Effects of vitamin D2-fortified shiitake mushroom on bioavailability and bone structure.

Bioavailability and bone loss inhibitory effects of vitamin D2 derived from UV-irradiated shiitake mushroom were determined in vivo. The effect of the absence of ovaries on the bioavailability of vitamin D2 and bone structure was also investigated. Sham operated (sham) and ovariectomized (OVX) rats were divided in 3 groups according to their diets, i.e. control: only vitamin D-deficient diets; UV(X): vitamin D-deficient diets with non-irradiated mushroom powder; UV(O): vitamin D-deficient diets with irradiated mushroom powder. The obtained results showed that vitamin D2 from shiitake mushroom was able to increase bone mineral density and trabecular bone structure of femur bone as well as its bioavailability. The absence of estrogen induced adverse effects not only on bioavailability of vitamin D2 but also on trabecular bone. In conclusion, vitamin D2-fortified shiitake mushroom might help postmenopausal women increase vitamin D2 bioavailability and retard trabecular bone loss. Abbreviations: OVX: ovariectomized; 25(OH)D: 25-hydroxyvitamin D; 1,25(OH)2D: 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D; BMD: bone mineral density; micro-CT: micro computed tomography; RSM: response surface methodology; RP-HPLC: Reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography; MS/MS: tandem mass spectrometry; E2: estradiol; NTx: N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen; BV/TV: bone volume/total volume; BS/BV: bone surface/bone volume; Tb.Th: trabecular thickness; Tb.Sp: trabecular separation.

Hypouricemic and Antioxidant Effects of Soy Vinegar Extracts in Hyperuricemic Mice.

We investigated the potential hypouricemic and antioxidant activities of soy vinegar brewed from soybeans fermented with Monascus pilosus KCCM 60084 in potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic mice. Soy vinegar extracts (SVEs), which contain free isoflavones, ubiquinones, γ-aminobutyric acid, gallic acid, and acetic acid, reduced the level of uric acid (UA) by decreasing UA production through xanthine oxidase inhibition and increasing UA excretion through uricase activity in hyperuricemic mice (P < .05). Moreover, SVE administration increased hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities in a dose-dependent manner. The results suggest that soy vinegar has potential with natural ingredients to prevent and treat hyperuricemia.

Anti-obesity Effect of Yogurt Fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum Q180 in Diet-induced Obese Rats.

This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity effects of yogurt fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum Q180 in diet-induced obese rats. To examine the effects, male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on six different diets, as follows: Group A was fed an ND and orally administrated saline solution; Group B, an HFD and orally administrated saline solution; Group C, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt fermented by ABT-3 and L. plantarum Q180; Group D, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt with added Garcinia cambogia extract, fermented by ABT-3 and L. plantarum Q180; Group E, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt fermented by L. plantarum Q180; and Group F, an HFD and orally administrated yogurt with added Garcinia cambogia extract, fermented by L. plantarum Q180 for eight weeks. After eight weeks, the rate of increase in bodyweight was 5.14%, 6.5%, 3.35% and 10.81% lower in groups C, D, E and F, respectively, compared with group B; the epididymal fat weight of groups E and F was significantly lower than that of group B; and the level of triglyceride and leptin was significantly reduced in groups C, D, E and F compared to group B. In addition, the level of AST was reduced in group C compared to the other groups. To examine the effects of yogurt on the reduction of adipocyte size, the adipocyte sizes were measured. The number of large-size adipose tissue was less distributed in groups A, C, D, E and F than in group B.

Oral Administration of Achyranthis radix Extract Prevents TMA-induced Allergic Contact Dermatitis by Regulating Th2 Cytokine and Chemokine Production in Vivo.

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) remains a major skin disease in many countries, necessitating the discovery of novel and effective anti-ACD agents. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of Achyranthis radix extract (AcRE) on trimellitic anhydride (TMA)-induced dermatitis and the potential mechanism of action involved. Oral administration of AcRE and prednisolone (PS) significantly suppressed TMA-induced increases in ear and epidermal thickness, and IgE expression. In addition, abnormal expression of IL-1ß and TNF-α protein and mRNA was also significantly attenuated by oral administration of AcRE. Treatment with AcRE also significantly suppressed TMA-induced IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines and mRNA expression in vivo. Moreover, AcRE strongly suppressed TMA-induced IL-4 and IL-5 production in draining lymph nodes, as well as OVA-induced IL-4 and IL-5 expression in primary cultured splenocytes. Interestingly, AcRE suppressed IL-4-induced STAT6 phosphorylation in both primary cultured splenocytes and HaCaT cells, and TMA-induced GATA3 mRNA expression ex vivo. AcRE also suppressed TMA-mediated CCL11 and IL-4-induced CCL26 mRNA expression and infiltration of CCR3 positive cells. The major compounds from AcRE were identified as gentisic acid (0.64 ± 0.2 µg/g dry weight of AcRE), protocatechuic acid (2.69 ± 0.1 µg/g dry weight of AcRE), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (5.59 ± 0.3 µg/g dry weight of AcRE), caffeic acid (4.21 ± 0.1 µg/g dry weight of AcRE), and ferulic acid (14.78 ± 0.4 ± 0.3 µg/g dry weight of AcRE). Taken together, these results suggest that AcRE has potential for development as an agent to prevent and treat allergic contact dermatitis.

Pharmacokinetics, Tissue Distribution, and Anti-Lipogenic/Adipogenic Effects of Allyl-Isothiocyanate Metabolites.

Allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC) is an organosulfur phytochemical found in abundance in common cruciferous vegetables such as mustard, wasabi, and cabbage. Although AITC is metabolized primarily through the mercapturic acid pathway, its exact pharmacokinetics remains undefined and the biological function of AITC metabolites is still largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of AITC metabolites on lipid accumulation in vitro and elucidated the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of AITC metabolites in rats. We found that AITC metabolites generally conjugate with glutathione (GSH) or N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and are distributed in most organs and tissues. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed a rapid uptake and complete metabolism of AITC following oral administration to rats. Although AITC has been reported to exhibit anti-tumor activity in bladder cancer, the potential bioactivity of its metabolites has not been explored. We found that GSH-AITC and NAC-AITC effectively inhibit adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and suppress expression of PPAR-γ, C/EBPα, and FAS, which are up-regulated during adipogenesis. GSH-AITC and NAC-AITC also suppressed oleic acid-induced lipid accumulation and lipogenesis in hepatocytes. Our findings suggest that AITC is almost completely metabolized in the liver and rapidly excreted in urine through the mercapturic acid pathway following administration in rats. AITC metabolites may exert anti-obesity effects through suppression of adipogenesis or lipogenesis.

Reciprocal regulation of adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by Eupatorium japonicum prevents bone loss and adiposity increase in osteoporotic rats.

Pathological increases in adipogenic potential with decreases in osteogenic differentiation occur in osteoporotic bone marrow cells. Previous studies have shown that bioactive materials isolated from natural products can reciprocally regulate adipogenic and osteogenic fates of bone marrow cells. In this study, we showed that Eupatorium japonicum stem extracts (EJE) suppressed lipid accumulation and inhibited the expression of adipocyte markers in multipotent C3H10T1/2 and primary bone marrow cells. Conversely, EJE stimulated alkaline phosphatase activity and induced the expression of osteoblast markers in C3H10T1/2 and primary bone marrow cells. Daily oral administration of 50 mg/kg of EJE for 6 weeks to ovariectomized rats prevented body weight increase and bone mineral density decrease. Finally, activity-guided fractionation led to the identification of coumaric acid and coumaric acid methyl ester as bioactive anti-adipogenic and pro-osteogenic components in EJE. Taken together, our data indicate a promising possibility of E. japonicum as a functional food and as a therapeutic intervention for preventing osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Effects of Monascus-fermented grain extracts on plasma antioxidant status and tissue levels of ubiquinones and α-tocopherol in hyperlipidemic rats.

We investigated the effects of Monascus-fermented mixed grain extracts (MFGEs) enriched with bioactive mevinolins (natural statins) and coenzyme Qs (CoQ9+CoQ10) on the blood lipids, antioxidant status, and tissue levels of CoQs and α-tocopherol (α-Toc) in hyperlipidemic rats. The oral administration of MFGEs (300 mg/kg body weight per day) for 8 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and LDL-C/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio compared to the control and lovastatin supplement group of a dosage of 20mg/kg per day (p<0.05). Furthermore, a significant increase in the ratios of α-Toc/LDL-C and CoQs/LDL-C in plasma and tissues and improvement in plasma antioxidant status as measured by TBARS and TRAP were observed in hypercholesterolemic rats (p<0.05). Regarding the effects of MFGEs on antioxidant levels of plasma and tissues, there were significant increases in the levels of α-Toc (p<0.05) and CoQs (p<0.01) after the 8-week MFGEs treatment. These data indicate that MFGEs supplementation not only decreases blood lipids and lipid peroxidation but also increases levels of antioxidants such as α-Toc and CoQs and may improve plasma antioxidant status as well as a hypolipidemic effect.

Hypolipidemic effects of Monascus-fermented soybean extracts in rats fed a high-fat and -cholesterol diet.

We evaluated whether Monascus-fermented soybean extracts (MFSE) enriched with bioactive mevinolins (natural statins) and aglycone isoflavones (daidzein, glycitein, and genistein) perform an additive hypolipidemic effect in hyperlipidemic rats than unfermented soybean extracts (UFSE), which have a higher level of glucoside isoflavones (daidzin, glycitin, and genistin) without mevinolin. The oral administration of MFSE (200 and 400 mg kg(-1) body weight) significantly lowered the serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (p < 0.01) and raised high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (p < 0.05) in hyperlipidemic rats. The MFSE group had a significantly lower 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activity and higher atherogenic index (calculated as HDL-C/LDL-C) when compared with the UFSE group (400 mg kg(-1) body weight) (p < 0.05). Treatment with both MFSE200 and MFSE400 groups for 40 days significantly reduced the activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase by averages of 35.6 and 43.2%, respectively, as compared to the high-fat diet group (p < 0.01). The results indicate that MFSE performs a more potent hypolipidemic action via improvement of the lipid profiles and down-regulated HMG-CoA reductase activity than UFSE in hyperlipidemic rats.