BACKGROUND Yakuchinone A has a plethora of beneficial biological effects. However, the pharmacokinetic (PK) data of yakuchinone A still remain unknown so far. Furthermore, the quantification of yakuchinone A in biological samples has not been reported in the literature. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to develop a new method for the fast, efficient and accurate assessment of yakuchinon...

BACKGROUND Alpinia oxyphylla is a common remedy in traditional Chinese medicine. Yakuchinone A is a major constituent of A. oxyphylla and exhibits anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, and gastric protective activities. METHODS Antioxidant and antitumor characteristics of yakuchinone A in skin cancer cells as well as novel mechanisms for the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation, ces...

BACKGROUND The progressive accumulation of misfolded and aggregated proteins in neurons is an accepted mechanism in aging. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), referred to as oxidative stress, is currently believed to play a pivotal role in this process. Lipofuscin as a histological index of aging results from cross-links between oxidized proteins and lipids. Therefore, to attenuate...

Background: The progressive accumulation of misfolded and aggregated proteins in neurons is an accepted mechanism in aging. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), referred to as oxidative stress, is currently believed to play a pivotal role in this process. Lipofuscin as a histological index of aging results from cross-links between oxidized proteins and lipids. Therefore, to attenuat...

background: the progressive accumulation of misfolded and aggregated proteins in neurons is an accepted mechanism in aging. overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ros), referred to as oxidative stress, is currently believed to play a pivotal role in this process. lipofuscin as a histological index of aging results from cross-links between oxidized proteins and lipids. therefore, to attenuat...

BACKGROUND Alpinia oxyphylla (Zingiberaceae), an herbaceous perennial plant, its capsular fruit is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of different urinary incontinence symptoms including frequency, urgency and nocturia. These symptoms are similar to the overactive bladder syndrome. In our lab, we found that the 95% ethanol extract of the capsular fruits exhibited si...

Investigation has been conducted to delineate the action of some phenolic compounds of natural origin in four human tumor cell lines: acute myeloblastic leukemia (HL-60), chronic myelogenic leukemia (K-562), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and cervical epithelial carcinoma (HeLa). In cells grown in appropriate media the phenolics curcumin, yakuchinone B, resveratrol and capsaicin exhibited growth...

The suppression of spontaneous Ca2+ spikes and isometric contractions by gingerols and their chemically related compounds was examined using the single sucrose gap method. Most of the congeners tested suppressed spontaneous contraction, which was not necessarily accompanied by the suppression of Ca2+ spikes. The most potent analogues for Ca2+ spike suppression were (+/-)-[6]-gingerol (0.3 mM) a...

Plant secondary metabolites are known to not only play a key role in the adaptation of plants to their environment, but also represent an important source of active pharmaceuticals. Alpinia oxyphylla capsular fruits, made up of seeds and pericarps, are commonly used in traditional East Asian medicines. In clinical utilization of these capsular fruits, inconsistent processing approaches (i.e., h...