Anti-Adipogenic Effects of Ethanol Extracts Prepared from Selected Medicinal Herbs in 3T3-L1 Cells.

Obesity is a major risk factor for various metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, we prepared ethanol extracts from Agastache rugosa (ARE), Chrysanthemum zawadskii (CZE), Mentha arvensis (MAE), Perilla frutescens (PFE), Leonurus sibiricus (LSE), Gardenia jasminoides (GJE), and Lycopus coreanus (LCE). The anti-oxidant and anti-adipogenic effects were evaluated. The IC50 values for ascorbic acid and LCE against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals were 246.2 µg/mL and 166.2 µg/mL, respectively, followed by ARE (186.6 µg/mL), CZE (198.6 µg/mL), MAE (337.1 µg/mL), PFE (415.3 µg/mL), LSE (548.2 µg/mL), and GJE (626.3 µg/mL). In non-toxic concentration ranges, CZE had a strong inhibitory effect against 3T3-L1 adipogenes (84.5%) than those of the other extracts. Furthermore, the anti-adipogenic effect of CZE is largely limited in the early stage of adipogenesis, and we revealed that the inhibitory role of CZE in adipogenesis is required for the activation of Wnt signaling. Our results provide scientific evidence that the anti-adipogenic effect of CZE can be applied as an ingredient for the development of functional foods and nutri-cosmetics for obesity prevention.

7,7,8,8-Tetracyanoquinodimethane-assisted one-step electrochemical exfoliation of graphite and its performance as an electrode material.

A green approach for the preparation of water-dispersible functionalized graphene via one-step electrochemical exfoliation of graphite using 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) anions as surface modifiers and electrolytes was described. TCNQ is an organic charge-transfer complex with electron accepting and noteworthy electrical properties. The exfoliation of graphite to a few-layer graphene sheets was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) image analysis. The chemical state, surface functional groups and chemical compositions of bulk graphite as well as TCNQ-functionalized graphene sheets were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Adsorption of TCNQ onto the surface of graphene sheets was confirmed by the appearance of the N1s peak at ∼399.4 eV in the XPS of TCNQ-functionalized graphene. Exfoliation of bulk graphite to functionalized graphene sheets was further confirmed by the appearance of a sharp single peak at ∼2695 cm(-1) along with increased intensity ratios of the D-band to the G-band. Electrochemical performance of a TCNQ-functionalized graphene sheet was investigated using 1 M Na2SO4 and 1 M KOH aqueous solutions. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanometric charge-discharge experiments revealed that TCNQ-functionalized graphene could be used as a supercapacitor electrode material. The specific capacitance values of TCNQ-modified graphene measured with electrolytes (1 M KOH and 1 M Na2SO4) were 324 and 140 F g(-1), respectively, at a current density of 1 A g(-1). Impedance spectroscopic analysis revealed that the charge transfer process was dependent on surface functionalization and interaction between the electrode and the electrolyte.