Microbial assessment of medicinal herbs (Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma), effects of electron beam irradiation and detection characteristics.

Medicinal herbs comprise of heavy microbial contaminations. This study aimed to assess microbial hazards including foodborne pathogens in 20 commercial medicinal herbs, Cnidii Rhizoma (C1-C10) and Alismatis Rhizoma (T1-T10) as well as to evaluate irradiation effects of E-beam on microbial load and detection chracteristics. Four samples (C5, C10, T1, T8) from both herbs with higher microbial load were selected for evaluating the irradiation effect of E-beam (up to 10 kGy) on microbial load and radiation-induced changes in detection markers by standard methods (Codex, Korean Food Code), such as direct epifluorescent filter technique/aerobic plate count (DEFT/APC), photostimulated luminescence (PSL), thermoluminescence (TL), and electron spin resonance (ESR). DEFT/APC revealed non-evidence of pre-sterilization of all samples. PSL differentiated irradiated samples (1, 5, and 10 kGy) of both herbs from non-irradiated (control: 0 kGy). Both TL and ESR methods validated PSL screening results by detecting radiation-induced markers from E-beam irradiated medicinal herbs.

Effect of E-Beam Irradiation on Microbial Load, Stability of Active Components, and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma.

To reduce microbial loads in medicinal herbs, Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma were subjected to electron-beam (e-beam) irradiation at doses (≤10 kGy) as permitted by the Korean Food Code. The effects of e-beam irradiation on the microbial load, stability of the active components, and anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal herbs were determined. We observed that the total aerobic bacteria (TAB; 4.0-7.0 log CFU/g), yeasts and molds (Y&M; 3.3-6.8 log CFU/g), and coliform counts (CC; 3.2-3.8 log CFU/g) in both herb samples were effectively reduced in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in acceptable levels of <3.0 log CFU/g in TAB and Y&M and negative in CC at 10 kGy irradiation. The concentration of the active components (0.87-4.22 mg/g) of Cnidii Rhizoma, including z-ligustilide, chlorogenic acid, senkyunolide A, and ferulic acid, in order of prevalence and those (0.86-2.76 mg/g) of Alismatis Rhizoma, including Alisol B acetate and Alisol B, were not changed at irradiation doses of ≤10 kGy. The extracts of e-beam irradiated Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma showed a reduced production of inflammation-related factors, such as nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and IL-6, in a concentration-dependent manner, which was induced by lipopolysaccharide in RAW 264.7 cell. However, there was no significant difference observed at e-beam irradiation doses of 0, 1, 5, and 10 kGy. Thus, we confirm that e-beam irradiation up to 10 kGy was effective for the control of microbial load in Cnidii Rhizoma and Alismatis Rhizoma without causing considerable changes in their major active components and anti-inflammatory activity. The results show the potential of e-beam application for sanitization of medicinal herbs.

Synthesis of gold structures by gold-binding peptide governed by concentration of gold ion and peptide.

Although biological synthesis methods for the production of gold structures by microorganisms, plant extracts, proteins, and peptide have recently been introduced, there have been few reports pertaining to controlling their size and morphology. The gold ion and peptide concentrations affected on the size and uniformity of gold plates by a gold-binding peptide Midas-11. The higher concentration of gold ions produced a larger size of gold structures reached 125.5 µm, but an increased amount of Midas-11 produced a smaller size of gold platelets and increased the yield percentage of polygonal gold particles rather than platelets. The mechanisms governing factors controlling the production of gold structures were primarily related to nucleation and growth. These results indicate that the synthesis of gold architectures can be controlled by newly isolated and substituted peptides under different reaction conditions.

Mycobacterium chelonae infections associated with bee venom acupuncture.

We report 3 cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infections after bee venom acupuncture. All were treated with antibiotics and surgery. Mycobacterium chelonae infections should be included in the differential diagnosis of chronic skin and soft tissue infections following bee venom acupuncture.

Can levofloxacin be a useful alternative to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for treating Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia?

A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of levofloxacin in the treatment of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia. The 30-day mortality rates were similar between the trimerthoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and levofloxacin treatment groups. Adverse events related to antibiotics occurred more frequently in patients receiving TMP-SMX, and recurrent bacteremia due to levofloxacin-resistant S. maltophilia strains developed in patients treated with levofloxacin. Our data suggest that levofloxacin can be a useful alternative option for treating S. maltophilia infections.

Antihyperglycemic and antioxidative effects of new herbal formula in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Herbal prescriptions have been recognized as potentially valid by the scientific medical establishment, and their use has been increasing. The present study investigated the antidiabetic effects of a new herbal formula (NHF) consisting of Polygonati Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Radix, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix, Puerariae Radix, Schizandrae Fructus, and Glycyrrhizae Radix. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were orally administered NHF (300 mg/kg of body weight/day) for 4 weeks. The diabetic rats exhibited hyperglycemia, increased food and water intake, loss of body weight gain, elevated hepatic thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and decreased activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], and glutathione peroxidase [GSH-Px]), level of mRNA of glucose transporter (GLUT) 4 in soleus muscle, and numbers of insulin-positive cells and the size of beta-cells in pancreas. Administration of NHF significantly decreased the blood glucose level and the food and water intake and considerably increased the body weights of diabetic rats. Also, NHF treatment significantly increased plasma insulin levels and the number and size of insulin-immunoreactive cells in the pancreas of diabetic rats. Administration of NHF significantly lowered the levels of TBARS and increased the activities of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px in the liver of diabetic rats. In addition, treatment with NHF increased the mRNA levels of GLUT4 in soleus muscle. Therefore NHF may be an effective preventive and therapeutic agent for diabetes mellitus.

Growth-inhibitory effects of a Bulnesia sarmienti aqueous extract on A549 cells in vitro and S180 cells in vivo.

The effects of Bulnesia sarmienti (BS) aqueous extract on the cell growth of A549 cell lines were investigated. BS has strong cytotoxic activity on the A549 cell lines (IC(50); less than 100 microg/mL) in MTT assay. HPLC confirmed that BS contains catechins as major compound. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry indicated that BS arrested the cell cycle in the sub-G(1) phase. BS induced DNA fragmentation, and increased the expression of the p53 protein in immunoblot analysis. These results indicated that the anticancer effect of BS was mediated via the process of apoptosis and growth-inhibition.

Anti-diabetic effects of new herbal formula in neonatally streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

The present study investigated the anti-diabetic effects of new herbal formula (NHF) consist of Polygonati Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Radix, Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix, Puerariae Radix, Schizandrae Fructus, Glycyrrhizae Radix in neonatal streptozotocin (nSTZ)-induced non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) rats. Changes of food and water intakes, body weight, blood glucose, plasma insulin and immunohistochemical evaluation of insulin on pancreas, and mRNA expression of glucose transporter subtype-4 (GLUT-4) in skeletal muscle and hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) by administration of NHF (300 mg/kg) were investigated. The nSTZ diabetic rats showed hyperglycemia, increases in food and water intake, loss of body weight gain and decrease of the number of insulin-positive cells and the size of beta-cells in pancreas and mRNA of GLUT-4 in soleus muscle and increase of hepatic PEPCK mRNA expression. Administration of NHF significantly decreased the blood glucose level, food and water intake and considerably increased the body weight of nSTZ diabetic rats. Also, NHF treatment significantly increased plasma insulin level and the number and size of insulin-immunoreactive cells in the pancreas of nSTZ diabetic rats. In addition, NHF treatment resulted in increased expression of the GLUT-4 mRNA in soleus muscle and in reduced expression of PEPCK mRNA in liver. These results provide possible mechanisms for the anti-diabetic effects of NHF, via a decrease of blood glucose level, an increase of insulin sensitivity, an increase of GLUT-4 gene expression and an attenuation of hepatic PEPCK gene expression. In conclusion, NHF may be useful for improving hyperglycemia and reducing the risk of diabetic complications.