Artificial food colorants inhibit superoxide production in differentiated HL-60 cells.

We tested synthetic food colorants for their antioxidative potential by the in vitro superoxide generation assay in differentiated HL-60 cells in response to phorbol ester. Among the 12 colorants tested, such fluorescein-type red colorants as rose bengal showed potent inhibitory activity without any cytotoxicity under dark conditions. The intracellular accumulation and superoxide anion scavenging effect of rose bengal were at least partly involved in the inhibitory activity.

Characterization of an i-type lysozyme gene from the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus, and enzymatic and nonenzymatic antimicrobial activities of its recombinant protein.

Because sea cucumbers lack a well-developed immune system and can ingest pathogenic bacteria together with food, some form of active antibacterial substances must be present in the body for defense. In this study, the cDNA of an i-type lysozyme from the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus (designated SjLys) was cloned by RT-PCR and RACE PCR techniques. The full length cDNA of SjLys was 713 bp with an open reading frame of 438 bp coding for 145 amino acids.

Docosahexaenoic acid induces ERK1/2 activation and neuritogenesis via intracellular reactive oxygen species production in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n-3; DHA) is a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid that exists highly enriched in fish oil, and it is one of the low molecular weight food chemicals which can pass a blood brain barrier. A preliminary survey of several fatty acids for expression of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43), a marker of axonal growth, identified DHA as one of the most potent inducers. The human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells exposed to DHA showed significant and dose-dependent increases in the percentage of cells with longer neurites.

Inhibitory effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on apoptosis induced by etoposide, okadaic acid and AraC in Neuro2a cells.

Neuronal apoptosis is involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson.s disease. An efficient means of preventing it remains to be found.

Resistance imparted by vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12 to the acute hepatic glycogen change in rats caused by noise.

The effects of vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12 on the noise-induced acute change in hepatic glycogen content in rats were investigated. The exposure of rats to 95 dB and 110 dB of noise acutely reduced their hepatic glycogens. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) attenuated the noise-induced acute reduction in the hepatic glycogen contents.

Apoptosis induction by dohevanil, a DHA substitutive analog of capsaicin, in MCF-7 cells.

Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), a major pungent ingredient in a variety of red peppers of the genus Capsicum, is a type of vanilloid. It has been shown to induce apoptosis in many cell types. The effects of vanilloids on apoptosis induction are thought to be correlated with the length and degree of the unsaturation of the fatty acyl chains.

Effects of the fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria against phytopathogenic filamentous fungi and on the growth of host plants.

The fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria (FHL) was assayed for antifungal activities against Rosellinia necatrix, Helicobasidium mompa, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium graminicola and Pyricularia oryzae. FHL completely inhibited the growth of R. necatrix, H.

Antifungal activity of the fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria against tinea.

The fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria (FHL), in which Enterococcus faecalis TH10 predominated, was assayed for antifungal activity against tinea. The antifungal activity of FHL was as high as that of a synthetic fungicide. Autoclaving FHL did not reduce its antifungal activity, whereas neutralizing it did.

Acceleration effect of sulfides on photodegradation of carotenoids by UVA irradiation.

The photodegradation of carotenoids by UVA irradiation in the presence of sulfides was investigated. The sulfides accelerated the photodegradation of carotenoids. A larger number of sulfur atoms of coexistent sulfides was more favorable to the acceleration effect of sulfides on the photodegradation of beta-carotene, but the alk(en)yl group of sulfides was less favorable to the acceleration effect of sulfur compounds.

The inhibitory effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP on docosahexaenoic acid-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells through activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase pathway.

Objective: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is known as a chemopreventive substance for cancers. Previously we reported that DHA induces apoptosis in HL-60 cells. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase)/Akt signaling during DHA-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

Docosahexaenoic acid induces apoptosis via the Bax-independent pathway in HL-60 cells.

We attempted to determine whether docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-induced apoptosis is mediated via the Bax-mediated pathway in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells. DHA-induced apoptosis was confirmed by morphological analysis and caspase-3 activation. But, cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), did not inhibit DHA-induced Bax translocation to mitochondria or caspase-3 activation.

Suppressive effects of ascorbate derivatives on ultraviolet-B-induced injury in HaCaT human keratinocytes.

The aging of skin, including sunburning, is caused by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Here, we examined the inhibitory effect of ascorbic acid (AsA) and its derivatives AsA 2-phosphate (AA-2P) and AsA 2-glucoside (AA-2G) on UV-B- induced cytotoxicity in HaCaT keratinocytes. Results show that cell viability significantly decreased when exposed to UV-B at 0.

Simple determination of trace amounts of anionic surfactants in river water by spectrophotometry combined with solid-phase extraction.

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method combined with solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the simultaneous determination of sodium linear-dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is described. The C2 (ethyl group bonded silicagel) cartridge could be repeatedly used more than 500 times for SPE, and it enabled the anionic surfactants to be concentrated by 50-fold. The calibration graph for DBS was linear in the range from 1.

Degradation of ethyl docosahexaenoate by gamma-ray irradiation and suppression of this degradation by antioxidants.

Ethyl 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoate (DHA-Et) dissolved in an ethanol solution or embedded in liposomes was degraded by irradiating with gamma rays in a dose-dependent manner. The degradation rate of DHA-Et embedded in liposomes was higher than that of DHA-Et dissolved in ethanol. Antioxidants suppressed the degradation of DHA-Et embedded in liposomes, the order of activity of the antioxidants being luteolin>fisetin>kaempferol>quercetin>rutin.

Inhibitory effects of esculetin on melanin biosynthesis.

To investigate the structure-activity relationship of coumarins for the inhibitory activity on mushroom tyrosinase, the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50 values) of 18 coumarins and four cinnamic acid derivatives were measured. Among these compounds, esculetin had the strongest inhibitory activity (IC50=43 microM) on mushroom tyrosinase. Introduction of a hydroxy group to the C6 and C7 positions of the coumarin ring and no substitution on the lactone ring played an important role in the expression of the strong inhibitory activity of esculetin.

Reduction in photostability by the esterification of beta-cryptoxanthin.

Liposomes, in which beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin palmitate or beta-cryptoxanthin acetate had been embedded, were irradiated by UVA, and the rate of degradation of each carotenoid was measured. There was no significant difference in the degradation rate between beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin. The degradation rates of beta-cryptoxanthin palmitate and beta-cryptoxanthin acetate were faster than that of beta-cryptoxanthin, and the degradation rate of beta-cryptoxanthin palmitate was faster than that of beta-cryptoxanthin acetate.

Effects of oxygenated carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin on morphological differentiation and apoptosis in Neuro2a neuroblastoma cells.

Beta-Cryptoxanthin (beta Cx) was investigated for cell functions in neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells. The following results were obtained. 1.

Reduction of noise-stress-induced physiological damage by radices of Astragali and Rhodiolae: glycogen, lactic acid and cholesterol contents in liver of the rat.

Noise is one of the factors that induces critical stress in animals. The contents of glycogen, lactic acid and cholesterol in the liver of noise-stressed rats were analyzed in order to investigate the alleviation of noise-stress-induced physiological damages by traditional medicine using Astragali and Rhodiolae radices. More than 95 dB noise ranging from 2 to 4 kHz reduced the contents of these compounds in the liver of rats not injected with the extract of Astragali or Rhodiolae, but did not change the contents in the liver of rats injected with the Astragali or Rhodiolae extract.

Mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity of esculetin isolated from seeds of Euphorbia lathyris L.

A tyrosinase inhibitor was isolated from the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris L. by bioassay-guided fractionation and purification, using silica gel column chromatography. It was identified as esculetin by comparing its physical properties and spectral data with those of an authentic sample.

Reduction of ATPase activity accompanied by photodecomposition of ergosterol by near-UV irradiation in plasma membranes prepared from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

When plasma membranes prepared from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were exposed to near-UV radiation, photodecomposition of ergosterol and reduction of ATPase-activity occurred simultaneously. The Vmax for ATPase activity decreased markedly with increasing near-UV dosage while the Km value remained constant. When ATPase solubilized from the plasma membrane was exposed to near-UV, the activity remained constant irrespective of dosage, indicating that the ATPase molecule itself was not damaged by near-UV irradiation.

Near-UV-induced absorbance change and photochemical decomposition of ergosterol in the plasma membrane of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

When cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were exposed to near-UV (300-400 nm), their absorption spectra changed slightly within the range 220-300 nm with increasing dosage. Difference spectra, calculated by substracting the curve recorded in cells exposed to near-UV from the curve of unexposed cells, decreased with increasing dosage over a broad band with peaks at 272, 282 and 295 nm and a shoulder at 265 nm. These peaks were in agreement with the absorption maxima of ergosterol, which is one of the major components of the plasma membrane of yeast.