Antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic methylenedioxy-containing compounds and piperine-like synthetic compounds

Twelve methylenedioxy-containing compounds including piperine and 10 piperine-like synthetic compounds were assessed to determine their antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activities against Aspergillus flavus ATCC 22546 in terms of their structure-activity relationships. Piperonal and 1,3-benzodioxole had inhibitory effects against A. flavus mycelial growth and aflatoxin B1 production up to a concentration of 1000 mu g/mL. Ten piperine-like synthetic compounds were synthesized that differed in terms of the carbon length in the hydrocarbon backbone and the presence of the methylenedioxy moiety. In particular, 1-(2-methylpiperidin-1-yl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-one had potent antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic effects against A. flavus up to a concentration of 1 mu g/mL. This synthetic compound was remarkable because the positive control thiabendazole had no inhibitory effect at this concentration. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that five genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis pathways were down-regulated in A. flavus, i.e., aflD, aflK, aflQ, aflR, and aflS; therefore, the synthetic compound inhibited aflatoxin production by down-regulating these genes.ope

Neuropharmacological Potential of Gastrodia elata

Research has been conducted in various fields in an attempt to develop new therapeutic agents for incurable neurodegenerative diseases. Gastrodia elata Blume (GE), a traditional herbal medicine, has been used in neurological disorders as an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and sedative medication. Several neurodegenerative models are characterized by oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain, which lead to cell death via multiple extracellular and intracellular signaling pathways. The blockade of certain signaling cascades may represent a compensatory therapy for injured brain tissue. Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory compounds isolated from natural resources have been investigated, as have various synthetic chemicals. Specifically, GE rhizome extract and its components have been shown to protect neuronal cells and recover brain function in various preclinical brain injury models by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. The present review discusses the neuroprotective potential of GE and its components and the related mechanisms; we also provide possible preventive and therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders using herbal resources

Molecular characterization of lipoxygenase genes and their expression analysis against biotic and abiotic stresses in Panax ginseng

Lipoxygenase (LOX) belongs to a family of non-heme-iron-containing fatty acid dioxygenases that are widely distributed in plants and animals. LOX involved in the synthesis of jasmonic acid and six-carbon (C6) volatiles which is necessary for plant growth and responses to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. We have isolated and characterized LOX cDNA clones from Panax ginseng Meyer. From their deduced amino acid sequences, two diverse classes of 9-LOX (LOX1, LOX2, and LOX3) and 13-LOX (LOX4, LOX5) are defined in P. ginseng. A GenBank Blast X search revealed that the deduced amino acid of PgLOXs share a high degree of homology with LOX from other plants and mammals especially in three distinct motifs; motif1 harboring iron binding regions, motif2 and motif3. Chloroplast localization was predicted for PgLOX5. PgLOXs displayed organ-specific expression, highly expressed in aerial parts of the plant such as 3-year old flower, stem and leaf tissues. PgLOXs mRNAs were elevated strongly by bacterial infection. Expression of PgLOXs was differentially induced in ginseng not only by mechanical damage and methyl jasmonate but also after exposure to withholding water. Ginseng 13-LOXs positively respond to wounding that may involve in production of C6 volatiles and jasmonic acid at the wounded sites. However, the higher expression of PgLOX3 by water deficit and 82 % of the nucleotide sequence identity with the EST from severe drought-stressed leaves of Populus (CU229089.1) at +6371 bp downstream of PgLOX3 genomic DNA structure can suggest drought tolerance role for PgLOX3. Ginseng LOX genes have different expression pattern which may suggest different specific function against various environmental stresses

A Case of Right Sided Aortic Arch Combined with Atrial Septal Defect

Right sided aortic arch is an uncommon congenital anomaly. It can be classified into three types, depending on the left aortic arch's degenerating pattern and the branching pattern of the great vessels. It can be associated with major congenital heart disease, depending on the type of right sided aortic arch. We report a case of an 18-years-old female who has right sided aortic arch with atrial septal defect (ASD). In our case, the patient had a right sided aortic arch and aberrant left subclavian artery, also she had ASD (ostium secundum) and moderate tricuspid regurgitation with pulmonary hypertension. The patient was successfully performed patch closure of ASD and tricuspid valve annuloplasty via midline sternotomy. The patient had uneventful postoperative course

Light Higgsino from Axion Dark Radiation

The recent observations imply that there is an extra relativistic degree of freedom coined dark radiation. We argue that the QCD axion is a plausible candidate for the dark radiation, not only because of its extremely small mass, but also because in the supersymmetric extension of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism the saxion tends to dominate the Universe and decays into axions with a sizable branching fraction. We show that the Higgsino mixing parameter mu is bounded from above when the axions produced at the saxion decays constitute the dark radiation: mu \lesssim 300 GeV for a saxion lighter than 2m_W, and mu less than the saxion mass otherwise. Interestingly, the Higgsino can be light enough to be within the reach of LHC and/or ILC even when the other superparticles are heavy with mass about 1 TeV or higher. We also estimate the abundance of axino produced by the decays of Higgsino and saxion.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure; published in JHE

The expression and localization of inhibin isotypes in mouse testis during postnatal development

Inhibin, which is important for normal gonadal function, acts on the pituitary gonadotropins to suppress follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion. The level and cellular localization of the inhibin isotypes, α, βA and βB, in the testis of mice were examined during postnatal development in order to determine if inhibin expression is related to testicular maturation. Mouse testes were sampled on postnatal days (PNDs) 1, 3, 6, 18, 48 and 120, and analyzed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Western blot analysis showed very low levels of inhibin α, βA and βB expression in the testes at days 1 to 6 after birth. The levels then increased gradually from PND 18 to 48-120, and there were significant peaks at PND 48. Inhibin α, βA and βB were detected in testicular cells during postnatal development using immunohistochemistry. The immunoreactivity of inhibin α was rarely observed in testicular cells during PND 1 to 6, or in the cytoplasmic process of Sertoli cells surrounding the germ cells and interstitial cells during PND 18 to 120. Inhibin βA and βB immunoreactivity was rarely observed in the testis from PND 1 to 6. On the other hand, it was observed in some spermatogonial cells, as well as in the interstitial space between PND 48 and PND 120. We conclude that the expression of inhibin isotypes increases progressively in the testis of mice with increasing postnatal age, suggesting that inhibin is associated with a negative feedback signal for FSH in testicular maturation

Incidence of Hypertension in Korea: 5-Year Follow-up Study

Limited data are available about the incidence of hypertension over the 5-yr in non-hypertensive subjects. The study subjects were 1,806 subjects enrolled in a rural area of Daegu, Korea for a cohort study from August to November 2003. Of them, 1,287 (71.3%) individuals had another examination 5 yr later. To estimate the incidence of hypertension, 730 non-hypertensive individuals (265 males; mean age = 56.6 ± 11.1 yr-old) at baseline examination were analyzed in this study. Hypertension was defined as either a new diagnosis of hypertension or self-reports of newly initiated antihypertensive treatment; prehypertension was if the systolic blood pressure was 120-139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure was 80-89 mmHg. During the 5-yr follow-up, 195 (26.7%) non-hypertensive individuals developed incident hypertension. The age-adjusted 5-yr incidence rates of hypertension were 22.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 19.9-29.0) in overall subjects, 22.2% (95% CI = 17.2-27.2) in men, and 24.3% (95% CI = 20.4-28.2) in women. The incidence rates of hypertension significantly increased with age. In the multivariate analysis, prehypertension (Odds ratio [OR] 2.25; P < 0.001) and older age (OR 2.26; P = 0.010) were independent predictors for incident hypertension. In this rapidly aging society, population-based preventive approach to decrease blood pressure, particularly in subjects with prehypertension, is needed to reduce hypertension