Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 27;15(1):6330. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50724-z. A solution for 4-propylguaiacol hydrodeoxygenation without ring saturation. Zhang Z(#)(1), Li Q(#)(2), Wu X(1), Bourmaud C(3), Vlachos DG(4)(5), Luterbacher J(6), Bodi A(7), Hemberger P(8). Author information: (1)Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland. (2)Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, 221 Academy St., Newark, DE, 19716, USA. (3)Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 6, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland. (4)Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, 221 Academy St., Newark, DE, 19716, USA. vlachos@udel.edu. (5)Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, 150 Academy St., Newark, DE, 19716, USA. vlachos@udel.edu. (6)Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 6, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland. jeremy.luterbacher@epfl.ch. (7)Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland. andras.bodi@psi.ch. (8)Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, 5232, Switzerland. patrick.hemberger@psi.ch. (#)Contributed equally We investigate solvent effects in the hydrodeoxygenation of 4-propylguaiacol (4PG, 166 amu), a key lignin-derived monomer, over Ru/C catalyst by combined operando synchrotron photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. With and without isooctane co-feeding, ring-hydrogenated 2-methoxy-4-propylcyclohexanol (172 amu) is the first product, due to the favorable flat adsorption configuration of 4PG on the catalyst surface. In contrast, tetrahydrofuran (THF)-a polar aprotic solvent that is representative of those used for lignin solubilization and upgrading-strongly coordinates to the catalyst surface at the oxygen atom. This induces a local steric hindrance, blocking the flat adsorption of 4PG more effectively, as it needs more Ru sites than the tilted adsorption configuration revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Therefore, THF suppresses benzene ring hydrogenation, favoring a demethoxylation route that yields 4-propylphenol (136 amu), followed by dehydroxylation to propylbenzene (120 amu). Solvent selection may provide new avenues for controlling catalytic selectivity. © 2024. The Author(s). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50724-z PMCID: PMC11283461 PMID: 39068201 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests. 2. J Agric Food Chem. 2024 Mar 13;72(10):5258-5268. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c09646. Epub 2024 Mar 2. Antifungal Activity and Mechanism of 4-Propylphenol Against Fusarium graminearum, Agent of Wheat Scab, and Its Potential Application. Sun S(1), Tang N(1), Han K(2), You J(3), Liu A(2), Wang Q(2), Xu Q(1). Author information: (1)National Key Laboratory of Wheat Improvement, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China. (2)National Key Laboratory of Wheat Improvement, College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China. (3)Shandong Guocangjian Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Taian 271018, China. Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a predominant disease of wheat. Due to the lack of disease-resistant germplasm, chemical control is an important means to control wheat scab. Volatile substances produced in near-isogenic wheat lines were detected after inoculation with F. graminearum, and 4-propylphenol, which appears in FHB-resistant lines, was identified. In vitro and in vivo antifungal activity tests demonstrate that 4-propylphenol effectively inhibits the mycelial growth of F. graminearum. Metabolomics analysis showed changes in glutathione metabolism, indicating that 4-propylphenol triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. This was consistent with the increasing ROS levels in Fusarium cells treated with 4-propylphenol. Further results demonstrated that excessive accumulation of ROS induced DNA and cell membrane damage in the mycelium. Moreover, 4-propylphenol showed different degrees of inhibition against other soil-borne pathogens (fungi and oomycetes). These findings illustrated that 4-propylphenol has broad spectrum and high antifungal activity and should be considered for use as an ecological fungicide. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c09646 PMID: 38430124 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 3. Materials (Basel). 2022 Dec 10;15(24):8826. doi: 10.3390/ma15248826. A Top-Down Approach and Thermal Characterization of Luminescent Hybrid BPA.DA-MMA@Ln(2)L(3) Materials Based on Lanthanide(III) 1H-Pyrazole-3,5-Dicarboxylates. Łyszczek R(1), Vlasyuk D(1), Podkościelna B(2), Głuchowska H(1), Piramidowicz R(3), Jusza A(3). Author information: (1)Department of General and Coordination Chemistry and Crystallography, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, M. Curie-Skłodowskiej Sq. 2, 20-031 Lublin, Poland. (2)Department of Polymer Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Gliniana 33, 20-614 Lublin, Poland. (3)Institute of Microelectronics and Optoelectronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Koszykowa 75, 00-662 Warsaw, Poland. In this study, novel hybrid materials exhibiting luminescent properties were prepared and characterized. A top-down approach obtained a series of polymeric materials with incorporated different amounts (0.1; 0.2; 0.5; 1, and 2 wt.%) of dopants, i.e., europium(III) and terbium(III) 1H-pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylates, as luminescent sources. Methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A diacrylate monomers were applied for matrix formation. The resulting materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal analysis methods (TG-DTG-DSC, TG-FTIR) in air and nitrogen atmosphere, as well as by luminescence spectroscopy. The homogeneity of the resulting materials was investigated by means of optical microscopy. All obtained materials exhibited good thermal stability in both oxidizing and inert atmospheres. The addition of lanthanide(III) complexes slightly changed the thermal decomposition pathways. The main volatile products of materials pyrolysis are carbon oxides, water, methyl methacrylic acid and its derivatives, bisphenol A, 4-propylphenol, and methane. The luminescence properties of the lanthanide complexes and the prepared hybrid materials were investigated in detail. DOI: 10.3390/ma15248826 PMCID: PMC9786596 PMID: 36556638 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 4. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jun 15;825:153706. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153706. Epub 2022 Feb 7. Formation pathway of disinfection by-products of lignin monomers in raw water during disinfection. Xu X(1), Kang J(1), Shen J(1), Zhao S(1), Wang B(1), Yan P(1), Fu Q(2), Chen Z(3). Author information: (1)State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. (2)China University of Geosciences, School of Environmental Studies, Wuhan 430074, China. (3)State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: zhonglinchen@hit.edu.cn. In this study, the dissolved organic matter (DOM) profiles of water samples from a water source in northeastern China were analyzed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), and its changes after chlorination were investigated. The results showed that lignin substances accounted for a significant proportion in DOM and chlorinated products and were the main precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs). During disinfection, macromolecular DOM was transformed into small molecules, and lignin substances have the most obvious and complex changes in reaction. Two lignin monomers 4-propylphenol (4PP) and 4-propylguaiacol (4PG) were used as model compounds to study their reaction kinetics and degradation pathways during disinfection. The degradation of both lignin monomers conformed to pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics, and the reaction rate constant of 4PG was higher than that of 4PP. The effects of chlorine dosage, pH and temperature on the degradation reaction kinetics of two lignin monomers were investigated. The degradation rates of 4PP and 4PG increased with increasing chlorine dosage, pH and temperature. The two monomers showed similar properties in the chlorination degradation process, and generated multiple intermediates, which were mainly transformed into small molecules by chlorine electrophilic substitution and nucleophilic substitution, and further generated DBPs. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153706 PMID: 35143787 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 5. Molecules. 2021 Dec 20;26(24):7694. doi: 10.3390/molecules26247694. Hydrodemethoxylation/Dealkylation on Bifunctional Nanosized Zeolite Beta. Popova M(1), Szegedi Á(2), Oykova M(1), Lazarova H(1), Koseva N(3), Mihályi MR(2), Karashanova D(4), Mitrev Y(1), Shestakova P(1). Author information: (1)Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. (2)Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Magyar Tudosok krt. 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary. (3)Institute of Polymers, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl. 103A, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. (4)Institute of Optical Materials and Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl. 109, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. Mono-, and bimetallic Ni-, Ru-, and Pt-modified nanosized Beta zeolite catalysts were prepared by the post synthesis method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption, HRTEM microscopy, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR-TGA), ATR FT-IR spectroscopy, and by solid-state MAS-NMR spectroscopy. The presence of nanosized nickel-oxide, ruthenium-oxide, and platinum species was detected on the catalysts. The presence of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites, and incorporation of nickel ions into zeolite lattice was proven by FT-IR of adsorbed pyridine. The structural changes in the catalyst matrix were investigated by solid state NMR spectroscopy. The catalysts were used in a gas-phase hydrodemethoxylation and dealkylation of 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol as a lignin derivative molecule for phenol synthesis. DOI: 10.3390/molecules26247694 PMCID: PMC8708772 PMID: 34946777 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.