Identification of Chinese green tea (Camellia sinensis) marker metabolites using GC/MS and UPLC-QTOF/MS

Food Science and Biotechnology - Tea is one of the most widely consumed aromatic beverages in the world because of its taste and flavor, as well as due to many potential health beneficial...     

Effect of extract from laquer tree (Rhus verniciflua Stokes) on DNCB-induced atopic dermatitis in NC/Nga mouse

Laquer tree (Rhus verniciflua Stokes; Anacardiaceae, RVS) has been used in oriental medicines. This study examined whether the extract of RVS free of urushiol (detoxified RVS extract, DRE) exerting antiinflammation could alleviate the symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD) induced with 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) in NC/Nga mice. DRE contained flavonoids like fustin (153 mg/g), fisetin (14.6 mg/g), sulfuretin (13.3 mg/g), and quercetin (0.95 mg/g). DRE (10 μg/mL) decreased the production of nitric oxide activated by lipopolysaccharide. Oral administration of DRE (200 mg/kg weight/day) decreased scratching frequencies, the epidermal thickness on dorsal skin, and the number of degranulated mast cell. DRE significantly lowered the levels of IgE in sera (p<0.01), which were elevated by DNCB. DNCB reciprocally raised IL-4 and lowered IFN-γ in media of spleenocyte. DRE reversely raised IFN-γ and lowered IL-4. Contrastively, dexamethasone suppressed the overall immune reactions. In conclusion, DRE inhibited Th2-mediated IgE overproduction through modulation of Th1/2 balance, which was in part attributed to anti-inflammatory activity.     

Arrayed-waveguide grating with branched outputs for simultaneousmultichannel monitoring purposes

We propose an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) that has branched output waveguides for simultaneous multichannel monitoring purposes. The transmittances of two adjacent branched output waveguides are slightly different from each other. Thus, we can obtain crossover wavelengths, where the transmittances of adjacent output waveguides are the same with much smaller insertion losses than those of conventional AWGs. As a result, the proposed device can accurately monitor wavelength-division-multiplexed channel wavelengths in the presence of the amplified-spontaneous-emission noise