No abstract

Inflammation is a pathophysiological defense response against various factors for maintaining homeostasis in the body. However, when continued excessive inflammation becomes chronic, various chronic diseases can develop. Therefore, effective treatment before chronic inflammation development is essential. Bis (3-bromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) ether (BBDE, CHBrO) is a novel bromophenol isolated from the red alga Polysiphonia morrowii. The beneficial physiological functions of various bromophenols are known, but whether BBDE has beneficial physiological functions is unknown. Therefore, we first investigated whether BBDE exerts any anti-inflammatory effect. We demonstrated that BBDE inhibits inflammation by reducing inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, iNOS, COX2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6), in LPS-induced macrophage cells. To examine the mechanism of action by which BBDE inhibits inflammation, we confirmed its effect on signal transduction and ROS generation. BBDE selectively inhibited ERK phosphorylation in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Moreover BBDE suppressed LPS-induced ROS generation in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Inhibition of LPS-induced ROS generation by BBDE also caused ERK inactivation and an inflammatory reaction. Therefore, BBDE inhibits LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting the ROS-mediated ERK signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and thus can be useful for treating inflammatory diseases.

No abstract

Leptolyngbya sp. KIOST-1 may be considered a potential candidate for industrial biomass production, similar to Arthrospira.

A comprehensive antioxidant evaluation was performed on enzymatic hydrolysates of Stichopusjaponicus (S. japonicus) using Vero cells and zebrafish models for in vitro and in vivo studies, respectively. S. japonicus was hydrolyzed with food-grade enzymes (alcalase, α-chymotrypsin, flavourzyme, kojizyme, neutrase, papain, pepsin, protamex, and trypsin), and the free radical scavenging activities were screened via electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. According to the results, the enzymatic hydrolysates contained high protein and relatively low polysaccharide and sulfate contents. Among these hydrolysates, the α-chymotrypsin assisted hydrolysate from S. japonicus (α-chy) showed high yield and protein content, and strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Therefore, α-chy was chosen for further purification. The α-chy was fractionated by ultrafiltration into three ultrafiltration (UF) fractions based on their molecular weight: >10 kDa (α-chy-I), 5–10 kDa (α-chy-II), and <5 kDa (α-chy-III), and we evaluated their antioxidant properties in H2O2 exposed Vero cells. The α-chy and its UF fractions significantly decreased the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and increased cell viability in H2O2 exposed Vero cells. Among them, α-chy-III effectively declined the intracellular ROS levels and increased cell viability and exhibited protection against H2O2 induced apoptotic damage. Furthermore, α-chy-III remarkably attenuated the cell death, intracellular ROS and lipid peroxidation in H2O2 exposed zebrafish embryos. Altogether, our findings demonstrated that α-chy and its α-chy-III from S. japonicus possess strong antioxidant activities that could be utilized as a bioactive ingredient for functional food industries.

No abstract

Tuberatolide B (TTB, C27H34O4) is a diastereomeric meroterpenoid isolated from the Korean marine algae Sargassum macrocarpum. However, the anticancer effects of TTB remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that TTB inhibits tumor growth in breast, lung, colon, prostate, and cervical cancer cells. To examine the mechanism by which TTB suppresses cell growth, we determined the effect of TTB on apoptosis, ROS generation, DNA damage, and signal transduction. TTB induced ROS production in MDA-MB-231, A549, and HCT116 cells. Moreover, TTB enhanced DNA damage by inducing γH2AX foci formation and the phosphorylation of DNA damage-related proteins such as Chk2 and H2AX. Furthermore, TTB selectively inhibited STAT3 activation, which resulted in a reduction in cyclin D1, MMP-9, survivin, VEGF, and IL-6. In addition, TTB-induced ROS generation caused STAT3 inhibition, DNA damage, and apoptotic cell death. Therefore, TTB suppresses cancer progression by promoting ROS-mediated inhibition of STAT3 signaling, suggesting that TTB is useful for the treatment of cancer.

As a promising candidates for next‐generation secondary battery system, sodium‐ion (Na‐ion) batteries and potassium‐ion (K‐ion) batteries are recently attracting considerable attention because of their cost‐effectiveness and similar reaction mechanism to that of lithium‐ion batteries. However, the major challenges for their practical application are sluggish ionic kinetic with excessive volume change of the cathode material, caused by larger ionic radius than Li+ ion. The current demand for high energy density is not satisfactory with the electrochemical properties of the cathode materials for Na‐ion and K‐ion batteries studied so far, but extensive studies have been conducted to achieve large reversible capacity, high power capacity, and long life in recent years. This review provides comprehensive information on the cathode material studies reported to date for Na‐ion and K‐ion batteries, with a particular focus on the various strategies of each cathode material to achieve high electrochemical properties. In this regard, diverse electrochemical properties of cathode materials for Na‐ion and K‐ion batteries are compared with current Li‐ion battery systems, and future research directions are discussed along with related challenges and prospects.