The dichloromethane fraction from the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Taraxacum offi cinale showed a good inhibitory effect on hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC). As a result of a series of column chromatographies and usage of nuclear magnetic resonances spectrometric methods and mass spectroscopy 9 known components as taraxasterol (1), taraxasterylacetate (2),pseudotaraxasterol (3), lupeolacetate (4), b-sitosterol (5), b-sitosterylglucopyranose (6), palmitic acid (7), monopalmitin (8) and chrysoerol (9) have been determined. Amongst them palmitic acid, monopalmitin and chrysoeriol have been determined for the fi rst time in the aerial parts of Taraxacum offi cinale. Six compounds as 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were tested for their inhibitory activity on HCC and only palmitic acid exhibited more activity against HCC than others, suppressing cell proliferation, migration, adhesion and activated cell apoptosis.Keywords: Triterpenol and sterol derivatives; palmitic acid; hepatocellular carcinoma inhibition activity;IntroductionTaraxacum, commonly called dandelion, is a large genus of fl owering plants in the Asteraceae family. The latin name Taraxacum is from the Greek and means “disease remedy”, while the English name dandelion is originated from the French dent de leon, meaning “lion’s tooth”1. The Mongolian well-recognised name is “baaban beeben”, while in Japan it calls hokouei, respectively. Consequently, Taraxacum is widespread plant throughout the world, in particular, 19 species are found in the Mongolian fl ora2. Generally Taraxacum is considered weedy plant used as a medicinal herb and for food preparation. Traditionally, Taraxacum offi cinale Weber ex Wigg. in Mongolian and Tibetan medicine under the name “khurmong” the root has been used as the composition in a remedy for jaundice and other disorders of the liver and gallbladder, whilethe leaf is used as a diuretic and bitter digestive stimulant. Moreover, fresh dandelion stem latex is used for the warts treatment1,3-6. Taraxacum leaf is included as a medicinal drug in Herbal Pharmacopeia of several European countries. Numerous biological activity tests resulted that Taraxacum possessed an infl ammation modulating activity7-9, diuretic activity comparable to furosemide10, digestive stimulant, appetitive effect and activator for bile fl ow11-12, hypoglycemic activity13 and antitumor activity14. No side effects and carcinogenicity of T. offi cinale extracts and preparations have been noticed. Chemical constituents of T. offi cinale arewell studied. Scientists of different countries reported that whole plant T. offi cinale containedabundance of bitter principles as terpenoids and sterols, bile like terpenes and sterols, various fl avonoids and phenolic acids, large amount of polysaccharides as inulin and fructosans11,15-17.Also, dandelion is a rich in minerals such as iron, potassium and zinc18,19. In this work we are describing activity-guided isolation and the molecular structure elucidation of components from the dichloromethane fraction of the aerial parts of T. offi cinale, from the Mongolian fl ora.

STUDY DESIGN: We established induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) from three newborns with spina bifida aperta (SBa) using clinically practical methods. PURPOSE: We aimed to develop stem cell lines derived from newborns with SBa for future therapeutic use. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: SBa is a common congenital spinal cord abnormality that causes defects in neurological and urological functions. Stem cell transplantation therapies are predicted to provide beneficial effects for patients with SBa. However, the availability of appropriate cell sources is inadequate for clinical use because of their limited accessibility and expandability, as well as ethical issues. METHODS: Fibroblast cultures were established from small fragments of skin obtained from newborns with SBa during SBa repair surgery. The cultured cells were transfected with episomal plasmid vectors encoding reprogramming factors necessary for generating iPSCs. These cells were then differentiated into NSPCs by chemical compound treatment, and NSPCs were expanded using neurosphere technology. RESULTS: We successfully generated iPSC lines from the neonatal dermal fibroblasts of three newborns with SBa. We confirmed that these lines exhibited the characteristics of human pluripotent stem cells. We successfully generated NSPCs from all SBa newborn-derived iPSCs with a combination of neural induction and neurosphere technology. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully generated iPSCs and iPSC-NSPCs from surgical samples obtained from newborns with SBa with the goal of future clinical use in patients with SBa.
Cells, Cultured ; Ethics ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Meningomyelocele ; Plasmids ; Pluripotent Stem Cells ; Regenerative Medicine ; Skin ; Spina Bifida Cystica* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Dysraphism* ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells

Real-world data (RWD), such as a health insurance claim database and electronic medical record database, which records daily medical care information, is one of the most important data sources in pharmacoepidemiological studies. In Japan, a post-marketing database study has been added as a new category of post-marketing surveillance since April 2018. It is expected that the post-marketing database studies will be conducted in the actual risk management plan； however, at this point, few have reached the stage of publishing study results. On the other hand, overseas, many database research results using RWD have already been reported. Although it is necessary to keep in mind that there are differences in the characteristics of the databases (e.g., data contents, structures) and the differences in the medical environment between overseas and Japan, we think that critically reviewing these reports has a reference value for the planning, execution, and interpretation of the results in performing post-marketing database studies in Japan. The purpose of this report is to examine the characteristics and cautions of the database studies through a critical review of published articles of overseas RWD studies and to make recommendations that are useful for conducting post-marketing database studies in Japan. We hope this article will become a help in the planning and implementation of future post-marketing database studies.

BACKGROUND: A variety of dietary supplements are commercially available. However, the efficacy and safety of dietary supplement use in children are not well established. Understanding dietary supplement use is important for developing public health policy regarding dietary supplements. This study aimed to investigate the types of dietary supplements used and characteristics of dietary supplement users among Japanese elementary school children. METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional web-based questionnaire study. Dietary supplement use, socio-demographics, and health-related behaviors were assessed through mother-reported questionnaire. Types of dietary supplements were identified based on ingredient using product barcodes and brand names. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the socio-demographics and health-related behaviors associated with supplement use. RESULTS: Among 4933 children, 333 (6.8%) were identified as dietary supplement users. The most common supplement was amino acids or protein (1.4%), followed by n-3 fatty acids or fish oil (1.0%), probiotics (1.0%), multivitamins (0.9%), multivitamin-minerals (0.8%), and botanicals (0.8%). Overall, any dietary supplement use was significantly associated with the highest frequency of sports participation (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-4.02), highest household income (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.13-3.10), highest maternal educational level (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.31-2.52), and male sex (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.09-1.75). The highest frequency of sports participation was significantly associated with higher odds of use of amino acids or protein (OR, 6.06; 95% CI, 1.78-20.6) and multivitamins (OR, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.11-11.5), compared to the lowest frequency of sports participation. CONCLUSION This study showed that Japanese children primarily use non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements. Non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements should thus be included in future studies aimed at monitoring dietary supplement use. We also found that dietary supplement use in children was associated with sports participation. Guidelines for dietary supplement use for children, in particular sport participants, are needed.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvants used in inactivated vaccines often upregulate type 2 immunity, which is dominant in allergic diseases. We hypothesised that cumulative adjuvant exposure in infancy may influence the development of allergies later in life by changing the balance of type 1/type 2 immunity. We examined the relationship between immunisation with different vaccine types and later allergic disease development. METHODS: We obtained information regarding vaccinations and allergic diseases through questionnaires that were used in The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), which is a nationwide, multicentre, prospective birth cohort study that included 103,099 pregnant women and their children. We examined potential associations between the initial vaccination before 6 months of age and symptoms related to allergies at 12 months of age. RESULTS: Our statistical analyses included 56,277 children. Physician-diagnosed asthma was associated with receiving three (aOR 1.395, 95% CI 1.028-1.893) or four to five different inactivated vaccines (aOR 1.544, 95% CI 1.149-2.075), compared with children who received only one inactivated vaccine. Similar results were found for two questionnaire-based symptoms, i.e. wheeze (aOR 1.238, 95% CI 1.094-1.401; three vaccines vs. a single vaccine) and eczema (aOR 1.144, 95% CI 1.007-1.299; four or five vaccines vs. a single vaccine). CONCLUSIONS: Our results, which should be cautiously interpreted, suggest that the prevalence of asthma, wheeze and eczema among children at 12 months of age might be related to the amount of inactivated vaccine exposure before 6 months of age. Future work should assess if this association is due to cumulative adjuvant exposure. Despite this possible association, we strongly support the global vaccination strategy and recommend that immunisations continue. TRIAL REGISTRATION UMIN000030786 .
Asthma ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Cohort Studies ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Japan ; Male ; Vaccines, Inactivated ; adverse effects ; Viral Vaccines ; adverse effects