Potent protein glycation inhibition of plantagoside in Plantago major seeds.

Plantagoside (5,7,4',5'-tetrahydroxyflavanone-3'-O-glucoside) and its aglycone (5,7,3',4',5'-pentahydroxyflavanone), isolated from a 50% ethanol extract of Plantago major seeds (Plantaginaceae), were established to be potent inhibitors of the Maillard reaction. These compounds also inhibited the formation of advanced glycation end products in proteins in physiological conditions and inhibited protein cross-linking glycation. These results indicate that P. major seeds have potential therapeutic applications in the prevention of diabetic complications.

Comparative analysis and distribution of pP9014, a novel drug resistance IncP-1 plasmid from Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida.

Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida, a causative agent of pseudotuberculosis, often harbours resistance plasmids (R plasmids) that facilitate horizontal gene transfer of drug resistance genes. R plasmid pP9014 was isolated from P. damselae subsp. piscicida and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined using Next Generation Sequencing technology. A protein network analysis was conducted to determine the relatedness of protein coding sequences, and ClustalW was used for the full nucleotide sequences. The occurrence of pP9014-like plasmids compared with pP99-018-like plasmids in a specific region was determined using probes for their transfer regions. pP9014 is 55851bp long with an overall GC content of 44.4% encoding 61 open reading frames (ORFs) including antimicrobial resistance genes and two conjugative transfer regions (Tra and Trb). The backbone showed highest similarity to Marinobacter adhaerens pHP-42 and Methylophaga sp. JAM7. pP9014 is similar to several IncP plasmids but forms a different subgroup. pP9014 is a unique plasmid in P. damselae subsp. piscicida and was not commonly found in drug-resistant P. damselae subsp. piscicida isolated from different areas and years in Japan. Plasmids similar to the previously reported pP99-018 are more widely distributed. This rarity suggests that plasmids similar to pP99-018 are more compatible with γ-proteobacteria. pP9014 is the first reported IncP-1 plasmid from fish pathogens. Its similarity to other IncP plasmids isolated from soil and human pathogens suggests that plasmids of the IncP-1 incompatibility group are vectors for the transfer of drug resistance genes among diverse environments.

Inhibition of preadipocyte differentiation by germacranolides from Calea urticifolia in 3T3-L1 cells.

The effects of germacranolides isolated from Calea urticifolia on adipocytic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells were examined. These germacranolides inhibited adipogenesis at a concentration of 1.25-5 microM. But no inhibitory activity against cell proliferation and no nonspecific binding activity to protein were observed. These results indicate that these germacranolides are the specific inhibitors of preadipocyte differentiation.

Germacranolides from Calea urticifolia.

Four germacranolides, named calealactones A-C and calealactone B [corrected] were isolated from the leaves of Calea urticifolia (Compositae) in addition to three known germacranolides. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including by 2D NMR spectroscopy. Calealactone C and 2,3-epoxyjuanisulamin displayed potent toxicity to U937 cells.