ABSTRACT
We investigated the effects of light intensity in the 3 cultivation stages separately-the mycelium colonization stage, the primordial initiation stage, and the fruiting stage (in order)-on fruiting body and bioactive compound production by Cordyceps militaris. In the mycelium colonization stage, rice substrates were incubated in a spawn running room at 23°C. During the primordial initiation stage, C. militaris was grown at 18°C and illuminated 12 hours/day. In the fruiting stage the temperature was 23°C, with illumination provided 12 hours/day. The highest fruiting body yield and biological efficiency were 4.06 g dry weight/bottle and 86.83%, respectively, under 1750 ± 250 lux during the second and third stages. The cordycepin content was highest during the second and third stages under 1250 ± 250 lux. The mannitol and polysaccharide contents were highest under 1250 ± 250 and 1750 ± 250 lux during the primordial initiation stage and the fruiting stage, respectively. Thus, with controlled lighting, C. militaris can be cultivated in rice-water medium to increase fruiting body yield and bioactive compound production.
Subject(s)
Cordyceps/metabolism , Cordyceps/radiation effects , Fruiting Bodies, Fungal/physiology , Fruiting Bodies, Fungal/radiation effects , Light , AgricultureABSTRACT
Pine (Pinus morrisonicola Hay, PM) needles have been used as folk medicine for their antihypertension and lipid-lowering effects. As supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is considered an ideal technique for the extraction of essential oil from plant materials, the present work investigated the optimal SFE conditions and the protective effects of different resulting fractions of PM needles on lipid peroxidation and foam cell production in macrophages. Nine PM needle extracts (PME1-9) were obtained in 1%-4% yields using different SFE conditions, of which PME1 had the lowest yield (1.1%) and PME3 the highest (3.9%). PME3 exhibited lower cytotoxic effects and stronger inhibition of lipid peroxidation and formation of foam cell in RAW 264.7 macrophages than those of other PME extracts. PME3-1 purified from PME3 by column and thin layer chromatography inhibited LDL oxidation more effectively than did PME3 in a cell-free system oxidized by Cu(2+). PME3-1 dose-dependently (25-100 µg/mL) decreased conjugated diene levels and foam cell formation induced by ox-LDL. GC/MS analyses revealed that 1-docosene, neophytadiene, and methyl abietate were increased 5.2-, 1.7- and 4.3-fold in PME3-1 relative to PME3. A new hydrocarbon compound, cedrane-8,13-diol, was identified in PME3-1. Overall, the present study demonstrates the optimal extraction conditions of SFE of PM and identifies the most potent antioxidant fractions and possible active compounds in PM.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Macrophages/drug effects , Oils, Volatile/analysis , Pinus/chemistry , Animals , Antioxidants/chemistry , Cell Line , Cell Survival/drug effects , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods , Lipid Peroxidation/drug effects , Macrophages/cytology , Medicine, Traditional , Mice , Oils, Volatile/chemistry , Oils, Volatile/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The roots of Bupleurus spp. have been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for curing liver diseases. Although bioactive saikosaponins have been detected in the leaves as well as in the roots, the aerial parts of the plants are discarded as waste. In the present study, a leaf infusion of B. kaoi Liu, Chao et Chuang, an indigenous Bupleurus species in Taiwan, was prepared and the antioxidant properties and in vitro hepatoprotective activity were demonstrated. The results show that the leaf infusion exerted DPPH free radical scavenging activity, inhibitory capacity on superoxide anion formation and superoxide anion scavenging activity. The hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen (APAP) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the rat liver cells were also decreased by the leaf infusion.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Bupleurum/chemistry , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/drug therapy , Liver/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Acetaminophen/toxicity , Animals , Biphenyl Compounds , Carbon Tetrachloride/toxicity , Cells, Cultured , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/prevention & control , Hepatocytes/drug effects , Lipid Peroxidation/drug effects , Male , Picrates/metabolism , Plant Leaves/chemistry , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Superoxides/metabolismABSTRACT
Xiao-chai-hu-tang (XCHT) is an important Chinese herbal prescription for curing many types of liver diseases. The contents of bioactive constituents (saikosaponins a, c and d, baicalin, baicalein, and glycyrrhizic acid), and antioxidant properties of XCHT extracts prepared with ultrasound-assisted (US) extraction in combination with ethanol (up to 95%) as extraction modifier were studied. The results showed that the US extraction significantly increased the bioactive constituents concentrations and antioxidant properties of XCHT extracts when compared with the XCHT prepared with traditional boiling-water extraction. Among the XCHT extracts made with US extraction, the sample prepared with 95% ethanol showed the highest bioactive constituent concentrations and the best antioxidant functionalities. The results suggest that US extraction of XCHT is feasible to replace the traditional time-consuming and low efficiency preparation procedure in the future modernized and commercialized manufacture of this highly valuable Chinese herbal medicine.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology , Phytotherapy , Animals , Antioxidants/chemistry , Biphenyl Compounds , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry , Humans , Lipid Peroxidation/drug effects , Male , Picrates/chemistry , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Roots , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , UltrasonicsABSTRACT
Fractionation with supercritical CO(2) is employed to divide ethanolic extract (E) of B. kaoi into four fractions (R, F1, F2 and F3). To assess the selectivity of the fractionation, extracts of the four fractions were characterized in terms of the hepatoprotective capacity and activity of antioxidant enzymes to against CCl(4)-induced damage. The in vitro study revealed that pretreatment with B. kaoi extract or its fractions, except F3, significantly protected primary hepatocytes against damage by CCl(4) (P<0.05). The R and F1 fractions had the highest saikosaponins content (175 and 200 mg/g dry weight, respectively) and most effectively protected the liver from damage by CCl(4). This study demonstrated that the oral pretreatment of B. kaoi (100 and 500 mg/kg), except F3, three days before a single dose of CCl(4) (CCl(4)/olive oil=1:1, 3 ml/kg, sc) was administered significantly lowered the serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers (AST and ALT) (P<0.05). A pathological examination showed that lesions, including ballooning degeneration, necrosis, hepatitis and portal triaditis were partially healed by treatment with B. kaoi extract and fractions. Oxidative stress induced by CCl(4) led to lipid peroxidation (MDA) and changes in the levels of the antioxidant enzymes in the liver. However, all the fractions, except F3, markedly suppressed lipid peroxidation and reversed the activities of the antioxidant enzymes to the normal levels.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/therapeutic use , Bupleurum , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/prevention & control , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Administration, Oral , Alanine Transaminase/metabolism , Animals , Antioxidants/administration & dosage , Antioxidants/analysis , Aspartate Aminotransferases/metabolism , Carbon Dioxide/chemistry , Carbon Tetrachloride , Chemical Fractionation , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/enzymology , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/pathology , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Hepatocytes/drug effects , Hepatocytes/enzymology , Hepatocytes/pathology , Lipid Peroxidation , Male , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/analysis , Rats , Rats, Sprague-DawleyABSTRACT
Twenty-nine Chinese medicinal herbs and three healthy herbal drinks made of those herbs in a food processing pilot plant were tested for their antioxidative, free radical scavenging, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities. Water extracts of herbs (with few exceptions) and herbal drinks showed free radical scavenging activity. All water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks showed no mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 used in the Ames mutagenic tests. In the antimutagenic tests, the mutagenic activity of 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide (NQNO) toward S. typhimurium TA98 was markedly inhibited by water extracts of herbs and herbal drinks. Based on the results, it is suggested that the herbal drinks manufactured in pilot-plant scale are safe and can be served as health-promoting drinks for the public.