Antioxidative and skin-whitening effect of an aqueous extract of Salicornia herbacea.

Salicornia herbacea (SH) is a halophyte that grows in the salt marshes along the coastline of South Korea, and is known to have antioxidative activity. In this study, the antioxidative and skin-whitening effects of SH aqueous extract were investigated in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and B16 melanoma cells. The water extract of SH had potent antioxidative capacity and protected HDFs from tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tbOOH)-induced oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. In a cell cycle analysis, pretreatment with SH reversed the apoptotic cell death induced by tbOOH in HDFs. Additionally, the incubation of SH in mushroom tyrosinase inhibited the oxidation of l-dopa to o-dopaquinone, which implies that SH is a potent tyrosinase inhibitor. An SH treatment to B16 melanoma cells decreased the synthesis of melanin and inhibited tyrosinase activity. These results collectively indicate that SH had antioxidative and whitening effects on skin and would be a good candidate for skin rejuvenating agent.

Giant lymphangioma of the tongue.

This report presents the treatment of an extensive lymphatic malformation of the tongue. Sclerosing agents are now widely used as the first-line treatment of lymphatic malformation. However, treatment of lymphatic malformation involving the face and the vital structures such as the airway remains to be challenging. A 4-year-old boy underwent a total of 15 OK-432 injection sclerotherapy treatments over a 2-year period, having slow progress until sudden enlargement of the tongue was noted shortly after the last injection. Partial excision of the lesion was performed. This case demonstrates the risk in treating large microcystic lymphatic malformation of the tongue with sclerotherapy and provides an insight in the management protocol.

Comparative analysis of two biliproteins, BP1 and BP2, from haemolymph of cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae.

Two blue-pigment binding proteins, BP1 and BP2, are present in larval and pupal haemolymph of cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, and fluctuate in expression during development. Both BP1 and BP2 are found in pupal haemolymph in varying proportions as well as in adult haemolymph, while only small amounts of BP2 are found in larval haemolymph. BPs are separated by 75% ammonium sulfate, and then purified effectively by ion exchange column chromatography and preparative gel electrophoresis. It was shown that BP1 and BP2 have molecular masses of 20,244 and 19,878 Da, and isoelectric points of 7.0 and 6.8, respectively. Considering their amino acid compositions and N-terminal amino acid sequences, the two proteins are almost identical except the first N-terminal amino acid. The first amino acid of BP1 is asparagine, whereas the initial residue of BP2 is aspartic acid. Anti-BP1 cross-reacts with BP2, indicating that they have immunological homogeneity. Western blotting analyses revealed that only BP1 was present in the larval tissues such as fat body, integument, muscle, and hindgut. However, BP1 was not found in midgut, Malphigian tubules, and silk gland. BP1 was also present in the protein bodies, and both cuticle and hemocoel sides of larval epidermis cells by the transmission electron microscopic observation. The information in this report will facilitate studies on the molecular biology and biological significance of insect BPs.