Garlic wards off more than
vampires…
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Garlic waste is a valuable source of bioactive chemicals
 Garlic
cloves have long been recognised for their mixture of potent
active chemicals and have been used in traditional medicine
for thousands of years. Their sulphur-containing compounds
have been shown to regulate metabolic diseases and can actually
help prevent the development of colds.
Scientists from Kyungpook National University in South Korea
have discovered that garlic waste — the shoots and
leaves — are also a valuable source of antioxidants and
other chemoprotectants. They found that the garlic waste products
contained numerous antioxidants, which can help prevent free
radical damage and also inhibit enzymes that mediate inflammatory
responses that have been linked with prostate, breast and
other cancers.
| Identification and in vitro biological
activities of flavonols in garlic leaf and shoot: inhibition
of soybean lipoxygenase and hyaluronidase activities and
scavenging of free radicals. Mi-Yeon Kim, Young-Chan
Kim, Shin-Kyo Chung, Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.1899 (Available
on EarlyView) |
Mushroom extract to treat diabetes
 An
extract of mushroom has been demonstrated to be effective
at lowering blood sugar and lipid levels in diabetic rats.
Researchers in Taiwan fed extracts of Hericium erinaceus to
diabetic rats and measured the response of their blood sugar
and serum lipid levels. The blood sugar levels of the rats
fed the extract decreased by 19–26% and the serum lipids
decreased by 20% compared to that of the control diabetic
rats.
The researchers are hoping that this could lead to a treatment
that does not have the unpleasant side-effects associated
with current diabetes medication.
| Hypoglycemic effect of extract
of Hericium erinaceus. Jinn Chyi Wang, Shu Hui Hu,
Jih Terng Wang, Ker Shaw Chen, Yi Chen Chia, Journal
of the Science of Food and Agriculture, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.1928
(Available on EarlyView) |
Targeted drug release
Researchers in Japan have created a biomaterial that can hold
drugs, releasing them in the intestinal tract rather than
the stomach. The advantages of intestinal targeted drug release
vary between drugs, and can mean that drugs can avoid degradation
in the stomach, be absorbed more efficiently and prevent damage
to the stomach lining.
The biomaterial was created using chitosan, a biocompatible
and biodegradable material. To stabilise the chitosan and
prevent dissolution in the stomach they created microspheres
using phosphorylated chitosan and tripolyphosphate. These
microspheres were shown to release ibuprofen in a sustained
and predictable manner in simulated intestinal conditions.
| Effect of proteolytic enzymes in
gastrointestinal fluids on drug release from polyelectrolyte
complex microspheres based on partially phosphorylated
chitosan. Phyu Phyu Win, Yoshitsune Shin-ya, Kyung-Jin
Hong, Toshio Kajiuchi, Polymer International, DOI:
10.1002/pi.1705 (Available on EarlyView) |
Antioxidants abound in Chinese plant
Scientists working at Taipei Medical University and Taipei
Hospital in Taiwan have characterised the free radical scavenging
activities of Gynura formosana. The plant is native to Taiwan
and is used in traditional herbal medicine for the treatment
of hypertension, diabetes and strokes. Free radicals are associated
with biological damage, including DNA damage, carcinogenesis
and cellular degeneration. Results from the study showed that
the plant had high levels of antioxidants and could be a useful
addition to a healthy diet boosting the body’s ability
to remove free radicals.
| The phenolic constituents and free
radical scavenging activities of Gynura formosana Kiamnra.
Wen-Chi Hou, Rong-Dih Lin, Tzong-Huei Lee, Ying-Hua Huang,
Feng-Lin Hsu, Mei-Hsien Lee, Journal of the Science
of Food and Agriculture, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2017 (Available
on EarlyView) |
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