No abstract

Osteoporosis, a prevalent bone disease in an aging population, is considered to be closely related to osteoblastogenesis and adipogenesis. As a part of an ongoing trend to develop natural substances that attenuate osteoporotic conditions, edible brown algae E. cava and its bioactive constituents were tested for their effects on adipogenic differentiation in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts and osteoblast differentiation in MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. Following an activity-based isolation, three phlorotannin derivatives, triphlorethol-A (1), eckol (2) and dieckol (3), were isolated. Anti-adipogenesis effect of phlorotannins at the concentration of 20 µM was observed by reduced lipid accumulation and the suppressed expression of adipogenic differentiation markers. In addition, isolated phlorotannins successfully enhanced the osteoblast differentiation as indicated by increased alkaline phosphatase activity along with raised levels of osteoblastogenesis indicators and intracellular calcification at the concentration of 20 µM. In conclusion, E. cava is suggested as a source for functional food ingredients, especially phlorotannin derivatives that can be utilized for extenuating osteoporosis and obesity.

No abstract

Limonium tetragonum has been well-known for its antioxidative properties as a halophyte. This study investigated the antimetastasis effect of solvent-partitioned L. tetragonum extracts (LTEs) and isolated compounds on HT1080 mouse melanoma cell model with a focus on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and TIMP and MAPK pathways. Upregulation and stimulation of MMPs result in elevated degradation of extracellular matrix which is part of several complications such as metastasis, cirrhosis, and arthritis. The anti-MMP capacity of LTEs was confirmed by their MMP-inhibitory effects, regulation of MMP and TIMP expression, and suppression of MAPK pathway. Among all tested LTEs, 85% aq. MeOH and n-BuOH were found to be most active fractions which later yielded two known flavonoid glycosides, myricetin 3-galactoside and quercetin 3-o-beta-galactopyranoside. Anti-MMP potential of the compounds was confirmed by their ability to regulate MMP expression through inhibited MAPK pathway activation. These results suggested that L. tetragonum might serve as a potential source of bioactive substances with effective anti-MMP properties.

A 3 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the proper dietary protein and lipid levels for growth of subadult olive flounder reared in suboptimal water temperature. Six diets were formulated to contain three levels of protein (40, 45, and 50%) and two levels of lipid (7 and 14%). Triplicate groups of fish (initial body weight of 255 g) were hand‐fed to apparent satiation for 14 wk in suboptimal water temperature (15.5 ± 1.3 C). The highest weight gain and feed efficiency were observed in fish fed the 45 and 50% protein diets with 14% lipid. Protein efficiency ratio, daily feed intake, condition factor, and hepatosomatic index of fish fed the 14% lipid diets were significantly or slightly higher than those fed the 7% lipid diets at the same protein level. Crude lipid contents of the liver and viscera of fish fed the 14% lipid diets were significantly higher than those fed the 7% lipid diets at the same protein level. The results of this study suggest that at 15 C an increase of dietary lipid level from 7 to 14% can improve growth and protein utilization irrespective of protein levels (40, 45, and 50%), and the diet containing 45% protein and 14% lipid would be suitable for optimal growth and effective protein utilization of subadult olive flounder when reared at 15 C.