Sword Bean (Canavalia gladiata) Pod Exerts Anti-Allergic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects through Modulation of Th1/Th2 Cell Differentiation.

Allergy is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated process, and its incidence and prevalence have increased worldwide in recent years. Therapeutic agents for allergic diseases are continuously being developed, but side effects follow when used for a long-term use. Therefore, treatments based on natural products that are safe for the body are urgently required. Sword bean (Canavalia gladiata) pod (SBP) has been traditionally used to treat inflammatory diseases, but there is still no scientific basis for its anti-allergic effect. Accordingly, this study investigates the anti-allergic effect and its mechanism of SBP in vitro and in vivo. SBP reduced the nitric oxide production and decreased mRNA and protein expression of inflammatory mediates (inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)), and inhibited the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), a major signaling molecule in the inflammatory response. Additionally, SBP extract treatment inhibited phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/mTOR) signaling activity to further inhibit degranulation and allergy mediator generation and control the balance of Th1/Th2 cells, which can induce an allergic reaction when disrupted. Furthermore, the SBP extract exhibited anti-allergic effects in anti-dinitrophenyl IgE-induced RBL-2H3 cells and ovalbumin-treated mice. These findings have potential clinical implications for the treatment as well as prevention of allergic diseases.

Immature sword bean pods (Canavalia gladiata) inhibit adipogenesis in C3H10T1/2 cells and mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity.

BACKGROUND: Sword bean (SB; Canavalia gladiata) is a perennial vine used as a food and medicinal plant in Asia. SB is rich in nutrients, such as flavonoids and urease, and has various functions, including beneficial effects on dysentery, nausea, and hemorrhoids, as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. Various plant parts are used; however, little is known about the physiological effects of SB pods (SBP). In this study, the anti-obesity effects of SBP extract were evaluated. METHODS: To investigate the anti-obesity effects of SBP extract, we confirmed the SBP extract downregulated lipogenesis-related genes and upregulated genes involved in lipolysis and brown adipocyte markers in differentiated C3H10T1/2 adipocytes in vitro. Next, we use a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mouse model to determine the anti-obesity effects of SBP extract. RESULTS: Treatment with SBP extract significantly reduced adipocytes. The extract decreased the HFD-induced increases in body weight and plasma triglyceride levels in mice after 8 weeks. mRNA and protein levels of the adipogenesis and lipogenesis-related factors CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-ß, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and their target genes Ap2, SREBP-1c, FAS, and SCD-1 were reduced by SBP extract. In contrast, AMP-activated protein kinase and sirtuin1, involved in the thermogenic catabolism of fat, were activated by SBP extract in adipocytes and white adipose tissue, increasing the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), and uncoupling protein 1 and activating thermogenic activity. CONCLUSION: SBP extract exerts an anti-obesity effect by inhibiting lipogenesis-related factors and activating fat-catabolizing factors; it is, therefore, a promising functional food and natural anti-obesity agent.

Biochar application to a contaminated soil reduces the availability and plant uptake of zinc, lead and cadmium.

Heavy metals in soil are naturally occurring but may be enhanced by anthropogenic activities such as mining. Bio-accumulation of heavy metals in the food chain, following their uptake to plants can increase the ecotoxicological risks associated with remediation of contaminated soils using plants. In the current experiment sugar cane straw-derived biochar (BC), produced at 700 °C, was applied to a heavy metal contaminated mine soil at 1.5%, 3.0% and 5.0% (w/w). Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) and Mucuna aterrima were grown in pots containing soil and biochar mixtures, and control pots without biochar. Pore water was sampled from each pot to confirm the effects of biochar on metal solubility, whilst soils were analyzed by DTPA extraction to confirm available metal concentrations. Leaves were sampled for SEM analysis to detect possible morphological and anatomical changes. The application of BC decreased the available concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn in 56, 50 and 54% respectively, in the mine contaminated soil leading to a consistent reduction in the concentration of Zn in the pore water (1st collect: 99 to 39 µg L(-1), 2nd: 97 to 57 µg L(-1) and 3rd: 71 to 12 µg L(-1)). The application of BC reduced the uptake of Cd, Pb and Zn by plants with the jack bean translocating high proportions of metals (especially Cd) to shoots. Metals were also taken up by Mucuna aterrima but translocation to shoot was more limited than for jack bean. There were no differences in the internal structures of leaves observed by scanning electron microscopy. This study indicates that biochar application during mine soil remediation reduce plant concentrations of potential toxic metals.

Evaluation of mycorrhizal influence on the development and phytoremediation potential of Canavalia gladiata in Pb-contaminated soils.

Soil contamination by heavy metals is a serious problem to humans due to its high level of toxicity. The heavy metal lead (Pb) is commonly used in industries and if the disposal of residues that contain this element is not done properly may result in tragic consequences to the organisms. In this experiment we assessed the potential of a forrage leguminous, Canavalia gladiata, to phytoremediate lead-contaminated soil under mycorrhizal influence. The experimental design was composed of 4 Pb doses (0, 250, 500, and 1000 mg kg(-1) of soil) and the plants were inoculated or uninoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We observed that the nodulation was severely affected by the presence of Pb independently of the mycorrhizal status; most of the elements analyzed were affected independently of the mycorrhizal status with exception of P. The mycorrhizal colonization was able to restrict the entrance of Pb in plants under high concentrations of Pb but promoted it's accumulation in both organs under intermediate concentrations of this element. Besides the mycorrhization did not promote plant growth under Pb stress, the use of this plant may be considered to be used for phytostabilization purposes.

First synthesis of "Majoral-Type" glycodendrimers bearing covalently bound alpha-D-mannopyranoside residues onto a hexachlocyclotriphosphazene core.

A short and efficient strategy for the first synthesis of "Majoral-Type" multivalent glycodendrimers bearing covalently bound alpha-D-mannopyranosides onto a cyclotriphosphazene scaffold assembled using single-step Sonogashira and click chemistry is reported. New glycoclusters with valencies ranging from 6 to 18 and different epitope spatial arrangements were obtained. Cross-linking abilities of this series of glycodendrimers were evaluated with the model lectin from Canavalia ensiformis (Concanavalin A). The decameric mannoside 23, built around 19, was shown to be much faster in cross-linking the tetravalent lectin Concanavalin A than the positive control, which is the polysaccharide mannan from yeast. The new glycoconjugates reported may be promising tools as probes or effectors of biological processes involving multivalent carbohydrate-binding proteins.