Antioxidation and Melanogenesis Inhibition of Various Dendrobium tosaense Extracts.

This study investigated the polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, and inhibition ability of mushroom tyrosinase and melanogenesis of Dendrobium tosaense (DT) extract. Ground DT was extracted using deionized water (W) or 50% ethanol (50E) at room temperature (RT) or 50 °C (50T) for 20 min. The 50T + 50E extract exhibited the highest total phenol content 47.0 ± 4.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DT extract, the highest level of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) free-radical scavenging 66.0 ± 3.0 mg Trolox equivalent/g DT extract, and the highest reducing power 12.00 ± 0.50 mg vitamin C equivalent/g DT extract. The RT + W extract had the highest total flavonoid content 110.0 ± 3.0 mg quercetin equivalent/g DT extract. The RT + 50E extract had the lowest half maximal inhibitory concentration 1.30 ± 0.00 mg/mL for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free-radical scavenging, and the lowest half maximal inhibitory concentration 6.40 ± 0.30 mg/mL for mushroom tyrosinase inhibition activity. DT extracts, especially RT + W and 50T + W, exhibited potent inhibitory effects on melanogenesis of B16/F10 cells. These results demonstrated the application potential of DT extract for skincare.

Diallyl sulfide promotes cell-cycle arrest through the p53 expression and triggers induction of apoptosis via caspase- and mitochondria-dependent signaling pathways in human cervical cancer Ca Ski cells.

Diallyl sulfide (DAS) is a component of garlic (Alliaceae family). Although diallyl polysulfide has been shown to exhibit anticancer activities, no report explored DAS-affected cell death in human cervical cancer cells in vitro. This study investigated DAS affected on cell-cycle regulation and apoptosis in human cervical cancer Ca Ski cells. DAS at 25-100 µM decreased the viability of Ca Ski cells by increasing G0/G1 phase arrest followed by induction of apoptosis in concentration- and time-dependent effects. Flow cytomteric assay indicated that DAS (75 µM) promoted the production of Ca(2+) accumulation and decreased the level of mitochondrial membrane potential in Ca Ski cells. Western blotting showed that 75 µM of DAS-induced G0/G1 phase arrest was mediated through the increased expression of p21, p27, and p53 with a simultaneous decrease in CDK2, CDK6, and CHK2 expression. The characteristics of apoptosis, such as morphological changes and DNA condensation, altered the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and sub-G1 phase occurred in Ca Ski cells after exposure to DAS. Furthermore, DAS induced mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to the release of cytochrome c for causing apoptosis in Ca Ski cells. These findings suggest that DAS might be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of cervical cancer.

A microfluidic chip using phenol formaldehyde resin for uniform-sized polycaprolactone and chitosan microparticle generation.

This study develops a new solvent-compatible microfluidic chip based on phenol formaldehyde resin (PFR). In addition to its solvent-resistant characteristics, this microfluidic platform also features easy fabrication, organization, decomposition for cleaning, and reusability compared with conventional chips. Both solvent-dependent (e.g., polycaprolactone) and nonsolvent-dependent (e.g., chitosan) microparticles were successfully prepared. The size of emulsion droplets could be easily adjusted by tuning the flow rates of the dispersed/continuous phases. After evaporation, polycaprolactone microparticles ranging from 29.3 to 62.7 µm and chitosan microparticles ranging from 215.5 to 566.3 µm were obtained with a 10% relative standard deviation in size. The proposed PFR microfluidic platform has the advantages of active control of the particle size with a narrow size distribution as well as a simple and low cost process with a high throughput.

Effects of Different Chenopodium formosanum Parts on Antioxidant Capacity and Optimal Extraction Analysis by Taguchi Method.

Chenopodium formosanum (CF), rich in nutrients and antioxidants, is a native plant in Taiwan. During the harvest, the seeds are collected, while the roots, stems, and leaves remain on the field as agricultural waste. In this study, di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium (DPPH) radical scavenging ability and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging ability experiments of seeds, leaves, stems, and roots were designed using the Taguchi method (TM) under three conditions: Ethanol concentration (0-100%), temperature (25-65 °C), and extraction time (30-150 min). The result demonstrates that seeds and leaves have higher radical scavenging ability than stems and roots. Many studies focused on CF seeds. Therefore, this study selected CF leaves and optimized DPPH, ABTS, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and reducing power (RP) through TM, showing that the predicted value of the leaf is close to the actual value. The optimized results of CF leaves were DPPH 85.22%, ABTS 46.51%, TPC 116.54 µg GAE/mL, TFC 143.46 µg QE/mL, and RP 23.29 µg VCE (vitamin C equivalent)/mL. The DPPH and ABTS of CF leaves were second only to the results of CF seeds. It can be seen that CF leaves have the potential as a source of antioxidants and help in waste reduction.

Inhibitory effects of cultured Dendrobium tosaense on atopic dermatitis murine model.

Dendrobium tosaense is one of the most valuable Chinese medicines and well developed health food. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disease that occurs mainly in childhood. The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis had been studied in BALB/c mice modeling by skin-inoculated ovalbumin (OVA) with 2,4,6-trinitro-1-chrolobenzene (TNCB). These mice exhibit features of chronic dermatitis, including skin rash, mast cells infiltration, and elevated serum anti-OVA specific IgE and cytokines modulation. In this study, a standardized ethyl acetate extract of D. tosaense (DtE) was used to protect these mice from the OVA/TNCB-induced skin lesions of atopic dermatitis. The results indicated an increased population of natural T regulatory cell was accompanied by immunosuppression in cytokine profiles and anti-OVA IgE level to significantly reduce Th2 polarization. Finally, toluidine blue staining indicated mast cell infiltration and degranulation was reduced in skin lesion. Our results were shed light on the usage of D. tosaense in AD.

Comparative analysis among three Taiwan-specific Gentiana species and Chinese medicinal plant Gentiana scabra.

BACKGROUND: The root of Gentiana scabra is commonly known as Longdan in Chinese herbal medicines and has been used in the treatment of inflammation, anorexia, indigestion and gastric infections for over 2000 years. High market demand had made G. scabra (GS) plants not to be the only source of Longdan in China, other Gentiana spp., G. triflora, G. manshurica and G. rigescens, were also recognized as Longdan in China now. RESULTS: In this study, we identified three Taiwan-specific Gentiana spp., G. davidii var. formosana (GDF) and G. arisanensis (GA) and G. scabrida var. punctulata (GSP) that are phylogenetically different from GS (main source of Longdan). However, the active compounds of Longdan, gentiopicroside and swertiamari, were found in GSP and GDF showed higher antioxidant ability and free radical scavenging activities than Chinese Longdan. This discovery might explore the medicinal potential of GDF. Meanwhile, another Taiwan-specific Gentiana spp., GSP, was found to have the strongest antioxidant ability and free radical scavenging activities which might suggest a possible use of GSP as a source of natural antioxidant agents for industrial purpose. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of this study indicated that ITS analysis can be used to identify Taiwan-specific Gentiana spp. Also the Taiwan-specific Gentiana spp. which has strongest antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities among others could be a better choice for industrial purpose.

Toxicological evaluation of Antrodia cinnamomea in BALB/c mice.

Antrodia cinnamomea is a natural component of some herbal medicines used for treatment of abdominal pain, hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma in Taiwan and other countries. Subchronic oral toxicity studies of A. cinnamomea extracts in male and female BALB/c mice were performed to evaluate its safety. Three different concentrations of A. cinnamomea (16.67, 833.3 and 1666.67 mg/kg/day) were given orally to groups of mice (10 mice/dose) for 90 consecutive days. All animals survived to the end of the study, and there were no significant differences in body weight among the control and treatment groups. No significant differences were found in hematological and serum biochemical parameters among the control and treatment groups. No abnormalities of internal organs were observed in the treated groups.

Chrysophanol-induced necrotic-like cell death through an impaired mitochondrial ATP synthesis in Hep3B human liver cancer cells.

Liver cancer is the most common form of cancer in Taiwan and it usually responds to chemotherapy. However, patients often have side effects to the chemotherapeutic drugs. Thus new agents are urgently required to treat liver cancer. Chrysophanol, one of the anthraquinone derivatives, was reported to inhibit some human cancer cell growth which may be due to the induction of apoptosis similar to other anthraquinone derivatives though such actions have not been reported. In the present study, we reported that chrysophanol inhibits cell growth in Hep3B liver cancer cells based on the following observations: 1) induc cell morphological changes; 2) decreased percentage of viable cells; 3) induced S phase arrest of cell cycle progression; 4) induced DNA damage as measured by comet assay and DAPI staining. Chrysophanol-induced cell death however, seems to be related to necrotic processes rather than typical apoptosis. Chrysophanol induced reactive oxygen species and Ca(2+) production and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and ATP levels in Hep3B cells. No effects were observed on known protein regulators of apoptosis such as Bax and Bcl-2. Chrysophanol-induced cell death took place independently of caspase-8 and -9. Based on our findings, we propose that chrysophanol reduces cellular ATP levels causing a drop in energy resulting in necrotic-like cell death.

Isolation and quantitative analysis of cryptotanshinone, an active quinoid diterpene formed in callus of Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE.

Effect of N(6)-benzyladenine (BA) on tanshinone formation in callus cultures of Salvia miltiorrhiza was examined in an attempt to increase the productivity of the medicinal compound, cryptotanshinone. Primary callus was induced by culturing leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) basal medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l(-1) of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in darkness. The callus proliferated further on MS basal medium containing 1.0 mg l(-1) 2,4-D and 0.5 mg l(-1) BA and was analyzed for cryptotanshinone by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC results indicated that it contained small amounts of cryptotanshinone (0.26+/-0.05 mg/g dry wt). Omission of 2,4-D from the medium resulted in a marked increase in the content of cryptotanshinone in callus. The HPLC analysis revealed that the content of cryptotanshinone in the callus cultured on the MS basal medium supplemented with 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg l(-1) of BA was significantly higher than the marketed crude drug (processed underground parts of S. miltiorrhiza). Maximum yield of cryptotanshinone (4.59+/-0.09 mg/g dry wt) was observed in the callus cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 0.2 mg l(-1) BA for 60 d. Cryptotanshinone was isolated from callus through silica gel column chromatography followed by preparative TLC and characterized based on NMR and mass spectral data.