Citrus bioflavonoids may offer some protection against the early stage of diabetes mellitus and the development of complications. We investigated the effect of hesperidin on blood glucose levels, hepatic glucose-regulating enzyme activities, serum insulin and adiponectin levels, serum and hepatic lipid levels, and parameters of bone loss in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced marginal type 1 diabetic rats. Weanling male rats were randomly assigned to experimental 3 groups: a control (C) group, a STZ induced marginal type 1 diabetes (S) group, and a diabetes and hesperidin group, and fed their respective diets for 4 weeks. STZ injection increased blood glucose in rats, but the increase was marginal. Serum and hepatic lipids, serum adiponectin and insulin levels were significantly changed by STZ injection. Dietary hesperidin (10 g/kg diet) decreased blood glucose by altering the activity of glucose-regulating enzymes, and normalized the lipids and adiponectin levels, but did not change bone parameters in the marginal type 1 diabetic rats. Hesperidin showed both hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects but did not affect bone tissue and bone metabolic makers in STZ-injected marginal diabetic weanling rats without any body weight loss due to STZ injection.

We investigated the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of two hesperertin glycosides, namely, hesperidin and cyclodextrin (CD)-clathrated hesperetin, in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) weanling rats with type 2 diabetes. We demonstrated that hesperidin and CD-hesperetin normalized glucose metabolism by altering the activities of glucose-regulating enzymes and reducing the levels of lipids in the serum and liver of the GK rats. These effects of hesperidin glycosides were partly produced by altering the expression of genes encoding the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase, and the low-density lipoprotein receptor.

Previously, we reported that oral feeding of 1% green tea polyphenols (GTPs) aggravated the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. In the present study, we assessed the toxicity of 1% GTPs in several organs from normal and DSS-exposed mice. Sixty-two male ICR mice were initially divided into four groups. Nontreated group (group 1, n=15) was given standard diet and water, GTPs (group 2, n=15) received 1% GTPs in diet and water, DSS (group 3, n=15) received diet and 5% DSS in water, and GTPs + DSS group (group 4, n=17) received 1% GTPs in diet and 5% DSS in water. We found that group 4 significantly increased (P<0.05) kidney weight, the levels of serum creatinine and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in both kidney and liver, as compared with those in group 3. The mRNA expression levels of antioxidant enzymes and heat-shock proteins (HSPs) in group 4 were lower than those of group 3. For instance, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), HSP27, and 90 mRNA in the kidney of group 4 were dramatically down-regulated as compared with those of group 3. Furthermore, 1% GTPs diet decreased the expression of HO-1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and HSP90 in kidney and liver of non-treated mice. Taken together, our results indicate that high-dose GTPs diet disrupts kidney functions through the reduction of antioxidant enzymes and heat-shock protein expressions in not only colitis but also non-treated ICR mice.

Nitrogen−nitrogen bond-containing functional groups are rare, but they are found in a considerably wide class of natural products. Recent clarifications of the biosynthetic routes for such functional groups shed light onto overlooked biosynthetic genes distributed across the bacterial kingdom, highlighting the presence of yet-to-be identified natural products with peculiar functional groups. Here, the genome-mining approach targeting a unique hydrazine-forming gene led to the discovery of actinopyridazinones A (1) and B (2), the first natural products with dihydropyridazinone rings. The structure of actinopyridazinone A was unambiguously established by total synthesis. Biosynthetic studies unveiled the structural diversity of natural hydrazines derived from this family of N−N bond-forming enzymes.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether hesperidin inhibits bone loss in androgen-deficient male mice. Male ddY mice aged 7 weeks underwent either a sham operation or orchidectomy (ORX) and were divided into five groups: a sham-operated group fed a control diet (Sham) based on AIN-93G formulation with corn oil instead of soy bean oil, an ORX group fed the control diet (ORX), a group fed the control diet containing 0.5% hesperidin (ORX + H), a group fed the control diet containing 0.7% α-glucosylhesperidin (ORX + αG), and a group fed the control diet containing 0.013% simvastatin (ORX + St). Four weeks after intervention, ORX mice showed a striking decrease in seminal vesicle weight, which was not affected by the administration of hesperidin, α-glucosylhesperidin, or simvastatin. Femoral BMD was significantly reduced by ORX, and bone loss was inhibited by the administration of hesperidin, α-glucosylhesperidin or simvastatin. Histomorphometric analysis showed that the bone volume and trabecular thickness were significantly lower, and the osteoclast number was higher in the distal femoral cancellous bone in the ORX group than in the Sham group, and these were normalized in the ORX + H, ORX + αG and ORX + St groups. These results indicate that hesperidin inhibited bone resorption and hyperlipidemia, in ORX mice, and the preventive effect was stronger than that observed in ovariectomized mice in our previous study.

Sunrouge, an anthocyanin-rich tea, has similar levels of catechins as "Yabukita," the most popular green tea cultivar consumed in Japan. Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) have attracted interest due to their potent antioxidative activities combined with a lack of side effects in humans at normal consumption levels. However, we previously reported that high doses (0.5 and 1%) of dietary GTPs can result in deterioration of colitis and failed to prevent colon carcinogenesis in inflamed colons. In the present study, we determined the inhibitory effects of Sunrouge on colitis in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-treated and untreated control mice. Five-week-old female ICR mice were administered a single dose of Yabukita or Sunrouge (extracts in 1 mL distilled water) via a stomach tube for 3 weeks. After 1 week of treatment, the mice were divided into four groups (two Yabukita and two Sunrouge groups) and given drinking water with or without 3% DSS for 2 weeks, then they were euthanized. Those treated with DSS developed watery diarrhea and bloody stools, and showed body weight loss, spleen hypertrophy, and shortening of the colon, as well as deteriorations in survival rate, liver function, colon mucosal interleukin-1β level and expression of phase II detoxification enzyme mRNA. Sunrouge improved these DSS-induced symptoms, at least in part, whereas Yabukita showed either no effect or adverse effects in regard to some those parameters. It is suggested that the differences between Yabukita and Sunrouge on DSS-induced colitis might be due to the high levels of anthocyanins found in Sunrouge tea.

Heterocycles with nitrogen‐nitrogen (N−N) bonds are privileged building blocks of synthetic drugs. They are also found in natural products, although the biosynthetic logic behind them is poorly understood. Actinopyridazinones produced by Streptomyces sp. MSD090630SC‐05 possess unique dihydropyridazinone rings that have been studied as core nuclei in several approved synthetic therapeutics. Herein, we performed gene knockouts and in vitro biochemical experiments to elucidate the major steps in actinopyridazinone biosynthesis, including the unprecedented carrier protein mediated machinery for dihydropyridazinone formation.

We investigated the influence of Mg feeding frequency on the variation in serum Mg concentration and tissue Mg levels in Mg-deficient rats. Sprague-Dawley rats, which had been fed a Mg-deficient diet for 14 d, were divided into 3 groups that were kept on 3 diets differing in their Mg content. The rats were fed 0.5-fold (Mg250 group), 1-fold (Mg500 group), or 1.5-fold (Mg750 group) the amounts of recommended Mg in their standard AIN-93G diet (Mg: 478 mg/kg diet) during the recovery period (12 d). The Mg500 and Mg750 groups were intermittently fed (Mg500, every 2 d; Mg750, every 3 d) so that their total intake of Mg during the recovery period could equal the Mg intake of the Mg250 group. The serum Mg concentrations increased in the 3 groups after feeding with a Mg-containing diet. However, serum Mg levels were only maintained within the normal range in the Mg250 group. After feeding on the Mg-deficient diet, in the intermittently fed groups, serum Mg concentrations decreased. Urinary Mg excretion was higher and Mg retention was lower in the Mg500 and Mg750 groups than in the Mg250 group. Moreover, bone Mg, especially elutable bone Mg, was lower in the Mg500 and Mg750 groups than in the Mg250 group. The elutable fraction of bone Mg correlated to the coefficient of variation of serum Mg concentration. In conclusion, for the maintenance of serum Mg concentration, it is important to increase the amount of elutable bone Mg by frequent Mg consumption.