Antidiabetic Activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe Rhizome Extract: an In Vitro Study

  The potential roles of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) for treating and preventing diabetes have been investigated in both humans and experimental animals. However, the mode of its action has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ginger extract on glucose uptake activity and its activation pathway in L6 myotubes. Cells were co-cultured for 24 h with a variable concentration of either ginger extract or 2 mM metformin or 200 nM insulin or 20 μM Troglitazone (TGZ), followed by a 10-min 2-[3H]-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) uptake. The levels of glucose transporters 1 (GLUT1) and GLUT4 protein and mRNA expression were determined. Ginger extract at 400 μg/ml significantly enhanced glucose uptake in L6 myotubes (208.03 ± 10.65% above basal value, p<0.05) after co-culture for 24 h. The ginger-enhancement of glucose uptake was inhibited by 3.5 μM cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, 1 μM wortmannin (Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (PI3 kinase) inhibitor) and 15 nM rapamycin (mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor). The enhancement of glucose transport by ginger extract at 400 μg/ml was accompanied with the increased expression of GLUT1 protein (1.60 ± 0.20, 2.03 ± 0.19, and 2.25 ± 0.35 folds of basal at 4, 8, and 24 h, respectively p<0.05) and mRNA (1.22 ± 0.96, 1.45 ± 0.93, 1.91 ± 0.75, 2.32±0.92, and 2.20 ± 0.64 folds of basal at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h, respectively p<0.05) in a time-dependent manner. Z. officinale Roscoe rhizome extract increase glucose transport activity of L6 myotubes by enhancing GLUT1 expression, the results of PI3-Kinase and 5’-AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) stimulation

Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Hevea brasiliensis Leaves Extract

Belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family, the Para rubber tree is formally referred to as Hevea brasiliensis in scientific terms. It is commonly known as an important economic commodity in Thailand because the natural rubber primarily originates from the milky latex obtained from the tree. However, the available research on the phytochemicals found in different parts of the rubber tree and their biological effects is quite restricted. This study aimed to determine the phytochemical constituents, antioxidant and antibacterial activity studies on the crude dry leaf extracts of H. brasiliensis. The results indicated the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, coumarin, flavonoids, saponin, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids. The total phenolic content was 63.95±4.31 mgGAE/g in the ethanolic leaf extract. The ethanolic extract displayed notable effectiveness in scavenging free radicals (71.2±0.17%) at 500 μg/ml concentration and antioxidant capacity (the lowest IC50 value 42.57±0.91 μg/ml). The ethanol extract of the leaf of H. brasiliensis showed  inhibition zone on all of the selected bacteria (gram-positive; Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and gram-negative; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) at 200 mg/ml. In conclusion, the dried leaves of H. brasiliensis compose phytochemicals that exhibit antioxidant and antibacterial activities and possesses the potential to act as a reservoir of plant-derived antibiotics and natural antioxidants

Effect of purified soluble polysaccharides extracted from gray oyster mushroom [Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Sing.] on 3t3-L1 adipocytes

Functional mushroom polysaccharides have been known to the Asian traditional medicine for many years. The anti-obesity activity of mushroom polysaccharides has been illustrated both in vivo and in vitro. However, the effect of pure polysaccharides on isolated fat cells has not been demonstrated. In this study, we used hot water and ammonium oxalate to extract polysaccharides from gray oyster mushroom [Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Sing.] and subsequently purified with enzymatic digestion, solvent extraction and ion-exchange chromatography. One of the fractions, 7S1-1, has the highest yield and purity and contains polysaccharides with the molecular weight around 500 kDa. In addition, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and monosaccharide composition analyses showed that this 7S1-1 sample contains mostly β-glucan and some mannan. We find that the 7S1-1 fraction does not affect the total amount of triglycerides in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes but promotes a release of glycerol of the fat cells, suggesting that the fraction does not inhibit adipogenesis but stimulates lipolysis. Laminarin, a small β-glucan, confers similar results to the 7S1-1 sample, but it could not stimulate lipolysis as well as the 7S1-1 sample. Therefore, these results suggest a potential anti-obesity activity of the mushroom polysaccharides

Being overweight and obese increases suicide risk, the severity of depression, and the inflammatory response in adolescents with major depressive disorders

BackgroundThere is a bidirectional relationship between obesity and depression. We investigated whether the coexistence of obesity and depression increases the risk of having severe depression and a high suicide risk in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). Additionally, we explored the potential mechanisms linking the coexistence of obesity and depression to worse outcomes in these patients.MethodsThe odds of high suicide risk and severe depression were compared among MDD patients based on different body mass index (BMI) groups. Complete blood count (CBC) parameters, inflammatory ratios (neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio [NLR], monocyte-lymphocyte ratio [MLR], and platelet-lymphocyte ratio [PLR]), and cytokine levels (IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-α, and TGF-β1) were evaluated across BMI groups. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were assessed to understand the relationships between the 8Q and 9Q scores, CBC parameters, inflammatory ratios, cytokine levels, and BMI.ResultsA total of 135 antidepressant-naive adolescents with MDD were included. Overweight and obese MDD patients had higher odds of having high suicide risk and severe depression than lean individuals. Furthermore, they exhibited significantly higher white blood cell (WBC), and neutrophil counts. The NLR tended to be higher in obese MDD patients than in leans. Overweight and obese MDD patients had elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 compared to lean individuals, while TGF-β1 levels appeared to decline as body weight increased. BMI showed weak positive correlations with 8Q score, WBC count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, platelet count, neutrophil percentage, and NLR, and a weak negative correlation with lymphocyte percentage. The 8Q score displayed weak positive correlations with BMI, neutrophil percentage, monocyte percentages, NLR, and MLR, and a weak negative correlation with lymphocyte percentage.ConclusionThe findings suggest that coexistence of overweight or obesity with depression heightened inflammatory responses, leading to worse outcomes and increased suicide risk in adolescents MDD patients

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Thesis (Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences)--Prince of Songkla University, 200