Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Resveratrol, a constituent of red wine, has long been suspected to have cardioprotective effects. Interest in this compound has been renewed in recent years, first from its identification as a chemopreventive agent for skin cancer, and subsequently from reports that it activates sirtuin deacetylases and extends the lifespans of lower organisms. Despite scepticism concerning its bioavailability, a growing body of in vivo evidence indicates that resveratrol has protective effects in rodent models of stress and disease. Here, we provide a comprehensive and critical review of the in vivo data on resveratrol, and consider its potential as a therapeutic for humans.

Therapeutic potential of resveratrol: the in vivo evidence.

A major challenge today and into the future is to maintain or enhance beneficial contributions of nature to a good quality of life for all people. This is among the key motivations of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a joint global effort by governments, academia, and civil society to assess and promote knowledge of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystems and their contribution to human societies in order to inform policy formulation. One of the more recent key elements of the IPBES conceptual framework ( 1 ) is the notion of nature's contributions to people (NCP), which builds on the ecosystem service concept popularized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) ( 2 ). But as we detail below, NCP as defined and put into practice in IPBES differs from earlier work in several important ways. First, the NCP approach recognizes the central and pervasive role that culture plays in defining all links between people and nature. Second, use of NCP elevates, emphasizes, and operationalizes the role of indigenous and local knowledge in understanding nature's contribution to people.

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Assessing nature's contributions to people

Resveratrol, trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene, was first isolated in 1940 as a constituent of the roots of white hellebore (Veratrum grandiflorum O. Loes), but has since been found in various plants, including grapes, berries and peanuts. Besides cardioprotective effects, resveratrol exhibits anticancer properties, as suggested by its ability to suppress proliferation of a wide variety of tumor cells, including lymphoid and myeloid cancers; multiple myeloma; cancers of the breast, prostate, stomach, colon, pancreas, and thyroid; melanoma; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; ovarian carcinoma; and cervical carcinoma. The growth-inhibitory effects of resveratrol are mediated through cell-cycle arrest; upregulation of p21Cip1/WAF1, p53 and Bax; down-regulation of survivin, cyclin D1, cyclin E, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and clAPs; and activation of caspases. Resveratrol has been shown to suppress the activation of several transcription factors, including NF-kappaB, AP-1 and Egr-1; to inhibit protein kinases including IkappaBalpha kinase, JNK, MAPK, Akt, PKC, PKD and casein kinase II; and to down-regulate products of genes such as COX-2, 5-LOX, VEGF, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, AR and PSA. These activities account for the suppression of angiogenesis by this stilbene. Resveratrol also has been shown to potentiate the apoptotic effects of cytokines (e.g., TRAIL), chemotherapeutic agents and gamma-radiation. Phamacokinetic studies revealed that the target organs of resveratrol are liver and kidney, where it is concentrated after absorption and is mainly converted to a sulfated form and a glucuronide conjugate. In vivo, resveratrol blocks the multistep process of carcinogenesis at various stages: it blocks carcinogen activation by inhibiting aryl hydrocarbon-induced CYP1A1 expression and activity, and suppresses tumor initiation, promotion and progression. Besides chemopreventive effects, resveratrol appears to exhibit therapeutic effects against cancer. Limited data in humans have revealed that resveratrol is pharmacologically quite safe. Currently, structural analogues of resveratrol with improved bioavailability are being pursued as potential therapeutic agents for cancer.

/pdf/role-of-resveratrol-in-prevention-and-therapy-of-cancer-tq57uztzep.pdf

Role of Resveratrol in Prevention and Therapy of Cancer: Preclinical and Clinical Studies

Valuing nature's contributions to people: the IPBES approach

1Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 5-6-1, Mitahora-higashi, Gifu 502-8585, Japan; 2Gifu Prefectural Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences, 1-1 Naka Fudogaoka, Kakamigahara, Gifu 504-0838, Japan; 3Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Josai University, 1-1 Keyakidai Sakado, Saitama 350-0295, Japan; 4Botanical Gardens, Koishikawa, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-7-1 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-0001, Japan; 5Indinesian Institute of Sciences, Jalan Ir. H. Juanda 13, Bogor 16122, Indonesia

http://libopac.josai.ac.jp/search/gakunai/magazine/yakukiyo/23/23-20.pdf

Four New Glucosides of Stilbene Oligomers From the Stem of Gnetum gnemonoides.

Six new flavonostilbenes (gnetoflavanols A, B, C, D, E and F) were isolated from the stem of Gnetum africanum and the root of G. gnemon. The structures of the compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis. The antioxidant activity of the compounds on lipid peroxide inhibition and superoxide scavenging activity were also investigated.

Six flavonostilbenes from Gnetum africanum and Gnetum gnemon

In various fern species, a large amount of rbcL sequence variation has been reported, and it is possible that these species contain several reproductively isolated cryptic species. In our previous study on Asplenium nidus L., it was suggested that the plants growing in Mt. Halimun National Park, West Java, Indonesia, consist of several cryptic species based on the results of crossing experiments among rbcL sequence types. In this study, we examined allozyme polymorphisms of five rbcL sequence types found in West Java in order to test the hypothesis that the assemblages of A. nidus delimited based on the rbcL sequences are separate Mendelian populations and gene flow is disrupted by reproductive isolation from one another. The calculated fixation indices suggested that the individuals in each rbcL type are randomly crossing at least in the investigated localities. Nevertheless, these rbcL-based assemblages were genetically differentiated in allozymes that are encoded in their nuclear genomes, and it is also suggested that gene flow is disrupted even between sympatrically distributed pairs of rbcL sequence types. Therefore, our findings support the view that the five rbcL sequence types in West Java are potential cryptic species.

Allozyme analysis of cryptic species in the Asplenium nidus complex from West Java, Indonesia

Two novel resveratrol trimers from Dipterocarpus grandiflorus.

An acetone extract of the leaves of Upuna borneensis afforded two stilbene tetramer derivatives (upunaphenols F and G) together with four stilbenoids (vaticanols B and C, piceid and cis-piceid). The structures and their relative stereochemistry were determined by spectroscopic techniques, in particular by using 2D NMR method. Upunaphenol G was found to suppress cell growth in HL60 cells with IC 5 0 at 15.6 μM.

Dedy Darnaedi

Papers

Four New Glucosides of Stilbene Oligomers From the Stem of Gnetum gnemonoides.

Six flavonostilbenes from Gnetum africanum and Gnetum gnemon

Allozyme analysis of cryptic species in the Asplenium nidus complex from West Java, Indonesia

Two novel resveratrol trimers from Dipterocarpus grandiflorus.

Stilbenoids from leaves of Upuna borneensis