Crocins from Crocus sativus L. in the Management of Hyperglycemia. In Vivo Evidence from Zebrafish.

Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by persistent high blood glucose levels and accompanied by impaired metabolic pathways. In this study, we used zebrafish to investigate the effect of crocins isolated from Crocus sativus L., on the control of glucose levels and pancreatic ß-cells. Embryos were exposed to an aqueous solution of crocins and whole embryo glucose levels were measured at 48 h post-treatment. We showed that the application of crocins reduces zebrafish embryo glucose levels and enhances insulin expression. We also examined whether crocins are implicated in the metabolic pathway of gluconeogenesis. We showed that following a single application of crocins and glucose level reduction, the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase1 (pck1), a key gene involved in glucose metabolism, is increased. We propose a putative role for the crocins in glucose metabolism and insulin management.

Anti-Melanogenic Properties of Greek Plants. A Novel Depigmenting Agent from Morus alba Wood.

In therapeutic interventions associated with melanin hyperpigmentation, tyrosinase is regarded as a target enzyme as it catalyzes the rate-limiting steps in mammalian melanogenesis. Since many known agents have been proven to be toxic, there has been increasing impetus to identify alternative tyrosinase inhibitors, especially from natural sources. In this study, we investigated 900 extracts from Greek plants for potential tyrosinase inhibitive properties. Among the five most potent extracts, the methanol extract of Morus alba wood (MAM) demonstrated a significant reduction in intracellular tyrosinase and melanin content in B16F10 melanoma cells. Bioassay-guided isolation led to the acquisition of twelve compounds: oxyresveratrol (1), kuwanon C (2), mulberroside A (3), resorcinol (4), dihydrooxyresveratol (5), trans-dihydromorin (6), 2,4,3'-trihydroxydihydrostilbene (7), kuwanon H (8), 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (9), morusin (10), moracin M (11) and kuwanon G (12). Among these, 2,4,3'-trihydroxydihydrostilbene (7) is isolated for the first time from Morus alba and constitutes a novel potent tyrosinase inhibitor (IC50 0.8 ± 0.15). We report here for the first time dihydrooxyresveratrol (5) as a potent natural tyrosinase inhibitor (IC50 0.3 ± 0.05). Computational docking analysis indicated the binding modes of six tyrosinase inhibitors with the aminoacids of the active centre of tyrosinase. Finally, we found both MAM extract and compounds 1, 6 and 7 to significantly suppress in vivo melanogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis.

OsJAR1 is required for JA-regulated floret opening and anther dehiscence in rice.

Jasmonates are important phytohormones regulating reproductive development. We used two recessive rice Tos17 alleles of OsJAR1, osjar1-2 and osjar1-3, to study the biological function of jasmonates in rice anthesis. The florets of both osjar1 alleles stayed open during anthesis because the lodicules, which control flower opening in rice, were not withering on time. Furthermore, dehiscence of the anthers filled with viable pollen, was impaired, resulting in lower fertility. In situ hybridization and promoter GUS transgenic analysis confirmed OsJAR1 expression in these floral tissues. Flower opening induced by exogenous applied methyl jasmonate was impaired in osjar1 plants and was restored in a complementation experiment with transgenics expressing a wild type copy of OsJAR1 controlled by a rice actin promoter. Biochemical analysis showed that OsJAR1 encoded an enzyme conjugating jasmonic acid (JA) to at least Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Trp and Val and both osjar1 alleles had substantial reduction in content of JA-Ile, JA-Leu and JA-Val in florets. We conclude that OsJAR1 is a JA-amino acid synthetase that is required for optimal flower opening and closing and anther dehiscence in rice.

Lotus japonicus gene Ljsbp is highly conserved among plants and animals and encodes a homologue to the mammalian selenium-binding proteins.

We have isolated and characterized a Lotus japonicus gene (Ljsbp) encoding a putative polypeptide with striking homology to the mammalian 56-kDa selenium-binding protein (SBP). cDNA clones homologous to LjSBP were also isolated from soybean, Medicago sativa, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparative expression studies in L japonicus and A. thaliana showed that sbp transcripts are present in various tissues and at different levels. Especially in L japonicus nodules and seedpods and A. thaliana siliques, sbp expression appears to be developmentally up-regulated. sbp Gene transcripts were localized by in situ hybridization in the infected cells and vascular bundles of young nodules, while in mature nodules, low levels of expression were only detected in the parenchymatous cells. Expression of sbp transcripts in young seedpods and siliques was clearly visible in vascular tissues and embryos, while in embryos, low levels of expression were detected in the root epidermis and the vascular bundles. Polyclonal antibodies raised against a truncated LjSBP recombinant protein recognized a polypeptide of about 60 kDa in nodule extracts. Immunohistochemical experiments showed that accumulation of LjSBP occurred in root hairs, in the root epidermis above the nodule primordium, in the phloem of the vasculature, and abundantly in the infected cells of young nodules. Irrespective of the presence of rhizobia, expression of SBP was also observed in root tips, where it was confined in the root epidermis and protophloem cells. We hypothesize that LjSBP may have more than one physiological role and can be implicated in controlling the oxidation/reduction status of target proteins, in vesicular Golgi transport, or both.