Bioactive substances in daily food and supplements are expected to prevent various lifestyle-related diseases. Recently, many evaluation systems for bioactive substances were developed with cell ...lines integrated with green fluorescence protein (GFP) reporter gene. To evaluate osteogensis activity in functional food, we developed a novel cell line that reports osteocalcin gene expression using the human artificial chromosome (HAC) vector. HAC vectors are able to avoid various problems in usual plasmid vector such as difficulty in control of transgene copy number. HAC is transmitted to cells as an independent chromosome from host chromosomes, and expresses transgenes depending on host cell circumstances. We established Chinese hamster ovary cell lines that carried GFP gene regulated by osteocalcin gene promoter on the HAC. Expression of GFP was responded to vitamin D3 1α,25(OH)2D3. Furthermore, we constructed HAC vector bearing tandem repeats of reporter gene unit, to enhance intensity of gene expression. GFP expression in these reporter cells is related to the copy number of reporter gene units. Using the evaluation system for bioactive substances, we could show osteogenic activity in some fish oils.
The conidium of the entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi has been found to germinate rapidly in the presence of host insect-derived extracts. Thus the extract appears to contain an important ...factor involved in host recognition by N. rileyi. However, the substance responsible for such unique germination behavior has yet to be identified. Hence we attempted to purify this substance. One thousand g of dried silkworm pupae was subjected to methanol extraction, followed by methanolysis, two different solvent partitions, and three different column chromatographies. A total of 12.4 mg of substance was obtained in the active fraction. The substance obtained exhibited an activity more than 46,000 times higher than that of the methanol extract. The substance was detected as a single peak on Sephadex LH20 column chromatography and as a single band on high-performance thin-layer chromatography. These data indicate that the concentrated fraction contained a high-purity substance.
W/O/W emulsions are expected to protect bioactive substances from degradation by pancreatic enzymes. We investigated the enzymatic hydrolysis of the oil phase and release of a marker substance from ...the inner-aqueous phase to the outer-aqueous phase using an artificial digestive fluid. Octanoic acid triacylglycerol (C8TG) was used as the oil phase. W/O/W emulsions were prepared by two-step homogenization and succeeding membrane filtration. When the artificial digestive fluid containing lipase and gall was added to the emulsion, release of the marker substance from the inner-phase solution, oil-phase hydrolysis, and emulsion coalescence occurred in that order. When a coarse emulsion and 0.2- and 0.8-μm membrane-filtered fine emulsions were treated with the fluid for 1 h, the degrees of C8TG hydrolysis were 3.8%, 55% and 57%, the fractions of the marker substance released from the inner-water phase were 2.7%, 89% and 72%, and the median diameters of the oil droplets were changed from 32 to 23 μm, 0.71 to 27 μm, and from 2.2 to 26 μm, respectively. These results suggested that the diameter of the oil droplets in the W/O/W emulsion significantly affected the release profile of the marker loaded in the inner-water phase of the emulsion.
Tithonia diversifolia
(Hermsl.) A. Gray is a perennial invasive plant and spreads quickly in the invasive areas. The extracts of
T. diversifolia
were found to be toxic to several crop plant species ...such as rice, maize, sorghum, lettuce and cowpea, and several putative allelopathic substances were identified. However, there is limited information available for the effects of
T. diversifolia
on wild plants including weed plant species. We investigated the allelopathic potential of
T. diversifolia
extracts on weed plants, and searched for phytotoxic substances with allelopathic activity. An aqueous methanol extract of
T. diversifolia
leaves inhibited the growth of weed plants,
Lolium multiflorum
Lam.,
Phleum pretense
L.,
Echinochloa crus-galli
(L.) Beauv. The extract was then purified by several chromatographic runs and a phytotoxic substance with allelopathic activity was isolated and identified by spectral analysis as tagitinin C. The substance inhibited the growth of
Lolium multiflorum
,
Phleum pratense
and
Echinochloa crusgalli
at concentrations greater than 0.1–0.3 mM. The present results suggest that
T. diversifolia
may possess allelopathic potential on weed plants and tagitinin C may be responsible for the allelopathic effects of
T. diversifolia
. The allelopathic potential of
T. diversifolia
may contribute to its invasive characteristics.
Despite known health benefits, exclusive breast-feeding for at least 4 months is uncommon in many countries. In Mexico, most mothers initiate breast-feeding but few breast-feed exclusively.
The ...objective was to examine the effectiveness of home visits by lay peer counselors to increase exclusive breast-feeding among mothers in a periurban area of Mexico.
An ethnographic assessment conducted in 1994 that identified key maternal beliefs, practices, and needs was used to guide educational strategies. Lay counselors were recruited from the same community and trained by La Leche League. From March 1995 through September 1996, pregnant women were identified by community census and invited to participate. Women were enrolled into a randomized, controlled study of 3 groups: no intervention (control), 3 visits, and 6 visits during pregnancy and early postpartum. Data collection was performed by a social worker apart from the counselors. Exclusive breast-feeding was defined by WHO criteria.
The study enrolled 130 women; 52 were in the 3-visit group, 44 in the 6-visit group, and 34 in the control group. Study groups did not differ in the maternal characteristics or initiation of breast-feeding (96%). At 3 months postpartum, exclusive breast-feeding was practiced by only 12% of controls vs. 52% in the 3-visit group and 67% in the 6-visit group (P < 0.001, log rank test). In the first 3 months, significantly (P = 0.037) fewer intervention than control infants had an episode of diarrhea (11% vs. 26%, respectively). Intervention effectiveness was independent of maternal factors or birth hospital.
This unique experimental study demonstrated a dramatic increase in exclusive breast-feeding and a significant reduction in infant illness in an urban community through well-designed maternal support including early intervention and repeated contact.
Fermentation, a feasible strategy for enhancing bioactivity of herbal medicines Hussain, Ahtesham; Shambhunath BoseauthorCollege of Pharmacy, Dongguk University-Seoul, 814 Siksa-dong, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; Jing-Hua WangauthorDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University, 814 Siksa-dong, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of KoreaKey Laboratory of Xin'an Medicine, Ministry of Education, Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Meishan Road 103, Hefei, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China ...
2015
Journal Article
Other Cyanobacterial Bioactive Substances Codd Geoffrey A; Meriluoto Jussi; Spoof Lisa
Handbook of Cyanobacterial Monitoring and Cyanotoxin Analysis,
2017, 2016-12-20
Book Chapter
Cyanobacteria are able to produce a very heterogeneous group of metabolites, which are recognised as biologically active (bioactive) substances: aeruginosins/spumigins, anabaenopeptins, biogenic ...amines, depsipeptides/cyanopeptolins/micropeptins, lyngbyatoxins, microginins, microviridins, oscillatorins, retinoic acids, endocrine disruptors, tumour promoters, and others. The chemical and structural variety of the metabolites are reflected in their diverse biological activities. Although some metabolites can be beneficial to mammals, for this chapter, publications with the indication of mammalian toxicity were chosen. For each group of the bioactive substances, the chapter summarises key information on structure, biosynthesis, cyanobacteria producers and occurrence, toxicological properties and methods of determination.
This review summarizes recent advances in knowledge on the development of digestive tissues and their productions as well as mechanisms of regulation in response to age and ingested food in mammalian ...species (mainly bovine and porcine species). In the first two sections, changes are reported for stomach, pancreas and small intestine, and examined in relation to different situations (colostral, milk feeding and weaned periods). The implication of some regulatory substances (growth factors, gut regulatory peptides and neurohormonal substances) in regulation mechanisms is discussed over these periods. For example, the plasma pattern of several gut regulatory peptides and the expression of their specific receptors could explain certain phenomena of digestive development. Recent cellular and molecular aspects of regulation of the digestive enzyme production are also reported. Finally, an approach to interactions existing between age and ingested food is given in the last section. In conclusion, although some phenomena are well established, it is often difficult to distinguish what the age- and food-dependent events are in the development of the digestive function.
Many plants close their leaves in the evening like sleeping and open early in the morning. Such a circadian rhythm has been known to be controlled by their internal clock. Moreover, rapid ...seismonastic movement was also observed in Mimosa pudica L. Since Ricca's ingenious experiments suggested that some chemicals play an important role in leaf-movement of Mimosa pudica, many biologists and chemists have attempted to search for leaf-closing substances, and a number of compounds have been obtained, particularly, by Schildknecht et al . But, we have now demonstrated that the genuine leaf-movement factor of Mimosa is the mixture of three chemical substances, two of the three were identified as potassium L-malate and magnesium transaconitate. The mixture of these substances was effective at 10-8-10-9 M. On the other hand, we have isolated chemical substances that control the nyctinastic leaf-movement from several nyctinastic plants. Each substance was effective at 10-6-10-7 M only for the original plant, but not for other nyctinastic species. Thus, different leaf-movement factors exist in every nyctinastic plants. This is contrary to the old theory established by Schildknecht. This movement is controlled by the change in the balance of two inversely effective factors, leaf-closing and opening factor. Me0H-extracts of a nyctinastic plant, Lespedeza cuneata G. Don. collected in the daytime and at night showed inverse bioactivity. Thus, the balance of concentration between two leaf-movement factors in this plant which is controlled by biological clock was really inversed through a day. This mechanism for the control of nyctinastic movement is common among all nyctinastic plants.
In this study, lenses of autopsy eyeballs, anterior capsules including lens epithelium taken during operation for cortical cataract, after cataract tissue obtained at the time of operation, and ...Elschnig's pearles and Soemmerring's ring from autopsy eye-balls were examined for a variety of factors, such as growth factors, cytokines, bioactive substance factors, cytoskeleton proteins and extracellular matrices by immunocytohistochemistry. Preoperative lens epithelium expressed epidermal growth factor (EGF), EGF-receptor (R), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), FGF-R, interleukin (IL)-1-RII, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), keratin and laminine. In addition to the above factors, opacified fibrous capsule in after cataract expressed transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II), platelet derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), IL-6, prostaglandin-E2 (PG-E2), alpha smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and I and III to VI type collagen. Elschnig's pearls expressed FGF-R, TNF-alpha, and laminin. Soemmerring's ring expressed EGF, FGF, FGF-R, IL-1-RII, keratin, tissue-PA, and PAI-1.
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