Identification of Characteristic Phenolic Constituents in Mousouchiku Extract Used as Food Additives.

Mousouchiku extract is prepared from the bamboo-sheath of Phyllostachys heterocycla MITF. (Poaceae), and is registered as a food manufacturing agent in the List of Existing Food Additives in Japan. This study describes the chromatographic evaluation of characteristic components of this extract to obtain the chemical data needed for standardized specifications. We isolated 12 known compounds from this extract: 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, trans-p-coumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid, N,N'-diferuloylputrescine, 4'-hydroxypropiophenone, ß-arbutin, tachioside, isotachioside, 3,4'-dihydroxypropiophenone 3-O-glucoside, koaburaside, and (+)-lyoniresinol 9'-O-glucoside. Moreover, a new propiophenone glycoside, propiophenone 4'-O-(6-ß-D-xylosyl)-ß-D-glucoside (propiophenone 4'-O-primeveroside), was isolated. The structure of each isolated compound was elucidated based on NMR and MS data or direct HPLC comparisons with authentic samples. Among the isolates, (+)-lyoniresinol 9'-O-glucoside was found to be the major ingredients of the extract as observed using HPLC analysis. However, 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, which is considered the main constituent of mousouchiku extract, was only detected as a trace constituent and not isolated in this study.

Infections with gastrointestinal parasitic helminths indigenous to Japan and their treatment historically studied in an attempt to control the diseases in countries where they are still rampant: (1) the Jomon to Edo periods.

Infections with gastrointestinal parasitic helminthes were historically surveyed from the Jomon period to the end of the Edo period in Japan. The parasitic helminthes whose eggs or symptoms were shown in the remains and bibliographies are the roundworm, whipworm, liver fluke, Yokogawa's fluke and the cestode, Diphyllobothrium sp. The first two are soil-transmitted nematodes and the other three parasitic helminths are those with which people are infected following eating raw fish. The infection routes provide valuable information on the environments, life-style and customs in those days. The eggs of the soil-transmitted parasites have the thick shells resistant to the environments. Humans are infected with the parasites after the eggs are orally ingested with soil, dust, vegetables grown with night soil or manure. When the custom of the night soil was started in the history of Japan was discussed with this infection route. In ancient times, feces are thought to have been discarded. In the Medieval Period, they were started to be used as a fertilizer. No mature types of manure were used until the modern times (already in the Edo period). To our idea, no recoveries of eggs of hookworms causing severe anemia do not necessarily mean that people were not infected with the parasites in those days because the eggs are covered with thin shells liable to rupture. The latter fact of the eggs of the platihelminths, C. sinensis, M. yokogawai and D. latum has something to do with Japanese traditional eating customs, unequivocally demonstrating that they ate raw fish from the Nara Period, at latest, until today. Whether eggs of the cestode (D. latum) are found in Jomon remains, Momijiyama Iseki, Hokkaido should be investigated. If no eggs of the cestode are found in their toilet site or elsewhere, it could be concluded that they did not have the custom of eating raw salmon. Such a conclusion would be itself a new fact. One of the effective treatments for the cestode (D. latum) sometimes still carried out in the 21st century in Japan, is binding worms from the anus using chopsticks. This method can be traced back to the Edo period as far as this investigation is concerned. Though the historical studies on anthelmintics are in progress, there seem to be no effective anthelmintics leaving nothing to be desired to the present authors' knowledge.

Inhibitory effects of fruit juices on cytochrome P450 2C9 activity in vitro.

There is limited information on the effect of fruits on human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 activity. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of fruit juice on CYP2C9-mediated drug metabolism. Nine citrus fruits and eight tropical fruits were chosen. We investigated effects of the fruits on diclofenac 4'-hydroxylation and tolbutamide hydroxylation by human liver microsomes. Among the fruits, pineapple juice showed potent inhibition of CYP2C9 activity. The addition of 25 microl (5.0% v/v) of pineapple juice resulted in almost complete inhibition. Next we examined the inhibitory effect of bromelain, a cysteine protease in pineapple. Bromelain also strongly inhibited CYP2C9 activity. In addition, E-64, a cysteine protease inhibitor, almost entirely blocked inhibition by pineapple juice and bromelain. Thus we found that pineapple juice was a potent inhibitor of CYP2C9, and that the inhibitory effect might be due to the bromelain contained in pineapple.