Current evidence supports a significant association between fruit and vegetable intake and health. In this study, we assessed the effect of consuming a vegetable-soup"gazpacho"on vitamin C and biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in a healthy human population. We also examined the association between vitamin C and F(2)-isoprostanes (8-epiPGF(2alpha)), uric acid (UA), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and the cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and IL-6. Gazpacho is a Mediterranean dish defined as a ready-to-use vegetable soup, containing approximately 80% crude vegetables rich in vitamin C. Subjects (6 men, 6 women) enrolled in this study consumed 500 mL/d of gazpacho corresponding to an intake of 72 mg of vitamin C. On d 1, subjects consumed the gazpacho in one dose; from d 2 until the end of the study, d 14, 250 mL was consumed in the morning and 250 mL in the afternoon. Blood was collected before drinking the soup (baseline) and on d 7 and 14. Baseline plasma vitamin C concentrations did not differ between men and women (P = 0.060). Compared with baseline, the vitamin C concentration was significantly higher on d 7 and 14 of the intervention in both men and women (P<0.05). Baseline plasma levels of UA and F(2)-isoprostanes were higher (P

Prostaglandin (PG) E(1) has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties and to modulate vascular reactivity. These activities are sometimes distinct from those of PGE(2), suggesting that endogenously produced PGE(1) may have some beneficial therapeutic effects compared with PGE(2). Increasing the endogenous formation of PGE(1) requires optimization of two separate processes, namely, enrichment of cellular lipids with dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (20:3 n-6; DGLA) and effective cyclo-oxygenase-dependent oxygenation of substrate DGLA relative to arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4 n-6). DGLA and AA had similar affinities (K(m) values) and maximal reaction rates (V(max)) for cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), whereas AA was metabolized preferentially by cyclo-oxygenase-1 (COX-1). To overcome the kinetic preference of COX-1 for AA, CP-24879, a mixed Delta(5)/Delta(6) desaturase inhibitor, was used to enhance preferential accumulation of DGLA over AA in cells cultured in the presence of precursor gamma-linolenic acid (18:3 n-6). This protocol was tested in two cell lines and both yielded a DGLA/AA ratio of approx. 2.8 in the total cellular lipids. From the enzyme kinetic data, it was calculated that this ratio should offset the preference of COX-1 for AA over DGLA. PGE(1) synthesis in the DGLA-enriched cells was increased concurrent with a decline in PGE(2) formation. Nevertheless, PGE(1) synthesis was still substantially lower than that of PGE(2). It appears that employing a dietary or a combined dietary/pharmacological paradigm to augment the cellular ratio of DGLA/AA is not an effective route to enhance endogenous synthesis of PGE(1) over PGE(2), at least in cells/tissues where COX-1 predominates over COX-2.

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of each fraction of Hericium erinaceus (HE). The ethanol extract from HE was partitioned with different solvents in the order of increasing polarity. The treatment with 10-100μg/mL of each fraction did not reduce RAW 264.7 cell viability except ethyl acetate fraction. Among the various extracts, the chloroform fraction showed the most potent activity against nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The western blotting and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses revealed that chloroform fraction from HE (CHE) significantly reduced the protein level of iNOS and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) or mRNA levels of iNOS in lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages. Furthermore, CHE inhibited the translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 subunit, phsophorylation of I-κB, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the activation of both activator protein-1 (AP-1) and NF κB in the nucleus were abrogated by CHE with luciferase assay. In conclusion, these results indicate that CHE may provide an anti-inflammatory effect by attenuating the generation of excessive NO, PGE(2), and ROS and by suppressing the expression of pro-inflammatory genes through the inhibition of NF-κB and JNK activity.