Zingiber officinale is a frequently used herb and food flavouring agent, commonly known as ginger. Z. officinale belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, comprising of more than 1200 species [1]. In traditional therapeutic systems, Z. officinale is known for its various medicinal properties that give rise to the ability to cure a variety of diseases. Ginger oil is a potential commodity, but the extraction of these oils takes a long time to produce good quality essential oils. Thus, optimization work is required in the extraction process. In this study, the extraction was performed with the hydro-distillation method, which has been widely used to extract essential oils from natural plant and herbs due to its feasibility and green technology The extraction was carried out over several extraction cycles from 15 minutes until the amount of essential oil recovered is almost unchanged. The maximum yield in ginger essential oil extract achieved 0.5% from 100 g starting material. This yield was obtained on optimum temperature conditions, extraction time and water to material ratio such as 204 W, 120 min, and 1:4 mL/g. The mathematical model of essential oil extraction was constructed, which is a crucial step in the industrial plant project because it helps to understand the extraction process and to achieve optimal operating conditions. The process kinetics in this study was modeled by the first and second-order kinetic models. The kinetics of the extraction of ginger essential oil by the hydrodistillation method has demonstrated that the extraction process is based on a second model as it has been done experimentally. The second order model was satisfactorily modified, with extremely high correlation coefficients (R2= 0.99355), demonstrating that the process was successfully described.

Objective: To study the inhibition effects of indirubin analogues with GSK-3β protein using molecular modeling and docking tools.Materials and Methods: Crystal structure of GSK-3β was taken from Protein data bank (PDB ID: 1Q41). The construction and optimization of the three-dimensional structure of small molecules was done using ChemDraw and Chem3D version 18.1 (PerkinElmer®). All ligands and protein were prepared for docking using Auto Dock Tools (ADT) 1.5.6. AutoDock 4.2.6 was utilized for the molecular docking simulation.Results: Overall, amongst 12 indirubin derivatives, 8 analogues appear to inhibit GSK-3β function based on docking score ranking, the formed hydrogen bonds of topmost compounds share same residues in the binding site as compared to standard indirubin-3'-oxime. Conclusion:Further in vitro and in vivo experimentation are needed to confirm the efficacy and potency of potential compounds. This model can be applied for design candidate drug with desired biological properties by chemical modification in functional group at appropriate places.

For the first time, the total lipid content and lipid class composition of  the Vietnamese soft corals (Sinularia brassica, Sinularia flexibilis) and fire corals (Millepora dichotoma, Millepora platyphylla) were investigated. The results indicated that the total lipid content of the investigated species was significantly different. Compositions of the lipid classes were analyzed using TLC and image analysis program Sorbfil TLC Videodensitometer DV and the results showed that phospholipids (PL, 10.91–16.02%), monoalkyldiacylglycerols (MADAG, 20.69-39.92%) and hydrocarbon wax (HW, 29.83-37.17%) were the main lipid classes of the total lipid in soft coral species. Meanwhile, PL (24.11-33.23%), TG (14.27–34.92%), ST (10.10–14.50%) and HW (12.08–19.95%) were predominant in fire coral species. ST, TG and FFA contents in soft and fire corals were at low level. DG was only present in the Sinularia flexibilis but not in other studied corals.

This study aims to determine the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from Schefflera octophylla L. harvested in Pha Dong commune, Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province, Vietnam. To determine the concentration of volatile components, GC - MS was performed. The results showed that the content of volatile substances occupied 97.07% of essential oils. Some main ingredients having medicinal properties were myrcene (9.0%), cis-β-elemene (6.67%), E-caryophylene (β-caryophylene) (24.91%), α-selinene (6.30%), β-selinene (7.29%). This study opens new potentials in the application of chemical ingredients in the fields of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture and in some therapeutic activities.

Baeckea frutescens is a tropical plant with great medicinal potential. The oil of B. frutescens has high inhibitory, antibacterial and antifungal properties, especially against Staphylococcus aureus strains. The oil of B. frutescens has a spicy, bitter and warm properties that can cure aches and pains. In this study, the essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and the chemical analysis of B. frutescens essential oils was carried out using GC-MS. It was revealed that main components of leaf oil B. frutescens included 26 compounds such as tasmanone (21.46%), β-pinene (15.64%), 1,8-cineole (11.32%), α-thujene (8.74%), α-pinene (7.18%), linalool (7.44%), terpinen-4-ol (5.11%), α-terpineol (4.46%), γ-terpinene (3.37%), o-cymene (2.72%). The results open new directions in the application of compounds in B. frutescens essential oils to expand research and development of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.