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Portulaca oleracea L. is a traditional oriental medicine known for its pharmacological effects. The present study aimed to investigate the immunostimulatory effects of PPCE on cyclophosphamide-stimulated rat model and in isolated spleen cells. The result showed that PPCE exerted an immunostimulatory effect in vivo and in vitro. Specifically, PPCE significantly enhanced splenocyte proliferation and upregulated inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) and NK cell activity in vitro. The immunostimulatory effect was further investigated through various immunological assays. Oral administration of PPCE increased the swimming time and number of immune cells in rats. Histological analysis revealed that PPCE administration exerted splenic recovery. Thus, P. oleracea L. based complex extracts may be used as an immunostimulatory agent in medicine or functional foods.

The crystal structures of two clathrates with imidazole (=imH), [Cd3(CN)6(imH)2]·C6H12, I, and [Cd3(CN)6(imH)2]·C6H5Cl, II, have been analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Clathrate I crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/n with a=13.416(2), b=14.140(2), c=14.151(1)A, β=105.08(9)°, V=2592.1(5)A, Z=4, R 1=0.0360, wR 2=0.0850 for 5931 independent reflections; II: monoclinic P21/n, a=12.369(2), b=14.313(2), c=14.416(4)A, β=106.04(2)°, V=2452.7(9)A, Z=4, R 1=0.0398, wR 2=0.1105 for 5642 independent reflections. The three-dimensional host structures of clathrates I and II are isostructural with each other. The host framework is built through cyanide bridges among two kinds of Cd ions, tetrahedral and octahedral, in a ratio of 2 : 1. The tetrahedral Cd(1) centre is linked to three octahedral Cd(3) atoms and one tetrahedral Cd(2) atom; the tetrahedral Cd(2) centre is ligated by one unidentate imidazole ligand and linked to one tetrahedral Cd(1) atom and two oc...

The purpose of this study was to examine the antiobesity effects of lactic acid bacteria-fermented Dioscoreae Rhizoma powder (LDR) in Sprague-Dawley rats with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Rats were divided into 5 groups: normal diet group, control (high fat diet-vehicle) group, 0.4 g/kg LDR (high fat diet + 0.4 g/kg lactic acid bacteria-fermented Dioscoreae Rhizoma powder) group, 1 g/kg LDR (high fat diet + lactic acid bacteria-fermented Dioscoreae Rhizoma powder) group, 2.5g/kg LDR (high fat diet + lactic acid bacteria-fermented Dioscoreae Rhizoma powder) group. Our results indicate that LDR administration has effects on decreasing of body weight, fat weight, blood parameters and adipocyte size in the obesity animals. In addition, verified that fat degeneration and ballooning degeneration were alleviated in the experimental group fed on a high fat diet combined with LDR groups. These results indicate that lactic acid bacteria-fermented Dioscoreae Rhizoma powder may reduce elevating body weight and lipid accumulation in rat fed a high fat diet, suggesting its usefulness as a functional food for reducing body fat and obesity.