The production of soybean products has been increasing throughout the world, and there has been a corresponding increase in the quantity of soybean curd residue (SCR) being thrown out. The dumping of SCR has become a problem to be solved due to its contamination to the environment. SCR is rich in fiber, fat, protein, vitamins, and trace elements. It has potential for value-added processing and utilization; options that simultaneously hold the promise of increased economic benefit as well as decreased pollution potential for the environment. The objective of this study is to fully investigate, review, and summarize the existing literature in order to develop a comprehensive knowledge base for the composition and reuse of SCR. It is evident from the literature survey that SCR shows good potential as a functional food material. However, there are several drawbacks to the use of SCR and corresponding solutions presented in this paper.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common human cancers. The molecular mechanisms underlying GC carcinogenesis and progression are still not well understood. In this study, we showed that heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (HNRNPK) was an effective prognostic marker for GC patients especially in early stage. Overexpression of HNRNPK can retard tumor cell proliferation and colony formation in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in vivo through p53/p21/CCND1 axis. Bioinformatics analyses indicated that HNRNPK associated genes were enriched in cell cycle and DNA replication process. Protein-protein interaction network showed that HNRNPK was physically interacted with p53, p21 and other cancer related genes. Besides, GSEA showed that HNRNPK expression was positively correlated with GAMMA radiation response and DNA repair, while negatively correlated with angiogenesis, TGF-β and Hedgehog pathway activation. Finally, several chemicals including Glycine that may repress GC progression through upregulating HNRNPK are suggested. Our study demonstrated that HNRNPK may play as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer and could be a potential therapeutic target for GC.

Helicteres angustifolia L. is a shrub that forms a common ingredient of several cancer treatment recipes in traditional medicine system both in China and Laos. In order to investigate molecular mechanisms of its anticancer activity, we prepared aqueous extract of Helicteres angustifolia L. Roots (AQHAR) and performed several in vitro assays using human normal fibroblasts (TIG-3) and osteosarcoma (U2OS). We found that AQHAR caused growth arrest/apoptosis of U2OS cells in a dose-dependent manner. It showed no cytotoxicity to TIG-3 cells at doses up to 50 μg/ml. Biochemical, imaging and cell cycle analyses revealed that it induces ROS signaling and DNA damage response selectively in cancer cells. The latter showed upregulation of p53, p21 and downregulation of Cyclin B1 and phospho-Rb. Furthermore, AQHAR-induced apoptosis was mediated by increase in pro-apoptotic proteins including cleaved PARP, caspases and Bax. Anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 showed decrease in AQHAR-treated U2OS cells. In vivo xenograft tumor assays in nude mice revealed dose-dependent suppression of tumor growth and lung metastasis with no toxicity to the animals suggesting that AQHAR could be a potent and safe natural drug for cancer treatment.