Fucoxanthin, a Marine Carotenoid Present in Brown Seaweeds and Diatoms: Metabolism and Bioactivities Relevant to Human Health

The marine carotenoid fucoxanthin can be found in marine brown seaweeds, the macroalgae, and diatoms, the microalgae, and has remarkable biological properties. Numerous studies have shown that fucoxanthin has considerable potential and promising applications in human health. In this article, we review the current available scientific literature regarding the metabolism, safety, and bioactivities of fucoxanthin, including its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-obese, antidiabetic, antiangiogenic and antimalarial activities, and its protective effects on the liver, blood vessels of the brain, bones, skin, and eyes. Although some studies have shown the bioavailability of fucoxanthin in brown seaweeds to be low in humans, many studies have suggested that a dietary combination of fucoxanthin and edible oil or lipid could increase the absorption rate of fucoxanthin, and thus it might be a promising marine drug

Curated genome annotation of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica and comparative genome analysis with Arabidopsis thaliana

We present here the annotation of the complete genome of rice Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cultivar Nipponbare. All functional annotations for proteins and non-protein-coding RNA (npRNA) candidates were manually curated. Functions were identified or inferred in 19,969 (70%) of the proteins, and 131 possible npRNAs (including 58 antisense transcripts) were found. Almost 5000 annotated protein-coding genes were found to be disrupted in insertional mutant lines, which will accelerate future experimental validation of the annotations. The rice loci were determined by using cDNA sequences obtained from rice and other representative cereals. Our conservative estimate based on these loci and an extrapolation suggested that the gene number of rice is ~32,000, which is smaller than previous estimates. We conducted comparative analyses between rice and Arabidopsis thaliana and found that both genomes possessed several lineage-specific genes, which might account for the observed differences between these species, while they had similar sets of predicted functional domains among the protein sequences. A system to control translational efficiency seems to be conserved across large evolutionary distances. Moreover, the evolutionary process of protein-coding genes was examined. Our results suggest that natural selection may have played a role for duplicated genes in both species, so that duplication was suppressed or favored in a manner that depended on the function of a gene

Severity of Menstrual Pain Is Associated with Nutritional Intake and Lifestyle Habits

Recently, the employment rate of women in Japan has steadily increased. Approximately 80% of women experience menstrual pain and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). These symptoms decrease a woman’s quality of life and her work productivity, leading to an economic loss. This cross-sectional study of 321 healthy Japanese women aged 20–39 years aimed to clarify the lifestyle-related factors or nutrient intake that might cause menstrual pain. The participants underwent body composition measurements and completed meal survey sheets and lifestyle questionnaires, including menstrual status, exercise, sleep and breakfast consumption. Based on the questionnaire results, participants were divided into two groups according to the severity of menstrual pain, namely, heavy and light. Chi-square and Wilcoxon signed-rank sum tests were used to compare the severity of menstrual pain in the two groups. In the heavy group, the intake of animal proteins, including fish, vitamin D and vitamin B12, was significantly lower (p p p < 0.05). This study suggests that a lack of animal protein, the accompanying vitamins and fatty acids, and the frequency of breakfast or bathing are associated with the severity of menstrual pain

Change in Coordination of NCN Pincer Iron Complexes Containing Bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl Ligands

The coordination of bis­(oxazolinyl)­phenyl (phebox) ligands to an Fe center was investigated in the reaction of (phebox-R)­Fe­(CO)₂Br (<b>1a</b>: R = Me₂; <b>1b</b>: R = <i>i</i>-Pr) with phosphine and isocyanide compounds. Reaction of <b>1</b> with an excess amount of PMe₃ in toluene proceeded at 50 °C to give the corresponding cationic complexes [(phebox-R)­Fe­(CO)­(PMe₃)₂]Br [<b>2a</b>: R = Me₂ (79%); <b>2b</b>: R = <i>i</i>-Pr (83%)]. The molecular structures of <b>2a</b> and <b>2b</b> were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis that revealed the pseudo-octahedral geometry with NCN meridional coordination of the phebox ligand. In contrast, reaction of <b>1</b> with PMe₂Ph gave the neutral phosphine complexes (η²-phebox-R)­Fe­(CO)­(PMe₂Ph)₂Br [<b>3a</b>: R = Me₂ (87%); <b>3b</b>: R = <i>i</i>-Pr (79%)], in which the phebox ligand was coordinated to Fe as an NC bidentate ligand with the oxazoline and phenyl groups. Subsequent reaction of the neutral phosphine complex <b>3a</b> resulted in the formation of the corresponding cationic complexes [(phebox-Me₂)­Fe­(CO)­(PMe₂Ph)₂]Br (<b>4</b>) <i>via</i> change in coordination to the tridentate mode. The reaction of <b>1</b> with <i>tert</i>-butylisocyanide CN­(<i>t</i>-Bu) gave a mixture of neutral isocyanide complexes (phebox-Me₂)­Fe­(CO)­[CN­(<i>t</i>-Bu)]Br (<b>5</b>, <b>6</b>) in 57 and 10% yields, respectively, <i>via</i> exchange of one of the CO ligands. Subsequent reaction of <b>5</b> with CN­(<i>t</i>-Bu) resulted in formation of the cationic complex {(phebox-Me₂)­Fe­[CN­(<i>t</i>-Bu)]₃}Br (<b>7a</b>). Similarly, treatment of <b>1</b> with an excess amount of CN­(t-Bu) afforded {(phebox-R)­Fe­[CN­(<i>t</i>-Bu)]₃}Br [<b>7a</b>: R = Me₂ (83%); <b>7b</b>: R = <i>i</i>-Pr (69%)]

NCN-Pincer Cobalt Complexes Containing Bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl Ligands

We describe the preparation and characterization of new NCN-pincer Co­(III) complexes containing bis­(oxazolinyl)­phenyl (phebox) ligands as auxiliary ligands. The reaction of Co₂(CO)₈ with the 2-bromo-substituted ligand precursor (phebox-<i>R</i>)Br (<b>1a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>1b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr) resulted in the formation of the tricarbonyl Co­(I) complex (phebox-R)­Co­(CO)₃ (<b>2a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>2b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr), in which NC-bidentate coordination of the phebox ligand was observed. Complexes <b>2</b> underwent oxidative addition of I₂ to give the Co­(III) aqua complex (phebox-<i>R</i>)­CoI₂(H₂O) (<b>4a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>4b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr) by a change in the coordination geometry to the NCN-tridentate mode. Ligand exchange reactions of H₂O or I ligand with CN<i>t</i>Bu or AgOAc smoothly proceeded to give the isocyanide complex (phebox-dm)­CoI₂(CN<i>t</i>Bu) (<b>5</b>) or the acetate complex (phebox-dm)­Co­(κ₁-OAc)­(κ₂-OAc) (<b>6</b>), respectively

NCN-Pincer Cobalt Complexes Containing Bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl Ligands

We describe the preparation and characterization of new NCN-pincer Co­(III) complexes containing bis­(oxazolinyl)­phenyl (phebox) ligands as auxiliary ligands. The reaction of Co₂(CO)₈ with the 2-bromo-substituted ligand precursor (phebox-<i>R</i>)Br (<b>1a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>1b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr) resulted in the formation of the tricarbonyl Co­(I) complex (phebox-R)­Co­(CO)₃ (<b>2a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>2b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr), in which NC-bidentate coordination of the phebox ligand was observed. Complexes <b>2</b> underwent oxidative addition of I₂ to give the Co­(III) aqua complex (phebox-<i>R</i>)­CoI₂(H₂O) (<b>4a</b>, R = Me₂; <b>4b</b>, R = <i>i</i>Pr) by a change in the coordination geometry to the NCN-tridentate mode. Ligand exchange reactions of H₂O or I ligand with CN<i>t</i>Bu or AgOAc smoothly proceeded to give the isocyanide complex (phebox-dm)­CoI₂(CN<i>t</i>Bu) (<b>5</b>) or the acetate complex (phebox-dm)­Co­(κ₁-OAc)­(κ₂-OAc) (<b>6</b>), respectively

Fucoxanthin: A Marine Carotenoid Exerting Anti-Cancer Effects by Affecting Multiple Mechanisms

Fucoxanthin is a marine carotenoid exhibiting several health benefits. The anti-cancer effect of fucoxanthin and its deacetylated metabolite, fucoxanthinol, is well documented. In view of its potent anti-carcinogenic activity, the need to understand the underlying mechanisms has gained prominence. Towards achieving this goal, several researchers have carried out studies in various cell lines and in vivo and have deciphered that fucoxanthin exerts its anti-proliferative and cancer preventing influence via different molecules and pathways including the Bcl-2 proteins, MAPK, NFκB, Caspases, GADD45, and several other molecules that are involved in either cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, or metastasis. Thus, in addition to decreasing the frequency of occurrence and growth of tumours, fucoxanthin has a cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. Some studies show that this effect is selective, i.e., fucoxanthin has the capability to target cancer cells only, leaving normal physiological cells unaffected/less affected. Hence, fucoxanthin and its metabolites show great promise as chemotherapeutic agents in cancer