Decomposition of green tea and rooibos tea across three monospecific temperate forests: Effect of litter type and tree species.

We studied the effect of different forest covers on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics of two standardised litters during decomposition in soil. For this purpose, commercially available bags containing green tea or rooibos tea were incubated in close monospecific stands of , , and , in the Apennines range, Italy, and then analysed at different intervals for up to two years. We also investigated the fate of various C functional groups in both types of litter under beech by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Antioxidant effect of astragalin isolated from the leaves of Morus alba L. against free radical-induced oxidative hemolysis of human red blood cells.

We evaluated the antioxidant properties of mulberry leaves extract (MLE) and flavonoids isolated from MLE. MLE was prepared by extraction with methanol. Flavonoids were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Inhibitory Effects of Chung Hun Wha Dam Tang (CHWDT) on High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity via AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Activation.

The Chung Hun Wha Dam Tang (CHWDT) herbal combination was reported to cease dizziness and phlegm. However, the effect of CHWDT in obesity has not yet been known mechanically. Therefore, we investigated whether this CHWDT could protect the cells from lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and inflammation in both in vivo and in vitro.

Okanin, a chalcone found in the genus Bidens, and 3-penten-2-one inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase expression via heme oxygenase-1 induction in RAW264.7 macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide.

Excess production of nitric oxide by activated macrophages via inducible nitric oxide synthase leads to the development of various inflammatory diseases. Heme oxygenase-1 expression via activation of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 inhibits nitric oxide production and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in activated macrophages. Okanin is one of the most abundant chalcones found in the genus Bidens (Asteraceae) that is used as various folk medications in Korea and China for treating inflammation.

Hypotensive, hypolipidemic, and vascular protective effects of Morus alba L. in rats fed an atherogenic diet.

Morus alba L. has been used in traditional Chinese medicine and almost all parts of this plant are useful in cardiovascular, liver and spleen disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effect of a water extract from Morus alba L.

Cytoprotective constituents of the heartwood of Caesalpinia sappan on glutamate-induced oxidative damage in HT22 cells.

The bioassay-guided fractionation of a MeOH extract of the heartwood of Caesalpinia sappan L. provided two neuroprotective compounds, sappanchalcone (2) and 4-O-methylepisappanol (3), together with a methoxychalcone, isoliquiritigenin 2'-methyl ether (1), and three aromatic compounds, 4-O-methylsappanol (4), caesalpine J (5), pluchoic acid (6). At concentrations of 20-40 microM, compound 2 showed significant cytoprotective effects against glutamate-induced oxidative stress through the induction of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in HT22-immortalized hippocampal cells.

Continentalic acid from Aralia continentalis induces growth inhibition and apoptosis in HepG2 cells.

In this study, we investigated the effects of continentalic acid (CA, (-)-pimara-8(14), 15-diene-19-oic acid), a diterpenic acid, isolated from Aralia continentalis, on the proliferation and apoptosis induction of HepG2 cells. In 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, the inhibitory effect became gradually stronger with the passage of time, 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment with CA, and the most significant effect was observed at 72 h. CA treatment for 72 h induced DNA fragmentation in a dose-dependent manner.

Endothelial NO/cGMP-dependent vascular relaxation of cornuside isolated from the fruit of Cornus officinalis.

Cornuside is a bisiridoid glucoside compound isolated from the fruit of CORNUS OFFICINALIS Sieb. et Zucc. (Cornaceae).

Cornuside suppresses cytokine-induced proinflammatory and adhesion molecules in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Cornuside is a bisiridoid glucoside compound isolated from the fruit of Cornus officinalis SIEB. et ZUCC. The present study was designed to examine the effects of cornuside on expression levels of cytokine-induced proinflammatory and adhesion molecules in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).

The alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone moiety in dehydrocostus lactone is responsible for cytoprotective heme oxygenase-1 expression through activation of the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 in HepG2 cells.

Inducible heme oxygenase (HO)-1 acts against oxidants that are thought to play a major role in the pathogenesis of several diseases. The alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone (CH2-BL) structural unit, which characterizes a group of naturally occurring sesquiterpene lactones, is known to possess numerous biological activities. In the present study, we evaluated dehydrocostus lactone possessing CH2-BL moiety, one of the bioactive constituents of the medicinal plant Saussurea lappa, as an inducer of cytoprotective HO-1.

Effects of oral administration of Phellinus linteus on the production of Th1- and Th2-type cytokines in mice.

The mushroom Phellinus linteus (PL) has been shown to have antitumor and immunostimulatory effects. We hypothesized that the hot water extract of PL (WEPL) exerts its significant immunostimulatory effect by inducing production of the Th1-derived cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by T lymphocytes. T lymphocytes were isolated from the mice fed with 200 mg/kg of WEPL once a day for 4 weeks and then stimulated with the mitogen concanavaline A (Con A).

Screening of vasorelaxant activity of some medicinal plants used in Oriental medicines.

Hexane, ethylacetate (EtOAC), and n-butanol (n-BuOH) extracts of medicinal plants traditionally used in the East Asia, such as China, Korea, and Japan were screened for their vasorelaxant activity using isolated rat aorta. Among the 60 solvent-extracts from 20 medicinal plants, hexane and n-BuOH extracts of Diospyros kaki and Polygonum aviculare, hexane, EtOAC, and n-BuOH extracts of Magnolia liliflora, n-BuOH extract of Sorbus commixta, and EtOAC and n-BuOH extracts of Selaginella tamariscina were found to exhibit distinctive vasorelaxant activity. The activity disappeared by removal of functional endothelium or pre-treatment of the aortic tissues with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), which is an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase.

Scoparone from Artemisia capillaris inhibits the release of inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells upon stimulation cells by interferon-gamma Plus LPS.

Scoparone is a major component of the shoot of Artemisia capillaris (Compositae), which has been used for the treatment of hepatitis and biliary tract infection in oriental countries. In the present study we observed that, scorparone exhibited no cytotoxic effect in unstimulated macrophages, but reduced the release of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) upon stimulation by IFN-gamma/LPS or LPS. The inhibitory effects were found to be in conjuction with the suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in IFN-gamma/LPS stimulated RAW 264.

Isolation of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory flavonoids from Sedum sarmentosum.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc-soluble extract of Sedum sarmentosum afforded a new flavonoid, quercetin-3-O-alpha-(6'''-caffeoylglucosyl-beta-1,2-rhamnoside) (1), along with four known flavonoids, quercetin 3-O-alpha-(6'''-p-coumaroylglucosyl-beta-1,2-rhamnoside) (2), isorhamnetin-3-beta-glucopyranoside (3), quercetin-3-beta-glucopyranoside (4), and kaempferol-3-alpha-arabinopyranoside (5). Purification of these compounds was conducted with the application of various chromatographic methods. Compounds 1-5 inhibited angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) activity in a concentration-dependent manner.

4-Acetyl-12,13-epoxyl-9-trichothecene-3, 15-diol from Isaria japonica mediates apoptosis of rat bladder carcinoma NBT-II cells by decreasing anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression and increasing pro-apoptotic Bax expression.

We studied the effect of 4-acetyl-12,13-epoxyl-9-trichothecene-3, 15-diol (AETD) isolated from Isaria japonica, one of the most popular Chinese fungal medicines, on the induction of apoptosis in rat bladder carcinoma NBT-II cells. AETD was cytotoxic to NBT-II cells, and this cytotoxic effect appears to be attributed to its induction of apoptotic cell death, as AETD induced nuclear morphological changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and increased the proportion of hypodiploid cells and activity of caspase-3. AETD treatment also decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and increased the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax.

Four glycosides from the leaves of Abeliophyllum distichum with inhibitory effects on angiotensin converting enzyme.

The bioassay-guided fractionation of the n-BuOH extract of Abeliophyllum distichum afforded acteoside (1), isoacteoside (2), rutin (3), and hirsutrin (4). Compounds 1-3 moderately inhibited the angiotensin I converting enzyme activity in a dose-dependent manner. Compounds 1-3 showed the 50% inhibitory concentration values of 228 micro g/mL, 290 micro g/mL, and 278 micro g/mL, respectively.

Effects of Cudrania tricuspidata water extract on blood pressure and renal functions in NO-dependent hypertension.

A pharmacological inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in rats for 4-6 weeks produces renal vasoconstriction, renal dysfunction, and severe hypertension. The present study was aimed at investigating whether Cudrania tricuspidata (C. tricuspidata) water extract ameliorates N(G)-Nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME)-induced hypertension.

Inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthesis by catalposide from Catalpa ovata.

Catalposide (1) and two related iridoids were isolated from the stem of Catalpa ovata (Bignoniaceae) by bioassay guided fractionation. Catalposide (1) significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages in a dose-dependent manner.

Imperatorin, a furanocoumarin from Angelica dahurica (Umbelliferae), induces cytochrome c-dependent apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukaemia, HL-60 Cells.

Imperatorin, a biologically active furanocoumarin from the roots of Angelica dahurica (Umbelliferae), was found to induce apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukaemia, HL-60 cells. DNA fragmentation assay, morphology-based evaluation, and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that imperatorin at micromolar concentrations was able to trigger apoptosis of HL-60 cells. Neither necrosis nor differentiation was observed at cytotoxic micromolar concentrations of imperatorin.

Germination inhibitory constituents from Erigeron annuus.

(5-Butyl-3-oxo-2,3-dihydrofuran-2-yl)-acetic acid was isolated from the flowers of Erigeron annuus as one of four germination inhibitory constituents. Its structure was determined by analysis of MS and NMR spectroscopic data. Three known compounds, 3-hydroxy-pyran-4-one, 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, and 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid methyl ester were also identified as active constituents.

1,2,3,4,6-Penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose protects rat neuronal cells (Neuro 2A) from hydrogen peroxide-mediated cell death via the induction of heme oxygenase-1.

The root of Paeonia suffruticosa ANDREWS is an important Chinese crude drug used in many traditional prescriptions. 1,2,3,4,6-Penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG), a major component of this crude drug, has been shown to possess potent anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic and anti-proliferative effects. In the present study, we examined the effect of PGG on the expression of neuronal heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an inducible stress protein that degrades heme to the neuroactive molecule, carbon monoxide and the anti-oxidant, biliverdin.

Furocoumarins from Angelica dahurica with hepatoprotective activity on tacrine-induced cytotoxicity in Hep G2 cells.

Fractionation of the MeOH extract of Angelica dahurica Benth et Hook resulted in the isolation of six furocoumarins, imperatorin (1), isoimperatorin (2), (+/-)-byakangelicol (3), (+)-oxypeucedanin (4), (+)-byakangelicin (5), and (+)-aviprin (6). Among these, compounds 1 and 5 exhibited strong hepatoprotective activities, displaying EC(50) values of 36.6 +/- 0.

(3R,6R)-4-methyl-6-(1-methylethyl)-3-phenylmethyl-perhydro-1,4-oxazine-2,5-dione: an apoptosis-inducer from the fruiting bodies of Isaria japonica.

(3R,6R)-4-methyl-6-(1-methylethyl)-3-phenylmethylperhydro-1,4-oxazine-2,5-dione (1) was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Isaria japonica as an apoptosis-inducing agent. The complete structural assignment of the compound was accomplished on the basis of spectroscopic methods and chemical transformations. Compound 1 induced apoptotic cell death of the human leukemia cells (HL-60) in a dose-dependent manner, ranging from 5.