Composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the twig essential oil of Taiwania cryptomerioides from Taiwan.

This study investigated the chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the essential oil isolated from the twigs of Taiwania cryptomerioides from Taiwan. The essential oil was isolated using hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS. A total of 35 compounds were identified, representing 100% of the oil. The main components identified were alpha-cadinol (45.9%), ferruginol (18.9%) and beta-eudesmol (10.8%). The antioxidant activity of the oil was tested by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging capability test. The results showed an IC50 of 90.8 +/- 0.2 microg/mL. The active source compound was ferruginol. The antimicrobial activity of the oil was tested by the disc diffusion and micro-broth dilution methods against ten microbial species. The oil exhibited strong growth suppression against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast with inhibition zones of 45-52 mm and MIC values of 31.25-62.5 microg/mL, respectively. The anti-wood-decay fungal activity of the oil was also evaluated. The oil demonstrated excellent activity against four wood-decay-fungal species. For the antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the oil, the active source compounds were determined to be alpha-cadinol, beta-eudesmol and ferruginol.

Study on the antiinflammatory activity of methanol extract from seagrass Zostera japonica.

Methanolic extracts from the seagrass Zostera japonica were extracted successively using n-hexane (n-C(6)H(14)), dichloromethane (CH(2)Cl(2)), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and water to give the n-C(6)H(14) (16.8%), CH(2)Cl(2) (40.6%), EtOAc (34.1%), and H(2)O (8.5%) soluble fractions, respectively. We have demonstrated that the hexane fraction has the highest capacity to inhibit proIL-1beta expression as compared to other fractions in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated J774A.1 murine macrophages. Further analysis of the composition and antiinflammatory activity of the subfraction H5 from hexane fraction showed that it had the best antiinflammatory capacity and that it's major constituents were fatty acids, including palmitic acid methyl ester (21.5%), palmitic acid (24.02%), linoleic acid methyl ester (13.09%), oleic acid methyl ester (8.41%), and linoleic acid (7.93%), respectively. H5 inhibited LPS-induced TNFalpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that H5 is bioactive in antiinflammation in vitro. This study is the first to report the antiinflammatory activity of extracts obtained from the seagrass Z. japonica.

Alkali-soluble polysaccharides of Rhizoclonium riparium alga induce IL-1 gene expression via protein kinase signaling pathways.

Fortification of aquaculture foodstuff with various algae may improve the resistance of certain fish or shrimp to diseases and, as a routine procedure, has become ever more popular and, seemingly, important. Herein, we isolated certain alkali-soluble polysaccharides from a Rhizoclonium riparium alga (RASP), polysaccharides that can be separated into two different groups on the basis of the polysaccharide's molecular weight. Using gas chromatography-mass spectometry analysis, we found that the major monosaccharides constituting the higher molecular-weight group of RASP were galactose (41.99%), glucose (34.53%), xylose (20.24%), and mannose (3.24%). Using a murine-derived macrophage cell line J774A.1, we found that polysaccharide constituents of the higher molecular-weight group of RASP were able to induce interleukin-1beta (IL-1) gene expression via protein kinase-mediated signal transduction pathways. In essence, we found that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38), but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), play an important role in the regulation of IL-1 gene expression in RASP-stimulated J774A.1 cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first occasion that polysaccharides from R. riparium have been demonstrated to exert immunomodulation properties by the induction of IL-1 within macrophages. Our current results provide support for the possible use of R. riparium as an additive to various food/foodstuff, to modulate the immune response of humans or certain animals.