The antioxidant ability of capsanthin and the fatty acid esters was examined by measuring the free radical-oxidation of methyl linoleate. To assess radical scavenging effect, the production of methyl linoleate hydroperoxides and the decomposition of capsanthins in reaction solution were measured by HPLC. Capsanthin suppressed hydroperoxide formation as well as β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Interestingly, capsanthin decomposed more slowly than the other carotenoids, and the radical scavenging effect of capsanthin was found to last longer. Also, the capsanthin esterified partially and/or totally with fatty acids (mono- and/or diesterified capsanthin), isolated from paprika color, suppressed oxidation of methyl linoleate in a similar manner as nonesterified capsanthin. This finding suggests that the radical scavenging ability of capsanthin was not influenced by esterification, that is, the ability would contribute to the polyene chain, especially conjugated keto group. It was first found that esterified (monoesterified and diesterified) capsanthins also were good radical scavengers. Keywords: Capsanthin; esterified capsanthin; esterification; antioxidant activity; radical scavenging ability

BackgroundThe research emphasis in anti-cancer drug discovery has always been to search for a drug with the greatest antitumor potential but fewest side effects. This can only be achieved if the drug used is against a specific target located in the tumor cells. In this study, we evaluated Minichromosome Maintenance Protein 7 (MCM7) as a novel therapeutic target in cancer.ResultsImmunohistochemical analysis showed that MCM7 was positively stained in 196 of 331 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 21 of 29 bladder tumor and 25 of 70 liver tumor cases whereas no significant staining was observed in various normal tissues. We also found an elevated expression of MCM7 to be associated with poor prognosis for patients with NSCLC (P = 0.0055). qRT-PCR revealed a higher expression of MCM7 in clinical bladder cancer tissues than in corresponding non-neoplastic tissues (P < 0.0001), and we confirmed that a wide range of cancers also overexpressed MCM7 by cDNA microarray analysis. Suppression of MCM7 using specific siRNAs inhibited incorporation of BrdU in lung and bladder cancer cells overexpressing MCM7, and suppressed the growth of those cells more efficiently than that of normal cell strains expressing lower levels of MCM7.ConclusionsSince MCM7 expression was generally low in a number of normal tissues we examined, MCM7 has the characteristics of an ideal candidate for molecular targeted cancer therapy in various tumors and also as a good prognostic biomarker for NSCLC patients.

Five different coloured sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum cv. Signal), white, green, yellow, orange and red were analysed for total carotenoids, a-tocopherol, sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose), organic acids (citric and ascorbic acids) and anti-oxidant properties.

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The stability of red radish extract to light, heat, and hydrogen peroxide at different pH values (3, 5, and 7) was examined, in which major anthocyanins were pelargonidin glycosides acylated with a combination of p-coumaric, ferulic, or caffeic acids. The light irradiation (fluorescence light, 5000 lx; at 25 degrees C) indicated that the red radish extract was more stable at lower pH than at higher pH. The HPLC analyses revealed that diacylated anthocyanins in the extract were more stable to light at pH 3 than monoacylated anthocyanins. No significant difference in degradation rates of acylated anthocyanins at pH 5 was observed, whereas anthocyanins acylated with p-coumaric or ferulic acids were more stable at pH 7 than ones with caffeic acids. The stability to heat (at 90-95 degrees C) showed a tendency similar to that for light. The number of intramolecular acyl units contributes to stability to light and heat at lower pH, whereas the characteristics of intramolecular acyl units influence the stability at higher pH. The degradation behavior of red radish extract to H2O2 were almost the same to those of light and heat, depending on the pH. However, HPLC analyses revealed that the stability of individual acylated anthocyanins were independent of the pH. These data suggest that the characteristics, the number, and the binding site of intramolecular acyl units affect the stability of anthocyanin to H2O2. DPPH radical scavenging activity of all acylated anthocyanins was higher than those of pelargonidin and perlargonidin-3-glucoside. The activity of acylated anthocyanins mostly depended on the activity of intramolecular acyl units (caffeic acid > ferulic acid > p-coumaric acid). However, the activity was highly affected by the binding site of intramolecular acyl units even if anthocyanins have common acyl units.

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Heliquinomycin was isolated as a part of a program designed to find inhibitors of DNAhelicase from microbial sources. It was purified from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. MJ929-SF2by solvent extraction and serial chromatographies of centrifugal partition chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 and Capcell Pak C18 (HPLC). The isolated red powder was analyzed to have the molecular formula of C33H30O17. It inhibited partially purified DNAhelicase from HeLa cell in a noncompetitive manner with the inhibition constant (Ki) of 6.8 mM. Heliquinomycin exhibited biological activity against microorganisms including MRSA,and cultured cell lines. DNAhelicase is essential in the processes of DNA replication, repair, recombination and transcription by unwinding of double-stranded DNAto its reactive single strand form. This is an energy requiring process driven by the hydrolysis of deoxynucleaside S'-triphosphate1*. All knownDNAhelicases have been found to process intrinsic DNA-dependent ATPase activity2~4). DNAhelicase was discovered for the first time in 1976 in E. coli5). Most of the DNAhelicases need SSDNA adjacent to the duplex region to be unwound, with the notable exception of the SV40 T antigen6), E. coli helicase7), and E. coli Rec8) which are also able to

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