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Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat is a perennial flowering plant widely cultivated for use in a tea infusion and as a popular beverage. To identify and evaluate the tea infusion made with a γ-irradiated mutant chrysanthemum cultivar with dark purple petals (cv. ARTI-Dark Chocolate), its phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity were tested and compared with those of the commercially available chrysanthemum cultivar with yellow petals (cv. Gamguk) by HPLC-DAD-ESIMS, as well as DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays. The purple chrysanthemum tea contained anthocyanins and linarin, which were not detected in the yellow chrysanthemum tea and the content of chlorogenic acid, acacetin-7-O-β-glucoside, and luteolin was higher compared with the yellow chrysanthemum tea. In contrast, the yellow chrysanthemum tea had higher luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, apigenin-7-O-β-glucoside, and apigenin contents in comparison with the purple chrysanthemum tea. In addition, the content and antioxidant activity of the two chrysanthemum teas were investigated according to different water temperatures and infusing time. The yellow chrysanthemum tea did not show any significant differences according to infusing time and temperature, while the purple chrysanthemum tea was more influenced by the infusing time than water temperature, showing the highest total compound content in the infusing condition of 100 °C and 4 min. Moreover, the floral scent volatiles of the two chrysanthemum tea sources were analyzed using HS-SPME-GC-MS. In the DPPH radical scavenging assay, the purple chrysanthemum tea broadly showed greater antioxidant activity than did the yellow chrysanthemum tea, corresponding to the high content of anthocyanins known as the powerful antioxidant. Further, both chrysanthemum flower teas exhibited strong ABTS radical scavenging effects ranging from 76% to 61% under all infusing conditions. Therefore, the purple chrysanthemum cultivar, ARTI-Dark Chocolate, is worthy of breeding as a new tea cultivar.

Since Korean mistletoe (Viscum album) has been used for alleviating metabolic diseases, it may also prevent the impairment of energy, glucose, lipid, and bone metabolisms in an estrogen-deficient animal model. We determined that long-term consumption of Korean mistletoe water extract (KME) can alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flush, increased abdominal fat mass, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and decreased bone mineral density in ovariectomized (OVX) rats fed a high-fat diet, and explored the mechanisms of the effects. OVX rats were divided into four groups and fed high-fat diets supplemented with either 0.6% dextrin (control), 0.2% lyophilized KME + 0.4% dextrin (KME-L), or 0.6% lyophilized KME (KME-H). Sham rats were fed with the high-fat diets with 0.6% dextrin as a normal-control without estrogen deficiency. After eight weeks, OVX rats exhibited impaired energy, glucose and lipid metabolism, and decreased uterine and bone masses. KME-L did not alleviate energy dysfunction. However, KME-H lowered serum levels of total-, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides and elevated serum HDL-cholesterol levels in OVX rats with dyslipidemia, to similar levels as normal-control rats. Furthermore, KME-H improved HOMA-IR, an indicator of insulin resistance, in OVX rats. Surprisingly, KME-H fed rats had greater lean mass in the abdomen and leg without differences in fat mass but neither dosage of KME altered bone mineral density in the lumbar spine and femur. The increased lean mass was related to greater phosphorylation of mTOR and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) in the quadriceps muscles. Hepatic triglyceride contents were lowered with KME-H in OVX rats by increasing carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) expression and decreasing fatty acid synthase (FAS) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) expression. In conclusion, KME may be useful for preventing some menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and loss of muscle mass in post-menopausal women.

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