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 Betulin is a pentacyclic lupane-type triterpene, mainly obtained from Betula species plants with a variety of biological actions such as anti-HIV and anticancer properties. This study aimed to enhance the production of betulin in cultures of Betula litwinowii calli under the influence of concentrations and duration time of elicitors and precursors. Collected leaves from Sangdeh habitat in summer, were cultured in WPM medium containing 2,4-D and BAP hormones. Four month calli were sub-cultured in medium containing elicitors such as salicylic acid, chlorocholine chloride and cobalt chloride and precursors such as sucrose, vitamin and glucose. . Calli were harvested from new culture media after two, three and four weeks and their wet and dry weights were calculated. Data analysis was performed based on two-factor factorial experiment (the first factor, elicitors and precursors each in four levels and the second factor, time with three levels) in a completely randomized design with three replications with SPSS software. Duncan's multiple range test were performed to compare the mean (p≤0.01). The results showed that two week elicitation with chlorocholine chloride (1.5 mg/l for one week) was the best with a more than 3-fold increasing in betulin induction compared to the control treatment (0.068 mg / g). The use of vitamin precursor (ten-fold the normal amount in WPM culture medium) for three weeks, causes the highest increase in betulin induction compared to the control (0.1 mg / g, respectively). In general, in the present study, this treatment is introduced as the best. 

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Vitamins D and E are two common medicines for diabetes treatment. Among the main issues in this field is the release of insulin into the circulatory system. Increasing the stability of insulin hexamer is an evolving strategy in improving insulin secretion efficiency. Insulin protein is commonly found in three forms: monomer, dimer, and hexamer. In this study, for the first time, computational approaches were used to investigate the effect of vitamins D3 and E on the stability of insulin hexamer. The molecular docking results indicate six specific binding sites for these vitamins. These bind to the hydrophobic sites of insulin subunits due to their structural rings and hydrophobic properties. The G-mmpbsa analysis indicates the stabilizing role of both vitamins. The binding of these vitamins to the hexamer has significantly increased the binding energy between insulin subunits. Also, the number of hydrogen bonds between monomeric subunits of each insulin homodimer increased in the presence of the vitamins. It also significantly increases the number of internal hydrogen bonds of hexamer protein. Accordingly, vitamins D3 and E bind to and stabilize the insulin hexamer, resulting in a slower and more balanced insulin release as well as a longer half-life for the dimer in the bloodstream. These findings will pave the way to design a new strategy to regulate insulin release and increase its half-life in the blood for type II diabetes treatment. Besides, hexamer stabilization can be an effective treatment strategy for type I diabetes through slow release from an implanted biosensor system.

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The bioactive compounds of barberry such as water-soluble vitamins are used in medical and food industries. In this study, the effect of different extraction conditions and various process conditions were studied on water-soluble vitamins profile. The extraction conditions included varieties (species) are of fruits (B. integerrima: A, B. vulgaris: P), solvents (Water: W, Ethanol: E), light (Presence: L, Absence: T), pH (3 and 1.5), and temperature (25 and 50ºC). The process conditions included heating (95 and 80°C), chilling (ref 1, 2 months), freezing (con), microwave (mic) and gamma irradiation (γ at doses of 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 kGy). The highest and lowest amounts of water-soluble vitamins in various extracts of different extraction conditions were respectively as follows: vitamin C in AWL1.550 (highest) and PEL350 (lowest); B₅ in PWL1.550 and AEL1.525, AWL1.550; B₆ in AWT350, and AEL1.550; B₁ in PET350 and PET1.550; folic acid in AET350 and PWT350; biotin in AEL350 and AEL1.550; B₂ in AET350 and PWL350 extracts. The highest and lowest amounts of water-soluble vitamins in various process conditions were respectively as follows: vitamin C (A_con 460 (highest), A_ref1 146.87 (lowest), P_con 242.96 (highest), P_mic 21.52 (lowest)), B₅ (A_γ0.5 2919.18, A₉₅ 1312.42, P_γ10 3110.88, P_ref2 1051.52), B₆ (A_con 36.30, A_γ7.5 21.04, P_γ10 12.70, P₉₅ 8.73), B₁ (A_con 2113.00, A_ref2 965.09, P_con 2298.15, P_γ10 217.76), folic acid (A_γ0.5 1700.38, A_γ10 947.11, P_con 104.78, P_γ10 in B. vulgaris after processing was not found), biotin (A_mic 2267.58, A_γ10 1404.63, P_con 324.72, P_γ2.5 118.33), and B₂ (A_γ0.5 586.43, A_γ10 274.34, P_con 297.19, P_γ10 6.79).