Organic acids and aldehydes in throughfall and dew in a Japanese pine forest.

We analyzed low molecular weight organic acids and aldehydes in throughfall under pine forest, and organic acids in dew on chemically inert surfaces and pine needle surfaces at urban- and mountain-facing sites of pine forest in western Japan. Low molecular weight organic acids and aldehydes accounted for less than 5% of the dissolved organic carbon in throughfall at both sites. Formaldehyde at both sites and formate at the mountain-facing site were found at significantly lower concentrations in throughfall than in rainfall, which may be explained by the degradation and/or retention of these components by the pine canopy as the incident precipitation passed through it. The oxalate concentration in throughfall was significantly higher than those in rainfall at both sites, suggesting that oxalate was derived from leaching from the pine foliage. At both sites, organic acid concentrations were higher in dew on the pine needles than in throughfall or dew on chemically inert surfaces. This could be due to the long contact time of dew on pine needles, during which leached substances from pine needles and dry deposits accumulated on their surfaces can dissolve into the small volume of dew. The role of enhanced concentrations of oxalate in an aqueous phase on the plant surfaces (e.g., dew) is discussed in relation to hydroxyl radical formation via the photo-Fenton reaction.

Bone metastasis of intracranial meningeal hemangiopericytoma.

The authors investigated the clinical and radiological features and the treatment strategy for bone metastasis from a rare tumor, intracranial meningeal hemangiopericytoma. The clinical presentations and characteristic imagings were retrospectively reviewed in 15 bony metastatic lesions of four patients with this tumor. All four cases were initially diagnosed as atypical meningioma, and all of the bone metastases developed more than 10 years after the initial intracranial surgery. The common symptom induced by the metastatic lesions was pain. On plain roentgen films and computed tomography (CT), the involved bones showed thinning and expansion. On bone scintigraphy, a "cold-in-hot" appearance was typically observed. The clinical and radiological findings were diagnosed as bone metastasis from intracranial meningeal hemangiopericytoma. The prognosis after bone metastasis was relatively short compared to the long duration before bone metastases, because of the coexistence of other, visceral, metastasis. Combined with effective radiation therapy, surgical intervention for bone metastasis of this tumor should be carefully considered.

Effects of continuous ingestion of green tea or grape seed extracts on the pharmacokinetics of midazolam.

Limited systematic data on herb-drug interaction are available, despite many opportunities to concomitant use of herb with prescribed drugs. We investigated the effects of 15 herbal extracts in dietary supplements on CYP2C9, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 activities in human liver microsomes. Strong inhibition of these CYP activities was found by the addition of green tea extracts (GTE) or grape seed extracts (GSE) in vitro. To examine the effects of these extracts on CYP3A activities in vivo, the pharmacokinetics of midazolam (MDZ) was analyzed in rats. Although single treatments with these extracts had negligible effects, 1 week of treatment with them resulted in a significant increase in the ke of intravenously administered MDZ, indicating the induction of CYP3A in the liver. In contrast, 1 week of treatment with GTE, but not GSE, caused a significant increase in the C(max) and AUC(0-infinity) of orally administered MDZ without change in the t(1/2), suggesting a reduction in CYP3A activity in the small intestines. These studies indicate that subchronic ingestion of GTE or GSE may alter the pharmacokinetics of MDZ, and the effects of GTE on CYP3A activity appear opposite between liver and small intestine, which could not be predicted from in vitro experiments.

A new ent-clerodane diterpene from the aerial parts of Baccharis gaudichaudiana.

A new ent-clerodane diterpene, named bacchariol (1) was isolated from the aerial parts of Baccharis gaudichaudiana DC. (Compositae), together with known ent-clerodane diterpenes (2, 3), eight known flavonoids (4-11) and 3, 5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (12). Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. Flavonoids (7, 8, 11) and 12 showed moderate scavenging activities toward 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals.