, polyphenol oxidase activity, lignin concentration, and seed coat anatomy characteristics were assessed for cosegregation with the darkening phenotype. Significantly lower kaempferol concentrations (p = 0.00001) together with differences in polyphenol oxidase activity (p = 0.0045) were two of the key findings associated with these recombinant inbred lines. In addition, two different assays (thioglycolic acid and Klason lignin) to quantify lignin together with an assessment of extractable condensed tannin were used to estimate the contribution of these polymers to changes in the seed coat tissue. This is the first report of precise biochemical characterization of polyphenolics that associate with postharvest darkening in legumes.

Spectral simulation study on the influence of the principal component analysis step on principal component regression

Principal component regression (PCR) is unique in that the principal component analysis (PCA) step is explicitly involved in the central part of the method. In the present paper, the PCA part is examined in order to study the influence of noise in spectra on PCR by spectral simulation. It has been suggested, as a result, that PCR calibration would have a large inaccuracy when the estimated number of basis factors analyzed by the eigenvalue method is less than that by cross-validation, which was studied by use of synthesized spectra. This instability is because the minute noise is largely enhanced by the PCA calculation via the normalization of loadings. At the same time, the noise enhancement by PCA has also been characterized to influence the estimation of basis factors.

Oxidation products of quercetin catalyzed by mushroom tyrosinase

Quercetin was oxidized as a substrate catalyzed by mushroom tyrosinase to the corresponding o-quinone and subsequent isomerization to p-quinone methide type intermediate; followed by the addition of water on C-2 yielding a relatively stable intermediate, 2-(3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxy-3(2H)-benzofuranone. In the presence of a catalytic amount of l-DOPA as a cofactor, the rate of this oxidation was enhanced. Fisetin, which lacks the C-5 hydroxyl group, was also oxidized but the rate of oxidation was faster than that of quercetin, indicating that the C-5 hydroxyl group is not essential but is associated with the activity.

Different antioxidant effects of polyphenols on lipid peroxidation and hydroxyl radicals in the NADPH-, Fe-ascorbate- and Fe-microsomal systems

Antioxidant and pro-oxidant effects of 14 naturally occurring polyphenols (PP) on rat liver microsomal lipid peroxidation (LP) and hydroxyl radical (*OH) production were studied in NADPH-dependent, 50 microM Fe(2+)-500 microM ascorbate (Fe-AA) or 50 microM Fe(2+) system, respectively. LP determined by the thiobarbituric acid method was inhibited in the NADPH system by flavonols and trans-resveratrol that were more effective than other flavonoids and derivatives of benzoic and cinnamic acid and were mostly more efficient than in the Fe-AA system. Inhibition of LP in the Fe system was higher by one order of magnitude than in the Fe-AA system. *OH production in the NADPH system, measured by formaldehyde production, was decreased by myricetin, fisetin and quercetin, but increased by kaempferol, morin and trans-resveratrol, indicating that z.rad;OH played a minor role in LP, which all of these PP inhibited. None of these PP at up to 40 microM concentration quenched *OH in the Fe-AA system. All tested PP, except trans-resveratrol and gentisic acid, spectrally interacted with Fe(2+) or Fe(3+), indicating formation of complexes or oxidation of PP. In contrast to the NADPH system we found no correlation between Fe(2+) chelation and inhibition of Fe-AA- or Fe-dependent LP indicating that iron chelation did not play a significant role in the two latter systems. It is concluded that the inhibition of LP by PP was apparently due to their hydrogen donating properties rather than chelation of iron.

HTS Compatible Assay for Antioxidative Agents Using Primary Cultured Hepatocytes

We have used primary cultured rat hepatocytes to establish a system that is compatible with HTS for screening substance libraries for biologically active compounds. The hepatocytes were treated with t-BHP to induce oxidative stress, leading to the formation ROS. The involvement of ROS in oxidative stress and pathological alterations has been of major interest in recent years, and there is great demand to identify new compounds with antioxidant potential. In most HTS programs each compound is tested in duplicate, and may only be tested once. Because of this it is important to develop assays that can identify candidate compounds accurately and with high confidence. Using newly available cell-based assay systems, we have developed a system that can detect active compounds (hits) with a high degree of confidence. As an example of an agent that can be detected from a substance library, we analyzed the effect of fisetin as an antioxidative compound using this system. All measurements were performed using the newly developed and highly versatile Multilabel-Reader Mithras LB 940 (Berthold Technologies, Bad Wildbad, Germany). The data presented show that all Z' factors determined were highly reliable. Although the protocol is primarily designed to screen for substances with antioxidative potential, it can easily be adapted to screen for other biologically active substances.