To identify novel cosmetic ingredients from subtropical plants, we screened 21 parts of 12 plant species collected from the Agricultural Research Institute for Climate located in Jeju Island, the southernmost island of the Korean Peninsula. Subtropical plants were investigated for their total polyphenolic content by using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent with gallic acid as the standard as well as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) scavenging activities. In both the DPPH and the ABTS assays, three plants, Syzygium samarangense, Acca sellowiana (leaves and branches), and Olea europaea (branches) showed significantly greater scavenging activity [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) < 50 µg/mL] than the other plants did. The leaves and branches of S. samarangense also had the highest total phenolic content (153.7 and 160.6 mg gallic acid equivalent [GAE]/g DW, respectively). However, the subtropical plants in this study showed lower elastase and tyrosinase inhibition activities than the positive controls oleanolic acid and arbutin (95.0 and 86.5 µg/mL, respectively) did. Furthermore, we sought to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of these subtropical plants for potential use in topical applications to treat skin inflammation. Therefore, they were screened for inhibitory effects on the proinflammatory mediator, nitric oxide (NO) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Our results revealed that S. samarangense leaves potently inhibited the LPS-stimulated NO production concentration-dependently with an IC 50 of 154.3 µg/mL. These results suggest that these subtropical plants possess several biological activities that may be potent inhibitors of the skin aging and inflammatory processes. Further investigations will focus on cell-based in vitro assays and chemically identifying the major active components mediating the anti-aging and anti-inflammation.

PurposeThe present study demonstrates that prolonged restraint administration for 21 days caused memory impairment and induced hippocampal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis. On the contrary, this change was revered by treadmill running for 8 weeks. Repeated psychological stress caused an increase in escape latency time in the water maze test, accompanied by the induction of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), and cleaved/active caspase-12 protein in the hippocampus. The expression pattern of ER stress response-related proteins were counter-regulated by chronic exercise, as indicated by a reduction in GRP78, CHOP, and cleaved caspase-12, along with a decrease in escape latency time. In addition, the hippocampal expression pattern of phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) opposed that of ER stress response components. Accordingly, chronic exercise may attenuate prolonged stress-induced hippocampal ER stress and memory deficit, likely through CREB/BDNF signaling.

Jong-Seok Kang. Exercise copes with prolonged stress-induced impairment of spatial memory performance by endoplasmic reticulum stress. JENB., Vol. 19, No. 3, pp.191-197, 2015 [Purpose] The present study demonstrates that prolonged restraint administration for 21 days caused memory impairment and induced hippocampal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis. On the contrary, this change was revered by treadmill running for 8 weeks. Repeated psychological stress caused an increase in escape latency time in the water maze test, accompanied by the induction of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), and cleaved/active caspase-12 protein in the hippocampus. The expression pattern of ER stress response-related proteins were counter-regulated by chronic exercise, as indicated by a reduction in GRP78, CHOP, and cleaved caspase-12, along with a decrease in escape latency time. In addition, the hippocampal expression pattern of phospho-cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) opposed that of ER stress response components. Accordingly, chronic exercise may attenuate prolonged stress-induced hippocampal ER stress and memory deficit, likely through

The present study was undertaken to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential and mechanism of action of the rape flower extract (RFE) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. RFE inhibited nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2), interleukin-1â (IL-1â), and IL-6 production in a concentration-dependent manner. RFE effectively attenuated the expression of inflammation-mediating enzymes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), at the protein level in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, the attenuation of inflammatory responses in RAW 264.7 cells by RFE was closely associated with the suppression of the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), eventually blocking the activation of downstream elements contributing to inflammation. RFE HPLC fingerprint indicated the presence of coumestrol. The coumestrol content in RFE was 2.614 ìM. To evaluate the safety of RFE and its effects on the human skin, human skin primary irritation tests were performed on the normal skin (upper back) of 32 volunteers to determine if any constituent of RFE presented an irritation or sensitization potential. RFE did not induce any adverse reactions. Taken together, our results suggest that RFE may be considered as an anti-inflammatory candidate for topical application.

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