Fucoxanthin and Its Metabolites in Edible Brown Algae Cultivated in Deep Seawater

Three metabolites of fucoxanthin were isolated from a brown alga, Scytosiphon lomentaria, and the structure of a new compound was determined by NMR. The content of fucoxanthin, a biologically active carotenoid, in four edible brown algae, cultivated in deep seawater, was studied.     

Substrate specificity of the nateglinide/H(+) cotransport system for phenolic acids

In clinical, patients usually take many kinds of drugs at the same time. Thus, drug-drug interactions involving transporters can often directly affect the therapeutic safety and efficacy of many important drugs. However, there have been few studies on food-drug interactions involving transporters. Dietary polyphenols have been widely assumed to be beneficial for human health. Polyphenols are found ubiquitously, and they are commercially prepared and used as functional foods. We have reported that ferulic acid, which is one of the most well-known polyphenols and is used as a functional food, affected the transport of nateglinide, an antidiabetic drug, by Caco-2 cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of other polyphenols on the nateglinide/H(+) transport system. We report here that caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid have a different inhibitory manner on the uptake of nateglinide. The results of this study are useful to identify the substrate specificity of the nateglinide/H(+) cotransporter.     

Distribution of Zinc,Manganese, Copper,Cobalt, and Nickel in Andosols Profiles

The distribution of zinc, manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel in Andosols was investigated. Sixty nine soil samples were collected from different horizons of an Andosols profile in Miyakonojo Basin in south Kyushu, Japan, The total contents of heavy metals were determined by digestion and four extraction solutions, 1 M NH₄Ac (ammonium acetate) pH 4.5, 0.1 M HCl, 0.01 M EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) pH 6.5, and 0.005 M DTPA (diethylenetri-aminepentaacetic acid) pH 7.3 were used to determine the contents of available Zn, Mn, Cu, Co, and Ni in Andosols in relation to the organic carbon content. The results of the extraction analysis showed that by the use of 0.1 M H Cl high value of extracted heavy metals in the upper layers of the humus horizons were obtained while EDTA extraction yielded a large amount of the above mentioned metals in the high humus horizons. The extractable heavy metals contents were high and these metals closely related to the organic carbon content mostly in the humus horizons in the profile. Where, biocycling process may play an important role in the concentration of heavy metals. Based on the study, it was found that the total content of Zn increased towards the C horizons or pumice layers in the soil profile. Such a trend was also found in the case of the Mn content. While the Cu content in the humus horizons was much higher in the upper part of each humus horizon. According to this study the distribution of heavy metals, Cu (organic matter complexes) in the Andosols profile was more stable than that of Zn (organic matter complexes) in soils. It was shown that Zn in the surface humus horizon was enriched but that some amount was leached under buried conditions. The same phenomenon was also observed in the distribution of Mn in the profile. The movement of Co and Ni in the soil profile was limited, as evidenced by the sharp reduction in the concentrations of these two metals in buried soils.

Hence, it is concluded that the distribution of Zn, Mn, Cu, Co, and Ni was considerably higher in the humus horizons of the Andosols profiles.     

Distribution of radioactive cesium in edible parts of cattle

After the disastrous incident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, various agricultural, livestock and fishery products have been inspected for radioactive contamination with cesium in Japan. In this study, radioactive cesium was measured in various edible parts of cattle to verify the current inspection method for cattle, in which the neck tissues are generally used as samples. Radioactive cesium concentration in the short plate, diaphragm, liver, lung, omasum, abomasum and small intestine were lower and sirloin, tenderloin, top round meat and tongue were higher than that in the neck. There was no significant difference between the other organs (heart, kidney, lumen and reticulum) and the neck. Ninety‐five percent upper tolerance limits of the relative concentration to the neck were 1.88 for sirloin, 1.74 for tenderloin, 1.87 for top round and 1.45 for tongue. These results suggest that a safety factor of 2 is recommended for the radioactivity inspection of cattle to prevent a marketing of meat with higher cesium than the legal limit. Re‐inspection should be conducted using another part of muscle, for example, top round, when suspicious levels of 50–100 Bq/kg are detected in the neck.     

Nematicidal efficacy of MCW‐2, a new nematicide of the fluoroalkenyl group,against the root‐knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica

BACKGROUND: The small number of available nematicides and restrictions on the use of non‐fumigant nematicides owing to high toxicity to human and non‐target organisms hinder effective nematode control. The nematicidal efficacy of MCW‐2, a new nematicide of the fluoroalkenyl group, was evaluated against the root‐knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica (Treub.) Chitwood. RESULTS: MCW‐2 showed irreversible nematicidal activity against second‐stage juveniles of M. javanica in vitro, following exposure for 48 h at concentrations as low as 0.5 mg L^?1, in contrast to fenamiphos or cadusafos. When exposed to MCW‐2 for shorter periods, motile juveniles became immobile with time after rinsing in water. MCW‐2 at 8 mg L^?1 inhibited nematode hatching, which, however, recovered after rinsing in water. In pot and plot experiments, 0.5 mg MCW‐2 L^?1 soil and 2 kg MCW‐2 ha^?1, respectively, controlled M. javanica similarly to or better than fenamiphos or cadusafos at the same concentrations or at their recommended doses. In the soil, the nematicidal activity of MCW‐2 was less persistent than that of fenamiphos. CONCLUSION: MCW‐2 has potential to be used as a new non‐fumigant nematicide that probably has a novel mode of action. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry