alpha-Glucosidase (AGH) inhibitory study by natural anthocyanin extracts was done. As the result of a free AGH assay system, 12 anthocyanin extracts were found to have a potent AGH inhibitory activity; in particular, Pharbitis nil (SOA) extract showed the strongest maltase inhibitory activity, with an IC(50) value of 0.35 mg/mL, as great as that of Ipomoea batatas (YGM) extract (IC(50) = 0.36 mg/mL). Interestingly, neither extract inhibited the sucrase activity at all. For the immobilized assay system, which may reflect the pharmacokinetics of AGH at the small intestine, SOA and YGM extracts gave more potent maltase inhibitory activities than those of the free AGH assay, with IC(50) values of 0.17 and 0.26 mg/mL, respectively. Both extracts also inhibited alpha-amylase action, indicating that anthocyanins would have a potential function to suppress the increase in postprandial glucose level from starch.

To clarify a postprandial glucose suppression effect of diacylated anthocyanin with alpha-glucosidase (AGH) inhibitory activity, a single oral administration study of it in male 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats was performed. The diacylated anthocyanin used in this study was peonidin 3-O-[2-O-(6-O-E-feruloyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-6-O-E-caffeoyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside]-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside isolated from storage roots of the purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas cv. Ayamurasaki), which showed a potent maltase inhibitory activity with an IC(50) value of 200 microM preferable to sucrase inhibition. When the diacylated anthocyanin (100 mg/kg) was administered following maltose (2 g/kg), a maximal blood glucose level (BGL) at 30 min was significantly decreased by 16.5% (P < 0.01) compared to vehicle. A minimum 10 mg/kg dose of the anthocyanin was necessary for the suppression of glycemic rise, and the ED(20) (69 mg/kg) was estimated to be approximately 30-fold lower than that of the therapeutic drug acarbose (ED(20) = 2.2 mg/kg). A reduction of serum insulin secretion was also observed corresponding to the decrease in BGL. No significant change in BGL was observed when sucrose or glucose was ingested, suggesting that the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the anthocyanin was achieved by maltase inhibition, not by sucrase or glucose transport inhibition at the intestinal membrane.

We have developed a new plant vector system for repeated transformation (called MAT for multi-autotransformation) in which a chimeric ipt gene, inserted into the transposable element Ac, is used as a selectable marker for transformation. Selectable marker genes conferring antibiotic or herbicide resistance, used to introduce economically valuable genes into crop plants, have three major problems: (i) the selective agents have negative effects on proliferation and differentiation of plant cells; (ii) there is uncertainty regarding the environmental impact of many selectable marker genes; (iii) it is difficult to perform recurrent transformations using the same selectable marker to pyramid desirable genes. The MAT vector system containing the ipt gene and the Ac element is designed to overcome these difficulties. When tobacco leaf segments were transformed and selected, subsequent excision of the modified Ac produced marker-free transgenic tobacco plants without sexual crosses or seed production. In addition, the chimeric ipt gene could be visually used as a selectable marker for transformation of hybrid aspen (Populus sieboldii ؋ Populus grandidentata). The chimeric ipt gene, therefore, is an attractive alternative to the most widely used selectable marker genes. The MAT vector system provides a promising way to shorten breeding time for genetically engineered crops. This method could be particularly valuable for fruit and forest trees, for which long generation times are a more significant barrier to breeding and genetic analysis.

Four diacylated pelargonidin (Pg: SOA-4 and SOA-6), cyanidin (Cy: YGM-3), and peonidin (Pn: YGM-6) 3-sophoroside-5-glucosides isolated from the red flowers of the morning glory, Pharbitis nil cv. Scarlett O'Hara (SOA), and the storage roots of purple sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas cv. Ayamurasaki (YGM), were subjected to an alpha-glucosidase (AGH) inhibitory assay, in which the assay was performed with the immobilized AGH (iAGH) system to mimic the membrane-bound AGH at the small intestine. As a result, the acylated anthocyanins showed strong maltase inhibitory activities with IC(50) values of <200 microM, whereas no sucrase inhibition was observed. Of these, SOA-4 [Pg 3-O-(2-O-(6-O-(E-3-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)caffeyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-6-O-E-caffeyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside)-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside] possessed the most potent maltase inhibitory activity (IC(50) = 60 microM). As a result of a marked reduction of iAGH inhibitory activity by deacylating the anthocyanins, that is, Pg (or Cy or Pn) sophoroside-5-glucoside, acylation of anthocyanin with caffeic (Caf) or ferulic (Fer) acid was found to be important in the expression of iAGH (maltase) inhibition. In addition, the result that Pg-based anthocyanins showed the most potent maltase inhibition, with an IC(50) value of 4.6 mM, and the effect being in the descending order of potency of Pg > Pn/Cy strongly suggested that no replacement at the 3'(5')-position of the aglycon B-ring may be essential for inhibiting iAGH action.

Absorption of acylated anthocyanins in purple-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas cv. Ayamurasaki) in rats was studied to obtain evidence that the acylated anthocyanins themselves could exert a physiological function in vivo. Peonidin 3-caffeoylsophoroside-5-glucoside (Pn 3-Caf‚sop-5-glc) in purple-fleshed sweet potato was directly absorbed into rat and present as an intact acylated form in plasma. After oral administration of the purple-fleshed sweet potato anthocyanin (PSA) concentrate containing 38.9 µmol of Pn 3-Caf‚sop-5-glc/kg of body weight, Pn 3-Caf‚sop-5-glc was detected in the plasma, and the C max value and t max were estimated as 50.0 ( 6.8 nmol/Lof plasma and 30 min, respectively. Furthermore, the plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly elevated from 58.0 ( 12.0 to 89.2 ( 6.8 µmol of Trolox equivalent/L of plasma 30 min after the administration of the PSA concentrate.