The effect of 24-week continuous intake of quercetin-rich onion on age-related cognitive decline in healthy elderly people: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative clinical trial.

Quercetin, a type of flavonoid, is believed to reduce age-related cognitive decline. To elucidate its potential function, we carried out a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative clinical trial involving 24-week continuous intake of quercetin-rich onion compared to quercetin-free onion as a placebo. Seventy healthy Japanese individuals (aged 60 to 79 years old) were enrolled in this study. We examined the effect of quercetin-rich onion (the active test food) on cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Cognitive Assessment for Dementia iPad version, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Nursing Home version. The Mini-Mental State Examination scores were significantly improved in the active test food group (daily quercetin intake, 50 mg as aglycone equivalent) compared to the placebo food group after 24 weeks. On the Cognitive Assessment for Dementia iPad version for emotional function evaluation, we found that the scores of the active test food group were significantly improved, suggesting that quercetin prevents cognitive decline by improving depressive symptoms and elevating motivation. On the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Nursing Home version, we found significant effects on reducing the burden on study partners. Taking all the data together, we concluded that 24-week continuous intake of quercetin-rich onion reduces age-related cognitive decline, possibly by improving emotional conditions. Clinical trial register and their clinical registration number: This study was registered with UMIN (approval number UMIN000036276, 5 April 2019).

The combined effect of green tea and α-glucosyl hesperidin in preventing obesity: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Green tea, a widely consumed beverage in Asia, contains green tea catechins effective against obesity, especially epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), but must be consumed in an impractically huge amount daily to elicit its biological effect. Meanwhile, citrus polyphenols have various physiological effects that could enhance EGCG functionality. Here we investigated the antiobesity effect of a combination of EGCG and α-glucosyl hesperidin, a citrus polyphenol, at doses that have not been previously reported to exert antiobesity effects by themselves in any clinical trial. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, and parallel-group-designed clinical trial, 60 healthy Japanese males and females aged 30-75 years consumed green tea combined with α-glucosyl hesperidin (GT-gH), which contained 178 mg α-glucosyl hesperidin and 146 mg EGCG, for 12 weeks. Physical, hematological, blood biochemical, and urine examinations showed that GT-gH is safe to use. At week 12, GT-gH prevented weight gain and reduced body mass index (BMI) compared with the placebo. Especially in those aged < 50 years, triglyceride and body fat percentage decreased at week 6, visceral fat level and body fat percentage decreased at week 12; body weight, BMI, and blood LDL/HDL ratio also decreased. In conclusion, taking GT-gH prevents weight gain, and the antiobesity effect of GT-gH was more pronounced in people aged < 50 years.

Study for quantitative evaluation of photoaging with photoacoustic microscopy.

Skin aging caused by ultraviolet light exposure is one of the serious problems from the viewpoint of beauty and healthcare. This is because ultraviolet light can cause age spot, wrinkles, at the worst case, skin cancer and so on. To evaluate skin aging, various modalities are being used, such as histopathological diagnosis, optical coherence tomography, ultrasound examination (B-mode imaging). However, they have disadvantages in terms of invasiveness, penetration depth and tissue specificity, respectively. To overcome these defects, photoacoustic imaging (PAI), a novel modality was used in this work. This modality can sense differences of tissue characteristics non-invasively. In this experiment, human skin tissues in various generations (i.e. various degrees of photoaging) were measured by using acoustic resolution photoacoustic microscopy (AR-PAM). To verify the feasibility of quantitative skin aging evaluation with PA technique, signals from sectioned human skin (cheek and buttock; female from 28 to 95 years old) were measured with PA microscopy. The effects of photoaging progress on the signal intensity were investigated. The results demonstrated that the PA signal from the dermis significantly increases with aging progress (p < 0.05). These analyses demonstrate the feasibility of quantitative skin aging evaluation with a PAI system.

CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 expression levels are differentially regulated in three-dimensional spheroids of liver cancer cells compared to two-dimensional monolayer cultures.

Compared to two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures, three-dimensional (3D) tumor cell culture models are thought to be structurally more similar to the in vivo tumor microenvironment. We investigated the regulation of the expression of genes encoding the drug-metabolizing enzymes CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 in 3D spheroids comprised of cells of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell JHH1, Huh7, and HepG2. Expression of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 in the spheroids was higher than that in 2D cultured cells. Expression of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 is regulated by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in 2D cultured cells. Knockdown of AhR in spheroids suppressed CYP1A1 expression; however, CYP1A2 expression levels remained unchanged. Moreover, we found that pregnane X receptor (PXR) likely regulated CYP1A2 expression in JHH1, HepG2, and Huh7 spheroids and that CYP1A1 expression in JHH1 and Huh7 3D spheroids is regulated not only by AhR but also by PXR. It is well known that gene expression levels are different between 3D spheroids and 2D monolayer cultured cells, and our results indicate that the regulation of gene expression also varies between the two culture conditions. Taken together, these results underlie a novel finding regarding the regulation of drug-metabolizing enzyme expression in liver cancer cells growing as 3D spheroids.