Paraticulate metals in waters of a typical irrigation river: The River Sakuragawa,Japan

The particulate metallic elements in waters of a water system of the River Sakuragawa and Lake Kasumigaura were measured by the multielement analyses using particle-induced X-ray emission. The heavy metal particulates for environmental standards were less than 0.0001 ppm for Cd, 0.00037 ppm for Cr, and 0.00078 ppm both for Hg and Pb in the river waters. The predominant metal particles in the waters were Fe, Mn, and Zn.     

Food-drug interaction between ferulic acid and nateglinide involving the fluorescein/H+ cotransport system

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 drugs. However, there have been few studies on food-drug interactions involving transporters. Dietary polyphenols have been widely assumed to be beneficial to human health. Polyphenols are commercially prepared and used as functional foods. We report here for the first time that ferulic acid, which is widely used as a functional food, affects the transport of clinical agents. It is important to be aware of the potential of food-drug interactions and to act in order to prevent undesirable and harmful clinical consequences.     

Reduced immunogenicity of beta-lactoglobulin by conjugation with carboxymethyl dextran differing in molecular weight

To reduce the immunogenicity of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG), two beta-LG-carboxymethyl dextran (CMD) conjugates (Conj. 40 and Conj. 162) were prepared by using water-soluble carbodiimide (EDC). The molar ratios of beta-LG to CMD in Conj. 40 and Conj. 162 were 8:1 and 7:1, respectively. Each conjugate maintained approximately 50% of the retinol binding activity of beta-LG. Structural analyses by intrinsic fluorescence, CD spectra, and ELISA with monoclonal antibodies indicated that the surface of beta-LG in each conjugate was covered by CMD without great disruption of native conformation. By conjugation with CMD, the antibody response to beta-LG was reduced in BALB/c, C3H/He, and C57BL/6 mice, which was eminent in Conj. 162. The results of B cell epitope scanning using overlapping synthesized peptides showed that the linear epitope profiles of the conjugates were similar to those of beta-LG, whereas the antibody response to each epitope was reduced, which was eminent in Conj. 162. It was concluded that conjugation with CMD of higher molecular weight is effective in reducing the immunogenicity of beta-LG and that masking of epitopes by CMD is responsible for the reduced immunogenicity.     

Analysis of glycosidically bound aroma precursors in tea leaves. 1. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of glycosides with aglycons as aroma compounds

Twenty-six synthetic glycosides constituting aglycons of the main tea aroma compounds ((Z)-3-hexenol, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, methyl salicylate, geraniol, linalool, and four isomers of linalool oxides) were synthesized in our laboratory as authentic compounds. Those compounds were used to carry out a direct qualitative and quantitative determination of the glycosides as aroma precursors in different tea cultivars by capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analyses after trifluoroacetyl conversion of the tea glycosidic fractions. Eleven beta-D-glucopyranosides, 10 beta-primeverosides (6-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside) with aglycons as the above alcohols, and geranyl beta-vicianoside (6-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside) were identified (tentatively identified in the case of methyl salicylate beta-primeveroside) in fresh tea leaves and quantified on the basis of calibration curves that had been established by using the synthetic compounds. Primeverosides were more abundant than glucosides in each cultivar we investigated for making green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. Separation of the diastereoisomers of linalool and four isomers of linalool oxides by GC analyses is also discussed.     

Nitrogen Retention in Japanese Cedar Stands in Northern Honshu, with High Nitrogen Deposition

High nitrogen, especially ammonium, input has been observed in Schichinohe, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan. A monitoring study on precipitation, throughfall, and stream water has been carried out to estimate the stage of nitrogen saturation since 1996. Fifty-two to 70% of nitrogen input in throughfall was retained in forest ecosystems. Nitrate concentration in stream water tended to decrease throughout the study. There was no symptom of nitrogen saturation at Japanese cedar stands in Shichinohe, although high nitrogen input in open bulk has been observed. Ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) was retained in the canopy. The ratio of NH₄ ⁺ input in throughfall to that by open bulk was 0.40 – 0.47. Total inorganic nitrogen input under the canopy amounted 0.68 – 0.72 kmolc ha^?1 yr^?1 (9.6 – 10.0 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1). Our results suggests that atmospheric nitrogen input has benefitted the three growth.     

Isolation of novel glucosides related to gingerdiol from ginger and their antioxidative activities

Two novel glucosides of 6-gingerdiol were isolated from fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Their structures were determined as 1-(4-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-3-methoxyphenyl)-3,5-dihydroxydecane (1) and 5-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-3-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)deca ne (2) by HRFAB-MS and NMR analyses, and the absolute configurations of both aglycons were identified as (3S,5S) by a comparison with synthetic compounds. After incubating these glucosides with acetone powder prepared from fresh ginger, they were confirmed to have been hydrolyzed to 6-gingerdiol by HPLC. This result suggests that these glucosides are the precursors or intermediates of 6-gingerdiol. To recognize their function, their antioxidative activities were investigated and compared to that of their aglycon, 6-gingerdiol, by a linoleic acid model system and by their DPPH radical-scavenging ability. Although 1 did not indicate any activity, 2 had as strong activity as the aglycon in both measurements.     

Isolation of some glycosides as aroma precursors in young leaves of Japanese pepper (Xanthoxylum piperitum DC.).

To clarify the formation mechanism for the major alcoholic aroma compounds in young leaves of Japanese pepper, the glycosides were isolated as aroma precursors. The presence of glycosides of the main alcoholic aroma constituents was indirectly determined by enzymatic hydrolysis and trifluoroacetylation (TFA) of the glycoside-containing fraction. After Amberlite XAD-2 column chromatography, ODS flash chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), two new compounds, namely, (3S,6S)-cis-linalool-3,7-oxide beta-D-glucopyranoside and 2-methylpropanyl 6-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, were isolated. In addition, (3S,6R)-cis-linalool-3,6-oxide beta-D-glucopyranoside, which absolute configuration was the first determined, and six known glycosides, citronellyl beta-D-glucopyranoside, linalyl 6-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, (Z)-3-hexenyl beta-D-glucopyranoside, benzyl 6-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, dendranthemoside A, and 3,6-dihydroxy-5,6-dihydro-beta-ionol 9-beta-D-glucopyranoside, were isolated. All of these glycosides were isolated for the first time from the leaves of Japanese pepper. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral data and chemical evidence. The ratios of stereoisomers of the aglycon moieties of citronellyl beta-D-glucopyranoside and linalyl 6-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside were investigated by a chiral GC analysis and compared with those of free citronellol and linalool in the aroma concentrate.     

Antioxidative activity in the pericarp and seed of Japanese pepper (Xanthoxylum piperitum DC)

The antioxidative activity of the dried pericarp and seed of Japanese pepper was studied. The ethyl acetate extract from the pericarp and the methanol extract from the seed showed strong antioxidative activity against linoleic acid by the ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) methods. Japanese pepper contained 3.9 and 2.9 mg/100 g of dry weight (dw) of tocopherols in the pericarp and seed, respectively, alpha-Toc in the former constituting 82% of total tocopherol and gamma-Toc in the latter constituting 96%. Arbutin and magnoflorine were isolated as antioxidants and their chemical structures determined by instrumental analyses. The contents of arbutin evaluated as the trifluoroacetate derivative by GC-MS were 35 and 3.0 mg/100 g of dw in the pericarp and seed, respectively. Magnoflorine was present only in the seed, and not in the pericarp. Both arbutin and magnoflorine exhibited antioxidative activity against linoleic acid and radical-scavenging activity against the DPPH radical.     

Pathological studies on central nervous tissues of rats infected with Rattus serotype hantavirus (SR-11 strain).

Newborn rats inoculated intraperitoneally with a hantavirus strain (SR-11) developed neurological signs such as ataxia and limb paralysis. The main histological lesions were scattered and multiple neuronal degeneration and necrosis with eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies (CIB) in the brain, spinal cord and ganglia. Immunohistochemically, the viral antigen was detected in neurons, capillary endothelial and glial cells throughout the nervous tissue and CIB were identified as consisting of hantaviral antigen (nucleocapsid protein). Ultrastructurally, CIB in the neurons consisted of an accumulation of granular or filamentous materials, or both. They were seen near a well-developed Golgi apparatus and associated with well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum and increased numbers of ribosomes. The present results suggested that this virus strain was highly infective in neurons of the newborn rats and that excess production of viral antigen which accumulated as CIB resulted in the neuronal changes.     

Characteristics of Dorsal Lingual Papillae of the Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus)

The morphology of dorsal lingual papillae of the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) was studied by using light and scanning electron microscopy. Filiform and lenticular papillae were considered as mechanical papillae but fungiform and vallate papillae were considered as gustatory papillae. Filiform papillae were distributed mostly in the anterior two-thirds region of the tongue. Each filiform papilla consisted of one primary papilla and a few smaller secondary papillae. Lenticular papillae were distributed on the torus linguae. The larger papillae were arranged in two parallel lines medially whereas the smaller papillae were laterally located. Most of the fungiform papillae were found on the lateral margins of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. These papillae were small and round. Intra-epithelial taste buds were located on the dorsal surface of each papilla. The vallate papillae were arranged in two rows on each rim of the torus linguae. Each round- and flat-shaped vallate papilla was surrounded by a prominent gustatory groove and an annular pad. A few taste buds were observed in the lateral epithelium of the papillae. The keratinization of the covering stratified squamous epithelium of the mechanical lingual papillae was relatively thicker than those of the gustatory papillae. The lingual papillae of the Bactrian camel exhibited some different characteristics from other domestic ruminants. These morphological characteristics of the tongue of the Bactrian camel might have evolved to assist the camel in prehension and manipulating of the inorganic stiff plants that grow in its environment and therefore might relate to the feed and feeding habits of the animal.