Konjac-mannan has been suggested to exert a protective effect against visceral obesity. However, there is little knowledge about the effects of liquid konjac (LK) that is partially alkali gelled. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the potential beneficial effects of a LK powder on obesity in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with either 2.5 or 5% LK powder for 80 days. Growth parameters, abdominal fat content, serum biochemical markers, and hepatic lipid accumulations were measured. Dietary supplementation with LK resulted in decreased body weight gain and abdominal fat accumulation. Dose-dependent decreases were observed in accumulation of hepatic lipids and serum total cholesterol, leptin, insulin concentrations. The study findings indicated that LK had preventing effect against obesity, including the reduction of abdominal and hepatic lipid accumulation and serum parameters related to obesity.

The target site of the novel fungicide quinofumelin was investigated in the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae. Quinofumelin-induced mycelial growth inhibition was reversed by orotate but not by dihydroorotate. Recovery tests suggested that the target site of quinofumelin was dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), which catalyzes the oxidation of dihydroorotate to orotate. Quinofumelin strongly inhibited P. oryzae class 2 DHODH (DHODH II) (IC 50 : 2.8 nM). The inhibitory activities of mycelial growth and DHODH II were strongly positively correlated, indicating that DHODH II inhibition by quinofumelin lead to antifungal activity. A P. oryzae DHODH II gene (PoPYR4) disruption mutant (ΔPopyr4), showing the same tendency as the quinofumelin-treated wild strain in recovery tests, was constructed, and disease symptoms were not observed in rice plants infected by ΔPopyr4. Thus, DHODH II, which plays an important role in pathogenicity and mycelial growth, is found to be the target site of quinofumelin.

No abstract

No abstract