Anti-diabetic activity of a leaf extract prepared from Salacia reticulata in mice.

The effects of a water extract prepared from the leaves of Salacia reticulata on the absorption of sugars in normal and type 1 diabetic mice were investigated. The simultaneous oral administration of the extract at a dose of 1.0 mg/mouse with maltose or sucrose inhibited the postprandial elevation of the plasma glucose and insulin levels and intestinal alpha-glucosidase activities in mice. In addition, the supply of a 0.01% solution of the extract as drinking water prevented the elevation of the plasma glucose level and intestinal alpha-glucosidase activities in type 1 diabetic mice. This treatment also prevented the elevation of the plasma, pancreatic, and kidney lipid peroxide levels, lowering of the plasma insulin level, and elevation of the kidney aldose reductase activities in diabetic mice. These results suggest that the water extract of the leaves of S. reticulata could be a beneficial food material for the prevention of diabetes and obesity because of its multiple effects.

Synergistic effect of green tea catechins on cell growth and apoptosis induction in gastric carcinoma cells.

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea catechins, is known to inhibit cell growth and to induce apoptosis in a variety of cultured cells. We examined effects of green tea catechins in cultured cells derived from human gastric carcinoma. The proliferation of four cell lines (MKN-1, MKN-45, MKN-74 and KATO-III) was inhibited with EGCG in a dose-dependent manner. The growth of MKN-45 cells was most efficiently inhibited by the treatment (IC(50): 40 muM EGCG) among the four cell lines, while KATO-III cells were most insensitive (IC(50): 80-150 muM) to the EGCG treatment. In addition, (-)-epicatechin (EC) had a major synergistic effect on the induction of apoptosis in MKN-45 cells treated with EGCG; however it had little effect on the inhibition of cell growth induced by EGCG. To study the molecular mechanisms behind the induction of apoptosis by EGCG, the activity of caspases in MKN-45 cells treated with EGCG was examined. Activity levels of caspases-3, -8 and -9 were elevated in EGCG-treated cells, suggesting that these caspases are involved in the apoptosis induced by EGCG. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of EC with EGCG on the induction of apoptosis was specifically canceled by catalase treatment, suggesting that the synergism involves the extracellular production of reactive oxygen species.

[Development of Autogenic Training Clinical Effectiveness Scale (ATCES)].

The purpose of the present study was to develop a scale measuring clinical effectiveness of autogenic training. In Study 1, 167 undergraduates completed a survey of items concerning physical and mental states, which were thought to vary in the course of autogenic training. With item and factor analyses, 20 items were selected, and the resulting scale (ATCES) had high discrimination and clear factor structure. In Study 2, reliability and concurrent and clinical validity of the scale were examined with three groups of respondents: 85 mentally healthy, 31 control, 13 clinical persons. The scale showed a high test-retest correlation (r = .83) and alpha coefficient (alpha = .86). ATCES had a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = .56 with General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and r = .73 with trait anxiety (STAI-T). And ATCES successfully discriminated the mentally healthy and clinical groups in terms of clinical effectiveness. These results demonstrated high reliability and sufficient concurrent and clinical validity of the new scale.