Erratum: Attenuation of postprandial blood glucose in humans consuming isomaltodextrin: carbohydrate loading studies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1080/16546628.2017.

Effects of isomaltodextrin in postprandial lipid kinetics: Rat study and human randomized crossover study.

Isomaltodextrin (IMD) is a novel dietary fiber-like polysaccharide: a type of α-glucan produced from starch using enzymes derived from microorganisms. The results of cohort studies show that dietary fiber can prevent cardiovascular disorders caused by lifestyle-related diseases such as metabolic syndrome. Inhibition of excess fat absorption by dietary fiber is known to be one of the mechanisms, and it is also known that the actions of dietary fiber vary depending on factors such as its structure or origin.

Attenuation of postprandial blood glucose in humans consuming isomaltodextrin: carbohydrate loading studies.

: Isomaltodextrin (IMD) is a novel highly branched α-glucan and its function as a soluble dietary fiber is expected. : The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of IMD on postprandial glucose excursions in healthy people and to make the mechanism clear. : Twenty-nine subjects ingested a solution containing maltodextrin (MD) or sucrose with or without IMD.

Daily Intake of Trehalose Is Effective in the Prevention of Lifestyle-Related Diseases in Individuals with Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome.

We previously performed animal studies that suggested that trehalose potentially prevents the development of metabolic syndrome in humans. To evaluate this possibility, we examined whether trehalose suppressed the progression of insulin resistance in a placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in 34 subjects with a body mass index (BMI) ≥23. The subjects were divided into two groups and were assigned to ingest either 10 g/d of trehalose or sucrose with meals for 12 wk.

Glycemic, insulinemic and incretin responses after oral trehalose ingestion in healthy subjects.

Background: Trehalose is hydrolyzed by a specific intestinal brush-border disaccharidase (trehalase) into two glucose molecules. In animal studies, trehalose has been shown to prevent adipocyte hypertrophy and mitigate insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet. Recently, we found that trehalose improved glucose tolerance in human subjects.

Cholesteryl Pullulan Encapsulated TNF-α Nanoparticles Are an Effective Mucosal Vaccine Adjuvant against Influenza Virus.

We encapsulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a major proinflammatory cytokine, into cholesteryl pullulan (CHP) to prepare TNF/CHP nanoparticles. In this report, we describe the immune-enhancing capability of the nanoparticles to act as a vaccine adjuvant. TNF/CHP nanoparticles showed excellent storage stability and enhanced host immune responses to external immunogens.

Anti-inflammatory effects of adenosine N1-oxide.

Background: Adenosine is a potent endogenous anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory molecule. Despite its promise, adenosine's extremely short half-life in blood limits its clinical application. Here, we examined adenosine N1-oxide (ANO), which is found in royal jelly.

Variation in available cesium concentration with parameters during temperature induced extraction of cesium from soil.

Cesium extraction behavior of brown forest type soil collected from paddy fields in Fukushima nuclear accident affected areas was studied. In nitric acid or sulfuric acid solutions at elevated temperature, the concentration of Cs in soil available for extraction, m0, has been estimated on the basis of modified canonical equation and the equations derived from assumed equilibria. With the variation in temperature, mixing time, and soil to solvent ratio, the observed m0 values in 0.

Trehalose prevents adipocyte hypertrophy and mitigates insulin resistance in mice with established obesity.

Our group recently demonstrated that simultaneous administration of trehalose with a high-fat diet (HFD) suppresses adipocyte hypertrophy and mitigates insulin resistance in mice. For the present study, we hypothesized that similar effects of trehalose would be observed in mice with previously-established obesity. Obese mice were fed a HFD and drinking water containing 0.

Structural and mutational analysis of substrate recognition in kojibiose phosphorylase.

Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 65 contains phosphorylases acting on maltose (Glc-α1,4-Glc), kojibiose (Glc-α1,2-Glc), trehalose (Glc-α1,α1,-Glc), and nigerose (Glc-α1,3-Glc). These phosphorylases can efficiently catalyze the reverse reactions with high specificities, and thus can be applied to the practical synthesis of α-glucosyl oligosaccharides. Here, we determined the crystal structures of kojibiose phosphorylase from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus in complex with glucose and phosphate and in complex with kojibiose and sulfate, providing the first structural insights into the substrate recognition of a glycoside hydrolase family 65 enzyme.

Dealing with the aftermath of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident: decontamination of radioactive cesium enriched ash.

Environmental radioactivity, mainly in the Tohoku and Kanto areas, due to the long living radioisotopes of cesium is an obstacle to speedy recovery from the impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Although incineration of the contaminated wastes is encouraged, safe disposal of the Cs enriched ash is the big challenge. To address this issue, safe incineration of contaminated wastes while restricting the release of volatile Cs to the atmosphere was studied.

The cyanine Dye NK-4 improves scopolamine-induced memory impairments in mice.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of NK-4, a kind of cyanine dye, on cholinergic memory deficits in mice. We examined whether NK-4 could reverse scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice since NK-4 displays a potent and selective inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in vitro. Intraperitoneal administration of NK-4 significantly reversed scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice in the Y maze and the passive avoidance tests, and NK-4 also improved spatial learning ability in the Morris water maze test.

Purification and characterization of highly branched α-glucan-producing enzymes from Paenibacillus sp. PP710.

Highly branched α-glucan molecules exhibit low digestibility for α-amylase and glucoamylase, and abundant in α-(1→3)-, α-(1→6)-glucosidic linkages and α-(1→6)-linked branch points where another glucosyl chain is initiated through an α-(1→3)-linkage. From a culture supernatant of Paenibacillus sp. PP710, we purified α-glucosidase (AGL) and α-amylase (AMY), which were involved in the production of highly branched α-glucan from maltodextrin.

Effects of NK-4 in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptides are considered to play a major role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and molecules that can prevent pathways of Aβ toxicity may be potential therapeutic agents for treatment of AD. We have previously reported that NK-4, a cyanine photosensitizing dye, displays neurotrophic and antioxidant activities. In this study, we report the effects of NK-4 on the toxicity of Aβ and on cognitive function and Aβ concentration in a transgenic mouse model of AD (Tg2576).

Anti-oxidative and anti-aging activities of 2-O-α-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid on human dermal fibroblasts.

A stable ascorbic acid derivative, 2-O-α-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2G), was evaluated and compared with ascorbic acid for its protective effect against cellular damage and senescence induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Pretreatment with AA-2G for 72 h promoted the proliferation of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and protected against cell damage induced by H(2)O(2). In contrast, ascorbic acid increased the proliferation and protected against cell damage, only when culture medium containing ascorbic acid was replaced every 24 h during the pretreatment period.

[Activation of natural killer T cells by NK-4, a criptocyanine dye].

We previously reported that oral administration of NK-4, a criptocyanine dye, enhances interleukin (IL)-12-depend- ent interferon (IFN)-γ production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse splenocytes. These findings raised a possibility that NK-4 potentiated IFN-γ production by T cells, natural killer (NK) cells or natural killer T (NKT) cells in response to IL-12 produced by macrophage and dendritic cells. To explore this possibility, we first analyzed percentages of T, NK or NKT cells in splenocytes of mice that were administered NK-4 orally for three days.

Enzymatic properties of recombinant kojibiose phosphorylase from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus ATCC43494.

One kojibiose phoshorylase (KP) homolog gene was cloned from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus ATCC43494. Recombinant KP from C. saccharolyticus (Cs-KP) expressed in Escherichia coli showed highest activity at pH 6.

Neurotrophic effects of a cyanine dye via the PI3K-Akt pathway: attenuation of motor discoordination and neurodegeneration in an ataxic animal model.

Background: Neurotrophic factors may be future therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative disease. In the screening of biologically active molecules for neurotrophic potency, we found that a photosensitizing cyanine dye, NK-4, had remarkable neurotrophic activities and was a potent radical scavenger.

Methodology/principal Findings: In this study, we evaluated the effect of NK-4 on the protection of neurons against oxidative damage and investigated the associated intracellular signaling pathways.

Tryptanthrin inhibits Th2 development, and IgE-mediated degranulation and IL-4 production by rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tryptanthrin is a compound isolated from Polygonum tinctorium, which is a known folk medicine with various biological activities.

Aim Of The Study: Allergic diseases are initiated by the development of allergen-specific T helper type 2 (Th2) cells and amplified by the degranulation of and cytokine release from basophils and mast cells during an effector phase. We found that Tryptanthrin could down-regulate IL-4 production by Th2 cells, while IFN-γ production by Th1 cells was not affected.

Trehalose prevents adipocyte hypertrophy and mitigates insulin resistance.

Trehalose has been shown to evoke lower insulin secretion than glucose in oral saccharide tolerance tests in humans. Given this hypoinsulinemic effect of trehalose, we hypothesized that trehalose suppresses adipocyte hypertrophy by reducing storage of triglyceride and mitigates insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Mice were fed an HFD and given drinking water containing 2.

Cyanine dyes attenuate cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats.

Some photosensitizing cyanine dyes act on the immune system to enhance the phagocytic capacity of macrophages. In this study, we examined whether these dyes have neurotrophin-like activities and neuroprotective effects in vitro and in vivo. By screening more than 250 cyanine dyes, we found that NK-4 and NK-150, which belong to a group of pentamethine trinuclear cyanine dyes, significantly potentiated nerve growth factor (NGF)-primed neurite outgrowth of PC12HS cells in nanomolar to micromolar concentrations.

Inhibitory effects of 2-amino-3H-phenoxazin-3-one on the melanogenesis of murine B16 melanoma cell line.

Hyperpigmentations are a serious concern addressed by both the medical community and the cosmetic industry through the development of agents that block melanin biosynthesis. In this study, we found that 2-amino-3H-phenoxazin-3-one (APO), isolated from extracts of the edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus Imbach, exhibited potent inhibitory effects on melanogenesis in B16 cells, a murine melanoma cell line. APO inhibited melanin biosynthesis at 1,000 times lower concentrations (IC(50)=1.

Improved yields of cyclic nigerosylnigerose from starch by pretreatment with a thermostable branching enzyme.

Cyclic nigerosylnigerose (CNN) is produced enzymatically from starch by the combined action of 6-alpha-glucosyltransferase and 3-alpha-isomaltosyltransferase. In our previous study, alpha-1,6-branching chains found in the structure of amylopectin and glycogen were shown to be favorable for CNN formation by the two enzymes. Therefore, we examined whether the introduction of alpha-1,6-branch points into starch using the action of branching enzyme (BE) could improve the yield of CNN from starch.

Suppressive effects of a cyanine dye against herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 infection.

In this study, we demonstrate that a cyanine dye, lumin, significantly suppressed cytopathic effect by herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 toward human amnionic FL cell and also it reduced replication of HSV-1 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, lumin additively augmented the antiviral effect of interferon (IFN)-alpha. Furthermore, fluorescence microscopic study showed that lumin (not IFN-alpha) itself remarkably induced alkalinization of intracellular organelle, suggesting the inhibition of virus invasion into the cells.

Propolis prevents diet-induced hyperlipidemia and mitigates weight gain in diet-induced obesity in mice.

We examined the hypolipidemic effect of propolis in a mouse obesity model induced by a high fat-diet. C57BL/6N mice were fed a high-fat diet ad libitum and given propolis extract intragastrically at 0 mg/kg (control), 5 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg twice daily for 10 d. Compared with mice in the control group, mice in the propolis extract-administrated groups displayed a reduction in all of the following parameters: body weight gain, weight of visceral adipose tissue, liver and serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and non-esterified fatty acids.