Kuma-zasa is Japanese folk medicine derived from plants of genus Sasa, family Bambusaceae. Although the plants of origin of Kuma-zasa were reported to be Sasa palmata, S. senanensis, S. yahikoensis, and S. kurilensis, authentication of those plants was difficult because of similarity in morphology. Several methods for the classification of genus Sasa are available, but none involve a genetic approach. Here, we performed the genetic profiling of genus Sasa, including the four species used medicinally. Thirteen sequences were observed in chloroplast DNA intron between rbcL and ORF106 and partial ORF106 regions of 34 specimens of 16 Sasa species and one specimen of Phyllostachys pubescens. We observed differences in alignment in this region among the specimens. The analyzed lengths varied from 759 to 821 bp depending on the specimen. There were nine base substitutions, eight successive thymines or adenines, and one to three repeat units of 31 bp. Moreover, we could not find species-specific alignment: different alignments were observed in specimens of the same species, while the same alignment was observed in specimens of different species. In the phylogenetic tree reconstructed by maximum parsimony analysis, medicinally used species did not form a cluster, although most of them were positioned close to each other. The genetic profiling of Sasa species would be of use in determining the botanical origin of the herbal medicine derived from the leaves of Sasa plants.
In the modern era of the aging society, the number of bedridden elderly patients is increasing gradually, and many of them are troubled by pressure ulcers (decubitus ulcers), which are often serious, resulting in refractory skin ulcers. 1,2) Various dosage forms have been developed to treat skin ulcers such as pressure ulcers. [3][4][5][6] We also prepared a patch with a tamarind gum-sucrose hydrogel containing silver sulfadiazine, and demonstrated that the formulation displayed a better effect than Geben ® cream. 7,8) Generally, a pressure ulcer goes through the stages of an period of infection and necrosis, an agglutination period, and a proliferation period of granulation and epidermis in that order until cure. To each stage, many formulations, including ointments, creams, films and dressings, have been developed. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Ointments containing minocycline, which exhibited controlled release, were reported recently because minocycline is highly effective against pressure ulcer bacteria.15) Many formulations applied to pressure ulcers possess an antibacterial function 6,7,11,12,14,15) or potential to enhance the proliferation of granulation or epidermis. 4,[16][17][18] Namely, substances with such abilities and high safety can be candidates as agents for the treatment of pressure ulcers.We focused on the liquid obtained by hydrothermal extraction of Sasa veitchii (CARR.), named Kumazasa extract (KE), because the extract has been reported to exhibit various biological functions such as antibacterial action, anti-ulcer property, cell repair function and anti-tumor action. [19][20][21][22][23] It was reported that the active ingredients associated with antiinflammatory, anti-ulcer and anti-tumor functions might be polysaccharides, which are the major components of KE. 23,24) In this study, a deep skin ulcer model was induced by skin removal and subsequent frostbite as a pressure ulcer-like model in rats, 8) and used in the in vivo studies. For the formulations, chitosan (CS) was adopted as the polymer support for solid components in KE, named EXT, because CS has been found useful to protect other types of wound, 25,26) probably due to its antibacterial, immune-enhancing function etc.27-31) Naturally dried and freeze-dried chitosan films containing KE were developed as different types of dosage forms. The film types of formulations are considered to be excellent for usability. In the present studies, KE alone, the films and other clinically used formulations were examined for in vivo efficacy using the deep skin ulcer model, and histological analyses were performed for some formulations. MATERIALS AND METHODS MaterialsLiquid obtained by hydrothermal extraction of Sasa veitchii (CARR.), named Kumazasa extract (KE), which was composed of water (50%, w/w) and residual components, named EXT (50%, w/w), was supplied by Hoshi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Japan). Chitosan 1000 (deacetylation degree of 80%; viscosity grade 1200 cP at 0.5% at 20°C) was purchased from Wako Pure Chemicals Industries, Ltd., and use...
Many plant extracts are used as well-known folk medicines and exhibit various biological activities that are beneficial to human health. These extracts contain polysaccharides, and some are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that stimulate innate as well as acquired immune systems. In the present study, the cooperative effects of PAMPs and bamboo water-soluble methanol precipitation (BWMP) in a macromolecular fraction of the hot water extract of Sasa veitchii (in Japanese folk medicine, known as Kumazasa; family Poaceae) were analyzed in vitro using the spleen or bone marrow cells of mice. The splenocytes of male DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice were cultured with BWMP in the presence or absence of PAMPs, and responses were assessed by measuring cytokines. BWMP inhibited the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) by not only toll like receptors (TLRs), but also the C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) dectin-1 and dectin-2. BWMP also inhibited the autologous production of IFN-γ in the splenocyte culture. These results suggested that BWMP may inhibit the signaling pathways of PAMPs, but not ligand-receptor interactions. In contrast, BWMP did not inhibit the production of cytokines by dendritic cells. These results indicated that the inhibition of IFN-γ by BWMP was mediated through the cell-to-cell interactions of splenic cells during cultivation.
We determined the stoichiometric number and the rate constants of bamboo extracts using the method that was devised in determining the antioxidant activity of mixtures. This is the first study of bamboo extracts as an antioxidant that reports the stoichiometric and kinetic results.
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