Sargassum miyabei Yendo Brown Algae Exert Anti-Oxidative and Anti-AdipogenicEffects on 3T3-L1 Adipocytes by Downregulating PPARγ.

Background and objectives: Sargassum miyabei Yendo, belonging to the family Sargassaceae, has been reported to have various biological effects such as anti-tyrosinase activity and anti-inflammation. However, the anti-obesity effect of Sargassum miyabei Yendo has not yet been reported. Materials and Methods: The effects of Sargassum miyabei Yendo extract (SME) on 3T3-L1 adipocytes were screened by3-(4,5)-dimethylthiazo-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), Oil red O staining, western blot, and Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses. Results: Here, we show that SME had potent 2,2'-azinobis-3-ehtlbezothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical decolorization (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) antioxidant activity with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 0.2868 ± 0.011 mg/mL and 0.2941 ± 0.014 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, SME significantly suppressed lipid accumulation and differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, as shown by Oil Red O staining results. SME attenuated the expression of adipogenic- and lipogenic-related genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein delta (C/EBPδ), adiponectin, adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), fatty acid synthase (FAS), hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Conclusions: These findings suggest that SME may have therapeutic implications for developing a new anti-obesity agent.

Determination of nitrite and nitrate in postmortem whole blood samples of 10 sodium nitrite poisoning cases: The importance of nitrate in determining nitrite poisoning.

Sodium nitrite (NaNO2), a widely used food preservative, has become a popular agent in South Korea for use in committing suicide since the mid-2010s because of its easy access. After ingesting sodium nitrite, nitrite ions oxidize hemoglobin to methemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs), causing methemoglobinemia which can be fatal depending on the severity. As the number of deaths involving sodium nitrite has increased rapidly over the years, we developed a quantitative analysis method for nitrite and its oxidized form, nitrate, using ion chromatography (IC) with a conductivity detector. A simple ultrafiltration method was used for sample preparation because chloride ions which usually interfere with nitrite in most IC methods were completely separable using the developed analytical method. The limit of detection and lower limit of quantitation of nitrite were 0.5 and 1 mg/L, respectively. Nitrite and nitrate showed good linearity in the range of 1-500 mg/L and 5-500 mg/L, respectively. The established method was successfully applied to 10 authentic sodium nitrite poisoning cases, resulting in low nitrite concentrations (32.4 ± 29.5 mg/L in peripheral blood samples and 20.4 ± 18.7 mg/L in heart blood samples) and high nitrate concentrations (298.0 ± 25.6 mg/L in peripheral blood samples and 252.0 ± 41.3 mg/L in heart blood samples). The imbalance between nitrite and nitrate was due to the extensive conversion of nitrite to nitrate in postmortem bloods, which was confirmed by spiking nitrite into blank blood samples. In conclusion, not only the blood concentrations of nitrite but also those of nitrate should be quantified and considered for the determination of sodium nitrite poisoning, especially in postmortem blood samples.

A novel method for cyanide quantification in human whole blood using ion chromatography with amperometric detection and its application to cyanide intoxication cases.

Cyanide is a highly toxic agent that has been frequently used for suicide in South Korea. It is also used in various industrial fields, such as metal plating, in which many accidental cyanide intoxications have occurred. To overcome the disadvantages of conventional cyanide analysis methods, a simple and fast method for the analysis of cyanide in whole blood using ion chromatography (IC) with amperometric detection was developed in this study. Whole blood samples were deproteinized, diluted, and analyzed using an IC-amperometric detection system. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.1 and 0.2 mg/L, respectively. The method showed good linearity in the range of 0.2 to 50 mg/L with R2  > 0.99. The intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy values were <10%. The established method was successfully applied to analyze whole blood samples from three cyanide intoxication cases.

Quantitative Analysis of Bioactive Phenanthrenes in Dioscorea batatas Decne Peel, a Discarded Biomass from Postharvest Processing.

Dioscorea batatas Decne (Chinese yam) has been widely cultivated in East Asia for the purposes of food and medicinal uses for centuries. Along with its high nutritional value, the medicinal value of D. batatas has been extensively investigated in association with phytochemicals such as allantoin, flavonoids, saponins and phenanthrenes. Phenanthrenes are especially considered the standard marker chemicals of the Chinese yam for their potent bioactivity and availability of analysis with conventional high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) methods. In order to investigate how much the contents of phenanthrenes are in the actual food products provided for consumers, D. batatas tuber was peeled and separated into its peel and flesh as in the conventional processing method. A quantitative analysis using the HPLC-UV method revealed that phenanthrenes are concentrically present in the D. batatas peel, while phenanthrenes are present in the flesh under the limit of detection. The difference in the contents of phenanthrenes is estimated to have arisen the considerable difference of antioxidant potential between the peel and the flesh. The results from this study suggest the high value of the discarded biomass of the Chinese yam peel and the necessity for the utilization of the Chinese yam peel.