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Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire (Zingiberaceae) is a medicinal herb found in Southeast Asia that is used for the treatment of malaria, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, etc. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an ethanol extract of Amomum tsao-ko (EAT) on obesity and hyperlipidemia in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD). First, the mice were divided into five groups (n = 6/group) as follows: normal diet, HCD, and HCD+EAT (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/day), which were orally administered with EAT daily for 84 days. Using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) analysis, we found that EAT inhibited not only body-weight gain, but also visceral fat and subcutaneous fat accumulation. Histological analysis confirmed that EAT decreased the size of fat tissues. EAT consistently improved various indices, including plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, atherogenic index, and cardiac risk factors, which are related to dyslipidemia—a major risk factor for heart disease. The contents of TC and TG, as well as the lipid droplets of HCD-induced hepatic accumulation in the liver tissue, were suppressed by EAT. Taken together, these findings suggest the possibility of developing EAT as a therapeutic agent for improving HCD-induced obesity and hyperlipidemia.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease. Combretum quadrangulare (C. quadrangulare) is used as a traditional medicine to improve various pathologies in Southeast Asia. In this study, we investigated the effects of C. quadrangulare ethanol extract (CQ) on 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB)-induced AD like skin lesions in BALB/c mice. After administration with CQ (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) for 6 weeks, AD symptoms, protein expression, immunoglobulin E (IgE), thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), and ceramidase level were measured in skin lesions of DNCB-induced BALB/c mice. CQ group improved the dermatitis score, skin pH, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and skin hydration. Furthermore, histological analysis revealed that CQ attenuated the increased epidermal thickness and infiltration of mast cells caused by DNCB. CQ also increased the expression of filaggrin, and reduced the expression of ceramidase, serum IgE level, and the number of eosinophils. CQ effectively inhibited cytokines and chemokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-13, TARC, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) at the mRNA levels, as well as the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 in the skin lesions. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that CQ may be an effective treatment of AD-like skin lesions by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory mediators via the MAPK signaling pathways.

Although wheat is a common staple food in the world, some people suffer from a variety of wheat allergies. For example, wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis is induced in the gastrointestinal tract by wheat proteins. Relatively high molecular weight proteins that are salt-insoluble induce many wheat allergies. In the present study, we investigated the induction of an allergy response using crude wheat proteins, which are relatively low molecular weight, salt-soluble proteins. The crude antigen used in this study was extracted using phosphate buffered saline. When the antigen extracts from various wheat cultivars were orally administered, differentiable degrees of allergy responses were observed as measured by serum IgE and histamine secretion compared to the control. Serum IgE levels increased following administration of three of the wheat extracts. This evidence suggests that a combination of salt-soluble wheat proteins could be antigens for the induction of various allergy responses.

Recently, the incidence of diabetes has increased steadily worldwide. Type 2 diabetes constitutes about 90% of all cases of diabetes, and it is associated with many complications. Currently, the drugs for therapy of type 2 diabetes are considerably limited owing to disadvantages such as side effects and high rate of secondary failure. To overcome these problems, it is necessary to develop effective therapeutic agents from safe natural products. Deep-sea water (DSW) is abundant in minerals such as potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). Mg supplements are known for their usefulness in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In this study, we examined the anti-diabetic effect of Mg salt extracts from DSW in a diabetic mouse model. We observed that the groups treated with Mg salt extract showed better response toward fasting blood glucose level and oral glucose tolerance test when compared to the positive control. Overall, the Mg salt extract improved the symptoms of impaired fasting glucose and glucose tolerance, suggesting that it can be used as an effective agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Allergies and indigestion problems have increased in our society with increasing wheat consumption. Among wheat proteins, omega-5 gliadins (ω5-gliadins) and high molecular weight (HMW)-glutenin are known to be some of the major factors responsible for an allergic response and indigestion. Certain low molecular weight (LMW)-glutenin subunits are also able to promote local inflammation, and share common epitopes with ω5-gliadins. It is known that different wheat cultivars have different combinations of HMW- and LMW-glutenins. We investigated the relationship between the composition of LMW-glutenins and the degree of allergic response or indigestion. The extent of allergic reaction and indigestion characteristics in response to six different wheat cultivars were compared. Patterns of the change of blood glucose level with time, which were employed to measure the indigestion, were quite different, depending on the type of wheat cultivars. The extent of allergic response, as measured with the histamine and IgE levels, was also quite different, depending on the type of wheat cultivars. In addition, the extents were not correlated with patterns of LMW-glutenin DNA and HMW/LMW glutenin protein of various wheat cultivars. The results from the present study suggest that some more other factors, together with factors studied above, need to be considered to better explain the physiological phenomena of variation in blood glucose level and allergic response.

Deep sea water (DSW) is located 100 to 500 m below the sea surface. DSW is widely used in various fields, and is an important source of minerals that can be used to treat mineral deficiency. In the present study, the oral toxicity of DSW-mineral extracts was determined using single-dose and 14-day repeated dose oral toxicity tests in ICR mice. For the single-dose oral toxicity tests, mineral extracts of magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) at doses of 0, 6, 270, 810, and 1,350 mg/kg, respectively, were orally administered to mice once at the beginning of the experiment, and the mice were observed for 14 days. For the 14- day repeated dose oral toxicity tests, Mg and Ca mineral extracts at doses of 0, 3, 135, 405, 675 mg/kg, respectively, were orally administered to mice daily, and the mice were observed for 14 days. Various tests were performed including visual observation; analysis of relative organ weight, food intake, and organ weight; biochemical analysis, and histopathology. The results indicated that mortality and changes in appearance were not observed among differentially administered groups of male and female ICR mice during the experimental period. Differences in body weight gain, food intake, organ weight, and histopathology parameters were not significant between the control and mineral-administered groups. Some results of the biochemical analyses were significantly different, but showed no specific tendencies. Overall, no evidence of toxicity was observed from the oral administration of DSW extracts of Ca and Mg in ICR mice.