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Lemon juice contains many bioactive compounds that have potential health benefits. In this study, two different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were used as starter cultures, change in pH, viable cell count during fermentation and antimicrobial, immune boosting, anti-allergy properties were monitored. LAB strains were able to grow in the juice and their viable cell reached to 8.0 log CFU/mL after 72 h at 30°C. Fermentation of lemon juice with LAB had a 2+ inhibitory ability against Vibrio parahaemolyticus and 3+ inhibitory ability against uropathogenic Escherichia coli. The inhibitory action of lactic acid fermentation against the pathogens may be due to the accumulation of main primary metabolites and pH changed during the fermentation. In the adhesion assay, PL LP10069 and TL PM229 exhibited stronger adherence to the Caco-2 cell line. With the anti-allergy test, the expression of anti-allergy cytokine of lemon juice fermentation in PBMC cell lines. The result indicated the significant enhanced to IL-12 by 1% NE PM229. The conclusion showed that fermentation of Lemon juice by probiotic bacteria not only increase antibacterial and anti-allergy effects but also enhance health benefit.

OBJECTIVE Traditionally, after total laryngopharyngectomy (TLP), patients cannot speak without a prosthesis or an artificial larynx. In Taiwan, most patients use a commercialized pneumatic laryngeal device (PLD). Phonatory tube reconstruction with the anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is a novel, modified version of synchronous digestive and phonatory reconstruction involving a free muscular cutaneous flap. This study reviewed and compared speech performance between patients who underwent novel flap reconstruction and conventional PLD users. METHOD We retrospectively reviewed patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer who underwent TLP from August 2017 to September 2019. The voice handicap index (VHI), speech intelligibility, acoustic and aerodynamic analysis results, and speech range profile (SRP) were compared between patients who underwent ALT phonatory tube reconstruction (ALT group) and those using PLDs (PLD group). RESULTS Twenty patients were included; 13 patients were included in the ALT group, and 7 patients were included in the PLD group. Compared to the PLD group, the ALT group had a better fundamental frequency range (P

Background Thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (TRAP) is a transmembrane protein that plays a crucial role during the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum into liver cells. As a potential malaria vaccine candidate, the genetic diversity and natural selection of PfTRAP was assessed and the global PfTRAP polymorphism pattern was described. Methods 153 blood spot samples from Bioko malaria patients were collected during 2016–2018 and the target TRAP gene was amplified. Together with the sequences from database, nucleotide diversity and natural selection analysis, and the structural prediction were preformed using bioinformatical tools. Results A total of 119 Bioko PfTRAP sequences were amplified successfully. On Bioko Island, PfTRAP shows its high degree of genetic diversity and heterogeneity, with π value for 0.01046 and Hd for 0.99. The value of dN–dS (6.2231, p PfTRAP on Bioko Island. Globally, the African PfTRAPs showed more diverse than the Asian ones, and significant genetic differentiation was discovered by the fixation index between African and Asian countries (Fst > 0.15, p 1) indicated a destabilization of protein structure. Conclusions Evidences in the present investigation supported that PfTRAP gene from Bioko Island and other malaria endemic countries is highly polymorphic (especially at T cell epitopes), which provided the genetic information background for developing an PfTRAP-based universal effective vaccine. Moreover, some mutations have been shown to be detrimental to the protein structure or function and deserve further study and continuous monitoring.

Background Although glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common inherited disorder in the Chinese population, there is scarce evidence regarding the epidemiology, evolutionary origin, and malaria‐induced positive selection effects of G6PD‐deficient alleles in various Chinese ethnic populations. Methods We performed a large population‐based screening (n = 15,690) to examine the impact of selection on human nucleotide diversity and to infer the evolutionary history of the most common deficiency alleles in Chinese populations. Results The frequencies of G6PD deficiency ranged from 0% to 11.6% in 12 Chinese ethnic populations. A frequency map based on geographic information showed that G6PD deficiency was highly correlated with historical malaria prevalence in China and was affected by altitude and latitude. The five most frequently occurring G6PD gene variants were NM_001042351.3:c.1376G>T, NM_001042351.3:c.1388G>A, NM_001042351.3:c.95A>G, NM_001042351.3:c.1311T>C, and NM_001042351.3:c.1024C>T, which were distributed with ethnic features. A pathogenic but rarely reported variant site (NM_001042351.3:c.448G>A) was identified in this study. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a strong and recent positive selection targeting the NM_001042351.3:c.1376G>T allele that originated in the past 3125 to 3750 years and another selection targeting the NM_001042351.3:c.1388G>A allele that originated in the past 5000 to 6000 years. Additionally, both alleles originated from a single ancestor. Conclusion These results indicate that malaria has had a major impact on the Chinese genome since the introduction of rice agriculture., Strong and recent positive selection have targeted on the c.1376 G>T allele with the past 3125–3750 years and c.1388 G>A allele with the past 5000–6000 years. Malaria has had a major impact on Chinese genome since the introduction of rice agriculture.

Background Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) is a potential malaria vaccine candidate, but various polymorphisms of the pfcsp gene among global P. falciparum population become the major barrier to the effectiveness of vaccines. This study aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and natural selection of pfcsp in Bioko and the comparison among global P. falciparum population. Methods From January 2011 to December 2018, 148 blood samples were collected from P. falciparum infected Bioko patients and 96 monoclonal sequences of them were successfully acquired and analysed with 2200 global pfcsp sequences mined from MalariaGEN Pf3k Database and NCBI. Results In Bioko, the N-terminus of pfcsp showed limited genetic variations and the numbers of repetitive sequences (NANP/NVDP) were mainly found as 40 (35%) and 41 (34%) in central region. Most polymorphic characters were found in Th2R/Th3R region, where natural selection (p > 0.05) and recombination occurred. The overall pattern of Bioko pfcsp gene had no obvious deviation from African mainland pfcsp (Fst = 0.00878, p pfcsp displayed the various mutation patterns and obvious geographic differentiation among populations from four continents (p pfcsp C-terminal sequences were clustered into 138 different haplotypes (H_1 to H_138). Only 3.35% of sequences matched 3D7 strain haplotype (H_1). Conclusions The genetic polymorphism phenomena of pfcsp were found universal in Bioko and global isolates and the majority mutations located at T cell epitopes. Global genetic polymorphism and geographical characteristics were recommended to be considered for future improvement of malaria vaccine design.

Background Glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is an essential enzyme that protects red blood cells from oxidative damage. Although G6PD‐deficient alleles appear to confer a protective effect of malaria, the link with clinical protection against Plasmodium infection is conflicting. Methods A case–control study was conducted on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea and further genotyping analysis used to detect natural selection of the G6PD A‐ allele. Results Our results showed G6PD A‐ allele could significantly reduce the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in male individuals (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20–0.93; p, In this work, we firstly analysed a large case–control study of 342 malaria cases and 1,287 health controls on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Our findings demonstrate G6PD A‐ allele could reduce the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in African population and indicate malaria has recent positive selection on G6PD A‐ allele.

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt Labiatae (Pl), known as “Zi-So” and widely grown in China (red cultivar, Rpl) and Japan (green cultivar, Gpl), is frequently served on “Sa-Shi-Mi” dishes. Considering ...

Artemisinin (ART) combination therapies were introduced on malaria endemic Bioko Island in 2004 through Bioko Island Malaria Control Project. Recently, ART-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain with Kelch13 (K13) propeller M579I mutation originating from Equatorial Guinea was observed as an increased parasite clearance time on day 3 after dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine (DHA-PIP) treatment (D3 positivity). Here, we surveyed DHA-PIP effectiveness and molecular markers of drug resistance at D3 after DHA-PIP treatment on Bioko Island from 2014 to 2017. Among the 371 uncomplicated P. falciparum patients, 86.3% (320/471) were successfully followed up at D3. 5.9% (19/320) of patients showed D3 positivity. K13 and MDR1 gene were successfully sequenced from 46 patients collected at D0 (baseline population) and 19 D3-positivity patients. Five non-synonymous K13 mutations (H136N; K189N; K248N; K326E; K332N) were found. There was no statistical difference in the frequency of these K13 mutations between baseline population and D3-positivity samples (p>0.05). Additionally, none of the K13 propeller polymorphisms known to be involved in ART-resistance in Asia or Africa were detected. For MDR1 gene, 38.5% (25/65) carried N86Y mutation; 73.8% (48/65) the Y184F mutation. Parasites surviving DHA-PIP at D3 post-treatment were significantly more likely than the baseline population to carry the N86Y (p in vitro and in vivo monitoring for ART derivatives and ACT partner drugs should be regularly performed on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

(1) Background: Patients with laryngeal cancer usually present with dysphonia. However, some studies reported that the duration from dysphonia to cancer diagnosis has been prolonged significantly in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate that in the initial dysphonia-related diagnosis and the interval between the diagnosis of laryngeal cancer may affect the overall survival (OS). (2) Methods: The 1997–2013 Longitudinal Health Insurance Database was used in this study. A propensity score with 1-to-1 matching was applied to balance the baseline characteristics. The OS was examined by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. (3) Results: A total of 2753 patients with a first primary laryngeal cancer diagnosis were identified. The patients without prior dysphonia-related diagnosis (PD−) group did have a significantly worse five-year survival (p = 0.015) comparing with those with a prior dysphonia-related diagnosis (PD+) group among glottic cancer patients. The group with a shorter dysphonia-to-diagnosis interval had a better five-year OS than the prolonged group (p = 0.007) in laryngeal cancer. (4) Conclusions: Looking for medical assistance before a diagnosis of glottic cancer is associated with a better overall survival, while a diagnostic delay of more than 30 days from the first medical examination for dysphonia is associated with a worse outcome among in patients with laryngeal cancer.

Allium chinense is a medicinal plant and nutritional food commonly used in Eastern Asia. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antioxidant activity (scavenging of α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl free radical, total phenol content, reducing power, and total antioxidant activity) and constituents of various extracts from A. chinense. Moreover, we also studied the in vivo hypolipidemic effects of extracts on high-fat-diet Wistar rats. Ethanol extracts from A. chinense showed notable antioxidant activity, and its high-dose essential-oil extract both significantly reduced serum and hepatic total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein levels and increased serum high-density lipoprotein levels in high-fat-diet Wistar rats compared with those observed following treatment with the control drug probucol. Additionally, visceral fat in high-fat-diet Wistar rats was reduced. Furthermore, groups with high doses of essential-oil and residue extracts showed protective effects associated with histopathological liver alteration. These results suggested that A. chinense is a valuable plant worthy of further investigation as a potential dietary supplement or botanical drug.

Because in vitro data have shown gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) to be protective in LPS-induced macrophage inflammation and myotube atrophy, we explored the therapeutic value of borage oil (BO), a GLA rich oil, in LPS-induced inflammation and muscle wasting in C57BL/6JNarl mice. Supplementation with BO was more potent than supplementation with soybean oil (SO) in decreasing LPS-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and glutathione in serum and tissues. Notably, GLA did not reverse LPS-induced inflammatory cytokine expression in C2C12 myotubes transfected with a constitutively active mutant IκB kinase-β plasmid, which suggested the importance of the inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation by GLA. Moreover, BO prevented LPS-induced skeletal muscle weight loss as well as molecule expression of ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and the autophagy-lysosomal pathway which played a key role in skeletal muscle protein degradation. BO but not SO reduced the LPS-induced increase in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and NF-κB in gastrocnemius muscle. In summary, supplementation with BO is more effective than supplementation with SO in preventing LPS-induced inflammation and muscle wasting. Blockade of the TLR4/MAPKs/NF-κB pathway is crucial in the action of BO on LPS-induced inflammation and wasting in skeletal muscle.

Objective: HLA-B*40:247 is a low incidence allele in the HLA-B locus. The aim of this study is to confirm the ethnicity of B*40:247 and its deduced probable HLA- associated haplotype in Taiwanese individuals. Materials and Methods: A total of 2,329 unrelated Taiwanese individuals and 66,212 unrelated mainland Chinese individuals were tested for HLA using a sequence-based typing method. We confirmed the low incidence allele B*40:247 in Taiwanese. Polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify exons 2, 3 and 4 of the HLA-A and HLA-B loci and exon 2 of the HLA-DRB1 locus using group-specific primer sets. The amplicons were sequenced in both directions with the *BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction Kit according to the manufacturer's protocols. Results: The DNA sequence of B*40:247 is identical to B*40:01:01 in exons 2, 3 and 4 except for residue 853, where G of B*40:01:01 is changed to A in B*40:247 (codon 261, GTA->ATA). The nucleotide replacement causes a one amino acid change at codon 261 where V (valine) of B*40:01:01 is replaced by I (isoleucine) in B*40:247. We deduced the probable HLA haplotype associated with B*40:247 in Taiwanese to be HLA-A*24:02-B*40:247-C*03:04-DRB1*16:02. Conclusion: Information on the ethnicity and distribution of B*40:247 and its deduced probable HLA haplotype in association with the low incidence allele is of value for HLA testing laboratories for reference purposes and can help bone marrow donor registries find compatible donors for patients with this uncommon HLA allele.

Green tea (GT), oolong tea (OT) and black tea (BT) powders were used to substitute 10, 20 and 30% (w/w) of wheat flour to make chiffon cakes, assigned as GT10, GT20, GT30, OT10, OT20, OT30, BT10, BT20 and BT30, respectively. The viscosity and specific gravity in cake batter, and hardness, adhesiveness, gumminess and chewiness of baked cakes increased with increasing tea powder levels, whereas the pH value in cake batter, and moisture, water activity, cake volume, cohesiveness, springiness, resilience, crust and crumb color values of baked cakes showed a reverse trend. Total phenol content, scavenging ability and reducing power of cake extracts increased with increasing tea powder levels. No differences were found in hedonic sensory results for control, 10 and 20% substituted cakes whereas 30% substituted cakes were rated lower in all sensory results. Overall, tea chiffon cake could be developed as a food with more effective antioxidant properties. Practical Applications Chiffon cake is enjoyed by consumers all over the world. Tea has many health-care functions from several studies. Thus, it would be beneficial to develop a novel formulation for cake production with tea. The study explores the possibility of utilizing different fermented tea powders to produce acceptable cakes.

Lime peels are mainly obtained from the byproducts of the juice manufacturing industry, which we obtained and used to extract essential oil (2.3%) in order to examine the antioxidant and hypolipidaemic effects. We identified 60 volatile compounds of lime essential oil (LEO) with GC/MS, of which the predominant constituents were limonene, &gamma, terpinene, and &beta, pinene. Lime essential oil was measured according to the DPPH assay and ABTS assay, with IC50 values of 2.36 mg/mL and 0.26 mg/mL, respectively. This study also explored the protective effects of LEO against lipid-induced hyperlipidemia in a rat model. Two groups of rats received oral LEO in doses of 0.74 g/100 g and 2.23 g/100 g with their diets. Eight weeks later, we found that the administration of LEO improved the serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate transaminase levels in the hyperlipidemic rats (p &lt, 0.05). Simultaneously, the LEO improved the health of the rats in terms of obesity, atherogenic index, and fatty liver.

Previously, we showed the essential oils (EO) of the mountain celery [Cryptotaenia japonica Hass (Umbelliferae)] seeds (MCS) to be a prominent hypolipidemic agent.We hypothesized the aqueous extract (AE) of its seeds could also exhibit a comparable nutritional effect.Experiments were carried out for compositional analysis, antioxidant assay, and hypolipidaemic assay with AE in hamsters.AE contained soluble arabinogalactan (AGal) with molecular weight (MW) 878 kDa. AE also was enriched in polyphenolics and flavonoids, reaching 30.4 and 2.20 mg/100 g, respectively. AGal consisted of eight monosaccharides (in mols %), galactose (28.75), arabinose (24.84), glucose (17.91), mannose (6.93), ribose (6.03), fucose (5.83), xylose (5.30), and rhamnose (4.41), with average MW 878 kDa. In vitro, AE showed potent ferrous chelating and DPPH scavenging effects but only moderate H₂O₂ scavenging capability. In hamsters, AE exhibited promising hypolipidemic bioactivity, in particular, the HDL-C and hepatic unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) biosynthesis regarding oleic, linoleic, and arachidonic acids.The presence of AGal enhanced the hypolipidemic and antioxidative bioactivity of MCS. MCS is feasibly beneficial to the hepatic de novo UFA synthesis and the hypolipidemics as evidenced by hamster model.

Aims/Introduction: Few studies, especially in Asia, have examined the relevance between metabolic syndrome (MetS), habitual indulgence and dietary behaviors in health-care professionals. The present study evaluates metabolic syndrome rate and its association with habitual indulgence (coffee, tea, alcohol and cigarette smoking) and diet behavior in health-care professionals. Materials and Methods: Information was collected from 514 health-care professionals (147 men, 367 women) who underwent routine physical examinations at a medical center in central Taiwan. Results: Mean age was 48 ± 5 years for men and 45 ± 4 years for women. Mean body mass index was 25.2 ± 4.0 kg/m2 for men and 22.5 ± 3.4 kg/m2 for women. The age-adjusted MetS rate among subjects was 24.8–11.7% in men and 7.8–5.4% in women, using two different definitions, respectively. The MetS rate among those who occasionally or frequently consumed tea was higher than among those who never consumed tea (P

Many phytoantioxidants have therapeutic drawbacks due to their potent prooxidant bioactivity. It is hypothesized that phytoantioxidants (PAO) are beneficial only to the early-stage diabetes mellitus (DM) and will become ineffective once renopathy occurs. Gallic acid, rutin, EGCG, ferulic acid (FA), and quercetin were tried on the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DM rat model for a 28 week experimental period. All of these PAO were shown to be ineffective for hypoglycemic action. The incidence of cataract (50%), injured glomerules, and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) was very common, among which the most severely affected involved the quercetin- and the FA-treated groups. The tumorigenicity of ferulic acid is still unclear. However, for quercetin, this can be attributted to (i) the prooxidant effect, (ii) the insulin-secretagogue bioactivity, and (iii) the competitive and noncompetitive inhibition on the O-methyltransferase to enhance the estradiol-induced tumorigenesis. Conclusively, quercetin and FA are able to aggravate, if not induce, nephrocarcinoma. It is time to reevaluate the tumorigenic detrimental effect of PAO, especially those exhibiting prooxidant bioactivity.

Common buckwheat ( Fagopyrium esculentum Moench) was used to substitute 15% of wheat flour to make buckwheat enhanced wheat breads. Proximate composition, physical quality, functional components and antioxidant properties of buckwheat enhanced wheat breads were analysed and compared with those of white bread. Specific volumes of three breads were 6.10–6.75 cm 3 /g. Buckwheat enhanced wheat bread showed lower lightness and whiteness index values and higher redness and yellowness values. On a seven-point hedonic scale, all sensory results were 5.33–5.91, indicating that three breads were moderately acceptable. No differences were found in appearance, colour and overall sensory attributes for three breads, whereas both buckwheat enhanced wheat breads were rated higher in flavour and mouth feel. Buckwheat enhanced wheat bread contained more rutin and quercetin as expected. Buckwheat enhanced wheat bread was good in antioxidant activity, reducing power and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging ability with unhusked buckwheat enhanced wheat bread being the most effective. Overall, buckwheat enhanced wheat bread could be developed as a food with more effective antioxidant properties.

In folkloric plant medicines, Alpinia zerumbet (AZ) has been popularly recognized as an exellent hepatoprotector. To search for a good high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) elevating herbal preparation, we examined AZ for its antioxidant and hypolipidaemic bioactivities, especially its HDL-C elevating activity. AZ seeds contain 0.51% essential oils (SO), which are comprised of monoterpenoids, oxygenated monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, oxygenated sesquiterpenoids, aldehydes, acid, and esters. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis indicated that most of the monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were recoverable in pentane eluent, whilst the oxygenated monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids remained in ether eluent. The high contents of rutin, quercetin, and polyphenolics in ethanolic extract of AZ seeds exhibit moderate antilipoperoxidative but potent DPPH free radical scavenging bioactivities. Conclusively, both seed powder (SP) and SO are effective hypolipidaemics with amazingly potent HDL-C elevating capabilities. On the basis of hepatoprotectivity, SP is a more feasible hypolipidemic agent as well as a promising HDL-C elevating plant medicine.

Significant decreases of the hematocrit, hemoglobin, and plasma iron levels were observed in rats receiving daily intraperitoneal injections of aluminum at a dose of 27 mg Al/kg body wt for 3 wk, as compared to untreated controls. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was also significantly lower in the treated animals as a result of the accumulation of aluminum in the liver (p0.05). Following aluminum administration, the plasma concentrations of aluminum and copper were also significantly increased, whereas the plasma zinc levels and oxidative stress measured through thiobarbituric acid reaction products showed nonsignificant differences between the two groups (p0.05). The erythrocyte concentrations of aluminum, copper, zinc, and iron and of superoxide dismutase activity were found to be significantly higher in the study group as compared to controls. The treated animals also showed evidence of higher oxidative stress in comparison to controls. These results suggest that erythrocyte aluminum accumulation could result in abnormal trace element homeostasis and increasing oxidative stress, which might be a mechanism of aluminum-induced anemia.

According to the literatures,Flammulina velutipescontains biologically active components such as dietary fiber, polysaccharide, and mycosterol, whose effects in reducing blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol have been proven. This study used the active components extracted fromFlammulina velutipespowder (FVP) andFlammulina velutipesextract (FVE) to investigate the impact of these active components on lipid metabolism of hamsters. The results show that the total dietary fiber content in FVP and FVE is 29.34 mg/100 g and 15.08 mg/100 g, respectively. The total mycosterol content is 46.57 ± 0.37 mg/100 g and 9.01 ± 0.17 mg/100 g, respectively. The male hamsters were subjected to lipid metabolism monitoring by adding 1, 2, and 3% FVP or FVE into their diets for a period of 8 weeks. The animal assay results show that the 3% FVP and FVE groups have the lowest concentration of TC (total cholesterol), TG (triacylglycerol), LDL (low density lipoprotein cholesterol), and LDL/HDL (high density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the serum and liver (P< 0.05). Our results demonstrate that the addition of 3% FVP or FVE has a significant effect on the lipid metabolism in hamsters whose increased level of HDL in the serum was induced by high fat diet.

The antidiabetic effect of cinnamon has generated broad interest during the past decade. We investigated the hypoglycemic activity and pancreas-protective effect of leaf essential oil from indigenous cinnamon (CO) in diabetic rats induced with streptozotocin (STZ, iv, 65 mg/(kg bw)) and found linalool to be the major component representing 40.24% of the CO composition. In diabetics, all tested doses of CO significantly lowered fasting blood glucose and fructosamine and are concomitant with elevated plasma and pancreatic insulin levels under a fasting condition. However, during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) period the effect of 25 and 50 mg/(kg bw) of CO was shown to be less effective than that of 12.5 mg/(kg bw) in ameliorating the accumulation of plasma insulin. In addition, at 12.5 mg/(kg bw), CO significantly ameliorated pancreatic values of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase in diabetics to an extent greater than that of higher CO doses. At doses 12.5 and 25 but not 50 mg/(kg bw), CO significantly ameliorated pancreatic levels of interleukin-1β and nitric oxide. In conclusion, appropriate doses of CO of the linalool chemotype exhibited therapeutic potential in glycemic control in diabetes that was at least partially resulted from improved insulin secretion. The ameliorated oxidative stress and proinflammatory environment in the pancreas by CO may provide a protective effect on pancreatic β cells and warrant further investigation.

Sesamin, a lignan from sesame oil, has been shown to have antihypertensive and antioxidative properties. This study examined the effects of sesamin on oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced endothelial dysfunction. Oxidative stress was determined by measuring the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and by measuring the expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). To assess the pro-inflammatory effects of oxLDL, ELISA was used to detect IL-8 expression, endothelin-1 (ET-1) secretion, and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation. The expression of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin) was examined by flow cytometry. In addition, several apoptotic signaling pathways were also investigated. The data showed that sesamin significantly ameliorated oxLDL-induced ROS generation and SOD-1 inactivation. Sesamin also attenuated the oxLDL-induced activation of NF-kappaB, suggesting that the inhibitory effects of sesamin on IL-8 and ET-1 release, adhesion molecule expression, and the adherence of THP-1 cells were at least partially through the blockade of NF-kappaB activation. Furthermore, sesamin attenuated oxLDL-induced apoptotic features, such as intracellular calcium accumulation and the subsequent collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c, and activation of caspase-3. Results from this study may provide insight into possible molecular mechanisms underlying sesamin's beneficial effects against oxLDL-mediated vascular endothelial dysfunction.

Mountain celery seed essential oils (MC-E) contained 109 compounds, including mainly nine kinds of monoterpenoids, 31 kinds of of sesquiterpenoids, and 22 kinds of alcohols. A successive gel column adsorption with solvent fractionation yielded four fractionates. The pentane fractionate revealed potent hypolipidemic but poor antioxidant activities. The ether fractionate exhibited strong hypolipidemic activity in addition to excellent 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical- and superoxide anion-scavenging capabilities. The third acetone fractionate only showed moderate superoxide anion-scavenging activity. Finally, the fourth methanol fractionate having a rather high content of gamma-selinene, 2-methylpropanal, and Z-9-octadecenamide uniquely revealed very strong superoxide anion-scavenging capability. All MC diets except the MC-E-added diet simultaneously exhibited both significant hypolipidemic and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)-elevating capabilities. However, all diets totally failed to affect the hepatic phospholipid levels. Conclusively, the MC-E can be fractionated by such a separation technology to produce products uniquely possessing hypolipidemic and HDL-C-elevating activities.

Nutrient levels in buckwheats that were maximized in day 8 sprouts (D8SP) included total phenolics, quercetin, and l-ascorbic acid, whereas those of oxalic, malic, tartaric, and citric acids, rutin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were found to reach maximum levels on day 10. Ethanolic extract of D8SP (2.5 mg/mL) revealed potent free-radical scavenging (FRS) and antioxidative (ANO) capabilities. However, its Fe2+-chelating capability was only moderate. To further study the hypolipidemic activity of D8SP, 36 Syrian hamsters were grouped into six groups and fed for 28 days, respectively, with (i) control meal, (ii) high fat plus high cholesterol meal, (iii) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 2.5% of buckwheat seeds, (iv) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 25% of buckwheat seeds, (v) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 2.5% of D8SP, and (vi) high fat plus high cholesterol plus 25% of D8SP. High seed meal prominently enhanced body weight gain, whereas high sprout meal exhibited the highest feed efficiency. Ratios of liver/body weight (L/B) were significantly lowered by all BS meals. Although low seed meal reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) levels (p

We report here a mathematical model using computer simulation to solve the phase fractionation coefficient (f) of instantaneous insulin release on glucose infusion. By extensive model testing with the cited parameters obtained from the literature, the values of the factor f were shown to lie in range of 0.93 ± 0.02 (mean ± 2S.D., n = 15), indicating that the high pulsatile bolus of glucose by i.v. infusion may trigger acute insulin release (AIR) corresponding to a fraction of more than 90% of the stored insulin release in the first phase from the secretory granules of pancreatic β cells. In addition, the value of the factor f was shown to be independent of both the glucose infusion method and the non-insulin-dependent uptake of glucose.

AIM: To assess the extent of micronutrient and oxidative stress in blood and to examine their linkages with viral loads in chronic hepatitis C patients. METHODS: Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA levels were quantified in the serum from 37 previously untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. The plasma and erythrocyte micronutrients (zinc, selenium, copper, and iron) were estimated, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were determined as a marker to detect oxidative stress. Antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities in blood were also measured. The control group contained 31 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: The contents of zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) in plasma and erythrocytes were significantly lower in hepatitis C patients than in the controls. On the contrary, copper (Cu) levels were significantly higher. Furthermore, plasma and erythrocyte MDA levels, and the SOD and GR activities in erythrocytes significantly increased in hepatitis C patients compared to the controls. However, the plasma GPX activity in patients was markedly lower. Plasma Se (r = -0.730, P < 0.05), Cu (r = 0.635), and GPX (r = -0.675) demonstrated correlations with HCV-RNA loads. Significant correlation coefficients were also observed between HCV-RNA levels and erythrocyte Zn (r = -0.403), Se (r = -0.544), Cu (r = 0.701) and MDA (r = 0.629) and GR (r = 0.441). CONCLUSION: The levels of Zn, Se, Cu, and oxidative stress (MDA), as well as related anti-oxidative enzymes (GR and GPX) in blood have important impact on the viral factors in chronic hepatitis C. The distribution of these parameters might be significant biomarkers for HCV.