extraction-and-analysis-of-taiwanese-green-propolis

Extraction and Analysis of Taiwanese Green Propolis

Taiwanese green propolis is rich in prenylated flavonoids and exhibits a broad range of biological activities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and ...

National Ilan University

Pathogenesis of fibrosis is a common process leading to chronic liver diseases and liver cirrhosis. New compounds for disease treatment and adjuvant therapy have been important issues in recent years. In this study, we isolated propolin G from Taiwanese green propolis (TGP) and investigated its antifibrotic effects by utilizing active hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) fibrosis model. Our results showed that TGP and propolin G inhibited α-SMA, collagen expression, and proliferation of HSC-T6 cells after TGF-β treatment. They also reduced the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagen Iα1 (Col Iα1) through down-regulating JNK signaling. Subsequently, mRNA and protein expression of Smad2/3 but no other Smad members was specifically down-regulated in the presence of propolin G. This effect also significantly induced apoptosis-associated expression of cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-7 proteins for fibrotic cell clearance. In in vivo experiments, we found that propolin G and TGP can reduce plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activation and perhaps lead to the prevention of alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, TGP can significantly decrease the malondialdehyde (MDA) level but has no influence on plasma or hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels, suggesting TGP protects the liver from alcohol-induced injury through antioxidant-independent pathways. In conclusion, this study provides a new perspective of propolin G and TGP on liver protection, and its application has potential for health management by daily supplement or adjuvant therapy in related diseases.

Taiwanese Green Propolis and Propolin G Protect the Liver from the Pathogenesis of Fibrosis via Eliminating TGF-β-Induced Smad2/3 Phosphorylation.

This study investigated the antifatigue effects of rutin, a flavonoid extracted from the ethyl acetate extract of S. involucrata. Mice were subjected to a weight-loaded forced swim test (WFST) on alternate days for 3 wk. Rutin was administered orally to the mice for 7 days in dosages of 15, 30, and 60 mg/kg body weight, and several biomarkers of physical fatigue were evaluated: swimming time, change in body weight, lipid peroxidation, lactic acid (LA), glycogen, and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). On Day 7, the rutin-treated mice had a 3-fold longer exhaustive swimming time than the control mice, as well as significantly reduced blood LA concentrations. The 15, 30, and 60 mg/kg body weight rutin-supplemented groups displayed 11.2%, 22.5%, and 37.7% reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, respectively, in brain and muscle tissues compared with the control exercised group. Our results indicated that the administration of rutin protected the mice against the depletion of SOD and GPx activities significantly. Following 7 days of rutin treatment, we sacrificed the mice and analyzed their soleus muscle and brain for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α coactivator (PGC-1α) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) mRNA expression. We observed that rutin treatment increased PGC-1α and SIRT1 mRNA and protein expression. The changes in these markers of mitochondrial biogenesis were associated with increased maximal endurance capacity. The application of 2D gel electrophoresis to analyze the rutin-responsive protein profiles in the WFST mouse brain further revealed the upregulation of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor-interacting protein 1, myelin basic protein, Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI) alpha, and TPI, indicating that rutin might inhibit anxiety through the upregulation of the expression of anxiety-associated proteins. Western blot analysis of MAPK expression further confirmed the antianxiety effects of rutin. Our study results thus indicate that rutin treatment ameliorates the various impairments associated with physical fatigue.

Rutin, a flavonoid and principal component of saussurea involucrata, attenuates physical fatigue in a forced swimming mouse model.

Significant pesticide residues are among the most serious problems for sustainable agriculture. In the beekeeping environment, pesticides not only impact a honey bee's survival, but they also contaminate bee products. Taiwan's agricultural environment has suffered from pesticide stress that was higher than that found in Europe and America. This study deciphered problems of pesticide residues in fresh honey bee pollen samples collected from 14 monitoring apiaries in Taiwan, which reflected significant contaminations within the honey bee population. In total, 155 pollen samples were screened for 232 pesticides, and 56 pesticides were detected. Among the residues, fluvalinate and chlorpyrifos showed the highest concentrations, followed by carbendazim, carbaryl, chlorfenapyr, imidacloprid, ethion, and flufenoxuron. The average frequency of pesticide residues detected in pollen samples was ca. 74.8%. The amounts and types of pesticides were higher in winter and in southwestern Taiwan. Moreover, five of these pollen samples were contaminated with 11-15 pesticides, with average levels between 1,560 and 6,390 μg/kg. Compared with the literature, this study emphasized that pollen gathered by honey bee was highly contaminated with more pesticides in Taiwan than in the America, France, and Spain. The ubiquity of pesticides in the pollen samples was likely due to the field applications of common pesticides. Recently, the Taiwanese government began to improve the pesticide policy. According to the resurvey data in 2016, there were reductions in several pesticide contamination parameters in pollen samples from west to southwest Taiwan. A long-term investigation of pollen pesticide residues should be conducted to inspect pesticides usage in Taiwan's agriculture.

Chun-Ting Chen

Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science

National Ilan University

Extraction and Analysis of Taiwanese Green Propolis

Chun-Ting Chen

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science

National Ilan University

Extraction and Analysis of Taiwanese Green Propolis

Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science