Protective and antioxidative effect of rubropunctatin against oxidative protein damage induced by metal catalyzed reaction.

Monascus purpureus is known to produce several coloured secondary metabolites. In this study, M. purpureus CFR 410-11 mutant fermented with rice was dried and extracted in hexane for purification of pigment.

Antioxidant properties of isolated compounds from banana rhizome.

Unlabelled: In this study, we attempted to explore banana rhizome (BR) as a source of natural bioactive compounds. Dried BR powder was subjected to sequential extraction using solvents with increasing polarity and studied for antioxidant activities. Chloroform and acetone extracts were selected for isolation and identification of bioactive compounds because of their high antioxidant properties.

Activation of α-secretase by curcumin-aminoacid conjugates.

The extracellular senile plaques observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients are mainly composed of amyloid peptides produced from the β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) by β- and γ-secretases. A third non-amyloidogenic α-secretase activity performed by the disintegrins ADAM10 and ADAM17 occurs in the middle of the amyloid-β peptide Aβ and liberates the large sAPPα neuroprotective fragment. Since the activation of α-secretase recently emerged as a promising therapeutic approach to treat AD, the identification of natural compounds able to trigger this cleavage is highly required.