SummaryThe urinary concentrations of 8-isoprostane and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), which are biomarkers of oxidative stress, were measured in 677 Japanese people without any diseases, and their correlations with lifestyle facotrs, lifestyle-related blood biochemical parameters, and dietary intake of antioxidative vitamins were investigated. The mean urinary concentration of 8-isoprostane and 8-OHdG was 0.58 ng/mg creatinine and 8.43 ng/mg creatinine, respectively. Mean urinary 8-isoprostane was significantly different in terms of age, gender, smoking and alcohol consumption but not different in terms of body mass index (BMI) and exercise. By multiple regression analysis, urinary 8-isoprostane was significantly influenced by smoking and age. On the other hand, mean urinary 8-OHdG showed differences only by age group. Multiple regression analysis revealed that urinary 8-OHdG was significantly influenced by age, smoking, body weight, levels of high-sensitivity Creactive protein (Hs-CRP) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol in females, although it was significantly influenced by body weight in males. The present study shows that urinary 8-isoprostane is associated with lipid peroxidation related-lifestyles such as smoking, and urinary 8-OHdG is associated with arteriosclerosis related-factors such as Hs-CRP. Our findings suggest that 8-isoprostane and 8-OHdG appear to be prospective biomarkers for early prediction of lifestyle related-disease risk at the population level.

Background:Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb are traditionally used in Indonesia to treat various diseases, but still limited study about different part of this plant. Objective: The aim of this study was to screen the phytochemicals, to evaluate the total flavonoid and total phenolic contents as well as antioxidant activity of ethanol extract of root, stem, leaves, and seed kernel of C. bonduc. Methods: Each part of plant were extracted by reflux using 70% ethanol as the solvent for 2 h and repeated 3 times. Total flavonoid content was determined by aluminium chloride colorimetric assay on 415 nm. Total phenolic content was determined with Folin-Ciocalteu 1:4 on 765 nm using microplate reader. Antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenger methods. Results: Phytochemical screening showed that all of samples positively contain flavonoid and saponin. Total flavonoid content was the highest in leaf and the lowest in root whereas total phenols content was highest in leaf and the lowest in seed kernel. The crude extracts displayed DPPH free radical scavenging activity with highest value in leaf extract followed by root, stem, and seed kernel. Conclusion: The 70% ethanol leaf extract of C. bonduc showed the highest yield, total flavonoid content and total phenolic content among other parts investigated. Moreover, leaf extract has highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity (79.802 µg/ml) which could be related to its higher phenolic content.

A B S T R A C T Active compounds of plants have potency as antidiabetic that can be used in diabetes mellitus treatment. One of the strategies is maintaining postprandial glucose level through inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase and preventing the hydrolysis of Glucagon Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) through inhibition of Dipeptidyl peptidase IV. So that pre-prandial and post-prandial glucose levels can be controlled properly. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase, α-amylase and Dipeptidyl peptidase IV from 42 ethanolic extracts of selected Indonesian plants. Inhibitory activity was measured using spectrophotometric method. α-amylase activity was measured at λ = 540 nm, α-glucosidase activity and the DPP-IV activity were measured at λ = 405 nm. Eight extracts inhibit both α-glucosidase and α-amylase better than acarbose as a positive control. These extracts are Camelia sinensis (white, green, fermented), Pometia pinnata, Syzygium polyanthum, Artocarpus heteropyllus, Lagerstroemia speciosa and Persea Americana. The ethanolic extracts have DPP-IV inhibitory activity between 10-20%, lower than Diprotin as positive control, except Camelia sinensis (white) which gave the inhibition more than 30% at 62.5 µg mLG 1 . This study showed us that some extracts have inhibition activity of α-glucosidase, α-amylase and DPP-IV.

We attempted to study whether social support promotes self-efficacy and reduces stress responses of patients with diabetes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Diabetic outpatients at Dr. Sardjito Hospital voluntarily participated in a questionnaire survey. Data from 125 patients were subjected to analysis. The questionnaires included the scales and subscales of social support, self-efficacy, psychological stress response, and demographic measure. Data were analyzed by Spearman's rank correlation test to examine the relationships between parameters, Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the scales by characteristics, and structural equation modeling to explore the best-fit model. This study was performed in September 2003. It was found that augmentation of emotional support to patients significantly increased the 'active coping for the disease' and 'controllability of health', and that 'helplessness' was reduced significantly. Behavioral support affected only 'controllably of health'. Self-efficacy reduced stress response of the patients. It was also found that subjects who received support from their children significantly scored higher in perceived availability of social support than those without support from their children. To know their behavioral support better as well as emotional support may be one area to focus on in improving the health status of people with diabetes in Yogyakarta.

Although cigarette smoking is known to be an important risk factor for renal disease, the mechanism by which smoking induces progressive renal disease in a healthy population has not been established. We hypothesized that oxidative stress (measured as 8-iso-prostaglandin F 2a , 8-iso-PGF2a), inflammation (highly sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), hs-CRP) and nitric oxide may be associated with an alteration in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and proteinuria in otherwise healthy smokers. A total of 649 eligible subjects were classified according to their smoking status. Plasma NOx was measured using ozone-based chemiluminescence, urinary 8-iso-PGF2a was measured using enzyme immunoassay and serum hs-CRP was measured using a latex aggregation nephelometry method. The levels of 8-iso-PGF2a and hs-CRP increased in current smokers (P¼0.001 and P¼0.029, respectively), although there was not an increase in the NOx level. The prevalence of a high eGFR increased in light smokers (odds ratio (OR) 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.61-2.17)) and heavy smokers (OR 2.33 (95% CI, 1.06-5.10)) when compared with non-and past smokers (P for trend¼0.024). The multivariable-adjusted mean values of the eGFR in current smokers, reported from the lowest to the highest quintiles of hs-CRP levels, were 82.1, 85.1, 86.4 and 88.5 ml per min per 1.73 m 2 (P for trend¼0.027). The mean values of proteinuria were 28.6, 34.6, 37.2 and 39.5 mg g À1 creatinine (P for trend¼0.003). The correlation coefficient between hs-CRP and eGFR was increased significantly (P¼0.03) across non-(r¼0.03), past (r¼À0.17), light (r¼0.13) and heavy smokers (r¼0.31). In conclusion, cigarette smoking is a risk factor for renal function alteration in healthy smokers and is characterized by a high eGFR and a high urinary protein associated with an increase in the hs-CRP. This finding suggests that hs-CRP may help mediate the alteration of renal function in smokers.