Predator presence and recent climatic warming raise body temperatures of island lizards.

In ectothermic predator-prey relationships, evasion of predation by prey depends on physiological and behavioural responses relating to the thermal biology of both predator and prey. On Japan's Izu Islands, we investigated a prey lizard's physiological and thermal responses to the presence of a snake predator over geologic time in addition to recent climatic warming. Foraging lizard body temperatures increased by 1.3 °C from 1981 to 2019 overall, yet were 2.9 °C warmer on snake islands relative to snake-free islands. We also detected snake predator-induced selection on hind leg length, which in turn is a major determinant for sprint speed only in lizard populations exposed to predation by snakes. Accordingly, we found that warmer prey body temperatures result in faster sprint speeds by the prey at temperatures suboptimal for the snake predator, and therefore contribute to escaping predation. Given recent climatic change, further warming could irrevocably alter this and other ectothermic predator-prey relationships.

Perilla Pomace, a By-product of Oil Extraction, Is Rich in Nutrients and Can Favorably Modulate Lipid Metabolism in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Perilla pomace, a by-product of oil extraction, is rich in nutrients, such as proteins, but it has not been used for purposes other than livestock feeding. The aim of this study was to determine how perilla pomace modulates glucose and lipid metabolism in Sprague-Dawley rats. Dried perilla pomace was added to diet at a concentration of 16%. One experimental group was administered perilla oil equivalent to that in the perilla pomace. After four weeks, the animals were euthanized, and biochemical parameters were measured. Two experiments were conducted using a low-fat (7% by weight) and a high-fat (21% by weight) diet. Regardless of the level of fat in the diets, no differences in food intake were found among the groups. In the low-fat diet-fed rats (Experiment 1), epididymal adipose tissue weight was slightly, but not significantly, lower in perilla pomace-fed rats than in those fed the control diet. Hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels were significantly reduced by perilla pomace compared to those in the control group. Serum lipid profiles (triglycerides and cholesterol) were similar to those in the liver, without statistically significant differences. Perilla pomace significantly diminished hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) activity. In high-fat diet-fed rats (Experiment 2), pomace did not significantly lower epididymal adipose tissue weight. Hepatic cholesterol levels were lower in rats on the perilla oil than in control rats. The activity of hepatic enzymes involved in fat oxidation was significantly higher in rats fed the perilla pomace than in those fed the control diet. Collectively, these results show that perilla pomace favorably modulates fat metabolism, and the specific effects depend on the fat content in the diet.

Chronic intake of high-dose of blueberry leaf extract does not augment the harmful effects of ethanol in rats.

Excessive alcohol consumption is a risk factor for liver diseases. Enhancement of alcohol metabolism could be an effective strategy to prevent these adverse effects since it promotes the clearance of ethanol and acetaldehyde from the serum. Polyphenol-rich products have shown to protect against alcohol-related liver damage. Blueberry leaves have attracted attention as they are rich polyphenols such as proantocyanidins and chlorogenic acid. In this study, we investigated the effects of a high dose of blueberry leaf extract (BLEx) on alcohol metabolism during chronic intake of ethanol. Seven-week old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups: normal liquid diet group (NLD), normal liquid diet + BLEx group (NLD + BLEx), alcohol liquid diet group (ALD), and alcohol liquid diet + BLEx (ALD + BLEx). Then, rats were fed experimental diet for 5 weeks and at the end of feeding period, body weight, food intake, liver weight, indices of liver injury, expression and activity of alcohol metabolism-related and anti-oxidative enzymes, and levels of carbonyl protein, triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (T-Chol) were measured. Body weight and food intake decreased, whereas liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, liver microsomal cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) protein and mRNA expression, and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) mRNA expression were upregulated by ethanol intake. Dietary BLEx, however, did not affect any of these ethanol-related changes. Indices of liver injury, expression and activity of other alcohol metabolism-related enzymes, liver carbonyl protein, TG, and T-Chol levels were not altered by ethanol and BLEx. Thus, chronic BLEx intake does not ameliorate the harmful effects of ethanol.

Induction of apoptotic cell death in HL-60 cells by jacaranda seed oil derived fatty acids.

Various fatty acids are attracting considerable interest for their anticancer effects. Among them, fatty acids containing conjugated double bonds show one of the most potent cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. Here, we focused on the cancer cell killing activity of jacaranda seed oil. The seed oil of jacaranda harvested from Miyazaki in Japan contained 30.9% cis-8, trans-10, cis-12 octadecatrienoic acid, called jacaric acid (JA). Fatty acid prepared from this oil (JFA) and JA strongly induced cell death in human leukemia HL-60 cells. On the other hand, linoleic acid and trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (<10 µM) did not affect cell proliferation and viability. An increase in the sub-G1 population and internucleosomal fragmentation of DNA was observed in JA- and JFA-treated cells, indicating induction of apoptotic cell death. Finally, the cytotoxic effects of JA and JFA were completely abolished by α-tocopherol. Taken together, these data suggest that jacaranda seed oil has potent apoptotic activity in HL-60 cells through induction of oxidative stress.