Bioconverted Fruit Extract of Akebia Quinata Exhibits Anti-Obesity Effects in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats.

Akebia quinata, commonly called chocolate vine, has various bioactivities, including antioxidant and anti-obesity properties. However, the anti-obesity effects of bioconverted extracts of A. quinate have not been examined. In this study, A. quinata fruit extracts was bioconverted using the enzyme isolated from the soybean paste fungi Aspergillus kawachii. To determine whether the bioconversion process could influence the anti-obesity effects of A. quinata fruit extracts, we employed 3T3-L1 adipocytes and HFD-induced obese rats. We observed that the bioconverted fruit extract of A. quinata (BFE) afforded anti-obesity effects, which were stronger than that for the non-bioconverted fruit extract (FE) of A. quinata. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, treatment with BFE at concentrations of 20 and 40 µg reduced intracellular lipids by 74.8 (p < 0.05) and 54.9% (p < 0.01), respectively, without inducing cytotoxicity in preadipocytes. Moreover, the oral administration of BFE at the concentration of 300 mg/kg/day significantly reduced body and adipose tissue weights (p < 0.01) in HFD-induced obese rats. Plasma cholesterol values were reduced, whereas HDL was increased in BFE receiving rats. Although FE could exert anti-obesity effects, BFE supplementation induced more robust effects than FE. These results could be attributed to the bioconversion-induced alteration of bioactive compound content within the extract.

Effect of a bioconverted product of Lotus corniculatus seed on the axillary microbiome and body odor.

The skin microbiome, especially the axillary microbiome, consists of odor-causing bacteria that decompose odorless sweat into malodor compounds, which contributes to the formation of body odor. Plant-derived products are a cheap source of bioactive compounds that are common ingredients in cosmetics. Microbial bioconversion of natural products is an ecofriendly and economical method for production of new or improved biologically active compounds. Therefore, in this study, we tested the potential of a Lactobacillus acidophilus KNU-02-mediated bioconverted product (BLC) of Lotus corniculatus seed to reduce axillary malodor and its effect on the associated axillary microbiota. A chemical profile analysis revealed that benzoic acid was the most abundant chemical compound in BLC, which increased following bioconversion. Moreover, BLC treatment was found to reduce the intensity of axillary malodor. We tested the axillary microbiome of 18 study participants, divided equally into BLC and placebo groups, and revealed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing that Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Anaerococcus were the dominant taxa, and some of these taxa were significantly associated with axillary malodor. After one week of BLC treatment, the abundance of Corynebacterium and Anaerococcus, which are associated with well-known odor-related genes that produce volatile fatty acids, had significantly reduced. Likewise, the identified odor-related genes decreased after the application of BLC. BLC treatment enhanced the richness and network density of the axillary microbial community. The placebo group, on the other hand, showed no difference in the microbial richness, odor associated taxa, and predicted functional genes after a week. The results demonstrated that BLC has the potential to reduce the axillary malodor and the associated odor-causing bacteria, which makes BLC a viable deodorant material in cosmetic products.

Acute and 13-week subchronic toxicity studies of hot-water extract of Cynanchi wilfordii Radix in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Cynanchi wilfordii Radix (CWR) is a herbal medicinal plant that is well-known and used in Asian countries as a health food. In this study, acute and 13-week subchronic oral toxicity studies of hot-water extract of CWR (CWR-WE) were performed in Sprague-Dawley rats. For the acute toxicity study, CWR-WE was administered once orally to five male and five female rats at doses of 800, 2000, and 5000 mg/kg. Mortality, clinical signs, and body weight changes were monitored over 14 days. There were no treatment-related changes in these parameters and the approximate lethal dose of CWR-WE in male and female rats was determined to be > 5000 mg/kg. For the subchronic toxicity study, CWR-WE was administered orally once daily to male and female rats for 13 consecutive weeks at doses of 0 (vehicle control), 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/day (n = 10 rats/sex/group). There were no toxicologically significant changes with regard to clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, clinical chemistry, organ weights, necropsy findings, and histopathological findings. These results suggest that the oral no observed adverse-effect level of CWR-WE is > 2000 mg/kg/day for both sexes, although target organs were not identified.

Bioconverted Orostachys japonicas Extracts Suppress Angiogenic Activity of Ms-1 Endothelial Cells.

Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (), known as Wa-song in Korea, has been reported to exert various biological effects, such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, and anti-febrile effects. However, the anti-angiogenic effects of O.japonicus extracts remain to be investigated. In the present study, we demonstrated the anti-angiogenic effects of bioconverted O. japonicus extract (BOE) in Ms-1 mouse endothelial cells and compared them with the bioactivities of O. japonicus extract (OE). BOE, but not OE, were found to exert anti-angiogenic effects, including inhibition of cell migration, cell adhesion, tube formation of Ms-1 cells, and blood vessel formation of matrigel plug assay in vivo. Furthermore, protein levels of phosphorylated Src kinase were lower in BOE-treated cells than in OE-treated cells. Treatment with OE or BOE did not influence cell viability during the experimental period. Bioconverted extract of O.japonicus have anti-angiogenic effects in vitro and vivo, but non-bioconverted extract do not. We suggest that these observed anti-angiogenic effects are caused by the changes in the composition of bioactive compounds in the extracts as a result of biological conversion.

The whole chloroplast genome sequence of black nightshade plant (Solanum nigrum).

In this study, complete chloroplast genome of Solanum nigrum, a wild relative of potato and tomato being important for its medicinal features, was sequenced. The genome size is 154 671 bp in length, with 40% GC content. A pair of inverted repeats, IRa and IRSb, were separated by a large single-copy region and a small single-copy region of 82 315 bp and 33 411 bp, respectively. The genome harbored 73 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes, and three rRNA genes. The evolutionary relationships in our phylogenetic analysis revealed that S. nigrum is closer to S. tuberosum when compared with those of known relatives' species belonging to Solanum genus.

Fermentation enhances the in vitro antioxidative effect of onion (Allium cepa) via an increase in quercetin content.

Yellow onion (Allium cepa) extract showed enhanced antioxidative effects in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and acetyl ester (CM-H(2)DCFDA) assay after being treated with a crude enzyme extract from soybean paste fungi, Aspergillus kawachii. HPLC analysis showed two increased and two decreased peaks after enzyme treatment. The decreased peaks were identified as quercetin-3,4'-di-O-ß-d-glucoside (1) and quercetin-4'-O-ß-d-glucoside (2), and peaks that increased were quercetin-3-O-ß-d-glucoside (3) and quercetin (4), respectively. It was expected that 3 and 4 were originated from the glucosidic cleavage of their glucosides, 1 and 2. Among the increased compounds, only quercetin (4) showed strong antioxidative activity in the DPPH assay. In addition, the protective effect against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in HT22 cells was increased when treated with 25 µg/ml of fermented onion. The enhanced neuroprotective effect was also originated from the increased quercetin content. As a consequence, fermentation raised the quercetin content in onion, and subsequently increased the antioxidative and neuroprotective activities.

The IAA1 protein is encoded by AXR5 and is a substrate of SCF(TIR1).

Recent studies of auxin response have focused on the functions of three sets of proteins: the auxin (Aux) response factors (ARFs), the Aux/IAAs, and the F-box protein TIR1. The ARF proteins bind DNA and directly activate or repress transcription of target genes while the Aux/IAA proteins repress ARF function. TIR1 is part of a ubiquitin protein ligase required for degradation of Aux/IAA proteins. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a novel mutant of Arabidopsis called axr5-1. Mutant plants are resistant to auxin and display a variety of auxin-related growth defects including defects in root and shoot tropisms. Further, the axr5-1 mutation results in a decrease in auxin-regulated transcription. The molecular cloning of AXR5 revealed that the gene encodes the IAA1 protein, a member of the Aux/IAA family of proteins. AXR5 is expressed throughout plant development consistent with the pleiotropic mutant phenotype. The axr5-1 mutation results in an amino acid substitution in conserved domain II of the protein, similar to gain-of-function mutations recovered in other members of this gene family. Biochemical studies show that IAA1/AXR5 interacts with TIR1 in an auxin-dependent manner. The mutation prevents this interaction suggesting that the mutant phenotype is caused by the accumulation of IAA1/AXR5. Our results provide further support for a model in which most members of the Aux/IAA family are targeted for degradation by SCFTIR1 in response to auxin.