Using high-performance liquid chromatography, 11 sulfur-containing flavor precursors were determined quantitatively in seven Allium vegetables: garlic (Allium sativum), onion (A. cepa), Welsh onion (A. fistulosum), Chinese chive (A. tuberosum Rotter), rakkyo (A. chinense G. Don), 'asatsuki' (A. schoenoprasum), and leek (A. porrum). Keywords: alliin, Alliums, flavor precursor, glutamyl peptide, high-performance liquid chromatography, isoalliin, S-alk(en) yl-L-cysteine *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yoshihisa_yamazaki@aomori-itc.or.jp The determinants were S-alk(en)yl-L-cysteine derivatives, methiin, alliin, isoalliin, cycloalliin, deoxyalliin, N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-methyl-L-cysteine, N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(2-propenyl)-L-cysteine, N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(E-1-propenyl)-L-cysteine (Glu-PEC), N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(2-propenyl)-Lcysteine sulfoxide, N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(E-1-propenyl)-L-cysteine sulfoxide (Glu-PECSO) and S-(2-carboxy IntroductionAllium vegetables, such as garlic (A. sativum L.) and onion (A. cepa L.), have been used as seasoning vegetables worldwide (Block, 1992(Block, , 2010. Allium vegetables contain large amounts of S-alk(en)yl-L-cysteine derivatives (SACs, Fig. 1) (Kubec et al., 2000). When these vegetables are cut or crushed, S-alk(en)yl-L-cysteine sulfoxides (SACSOs), i.e., methiin, alliin, isoalliin, are cleaved by alliinase (cysteine sulfoxide lyase: EC 4.4.1.4) to give the corresponding alk(en) yl sulfenic acids (Stoll and Seebeck, 1951). The sulfenic acids are transformed via continuous reactions to thiosulfinates (e.g., diallyl thiosulfinate (allicine)) and other organosulfur volatile compounds (e.g., diallyl disulfide) to produce characteristic flavors . These organosulfur volatile compounds have been reported as flavor compounds of food, in addition to bioactive compounds (Block, 1994), or causal compounds of processed food discoloration (Kubec et al., 2004;Imai et al., 2006).The degrees of the respective contributions of these organosulfur volatile compounds to flavor, bioactivity, and food discoloration depend on their alkyl moieties: they are dominated by the kinds and quantities of SACSO as substrates of alliinase in Allium vegetables. Allium vegetables also contain γ-glutamyl peptides of S-alk(en)yl-L-cysteine (Glu-SAC) corresponding to SACSOs that are storage compounds during dormancy (Tuboi et al., 1989;Lancaster and Shaw, 1991;Lawson et al., 1991;Ichikawa et al., 2006b). These SACSOs as well as Glu-SAC in Allium vegetables should be evaluated as Glu-SAC is metabolized to SACSO depending on the storage conditions.Comparing the contents of SACs in individual Allium ical Industries Ltd. (Osaka, Japan). Water purified using a Milli-Q instrument (Millipore Corp., MA, USA) was used for all sample preparations and mobile phases. Reference compounds, and N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(2-propenyl)-L-cysteine sulfoxide (Glu-ALCSO) (98%) were isolated from garlic cloves. Isoalliin (99%), N-(γ-glutamyl)-S-(E-1-propenyl)-L-cysteine sulfoxide (Glu-PECSO) (96%), and S-2-carboxy propyl gluthathion (2CPGTH) (98%) ...

A 40-year-old woman who had used nylon towels in the bath for about 10 years noticed hyperpigmentation on the prominent regions over the bones of the trunk and extremities. She also developed lichenoid papules with itching on her back. Histologically, both the pigmented and the papular lesions had amyloid deposits beneath the epidermis. In this case it is presumed that the papular lesions with amyloid (lichen amyloidosus) developed initially from friction melanosis which became macular pigmented lesion (macular amyloidosis). The etiologic factor of these sequential pathologic changes is considered to be repeated scrubbing with nylon towels.

3H-Dexamethasone binding sites with a Kd of approximately 0.7 nM and a maximum number of binding sites of approximately 0.3 pmoles/mg protein were demonstrated in the uterine cytosol of adrenalectomized rats only if dithiothreitol was present in the incubation mixture and the simultaneous presence of molybdate further enhanced the binding in the cytosol. The binding sites exhibited a high specificity for glucocorticoids and were depleted in a dose-dependent manner from cytosol after administration of dexamethasone to animals. The depletion was not due to the occupation of the binding sites by the dexamethasone administered and the rate of depletion was correlated with the inhibition of uterine growth induced by estrogen administration. The cytosol labeled with 3H-dexamethasone in the presence of dithiothreitol bound to DNA-cellulose efficiently after heating at 25 degrees C for 30 min and the binding was inhibited by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate added to the reaction mixture. The effect of heating on the DNA-cellulose binding was abolished by molybdate in the incubation mixture. From these observations, it was concluded that 3H-dexamethasone binding sites in the rat uterus were physiologically active glucocorticoid receptors.

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We have examined the influence of progestins (progesterone, R5020) and antiprogestins (RU486, ZK98299, Org 31710 and Org 31806) on the rate of proliferation of wild type T47D cells cultured in whole fetal bovine serum (FBS) or in single charcoal stripped fetal bovine serum (SSFBS). All of the progesterone antagonists RU486, ZK98299 and two novel antiprogestins Org 31710 and Org 31806 inhibited cell proliferation when cells were cultured in FBS. In contrast, all of the antiprogestins with the exception of ZK98299 enhanced cell growth when cells were cultured in SSFBS. This stimulatory effect of RU486 was observed only at a high concentration of the ligand (1 microM). The effect of R5020, however, was concentration independent. The number of cells in the presence of RU486 was approximately 600% followed by R5020 approximately 400% above control values after a 28 day culturing period. In contrast, when the cells were grown in the presence of medium containing non-stripped whole serum, RU486 inhibited the extent of cell proliferation by 45%. Estradiol (E2) stimulated the rate of proliferation in cells cultured in SSFBS. Similar to when cells were cultured in whole serum, the antiprogestins inhibited cell growth in E2-supplemented SSFBS. Detection of the growth enhancement effects of progesterone receptor (PR) ligands such as RU486 and R5020 on the cells grown in charcoal-stripped medium appear to require the removal of E2 by charcoal stripping of the serum.