The results of the present study demonstrate that down-regulation of NQO1 effectively suppresses TNF-alpha-induced HASMC migration through inhibition of MMP-9 expression, suggesting that NQO1 may be a potential target for the prevention of vascular disorders related to migration of VSMC.

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Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a well known edible plant that is traditionally used to treat various illnesses related to inflammation and oxidative stress. Steam distillated ginger oil or water extract are mainly used for related products; however, it is unclear whether these fractions contain most of the bioactive compounds or the highest efficacy. This investigated the antioxidant effects of extracts prepared by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). 6-Gingerol was the most abundant component in hexane fraction of ethanol extract from ginger. The antioxidative properties of SFE oil and Marc ethanol fractions were demonstrated using the 2,20-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis 3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals scavenging assays. A clear correlation was observed between total polyphenol contents and RC 50 values in the Marc ethanol fraction. These results indicate that not only SFE oil but the marc after SFE could be good sources for the food industry.

In our study, we investigated the antioxidant effect of methanol extract from the leaves of Picrasma quassioides (PQ) and Chamaecyparis obtuse (S. et Z.) ENDL (CO). Total polyphenol contents of methanol extracts from PQ and CO varied from 138.3 to 367.52 μg/mg and total flavonoid contents varied from 8.12 to 46.41 μg/mg. Contents of polyphenol and flavonoid in PQ were found to be extremely high. In addition, the methanol extract of PQ had a higher antioxidant activity in both DPPH (4.79 μg/ml) and ABTS (7.21 μg/ml) compared to other plants (CO). Based on the results of the FRAP assay, PQ showed a value of 8.52 μmol/μg and CO exhibited a value of 1.77 μmol/μg. The methanol extracts from the leaves of PQ showed the highest radical-scavenging activity in various antioxidant systems.

Early postmortem ATP level is known as a good predictor of pork quality. Pork carcasses were divided into two; one was electrically stimulated (ES) to simulate poor quality pork and the other was left untreated and served as a control normal pork. Fractions of longissimus were excised from carcasses regularly for 2 hours after death and deep-frozen (-80 o C) until analyses. The ATP level of normal untreated control pork decreased from 5.00 to 2.04 μmole/g within 2 hours postmortem. The decrement of ATP was approximately 60% of its initial content. In the meantime, ES poor quality pork had a more drastic rate of ATP decrease. Electrical stimulation itself decreased ATP level from 4.70 to 3.50 μmole/g, by approximately 25%. ATP level of ES pork dropped to 1.71 μmole/g within 1 hour postmortem and was further plunged to 0.26 μmole/g and almost exhausted during the next hour. The level of IMP increased from 0.49 to 3.17 μmole/g and it became the dominant nucleotide within 2 hours postmortem. Electrical stimulation prompted the increase of IMP from 0.69 to 3.19 μmole/g and its level went up to 6.64 μmole/g within 2 hours postmortem. The level of ADP also decreased from 1.45 to 0.67 μmole/g for 2 hours after death and ES also accelerated ADP breakdown. The AMP levels were lower than those of other nucleotides and increased from 0.16 to 0.31 μmole/g within 2 hours postmortem. The increase of AMP was accelerated between 60 and 90 minutes after electrical stimulation. Early postmortem electrical stimulation prompted a drastic rate of changes in contents of 4 nucleotides during 2 hours postmortem. In the meantime, the ATP levels for ES poor quality pork were much lower than those of normal pork.