In this study, soil and sediment samples from known sources (sewage treatment plants, chicken farms, paddy fields and palm oil plantations) were analyzed for selected organic compounds (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and sterols). Samples were extracted using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) techniques. The data sets obtained were subjected to chemometric...

Sugars are recognized as signaling molecules regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in plants. Here, a modulatory effect of sugars on dolichol and phytosterol profiles was noted in the hairy roots of Arabidopsis thaliana. Arabidopsis roots contain a complex dolichol mixture comprising three groups ('families') of dolichols differing in the chain-length. These dolichols, especially...

Consumption of plant sterols or stanols (collectively referred to as phytosterols) and their esters results in decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is associated with decreased atherosclerotic risk. The mechanisms by which phytosterols impart their effects, however, are incompletely characterized. The objective of the present study is to determine if pancreatic cholesterol ester...

White spot syndrome (WSS) is one of the most common and most disastrous diseases of shrimp worldwide. It causes up to 100% mortality within 3 to 4 days in commercial shrimp farms, resulting in large economic losses to the shrimp farming industry. VP28 envelope protein of WSSV is reported to play a key role in the systemic infection in shrimps. Considering the most sombre issue of viral disease ...

Phytochemical investigation of Strobilanthes crispus has led to the isolation of 1-heptacosanol (1), tetracosanoic acid (2), stigmasterol (3) from the hexane extract, a mixture of four C20-C24 fatty acid esters of βamyrin (4), taraxerol (5), taraxerone (6), a mixture of two C22 and C24 fatty acid esters of taraxerol (7) from the dichloromethane extract, 4-acetyl-2,7-dihydroxy-1,4,8-triphenyloct...

Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.) were grown in the field and the apex was removed at the 42-day stage. Shading screens were set up which produced 0, 26, 67, and 90% shade. Plants were grown an additional 25 days before leaves from top, middle, and bottom stalk positions were harvested. Each leaf group was analyzed for free sterol, steryl ester, steryl glycoside, and acylsteryl glycoside. T...

Sterols are isoprenoid-derived lipids that are produced via the mevalonate pathway and are involved in various cellular functions in eukaryotes such as maintenance of membrane integrity and biosynthetic precursors of steroid hormones. Among cellular sterols, Delta(22)-sterols containing a double bond at C-22 in the sterol side chain specifically occur in fungi (ergosterol) and plants (stigmaste...

Wood compounds, especially sterols, are connected with the level of contamination with microscopic fungi. Within this study, tests were conducted on wood dust samples collected at various work stations in a pine and birch timber conversion plant. Their contamination with mycobiota was measured as the concentration of ergosterol (ERG) by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Another ai...

The increased use of plant sterols as cholesterol-lowering agents warrants further research on the possible effects of plant sterols in membranes. In this study, the effects of the incorporation of cholesterol, campesterol, beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol in phospholipid bilayers were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), resonance energy transfer (RET) between trans parinar...