Supercritical fluid SF-CO2 treatment of Rosemarinus officinalis L. fresh leaves under optimum conditions (80 degrees C at 5,000 psi) yielded 5.3% of extract supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)-80, in which five major active principles were identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), viz., rosmarinic acid, carnosol, 12-methoxycarnosic acid, carnosic acid, and methyl carnosate. Total phenolic content was 155.8 mg/ gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g in SFE-80, which showed 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging of 81.86% at 0.01 mg/ml. When treated in RAW 264.7, apparent dose-dependent NO inhibition occurred at dosages of 1.56 to 6.25 microg/ml, and more drastically at 12.5 and 25 microg/ml. At 0.5 to 5.0 microg/ml, SFE-80 exhibited dose-dependent viability suppression and significant tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production in Hep 3B, whereas no effect was found in Chang liver cells. Furthermore, no effect was observed in RAW 264.7 at dosages of 3.13 to 25 microg/ml, indicating that SFE-80 exhibited a noncytotoxic character. Conclusively, rosemary can be considered an herbal anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor agent.

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Aim : To study the change of lipid metabolism by antiandrogen therapy in patients with prostate cancer. Materials and methods : We studied with a 2.5 years follow-up the changes in plasma cholesterols (C), triglycerides (TG), lipoproteins (LP), and apolipoproteins (Apo) B-100, A-I, and A-II profiles in 24 patients of mean age 60 years with low risk prostate cancer (stage: T1cN 0 M 0 , Gleason score: 2-5) during treatment with cyproterone acetate (CPA) without surgical management or radiation therapy.Results : Significant decreases of HDL-C, Apo A-I and Apo A-II and an increase of triglyceride levels in VLDL were induced by CPA. After a period of 2.5 years on CPA treatment, four patients out of twenty-four were found to be affected by coronary heart disease. Conclusions : Ischaemic coronary arteriosclerosis with an incidence rate of 16.6% as caused by prolonged CPA therapy is mediated through changes in HDL cholesterol, Apo A-I and Apo A-II profiles, other than the well-known hyperglyceridemic effect caused by estrogen.

In an investigation of the mutagenic activity of two extracts from rhizomes of Curcuma zedoaria (the mathanolic, CME, and the aqueous, CAE) and antimutagenic activity against mutagens, either 2-amino-3-methylimidazo (4,5-f) quinoline (IQ) or 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide (4-NQO), in dosages of 1-50 microg/plate was assayed by using Salmonella typhimurium TA97, TA98, TA100, and TA102 strains. We found that the two extracts showed no mutagenicity when tested with all the tester strains either with or without the S9 mix. Moreover, the two extracts, particularly CME, presented a greater antimutagenicity than CAE did either in IQ or 4-NQO mutagens. However, the inhibition effect on lipid peroxidation was similar with both extracts. The amount of major antioxidants beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, and total polyphenols present in both CME and CAE were similar between each other. In contrast, the content of cucuminoids (44.3 mg/g extract) in CME were only found in small amounts in CAE (0.09 mg/g extract). Consequently, although both of the extracts showed similar antioxidant effects, the curcuminoids, which seem to be the main active principles from this plant, were suggested to play a pivotal role in antimutagenic activity.