The effects of Engelhardtia chrysolepis Hance on long-term memory and potential dopamine involvement in mice.

Engelhardtia chrysolepis Hance (ECH) is a perennial plant used in traditional medicine. A major active ingredient of ECH is astilbin (ASB), which has recently been shown to have neuroprotective effects as well as to affect catecholamine neurotransmissions in brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex. In this study, we investigated the effects of ECH and ASB on long-term memory in mice using a battery of behavioral tests. Acute ECH treatments dose-dependently facilitated nonspatial, but not spatial, memory. ECH treatments also upregulated expression of tyrosine hydroxylase, the enzyme mediating catecholamine synthesis, in neuroblastoma cell culture. Acute ASB treatments similarly improved nonspatial memory, whereas chronic ASB treatments improved both nonspatial and spatial memory. In accordance with such behavioral effects, the increased ratio of tissue concentrations of dopamine metabolites over dopamine in striatal regions was observed in mice with chronic ASB treatments. These results suggest that ECH and its active ingredient ASB may facilitate long-term memory by modulating catecholamine transmission.

Development and Comparison of Warfarin Dosing Algorithms in Stroke Patients.

PURPOSE: The genes for cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) and vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) have been identified as important genetic determinants of warfarin dosing and have been studied. We developed warfarin algorithm for Korean patients with stroke and compared the accuracy of warfarin dose prediction algorithms based on the pharmacogenetics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 101 patients on stable maintenance dose of warfarin were enrolled. Warfarin dosing algorithm was developed using multiple linear regression analysis. The performance of all the algorithms was characterized with coefficient of determination, determined by linear regression, and the mean of percent deviation was used to predict doses from the actual dose. In addition, we compared the performance of the algorithms using percentage of predicted dose falling within ±20% of clinically observed doses and dividing the patients into a low-dose group (≤3 mg/day), an intermediate-dose group (3-7 mg/day), and high-dose group (≥7 mg/day). RESULTS: A new developed algorithms including the variables of age, body weight, and CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotype. Our algorithm accounted for 51% of variation in the warfarin stable dose, and performed best in predicting dose within 20% of actual dose and intermediate-dose group. CONCLUSION: Our warfarin dosing algorithm may be useful for Korean patients with stroke. Further studies to elucidate clinical utility of genotype-guided dosing and find the additional genetic association are necessary.

Maternal intake of vitamin E and birth defects, national birth defects prevention study, 1997 to 2005.

BACKGROUND: In a recent study, high maternal periconceptional intake of vitamin E was found to be associated with risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs). To explore this association further, we investigated the association between total daily vitamin E intake and selected birth defects. METHODS: We analyzed data from 4525 controls and 8665 cases from the 1997 to 2005 National Birth Defects Prevention Study. We categorized estimated periconceptional energy-adjusted total daily vitamin E intake from diet and supplements into quartiles (referent, lowest quartile). Associations between quartiles of energy-adjusted vitamin E intake and selected birth defects were adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and nutritional factors. RESULTS: We observed a statistically significant association with the third quartile of vitamin E intake (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.35) and all CHDs combined. Among CHD sub-types, we observed associations with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction defects, and its sub-type, coarctation of the aorta and the third quartile of vitamin E intake. Among defects other than CHDs, we observed associations between anorectal atresia and the third quartile of vitamin E intake (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.01-2.72) and hypospadias and the fourth quartile of vitamin E intake (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.09-1.87). CONCLUSION: Selected quartiles of energy-adjusted estimated total daily vitamin E intake were associated with selected birth defects. However, because these few associations did not exhibit exposure-response patterns consistent with increasing risk associated with increasing intake of vitamin E, further studies are warranted to corroborate our findings.

Effect of Pre-treatment and Storage Conditions on the Quality Characteristics of Ginger Paste.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of pre-treatment and storage temperature and periods on the quality characteristics of ginger paste. The pH of the ginger paste remained constant during room temperature storage but increased with prolonged refrigerated storage periods. During five months of frozen storage, regardless of pre-treatment, the pH of most of the samples decreased slightly and then remained constant. In the color value of ginger paste stored at room temperature, the samples with and without chemical additives changed in color more prominently than fermented or pasteurized samples. Intriguingly, the color value for samples containing chemical additives changed more dramatically when stored under refrigerated conditions. However, the L, a, and b values of samples stored under frozen storage conditions did not change even after ten months. Most of the samples contained glucose and fructose, except for the fermented samples. The free sugar content of samples slowly decreased with increasing storage periods, while the organic acid content generally decreased also, regardless of sample type. Depending on pre-treatment and storage temperature, the gingerol content of the samples was either retained or decreased with prolonged storage time.