Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) derived from honeybee propolis has been used as a folk medicine and has several proven biological activities. The present study investigated the effect of CAPE on angiogenesis, tumor invasion, and metastasis. A cytotoxicity assay of CAPE in CT26 colon adenocarcinoma cells showed a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability but no significant influence on the growth of human umbilical vein epithelial cells (HUVEC). A low concentration of CAPE (1.5 microg/mL) inhibited 52.7% of capillary-like tube formation in HUVEC culture on Matrigel. CAPE (6 microg/mL)-treated CT26 cells showed not only inhibited cell invasion by 47.8% but also decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production from CT26 cells was also inhibited by treatment with CAPE (6 microg/mL). Intraperitoneal injection of CAPE (10 mg/kg/day) in BALB/c mice reduced the pulmonary metastatic capacity of CT26 cells accompanied with a decreased plasma VEGF level. CAPE treatment also prolonged the survival of mice implanted with CT26 cells. These results indicate that CAPE has potential as an antimetastatic agent.

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To meet the industrial need of an efficient microbial method for increased levan production, Bacillus subtilis (natto) Takahashi, a commercial natto starter for preparing fermented soybeans (natto), was used to produce levan. After cultivation for 21 h, 40-50 mg of levan mL(-1) was produced in medium containing 20% (w/w) sucrose, which was approximately 50% yield on available fructose. The product consisted of two fractions with different molecular masses (1794 and 11 kDa), which were easily separated by fractionation using an ethanol gradient. The products were well characterized by GPC, 13C NMR, and 1H NMR. The various sugars and concentrations, initial pH, fermentation temperature, and agitation speed affected the levan production by B. subtilis (natto) Takahashi. Takahashi strain is the most efficient levan-producing strain among all of the B. subtilis strains tested and, as previously reported, it produced the highest yield of levan in the least time (21 h) under the common cultivation condition.

The ability of immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) to catalyze the alcoholysis of canola oil and methanol was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) and five-level-five-factor central composite rotatable design (CCRD) were employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters, such as reaction time, temperature, enzyme concentration, substrate molar ratio of methanol to canola oil, and added water content on percentage weight conversion of canola oil methyl ester by alcoholysis. Reaction temperature and enzyme concentration were the most important variables. High temperature and superabundant methanol inhibited the ability of Novozym 435 to catalyze the synthesis of biodiesel. Based on the analysis of ridge max, the optimum synthesis conditions were as follows: reaction time 12.4 h, temperature 38.0• C, enzyme concentration 42.3%, substrate molar ratio 3.5:1, and added water 7.2%. The predicted value was 99.4% weight conversion, and the actual experimental value was 97.9% weight conversion.

The ability of an immobilized lipase to modify the fatty acid composition of (88.8% C18:1, 4.3% C16:0 , 3.1% C18:0, and 3.8% C18:2 as determined by gas chromatography, and approximately 90% triolein) in hexane by incorporation of a medium-chain fatty acid, capric acid (C10), to form structured triacylglycerol was studied. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effect of synthesis variables, such as reaction time (12-36 h), temperature (25-65°C), molar substrate ratio of capric acid to triolein (2:1-6:1), and enzyme amount (10-30% wt% of triacylglycerol), on the yield of structured lipid. Optimization of the transesterification was attempted to obtain maximum yield of structured lipid while using the minimum molar substrate ratio and enzyme amount as much as possible. Computer-generated contour plot interpretation revealed that a relatively high molar substrate ratio (6:1) combined with low enzyme amount (10%) after 30 h of reaction at 25°C gave optimum incorporation of capric acid. A total yield for combined monoand dicaproolein of up to 100% was obtained. JAOCS 72, 619-623 (1995).