Consumption of Echinacea at the first sign of symptoms has been clinically shown to reduce both the severity and duration of cold and flu. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction optimized for precision and reproducibility was utilized to explore in vitro and in vivo changes in the expression of immunomodulatory genes in response to Echinacea. In vitro exposure of THP-1 cells to 250 microg/ml of Echinacea species extracts induced expression (up to 10-fold) of the interleukin-1alpha, interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, intracellular adhesion molecule, interleukin-8, and interleukin-10 genes. This preliminary result is consistent with a general immune response and activation of the nonspecific immune response cytokines. In vivo gene expression within peripheral leukocytes was evaluated in six healthy nonsmoking subjects (18-65 years of age). Blood samples were obtained at baseline and on Days 2, 3, 5, and 12 after consuming a commercial blended Echinacea product, three tablets three times daily (1518 mg/day) for two days plus one additional dose (506 mg) on day three. Serum chemistry and hematological values were not different from baseline, suggesting that liver or bone marrow responses were not involved in acute responses to Echinacea. The overall gene expression pattern at 48 hr to 12 days after taking Echinacea was consistent with an antiinflammatory response. The expression of interleukin-1beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, intracellular adhesion molecule, and interleukin-8 was modestly decreased up through Day 5, returning to baseline by day 12. The expression of interferon-alpha steadily rose through Day 12, consistent with an antiviral response. These preliminary data present a gene expression response pattern that is consistent with Echinacea's reported ability to reduce both the duration and intensity of cold and flu symptoms.

The antifungal activity and 5-lipoxygenase-inhibiting activity of extracts of five wild and three commercially used taxa of the genus Echinacea were investigated. The near-UV mediated antifungal bioassays included clinically isolated Cryptococcus neoformans, two Candida albicans isolates (D10 and CN1A) with amphotericin B resistance, as well as established and emerging filamentous fungal pathogens (Trichophyton tonsurans, T. mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum and Pseudallescheria boydii). Root extracts of the eight Echinacea taxa showed antifungal activity against most of the pathogenic fungi. The inhibition of the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme of the arachadonic acid pathway was determined by HPLC detection of a direct metabolic product (LTB 4 ) of 5-LOX derived from stimulated rat basophilic cells. Root extracts of the three commercial species of Echinacea (E. purpurea, E. pallida var. angustifolia, E. pallida var. pallida) inhibited the 5-LOX enzyme. E. pallida var. angustifolia was the most potent of the three. The results show that Echinacea spp. have significant antifungal and antiinflammatory activity.Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Emory University on 08/07/15For personal use only.

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The notion that ethylene production levels in nonmelting-flesh (NMF) peach (Prunus persica L.) fruit are normally lower than those in melting-flesh (MF) fruit is refuted in our study. In fact, NMF fruit (`Oro A' and FL 86-28C) usually produced higher levels of ethylene than did MF fruit (FL 90-20 and `TropicBeauty'). In both MF and NMF peaches, the rate of ethylene production, rather than the respiration rate, provided a good indication of the developmental stage of the fruit at harvest. Ethylene content in fruit on the tree followed a climacteric pattern, with the level in `Oro A' (NMF) and FL 90-20 (MF) peaking at 50 and 12 μL·L–1, respectively. The respiratory climacteric was not apparent in either `Oro A' or FL 90-20, and levels of CO2 were similar in both genotypes.

A study to compare the response to postharvest chilling (4 °C) for up to 3 weeks of melting-flesh (MF)—FL 90-20, FL 90-21W, and FL 91-16—and nonmelting-flesh (NMF)—`Oro A', FL 90-35C, and FL 90-47C—peach (Prunus persica L.) genotypes revealed that MF fruit were notably more susceptible to the development of mealiness than NMF types. Cell separation in mealy fruit was demonstrated by the release of mesocarp cells to an aqueous medium, allowing determination of mealiness severity. At a histological level, chilling brought about an impressive expansion of the intercellular spaces in MF mesocarp tissue but did not affect NMF fruit. A decrease in flesh electrical resistance after 1 week of chilling was observed only in MF fruit. However, electrical resistance increased in MF and NMF fruit following 2 and 3 weeks at 4 °C. Electrical resistance also decreased with ripening of MF fruit but did not change when NMF fruit were ripened. Unlike NMF fruit, the MF genotypes FL 90-21W and FL 91-16 showed an increase in respiration rate due to chilling. The rate of ethylene production decreased after 1 week at 4 °C in MF and NMF genotypes. However, two MF and two NMF genotypes exhibited rising ethylene levels after the second week of storage at 4 °C, while ethylene production in one MF and one NMF genotype continued to decline.