Oleanane-type triterpene saponins with collagen synthesis-promoting activity from the flowers of Bellis perennis

The methanol extract from Bellis perennis (Asteraceae) flowers was found to promote collagen synthesis in normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). Seven oleanane-type triterpene saponins, perennisosides XIII-XIX, and two known saponins, bellissaponins BS5 and BS9, were isolated from the methanol extract. The structures were determined based on chemical and physicochemical data, and confirmed using previously isolated related compounds as references. Among the isolates, including 19 previously reported saponins, perennisosides XVIII, I, II, VII, IX, and XI, asterbatanoside D, bernardioside B2, and bellissaponins BS5 and BS9 significantly promoted collagen synthesis at 3-30μM without cytotoxicity.

Novel scoring system and algorithm for classifying chronic rhinosinusitis: the JESREC Study

Background

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) can be classified into CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). CRSwNP displays more intense eosinophilic infiltration and the presence of Th2 cytokines. Mucosal eosinophilia is associated with more severe symptoms and often requires multiple surgeries because of recurrence; however, even in eosinophilic CRS (ECRS), clinical course is variable. In this study, we wanted to set objective clinical criteria for the diagnosis of refractory CRS.

Methods

This was a retrospective study conducted by 15 institutions participating in the Japanese Epidemiological Survey of Refractory Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis (JESREC). We evaluated patients with CRS treated with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), and risk of recurrence was estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. Multiple logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristics curves were constructed to create the diagnostic criterion for ECRS.

Results

We analyzed 1716 patients treated with ESS. To diagnose ECRS, the JESREC scoring system assessed unilateral or bilateral disease, the presence of nasal polyps, blood eosinophilia, and dominant shadow of ethmoid sinuses in computed tomography (CT) scans. The cutoff value of the score was 11 points (sensitivity: 83%, specificity: 66%). Blood eosinophilia (>5%), ethmoid sinus disease detected by CT scan, bronchial asthma, aspirin, and nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs intolerance were associated significantly with recurrence.

Conclusion

We subdivided CRSwNP in non‐ECRS, mild, moderate, and severe ECRS according to our algorithm. This classification was significantly correlated with prognosis. It is notable that this algorithm may give useful information to clinicians in the refractoriness of CRS before ESS or biopsy.

Total Synthesis of 4,5-Didehydroguadiscine: A Potent Melanogenesis Inhibitor from the Brazilian Medicinal Herb, Hornschuchia obliqua

The first total synthesis of the 7,7-dimethylaporphinoid, 4,5-didehydroguadiscine (6), originally isolated from the stems and roots of Hornschuchia oblique (Annonaceae), was achieved by the condensation of homopiperonylamine (7) with an α,α-dimethylphenylacetic acid derivative (8) and subsequent Pschorr reaction of the resulting benzylisoquinoline intermediate (22). The reported (13)C NMR data were partially revised on the basis of the analysis of HMBC spectra measured under different conditions. The melanogenesis inhibitory activity (IC50 = 4.7 μM) of 6 was 40 times stronger than that of arbutin (174 μM), which was used as reference standard. Furthermore, 6 was the most potent natural melanogenesis inhibitor within this class of compounds.

Chemical structures and hepatoprotective effects of constituents from Cassia auriculata leaves

An 80% aqueous acetone extract of Cassia auriculata leaves was found to show a protective effect on D-galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes. From the 80% aqueous acetone extract, we isolated a new benzocoumarin glycoside, avaraoside I (1), and a new flavanol dimer, avaraol I (2), together with 29 known constituents. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. In addition, three isolated compounds, pseudosemiglabrin (15, 0.0011%), (2S)-7,4'-dihydroxyflavan(4β→8)-catechin (22, 0.00075%), and (2S)-7,4'-dihydroxyflavan(4β→8)-gallocatechin (23, 0.092%), displayed hepatoprotective effects equivalent to that of the hepatoprotective agent, silybin.

Search for new type of PPARγ agonist-like anti-diabetic compounds from medicinal plants

Potent ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) such as thiazolidinediones (pioglitazone, troglitazone, etc.) improve insulin sensitivity by increasing the levels of adiponectin, an important adipocytokine associated with insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue. Several constituents from medicinal plants were recently reported to show PPARγ agonist-like activity in 3T3-L1 cells, but did not show agonistic activity at the receptor site different from thiazolidinediones. Our recent studies on PPARγ agonist-like constituents, such as hydrangenol and hydrangeic acid from the processed leaves of Hydrangea macrophylla var. thunbergii, piperlonguminine and retrofractamide A from the fruit of Piper chaba, and tetramethylkaempferol and pentamethylquercetin from the rhizomes of Kaempferia parviflora, are reviewed.

Increased Syk phosphorylation leads to overexpression of TRAF6 in peripheral B cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVE

Activation of B cells is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Syk and TRAF6 are key signaling molecules in B-cell activation through BCR and CD40/TLR, respectively. Nevertheless, whether expression of Syk and TRAF6 is altered in SLE B cells remains unknown.

METHODS

Phosphorylation and/or expression of Syk and TRAF6 were analyzed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from SLE patients.

RESULTS

Pronounced phosphorylation and expression of Syk were noted in B cells from SLE patients compared with healthy donors. Levels of Syk phosphorylation correlated with the disease activity score. TRAF6 was significantly over-expressed in B cells of SLE patients as compared with healthy donors, and significant correlation of levels of TRAF6 expression and Syk phosphorylation was observed in SLE patients. Levels of TRAF6 expression were more pronounced in CD27+ memory B cells than in CD27-naïve B cells. In vitro treatment of SLE B cells with a Syk inhibitor (BAY61-3606) reduced Syk phosphorylation as well as TRAF6 expression.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that the activated Syk-mediated TRAF6 pathway leads to aberrant activation of B cells in SLE, and also highlight Syk as a potential target for B-cell-mediated processes in SLE.

Validation experiment of a numerically processed millimeter-wave interferometer in a laboratory

We propose a new interferometer system for density profile measurements. This system produces multiple measurement chords by a leaky-wave antenna driven by multiple frequency inputs. The proposed system was validated in laboratory evaluation experiments. We confirmed that the interferometer generates a clear image of a Teflon plate as well as the phase shift corresponding to the plate thickness. In another experiment, we confirmed that quasi-optical mirrors can produce multiple measurement chords; however, the finite spot size of the probe beam degrades the sharpness of the resulting image.

Development of horn antenna mixer array with internal local oscillator module for microwave imaging diagnostics

A new antenna array is proposed in order to improve the sensitivity and complexity of microwave imaging diagnostics systems such as a microwave imaging reflectometry, a microwave imaging interferometer, and an electron cyclotron emission imaging. The antenna array consists of five elements: a horn antenna, a waveguide-to-microstrip line transition, a mixer, a local oscillation (LO) module, and an intermediate frequency amplifier. By using an LO module, the LO optics can be removed, and the supplied LO power to each element can be equalized. We report details of the antenna array and characteristics of a prototype antenna array.

Evaluation of Salacia species as anti-diabetic natural resources based on quantitative analysis of eight sulphonium constituents: a new class of α-glucosidase inhibitors

INTRODUCTION

Stems and roots of Salacia genus plants have been used in Ayurveda as a specific remedy for early stage diabetes. Previous investigations identified four sulphonium sulphates, that is, salacinol (1), kotalanol (3), ponkoranol (5) and salaprinol (7), as the compounds responsible for the anti-diabetic activity. Their desulphonates (2, 4, 6 and 8) were also isolated as active constituents. Two separate quantitative analytical protocols, that is, for 1 and 3 and for 2 and 4, have been developed recently.

OBJECTIVE

To: validate the two analytical protocols with respect to all eight sulphoniums; evaluate the quality of a variety of Salacia samples collected in different geographical regions, that is, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India; and determine their distribution in each part of the plant, that is, stems/roots, leaves and fruits.

METHODS

Analyses of four sulphonium sulphates in 32 Salacia extracts were carried out on an Asahipak NH2P-50 column, and those of the corresponding desulphonates were conducted on an Inertsil ODS-3 column.

RESULTS

Neokotalanol (4) was the major constituent in Salacia samples from Thailand, whereas 1 was the primary constituent in extracts of the stems/roots of plants from Sri Lanka and India. These sulphoniums were only present in trace amounts in leaves and fruits of the plants.

CONCLUSION

Two analytical protocols were successfully applied to analyse 32 Salacia samples, and revealed that sulphoniums (1-8) had characteristic distributions due to the plant part and/or due to geographical region.

First results of electron temperature measurements by the use of multi-pass Thomson scattering system in GAMMA 10

A multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) has the advantage of enhancing scattered signals. We constructed a multi-pass TS system for a polarisation-based system and an image relaying system modelled on the GAMMA 10 TS system. We undertook Raman scattering experiments both for the multi-pass setting and for checking the optical components. Moreover, we applied the system to the electron temperature measurements in the GAMMA 10 plasma for the first time. The integrated scattering signal was magnified by approximately three times by using the multi-pass TS system with four passes. The electron temperature measurement accuracy is improved by using this multi-pass system.

Structure of diarylheptanoids with antiallergic activity from the rhizomes of Curcuma comosa

The methanolic extract from the dried rhizomes of Curcuma comosa cultivated in Thailand was found to inhibit the release of β-hexosaminidase as a maker of degranulation from rat basophil leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. Two new diarylheptanoids, diarylcomosols IV and V, were isolated from the methanolic extract. The chemical structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. The isolated diarylheptanoids showed inhibitory activity, and the structural requirements of the active constituents for the inhibition were clarified.

Chemical constituents and their antibacterial and antifungal activity from the Egyptian herbal medicine Chiliadenus montanus

Phytochemical investigations of the CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of air-dried aerial parts of Chiliadenus montanus afforded eight metabolites, in addition to eight other previously reported compounds, of which two were isolated for the first time as free acids. Structures were established by spectroscopic methods, including HREIMS, (1)H, (13)C, DEPT, (1)H-(1)H COSY, HMQC and HMBC NMR analysis. Antimicrobial activity against an array of common bacterial and fungal strains was measured via a colorimetric assay with minimal growth inhibition observed in the μg/mL range for one of the tested metabolites.

Peptide Inhibitors for Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme from Thermolysin Digest of Dried Bonitot

Dried bonito (Katsuobusi), a Japanese traditional seasoning made of bonito muscle was hydrolyzed by various proteases and the inhibitory activity of the hydrolyzates for angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) [EC 3.4.15.1] was measured. Among the digests, thermolysin digest showed the most potent inhibitory activity. Eight inhibitory peptides were isolated from the digest using HPLC. The amino acid sequences of inhibitory peptides were Ile-Lys-Pro-Leu-Asn-Tyr, Ile-Val-Gly-Arg-Pro-Arg-His-Gln-Gly, Ile-Trp-His-His-Thr, Ala-Leu-Pro-His-Ala, Phe-Gln-Pro, Leu-Lys-Pro-Asn-Met, Ile-Tyr, and Asp-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Tyr-Pro. By searching for the sequence homology in many proteins, four of them were found in the primary structure of actin. Asp-Met-Ile-Pro-Ala-Gln-Lys was obtained from the boiling water extract of dried bonito and this peptide was found in the primary structure of creatine kinase. Fragments of these peptides were prepared by further enzymatic digestion or chemical synthesis and their ACE-inhibitory activities were measured. Among them, Ile-Lys-Pro, Ile-Trp, Leu-Lys-Pro, and Leu-Tyr-Pro had higher inhibitory activity than their parental peptides. Ile-Lys-Pro suppressed the hypertensive activity of angiotensin I.

Hepatoprotective triterpenes from traditional Tibetan medicine Potentilla anserina

A methanol extract from the tuberous roots of Potentilla anserina (Rosaceae) exhibited hepatoprotective effects against d-galactosamine (d-GalN)/lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injuries in mice. Six triterpene 28-O-monoglucopyranosyl esters, potentillanosides A-F, were isolated from the extract along with 32 known compounds, including 15 triterpenes. The structures of potentillanosides A-F were determined on the basis of spectroscopic properties and chemical evidence. Four ursane-type triterpene 28-O-monoglycosyl esters, potentillanoside A (IC50=46.7μM), 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl pomolic acid (IC50=9.5μM), rosamutin (IC50=35.5μM), and kaji-ichigoside F1 (IC50=14.1μM), inhibited d-GalN-induced cytotoxicity in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes. Among these four triterpenes, potentillanoside A, rosamutin, and kaji-ichigoside F1 exhibited in vivo hepatoprotective effects at doses of 50-100mg/kg, p.o. The mode of action was ascribable to the reduction in cytotoxicity caused by d-GalN.

A Mainstay of Functional Food Science in Japan—History, Present Status, and Future Outlook

The development of food science in the near future probably depends on the advance in functional food science, the concept of which was proposed first in Japan nearly 15 years ago. The new science has been internationally distributed and accepted as conceptually being beyond nutrition. In Japan, however, it traced a unique path of progress in the form of a product-driven rather than concept-driven science. Actually, a number of substances and products with potential for disease risk reduction rather than simply for health maintenance have been investigated for their body-modulating functions. Some of them have been applied in practice to the industrialization of functional foods in terms of "foods for specified health uses" legally defined by new legislation. A variety of sophisticated methods have been introduced as well, including the so-called "XYZ" evaluation system, database construction for assessment of the function, and even the DNA microarray technique. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) also commenced their scientific as well as political activity, with its spread to industries which almost simultaneously began to vigorously investigate functional food products for enlargement of the food market. With all of this as a background, the Japan Liaison of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) hold a function food science symposium on behalf of related scientific bodies including the Japan Section of the International Life Science Institute (ILSI). This paper is an overview compiled from 12 presentations made in the symposium, with the aim of internationally publicizing the activity of functional food science in Japan.

Enterostatin (VPDPR) Has Anti-analgesic and Anti-amnesic Activites

Enterostatin (VPDPR), an anorexigenic peptide derived from the amino terminus of procolipase, significantly inhibited analgesia induced by the mu-opioid agonist morphine (5 mg/kg, s.c.) after i.c.v. administration to mice at a dose of 100 nmol. On the other hand, VPDPR (approximately 200 nmol, i.c.v.) did not attenuate analgesia induced by the kappa-opioid agonist D-Phe-D-Phe-D-Nle-D-Arg-NH2 (100 microg/mouse, i.c.v.) or delta-opioid agonist DTLET (4 nmol/mouse, i.c.v.). VPDPR (100 nmol, i.c.v.) significantly improved amnesia induced by scopolamine (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.) in mice. However, VPDPR did not enhance memory in normal mice at the same dose.

A rare glutamine derivative from the flower buds of daylily

A rare glutamine derivative, hemerocallisamine I (1), was isolated from the methanolic extract of the flower buds of daylily, together with a new pyrrole alkaloid hemerocallisamine II (2) and a new γ-lactam derivative, hemerocallisamine III (3). The chemical structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. For hemerocallisamine I (1), the absolute configuration was determined by Mo-Kα X-ray crystallographic analysis. This is the first report of a glutamine derivative with a pyrrole ring from natural plants.