Thèse (M.Sc.)--Université Laval, 2004. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 13 févr. 2008). Bibliogr.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-106).

The organic extracts of Formosan soft coral Cladiella australis, collected along the coast of Kenting, Taiwan. Investigation on C. australis has led to the isolation of ten compounds 1-10, including six new compounds, australin A (1), australin B (2), australin C (3), australin D (4), (24S)-3£]-acetoxy-24-methylchloest-5-en-21-oic acid (6)¡Bcladiosulfone (10), and three compounds were first isolated from the natural sources, 5'-acetylthymidine (7), 2'-deoxy-3'-O-acetylthymidine (8), p-vinylbenzyl alcohol (9), and one know compounds (24S)-3£] -hydroxy-24-methylchloest-5-en-21-oic acid (5). Structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidences (including MS, IR, 1D and 2D NMR). Cytotoxicity of these compounds toward various cancer cell lines has also been determined.

Some New Zealand indigenous plants may offer unique qualities that can be used to secure an exclusive niche in the alcoholic drinks market in the same way that Scotch whisky and tequila are strongly identified with the country of origin, Scotland and Mexico. Tequila is a spirit distilled from a fermented agave, dry adapted lily. Agave is in the family Agavaceae, a notable New Zealand member of which is the common cabbage tree or ti kōuka (Cordyline australis). Similarly, to the agave having a fermentable core, ti kōuka has carbohydrate (inulin) content in its young stems and roots that can be hydrolysed in acidic suspensions or by enzyme hydrolysis to yield fructose. The main objective of this thesis was to systematically research the feasibility of the production of a tequila-like spirit from ti kōuka stem, profiling the chemical properties of the spirit with a view of future commercial production of an iconic New Zealand spirit. The initial stage of the thesis focused on extracting inulin from the ti kōuka stem and hydrolysing (by both acid and enzyme) it to yield reducing sugar. The sugar concentration yielded was too low (~ 10 to 15%) to be fermented and distilled economically. Rather, the ti kōuka extract was evaporated to produce flavoured products by the Maillard reaction, a reaction between amino acids and sugars. The flavoured compounds were then infused with potable ethanol. In outline, the dried stem was hydrolysed with an inulinase at 60°C for 1 hour. The pH was adjusted to 10 with sodium hydroxide and evaporated at 60°C for 65 hours. The dried extract was reconstituted with water, centrifuged and the supernatant infused with portable ethanol to yield final different concentrations of 80, 67, 57 and 50%. The ethanol treatments simultaneously extracted flavour and colour to varying degrees. Next, sugars and amino acids were analysed in the ti kōuka stems by liquid chromatography. The most abundant sugar present in the ti kōuka after inulinase hydrolysis was fructose and the dominant amino acids were arginine, leucine, lysine, and aspartic acid/aspargine and glutamic acid/glutamine. Amino acids and reducing sugar were also analysed at different stages of the spirit production. The reducing sugar content decreased during each step of the process. The relative concentrations of arginine, leucine and lysine decreased while that of aspartic and glutamic acids increased during the whole process of making the spirit. Model systems were then used to simulate the reactions taking place between the amino acids and reducing sugar present in the ti kōuka extract. The colour of the models became darker as a function of time, accumulating more brown pigment containing the flavoured compounds. Increasing the pH and concentration of the amino acids in the reaction mixture also increased the browning pigment formation. Dichloromethane and n-pentane and diethyl ether solvent extraction of the spirits and analysis of volatiles by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry revealed that the chemical profiles of the spirits were different from those of the commercial spirits, gin, tequila and whisky. Sensory evaluation was performed on four variations of the spirit, and demonstrated that the creations were consumer-acceptable. The costs and other issues involved in producing and marketing such a spirit were identified, the major selling point being geographical exclusivity.

Some New Zealand indigenous plants may offer unique qualities that can be used to secure an exclusive niche in the alcoholic drinks market in the same way that Scotch whisky and tequila are strongly identified with the country of origin, Scotland and Mexico. Tequila is a spirit distilled from a fermented agave, dry adapted lily. Agave is in the family Agavaceae, a notable New Zealand member of which is the common cabbage tree or ti kōuka (Cordyline australis). Similarly, to the agave having a fermentable core, ti kōuka has carbohydrate (inulin) content in its young stems and roots that can be hydrolysed in acidic suspensions or by enzyme hydrolysis to yield fructose. The main objective of this thesis was to systematically research the feasibility of the production of a tequila-like spirit from ti kōuka stem, profiling the chemical properties of the spirit with a view of future commercial production of an iconic New Zealand spirit. The initial stage of the thesis focused on extracting inulin from the ti kōuka stem and hydrolysing (by both acid and enzyme) it to yield reducing sugar. The sugar concentration yielded was too low (~ 10 to 15%) to be fermented and distilled economically. Rather, the ti kōuka extract was evaporated to produce flavoured products by the Maillard reaction, a reaction between amino acids and sugars. The flavoured compounds were then infused with potable ethanol. In outline, the dried stem was hydrolysed with an inulinase at 60°C for 1 hour. The pH was adjusted to 10 with sodium hydroxide and evaporated at 60°C for 65 hours. The dried extract was reconstituted with water, centrifuged and the supernatant infused with portable ethanol to yield final different concentrations of 80, 67, 57 and 50%. The ethanol treatments simultaneously extracted flavour and colour to varying degrees. Next, sugars and amino acids were analysed in the ti kōuka stems by liquid chromatography. The most abundant sugar present in the ti kōuka after inulinase hydrolysis was fructose and the dominant amino acids were arginine, leucine, lysine, and aspartic acid/aspargine and glutamic acid/glutamine. Amino acids and reducing sugar were also analysed at different stages of the spirit production. The reducing sugar content decreased during each step of the process. The relative concentrations of arginine, leucine and lysine decreased while that of aspartic and glutamic acids increased during the whole process of making the spirit. Model systems were then used to simulate the reactions taking place between the amino acids and reducing sugar present in the ti kōuka extract. The colour of the models became darker as a function of time, accumulating more brown pigment containing the flavoured compounds. Increasing the pH and concentration of the amino acids in the reaction mixture also increased the browning pigment formation. Dichloromethane and n-pentane and diethyl ether solvent extraction of the spirits and analysis of volatiles by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry revealed that the chemical profiles of the spirits were different from those of the commercial spirits, gin, tequila and whisky. Sensory evaluation was performed on four variations of the spirit, and demonstrated that the creations were consumer-acceptable. The costs and other issues involved in producing and marketing such a spirit were identified, the major selling point being geographical exclusivity.

Various cytological, physiological and biochemical properties of the blood have been examined in different life cycle stages of the lamprey Geotria australia. Initial experiments to determine physiologically realistic upper temperatures yielded an ultimate lethal temperature for larvae of 28.3oC. Since this value is comparatively low, it helps explain the restriction of G. australis to more southern rivers in Australia. The haematocrit (46.2%), red blood cell number (1.231 X 106 cells mm-3) and haemoglobin concentration (11.8g 100ml-l) of adult G. australis are more typical of comparable stages in holarctic lampreys than those of their ammocoetes (41.5%, 1.809 106 cells mm-3, 11.1 g 100 ml-1). During metamorphosis, the pattern of change in haemopoietic sites, haemoglobin electropherograms and the proportion of mature erythrocytes, indicate that erythrocytes containing larval and adult haemoglobins always originate in different structures. The molecular weights (c 17000) and pI values (5.1-6.4) of G. australis haemoglobins are similar to those of other lampreys. The P50 of larval blood is very low, while that of adult blood is more comparable to that of other lampreys (cf. 0.92 mm Hg for ammocoete and 10.3 mm Hg for adult at pH 7.75 and 15oC). Increases in temperature do not affect the Bohr shift (range -0.16 to -0.27) but are accompanied by a shift of the oxygen dissociation curve to the right. The major plasma iron binding proteins have molecular weights of 354,000 in the ammocoete and 296,000 in the adult and contain 20 and 4 subunits respectively. The larval IBP is thus ferritin-like while that of the adult is transferring-like, features consistent with their respective pI values, Fe/protein ratios and ultrastructure. Total plasma iron was 19,760 ug 100 ml-1 in larvae and 34 ug 100 ml-1 in adults. Iron granules were present in the columnar cells of the posterior intestine in small or negligible amounts in the Petromyzonidae and in very large amounts in the Mordaciidea. While some iron was found in the same location in the Geotriidae, it was also present in very large concentrations elsewhere in the body. The high haemoglobin concentration and blood iron levels, and the large iron deposits and the low P50 in larval G. australis, probably represent adaptations to reduced environmental oxygen tensions.

A Austrália é um país cuja fauna é um repositório de potenciais novos biofármacos, pois se encontram no continente os animais mais mortais do planeta, dentre eles, as serpentes. A serpente Pseudechis australis (Mulga snake) é a maior serpente venenosa da Austrália e tem ampla distribuição geográfica. Os venenos de serpentes são complexas misturas com proteínas e peptídeos que apresentam uma variedade de atividades biológicas. Devido à riqueza de seus componentes, várias moléculas encontradas no veneno vêm sendo utilizadas com fins terapêuticos, como agentes anticoagulantes ou analgésicos. Apesar dessas informações, existem poucos dados disponíveis sobre os componentes específicos deste veneno. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo isolar e caracterizar as proteases desse veneno, ainda não descritas, um primeiro passo para compreender o papel destas enzimas no processo de envenenamento, assim como seus inibidores endógenos. Estes desempenham uma função protetora da glândula de veneno, inibindo a ação das enzimas in loco, prevenindo assim a degradação do tecido glandular por estas toxinas. O interesse nestes inibidores está relacionado ao seu potencial uso na terapia de diversas doenças como distúrbios da coagulação, hipertensão e câncer. / Australia is a natural repository of some of the deadliest venomous animals on the planet and, as such, a potential source for new toxin-derived drugs. Venomous snakes are among the many potential sources of new promising compounds. Snake venoms are complex mixtures of proteins and peptides that exhibit a variety of biological activities which all are directed towards subduing the prey and/or aggressor. These toxins act disturbing homeostasis, affecting neural transmission, hemostasis, tissue integrity as well as other body functions. Such a a wide array of specific activities has turned snake toxins into successful drugs used for therapeutic purposes, as anticoagulants or analgesic agents. Unlike snake venoms from other parts of the world, there are few records on the venom composition of Australian snakes, turning these into potential sources of new bioactive molecules for drug design. This study aims to isolate and characterize the yet undescribed proteases of the venom of P. australis as well as their endogenous inhibitors, as a first step in understanding the role of these enzymes in the envenoming process.

A Austrália é um país cuja fauna é um repositório de potenciais novos biofármacos, pois se encontram no continente os animais mais mortais do planeta, dentre eles, as serpentes. A serpente Pseudechis australis (Mulga snake) é a maior serpente venenosa da Austrália e tem ampla distribuição geográfica. Os venenos de serpentes são complexas misturas com proteínas e peptídeos que apresentam uma variedade de atividades biológicas. Devido à riqueza de seus componentes, várias moléculas encontradas no veneno vêm sendo utilizadas com fins terapêuticos, como agentes anticoagulantes ou analgésicos. Apesar dessas informações, existem poucos dados disponíveis sobre os componentes específicos deste veneno. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo isolar e caracterizar as proteases desse veneno, ainda não descritas, um primeiro passo para compreender o papel destas enzimas no processo de envenenamento, assim como seus inibidores endógenos. Estes desempenham uma função protetora da glândula de veneno, inibindo a ação das enzimas in loco, prevenindo assim a degradação do tecido glandular por estas toxinas. O interesse nestes inibidores está relacionado ao seu potencial uso na terapia de diversas doenças como distúrbios da coagulação, hipertensão e câncer. / Australia is a natural repository of some of the deadliest venomous animals on the planet and, as such, a potential source for new toxin-derived drugs. Venomous snakes are among the many potential sources of new promising compounds. Snake venoms are complex mixtures of proteins and peptides that exhibit a variety of biological activities which all are directed towards subduing the prey and/or aggressor. These toxins act disturbing homeostasis, affecting neural transmission, hemostasis, tissue integrity as well as other body functions. Such a a wide array of specific activities has turned snake toxins into successful drugs used for therapeutic purposes, as anticoagulants or analgesic agents. Unlike snake venoms from other parts of the world, there are few records on the venom composition of Australian snakes, turning these into potential sources of new bioactive molecules for drug design. This study aims to isolate and characterize the yet undescribed proteases of the venom of P. australis as well as their endogenous inhibitors, as a first step in understanding the role of these enzymes in the envenoming process.

Thesis (M. Sc.(Wildlife Management))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.