No abstract

The present study evaluated the antiobesity and lipid-lowering effects from dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts of Hwanggeumchal Sorghum varieties on Sorghum bicolor. The Hwanggeumchal Sorghum ethyl acetate extracts significantly reduced the plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels significantly when given orally at a dose of 50 and 300 mg/kg/day to the high-fat diet-induced obese rats for 2 weeks. These findings demonstrate the excellent pharmacological potential of Hwanggeumchal Sorghum varieties to prevent obesity.

We observed that an aqueous extract of this medicinal plant exhibited significant neuroprotection against glutamate-induced toxicity in primary cultured rat cortical cells from methanol extracts of the roots of Vitis thunbergii var. sinuate (Vitaceae). To further clarify the underlying neuroprotective mechanisms of this observed effect, we isolated and identified various active fractions and components. By using such fractionation procedures, five resveratrol derivatives − vitisinols A (1), B (2), C (3), (+)-vitisin A (4), and (+)-vitisin C (5) − were isolated from the methanol extracts from the roots of V. thunbergii var. sinuate. Among these five resveratrol derivatives, 3 exhibited most significant neuroprotective activity against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity, as indicated by a cell viability of approximately 75%−85%, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 μM to 10 μM. These findings indicate that the neuroprotective effects of V. thunbergii var. sinuate might be due to the inhibition of glutamate-induced toxicity by resveratrol derivatives present in the plant.

Ficus carica L., its fruits are delicious and can be eaten by human. Its leaves are commonly used to cure hemorrhoid and clear away heart ache. The milky sap of F. carica have a significant toxic effect against early fourth-stage larvae of Aedes aegypti L with an lethal concentration (LC(50)) value of 10.2 μg/ml and an LC(90) value of 42.3 μg/ml. Two natural furocoumarins, 5-methoxypsoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen were isolated from the milky sap of F. carica. The LC(50) value of 5-methoxypsoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen were 9.4 and 56.3 μg/ml, respectively. The above indicates that major compounds may play a more important role in the toxicity of the milky sap of F. carica.

This study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro scavenging activity and inhibitory effect of low-density lipoprotein oxidation of pro-oxidant reactive species in response to treatment with organic solvent fractions from mung bean (seeds of Vigna radiata) extracts using various screening methods including biological and non-biological oxidants. The antioxidant activity of different organic solvent fractions from mung bean extracts were studied in vitro methods by evaluating the total phenol components, measuring the antioxidant activity by trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, measuring the scavenging effects on reactive oxygen species and on reactive nitrogen species as well as measuring the inhibitory effect on Cu2+-induced human low-density lipoprotein oxidation. The mung bean extracts were found to have a potent scavenging activity against all of the reactive species tested as well as an inhibitory effect on low-density lipoprotein oxidation, the studied mung bean was revealed to be very effective against the evaluated pro-oxidant species, including reactive oxygen species and on reactive nitrogen species.