No abstract

Astaxanthin mono- (AXME) and diesters (AXDE) were characterized and examined for anticancer potency with total carotenoids (TC) and astaxanthin (AX) against UV-7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced skin cancer model in rat. At 200 μg/kg bw, AXDE and AXME reduced UV-DMBA-induced tumor incidences up to 96 and 88%, respectively, when compared to AX (66%) and TC (85%). UV-DMBA has been known to generate high levels of free radicals and tyrosinase enzyme, leading to characteristic symptoms of skin pigmentation and tumor initiation. Intriguingly, ~7-fold increase in tyrosinase and 10-fold decrease in antioxidant levels were normalized by AXDE and AXME as opposed to only ~1.4-2.2-fold by AX and TC, respectively. This result together with the appearance of 72 and 58 ng/mL of retinol in the serum of respective AXE-treated (AXDE + AXME) and AX-treated animals suggested that better anticancer potency of AXEs could be due to increased bioavailability.

No abstract

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and an electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) methods were applied to quantify the profiles of melatonin and serotonin (5-HT) in green and roasted beans of Coffea canephora (robusta) and Coffea arabica (arabica). Both melatonin and 5-HT were detected in green coffee beans (5.8±0.8μg/g dry weight (DW), 10.5±0.6μg/g DW) and also in roasted beans of C. canephora (8.0±0.9μg/g DW, 7.3±0.5μg/g DW). Melatonin (3.0±0.6μg/50mL) and 5-HT (4.0±0.7μg/50mL) were detected in coffee brew. In C. arabica, 5-HT was high in green beans (12.5±0.8μg/g DW) compared with roasted beans (8.7±0.4). The levels of melatonin were higher (9.6±0.8μg/g DW) in roasted beans compared with green beans (6.8±0.4μg/g DW). Both melatonin (3.9±0.2μg/50mL) and 5-HT (7.3±0.6μg/50mL) were detected in coffee brew. Because of the relevance of indoleamines as bioactive molecules with implications for food, nutritional sciences and human health, it was of interest to explore their levels in coffee, an important universal beverage.