Antioxidant Ability and Stability Studies of 3--Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, a Cosmetic Tyrosinase Inhibitor.

3--ethyl ascorbic acid may be a good whitening ingredient in cosmetics. However, before it can be successfully used in cosmetics, its biofunctionality and stability need to be comprehensively investigated. The reduction and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging ability of this compound were analyzed to assess its antioxidant potential.

Changes in sugar composition during baking and their effects on sensory attributes of baked sweet potatoes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of sugar composition on the sensory attributes of seven baked sweet potatoes. The sugar composition was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the total sugar content of baked sweet potatoes increased significantly because of the formation of maltose.

Storage performance of Taiwanese sweet potato cultivars.

Three sweet potato cultivars (TNG57, TNG66, and TNG73), provided by the Taiwanese Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), were stored at either 15 °C or under ambient conditions (23.8 ~ 28.4 °C and 77.

Women's views and the impact of noninvasive prenatal testing on procedures in a managed care setting.

Objective: To prospectively determine the impact of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) on invasive procedure utilization in a managed care setting and to elucidate women's views.

Methods: Pregnant women at 10- 20 weeks' gestation with high-risk indications for fetal aneuploidy in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California organization were eligible. Enrolled patients received routine prenatal counseling, completed a questionnaire and were offered the option of NIPT by a genetic counselor.

Antioxidative activity, moisture retention, film formation, and viscosity stability of Auricularia fuscosuccinea, white strain water extract.

This study showed that both water extracts (WAF-W) and ethanol extracts (EAF-W) of Auricularia fuscosuccinea (Montagne) Farlow, white strain (AF-W) demonstrated significantly stronger antioxidative effects than did commercially available Tremella fuciformis sporocarp extracts (WSK; with the exception of EAF-W in terms of superoxide radical scavenging activity levels). The moisture retention capacity of WAF-W is as potent as that of sodium hyaluronate (SHA), but less than that of WSK. No corrugation or fissures were observed in WAF-W film; only the SHA and WSK films demonstrated such effects in low-moisture conditions.

Impact of noninvasive prenatal testing in regionally dispersed medical centers in the United States.

Objective: Noninvasive prenatal testing using cell-free DNA is a new alternative to screen for common fetal aneuploidies. It is not known what impact regional location may play on noninvasive prenatal testing implementation and downstream invasive prenatal procedure use in the United States.

Study Design: Six different regionally based centers collected data on noninvasive prenatal testing indication and results between February and November 2012, as well as their invasive prenatal procedure rates before and after offering noninvasive prenatal testing.

Studies of sugar composition and starch morphology of baked sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam).

Sugar composition of seven sweet potato cultivars was successfully analyzed. Fresh CYY95-26 sweet potatoes had the highest (8.41%) total sugar content while TNG73 had the lowest (4.

Induction of apoptosis of malignant gliomas cells by a prenylated chalcone.

Abstract Context: Malignant gliomas are the most commonly diagnosed brain tumors in adults. Chalcone and its derivatives have shown potential against glioblastoma and malignant gliomas. Objective: The inhibitory activity of geranyl prenylated chalcone was investigated in four glioma cell lines: C6, U87 MB, CNS-1 and 13-06 MB.

Stability studies of ascorbic acid 2-glucoside in cosmetic lotion using surface response methodology.

Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside (AA-2G) has been widely used in cream and lotion types of cosmetic products. Thus, the degradation of AA-2G caused by the temperature change and pH variation was very critical for determining the bio-functionality of cosmetics. Response surface methodology (RSM) was introduced to study the influence of temperature and pH on the stability of AA-2G.

Mechanism of maprotiline-induced apoptosis: role of [Ca2+](i), ERK, JNK and caspase-3 signaling pathways.

Antidepressants are generally used for treatment of various mood and anxiety disorders. Several studies have shown the anti-tumor and cytotoxic activities of some antidepressants, but the underlying mechanisms were unclear. Maprotiline is a tetracyclic antidepressant and possesses a highly selective norepinephrine reuptake ability.

Kinetics of ergothioneine inhibition of mushroom tyrosinase.

The native amino acid ergothioneine, a thiourea derivative of histidine, inhibits mushroom tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC(50) value of 1.025 mg/ml (4.47 mM).

Antioxidative activity of water extract of sweet potato leaves in Taiwan.

This study reports the preparation of four varieties of water extract from sweet potato leaves from Taiwan, including TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP, and evaluates their antioxidative activity. The EC50 values (scavenging DPPH radicals) of TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP were 0.27±0.

Cell line studies of glioblastoma and malignant glioma using a newly discovered prenylated chalcone.

Context: A newly discovered geranyl prenylated chalcone, semisynthesized from naturally occurring nymphaeol C, has the ability to inhibit the growth of CNS1 (glioblastoma) and 13-06 (malignant glioma) cells. A second-order regression model was established to predict the normalized cell viability of CNS1 and 13-06 cells.

Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate the influence of prenylated chalcone on the glioblastoma and malignant glioma cell lines.

Ginkgo biloba extract induces gene expression changes in xenobiotics metabolism and the Myc-centered network.

The use of herbal dietary supplements in the United States is rapidly growing, and it is crucial that the quality and safety of these preparations be ensured. To date, it is still a challenge to determine the mechanisms of toxicity induced by mixtures containing many chemical components, such as herbal dietary supplements. We previously proposed that analyses of the gene expression profiles using microarrays in the livers of rodents treated with herbal dietary supplements is a potentially practical approach for understanding the mechanism of toxicity.

A neural network model for constructing endophenotypes of common complex diseases: an application to male young-onset hypertension microarray data.

Motivation: Identification of disease-related genes using high-throughput microarray data is more difficult for complex diseases as compared with monogenic ones. We hypothesized that an endophenotype derived from transcriptional data is associated with a set of genes corresponding to a pathway cluster. We assumed that a complex disease is associated with multiple endophenotypes and can be induced by their up/downregulated gene expression patterns.

Gene expression changes associated with xenobiotic metabolism pathways in mice exposed to acrylamide.

The discovery of acrylamide (AA) in a variety of fried foods has raised public health concerns. In this study, groups of male mice were administered 500 mg/L AA in drinking water for 3 weeks, and gene expression changes were evaluated in the livers of AA-treated mice within 24 hr of the last treatment. When a two-fold cutoff value and a P-value less than 0.

Molecular mechanisms underlying selective cytotoxic activity of BZL101, an extract of Scutellaria barbata, towards breast cancer cells.

We studied the mechanism of the cytotoxic activity of BZL101, an aqueous extract from the herb Scutellaria barbata D. Don, which is currently in phase II clinical trial in patients with advanced breast cancer. The phase I trial showed favorable toxicity profile and promising efficacy.