Search

Abstract: The relationship between grape seed-derived procyanidin extract components and their bioactivity was explored. The monomeric and dimeric structures only acted as anti-inflammatory agents. Similarly, pure C1 trimer was highly effective on LPS-activated macrophages. To reproduce all of the bioactivities of the total extract, a fraction enriched with trimeric structures was needed. This trimeric-enriched fraction was divided into subfractions, the most bioactive of which contained two compounds with a molecular weight equal to a trimer (865) and a dimer-gallate (729), according to spectrometric analysis. Thus, it may be concluded that a mixture of both molecules reproduces the bioactivity in glucose metabolism (3T3-L1), lipid metabolism (HepG2) and macrophage functionality (RAW 264.6). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effects of dietary taurine on lipid secretion and ketone body production were examined in the livers of Wistar and Sprague-Dawley rats fed high-cholesterol diets. The weight gain of the Sprague-Dawley rats tended to be higher than that of the Wistar rats, although food intake was comparable between the strains. The concentration of hepatic triglyceride was significantly higher but that of phospholipid was significantly lower in the Sprague-Dawley rats. Ketone body production by livers of Sprague-Dawley rats was significantly higher than that by the livers of Wistar rats. Dietary taurine repressed the weight gain of Wistar rats, perhaps due to decreased food intake, but it had no apparent effect on these growth parameters in Sprague-Dawley rats. There was a significant reduction in the hepatic concentration of cholesterol ester, but not other lipid components following feeding of taurine. Taurine feeding resulted in a stimulation of hepatic ketogenesis, whereas it markedly reduced the hepatic secretion of cholesterol ester in both strains of rats. The effect of dietary taurine on the hepatic secretion of triglyceride, phospholipid and free-cholesterol was marginal in either strain. These results suggest that taurine feeding significantly ameliorated the dietary cholesterol-dependent increase in hepatic accumulation and secretion of cholesterol ester, regardless of strain differences, and the decrease in the hepatic secretion of this cholesterol ester appeared to be partly responsible for the observed reduction in the concentration of serum cholesterol following feeding of taurine in these cholesterol-fed rats.Copyright © 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]