High prevalence of hyperuricaemia and its impact on non-valvular atrial fibrillation: the cross-sectional Guangzhou (China) Heart Study.

OBJECTIVES: There are country and regional variations in the prevalence of hyperuricaemia (HUA). The prevalence of HUA and non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) in southern China is unknown. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11 488 permanent residents aged 35 or older from urban and rural areas of Guangzhou, China were enrolled. A questionnaire was used to compile each participant's demographic information and relevant epidemiological factors for HUA and NVAF. All participants were assessed using a panel of blood tests and single-lead 24-hour ECG. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HUA was defined as serum uric acid level >420 µmol/L in men and >360 µmol/L in women. NVAF was diagnosed as per guidelines. RESULTS: The prevalence of HUA was 39.6% (44.8% in men and 36.7% in women), and 144 residents (1.25%) had NVAF. Prevalence of HUA increased with age in women but remained stably high in men. After adjusting for potential confounders, age, living in urban areas, alcohol consumption, central obesity, elevated fasting plasma glucose level, elevated blood pressure, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and elevated triglycerides level were associated with increased risk of HUA. Residents with HUA were at higher risk for NVAF. Serum uric acid level had a modest predictive value for NVAF in women but not men. CONCLUSIONS: HUA was highly prevalent among citizens of southern China and was a predictor of NVAF among women.

Curcuminoid submicron particle ameliorates cognitive deficits and decreases amyloid pathology in Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and is triggered via abnormal accumulation of amyloid-ß peptide (Aß). Aggregated Aß is responsible for disrupting calcium homeostasis, inducing neuroinflammation, and promoting neurodegeneration. In this study, we generated curcuminoid submicron particle (CSP), which reduce the average size to ~60 nm in diameter. CSP had elevated the bioavailability in vivo and better neuroprotective effect against oligomeric Aß than un-nanosized curcuminoids in vitro. Two months of CSP consumption reversed spatial memory deficits and the loss of a calcium binding protein calbindin-D28k in the hippocampus of AD mouse model. In addition, CSP consumption lowered amyloid plaques and astrogliosis in vivo and enhanced microglial Aß phagocytosis in vitro, implying that the beneficial effects of CSP also mediated via modulating neuroinflammation and enhancing amyloid clearance. Taken together, our study demonstrated the protective effects of CSP toward ameliorating the memory impairment and pathological deficits in AD mouse model.

Effects of fermentation on antioxidant properties and phytochemical composition of soy germ.

BACKGROUND: Traditional soy-fermented foods, such as miso, douche, natto, and tempeh have been widely used as a dietary supplement in Asian countries, and numerous reports on their phenolics and antioxidant activities have been published. Soy germ contains 10-fold higher phenolics than whole soybean, hence using soy germ as fermentation substrate will be more efficient than whole soybean. RESULTS: Soy germ fermented with Aspergillus niger M46 resulted in a high-efficiency bio-transformation of phenolics and flavonoids to their metabolites, and a diverse secondary metabolic product was also found to response oxidation stress of fungal colonisation. Its antioxidant activity against hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals (IC50 = 0.8 and 6.15 µg mL(-1) , respectively) was about 205-fold and 47-fold higher than those of unfermented soy germ (IC50 = 164.0 and 290.48 µg mL(-1) ), respectively. These results were similar to those observed for Trolox, and more active than those of BHT and hesperidin. The ß-glucosidase and α-amylase produced during fermentation were mainly responsible for mobilisation of the phenolics. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that fermented soy germ has the potential to be a good dietary supplement for prevention of oxidative stress-related diseases, and the solid-state bioprocessing strategy could be an innovative approach to enhance the antioxidant activity of soy germ.

Purification and properties of a novel phenolic antioxidant from Radix astragali fermented by Aspergillus oryzae M29.

The Chinese herb Radix astragalus (RA) has been widely used as a dietary supplement in Asia, and there are numerous reports on its bioactivities. However, there are no reports to date regarding the use of Aspergillus spp. in the culture medium of the RA plant for the production of phenolic antioxidants. In this study, utilizing the fungus Aspergillus to ferment the native RA has successfully resulted in a significant increase in the phenolic contents of RA, and the fermented RA also revealed much better antioxidant activity toward 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals, hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical and peroxyl radical than those of unfermented RA. Among these phenolics, a potent novel antioxidant was isolated and identified as 3,4-di(4'-hydroxyphenyl) isobutyric acid with a molecular weight of 272, by ESI-MS (electrospray ionization mass), ¹H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), ¹³C NMR, DEPT (distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer)-NMR, HMQC (heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence), and HMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond correlation) spectra. These data demonstrated that the solid-state bioprocessing strategy could be an innovative approach to enhance the antioxidant activity of RA.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenylpropanoid derivatives from Calamus quiquesetinervius.

Eight new phenylpropanoid derivatives [quiquesetinerviusides A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), and E (5), as well as quiquesetinerviusins A (6), B (7), and C (8)] and seven known compounds (8-15), were isolated from an EtOAc extract of Calamus quiquesetinervius stems. The structures of 1-8 were elucidated on the basis of 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic data analysis. Bioassay results showed that 1-5 possess weak DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity, but potent (·)OH radical scavenging activity (IC(50) 3.6-8.4 µM). Of the tested isolates, compounds 4-6 and 9 showed potent inhibition (IC(50) 9.2-29.5 µM) of LPS-stimulated NO production when compared with a positive control substance, quercetin (IC(50) 34.5 µM).

Quiquelignan A-H, eight new lignoids from the rattan palm Calamus quiquesetinervius and their antiradical, anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet aggregation activities.

Eight new lignin derivatives, termed quiquelignan A-H (1-8), comprising three tricin-type flavonolignans (1-3) and five 8-O-4' neolignans (4-8), were isolated from the ethanol extract of Calamus quiquesetinervius stems. Structural elucidation of the new isolates was accomplished on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compounds 1-8 showed strong-to-moderate antioxidant activity against the hydroxy radical (()OH). Among them, compound 5 showed significantly higher hydroxy radical scavenging activity (IC(50) 4.4microg/mL). Compounds 2-4 and 6-8 dose-dependently suppressed the LPS-stimulated production of nitric oxide (NO) in RAW 264.7 cells. The anti-inflammatory potency of 4 and 6 was 2.7-4.5-fold higher compared with quercetin. Compounds 2-4, 6 and 8 also exhibited mild collagen-antagonistic activity, but were inactive with respect to thrombin-induced platelet aggregation.

Cardiovascular protective flavonolignans and flavonoids from Calamus quiquesetinervius.

Tricin-type flavonolignans, (2S)-dihydrotricin 4'-O-(erythro-beta-guaiacylglyceryl) ether, (2S)-dihydrotricin 4'-O-(threo-beta-guaiacylglyceryl) ether, (2S)-dihydrotricin 4'-O-(threo-beta-4-hydroxyphenylglyceryl) ether, tricin 4'-O-(erythro-beta-4-hydroxyphenylglyceryl) ether, tricin 4'-O-(threo-beta-4-hydroxylphenylglyceryl) ether, and (2S)-dihydrotricin 4'-O-(beta-6''-methoxy-4''-oxo-chroman-3''-yloxy) ether namely calquiquelignan A-F, respectively, were isolated and characterized from the EtOAc extract of Calamus quiquesetinervius. Additionally, six known phenolic compounds, including dihydrotricin, tricin, salcolin A, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, (2S, 3S)-trans-dihydrokapempferol and (2S)-naringenin, were also obtained and identified from the extract. Structures of the flavonolignans were assigned based on spectroscopic analyses that included 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, such as HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY. Bioassay results showed that calquiquelignan A, dihydrotricin and (2S)-naringenin exhibited significant vasodilatory potencies, as indicated by 60.3%, 80.3% and 60.9% relaxations, respectively, at 100 microM. Salcolin A showed potent platelet aggregation inhibition, compared with aspirin. Most of the tricin-type derivatives (calquiquelignan A-B, dihydrotricin and tricin) also exhibited more potent hydroxyl radical ((.)OH) scavenging activity than trolox as characterized by the ultraweak chemiluminescence assay.

Immunomodulatory effects of a traditional Chinese medicine, Chi-Shie-Shuang-Bu-An-Shen-Tang, on BALB/c mice.

Chi-Shie-Shuang-Bu-An-Shen-Tang (CST), a traditional Chinese medicine, has long been used to stabilize one's spirit and treatment of body weakness caused by fatigue. In order to understand whether the CST possess the immunological function and effect of thermal processing on its activities, sterilized (SCST) and nonsterilized CST (NCST) extracts were orally administrated to BABL/c mice for 1 or 3 weeks as drinking water. The results showed that CST extract after sterilization at 121 degrees C for 15 min had higher immunological activities than nonsterilized CST. SCST revealed mitogenic effects on splenocyte stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A) and mediated the changes of total serum antibodies; production of IgG increased and IgE reduced. Among cytokines, secretion of IFN-gamma increased and IL-5 decreased, which fit in with the Th1 cell profile, however cytolytic activity of natural killer cells did not show any significant difference. Furthermore, the population of CD4(+) T cells in the mice spleen increased after oral administration of SCST for 3 weeks. These results suggest that SCST had the immunomodulatory effects which drove CD4(+) T cells into Th1 cells and had potential benefit to cope with CD4(+) T lymphopenia condition.