Bringing scientific rigor to community-developed programs in Hong Kong

published_or_final_versio

A pilot brief intervention to enhance intention and self-efficacy for increasing fruit and vegetable intake in Hong Kong Chinese men and women

Poster Presentation: Theme 4 - Public Health & Chinese Medicine: 4.06The 16th Research Postgraduate Symposium (RPS 2011), the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 7-8 December 2011

A brief theory-driven pilot intervention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in Hong Kong Chinese adults

Poster PresentationConference Theme: Global Public Health ChallengesThe 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Hong Kong College of Community Medicine (HKCCM), Hong Kong, China, 27 November 2011

A brief theory-driven pilot intervention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in Hong Kong Chinese adults

Abstract and poster presentationConference Theme: FAMILY Participation: Generating Evidence for FAMILY Health, Happiness and Harmony (3Hs) in the Communit

Does planning enhance behavior change for parents learning to control their anger? The Hong Kong FAMILY Project

Conference Theme: Psychology in the 21st Century: Opportunities and ChallengesThe 2011 Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Psychological Society (HKPS), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 4 June 2011

A randomized controlled trial of a primary prevention parenting program to enhance parent-child relationship and reduce family conflict in a Hong Kong Chinese population

Conference Theme: FAMILY Participation: Generating Evidence for FAMILY Health, Happiness and Harmony (3Hs) in the CommunityAbstract and poster presentatio

Anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenols from Chilean currants (Ribes magellanicum and R. punctatum) after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on Caco-2 cells: Anti-inflammatory activity of in vitro digested Chilean currants

The polyphenol-enriched extracts (PEEs) of Chilean currants Ribes magellanicum and R. punctatum were submitted to in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion and their anti-inflammatory activities were assessed using differentiated human Caco-2 (clone C2BBe1) cells stimulated with interleukin 1β (IL-1 β). The inhibitory effect of non-digested and digested PEEs towards human cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) and COX-2, and the gene expression of COX-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was also evaluated. The digested PEE from R. punctatum decreased the secretion of IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-α; whereas R. magellanicum reduced IL-6 and TNF-α in the Caco-2 cells (p < 0.05). Both digested extracts significantly down-regulated the mRNA expression of COX-2 and iNOS (p < 0.05). PEEs showed 60% of inhibition towards COXs, with higher inhibition against COX-2. The PEEs from R. punctatum displayed better anti-inflammatory activity in all the experiments. Our results suggest that R. magellanicum and R. punctatum might be useful against intestine inflammatory conditions.Spanish Government (2012_11910)Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain (AGL2016-77288-R)CONICYT-PCHA/Doctorado Nacional (2015-21151561)PIEI-QUIM-BIO, Universidad de Talca3.701 JCR (2019) Q1, 31/139 Food cience & Technology0.998 SJR (2019) Q1, 41/244 Food ScienceNo data IDR 2019UE

Effects of gastrointestinal digested polyphenolic enriched extracts of Chilean currants (Ribes magellanicum and Ribes punctatum) on in vitro fecal microbiota

Chilean currants (Ribes magellanicum and Ribes punctatum) are wild polyphenol-rich berries with interesting bioactivities in several in vitro models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the pre-digested PEE (polyphenol-enriched extract) in a simulated colon model. Fruits were extracted, submitted to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and further colonic fermentation with feces from healthy human donors. Samples were taken at 1, 4, 8 and 24 h of incubation, monitoring pH, ammonia, branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA), short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and bacterial growth. FOS (fructooligosaccharides) and fecal slurry without treatments were positive and negative control, respectively. Both Ribes species reduced (p < 0.05) both BCFA and SCFA at 24 h. R. punctatum promoted the growth (p < 0.05) of beneficial bacteria such as Clostridium cluster XIVa, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii; while a trend to increase Akkermansia muciniphila was observed. R. magellanicum increased (p < 0.05) Clostridium cluster XIVa population. Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. remained unaffected. Our results suggest that polyphenols from R. punctatum and R. magellanicum may modulate both bacterial metabolism and some selected gut beneficial bacteria under simulated conditions. Therefore, Chilean currants might be useful as supplements to maintain a healthy colon; however, further in vivo studies are needed to confirm their effect and their mechanisms.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Ramón y Cajal Fellowship 2012_11910MINECO (Project AGL2016-75878-R)National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile CONICYT-PCHA/Doctorado Nacional/2015-211515616.475 JCR (2020) Q1, 9/143 Food Science and Technology1.479 SJR (2020) Q1, 16/332 Food ScienceNo data IDR 2020UE

Synthesis and Pharmacological Activity of Diterpenylnaphthoquinone Derivatives

New diterpenylquinones, combining a diterpene diacid and a naphthoquinone, were prepared from junicedric acid and lapachol. The new derivatives were assessed as gastroprotective agents by the HCl-EtOH-induced gastric lesions model in mice as well as for basal cytotoxicity on the following human cell lines: Normal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5), gastric epithelial adenocarcinoma (AGS), and hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep G2). Several of the new compounds were significantly active as antiulcer agents and showed selective cytotoxicity against AGS cells