Can food factors provide Us with the similar beneficial effects of physical exercise?

[Metabolic beneficial effects of Citrus Sudachi]

Sudachi (Citrus Sudachi) is a sour fruit and is a popular seasoning for Japanese dishes, Washoku. It can grow only in Tokushima and the surrounding areas for some reason, and therefore, Sudachi is a specialty of Tokushima prefecture in Japan. We usually use only its juice, and the size of the fruit is so small that a huge amount of pomace has been an industrial problem of the region. Therefore, we undertook exploratory studies of the Sudachi peel in terms of health promotion with making a kind of collaborative consortium for the study of acid citruses. Our recent activities on Sudachi research including the consortium were shared and discussed in the symposium, and the metabolic effects of Sudachi peel will be briefly introduced in the current manuscript.

[AMPK as a Metabolic Intersection between Diet and Physical Exercise]

　Physical exercise is well known to be beneficial to our health. Therapeutic exercise is widely applicable to metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. In addition, recent studies have suggested its potential benefit in the treatment of more various diseases such as mental disorders and cancer. 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is an intracellular central metabolic sensor as well as a regulator, has been demonstrated to play significant roles in the contracting skeletal muscles, suggesting that AMPK should be one of the key molecules mediating metabolic effects during physical exercise. Therefore, AMPK is a desirable therapeutic target for drug discovery. In the symposium S41 held in the 137th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, our data on the molecular mechanisms of isoform-specific postprandial suppression of AMPK activity were shared, and we discussed potential roles of AMPK as an intersection where metabolic signals by physical exercise and feeding status crosstalk. Here, I would like to introduce basic knowledge related to AMPK and recent findings regarding how AMPK activity is regulated in response to physiological and pharmacological stimulation.

Antidiabetic plant-derived nutraceuticals: a critical review

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major health problems in the world, especially amongst the urban population. Chemically synthesized drugs used to decrease the ill effects of DM and its secondary complications cause adverse side effects, viz., weight gain, gastrointestinal disturbances, and heart failure. Currently, various other approaches, viz., diet control, physical exercise and use of antidiabetic plant-derived molecules/foods are advocated to manage DM, as they are economical with fewer or no side effects. This review mainly focuses on antidiabetic plants, chemically characterized plant molecules and plant-based foods in the treatment of DM. Very little science-based evidence is available on the mechanism of action of plant-derived food molecules on the DM targets. Critical DM targets include α-amylase, α-glucosidase, DPP-IV, aldose reductase, PPAR-γ, AMP kinase and GLUT4. In-depth studies carried out on a few of those targets with specific mechanisms of action are addressed in this review. This review may help future researchers in identifying a right plant molecule to treat DM or to develop food formulations for DM management.