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Moringa oleifera Lam. is rich in phytochemical compounds especially glucosinolates (GSs) and isothiocyanates (ITCs), which are active compounds for cancer chemoprevention benefits of Brassicaceae vegetables. In this study, we determined the total contents of GSs and ITCs and their specific profiles in different Moringa tissues including seeds, stems, leaves and roots. Seeds (seeds with shell and seed kernel) showed significantly higher levels of total GSs and ITCs than that of other Moringa tissues. The hydrogen sulfide (H2S) releasing capacity of total ITCs extracted from different Moringa tissues was determined by lead (II) acetate assay in 24-well plates. The H2S releasing capacity of different Moringa tissues were evaluated and compared. Moringa seeds showed the highest H2S releasing capacity, followed by roots, leaves and stems. Our results suggest that Moringa based foods may exhibit health benefits due to its GSs and ITCs contents that are the precursors for H2S, in addition to the recognized action mechanisms of ITCs.

BACKGROUND: Whereas the majority of previous research on social capital and health has been on residential neighborhoods and communities, the evidence remains sparse on workplace social capital. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the association between workplace social capital and health status among Chinese employees in a large, multi-level, cross-sectional study. METHODS: By employing a two-stage stratified random sampling procedure, 2,796 employees were identified from 35 workplaces in Shanghai during March to November 2012. Workplace social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure, and the Chinese language version of the WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) was used to assess mental health. Control variables included sex, age, marital status, education level, occupation status, smoking status, physical activity, and job stress. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with mental health status. RESULTS: In total, 34.9% of workers reported poor mental health (WHO-5

[Objective] This study aimed to clone and analyze the cysteine proteinase inhibitor gene from seedless litchi. [Method] According to the EST sequence of cysteine proteinase inhibitor in constructed SSH subtractive library of seedless litchi abortion, nucleotide sequence of the cysteine proteinase inhibitor gene was obtained by using RACE technology and analyzed by using bioinformatics software. [Result] A cysteine protease inhibitor gene was obtained with the sequence of 635 bp containing a 321 bp open reading frame. It was predicted that the encoded protein contained 106 amino acids with conserved domain of cysteine proteinase inhibitor and had relatively high homology with the cysteine proteinase inhibitor gene of several species. [ Conclusion] This study laid the foundation for further exploring the physiological functions of this cysteine proteinase inhibitor gene in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]