Complete genome sequence of artemisia virus B, a new polerovirus infecting Artemisia princeps in South Korea.

The complete genome sequence of a new polerovirus found naturally infecting Artemisia princeps, artemisia virus B (ArtVB), was determined using high-throughput sequencing. The ArtVB genome comprises 6,141 nucleotides and contains six putative open reading frames (ORF0 to ORF5) with a genome structure typical of poleroviruses. A multiple sequence alignment showed that the complete ArtVB genome shares 50.98% nucleotide sequence identity with ixeridium yellow mottle virus 1 (IxYMaV-1, GenBank accession no. KT868949). ArtVB shares the highest amino acid sequence identity in P0 and P3-P5 (21.54%-51.69%) with other known poleroviruses. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ArtVB should be considered a member of a new species within the genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae.

Comparative effects of ginger root (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) on the production of inflammatory mediators in normal and osteoarthrotic sow chondrocytes.

Ginger root was previously demonstrated to exert anti-arthritic effects in sow cartilage explants. This study further investigated the comparative effects of ginger root extract (GRE) on the production of inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), in normal chondrocytes (NC) and osteoarthrotic chondrocytes (OC) isolated from sow cartilage explants. The sow chondrocyte cells were isolated and grown in Ham's F-12/Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotics. GRE was then added at different concentrations (0-2,000 microg/mL), and the cells were allowed to grow for 24 hours in the presence of cytokine inducer. The culture media were collected and assayed for NO by the Griess reaction and for PGE2 by radioimmunoassay. When GRE was not used, the NC had lower PGE2 and NO than the OC. With GRE treatment, both PGE2 and NO decreased linearly in both the NC and the OC. As GRE concentrations increased, the rate of PGE(2) decrease was the same in the NC and the OC, whereas the rate of NO decrease was greater for the OC than for the NC. Collectively, OC produce more inflammatory mediators than do NC, and the production of inflammatory mediators was reduced when GRE was added to both the OC and the NC. The inhibitory effects of GRE on NO and PGE2 production by sow OC observed in this study suggest an important role for GRE as an anti-arthritic agent.

Effects of Ganoderma lucidum on apoptotic and anti-inflammatory function in HT-29 human colonic carcinoma cells.

Ling Zhi extract (LZE) is a herbal mushroom preparation which been used world wide for the prevention and treatment of various cancers. The current study was designed to evaluate these claims in human colon cancer cells in terms of cancer preventive mechanisms. Results have demonstrated induction of apoptosis, anti-inflammatory action and differential cytokine expression during induced inflammation in the human colonic carcinoma cell line, HT-29. LZE caused no cytotoxicity in HT-29 cells at doses less than 10,000 microg/ml. Increasing concentrations of LZE reduced prostaglandin E2 production, but increased nitric oxide production. LZE treatment induced apoptosis by increasing the activity of caspase-3. RT-PCR showed that LZE at a concentration of 5000 microg/ml decreased the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA. Among 42 cytokines tested by protein array in this study, supplementation of LZE at doses of 500 and 5000 microg/ml to HT-29 cells reduced the expression of interleukin-8, macrophage inflammatory protein 1-delta, vascular epithelial growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor. These results suggest that LZE has pro-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory functions, as well as inhibitory effects on cytokine expression during early inflammation in colonic carcinoma cells, which may be of significance in the use of Chinese herbal alternative medicines for cancer prevention.

Aspergillus oryzae GB-107 fermentation improves nutritional quality of food soybeans and feed soybean meals.

This study evaluated the effect of fermentation on the nutritional quality of food-grade soybeans and feed-grade soybean meals. Soybeans and soybean meals were fermented by Aspergillus oryzae GB-107 in a bed-packed solid fermentor for 48 hours. After fermentation, their nutrient contents as well as trypsin inhibitor were measured and compared with those of raw soybeans and soybean meals. Proteins were extracted from fermented and non-fermented soybeans and soybean meals, and the peptide characteristics were evaluated after electrophoresis. Fermented soybeans and fermented soybean meals contained 10% more (P < .05) crude protein than raw soybeans and soybean meals. The essential amino acid profile was unchanged after fermentation. Fermentation eliminated (P < .05) most of the trypsin inhibitor from both soybeans and soybean meals. Fermentation increased the amount of small-size peptides (<20 kDa) (P < .05) compared with raw soybeans, while significantly decreasing large-size peptides (>60 kDa) (P < .05). Fermented soybean meal contained more (P < .01) small-size peptides (<20 kDa) than soybean meal. Fermented soybean meal did not contain large-size peptides (>60 kDa), whereas 22.1% of peptides in soybean meal were large-size (>60 kDa). Collectively, fermentation increased protein content, eliminated trypsin inhibitors, and reduced peptide size in soybeans and soybean meals. These effects of fermentation might make soy foods more useful in human diets as a functional food and benefit livestock as a novel feed ingredient.

Effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) on decreasing the production of inflammatory mediators in sow osteoarthrotic cartilage explants.

The herbal remedy Zingiber officinale (ginger root) has been used for perhaps thousands of years in the Far East to treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis. However, the anti-arthritic effect of ginger root has never been evaluated on osteoarthrotic cartilage of sow. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ginger root extract (GRE) on the viability and the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) by sow osteoarthrotic cartilage explants. The cartilage explants (~20 mg/96-well plate) were grown in Ham's F-12/Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics for 72 hours and depleted for 24 hours. GRE was then added at different concentrations (0-2,000 microg/mL), and the explants were allowed to grow for 24 hours. The cell viability was reduced (P<.05) with GRE >/=500 microg/mL, whereas it was not affected with GRE <100 microg/mL. In a follow-up experiment, the supernatants of cartilage explants with GRE (0-500 microg/mL) in the presence of interleukin-1beta (2 ng/mL), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (1 ng/mL), and lipopolysaccharides (10 microg/mL) were used to measure NO and PGE production. Increasing GRE concentration (1-100 microg/mL) reduced (P <.05) NO production by cartilage tissue explants, and a similar pattern was observed in the production of PGE(2). The inhibitory effects of GRE on NO and PGE(2) production by sow osteoarthrotic cartilage explants observed in this study suggest an important role for GRE as an anti-arthritic agent in osteoarthrosis in the sow.