Therapeutic Potential of Active Components from Acorus gramineus and Acorus tatarinowii in Neurological Disorders and Their Application in Korean Medicine.

Neurological disorders represent a substantial healthcare burden worldwide due to population aging. Acorus gramineus Solander (AG) and Acorus tatarinowii Schott (AT), whose major component is asarone, have been shown to be effective in neurological disorders. This review summarized current information from preclinical and clinical studies regarding the effects of extracts and active components of AG and AT (e.g., α-asarone and ß-asarone) on neurological disorders and biomedical targets, as well as the mechanisms involved. Databases, including PubMed, Embase, and RISS, were searched using the following keywords: asarone, AG, AT, and neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression and anxiety, epilepsy, and stroke. Meta-analyses and reviews were excluded. A total of 873 studies were collected. A total of 89 studies were selected after eliminating studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Research on neurological disorders widely reported that extracts or active components of AG and AT showed therapeutic efficacy in treating neurological disorders. These components also possessed a wide array of neuroprotective effects, including reduction of pathogenic protein aggregates, antiapoptotic activity, modulation of autophagy, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, regulation of neurotransmitters, activation of neurogenesis, and stimulation of neurotrophic factors. Most of the included studies were preclinical studies that used in vitro and in vivo models, and only a few clinical studies have been performed. Therefore, this review summarizes the current knowledge on AG and AT therapeutic effects as a basis for further clinical studies, and clinical trials are required before these findings can be applied to human neurological disorders.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of alpha-cyclodextrin glucanotransferase isolated from Bacillus macerans.

Single crystals of alpha-cyclodextrin glucanotransferase isolated from Bacillus macerans have been grown with polyethylene glycol 6000 as a precipitating agent by sitting-drop vapour diffusion at room temperature. The crystals were suitable for X-ray analysis and diffracted to at least 2.0 A (space group P2(1)2(1)2(1)), with unit-cell parameters a = 66.79 (2), b = 79.66 (1), c = 141.16 (1) A. Assuming the asymmetric cell to be occupied by a monomer of 74 kDa, the unit cell contains 42.6% solvent with a crystal Volume per protein mass, V(M), of 2.53 A(3) Da(-1).