Anti-diabetic activities of traditional Chinese herbal medicine in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Zhen Qi Hypoglycemic Capsules (ZQHC) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing medical activities by ougi (Astragalus membranaceus) and ousei (Polygonatum rhizome). Although ZQHC has been traditionally utilized as an anti-diabetic medicine in China, there is no evidence. Therefore, this study investigated the beneficial effects of ZQHC against diabetes using streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats by biochemical and morphological methods. Eight-week old male Fisher strain rats were intraperitoneally injected with STZ (50 mg/kg of B.W.) to induce diabetes and were fed ad lib feeding with normal diet containing 4% ZQHC for 30 days. Blood and urine samples were collected for biochemical analysis, and liver and pancreas samples were prepared for morphological analysis. Values of blood glucose, AST and ALT of ZQHC oral administrated diabetic rats were lower than those of diabetic rats without administration. Morphological analysis revealed that ZQHC induced sustainment of insulin secreted β cells survival and suppression of hepatocellular fat droplet accumulation. These results suggested that oral administration of ZQHC has anti-diabetic activities those were mainly associated with improvement of liver metabolism

Distribution of TNF receptors and TNF receptor-associiated intracellular signaling factors on equine tendinocytes in vitro

Although tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α is animportant key factor in degeneration of equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), the dynamism of TNF receptors and associated factors on tendinocytes has not been elucidated. To reveal signaling events mediated by TNF-receptors (TNF-Rs) in tendinocytes, we focused on four signaling factors, TNF-R1, TNF-R2, TNF-R-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and investigated the distribution and production of these factors. Cultured tendinocytes were obtained from SDFTs of thoroughbred horses. The tendinocytes were treated with 10ng/ml equine TNFα medium for 6 hours and then the four factors on tendinocytes were visualized by using an immunohistochemical method, and the amounts of the four factors were determined by Western blot analysis. Although TNF-R1 and TNF-R2 co-localized on the same tendinocyte, in untreated control cells (normal condition), immunoreactivity against TNF-R1 was very weak but TNF-R2 showed a strong reaction. However, TNF-R1 showed the same high level of reactionas TNF-R2 in TNFα-treated cells (inflamed condition). Intense TRAF2 and NF-κB were detected at inflamed condition, however both factors were also detected at normal condition. The distinct distributions of the four factors under diffrent conditions (normal and innamed condition) in vitro not only renect the dynamism of the cytokines but may also provide important clues for a means to prevent from occurrence of tendonitis and progress of tendon degeneration

Histological differences of skin among three body regions in male and female Hokkaido sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis)

The Hokkaido sika deer (Cervus Nippon yesoensis), the largest and most abundant of the sika deer subspecies in Japan, has recently attracted new attention as a target for leather production, in addition to its meat value. To provide fundamental data for facilitating the effective use of skin for leather, the histological properties of skin at the shoulder, back and abdominal regions of male and female deer were compared. The results showed that the thickness of the outer skin layer was not significantly different across all regions irrespective of sex. Regarding collagen composition, we found that large-diameter collagen fibrils were heavily distributed in the shoulder of male deer, whereas small-diameter collagen fibrils were largely confined to the abdomen of female deer. We hope this regional histological data will lead to more efficient processing of Hokkaido sika deer skin for leather production