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Rubber compounds are reinforced with fillers such as carbon black and silica. The cure characteristics of a filled rubber compound vary with the filler type and content. The influence of the type of carbon black on the cure characteristics of carbon black filled natural rubber compounds is investigated using two types of carbon black (N220 and N550), which are different in primary size and structure. The cure time and cure rate become faster as the carbon black content increases. The crosslink density also increases and reversion resistance is improved with the increase of carbon black content. The cure time and cure rate of the compound filled with N550 are faster than those of the compound filled with N220 at the same level of bound rubber content. In addition, higher crosslink density is also observed in the compound filled with N550 compared to that of the compound filled with N220 at the same level of bound rubber content.

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Context: Interest has recently renewed in using Lolium multiflorum Lam. (Poaceae) (called Italian ryegrass; IRG) silage as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory diet.Objective: This study investigated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-septic potential of IRG silage and identified the primary components in IRG active fractions.Materials and methods: Total 16 fractions were separated from the chloroform-soluble extract of IRG aerial part using Sephadex LH-20 column before HPLC analysis. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the fractions at doses of 0–100 μg/mL were investigated using various cell-free and cell-mediated assay systems. To explore anti-septic effect of IRG fractions, female ICR and BALB/c mice orally received 40 mg/kg of phenolic acid and flavonoid-rich active fractions F7 and F8 every other day for 10 days, respectively, followed by LPS challenge.Results: The active fractions showed greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential compared with other fractions. IC50 values of F7 and F8 to reduce LPS-stimulated NO and TNF-α production were around 15 and 30 μg/mL, respectively. Comparison of retention times with authentic compounds through HPLC analysis revealed the presence of caffeic acid, ferulic acid, myricetin and kaempferol in the fractions as primary components. These fractions inhibited LPS-stimulated MAPK and NF-κB activation. Supplementation with F7 or F8 improved the survival rates of mice to 70 and 60%, respectively, in LPS-injected mice and reduced near completely serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels.Discussion and conclusion: This study highlights antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-septic activities of IRG active fractions, eventually suggesting their usefulness in preventing oxidative damage and inflammatory disorders.

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