Context: A methanol extract of Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae) rhizomes showed inhibitory activity against a-glucosidase and a-amylase, two enzymes involve in carbohydrate digestion. Objective: Identification of compounds from C. rotundus rhizomes responsible for the inhibition of a-glucosidase and a-amylase. Materials and methods: Compounds were identified by a phytochemical investigation using combined chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. a-glucosidase and a-amylase inhibitory activities were evaluated by in vitro enzyme inhibition assays.0 ,5,6,7,8-hexahydroxyflavane (1), together with three known stilbene dimers cassigarol E (2), scirpusin A (3) and B (4) were isolated. Compound 2 inhibited both a-glucosidase and a-amylase activities while the flavane 1 only showed effect on a-amylase, and compounds 3 and 4 were active on a-glucosidase. All four compounds showed significant 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity. Discussion: The inhibitory activities against a-amylase and a-glucosidase of the C. rotundus rhizomes were reported for the first time. Stilbene dimers are considered as potent inhibitors of a-glucosidase and promising antihyperglycemic agents. Conclusion: The isolated compounds may contribute to the antidiabetic property of C. rotundus.

One new and three known compounds were isolated from the ethanol extract of Psychotria prainii aerial parts. By means of spectroscopic methods, their structures were elucidated to be deacetylasperulosidic acid 6-ethyl ether (1), asperulosidic acid (2), asperuloside (3) and obtucarbamates C (4). The isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effect on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Among them, compounds 2 and 4 exhibited strong effect with the IC values of 5.75 ± 0.85 and 6.92 ± 0.43 μM, respectively. This is the first report for the chemical composition and biological activity of P. prainii.

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Currently, the pleating technique is favored by famous fashion houses in the world and Vietnam because of its beauty and sophistication. This study aims to study pleating techniques, testing papers, and several polyester fabrics to form pleats under paper mold pressing by the manual heat-pressing method with three types of heat-pressed equipment such as steam iron, oven, and homemade heated box. One of the experiment results is a parameter table of the ability of fabrics and paper to pleat under certain conditions of temperature and time. Besides, a set of paper molds, a set of pleated fabric samples, and the above data table are also reference sources for major students or those who are interested in research, a collection, or a fashion project involving pleating techniques. The study is not only to add knowledge about new processing methods to the content of the material handling subject, but also to increase the ability to self-study, improve the subjectivity dynamic, and shorten self-study time in the process of creating new fashion models based on existing factory conditions.

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