Four new pregnane glycosides 1-4 were isolated from the ethanol extract of the stem of Gymnema sylvestre and named gymsylvestrosides A-D. Hydrolysis of compound 1 under the catalysis of Aspergilus niger β-glucosidase afforded compound 5 (gymsylvestroside E). Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods such as HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, as well as HMQC-TOCSY experiment. Compounds 1-4 ...

A high serum concentration of enterolactone, an enterolignan produced by colonic microbiota from precursors in cereals, vegetables, and fruits, is associated with reduced risk of acute coronary events. Probiotics and prebiotics modify colonic metabolism and may affect the serum enterolactone concentration. The effects of a probiotic mixture alone and with galactooligosaccharides (GOS) on serum ...

There are many reports that divalent alkaline earth, first-row transition metals, and Zn(II) ions have α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions, in particular, have strong α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. Several Schiff bases also display α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. In this study, we focused on safe and highly effective complexes including Zn(II) ion. We prepared and char...

The transformation of ginsenoside Rb1 into a specific minor ginsenoside using Aspergillus niger KCCM 11239, as well as the identification of the transformed products and the pathway via thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography were evaluated to develop a new biologically active material. The conversion of ginsenoside Rb1 generated Rd, Rg3, Rh2, and compound K althoug...

To investigate the possible roles of LAMMER kinase homologue, Lkh1, in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, whole proteins were extracted from wild type and lkh1-deletion mutant cells and subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Differentially expressed proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and were compared with a protein database. In whole-cell extracts, 10 proteins were ...

The aims of this study were the isolation and screening of fungal cultures from forest litter soil for cellulases production. Four fungal cultures were isolated and identified. Among these fungal cultures, three belonged to the genus Aspergillus and one belonged to the genus Penicillium. These fungal cultures were tested to find their ability to produce cellulases, that catalyze the degradation...

BACKGROUND Enzyme discovery is a promising approach to aid in the deconstruction of recalcitrant plant biomass in an industrial process. Novel enzymes can be readily discovered by applying metagenomics on whole microbiomes. Our goal was to select, examine, and characterize eight novel glycoside hydrolases that were previously detected in metagenomic libraries, to serve biotechnological applicat...