No abstract

Cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61) is an extracellular matrix-associated protein involved in survival, tumorigenesis, and drug resistance. Therefore, we examined the effects of flavones against CYR61-overexpressing human gastric adenocarcinoma AGS (AGS-cyr61) cells, which show remarkable resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), adriamycin (ADR), tamoxifen (TAM), paclitaxel (PAC), and docetaxel (DOC). Among the tested flavones, quercetin had the lowest 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) and significantly reduced the viability of AGS-cyr61 cells compared with AGS cells. Quercetin: (1) reduced multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 and nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B p65 subunit levels; (2) reversed multidrug resistance (MDR); (3) inhibited colony formation and induced caspase-dependent apoptosis; and (4) suppressed migration and down-regulated epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related proteins in AGS-cyr61. Moreover, AGS-cyr61 cells treated with quercetin concentrations close to the IC50 and simultaneously treated with 5-FU or ADR in the sub-lethal range showed strong synergism between quercetin and these two drugs. These findings indicate that CYR61 is a potential regulator of drug resistance and that quercetin may be a novel agent for improving the efficacy of anticancer drugs in AGS-cyr61 cells.

Fruits are a rich source of vitamins and sugars, along with diverse phytochemical contents, and have been linked to reducing the risk of major chronic degenerative diseases including cancer.Banana, one of the widely consumed fruits worldwide, belongs to the genus Musa in the family Musaceae (Singh et al., 2016). The genus Musa contains approximately 70 species, with more than 300-500 different varieties (Häkkinen, 2009;Maduwanthi & Marapana, 2019). World production of banana is approximately 116 million tons and India is the country with the greatest banana production, at approximately 30 million tons per year (FAO, 2019).Banana fruit peel and flesh are rich sources of valuable phytochemicals, including polyphenols, flavonoids, fatty acids, carotenoids,

The solvent fractions of rosemary methanol extract were obtained by successive extraction with nhexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) contained a remarkable amount of polyphenol and flavonoid as well as high levels of alkyl and 2,2 0 -azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity. The activity guided fractionation and repeated chromatographic separations over silica gel, RP C18, and Sephadex LH-20 led to isolation of six compounds from the EAF. 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, 2D NMR, MS, and IR spectroscopies determined the compounds to be caffeic acid (1), rosmarinic acid (2), rosmarinic acid methyl ester (3), luteolin (4), apigenin (5), and hispidulin (6), and high-performance liquid chromatography quantification was used to determine concentrations in EAF. Among the six isolated compounds, rosmarinic acid methyl ester showed the highest scavenging activities against di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) iminoazanium, alkyl and ABTS radicals. The EAF mixture, but not individual isolated compounds, shielded dermal fibroblast cells from H 2 O 2 -induced cytotoxicity at concentrations that encompass the SC 50 of alkyl and ABTS radical. Therefore, our findings suggested for the first time that antioxidant capacity of the EAF mixture result in a synergistic effect on the antioxidant action.

Green mandarins are widely consumed unripe as mandarin oranges (Citrus unshiu Marcov.), which exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-wrinkle effects by inhibiting the production of inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinase. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study was performed to verify the skin improvement efficacy and safety of green mandarin extract (PTE). For the standardization of PTE, narirutin was set as a marker compound, and PTE with a constant narirutin content was prepared for the study. After randomizing subjects with periorbital wrinkles, they were orally administered PTE (300 mg/day) or a placebo for 12 weeks. Periorbital wrinkles were measured using PRIMOSCR SF. Skin elasticity, moisture content, transepidermal water loss, and gloss were also measured. In the study results, the depth, volume, and skin roughness of the periorbital wrinkles were significantly improved compared to the control group (p = 0.011, 0.009, and 0.004, respectively). The survey confirmed that the skin condition improved after PTE consumption for 12 weeks. No adverse reactions associated with PTE were observed during the study period. Thus, the results demonstrate that PTE effectively improves UV-induced skin wrinkles. Therefore, it is considered that PTE has sufficient value as a functional food ingredient that can prevent skin aging.