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Objective. The mechanism of enhanced radiosensitivity induced by mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP2 was investigated in HeLa cells to provide a theoretical basis as a novel target for cervical cancer treatment. Methods. HeLa cells were irradiated with 4 Gy X-radiation at 1.0 Gy/min. The expression of UCP2 mRNA and protein was assayed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. UCP2 siRNA and negative control siRNA fragments were constructed and transfected into HeLa cells 24 h after irradiation. The effect of UCP2 silencing and irradiation on HeLa cells was determined by colony formation, CCK-8 cell viability, γH2AX immunofluorescence assay of DNA damage, Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis assay, and propidium iodide cell cycle assay. The effects on mitochondrial structure and function were investigated with fluorescent probes including dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay of reactive oxygen species (ROS), rhodamine 123, and MitoTracker Green assay of mitochondrial structure and function. Results. Irradiation upregulated UCP2 expression, and UCP2 knockdown decreased the survival of irradiated HeLa cells. UCP2 silencing sensitized HeLa cells to irradiation-induced DNA damage and led to increased apoptosis, cell cycle arrest in G2/M, and increased mitochondrial ROS. Increased radiosensitivity was associated with an activation of P53, decreased Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, cyclin B, CDC2, Ku70, and Rad51 expression, and increased Apaf-1, cytochrome c, caspase-3, and caspase-9 expression. Conclusions. UCP2 inhibition augmented the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells, and it may be a potential target of radiotherapy of advanced cervical cancer.

Nitrogen plays an important role in plant growth and development, with different nitrogen forms also having an impact on carbon/nitrogen metabolism. Unlike most plants, tea plants prefer ammonium over nitrate. In this paper, we focused on how different nitrogen sources regulate the carbon/nitrogen metabolism in tea plants. Tea seedlings of ‘Longjing 43’ were cultivated hydroponically in four different solutions (zero-nitrogen, only NH4+, only NO3− and mixed nitrogen (NH4+: NO3− = 1:1). We analyzed characteristic components of tea plants and related genes in carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Tea polyphenols and catechins representing carbon pool, increased when NO3− was supplied as the nitrogen source, and similar findings were recorded in the zero-nitrogen treatment. The expression of most catechins biosynthesis-related genes was up regulated under NO3− and zero-N treatment, that was associated with tea polyphenols and catechins changes. Compared with NO3− as the nitrogen source, NH4+ and mixed nitrogen treatments had a positive effect on the accumulation of amino acids, especially theanine, glutamate and arginine, and these components contribute to the freshness flavor of tea. The expression of ammonium-assimilation genes was also up-regulated with NH4+ supply. Under mixed nitrogen treatment, the ratio of total polyphenols to free amino acids (PP/AA) was between sole NH4+ and NO3− supply. Therefore, compared with single nitrogen source, carbon and nitrogen metabolism of tea plant was more balanced under mixed nitrogen treatment. The results suggested that NO3− as the nitrogen source promoted the biosynthesis of catechins enriching the carbon pool, whereas NH4+ supply was more conducive to nitrogen metabolism, indicating that different nitrogen sources could affect the carbon and nitrogen balance.

(–)-Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), the most abundant component of catechins in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze), plays a role against viruses through inhibiting virus invasiveness, restraining gene expression and replication. In this paper, the antiviral effects of EGCG on various viruses, including DNA virus, RNA virus, coronavirus, enterovirus and arbovirus, were reviewed. Meanwhile, the antiviral effects of the EGCG epi-isomer counterpart (+)-gallocatechin-3-O-gallate (GCG) were also discussed.

Existing industrial fermentations for Gluconobacter oxydans require a rich nitrogen source, which results in a relatively high production cost. In present study, amino acids utilization from yeast extract (YE) (20 g·L−1) was investigated, revealing that glutamate is disproportionately utilized, and consequently becomes a rate-limiting factor for the activity of membrane-bound sorbitol dehydrogenase (mSLDH). Additional supplementation of glutamate (0.1%) improved the abundance of coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) by 1.51-fold. Meanwhile, enzyme activity of mSLDH was improved by 1.21-fold, which was mainly dependent on the induction of PQQ. Partial substitution of YE (15 g·L−1) with glutamate (2 g·L−1) as nitrogen source was tested in G. oxydans fermentations and the thus-obtained resting-cells exhibited an high mSLDH activity towards the miglitol precursor N-2-hydroxyethyl-glucamine with an increased productivity (59.2 vs. 42.1 mg· (g DCW)-1 h-1) and an equally high yield (81.56% vs. 80.35%) compared with cells fermented with 25 g·L−1 YE. Taken together, the results provide a feasible strategy for economical fermentation of G. oxydans in achieving high mSLDH activity for biotransformation applications in large-scale.

6-(N-hydroxyethyl) amino-6-deoxy- l -sorbofuranose (6NSL) is the direct precursor of miglitol for diabetes therapy. The regio- and stereo-selective dehydrogenation offered by the membrane-bound d -sorbitol dehydrogenase (mSLDH) from Gluconobacter oxydans provides an elegant enzymatic method for 6NSL production. In this study, two subunits sldA and sldB of mSLDH were introduced into G. oxydans ZJB-605, and the specific enzyme activity of mSLDH towards NHEG was enhanced by 2.15-fold. However, the endogenous PQQ level was dramatically reduced in the recombinant strain and became a bottleneck to support the holo-enzyme activity. A combined supplementation of four amino acids (Glu, Ile, Ser, Arg) involved in biosynthesis of PQQ in conventional media effectively increased extracellular accumulation of PQQ by 1.49-fold, which further enhanced mSLDH activity by 1.33-fold. The synergic improvement of mSLDH activity provided in this study supports the superior high dehydrogenate activity towards substrate N-2-hydroxyethyl-glucamine, 184.28 g·L−1 of 6NSL was produced after a repeated bioconversion process catalyzed by the resting cells of G. oxydans/pBB-sldAB, all of which presenting a great potential of their industrial application in 6NSL biosynthesis.

Theacrine, i.e., 1,3,7,9-tetramethyluric acid, is one of the major purine alkaloids found in leaf of a wild tea plant species Camellia kucha Hung T. Chang. Theacrine has been attracted great attentions academically owing to its diverse health benefits. Present review examines the advances in the research on the health beneficial effects of theacrine, including antioxidant effect, anti-inflammatory effect, locomotor activation and reducing fatigue effects, improving cognitive effect, hypnotic effect, ameliorating lipid metabolism and inhibiting breast cancer cell metastasis effect. The inconsistent results in this research field and further expectations were also discussed.

Network pharmacology is an approach that uses bioinformatics to predict and identify multiple drug targets and interactions in disease. Here, we applied network pharmacology to investigate the potential mechanisms of action of triptolide, an active component in the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, in colorectal cancer (CRC). We first searched public databases for genes and proteins known to be associated with CRC, as well as those predicted to be targets of triptolide, and then used Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify enriched gene pathways and networks. Networks and pathways that overlapped between CRC-associated proteins and triptolide target proteins were then used to predict candidate protein targets of triptolide in CRC. The following proteins were found to be expressed in both CRC-associated networks and triptolide target networks: JUN, FOS, CASP3, BCL2, IFNG, and VEGFA. Docking studies suggested that triptolide can fit in the binding pocket of the four top candidate triptolide target proteins (CASP3, BCL2, VEGFA and IFNG). The overlapping pathways were activation of neuroinflammation signaling, glucocorticoid receptor signaling, T helper (Th) cell differentiation, Th1/Th2 activation, and colorectal cancer metastasis signaling. These results show that network pharmacology can be used to generate hypotheses about how triptolide exerts therapeutic effects in CRC. Network pharmacology may be a useful method for characterizing multi-target drugs in complex diseases.

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress and myocardial apoptosis are features of doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity that can result in cardiac dysfunction. Previous studies showed that microRNA-143 (miR-143) was expressed in the myocardium and had a role in cardiac function. This study aimed to investigate the effects and possible molecular mechanisms of miR-143 on oxidative stress and myocardial cell apoptosis in a mouse model of doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity. MATERIAL AND METHODS Mice underwent intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin (15 mg/kg) daily for eight days to develop the mouse model of doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity. Four days before doxorubicin administration, a group of mice was pretreated daily with a miR-143 antagonist (25 mg/kg/day) for four consecutive days by tail vein injection. The study included the use of a miR-143 antagomir, or anti-microRNA, an oligonucleotide that silenced endogenous microRNA (miR), and an agomir to miR-143, and also the AKT inhibitor, MK2206. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunoblot analysis were used to measure mRNA and protein expression, respectively. RESULTS Doxorubicin treatment increased the expression of miR-143, which was reduced by the miR-143 antagomir. Overexpression of miR-143 increased doxorubicin-induced myocardial apoptosis and oxidative stress. The use of the miR-143 antagomir significantly activated protein kinase B (PKB) and AKT, which were reduced in the presence of the AKT inhibitor, MK2206. However, the use of the miR-143 antagomir further down-regulated AKT phosphorylation following doxorubicin treatment and increased AKT activation. CONCLUSIONS In a mouse model of doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity, miR-143 increased oxidative stress and myocardial cell apoptosis following doxorubicin treatment by inhibiting AKT.

This study identified the effect of salicylic acid on degradation of isoproturon in Arabidopsis. Three T-DNA insertion mutant lines pal1- 1, pal1- 2, and eps1- 1 defective in salicylic acid synthesis were tested, which showed higher isoproturon accumulation and a toxic symptom in the mutants. When treated with 5 mg/L salicylic acid, these lines displayed a lower level of isoproturon and showed an attenuated toxic symptom. An RNA-sequencing study identified 2651 (1421 up and 1230 down) differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in eps1- 1 and 2211 (1556 up and 655 down) in pal1- 2 mutant plants (2.0 fold change, p0.05). Some of the DEGs covered Phase I-III reaction components, like glycosyltransferases (GTs) and ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABCs). Using ultra performance liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-tandem-mass spectrometer/mass spectrometer (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS), 13 Phase I and four Phase II metabolites were characterized. Of these, two metabolites 1-OH-isopropyl-benzene-O-glucoside and 4-isopropylphenol-S-2-methylbutanoyl-serine, have been identified and reported for the first time.

The extraction process, purification and characterization analyses of polysaccharides (LZJP) in Ziziphus jujuba planted in Linze County, Gansu Province were investigated, respectively. The results showed a maximum polysaccharide yield of 5.72% was achieved at a solid/liquid ratio of 1:20 g/mL for 90 min at 80 °C. Two homogenous acidic polysaccharides (LZJP3 and LZJP4) were purified successively by DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephadex G-100 column chromatography. LZJP3 is composed of one polymer with galactose while LZJP4 is made up of two different kinds of polymers with xylose and glucose by size-exclusion chromatograph combined with multi-angle laser photometer (HPSEC-LLS) and gas chromatography (GC) analysis. LZJP3 and LZJP4 were β-pyran polysaccharides with a large number of molecular globular aggregates by FT-IR (Fourier-transform infrared) and AFM (Atomic force microscopy) analysis, and the surface morphology exhibited smooth and filamentous staggered extension in the form of rod-like aggregation with SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) determination. Meanwhile, LZJP3 and LZJP4 exhibited antioxidant activities against DPPH, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide, superoxide radical and stronger reducing power in vitro with the concentration increasing. The results indicated that LZJPs were worthy of being developed further as a natural antioxidant in food and medicine industries.

The degradation efficiency and catabolism pathways of the different methylxanthines (MXs) in isolated caffeine-tolerant strain Pseudomonas putida CT25 were comprehensively studied. The results showed that the degradation efficiency of various MXs varied with the number and position of the methyl groups on the molecule (i.e., xanthine > 7-methylxanthine ≈ theobromine > caffeine > theophylline > 1-methylxanthine). Multiple MX catabolism pathways coexisted in strain CT25, and a different pathway would be triggered by various MXs. Demethylation dominated in the degradation of N-7-methylated MXs (such as 7-methylxanthine, theobromine, and caffeine), where C-8 oxidation was the major pathway in the catabolism of 1-methylxanthine, whereas demethylation and C-8 oxidation are likely both involved in the degradation of theophylline. Enzymes responsible for MX degradation were located inside the cell. Both cell culture and cell-free enzyme assays revealed that N-1 demethylation might be a rate-limiting step for the catabolism of the MXs. Surprisingly, accumulation of uric acid was observed in a cell-free reaction system, which might be attributed to the lack of activity of uricase, a cytochrome c-coupled membrane integral enzyme.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the activation and transport of atrazine in the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the surfactant (Triton X-100) and to understand interactions between DOM, Triton X-100, and atrazine. Uncontaminated soils collected from Nanjing, China, along with DOM extracted from rice straw and Triton X-100 (TX-100), were used in the study. The sorption and desorption experiments were carried out using the standard batch equilibration analysis. Soil column leaching was conducted with soil samples packed into PVC columns. Soil thin-layer chromatography was performed using soil and water mixture spread on a 0.5–0.7-mm-thick layer over 20 × 10-cm glass plates. Atrazine accumulation in maize was determined by planting maize in plastic pots (1 L) containing 1 kg soil mixed with 1.0 mg kg−1 atrazine. Soils were watered with different solutions, with the relative water content of 60%. Using batch experiment and soil thin-layer chromatography, application of DOM and surfactant reduced sorption and increased desorption of atrazine in soil. In column experiment, DOM and surfactant significantly promoted the mobility of atrazine in soil and the total concentration of atrazine in leachate of the soil column. Accumulation of atrazine in both maize roots and shoots increased with the elevated concentration of surfactant, whereas the content of atrazine declined with the increase of the DOM concentration. Dissolved organic matter and TX-100 affected the partitioning and transport of atrazine in soil–water and soil–plant ecosystems.

This study screened the effects of cultivar and processing method on the flavonoid profiles of different teas. Four tea cultivars ‘Jiulongpao’, ‘Zhenong 902’, ‘Jinxuan’ and ‘Huangjingui’ were respectively processed into green tea, oolong tea and black tea. The concentrations of 13 flavonol glycosides and 8 catechins in teas were simultaneously determined by UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS in combination with SRM mode. The intercultivar difference of flavonol glycosides in the same type of teas was greater than that of catechins. The contents of total flavonol glycosides and total catechins in black teas were respectively 14.2% ∼ 28.8% and 82.9% ∼ 84.6% lower than those of green teas made from the same cultivar. Myricetin glycosides, mono-glycosides, tri-glycosides and catechins are vulnerable to fermentation. Principal component analysis results indicated that the flavonol glycoside profiles of dry teas were well discriminated by tea plant cultivar rather than manufacturing procedure, whereas the catechin profiles of black teas were distinguished by fermentation process. Thus, tea plant cultivar is an important factor to be considered for consumption decision on dry teas, especially non-fermented and semi-fermented teas, due to remarkable intercultivar difference in flavonol glycosides.

Developing a catalyst with a uniform and well-defined crystal structure is very important to establish a catalytic sensing system with high efficiency. In this work, Cu-BTC metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) without a crystalline CuO or Cu2O phase were successfully synthesized by using a low temperature synthesis method, and the as-prepared Cu-BTC MOFs were found to have outstanding catalytic activity towards the traditional oxidase substrate, o-phenylenediamine (OPD), to generate a colored and fluorescent product. The results of the kinetics analysis revealed that the catalytic behavior of Cu-BTC MOFs towards OPD could well follow the typical Michaelis–Menten equation, indicative of a strong affinity between Cu-BTC MOFs and OPD. On the basis of these findings, taken together the condensation reaction between the –CHO group of formaldehyde and the –NH2 group of OPD to form Schiff base compounds, a novel Cu-BTC MOF-based catalytic sensing system for detecting gaseous formaldehyde could be successfully established.

Both extracellular matrix (ECM) components and three-dimensional (3D) structure play important roles in the expression and maintenance of cancer stem cell (CSC) properties. Considering the excellent biophysical and biochemical properties of hydrogels, the objective of this study was to develop a 3D cell culture system based on liver ECM hydrogel (LEMH) to enhance CSC properties. Results showed that LEMH was devoid of cellular materials but contained the main components of the liver ECM. HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells cultured in LEMH displayed cluster growth and formed multilayer 3D cell structures with increased expression of hepatocyte-specific genes compared to two-dimensional (2D) cells. In addition, enhanced CSC characteristics, including migration, self-renewal and drug-resistance, were observed in 3D cells. More importantly, inhibitory effects of epigallocatechin gallate on CSC self-renewal and metastatic characteristics were observed, confirming the applicability of the LEMH-based 3D model for the research and development of CSC-specific drugs. These findings suggest that LEMH-based 3D culture offers a simple and efficient platform to enhance CSC properties in vitro, thereby providing a novel approach for exploring CSC-specific agents and chemotherapeutic drugs.

Hypoxic‑ischemia stress causes severe brain injury, leading to death and disability worldwide. Although it has been reported that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is an essential step in the progression of hypoxia or ischemia‑induced brain injury, the underlying molecular mechanisms are and have not yet been fully elucidated. Accumulating evidence has indicated that both nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) play an important role in the development of cerebral ischemic injury. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the association between NO signaling and the cystathionine β‑synthase (CBS)/H2S system on ER stress in a cell model of cerebral hypoxia‑ischemia injury. We found that oxygen‑glucose deprivation (OGD) markedly increased the NO level and neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) activity. 3‑Bromo‑7‑nitroindazole (3‑Br‑7‑NI), a relatively selective nNOS inhibitor, abolished the OGD‑induced inhibition of cell viability and the increased expression of ER stress‑related proteins, including glucose‑regulated protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and cleaved caspase‑12 in PC12 cells, indicating the contribution of excessive nNOS/NO signaling to OGD‑induced ER stress. Furthermore, we found that OGD increased the phosphorylated AMP‑activated protein kinase (p‑AMPK)/AMPK ratio, and the AMPK activator, 5‑aminoimidazole‑4‑carboxamide‑1‑β‑D‑ribofuranoside (AICAR), attenuated the effects on OGD‑induced ER stress, suggesting that OGD‑induced NO overproduction results in AMPK activation in PC12 cells. We also found that OGD induced the downregulation of the CBS/H2S system, as indicated by the decreased H2S level in the culture supernatant and CBS activity in PC12 cells. In addition, we found that treatment with NaHS (a H2S donor) or S‑adenosyl‑L‑methionine (SAM, a CBS agonist) mitigated OGD‑induced ER stress, as well as the NO level, nNOS activity and AMPK phosphorylation in PC12 cells. On the whole, these results suggest that the inhibition of the CBS/H2S system, which facilitated excessive nNOS/NO/AMPK activation, contributes to OGD‑induced ER stress.

Summary Tea possesses many bioactive components including polyphenols, theanine and caffeine. Inhibitory effect of these components on the various enzymes involved in some chronic diseases was reviewed in this study. Many studies revealed that anti-obesity of tea was mainly ascribed to the polyphenols which could inhibit the activity of the enzymes related to diet metabolism such as α-amylase, α-glucosidase and lipase. Inhibitory effect of catechins and caffeine against β- and γ-secretase, acetylcholinesterase, protein kinase C and histone deacetylase might be responsible for the prevention from nervous system diseases. Cytochrome P450 enzymes, cytosolic sulfotransferases, cyclooxygenase-2 and phosphoinositide-3-kinase could be efficiently suppressed by catechins, which would decrease the risk of cancer initiation and proliferation; theanine could lower the activity of some anticarcinogen-activated enzymes and alleviate the adverse effect of cancer cure. Catechins and caffeine exhibited significant inhibition against the matrix metalloproteinases, histidine decarboxylase and many kinases related to inflammation. Thus, catechins, theanine and caffeine might be employed as inhibitors of the enzymes associated with these chronic diseases.

The tea cultivar ‘Xiaoxueya’, a temperature-sensitive albino mutant, is a rare tea germplasm because of its highly enriched amino acid content and brisk flavour. In comparison with green leaf tissues of ‘Xiaoxueya’, albino leaves show significant deficiency in chlorophylls and carotenoids and severely disrupted chloroplasts. Furthermore, the accumulation of quality-related secondary metabolites is altered in ‘Xiaoxueya’ albino leaf, with significantly increased contents of total amino acids, theanine, and glutamic acid and significantly decreased contents of alkaloids, catechins, and polyphenols. To uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying albinism and quality-related constituent variation in ‘Xiaoxueya’ leaves, expression profiles of pivotal genes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of pigments, caffeine, theanine, and catechins were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR technology. The results revealed that suppressed expression of the chloroplast-localized 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase genes DXS1 and DXS2 involved in the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway and protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase genes POR1 and POR2 involved in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway is responsible for the pigment deficiency in ‘Xiaoxueya’ albino leaf. Additionally, the low expression of the tea caffeine synthase gene (TCS) involved in caffeine biosynthesis and the chalcone synthase genes CHS1, CHS2, and CHS3, the chalcone isomerase gene CHI, the flavonoid 3’,5’-hydroxylase genes F3’5’H1 and F3’5’H2, and the anthocyanidin reductase genes ANR1 and ANR2 involved in the flavonoid pathway is related to the reduction in alkaloid and catechin levels in ‘Xiaoxueya’ albino leaves.

This work aims to use defatted rice bran albumin (RBA) for delivering epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg). The mode of RBA particle size shifted from 142 nm to 164 nm upon interaction with EGCg. Hydrophobic interaction is the major force between EGCg and RBA resulted in the formation of EGCg-RBA complex based on fluorescence quenching. Upon incorporation into RBA, the recovery of EGCg in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer was elevated by 2 folds. The recovery of EGCg in EGCg-RBA was 18.9% after 2 h intestinal digestion, being higher than 7.6% of native EGCg. The pretreatments of HT-29 cells with EGCg, RBA and EGCg-RBA significantly repressed the transcriptional activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, nuclear transcription factor-κB, and activators of transcription 3 as stimulated with interleukin-1β afterwards, leading to attenuated expressions of corresponding downstream genes. Antioxidant ability importantly functioned in anti-inflammation. RBA is a promising vehicle with inherent anti-inflammatory property for stabilizing and delivering EGCg.

Anthracnose is a major leaf disease in tea plant induced by Colletotrichum, which has led to substantial losses in yield and quality of tea. The molecular mechanism with regards to responses or resistance to anthracnose in tea remains unclear. A de novo transcriptome assembly dataset was generated from healthy and anthracnose-infected leaves on tea cultivars &ldquo, Longjing-43&rdquo, (LJ43) and &ldquo, Zhenong-139&rdquo, (ZN139), with 381.52 million pair-end reads, encompassing 47.78 billion bases. The unigenes were annotated versus Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant protein sequences (Nr), evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non-supervised Orthologous Groups (eggNOG) and Swiss-prot. The number of differential expression genes (DEGs) detected between healthy and infected leaves was 1621 in LJ43 and 3089 in ZN139. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were highly enriched in catalytic activity, oxidation-reduction, cell-wall reinforcement, plant hormone signal transduction and plant-pathogen interaction. Further studies by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that expression of genes involved in endogenous salicylic acid biosynthesis and also accumulation of foliar salicylic acid are involved in the response of tea plant to anthracnose infection. This study firstly provided novel insight in salicylic acid acting as a key compound in the responses of tea plant to anthracnose disease. The transcriptome dataset in this study will facilitate to profile gene expression and metabolic networks associated with tea plant immunity against anthracnose.

Flavonol glycosides are associated with astringency and bitterness of teas. To clarify the dominant enzymatic reaction of flavonol glycosides in tea leaves, the catalytic effects of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) and β-glucosidase were studied, with the maintaining rates of total flavonol glycosides (TFG) being 73.0%, 99.8% and 94.3%. PPO was selected for further investigations, including the effects of pH value (3.5 ~ 6.5), temperature (25 °C ~ 55 °C) and dosage (39 ~ 72 U/mL PPO and 36 U/mL PPO, 3 ~ 36 U/mL POD). The oxidation of flavonol glycosides were intensified at pH 6.5, with 51.8% and 15.4% of TFG maintained after PPO and PPO + POD treatments, suggesting an enhancement from POD. The sensitivity ranking to PPO was: myricetin glycosides > quercetin glycosides > kaempferol glycosides. The inhibitor treatment testified the leading role of PPO in catalyzing flavonol glycosides in tea leaves. Sugar moiety enhanced the docking affinity of flavonol glycosides for PPO. PPO shows the potential of modifying flavonol glycoside composition.

The present study aimed to investigate the chemo-preventive effect of Camellia nitidissima flowers water extract (CNFE) on the Eca109 human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell line. The antiproliferative effect on Eca109 cells was determined using the trypan blue exclusion assay. The effects of CNFE on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were investigated by flow cytometry. CNFE inhibited cell growth in both a dose- and time-dependent manner in Eca109 cells. CNFE also caused dose- and time-dependent apoptosis of these cells. Treatment of cells with CNFE resulted in dose-dependent G0/G1 phase arrest of the cell cycle. The data demonstrated that CNFE serves antiproliferative effects against human ESCC Eca109 cells by inducing apoptosis and interrupting the cell cycle. These results suggested that CNFE has the potential to be a chemoprotective agent for ESCC.

Effect of solvent on the extraction yield and its relevant mechanism have been studied in this paper. Compared with extraction by water, catechins and caffeine could be easily extracted from green tea by aqueous ethanol, but hardly at all by absolute ethanol. Results of the vacuum-assisted extraction, solubility determination of EGCG and caffeine, as well as swelling ratio analysis of the infused leaves, indicated that an excellent leaf-matrix-swelling effect and high solubility of tea components might be the key mechanisms for high extraction efficiency by the aqueous ethanol. These mechanisms were further confirmed by the pre-swelling extraction. This is a first report on the mechanism of efficient extraction by aqueous organic solvent. Application of pre-swelling extraction is also discussed.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is widely used in terrestrial and space applications because of its good mechanical, thermal and optical properties. Nevertheless, traditional grinding and polishing technologies cannot meet the machining requirements due to the high hardness and brittleness. In this paper, Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) is utilized to process the SiC optics. The effects of different processing recipes on the removal rate and temperature are investigated. The results show that the removal rate almost keeps stable with processing time and changes with the flow rate of plasma gas, reaction gas, the ratio of CF4/O2 and the power. The input power and processing time are the two main influence factors on the processing temperature.

The fluorinated boron nitride (F-BN) nanostructures are found to be fully spin polarized and half-metallic by means of first-principles calculations based on the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid functional. It is found that the full spin polarization and 1 μB local moment in F-BN nanotubes are independent of tube radius and it is also robust in planar ribbons and sheets. The long-ranged ferromagnetic coupling between local moments decreases with decreasing tube radius. This suggests that F-BN systems with small local curvatures could be more easily experimentally observed and have greater potential applications in spin devices.

Jasmonic acid (JA) [or methyl-jasmonic acid (MeJA)] is one of the important regulators of plant growth, development, and defense with respect to environmental stresses, but how JA is involved in mediation of pesticide accumulation and degradation in plants is largely unknown. This study investigated the contribution of MeJA to detoxification and degradation of isoproturon (IPU) residues in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Wheat plants were exposed to 4 mg of isoproturon kg–1 (environmentally realistic concentration). The level of growth and chlorophyll concentration were reduced, while the electrolyte permeability in plants was enhanced. When plants were sprayed with 0.1 μM MeJA, the phytotoxicity induced by isoproturon was significantly assuaged, which was manifested by an increased chlorophyll concentration and a reduced level of cellular damage in wheat. Activities of several stress marker enzymes with isoproturon were repressed in the presence of MeJA. We measured accumulation of isoproturon in wheat and it...

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a typical fluoride (F) hyperaccumulator enriching most F in old leaves. There is association between the risk of fluorosis and excessive consumption of teas prepared using the old leaves. It is meaningful to develop methods for controlling F levels in tea leaves. We generated a comprehensive RNA-seq dataset from tea plants grown at various F levels for different durations by hydroponics, aiming at providing information on mechanism of F metabolism in tea plant. Besides raw reads of the RNA-seq dataset, we present assembled unigenes and aligned unigenes with annotations versus the Gene Ontology (GO) databases, Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, and Nonredundant (Nr) protein databases with low e-values. 69,488 unigenes were obtained in total, in which 40,894 were given Nr annotations. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of tanreqing injection combined with Ribavirin for hand-footmouth disease complicated with pneumonia and its influence on serum inflammatory factors. Methods: 72 children with hand-foot-mouth disease complicated with bronchopneumonia were recruited from January 2016 to June 2017 in our hospital, and randomly divided into observation group (n=36) and control group (n=36). The control group was treated with ribavirin injection, and the observation group was treated with tanreqing injection on the basis of the control group. The time of symptoms and signs improvement, and the changes of Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) were compared between the two groups. Results: The time of pyretolysis, rash subsided, oral mucosal congestion, disappearance of cough and rales in the observation group were significantly less than those in the control group (t=9.667, 4.577, 7.526, 3.651, 5.677, all P 0.05), and the above indexes in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (t=5.415, 4.616, 4.365, all P

An HPLC method coupled to pre-column derivatization with 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) was developed for simultaneous determination of 19 amino acids in tea infusion. The amino acid-derived samples were separated on a reversed-phase C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm) at 35 °C and monitored by an ultraviolet detector at 360 nm. Separation analysis showed a good resolution (Rs > 1.5) for most amino acids with a gradient elution of mobile phases at a flow rate of 1 ml min-1. Precision analysis revealed low repeatability errors with relative standard deviation (RSD) ranging from 0.11 to 1.53 % for retention times and 0.60 to 2.84 % for peak areas, and recovery rate ranged from 70.60 to 108.80 %. Linear calibration curves were well established at the concentrations ranging from 0.57 to 57.38 μg ml−1, with correlation coefficients R 2 ≥ 0.9918 for 19 detected amino acids. The superior stability of the amino acid derivatives at room temperature gave an advantage to simultaneous preparation of many samples and continuous analysis using auto sampler. The established method was successfully applied to separate and quantify amino acids in three tea cultivars, and the results indicated that the albino tea cultivars contained higher contents of total amino acid, theanine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid (Glu), aspartic acid (Asp), and serine (Ser) than normal tea cultivar.

Light-sensitive albino tea plant grows yellow shoots under strong sunlight conditions. The yellow albino shoots contain high level of amino acids and medium level of polyphenols, which is beneficial for sensory quality of green tea. The effects of sunlight intensity on the transcriptions of genes involved in biosynthesis of chlorophylls and carotenoids, as well as the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, were investigated using a light-sensitive albino tea cultivar ‘Huangjinya’, and compared with a normal tea cultivar ‘Fudingdabai’. The results showed that strong sunlight induced hypoplasia of chloroplasts by suppressing the development of grana stacking and thylakoids, and down-regulated the expression levels of the 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase gene family, involved in biosynthesis of precursors of carotenoids and chlorophylls, as well as the magnesium chelatase subunit D gene, involved in biosynthesis of chlorophylls, leading to the reduction of chlorophylls. Strong sunlight up-regulated the expression of genes involved in carotenoid pathway, resulting in the accumulation of carotenoids, including violaxanthin and lutein. The shortage of chlorophylls and the accumulation of carotenoids were considered to cause the yellow color of the albino shoots of the light-sensitive albino tea cultivar ‘Huangjinya’.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic endocrine disease resulted from insulin secretory defect or insulin resistance and it is a leading cause of death around the world. The care of DM patients consumes a huge budget due to the high frequency of consultations and long hospitalizations, making DM a serious threat to both human health and global economies. Tea contains abundant polyphenols and caffeine which showed antidiabetic activity, so the development of antidiabetic medications from tea and its extracts is increasingly receiving attention. However, the results claiming an association between tea consumption and reduced DM risk are inconsistent. The advances in the epidemiologic evidence and the underlying antidiabetic mechanisms of tea are reviewed in this paper. The inconsistent results and the possible causes behind them are also discussed.

We herein report a simple and effective method to fabricate superhydrophobic coatings by grafting polystyrene (PS) onto the vinyltriethoxysilane modified hollow silica nanoparticles (HSNs) using free radical polymerization. The resulting products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy, confirming that the PS successfully grafted onto the vinyl-modified HSNs via a covalent bond. The morphological structure of HSN film, investigated by SEM, showed a characteristic rough structure. Surface wetting properties of the HSN films were evaluated by measuring the water contact angle and the sliding angle using a contact angle goniometer, which were measured to be 158° and 6°, respectively. Moreover, the classic and the modified Cassie–Baxter relations were applied on the HSN films to verify the superhydrophobic performance.

(−)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg)-rich extract (EGCg > 700 mg g−1) was prepared from green tea leaves through a three-stage process consisting of liquid–liquid extraction and silica column purification. Crude tea extract was dissolved in ethyl acetate. After filtration, the solution was extracted by 10 g L−1 citric acid solution twice, and then passed through silica column. The catechins compounds in the ethyl acetate eluate were back extracted to the aqueous phase, then extracted with a mixed solution of n-hexane/ethyl acetate (2/5, v/v) 3 times, concentrated, and freeze dried. 12.8 g EGCg-rich extract containing 709 mg g−1 EGCg and 965 mg g−1 total catechins was obtained from 300 g green tea leaves, with an EGCg recovery of 26.1% and a yield of 4.3%. This method was suitable for bulk preparation of EGCg-rich catechins from green tea leaves.

Ilaprazole is a novel proton pump inhibitor that has been marketed as an oral therapy for acid-related diseases in China and Korea. This study aimed to compare the gastroprotective effects of intravenous and enteral ilaprazole in rat models. The rats were divided into 7–8 groups receiving vehicle, esomeprazole, and different doses of intravenous and enteral ilaprazole. The rats were then exposed to indomethacin (30 mg/kg, i.g.), or water-immersion stress and gastric lesions were examined. The effects of different treatments on histamine (10 μmol/kg/h)-induced acid secretion were also observed. Intravenous ilaprazole exhibited high antiulcer activity in a dose-dependent manner. Ilaprazole at a dose of 3 mg/kg decreased ulcer number and index to the same extent as 20 mg/kg esomeprazole. Moreover, the potency of intravenous ilaprazole is superior to that of intragastric ilaprazole. In anesthetized rats, the inhibitory effect of intravenous ilaprazole on histamine-induced acid secretion is faster and longer-lasting than that of intraduodenal ilaprazole. Intravenous ilaprazole is more potent than oral ilaprazole against indomethacin- or stress-induced gastric lesions, with faster and longer inhibition of acid secretion.

By employing first principle and a quasi-harmonic Debye model, we study the phase stability, phase transition, electronic structure and thermodynamic properties of cadmium sulfide (CdS). The results indicate that CdS is a typical ionic crystal and that the zinc-blende phase in CdS is thermodynamically unstable. Moreover, the heat capacity of the wurtzite and rocksalt phases of CdS decreases with pressure and increases with temperature, obeying the rule of the Debye T3 law at low temperature and the Dulong–Petit limit at high temperature.

The copolymer of styrene and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether monoacrylate (PS-co-AADGEBA) was synthesized by three steps from raw materials, and then it was used to fabricate a superhydrophobic surface via a phase separation method. In particular the superhydrophobic surface not only exhibits superhydrophobicity towards water and corrosive liquids, including acidic and basic solutions, but also shows good transparency, improved robustness and excellent aging resistance. Furthermore, the PS-co-AADGEBA was also successfully grafted onto the surface of amino-functionalized hollow silica nanospheres (HSNs-NH2), then a (PS-co-AADGEBA)-g-(HSNs-NH2) nanocomposite superhydrophobic surface was prepared. The obtained surfaces are promising materials for numerous potential application fields, including electronics, biomedical, martial and defense-related areas.

Summary Desorption of catechins and caffeine from polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) was comprehensively investigated. The result showed that caffeine could easily be desorbed from PVPP by the tested solvents except n-hexane, while catechins could only be thoroughly done by dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). Excellent desorption efficiency of DMSO and DMF might be attributed to their high dipole moments and H-bond potentials. Addition of ethanol was recommended considering the elution efficiency and fluidity, but ethanol volume should be

In this paper, aqueous methanol (methanol concentration 1000 mg·l-1) degradation was studied by using UV/Fenton, and effect of methanol degradation was evaluated with COD removal rate. When pH was determined, H2O2 dosage, Fe2+ dosage and reaction time were investigated by single factor test, respectively. In the orthogonal experiment, UV/Fenton was used to deal with wastewater of 1000 mg·l-1methanol, the order of the influent factors on COD removal was: H2O2 dosage > reaction time > Fe2+ content. Under the optimal condition (6%H2O250 ml·l-1, Fe2+ 0.9 g·l-1, reaction time 60 min), 95.77% COD removal rate was obtained. In addition, a comparison of UV, Fenton regent and UV/Fenton system indicated that UV and Fe2+ had synergistic effect on catalytic decomposition of H2O2, and reaction time to obtain the highest COD removal was shorted 10 min when UV/Fenton was used.

Cambium reactivation of temperate trees in spring is important for adaptation and growth. In some trees, the resumption of cambium cell division occurs before bud flush. However, knowledge about the source of the internal stimuli that promote cambium cell division during reactivation in these trees is limited. Here, the anatomical changes of cambium during reactivation along with the unfolding of vegetative buds in Populus tomentosa were examined under natural and water-culture conditions. Meanwhile, the levels of free indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and transcripts of enzymes involved in its production were measured during cambium reactivation. The results showed that cambium cell division occurred before bud unfolding during cambium reactivation in P. tomentosa. Interestingly, the levels of IAA and the transcripts of poplar homologs of aldehyde oxidase 2 and nitrilases 2 encoding enzymes functioning in de novo IAA biosynthesis increased before bud unfolding, while the transcript levels of IAA conjugate hydrolases almost showed no increase. These results suggest that free IAA from de novo biosynthesis in cambium regions promotes cambium reactivation before bud unfolding, providing new insights into the regulatory mechanism of cambium reactivation.

Rice bran protein isolate (RBPI) was prepared from defatted rice bran and used to deliver tea catechins. RBPI had the high adsorption selectivity for tea catechins over caffeine. The adsorption characteristics of tea catechins onto RBPI were determined over a range of time (0-300min), concentration (0.25-3.5gL-1) and temperatures (5°C, 20°C and 35°C). The adsorption kinetic data of EGCg and total catechins (TC) onto RBPI showed excellent fitness with the pseudo-second-order model, indicating that chemisorption is the dominating process. Langmuir and Freundlich models adequately described the isothermal adsorption of tea catechins onto RBPI, and the maximum adsorption of EGCg and TC were achieved at 5°C. SDS-PAGE profiles indicated that globulin and albumin were the major soluble proteins in RBPI to bind tea catechins. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that the protein secondary structures of RBPI were altered upon interaction with catechins, with a great increase in random coil and β-antiparallel, a minor increase in α-helix and a reduction in large loop and turn. Binding tea catechins to RBPI respectively increased the recovery% of EGCg and TC from 10.5% and 17.7% to 29.5% and 31.6% after in vitro intestinal digestion. Thus, RBPI is a promising food matrix for delivering tea catechins to gastrointestinal tract.

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a beverage beneficial to health and is also a source for extracting bioactive components such as theanine, tea polyphenols (TPP) and tea polysaccharides (TPS). TPS is a group of heteropolysaccharides bound with proteins. There is evidence showing that TPS not only improves immunity but also has various bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antitumor, antihyperglycemia, and anti-inflammation. However, inconsistent results concerning chemical composition and bioactivity of TPS have been published in recent years. The advances in chemical composition and bioactivities of TPS are reviewed in the present paper. The inconsistent and controversial results regarding composition and bioactivities of TPS are also discussed.

Tea leaf (Camellia sinensis) is rich in catechins, which endow tea with various health benefits. There are more than ten catechin compounds in tea, among which epigallocatechingallate (EGCG) is the most abundant. Epidemiological studies on the association between tea consumption and the risk of breast cancer were summarized, and the inhibitory effects of tea catechins on breast cancer, with EGCG as a representative compound, were reviewed in the present paper. The controversial results regarding the role of tea in breast cancer and areas for further study were discussed.

The induced-apoptosis effect and mechanism of human esophageal cancer Ec-109 cells via tanshinone IIA was investigated. The Ec-109 cells were cultured in vitro with different concentrations of tanshinone IIA (2 μg/mL, 4 μg/mL, or 8 μg/mL) for 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours. MTT assay was used to evaluate the proliferative inhibition rate of tanshinone IIA on esophageal Ec-109 cells. After 24 hours of culturing in vitro, a control group was assigned. The apoptosis rate was detected by the AO/EB and annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide assay, and the protein levels of Caspase-4 and CHOP were determined by the Western blot technique. MTT data showed that tanshinone IIA could significantly inhibit the proliferation of Ec-109 cells with a dose- and time- dependent mode. Compared with the control group, tanshinone IIA could apparently induce apoptosis of Ec-109 cells, and the level of Caspase-4 and CHOP ( p

Corn stover is a largely feasible and cheap renewable resource with low commercial value. An attractive alternative is utilization of corn stover for chemical industry，medicine，biochemistry etc. However, the production costs are still too high to apply on commercialization. The purpose of this study was to use the response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize of cellulose salvation by ZnCl2 after the steam explosion .The solution of cellulose that had been pretreated with 87% ZnCl2 at 139 °C for 49 min resulted in an optimum solubility of 76.2%.

adb_373 392..408 Agmatine, an endogenous ligand for imidazoline receptor, has been shown to prevent opioid dependence, but not much is known about the mechanisms of the effect of agmatine. In the present study, we investigated the function of I1 imidazoline receptor and its candidate protein imidazoline receptor antisera-selected (IRAS)/Nischarin in morphine dependence as well as in the effect of agmatine inhibiting morphine dependence by pharmacological and molecular approaches. Results showed that inhibition of IRAS or Nischarin did not change the development of morphine dependence in vitro and in vivo under the basal condition. Agmatine could reduce the cyclic 3′ ,5 ′ adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) overshoot at the concentration of 0.01–10 mM in the primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons and attenuated the withdrawal signals and the elevation of FosB and DFosB at the dose of 5 mg/kg in the morphinedependent mice. The effect of agmatine was inhibited by efaroxan (I1 imidazoline receptor non-specific antagonist) and the RNA interference against IRAS or Nischarin. These findings indicate that I1 imidazoline receptor or IRAS/ Nischarin mediates the effect of agmatine on morphine dependence and provide evidence that I1 imidazoline receptor may be a new target for treating morphine dependence.

Superabsorbent polymers are lightly crosslinked, hydrophilic polymer network having many functional groups. The adsorption properties in heavy metal ion solutions using poly(acrylate-co-acrylamide)(PAAM) are investigated. It is found that PAAM has a high uptake to heavy metal ions, and that the adsorption of heavy metal ions is greatly influenced by pH and the initial solution concentrations. The biggest and the smallest amount of adsorption are Cu2+and Cr3+in CuCl2and CrCl3solution, respectively. It was feasible for selective adsorption of the metal ions in the solution onto PAAM hydrogel by controlling the pH values of the mixing solution for CuCl2, FeCl3, CrCl3.Langmiur equatiom can satisfactorily fit for the adsorption of Cu2+while not fit for that of Fe3+and Cr3+.

Adsorbent is one of the most important factors for separation efficiency in fixed-bed purification techniques. The adsorption behavior of catechins and caffeine onto polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) was investigated by static adsorption tests. The results showed that catechins rather than caffeine were preferred to adsorb onto PVPP since the adsorption selectivity coefficient of total catechins vs caffeine was around 22.5, and that adsorption of catechins could be described by the pseudo-second-order model. Adsorption amount of caffeine onto PVPP in green tea extracts solution was much higher than that in purified caffeine solution although the initial concentration of caffeine was similar in the two solutions, indicating the caffeine might be attached with catechins which were adsorbed by PVPP instead of being adsorbed by PVPP directly. The results also showed that the adsorption capacity of catechins and caffeine decreased with an increase in temperature, and that Freundlich and Langmuir models were both suitable for describing the isothermal adsorption of catechins, but not suitable for caffeine. The predicted maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of total catechins by PVPP was 671.77 mg g(-1) at 20 °C, which was significantly higher than that by other reported adsorbents. The thermodynamics analyses indicated that the adsorption of catechins onto PVPP was a spontaneous and exothermic physisorption process, revealing lower temperature was favorable for the adsorption of catechins. Elution tests showed that the desorption rates of catechins and caffeine were higher than 91% and 99% after two elution stages; in detail, almost all of the caffeine could be washed down at the water eluting stage, while catechins could be recovered at the dimethyl sulfoxide/ethanol solution eluting stage. Thus, the PVPP could be used as an excellent alternative adsorbent candidate for separating catechins from crude tea extracts, although some investigations, such as exploring the new eluants with low boiling point and high desorption efficiency, should be conducted furthermore.

An adsorption separation method using Polyamide-6 (PA) as an adsorbent was developed to separate catechins from green tea extract. The adsorption capacity of total catechins for PA was 193.128 mg g −1 with an adsorption selectivity coefficient K A B of total catechins over caffeine 21.717, which was better than macroporous resin model HPD 600. The Langmuir model and the pseudo-second order mode were primely fitted to describe its equilibrium data and adsorption kinetics, respectively. PA column separation by two-step elution using water and 80% (v/v) aqueous ethanol was established to prepare catechins complex which contained 670.808 mg g −1 total catechins and 1.828 mg g −1 caffeine. It is considered that PA was a promising adsorbent for selective isolation of catechins.

Three groups of spontaneously hypertensive rats were administered by gavage with distilled water (control group), low-dose green tea (LGT, 0.2 g/kg BW·day) and high-dose green tea (HGT, 1.0 g/kg BW·day) for 4 weeks, during which systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured weekly by non-invasive tail-cuff method. At the end of experiment, left ventricular hypertrophy index (LHVI) and plasma biochemical indicators were determined, and ultrastructures of myocardium and aortic vascular smooth muscle cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that green tea gavage suppressed the increase in SBP, along with decline in levels of plasma nitric oxide, aldosterone, malondialdehyde, and LHVI, but increased levels of plasma creatinine, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and glutathione peroxidase in a dose dependant manner. Green tea had no effect on plasma total cholesterol. TEM shows that green tea gavage protected mitochondria of left ventricular myocardium and aortic vascular smooth muscle cells from damage.