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Peach, an important fruit crop for its health benefits, is grown in different parts of the world. A huge amount of unripe peaches, which are obtained during fruit thinning or as natural fruit drop, are generally discarded as waste. It would be very fortunate for the fruit growers if the thinned out or naturally dropped peaches could be utilized as valuable resources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality characteristics and antioxidant potential of unripe peach of two cultivars, Changhowon Hwangdo and Kanoiwa Hakuto extracted with distilled water coupled with ultrasonication or prethanol-A, an ethanol-based food preservative. The physicochemical characteristics (pH, titratable acidity, soluble solid content, color value, mineral content, DPPH radical scavenging potential, and total phenol content) of the extracts significantly varied with cultivar, extracting solvent and/or their interaction. The results of this experiment showed that unripe peach fruits could be used as an inexpensive source of antioxidants and phenolic compounds, which could even be extracted with distilled water, and possess a big potential to be used in food and cosmetic industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodin (GAS) is a predominant bioactive constituent of the Chinese herbal medicine Tianma (Gastrodia elata Blume). Many authors have reported GAS has the beneficial effect on diverse diseases of the CNS, including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cerebral ischemia. Here, we report GAS exhibited a robust neuroprotective effect in an Sprague-Dawley rat model of stroke (transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, tMCAO), and show that the underlying molecular mechanism involves its protective effect against Zn2+-toxicity and its anti-oxidative effects in astrocytes. Intraperitoneal administration of GAS (40 mg/kg) after MCAO reduced mean infarct volume to 30.1 ± 5.9% of that of MCAO controls and this neuroprotective effect was accompanied by neurological function recoveries which was measured using modified neurological severity score (mNSS). Interestingly, GAS induced up-regulation and nuclear translocation of Nrf2, and subsequently increased the expressions of anti-oxidative genes, such as, HO-1 and GCLM, in astrocytes. Furthermore, GAS co- or pre-treatment markedly suppressed Zn2+-induced cell death caused by excessive ROS production and PARP-1 induction. We found that GAS suppressed p67 expression and PAR formation in astrocytes, which might underlie the anti- Zn2+-toxicity and anti-oxidative effects of GAS in astrocytes. These findings indicate GAS protects astrocytes from Zn2+-induced toxicity and oxidative stress and these effects contribute to its neuroprotective effects in the postischemic brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin (CUR) is a hydrophobic polyphenol derived from the rhizome ofCurcuma longa. CUR confers protection in various pathological conditions, including many brain-related diseases, such as cerebral ischemia, intracerebral hemorrhage, or Alzheimer’s disease, and these effects have been attributed to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. In the present study, we found CUR induced the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in microglia, brain macrophage, and thus upregulated genes downstream of antioxidant response element, such as heme oxygenase 1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit, and ferritin light chain, and simultaneously downregulated lipopolysaccharide-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. We showed that the anti-inflammatory effect of CUR in microglia is connected with its anti-oxidative effect in that CUR promotes Nrf2–p300 binding at the expense of p65–p300 binding. Since CUR is a dietary spice that is eaten on a daily basis, it appears that CUR could be used therapeutically to induce anti-oxidative effect and simultaneously ameliorate inflammatory conditions via up–downregulation of related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite (Ba 0.6 Sr 0.4 )TiO 3 (BST) thin films doped with Ni, Ce and Ni/Ce codopants were prepared on LSCO/Pt/SiO 2 /Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. In this study, La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 (LSCO) bottom electrodes were used to improve the crystallinity and dielectric properties of BST films. Single ion doped(1 mol%Ni doped,1 mol%Ce doped) BST films showed more improved crystallinity, smoother surface, and smaller grain size than that with 1 mol%Ni/1 mol%Ce. The dielectric constant and loss of Ni/Ce co-doped BST films were about 298 and 1.8%, respectively. In addition, tunability and figure of merit of co-doped BST films showed minimum values of approximately 9.3% and 5, respectively. With 1% Ni-doped BST thin films, results gave a tunability of 54.2% and a loss tangent of 1.8% while a figure of merit was 30. Correlation of the material properties with dielectric and tunable properties suggests the 1 mol%Ni-doped BST films are effective potential candidate for tunable device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents table of contents for the volumes 52-59 of 2003 issue of the journal "Integrated Ferroelectrics."