Hangover relieving effect of Sanghwang mushroom mycelium cultured in germinated buckwheat

The present study was performed to evaluate the hangover relieving effect of germinated buckwheat (GB) and Sanghwang mushroom mycelium cultured in GB (SGB). Both GB and SGB showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities and significantly increased (p < 0.001) aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities; up to 140% increase at concentrations of 16 µL/mL. Locomotor activity test results from alcohol-SGB and alcohol-GB groups showed improved motor activities over that of the alcohol-water group at 90 min post-administration. Both alcohol-GB and alcohol-SGB groups had significantly reduced (p < 0.001) alcohol (40.02 ± 33.38 µg/mL, 66.01 ± 22.04 µg/mL, respectively) and aldehyde (5.72 ± 0.47 µg/mL, 6.72 ± 1.70 µg/mL, respectively) concentrations in blood compared to those in the alcohol-water group (199.75 ± 33.83 µg/mL, 50.43 ± 13.88 µg/mL, respectively) at 90 min post-administration. Based on cDNA microarray analysis, expressions of ALDH genes ALDH1a7 and ALDH18a1 and cytochrome P450 (CY450) gene CYP4a30b were upregulated in the alcohol-GB and alcohol-SGB groups compared to levels in the control group. Overall, the results suggest that both GB and SGB have hangover relieving effects by reducing blood acetaldehyde levels. The molecular mechanisms may involve ALDH activation and upregulated expression of alcohol metabolism-related genes such as ALDH and CYP450.

Hangover relieving effect of Sanghwang mushroom mycelium extract

This study was conducted to evaluate the hangover relieving effect of Sanghwang mushroom mycelium extract (SME). The extract showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging effect in a concentration-dependent manner and high antioxidant capacity (56.67 ± 1.77%) when administered at 120 µg/mL. In addition, SME significantly increased (p < 0.005) the aldehyde dehydronase (ALDH) activity (126.03 ± 9.11%) when applied at 8 or 16 µL/mL. A locomotor activity test showed that the alcohol-water treated group showed significantly decreased motor activity at 90 min post-administration. However, the alcohol-SME treated group showed a 20-fold higher motor activity than that observed in the alcohol-water treated group at 90 min post-administration. Blood was harvested from each mouse at 90 min post-administration, and both alcohol and aldehyde concentrations were measured. The alcohol-SME treated group showed significantly lower (p < 0.5) alcohol (120.13 ± 12.83 µg/mL) and aldehyde (7.26 ± 1.22 µg/mL) concentrations than the values observed in the alcohol-water treated group. These results suggest that the hangover relieving effect of SME results from increased ALDH activity, which reduces the aldehyde concentration in the blood.

Mass spectrometry based proteomic analysis of human stem cells: a brief review

Stem cells can give rise to various cell types and are capable of regenerating themselves over multiple cell divisions. Pluripotency and self-renewal potential of stem cells have drawn vast interest from different disciplines, with studies on the molecular properties of stem cells being one example. Current investigations on the molecular basis of stem cells pluripotency and self-renewal entail traditional techniques from chemistry and molecular biology. In this mini review, we discuss progress in stem cell research that employs proteomics approaches. Specifically, we focus on studies on human stem cells from proteomics perspective. To our best knowledge, only the following types of human stem cells have been examined via proteomics analysis: human neuronal stem cells, human mesenchymal stem cells, and human embryonic stem cells. Protein expression serves as biomarkers of stem cells and identification and expression level of such biomarkers are usually determined using two-dimensional electrophoresis coupled mass spectrometry or non-gel based mass spectrometry.