Camellia japonica L. is a plant of which the seeds are used as a folk medicine, and it is native to South Korea, Japan and China. In previous study, triterpenes, flavonoids, tannins and fatty acids which have antiviral, antioxidant and anti inflammatory activity were reported from C. japonica leaf and flower. In Korea, the seed from this plant is used as a traditional medicine and in folk remedies for the treatment of bleeding and inflammation. However, the major issue associated with the use of the seed as a medicinal and/or functional food ingredient is its application to the pharmaceutical and food industry. First, the productivity of seed extract is very much less than that of the leaf. Second, the beneficial usage of the seed extract as an alternative medicine and functional source is not yet clear. Thus, in this study, we focused on another part of the plant, the leaf, and found that the extract of Camellia japonica leaf has a high concentration of vitamin E, rutin and other biologically active compounds related to hyperuricemia. We aimed to investigate the biological activities, namely the antioxidant activities, xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity and anti‑hyperuricemic effects of extract from C. japonica leaf and the phytochemicals contained therein. Ethanol extracts of C. japonica leaf (ECJL) were prepared, and the extract was used with respect to antioxidant activities, total phenolic contents and XO inhibitory activity. The in vivo XO inhibitory activity and anti‑hyperuricemic effects of the extract were evaluated in mice with potassium oxonate‑induced hyperuricemia. To clarify the marker compounds that are responsible for the anti‑hyperuricemic effects, several key constituents were identified using gas chromatography‑mass spectrometry (GC‑MS) and and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). ECJL was found to have strong antioxidant activities, and in vitro XO inhibitory activity. The results of the in vivo experiments using mice demonstrated that ECJL at the doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg inhibited hepatic XO activity and significantly attenuated hyperuricemia. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report on the XO inhibitory and anti-hyperuricemic effects of ECJL, which can be therapeutically applied in the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of the prostate gland. Cynanchum wilfordii has been reported to improve sexual behavior in male rats. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of an aqueous extract of C. wilfordii (CWW) against BPH development in a testosterone-induced BPH rat model. The rats were divided into the following six groups: sham/vehicle; BPH/vehicle; BPH/finasteride; and three CWW doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg). After a 4-week treatment with CWW, the rats were euthanized at scheduled times, and their prostates were weighed, followed by a histopathological examination. Prostate growth inhibition rates in rats administered CWW 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg were 54.5%, 51.8%, and 50.1%, respectively. The BPH/CWW group showed decreased serum testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels compared to the BPH/vehicle group. Furthermore, the BPH/CWW group showed reduced prostate testosterone and DHT levels compared to the BPH/vehicle group. Mechanistically, the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed downregulated mRNA expression levels of the androgen receptor, 5α-reductase, and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) in the BPH/CWW200 group compared with those in the testosterone-induced groups. In conclusion, these findings show the effectiveness of CWW in slowing the progression of testosterone-induced BPH in rats.

We report the identification of interspecific barcoding InDel regions in Vaccinium species. We compared five complete Vaccinium chloroplast (cp) genomes (V. bracteatum, V. vitis-idaea, V. uliginosum, V. macrocarpon, and V. oldhamii) to identify regions that can be used to distinguish them. Comparative analysis of nucleotide diversity from five cp genomes revealed 25 hotspot coding and noncoding regions, occurring in 65 of a total of 505 sliding windows, that exhibited nucleotide diversity (Pi) > 0.02. PCR validation of 12 hypervariable InDel regions identified seven candidate barcodes with high discriminatory powers: accD-trnT-GGU, rpoB-rpoA, ycf2-trnL-GAA, rps12-ycf15, trnV-GAC, and ndhE-ndhF. Among them, the rpoB-rpoA(2) and ycf2-trnL-CAA sequences clearly showed the intraspecific and interspecific distance among five Vaccinium species by using a K2P technique. In phylogenetic analysis, included five Vaccinium species (n = 19) in the Bayesian and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) analysis revered all species in two major clades and resolved taxonomic position within species groups. These two locus provide comprehensive information that aids the phylogenetics of this genus and increased discriminatory capacity during species authentication.

Quercus acuta Thunb. (Fagaceae) (QA) is cultivated as a dietary and ornamental plant in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. It has been widely used as the main ingredient of acorn tofu, a traditional food in China and South Korea. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro and in vivo xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory and antihyperuricemic activities of an ethyl acetate extract of QA leaf (QALE) and identify its active phytochemicals using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography (LC) systems. The QALE was found to possess potent in vitro antioxidant and XO inhibitory activities. In vivo study using hyperuricemic mice induced with potassium oxonate demonstrated that the QALE could inhibit hepatic XO activity at a relatively low oral dose (50 mg/kg) and significantly alleviate hyperuricemia to a similar extent as allopurinol. Several active compounds including vitamin E known to possess XO inhibitory activity were identified from the QALE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the active constituents and antihyperuricemic effect of QA, suggesting that it is feasible to use QALE as a food therapy or alternative medicine for alleviating hyperuricemia and gout.

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