Protective effects of dietary chamomile tea on diabetic complications

Matricaria chamomilla L., known as "chamomile", has been used as an herbal tea or supplementary food all over the world. We investigated the effects of chamomile hot water extract and its major components on the prevention of hyperglycemia and the protection or improvement of diabetic complications in diabetes mellitus. Hot water extract, esculetin (3) and quercetin (7) have been found to show moderate inhibition of sucrase with IC50 values of 0.9 mg/mL and 72 and 71 microM, respectively. In a sucrose-loading test, the administration of esculetin (50 mg/kg body weight) fully suppressed hyperglycemia after 15 and 30 min, but the extract (500 mg/kg body weight) and quercetin (50 mg/kg body weight) were less effective. On the other hand, a long-term feed test (21 days) using a streptozotocin-induced rat diabetes model revealed that the same doses of extract and quercetin showed significant suppression of blood glucose levels. It was also found that these samples increased the liver glycogen levels. Moreover, chamomile extract showed potent inhibition against aldose reductase (ALR2), with an IC50 value of 16.9 microg/mL, and its components, umbelliferone (1), esculetin (3), luteolin (6), and quercetin (7), could significantly inhibit the accumulation of sorbitol in human erythrocytes. These results clearly suggested that daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could contribute to the prevention of the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications.     

Mortality processes of hatchery‐reared Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis (Temminck et Schlegel) larvae in relation to their piscivory

In mass culture of Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis, yolk‐sac larvae of other species are fed as a major prey item to tuna larvae from 7 to 8 mm in total length. Marked growth variations in tuna larvae are frequently observed after feeding of yolk‐sac larvae, and this variation in the growth of tuna larvae is subsequently a factor leading to the prevalence of cannibalistic attacks. To elucidate details of the mortality process of hatchery‐reared tuna larvae after the initiation of yolk‐sac larvae feeding, we compared the nutritional and growth histories of the surviving (live) tuna larvae to those of the dead fish, found dead on the bottom of the tank, as direct evidence of their mortality processes. Cause of mortality of tuna larvae 3 and 5 days after the initiation of feeding of yolk‐sac larvae was assessed from nitrogen stable isotope and otolith microstructure analyses. Stable isotope analysis revealed that the live fish rapidly utilized prey fish larvae, but the dead fish had depended more on rotifers relative to the live fish 3 and 5 days after the initiation of feeding of yolk‐sac larvae. The growth histories based on otolith increments were compared between the live and dead tuna larvae and indicated that the live fish showed significantly faster growth histories than dead fish. Our results suggest that fast‐growing larvae at the onset of piscivory could survive in the mass culture tank of Pacific bluefin tuna and were characterized by growth‐selective mortality.     

Effects of restricted feeding on growth of red sea bream and sedimentation of aquaculture wastes

For improving the economic and environmental sustainability of fish farming, it is necessary to optimize feeding regimes. From this viewpoint, we monitored the growth and mortality of red sea bream (Pagrus major), C and N fluxes and sediment chemistry at 2 commercial fish cages; cage 1 (conventional satiation feeding) and cage 2 (restricted feeding: same feeding frequency but 18% reduction in the feed amount) for 276 days. The similar specific growth rates (0.43% in cage 1 and 0.39% in cage 2) but different feed conversion efficiencies (0.54 in cage 1 and 0.62 in cage 2) and mortality (> 2-times higher in cage 1) between the 2 cages, indicate overfeeding in cage 1 culture. Elemental and stable isotopic analyses of sediment trap materials enabled the quantification of waste feed- and fecal matter-derived organic matter (OM) separately. The results shows that (1) aquaculture-derived OM comprised most of the fish-farm settling OM, excluding the period from January to April, when natural OM often accounted for a half of the bulk OM, (2) there was a difference in the seasonal trend between the fluxes of waste feed and fecal matter, and (3) there were no differences in the percentage compositions and fluxes of waste feed and fecal matter between the 2 cages. The isotopic analysis showed that the waste feed-derived OM in the sediment below cage 2 was 24% less than that below cage 1, suggesting effect of restricted feeding. Determining the relative amount of waste feed and fecal matter in settling and sedimentary OM is an effective method to evaluate the optimum feeding regime.