Search

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the deposition of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) and subsequent oxidative inflammatory response, leading to brain damage and memory loss. This study explores the potential of Antrodia cinnamomea (AC), a Taiwan-native fungus known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The metabolites of AC, including dehydroeburicoic acid (DEA), 4-acetylantroquinonol B (4-AAQB), dehydrosulphurenic acid (DSA), and polysaccharides, were of particular interest. In the experiment, deep ocean water (DOW) was used to facilitate the solid-state fermentation of Antrodia cinnamomea NTTU 206 (D-AC), aiming to enhance its functional components. The impact of D-AC on the modulation of AD-related risk factors and the augmentation of cognitive abilities was subsequently evaluated in an AD rat model. This model was established via consecutive infusions of Aβ40 into the brain over a 28-day period. The administration of D-AC resulted in remarkable improvements in the rats' reference memory, spatial probe test, and working memory. Notably, it restored the hippocampal magnesium levels by upregulating the expression of the magnesium transporter MAGT1. Concurrently, D-AC significantly downregulated the expressions of β-secretase 1 (BACE1) and the phosphorylated tau protein (p-tau), which were both implicated in AD progression. Additionally, it mitigated inflammatory responses, as suggested by the decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Ultimately, the ability of D-AC to restore the brain magnesium levels, attenuate inflammatory responses, and reduce hippocampal Aβ40 deposition led to significant improvements in the cognitive decline of AD rats. D-AC demonstrated a comparable efficacy with its counterpart, AC fruiting bodies (F-AC group), despite their componential differences. This study underscores the potential of D-AC, enriched through fermentation, as a novel dietary strategy for Alzheimer's disease prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cordyceps cicadae, a medicinal fungus that is abundant in bioactive compounds such as N6-(2-hydroxyethyl)-adenosine (HEA) and polysaccharides, possesses remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and nerve damage recovery properties. Deep ocean water (DOW) contains minerals that can be absorbed and transformed into organic forms by fungi fermentation. Recent studies have shown that culturing C. cicadae in DOW can enhance its therapeutic benefits by increasing the levels of bioactive compounds and minerals' bioavailibility. In this study, we investigated the effects of DOW-cultured C. cicadae (DCC) on brain damage and memory impairment induced by D-galactose in rats. Our results indicate that DCC and its metabolite HEA can improve memory ability and exhibit potent antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging in D-galactose-induced aging rats (p < 0.05). Additionally, DCC can mitigate the expression of inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), thereby preventing brain aging. Furthermore, DCC showed a significant decrease in the expression of the aging-related proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and presenilin 1 (PS1). By reducing brain oxidation and aging-related factors, DOW-cultured C. cicadae demonstrate enhanced anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects, making it a promising therapeutic agent for preventing and treating age-related brain damage and cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep ocean water (DOW) is rich in mineral nutrients, and our previous studies have confirmed that it promotes fungal growth and metabolite production. Cordycepin is a functional metabolite of Cordyceps with anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. Although Cordyceps militaris can produce a large amount of cordycepin when DOW is used as the culture water, no study has explored the relevant regulatory mechanism through which DOW increases the adenosine and cordycepin contents. Therefore, in this study, we used 2D electrophoresis and proteomic analysis to investigate the effects of DOW with different mineral compositions on proteins in the fruiting bodies of C. militaris and to explore how DOW regulates cordycepin biosynthesis. The results indicated that the use of DOW with high magnesium and calcium contents can increase the production of cordycepin from 6.62 mg/g to 11.40 mg/g by C. militaris fruiting bodies. According to the 2D electrophoresis and proteomic analysis results of the fruiting body proteins of C. militaris cultured with DOW with different concentrations, the expression of 17 and 9 proteins was proportional to the cordycepin content and the concentration of DOW, respectively. Magnesium, sulfate, and other minerals of DOW stimulated the production of cordycepin by promoting the glycolytic pathway, producing more ATP and adenosine. It also increased the production of nucleic acids and adenosine by promoting the pentose phosphate pathway and methionine cycle, thereby promoting the growth and cordycepin production of fruiting bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol is metabolized in liver. Chronic alcohol abuse results in alcohol-induced fatty liver and liver injury. Red quinoa (Chenopodium formosanum) was a traditional staple food for Taiwanese aborigines. Red quinoa bran (RQB) included strong anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory polyphenolic compounds, but it was usually regarded as the agricultural waste. Therefore, this study is to investigate the effect of water and ethanol extraction products of RQB on the prevention of liquid alcoholic diet-induced acute liver injury in mice. The mice were given whole grain powder of red quinoa (RQ-P), RQB ethanol extract (RQB-E), RQB water extract (RQB-W), and rutin orally for 6 weeks, respectively. The results indicated that RQB-E, RQB-W, and rutin decreased alcoholic diet-induced activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, and the levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and hepatic triglyceride. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver tissues showed that RQB-E and RQB-W reduced lipid droplet accumulation and liver injury. However, ethanol extraction process can gain high rutin and antioxidative agents contents from red quinoa, that showed strong effects in preventing alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver injury via increasing superoxide dismutase/catalase antioxidative system and repressing the expressions of fatty acid synthesis enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol metabolism causes an excessive accumulation of liver lipids and inflammation, resulting in liver damage. The yellow pigments monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) of Monascus purpureus-fermented rice were proven to regulate ethanol-induced damage in HepG2 cells, but the complete anti-inflammatory and anti-fatty liver mechanisms in the animal model are still unclear. This study explored the roles of MS and AK in improving alcoholic liver injury. MS and AK were simultaneously fed to evaluate their effects and mechanisms in C57BL/6J mice fed the Lieber–DeCarli liquid alcohol diet for 6 weeks. The results indicated that MS and AK significantly reduced the serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activity, as well as the total liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The histopathological results indicated that MS and AK prevented lipid accumulation in the liver. MS and AK effectively enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the degree of lipid peroxidation; AK was particularly effective and exhibited a superior preventive effect against alcoholic liver injury and fatty liver. In addition to inhibiting the phosphorylation of the MAPK family, MS and AK directly reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β levels, thereby reducing NF-κB and its downstream iNOS and COX-2 expressions, as well as increasing PPAR-γ, Nrf-2, and HO-1 expressions to prevent liver damage. MS and AK also directly reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β expression, thereby reducing the production of NF-κB and its downstream iNOS and COX-2, and increasing PPAR-γ, Nrf-2, and HO-1 expressions, preventing alcohol damage to the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulated lipid droplets in liver cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Deep ocean water (DOW) containing high levels of magnesium, calcium, and potassium, etc. was proven to suppress hepatic lipid in obese rats fed high fat diet in the previous study. However, the effect of mineral compositions of DOW on the prevention of NAFLD is still unclear. This study removed calcium and potassium from DOW for modulating the mineral composition, and further compared the effects of DOW (D1(Mg + Ca + K)), DOW with low potassium (D2(Mg + Ca)), and DOW with low calcium and potassium (D3(Mg)) on the prevention of NAFLD in the mice model fed with high fat diet. In these results, DOW with high magnesium levels reduced serum and liver triglyceride and cholesterol levels and serum AST and ALT activities. However, when the calcium and/or potassium minerals were removed from DOW, the effects of reduction of triglyceride level, inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) expressions, and activation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase activities would be weaker. In conclusion, DOW including magnesium, calcium and potassium minerals has the strongest preventive effect on NAFLD in a mouse model by increasing the antioxidant system and inhibiting fatty acid biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing the goals of sustainable planning under climate and land use change (CLUC) with ecosystem service functions is a huge challenge for the management and programming of protected areas today. We construct a new evaluation framework towards the perspectives of sustainable land management based on the choice experiment (CE) model, and apply it to investigate the public's preferences for the forest parks in Taiwan. This study found that implementing organic farming, increasing species populations, increasing the acreage of secondary forest area, and developing an integrated framework for ecotourism would best satisfy the public's preferences for sustainable land use management. Second, we identify that the heterogeneity of the public's preferences for forest park management varies depending on whether individuals are (1) members of environmental groups, (2) agricultural landowners, and (3) residents of the municipality. Third, we find integrated land use programs generate the highest welfare values among scenarios comprising different financial attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late stages of liver fibrosis are considered to be irreversible. Red quinoa (Chenopodium formosanum Koidz), a traditional food for Taiwanese aborigines, was gradually developed as a novel supplemental food due to high dietary fibre and polyphenolic compounds. Its bran was usually regarded as the agricultural waste, but it contained a high concentration of rutin known as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. This study is to explore the effect of red quinoa bran extracts on the prevention of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected CCl4 to induce liver fibrosis and treated with red quinoa whole seed powder, bran ethanol extracts, bran water extracts, and rutin. In the results, red quinoa powder provided more protection than rutin against CCl4-induced oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory factor expression and fibrosis development. However, the bran ethanol extract with high rutin content provided the most liver protection and anti-fibrosis effect via blocking the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)/interleukin 6 (IL-6) pathway and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan’s Agricultural Development Act (ADA) of 2000 relaxed farmland ownership criteria and allowed non-farmers to own farms. Although this opened up the market and induced a growth in farmland trading, relaxing these criteria without proper monitoring resulted in rapid development of farmhouses that fragmented farmlands, adversely affecting agricultural production and the quality of peri-urban environments, and increased management difficulties. Relaxing farmland ownership criteria also provided opportunities for speculation, which pushed up farmland prices, causing farmland price to deviate from its production value. We used a price:value ratio as an index of price-value distortion to explore farmland price-value distortion spatially using a geographical information system (GIS). Yilan County was used as a case study since its agricultural lands suffer high development pressure due to ready accessibility from the Taipei metropolitan area. Ordinary least square and quantile regression were used to identify factors driving distortion in Yilan County. Finally, we discuss the distortion and key factors for specific sites in Yilan to assess the urban sprawl and propose a preliminary course of action for peri-urban growth management. Our findings suggest that residential activities stimulate farmland price-value distortion but do not enhance farmland value. Designation of a land parcel as agricultural within an urban area allows for speculation and increases distortion. The land parcel’s association with infrastructure such as road and irrigation systems, and the price of agricultural products, are significantly correlated with distortion. Most of these identified factors increased farmland price because of the potential for non-agricultural land-use. We propose that to resolve farmland price-value distortion in Yilan, multi-functional values, in addition to agriculture, must be envisioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a recurrent allergic disease characterized by symptoms such as itching, redness, swelling, dryness, scaling skin, inflammation, and tissue damage. The underlying pathogenesis of AD remains unclear. Steroid drugs are commonly used in the clinical treatment of AD; however, their long-term use may lead to associated complications. Numerous studies have indicated that probiotics could modulate the immune system, enhance immune function, or suppress excessive immune responses. In this study, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 (NTU 101) was orally administered for a duration of 4 weeks, followed by the induction of AD using ovalbumin (OVA) in a mouse model. The skin condition of the stimulated site was observed during the induction period. Subsequently, the serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) content, splenocyte T cell typing, and skin histological interpretation were examined to evaluate the efficacy of NTU 101 in alleviating AD symptoms in allergen-exposed animals. The findings indicated that administering NTU 101 beforehand effectively alleviated skin symptoms in animals with AD. It reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells in skin tissue sections, and compared to the OVA group, there was a significant reduction in the thickening of the epidermal cell layer (decreased from 89.0 ± 20.2 µM to 48.6 ± 16.0 µM) and dermis layer (decreased from 310.3 ± 69.0 µM to 209.7 ± 55.5 µM). Moreover, the proportion of regulatory T (Treg) cells and T helper 2 (Th2) cells in splenocytes significantly increased, while the proportions of T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 17 (Th17) cells did not differ. It is speculated that the potential mechanism by which NTU 101 prevents AD involves increasing the expression of Forkhead box protein P3 (FOXP3) and promoting Treg cell maturation, thereby alleviating allergic reaction symptoms associated with AD.

Deep ocean water (DOW) has been shown to enhance the functional components of fungi, resulting in increased health benefits. Therefore, using DOW for culturing fungi can enhance the cordycepin and adenosine of Cordyceps militaris (CM) and its protective effects on the liver. In this study, the antiliver fibrosis effects and mechanisms of ultrapure water-cultured CM (UCM), DOW-cultured CM (DCM), synthetic water-cultured CM, DOW, cordycepin, and adenosine were compared in the liver fibrosis mice induced by intraperitoneal injections of thioacetamide (TAA). The results indicated that DCM exhibited superior performance in reducing liver collagen accumulation, mitigating liver injuries, inhibiting proinflammatory factors and fibrosis-related factor (TGF-β1, Smad2/3, α-SMA, COL1A1) expression compared with UCM. DOW, cordycepin, and adenosine also performed antiliver fibrosis effect. Therefore, because DCM is rich in DOW and functional components, it can achieve anti-liver fibrosis effects through multiple pathways. These ameliorative effects are considerably superior to those of UCM., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Deep ocean water (DOW) obtained from a depth of more than 200 m includes abundant nutrients and minerals. DOW was proven to positively increase monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) production and the anti-adipogenesis effect of Monascus-fermented red mold dioscorea (RMD). However, the influences that the major metals in DOW have on Monascus secondary metabolite biosynthesis and anti-adipogenesis remain unknown. Therefore, the major metals in DOW were used as the culture water to produce RMD. The secondary metabolites production and anti-adipogenesis effect of RMD cultured with various individual metal waters were investigated. In the results, the addition of water with Mg, Ca, Zn, and Fe increased MS and AK production and inhibited mycotoxin citrinin (CT). However, the positive influence may be contributed to the regulation of pigment biosynthesis. Furthermore, in the results of cell testing, higher lipogenesis inhibition was seen in the treatments of various ethanol extracts of RMD cultured with water containing Mg, K, Zn, and Fe than in those of RMD cultured with ultra-pure water. In conclusion, various individual metals resulted in different effects on MS and AK productions as well as the anti-adipogenesis effect of RMD, but the specific metals contained in DOW may cause synergistic or comprehensive effects that increase the significantly positive influence.

Deep ocean water (DOW) has, in previous studies, been found to be a novel anti-obesity drink and useful in raising Monascus-produced monascin and ankaflavin levels. This may resolve the limited anti-obesity ability of red mold dioscorea (RMD) known as the Monascus purpureus-fermented Disocorea batatas. This study aims to compare the anti-obesity effect of DOW-cultured RMD (DOW-RMD) and ultra-pure water-cultured RMD (UPW-RMD) in rats fed on a high fat diet. Moreover, the effect of ions composition of DOW and DOW-influenced functional metabolites change of RMD on the differentiation and lipogenesis regulation were investigated using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. In the animal test, compared to UPW-RMD, DOW-RMD possessed better ability to inhibit increases in weight gain, and better feed efficiency, body-fat pad and cross-sectional area of adipocytes. In the cell test, the anti-obesity abilities of DOW-RMD in inhibiting PPARγ and C/EBPα expression in differentiation and lipoprotein lipase activity in lipogenesis were contributed to by the DOW-increased monascin and ankaflavin levels and the ions of DOW, respectively.