A study was conveyed to produce estolide ester using ricinoleic acid as the backbone. The ricinoleic acid reacted with saturated fatty acid from C8-C18. These reactions were conducted under vacuum at 60°C for 24 h without solvent. The reaction used acid catalyst, sulphuric acid. The new saturate ricinoleic estolide esters show superior low-temperature properties (-52 ± 0.08°C) and high flash po...

Xenoestrogens can interfere with normal estrogen signaling by competitively binding to the estrogen receptor (ER) and activating transcription of target genes. In this study, we cloned the estrogen receptor alpha (vbERalpha) and beta 2 (vbERbeta2) genes from liver of the indigenous Taiwanese cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus and tested the direct impact of several xenoestrogens on these ERs...

When the homogenate of fresh tea tree leaves was fermented to produce black tea beverage, the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (main pathogen or endophyte of Camellia sinensis) may be mixed into the fermentation liquor. However, it was unclear whether C. gloeosporioides-contaminated tea beverage would damage human health. Therefore, we investigated the changes of functional components and the inf...

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) were mixed with diet at graded levels of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2. 0.4 and 1.0 wt-% and given to pregnant ICR mice throughout gestation. Maternal weight gain was suppressed and fetal resorption increased at 0.2, 0.4 and 1.0% levels of DEHP and 1.0% level of DBP. All the implanted ova died early in rats fed 0.4 and 1.0% levels of DEHP. Exter...

Nonylphenol (NP) is an ultimate degradation product of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPE) that is primarily used in cleaning and industrial processes. Its widespread use has led to the wide existence of NP in various environmental matrices, such as water, sediment, air and soil. NP can be decreased by biodegradation through the action of microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Half...

Estrogen-like endocrine disrupting compounds (EEDC) such as bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and phthalic acid esters are toxic compounds that may occur in both raw- and drinking water. The aim of this study was to combine chemical- and bioassay to evaluate the risk of EEDCs in the drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). Fifty-six samples were collected from seven DWTPs located in northern-, central-...

The depigmenting effect of kojic acid esters synthesized by the esterification of kojic acid using Rhizomucor miehei immobilized lipase was investigated in B16F1 melanoma cells. The depigmenting effect of kojic acid and kojic acid esters was evaluated by the inhibitory effect of melanin formation and tyrosinase activity on alpha-stimulating hormone- (α-MSH-) induced melanin synthesis in B16F1 m...

Antioxidant properties of mono- and dihydroxyphenolic acids and their alkyl esters were examined, with emphasis on the relationship between their molecular structure and antioxidant activity. Test media with different tocopherol level were used for determining the oxidative stability: original refined sunflower oil (total tocopherols 149.0 mg/kg), partially tocopherol-stripped sunflower oil (to...

silica-bonded n-propyldiethylenetriamine sulfamic acid (sbpdsa) was found as an efficient solid acid for the synthesis of coumarins. coumarin derivatives were obtained via the pechmann condensation reaction of phenols and β-keto-esters at 80 oc under solvent-free conditions. also, biscoumarins were obtained via the condensation of aldehydes and 4-hydroxycoumarin in water at reflux conditions. t...