The eftieacy of 10 polysaccharidcs (curdlan, inuliii, krestin, laminaran, Icntinan, lcvan, schizophylian, selerogiucan, yeast glucan and zymosan) lo enhance protection of carp, Cyprinus carpio L., against bacterial infection was investigated. Carp were intraperitoneally injected with the polysaceharides (2

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Abstract. A hot‐water extract of Undaria pinnatifida was found to contain polysaccharide(s) which showed immunostimulating activity in fish. In order to identify the effective component(s), the hot‐water extract was fractionated and acid‐soluble (Fraction I) and acid‐insoluble (Fraction II) polysaccharides were evaluated for their potential to enhance protection against Edwardsiella tarda infection in common carp. Intraperitoneal injection of Fraction II in carp 6 and 3 days prior to challenge with E. tarda resulted in a significantly greater survival rate than that of control fish at doses of 10–30mgkg‐1. On the other hand, Fraction I was not effective at any dose. Chemical and physicochemical analyses revealed that Fraction II was sodium alginate with a high degree of purity, with a molecular weight of 45000 and an M/G ratio of 0.8. Some commercial alginates were similarly evaluated for their efficacy. Alginates from Macrocystis pyrifera (MW, 146000‐264000; M/G ratio, 0.9–1.0) significantly increased survival rate, but alginates from Lessonia nigrescens (MW, 177000–290000; M/G ratio, 1.3) had little effect. There are indications that the efficacy (protective effect) of alginates has some relationship to their M/G ratios.

Dietary sphingolipids (SL) inhibit colon carcinogenesis, reduce serum cholesterol, and improve skin barrier function and are considered to be "functional lipids". For comparative determination of the effects of SL with different chemical compositions on lipid metabolism and its related hepatic gene expression, Zucker fatty rats were fed pure sphingomyelin (SM) of animal origin and glucosylceramide (GC) of plant origin. After 45 days, the SM and GC diets led to significant reductions in hepatic lipid and plasma non-HDL cholesterol. Both SM and GC diets decreased plasma insulin levels, whereas only the GC diet increased the plasma adiponectin level. Hepatic gene expression analysis revealed increased expression of adiponectin receptor 2 (Adipor2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (Pdk4). However, expression of stearoyl CoA desaturase (Scd1) was significantly decreased. These results suggest that dietary SL, even of different origins and chemical compositions, may prevent fatty liver and hypercholesterolemia through improvement of adiponectin signaling and consequent increases in insulin sensitivity.

Aim:To demonstrate the clinical benefit of inhibiting intestinal cholesterol absorption, we evaluated the effects of ezetimibe on surrogate markers of cholesterol absorption and synthesis, lipid and glucose metabolism, and markers of obesity and inflammation. Methods: A total of 120 patients with dyslipidemia (46 men; mean age 66.5 years), who had not achieved the low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal recommended by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society Guideline despite diet and exercise or any statin therapy, were enrolled and additionally treated with ezetimibe (10 mg/day) for 12 weeks. . Recent studies have elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying intestinal cholesterol absorption, another potential therapeutic target for hypercholesterolemia. In 2000, Niemann-Pick C1 like 1 (NPC1L1), a transporter protein important for intestinal cholesterol absorption, was cloned. NPC1L1 is composed of 1,359 amino acids, possesses 13 transmembrane spanning IntroductionElevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and its two sources, i.e., de novo synthesis in the liver and the absorption of dietary and bilialy cholesterol in the intestine, have offered important targets for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. HMGCoA reductase inhibitors (statins), which target choAddress for correspondence: Shinya Hiramitsu, Fujita Ezetimibe STudy Assembly (FESTA) investigators group, Shiroshita-cho 2-35, Minami-ku, Nagoya 457-0047, Japan E-mail: hirazy@fujita-hu.ac. , together with a growing body of evidence that relates cholesterol absorption to the risk of cardiovascular events 4,5) , has made investigators more aware of the importance of controlling cholesterol absorption for the prevention of these cardiovascular events. Some investigators have reported increased intestinal cholesterol absorption in US and/or European individuals with a history of coronary artery disease 6) , obesity 7) , or type 2 diabetes mellitus 8) , although the relevance of this alteration to these and other pathologies remains to be determined.Based on these considerations, we evaluated the clinical benefit of ezetimibe and its effect on surrogate markers of cholesterol absorption and synthesis in Japanese patients with hypercholesterolemia in order to establish more efficient lipid-lowering therapy. MaterialsBetween June and December 2007, patients who presented to the outpatient clinic of Fujita Ezetimibe Study Assembly were enrolled if they had not achieved the LDL-C goal levels recommended in the 2007 Guideline of the Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) 9) despite diet and exercise without anti-dyslipidemic agents for at least 4 weeks (ezetimibe monotherapy group) or had not achieved the LDL-C management goal levels despite at least 4 weeks of statin therapy (co-administration with ezetimibe and any statin). The study protocol was approved by the Fujita Health University Ethics Committee and all patients gave written informed consent. MethodsAt enrollment, all patients were examined ...