Aloe vela leaf gel extract (AGE) are widely used as cosmetic and pharmaceutical ingredients because of its versatile skin care properties. In order to enhance the bioavailability of AGE, liposomes encapsulating AGE were prepared and examined for their interfacial and biochemical properties. The liposomes prepared from a soybean lecithin (SLP-WHITE, 1.0 wt%) by the Bangham method gave relatively a good trapping efficiency up to the AGE concentration of 0.5 wt%. The stable liposomes were then prepared from 1.0 wt% of SLP-WHITE and different concentrations of AGE by the mechanochemical method using a homogenizer and microfluidizer. The liposomes obtained from 0.25 wt% of AGE were confirmed to be small unilamellar vesicles with a diameter of less than 200 nm, and remained well dispersed for at least two weeks. The obtained liposomes encapsulating AGE were further examined for the effects on proliferation and type I collagen synthesis in normal human neonatal skin fibroblasts, NB1RGB cells. Liposomal AGE clearly showed higher proliferation rate than that of AGE alone. In addition, compared to the control, liposomal AGE significantly increased the collagen synthesis by 23%, while AGE alone showed a small effect. Liposomal AGE was also assayed for the effect on proliferation in normal human epidermal keratinocytes, NHEK(F) cells. Interestingly, liposomal AGE fractions containing 4 and 20 mg/mL of the extract considerably increased the proliferation rate by 77% and 101%, respectively. In contrast, AGE alone fractions containing 4 and 20 mg/mL of the extract increased the rate by 41% and 60%, respectively. Accordingly, the bioavailability and skin care properties of AGE will be significantly enhanced by liposome encapsulation, and the present liposomal AGE should have a great potential as an effective skin care formulation.

The long-chain alcohol and aldehyde contents and compositions were determined in seven types of the non-centrifuged cane sugar kokuto (Kokuto A to G). Long-chain alcohols, known as policosanols, have been reported to have beneficial effects on human health. Policosanols were extracted effectively with hexane/methanol (20:1 v/v) and long-chain aldehydes were extracted with chloroform/methanol (2:1 v/v). These compounds were then analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Trimethylsilyl ethers, the policosanol fragments, and a number of unique aldehyde fragments were analyzed to identify the source compounds. Octacosanol (C28-OH) was confirmed to be the main component in all kokuto samples. Moreover, the production process influenced the policosanol and long-chain aldehyde contents in kokuto. Kokuto A, which was produced by an open pan boiling method, showed the highest content of policosanols (86 mg/100g) and long-chain aldehydes (9 mg/100 g).Keywords: policosanol, aldehyde, cane sugar, kokuto *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: kojiwada@agr.u-ryukyu.ac.jp IntroductionKokuto, a unique brown cane sugar, has been traditionally produced without molasses removal by a non-centrifugal method in Okinawa, Japan. In several previous studies, the presence of antioxidants and phenolic compounds in kokuto has been investigated (Takara et al., 2002(Takara et al., , 2003. In this study, we focused on policosanols and long-chain aldehydes. Policosanols are a group of long-chain (C20 -C30) aliphatic primary alcohols that are of great interest due to their beneficial effects on human health, for example, reducing platelet aggregation, reducing low-density lipoprotein levels in blood, and inhibiting cholesterol synthesis and ergogenic properties (Castano et al., 2003;Singh et al., 2006;Taylor et al., 2003). Aldehydes are some of the main components of natural wax extracted from plants (Adhikari et al., 2006) and straight-chain aldehydes are some of the lipid biomarkers seen in plant leaves and roots (Jansen et al., 2006). Recently, research in policosanol analysis using various materials and techniques has been widely reported (Adhikari et al., 2006;Wang et al., 2007;Wu et al., 2007). Sugarcane and its wax have been reported to contain numerous policosanols and are used as major sources for commercial extraction (Irmak et al., 2006;Marrison et al., 2006;Nuissier et al., 2002). However, there is little information on long-chain aldehydes, particularly in sugarcane and its products. Thus, the present study investigated the content of both policosanols and long-chain aldehydes in several samples of the non-centrifuged cane sugar kokuto. Materials and MethodsSamples Seven types of kokuto (Kokuto A to G; produced on Aguni, Hateruma, Iheya, Iriomote, Kohama, Tarama and Yonaguni islands of Okinawa, Japan) from the 2007 -2008 production year were obtained from each kokuto manufacturer and used as source materials. Cane juice and samples from the kokuto production line were also used in this st...

The purpose of this study was to predict the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) in several horticultural commodities using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with machine learning. Although models are typically developed for a single product, expanding the coverage of the model can improve efficiency. In this study, 700 samples were used, including varieties of shallot, cayenne pepper, and red chili. The results showed that the TPC model developed yielded R 2cal, root mean squares error in the calibration set, R 2pred, root mean squares error in prediction set, and ratio of performance to deviation values of 0.79, 123.33, 0.78, 124.20, and 2.13, respectively. Meanwhile, the TFC model produced values of 0.71, 44.52, 0.72, 42.10, and 1.87, respectively. The wavelengths 912, 939, and 942 nm are closely related to phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The accuracy of the model in this study produced satisfactory results. Therefore, the application of NIRS and machine learning to horticultural products has a high potential of replacing conventional laboratory analysis TPC and TFC.