Effect of dry heat and its combination with vacuum heat on physicochemical, rheological and release characteristics of Alocasia macrorrhizos retrograded starches.

Retrograded starches have received increasing attention due to their potential excipient properties in pharmaceutical formulations. However, to evade its application-oriented challenges, modification of retrograded starch is required. The study emphasizes influence of dry heating and the dual heat treatment by dry heating amalgamation with the vacuum heat treatment on quality parameters of retrograded starch. The starch was isolated by using two different extraction media (0.05 % w/v NaOH and 0.03 % citric acid) from Alocasia macrorrhizos and then retrograded separately. Further, retrograded starches were first modified by dry heating and afterwards modified with combination of dry and vacuum heating. Modification decreased moisture, ash content and increased solubility. Modified Samples from NaOH media had higher water holding capacity and amylose content. X-ray diffraction revealed type A and B crystals with increasing crystallinity of retrograded heat-modified samples from NaOH media. Thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry confirmed thermal stability. Shear tests showed shear-thinning behavior whereas dominant storage modulus (G/) over loss modulus (G//), depicting gel-like behavior. Storage, loss, and complex viscosity initially increased, then decreased with temperature. In-vitro release reflects, modified retrograded starches offers versatile drug release profiles, from controlled to rapid. Tailoring starch properties enables precise drug delivery, enhancing pharmaceutical formulation flexibility and efficacy.

Antiproliferative piperidine alkaloids from the leaves of Alocasia macrorrhiza.

Seventeen piperidine alkaloids, including 15 previously undescribed 2-substituted-6-(9-phenylnonyl)-piperidine-3,4-diol alkaloids and a previously undescribed 2-substituted-6-(9-phenylnonyl)-piperidine-3-ol alkaloid, were isolated from the leaves of Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott. Their planar structures and configurations were elucidated based on HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR, Snatzke's method, modified Mosher method, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, as well as quantum chemical calculation. It was found that ΔδH5b-H5a can be used to elucidate the relative configuration of 2,3,4,6-tetrasubstituted piperidine, by analyzing the NMR data of 2-substituted-6-(9-phenylnonyl)-piperidine-3,4-diol. Antiproliferative activity was evaluated for all of the alkaloids, and compounds 6-8 showed considerable inhibitory activity against K562 cell line, with the IC50 values of 17.24 ± 1.62, 19.31 ± 0.9 and 18.77 ± 1.09µM, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 6 and 7 exerted an antiproliferative effect by inducing apoptosis.

Polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata Exerts Antitumor Effect by Regulating Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and ERK1/2 Expressions during Long-Time Administration.

OBJECTIVE: To study the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of the polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata (PAC) and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: B16F10 and 4T1 cells were cultured with PAC of 40 µg/mL, and PAC was withdrawn after 40 days of administration. The cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8. The expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 proteins were detected by Western blot and the expressions of ERK1/2 mRNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A mouse melanoma model was established to study the effect of PAC during long-time administration. Mice were divided into 3 treatment groups: control group treated with saline water, positive control group (LNT group) treated with lentinan at 100 mg/(kg·d), and PAC group treated with PAC at 120 mg/(kg·d). The pathological changes of tumor tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The apoptosis of tumor tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expressions of ERK1/2, JNK1 and p38 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In vitro, no strong inhibitory effects of PAC were found in various tumor cells after 48 or 72 h of administration. Interestingly however, after 40 days of cultivation under PAC, an inhibitory effect on B16F10 cells was found. Correspondingly, the long-time administration of PAC led to downregulation of Bcl-2 protein (P<0.05), up-regulation of Caspase-3 protein (P<0.05) and ERK1 mRNA (P<0.05) in B16F10 cells. The above results were verified by in vivo experiments. In addition, viability of B16F10 cells under long-time administration culture in vitro decreased after drug withdrawal, and similar results were also observed in 4T1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Long-time administration of PAC can significantly inhibit viability and promote apoptosis of tumor cells, and had obvious antitumor effect in tumor-bearing mice.

Polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata Exerts Antitumor Effect by Regulating Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and ERK1/2 Expressions during Long-Time Administration / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of the polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata (PAC) and the underlying mechanism.@*METHODS@#B16F10 and 4T1 cells were cultured with PAC of 40 µg/mL, and PAC was withdrawn after 40 days of administration. The cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8. The expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 proteins were detected by Western blot and the expressions of ERK1/2 mRNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A mouse melanoma model was established to study the effect of PAC during long-time administration. Mice were divided into 3 treatment groups: control group treated with saline water, positive control group (LNT group) treated with lentinan at 100 mg/(kg·d), and PAC group treated with PAC at 120 mg/(kg·d). The pathological changes of tumor tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The apoptosis of tumor tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expressions of ERK1/2, JNK1 and p38 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR.@*RESULTS@#In vitro, no strong inhibitory effects of PAC were found in various tumor cells after 48 or 72 h of administration. Interestingly however, after 40 days of cultivation under PAC, an inhibitory effect on B16F10 cells was found. Correspondingly, the long-time administration of PAC led to downregulation of Bcl-2 protein (P<0.05), up-regulation of Caspase-3 protein (P<0.05) and ERK1 mRNA (P<0.05) in B16F10 cells. The above results were verified by in vivo experiments. In addition, viability of B16F10 cells under long-time administration culture in vitro decreased after drug withdrawal, and similar results were also observed in 4T1 cells.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Long-time administration of PAC can significantly inhibit viability and promote apoptosis of tumor cells, and had obvious antitumor effect in tumor-bearing mice.

Effect of pressure treatment duration on the rheological characteristics of dry-heated alocasia starch in the presence of monosaccharide and disaccharide.

The current work investigated the impact of different pressure processing times (5, 10, and 15 min) at 120 psi on the rheological behavior of a mixture of dry-heated Alocasia macrorrizhos starch with monosaccharide and disaccharide. Shear-thinning behavior was exhibited by the samples in steady shear evaluation and the highest viscosity was observed in the 15 min pressure treated samples. In the initial phase of amplitude sweep measurement, samples exhibited strain dependency but later they remain unaffected with applied deformation. The greater value of Storage modulus (G') than loss modulus (G″) (G' > G″) indicating the weak gel-like behavior. Increasing in pressure treatment duration enhanced the value of G' and G″ with applied frequency and found maximum at 15 min. In temperature sweep measurement the G', G″ as well as complex viscosity curves increased initially and then decreased after achieving peak temperature. However, the rheological parameters of the samples treated under long pressure processing time were found to be improved during temperature sweep measurements. The resulting extremely viscous, pressure-treated dry-heated Alocasia macrorrizhos starch-saccharides combination has a variety of uses in different pharmaceuticals as well as in food industries.

Influence of disaccharide and monosaccharide on the rheological behavior of dry-heated alocasia starch under high pressure assisted treatment.

High viscous products made with starch are of great scientific interest in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries because they can be used to make creams and gels, as well as functional foods and nutritional products. But, obtaining a good quality highly viscous materials represent a technological challenge. In this present study, the effect of high-pressure treatment at 120 psi for different time interval on the mixture of dry-heated alocasia starch in presence of monosaccharide and disaccharide was studied. A flow measurement test on the samples revealed their shear-thinning behavior. With 15 min of high-pressure processing time, the dry-heated starch and saccharide mixtures displayed the highest viscosity. The dynamic viscoelasticity measurement showed that the storage and loss modulus was enhanced significantly after high-pressure treatment, and all pressure-treated samples showed a gel-like structure (G/>G//). In temperature sweep measurement, the rheological profile of storage modulus, loss modulus, and complex viscosity exhibited a two-stage pattern, i.e., first increased, then decreased, and their values were enhanced significantly after pressure treatment. The resultant highly viscous dry-heated starch and saccharide system have various functionalities in diverse food and pharmaceutical products.

Alocasia odora-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles, their cytotoxicity, and virucidal potential.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have various applications in the biomedical field and are considered excellent microbicidal agents. Moreover, biological synthesis of AgNPs using medicinal plants further improves the medicinal applicability of these plants. In this study, the aqueous extract of Alocasia odora rhizome (RE) and Alocasia odora stem (SE) were used to synthesize stem aqueous extract-AgNPs (SNP) and rhizome aqueous extract-AgNPs (RNP). Furthermore, RNP and SNP were evaluated for their virucidal potential. The synthesis of SNP and RNP was monitored using a UV spectrophotometer by observing their surface plasmon resonance peak. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) gave further insight into their morphology and particle size, whereas energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the presence of silver ions. Interestingly, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of AgNPs revealed that phytomolecules acted as capping and stabilizing agents for SNP and RNP. The in vitro cytotoxicity of SNP and RNP was further analyzed using MTT assay on the U87-MG human glioblastoma cancer cell line and SNP found to be the most cytotoxic (43.40 µg/ml) among all. Besides that, SNP has also found to show the maximum cytopathic effects (CPE) against dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) on Huh-7 cell line. As a result of the observations, it can be concluded that they can become a promising antiviral drug candidate and thus merit further testing. KEY POINTS: • AgNPs were successfully synthesized through Alocasia odora aqueous extract. • AgNPs were more cytotoxic on the U87-MG cell line than the extract alone. • AgNPs have shown significant reduction in the dengue viral infection than the extract alone.

Metabolite Profiling of Alocasia gigantea Leaf Extract and Its Potential Anticancer Effect through Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a poor-prognosis type of cancer with high resistance to chemotherapy, making the search for safe drugs a mandatory issue. Plant-derived products have potential to reduce negative side effects of cancer treatments. In this work, ability of a defatted methanolic extract of Alocasia gigantea leaves to fight HCC was evaluated in an animal model. Overall, treatment of HCC-induced mice with the methanolic extract at 150 mg/kg body weight for four consecutive weeks caused induction of autophagy through silencing of the relative expression of autophagy suppressor (mTOR) and inducement of autophagy markers (AMPK, Beclin-1, and LC-3). Moreover, it improved preservation of the hepatic histological architecture of the animals, with minor hepatocytic changes but scattered foci of hepatocytic apoptosis. Chemical profiling of the methanolic extract via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector and an electrospray mass spectrometer (UHPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS) allowed identification of di-C-glycosyl flavones, mostly represented by 6-C-hexosyl-8-C-pentosyl apigenin isomers, which may possibly be associated with inducement of the autophagy pathway in HCC. Overall, these outcomes gave an initial visualization of the operative effect of some compounds in A. gigantea leaves that are potential treatment for HCC.

Antiproliferative piperidine alkaloids from giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza).

The rhizome of giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott), which is a highly adaptable wild plant, is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In the current study, the antiproliferative constituents of giant taro were investigated and six new (1-6) and four known piperidine alkaloids (7-10) were isolated from its rhizomes. Their chemical structures and absolute configurations were elucidated using various spectroscopic methods and the Mosher ester method. The isolated alkaloids were screened for the antiproliferative activity through MTT assay. The results indicated that piperidine alkaloids exerted potential antiproliferative activity against HepG2, AGS and MCF-7 tumor cells. Further researches showed that compounds 3-5 dose-dependently decreased the colony formation rate and induced the apoptosis of AGS cells, while compound 4 induced AGS cell death via the proapoptotic pathway. This study demonstrates that the piperidine alkaloids isolated from giant taro exhibit significant antitumor activity, which provides phytochemical evidence for further development and utilization.

Establishing an efficient protoplast transient expression system for investigation of floral thermogenesis in aroids.

KEY MESSAGE: Floral thermogenesis is an important reproductive strategy for attracting pollinators. We developed essential biological tools for studying floral thermogenesis using two species of thermogenic aroids, Symplocarpus renifolius and Alocasia odora. Aroids contain many species with intense heat-producing abilities in their inflorescences. Several genes have been proposed to be involved in thermogenesis of these species, but biological tools for gene functional analyses are lacking. In this study, we aimed to develop a protoplast-based transient expression (PTE) system for the study of thermogenic aroids. Initially, we focused on skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius) because of its ability to produce intense as well as durable heat. In this plant, leaf protoplasts were isolated from potted and shoot tip-cultured plants with high efficiency (ca. 1.0 × 105/g fresh weight), and more than half of these protoplasts were successfully transfected. Using this PTE system, we determined the protein localization of three mitochondrial energy-dissipating proteins, SrAOX, SrUCPA, and SrNDA1, fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). These three GFP-fused proteins were localized in MitoTracker-stained mitochondria in leaf protoplasts, although the green fluorescent particles in protoplasts expressing SrUCPA-GFP were significantly enlarged. Finally, to assess whether the PTE system established in the leaves of S. renifolius is applicable for floral tissues of thermogenic aroids, inflorescences of S. renifolius and another thermogenic aroid (Alocasia odora) were used. Although protoplasts were successfully isolated from several tissues of the inflorescences, PTE systems worked well only for the protoplasts isolated from the female parts (slightly thermogenic or nonthermogenic) of A. odora inflorescences. Our developed system has a potential to be widely used in inflorescences as well as leaves in thermogenic aroids and therefore may be a useful biological tool for investigating floral thermogenesis.

Antiproliferative piperidine alkaloids from giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza) / 中国天然药物

The rhizome of giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott), which is a highly adaptable wild plant, is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In the current study, the antiproliferative constituents of giant taro were investigated and six new (1-6) and four known piperidine alkaloids (7-10) were isolated from its rhizomes. Their chemical structures and absolute configurations were elucidated using various spectroscopic methods and the Mosher ester method. The isolated alkaloids were screened for the antiproliferative activity through MTT assay. The results indicated that piperidine alkaloids exerted potential antiproliferative activity against HepG2, AGS and MCF-7 tumor cells. Further researches showed that compounds 3-5 dose-dependently decreased the colony formation rate and induced the apoptosis of AGS cells, while compound 4 induced AGS cell death via the proapoptotic pathway. This study demonstrates that the piperidine alkaloids isolated from giant taro exhibit significant antitumor activity, which provides phytochemical evidence for further development and utilization.

Photosystem I in low light-grown leaves of Alocasia odora, a shade-tolerant plant, is resistant to fluctuating light-induced photoinhibition.

When intact green leaves are exposed to the fluctuating light, in which high light (HL) and low light (LL) alternate, photosystem I (PSI) is readily damaged. This PSI inhibition is mostly alleviated by the addition of far-red (FR) light. Here, we grew Alocasia odora, a shade-tolerant species, at several light levels and examined their photosynthetic traits in relation to the fluctuating light-induced PSI inhibition. We found that, even in the absence of FR, PSI in LL-grown leaves was resistant to the fluctuating light. LL leaves showed higher chlorophyll (Chl) contents on leaf area basis, lower Chl a/b ratios, lower cytochrome f/P700 ratios, and lower PSII/PSI excitation ratios assessed by the 77 K fluorescence. Also, P700 in the HL phase of the fluctuating light was more oxidized. The results of the regression analyses of the PSI photoinhibition to these traits indicate that the lower electron flow rate to P700 and more excitation energy transfer to PSI protect PSI in LL-grown leaves. Both of these contribute oxidization of P700 to the efficient quencher form P700+. These features may be common in LL-grown shade-tolerant species, which are often exposed to strong sunflecks in their natural habitats.

Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitory Activity, Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Properties and GC-MS Analysis of Keladi Candik (Alocasia longiloba Miq).

Alocasia longiloba, locally known as 'Keladi Candik', has been used traditionally to treat wounds, furuncle and joint inflammations. A. longiloba can be a new source of herbal medicine against hyperuricemia by inhibiting the activity of xanthine oxidase enzyme, the enzyme which is responsible for the development of hyperuricemia in human. Existing xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XOI drugs) show several side effects on gout patients. Therefore, an alternative herbal medicine from plants, with high therapeutic property and free of side effects, are greatly needed. This study was conducted to evaluate XO inhibitory activity, chemical composition, antioxidant activity and GC-MS profile of A. longiloba. Our results showed that ethanolic petiole extract exhibited the highest XO inhibitory activity (70.40 ± 0.05%) with IC50 value of 42.71 µg/mL, followed by ethanolic fruit extracts (61.44 ± 1.24%) with the IC50 value of 51.32 µg/mL. In a parallel study, the phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, terpenoids, glycoside and saponin in petiole and fruit extracts, as well as higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents and strong scavenging activity on DPPH and ABTS antioxidant assay. The GC-MS analysis of fruit and petiole extracts revealed the presence of various compounds belonging to different chemical nature, among them are limonen-6-ol, α-DGlucopyranoside, paromomycin, aziridine, phenol, Heptatriacotanol, Phen-1,2,3-dimethyl and Betulin found in ethanolic fruit extract, and Phen-1,4-diol,2,3-dimethyl-, 1-Ethynyl-3,trans(1,1-dimethylethyl), Phenol,2,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-propenyl)- and 7-Methyl-Z-tetradecen-1-olacetate found in ethanolic petiole extract. Some compounds were documented as potent anti-inflammatory and arthritis related diseases by other researchers. In this study, the efficiency of solvents to extract bioactives was found to be ethanol > water, methanol > hexane > chloroform. Together, our results suggest the prospective utilization of fruit and petiole of A. longiloba to inhibit the activity of XO enzyme.

Apex structures enhance water drainage on leaves.

The rapid removal of rain droplets at the leaf apex is critical for leaves to avoid damage under rainfall conditions, but the general water drainage principle remains unclear. We demonstrate that the apex structure enhances water drainage on the leaf by employing a curvature-controlled mechanism that is based on shaping a balance between reduced capillarity and enhanced gravity components. The leaf apex shape changes from round to triangle to acuminate, and the leaf surface changes from flat to bent, resulting in the increase of the water drainage rate, high-dripping frequencies, and the reduction of retention volumes. For wet tropical plants, such as Alocasia macrorrhiza, Gaussian curvature reconfiguration at the drip tip leads to the capillarity transition from resistance to actuation, further enhancing water drainage to the largest degree possible. The phenomenon is distinct from the widely researched liquid motion control mechanisms, and it offers a specific parametric approach that can be applied to achieve the desired fluidic behavior in a well-controlled way.

Radioprotective effect of ethanolic extract of Alocasia indica on γ-irradiation-induced reproductive alterations in ovary and uterus.

Evaluation of the modulatory effect of ethanolic extract of Alocasia indica tuber (EEAIT) against γ-irradiation induced ovarian and uterine toxicity. Extract preparation was done by 80% hydro-ethanol using Soxhlet apparatus. EEAIT was administered to female Swiss albino mice (n = 5) daily (200 and 400 mg/kg body weight/d) for 7 days before γ-irradiation exposure (2.9 Gy). FSH, LH, estrogen, progesterone, cytokine levels, and oxidative stress parameters were measured after 24 hours of γ-irradiation. Histology, folliculogenesis, viability of granulosa cells, ROS measurement by flow cytometry, western blot of P450scc, P45017A1, 3ß HSD and SF 1 were also performed. In addition, fertility status was assessed by fecundability and fecundity. The results showed that EEAIT exhibit a strong radioprotective activity by reducing the oxidative stress and thereby restored the ovarian and uterine alterations. EEAIT also improved the abnormality in follicle development, restored altered gonadal hormones and cytokines levels, increase the fertility status, reducing ROS level of granulosa cells with increasing granulosa cells viability and steroidogenic enzyme activity as compared to control. So EEAIT showed a radioprotective effect on γ-irradiation induced ovarian and uterine damage. Our results suggested that Alocasia indica tuber can be a potential radioprotector to prevent female infertility.

Structural insights into a multifunctional inhibitor, 'AMTIN' from tubers of Alocasia macrorrhizos and its possible role in dengue protease (NS2B-NS3) inhibition.

Protease inhibitors from plants play major role in defensive mechanism against various pathogenic organisms. AMTIN from the tubers of Alocasia macrorrhiza has been purified and characterized as multi-functional Kunitz type protease inhibitor. AMTIN is varied from other KTIs by having three different loops specific for binding to trypsin/amylase and subtilisin that are located approximately 30Ǻ away from one another as evidenced from crystallographic efforts. Biochemical studies on AMTIN reveal simultaneous binding of protease/amylase and have been cross validated using in-silico tools to model Amylase - AMTIN - Trypsin complex without any steric clashes. Apart from multi functionality, the remarkable structural and functional stability of AMTIN at high temperature, presence of many phosphorylation, myristoylation and glycosylation sites and molecular docking studies with dengue viral protease (NS2B-NS3) makes this protein interesting. Hence AMTIN can be considered as a template to design effective antivirals against dengue virus.

In vitro and in vivo anti-malignant melanoma activity of Alocasia cucullata via modulation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog/phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway.

Alocasia cucullata, a Chinese herb, has been used as an anticancer treatment in southern China. Phosphatase and tensin (PTEN), is a tumor suppressor gene and the loss of PTEN expression may activate the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway which play a key role in tumors formation and progression. In this study, we evaluated the anti-melanoma effect and the underlying mechanism of 50% ethanolic extract of A. cucullata (EAC) in vitro and in vivo. Using MTT, wound healing, and transwell assays, we found that EAC suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of melanoma cells (B16-F10, A375 and A2058) in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that EAC suppresses B16-F10 tumor growth in a xenografted mouse model. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression level of PTEN was up-regulated, and phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT reduced in B16-F10 cells and tumor tissues after EAC treatment. No significant differences were observed in PI3K and AKT expression. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed that the number of PTEN-positive cells in tumor tissues increased and that of p-AKT-positive cells decreased with EAC treatment, corroborating the western blot results. Our data reveal that EAC can inhibit malignant melanoma in vitro and in vivo and suggest that its anti-tumor effect is associated with modulation of the PTEN/ PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In summary, our findings highlight a promising herbal remedy for the treatment of malignant melanoma, which warrants further study.

Piperidine alkaloids from Alocasia macrorrhiza.

Six previously undescribed piperidine alkaloids were isolated from the rhizomes of Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott. Their structures were elucidated based on 1D and 2D NMR, IR, HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic analysis and the application of a modified Mosher method. All isolated alkaloids were evaluated for cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines (CNE-1, Detroit 562, Fadu, MGC-803, and MCF-7) using the MTT method. Only one compound exhibited cytotoxic effects against Detroit 562, Fadu, and MCF-7 cell lines with IC50 values less than 10 µM.

Identification of Alocasia odora (Kuwazuimo in Japanese) Using PCR Method.

Kuwazuimo (Alocasia odora) and shimakuwazuimo (Alocasia cucullata) are evergreen perennial plants that originated in East Asia. Although inedible, they are occasionally eaten by mistake because they resemble satoimo (Colocasia esculenta), and this has caused food poisoning in Japan. It is not easy to determine the cause of a food poisoning outbreak from the shape or chemical composition when the available sample is small. Therefore, we developed a new primer pair for PCR to identify kuwazuimo and shimakuwazuimo in small samples, based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA. Using PCR with the developed primer pair, we detected all samples of kuwazuimo obtained from the market, while excluding 17 other kinds of crops. The samples were identified as shimakuwazuimo by DNA sequencing of the PCR products. The present PCR method showed high specificity and was confirmed to be applicable to the identification of kuwazuimo and shimakuwazuimo from various crops.

Anti-inflammatory lignanamides and monoindoles from Alocasia macrorrhiza.

Five new lignanamides (1-5), and one new monoindole alkaloid (6), along with eight known compounds (7-14) were isolated and identified from the rhizomes of Alocasia macrorrhiza (giant taro). All purified compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells, and the antiproliferative activities against human nasopharyngeal carcinoma epithelial (CNE-1), human gastric carcinoma (MGC-803), and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines by MTT method. Compounds 2, 4, 7 and 8 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on NO production with the IC50 values of 2.35±0.38, 9.20±0.94, 3.45±0.39 and 7.96±0.56µM, respectively. The results suggested the lignanamides and monoindoles might be responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of giant taro and might be potential anti-inflammatory candidates.