Significant longevity-extending effects of Alpinia zerumbet leaf extract on the life span of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The beneficial effects of the phytochemical compounds in fruits and vegetables have been extrapolated mainly from in vitro studies or short-term dietary supplementation studies. Recent approaches using animal models of Caenorhabditis elegans are becoming quite popular, and in this regard the effects of Alpinia zerumbet leaf extract (ALP) on C. elegans lifespan were investigated under both normal and stress conditions. ALP significantly increased, mean lifespan by 22.6%, better than the positive control, resveratrol. Furthermore, both under thermal and oxidative stressed conditions, ALP increased the survival rate significantly better than quercetin. Further studies indicated that the significant longevity-extending effects of ALP on C. elegans can be attributed to its in vitro free-radical scavenging effects and its upregulation of stress-resistance proteins, including superoxide dismutase 3 (SOD-3) and heat-shock protein (HSP-16.2). These results suggest that phytochemical compounds in A. zerumbet have beneficial effects on the lifespan of C. elegans, and that they can be used as a source of dietary supplements for aging and age-related diseases.

Effect of Alpinia zerumbet components on antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes.

BACKGROUND: The skin is chronically exposed to endogenous and environmental pro-oxidant agents, leading to the harmful generation of reactive oxygen species. Antioxidant is vital substances which possess the ability to protect the body from damage cause by free radicals induce oxidative stress. Alpinia zerumbet, a traditionally important economic plant in Okinawa, contains several interesting bioactive constituents and possesses health promoting properties. In this regard, we carried out to test the inhibitory effect of crude extracts and isolated compounds from A. zerumbet on antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes. METHODS: The antioxidant activities were examined by DPPH, ABTS and PMS-NADH radical scavenging. Collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase and tyrosinase were designed for enzymatic activities to investigate the inhibitory properties of test samples using a continuous spectrophotometric assay. The inhibitory capacity of test samples was presented at half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50). RESULTS: The results showed that aqueous extract of the rhizome was found to have greater inhibitory effects than the others on both of antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes. Furthermore, 5,6-dehydrokawain (DK), dihydro-5,6-dehydrokawain (DDK) and 8(17),12-labdadiene-15,16-dial (labdadiene), isolated from rhizome, were tested for antioxidant and enzyme inhibitions. We found that DK showed higher inhibitory activities on DPPH, ABTS and PMS-NADH scavenging (IC50 = 122.14 ± 1.40, 110.08 ± 3.34 and 127.78 ± 4.75 µg/ml, respectively). It also had stronger inhibitory activities against collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase and tyrosinase (IC50 = 24.93 ± 0.97, 19.41 ± 0.61, 19.48 ± 0.24 and 76.67 ± 0.50 µg/ml, respectively) than DDK and labdadiene. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the rhizome aqueous extract proved to be the source of bioactive compounds against enzymes responsible for causing skin diseases. Moreover, DK could be used as a potent inhibitor and be further exploited to be used in anti-skin disease formulations.

Antiatherogenic properties of acetone extract of Alpinia zerumbet seeds.

Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the principal risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we used several methods to investigate the ability of the acetone extract from rhizomes, stems, leaves, flowers, pericarps and seeds of Alpinia zerumbet to inhibit atherosclerosis in vitro. The seed extract had the strongest activity against tyrosinase, pancreatic lipase (PL), 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) and LDL oxidation activities (IC50 = 2.30 ± 0.02, 5.00 ± 0.07, 1.29 ± 0.07 and 15.40 ± 0.86 µg/mL, respectively), amongst all different parts. It also had similar effects to the positive controls. Most of the extracts showed partial agonistic properties towards estrogenic activity. Cholest-4-ene-3,6-dione, a steroid present only in the seed extract seems to be the compound responsible for these activities. The results showed that cholest-4-ene-3,6-dione had similar ability to curcumin and quercetin against PL and LDL oxidation (IC50 = 19.50 ± 1.17 and 16.12 ± 1.43 µg/mL, respectively). Furthermore, cholest-4-ene-3,6-dione (IC50 = 34.21 ± 1.31 µg/mL) had higher inhibition against 15-LO than quercetin (IC50 = 54.79 ± 1.12 µg/mL).

Chemical interaction in the invasiveness of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.).

From gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), numerous plant growth inhibitors were found in the rhizome and root exudates of cogongrass, one of the most problematic weeds in the world. iso-Eugenol, iso-ferulic acid, linoleic acid, ferulic acid, and vanillin were the major chemicals in the rhizome (88.1-392.2 microg/g of fresh root), while 4-acetyl-2-methoxyphenol was the principle substance (872.6 microg/plant) in the root exudates. In fields, the use of cutting and plowing reduced weed biomass and weed density of cogongrass >70%. However, the alternative invasion of beggar tick might be a problem, because its density and biomass increased 33.3 and 62.5%, respectively. Chemicals from cogongrass showed selective effects against tested invasive species. Of them, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol was the most potent (78.3-100% of inhibition), followed by iso-eugenol and 4-acetyl-2-methoxyphenol. These compounds may play important roles in the invasiveness of cogongrass and might be promising parent constituents of synthesis to develop novel herbicides for control of invasive plants.

Efficacy of extracting solvents to chemical components of kava (Piper methysticum) roots.

The chemical composition of kava (Piper methysticum) lactones and various phytochemicals obtained following the sonication of ground kava roots extracted in the solvents hexane, chloroform, acetone, ethanol, methanol and water, respectively, was analyzed. Eighteen kava lactones, cinnamic acid bornyl ester and 5,7-dimethoxy-flavanone, known to be present in kava roots, were identified, and seven compounds, including 2,5,8-trimethyl-1-naphthol, 5-methyl-1-phenylhexen-3-yn-5-ol, 8,11-octadecadienoic acid-methyl ester, 5,7-(OH)(2)-4'-one-6,8-dimethylflavanone, pinostrobin chalcone and 7-dimethoxyflavanone-5-hydroxy-4', were identified for the first time. Glutathione (26.3 mg/g) was found in the water extract. Dihydro-5,6-dehydrokavain (DDK) was present at a higher level than methysticin and desmethoxyyagonin, indicating that DDK is also a major constituent of kava roots. Acetone was the most effective solvent in terms of maximum yield and types of kava lactones isolated, followed by water and chloroform, whereas hexane, methanol, and ethanol were less effective as solvents. Total phenolic and antioxidant activity varied among the extracting solvents, with acetone and chloroform producing the highest effects, followed by water, while methanol, ethanol and hexane were less effective.

Mouse N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfotransferases-1 and -2. Molecular cloning, expression, chromosomal mapping and detection of their activity with GalNAcbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-octyl.

N-Acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfotransferase (GalNAc4ST) transfers sulfate to position 4 of nonreducing terminal GalNAc residues. We previously cloned human GalNAc4ST-1 cDNA. In this paper, we report the cloning, characterization and chromosomal mapping of mouse GalNAc4ST-1 and GalNAc4ST-2. Mouse GalNAc4ST-1 and GalNAc4ST-2 contain single open reading frames that predict type II transmembrane proteins composed of 417 and 413 amino acid residues, respectively. The amino acid sequence identity between the two isoforms is 49%. When the cDNA was transfected to COS-7 cells, sulfotransferase activities toward carbonic anhydrase VI and GalNAcbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-octyl were overexpressed, but the sulfotransferase activity toward chondroitin showed no increase over the control level. Northern blot analysis showed that the 2.4 kb messages of GalNAc4ST-1 and GalNAc4ST-2 were strongly expressed in the kidney, where both of the human isoforms were hardly expressed. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that, unlike human GalNAc4ST-1, the expression of mouse GalNAc4ST-1 in the pituitary gland was only marginal, while that of GalNAc4ST-2 in the pituitary gland was as high as that in the kidney. These results suggest that the functions of the two GalNAc4ST isoforms may differ between human and mouse. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, the GalNAc4ST-1 and GalNAc4ST-2 genes were localized to mouse chromosome 7B3 distal-B5 proximal and chromosome 18A2 distal-B1 proximal, respectively.