Our previous study showed that the subcutaneous administration of auraptene (AUR) suppresses inflammatory responses including the hyperactivation of microglia in the substantia nigra (SN) of the midbrain of lipopolysaccharide-induced Parkinson's disease (PD)-like mice, as well as inhibits dopaminergic neuronal cell death in this region. We also showed that the oral administration of the dried peel powder of Citrus kawachiensis, which contains relatively high amounts of AUR, suppresses inflammatory responses including the hyperactivation of microglia in the systemically inflamed brain.In the present study we showed that the oral administration of this dried peel powder successfully suppressed microglial activation and protected against dopaminergic neuronal cell death in the SN, suggesting its potential as a neuroprotective agent for the treatment of patients with PD.

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion leads to delayed neuronal cell death, resulting in brain damage. Auraptene (AUR) and naringin (NGIN), which exert neuroprotective effects in ischemic brain, are abundant in the peel of Citrus kawachiensis. Although parts of AUR/NGIN are transited from the peel to the juice during the squeezing of this fruit, these amounts in juice might be too low to exert effects. We thus prepared the AUR/NGIN-rich fruit juice of C. kawachiensis by addition of peel paste to the raw juice. The present study revealed that orally administration of the dried powder of this AUR/NGIN-rich fruit juice (2.5 g/kg/d) for 7 d to ischemic mice significantly suppressed the ischemia-induced neuronal cell death in the hippocampus, which was coincidently with the reduction of hyperactivation of microglia and astrocytes. These results suggest that AUR/NGIN-rich juice of C. kawachiensis may possess therapeutic potential for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases via inhibition of inflammatory processes.

Objective/Hypothesis This study was undertaken to detect the faculty of secretion of saliva from minor salivary glands by analyzing a color reaction on a test tape containing iodine and starch that was applied on the lower lip. Study Design A study involving 63 patients with oral dryness, 7 patients with Sjögren syndrome, and 70 healthy individuals was performed. Methods A test tape (1 × 1 cm) containing iodine and starch was set on the mucosal area anterior to the labia frenulum for 30 seconds. Because the number of blue spots was considered to correspond to the number of ostia of the salivary gland on the lower lip that was examined, the number of blue spots occurring as a reaction of iodine and starch on the test tape was counted and was compared among three groups. In addition, the relationship between the histopathological findings and the number of spots was analyzed. Results The average number of spots in the patients with oral dryness (4.52 ± 3.18 [mean ± SD]) was lower than that in healthy individuals (9.49 ± 2.52, P <.01), and that in the patients with Sjögren syndrome (2.14 ± 1.35) was the lowest among all groups in the study. Moreover, this reduction in the number of spots in those patients was accompanied by histopathological changes of the minor salivary glands. Conclusion These findings suggest that this simple, noninvasive method can be successfully used for the estimation of the faculty of secretion of saliva from the minor salivary glands.