Biofunctional Activities of Equisetum ramosissimum Extract: Protective Effects against Oxidation, Melanoma, and Melanogenesis.

Equisetum ramosissimum, a genus of Equisetaceae, is a medicinal plant that can be separated into ethyl acetate (EA), dichloromethane (DM), n-hexane (Hex), methanol (MeOH), and water extracts. EA extract was known to have potent antioxidative properties, reducing power, DPPH scavenging activity, and metal ion chelating activity. This study compared these five extracts in terms of their inhibiting effects on three human malignant melanomas: A375, A375.S2, and A2058. MTT assay presented the notion that both EA and DM extracts inhibited melanoma growth but did not affect the viabilities of normal dermal keratinocytes (HaCaT) or fibroblasts. Western blot analyses showed that both EA and DM extracts induced overexpression of caspase proteins in all three melanomas. To determine their roles in melanogenesis, this study analyzed their in vitro suppressive effects on mushroom tyrosinase. All extracts except for water revealed moderate suppressive effects. None of the extracts affected B16-F10 cells proliferation. EA extract inhibited cellular melanin production whereas DM extract unexpectedly enhanced cellular pigmentation in B16-F10 cells. Data for modulations of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1, and tyrosinase-related protein 2 showed that EA extract inhibited protein expression mentioned above whereas DM extract had the opposite effect. Overall, the experiments indicated that the biofunctional activities of EA extract contained in food and cosmetics protect against oxidation, melanoma, and melanin production.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor activating hypoglycemic effect of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis aqueous extract and improvement of insulin sensitivity in steroid induced insulin resistant rats.

BACKGROUND: The active components of Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, GJ) exhibit a hypoglycemic effect by improving insulin secretion and lowering plasma lipids. In the present study, we fed a water extract of gardenia to steroid-induced insulin-resistant (SIIR) rats and observed changes in signaling proteins in order to elucidate the mechanisms of the insulin-sensitizing effect of GJ and evaluate its possibility as an insulin-sensitizing agent. METHODS: Normal Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group (i.e., saline) and experimental groups (GJ 100 and 200 mg/kg). Blood samples were taken at 0, 30, and 60 min for plasma glucose assay in order to determine the optimal dose to induce the hypoglycemic effect. SIIR rats were then randomly divided into a control group (i.e., saline) and an experimental group (optimal dose of gardenia extract) to observe the insulin-sensitizing effect of the extract. Finally, western blot analysis was performed to detect intracellular signaling proteins to elucidate the mechanisms of the insulin-sensitization effect of GJ. RESULTS: The normal Wistar rats in the GJ 200 mg/kg group exhibited significant hypoglycemic activity. Meanwhile, the SIIR rats had higher plasma glucose levels than normal rats. There was no obvious change in insulin level, but the insulin sensitivity index and homeostasis model assessment index were significantly elevated. Meanwhile, a significant hypoglycemic effect was observed with GJ 200 mg/kg. In addition, intracellular signaling proteins including insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) were elevated in muscle cells. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal dose of GJ aqueous extract of 200 mg/kg exerts a PPARγ-activating hypoglycemic effect and improves insulin resistance in SIIR rats. Therefore, it is a potential insulin-sensitizing agent in type 2 diabetes mellitus with insulin resistance.

Bioactivities and sensory evaluation of Pu-erh teas made from three tea leaves in an improved pile fermentation process.

Two commercial Pu-erh teas, 15-year-old Ta-Huang-In and 25-year-old Ta-Hon-In, were used for screening some species of fungi, yeasts, and bacteria, and six of them were isolated and identified as Actinoplanes aurantiacus, Actinoplanes pallidoaurantiacus, Actinoplanes purpeobrunneus, Streptomyces bacillaris, Streptomyces cavourensis subsp. cavourensis, and Streptomyces cinereus. They were selected for inoculated into the tea leaves (Yun Nan from China, TTES-12 and C. S. Oolong from Taiwan) and fermented for 180 days. The total polyphenols and GABA content, and DPPH radical scavenging effects were determined to examine the tea infusion quality. The samples inoculated with S. cinereus had the highest total polyphenols content and maximum capacity to scavenge DPPH radicals; the highest GABA content was obtained while the sample inoculated with S. bacillaris. Further comparison of these samples with two commercial Pu-erh teas of different ages (Ta-Huang-In, 15-year storage and Ta-Hon-In, 25-year storage) showed that DPPH radical scavenging activity and GABA content of S. bacillaris and S. cinereus fermented tea leaf were higher than these two commercial teas. Sensory evaluation also demonstrated that the taste, flavor, and overall acceptance did not had significant differences between the experimental tea leaves and commercial samples. The present studies revealed that the fresh tea leaves inoculated with the suitable microbes in short period of time will possess a high-quality tea infusion as long-term storage Pu-erh tea.