A chemically standardized extract of Ziziphus jujuba fruit (Jujube) stimulates expressions of neurotrophic factors and anti-oxidant enzymes in cultured astrocytes

The fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., known as jujube or Chinese date, is commonly consumed as a health supplement worldwide. To study the role of jujube in brain benefits, the expression of neurotrophic factors and anti-oxidant enzymes in the jujube-treated cultured astrocytes was determined. Application of a chemical standardized water extract of jujube in cultured astrocytes for 24 h stimulated the expressions of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in a concentration-dependent manner. The pre-treatment with H89, a protein kinase A inhibitor, attenuated the jujube-induced expression of neurotrophic factors. In parallel, the treatment of jujube water extract induced the transcriptional expressions of the enzymes responsible for anti-oxidation, i.e.

NAD(P)H

quinine oxidoreductase 1, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit, glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit and glutathione S-transferase, in a concentration-dependent manner. These results proposed the benefits of jujube in regulating expressions of neurotrophic factors and anti-oxidant enzymes in cultured astrocytes.

Flavonoids induce the expression of synaptic proteins, synaptotagmin, and postsynaptic density protein-95 in cultured rat cortical neuron

Flavonoids, a family of phenolic compounds, are widely present in our daily diet and exist in traditional Chinese medicines, in which they act as the major active functional ingredients. Different lines of evidence indicate that flavonoids have positive impacts on human health. Here, different subclasses of flavonoids were analyzed for their inductive roles in promoting the expression of synaptic proteins, synaptotagmin, and post-synaptic density protein-95 in cultured rat cortical neurons. Among the screened 65 flavonoids, (-)-catechin, luteolin, and isorhamnetin, in micromolar concentration, were found to induce the expression of synaptic proteins in a dose-dependent manner: the induction values were from 2- to 8-fold that of the control. Similar results were revealed in the flavonoid-treated hippocampal neurons. The identification of these synapse-promoting flavonoids could be very useful in finding potential drugs, or food supplements, for treating various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and depression.

[Inhibition of ova fertilizability by pseudolaric acid B in hamster]

Pseudolaric acid B (PA), a diterpenoid compound isolated from the root of Pseudolarix kaempferi Gorden, was injected into hamster ovarian bursa with various concentration before ovulation. The successful rate of fertilization of ova was significantly decreased, but no effect was observed on spermatozoa activity and fertilizing ability. Hamster ova with or without cumulus were treated with PA at a concentration higher than 50 micrograms/ml in the medium, the fertilizing rate of ova was reduced markedly. At the concentration of 5 micrograms/ml, only the capacity of fertilization of the cumulus-free ova was inhibited. When PA was injected ig 20 mg/kg daily to hamsters (female) for 4 d before mating, partial antifertility effect was observed.