The 11th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine welcomes Anthony Fauci to its editorial staff, in addition to more than 85 new contributors. While the organization of the book is similar to previous editions, major emphasis has been placed on disorders that affect multiple organ systems. Important advances in genetics, immunology, and oncology are emphasized. Many chapters of the book have been rewritten and describe major advances in internal medicine. Subjects that received only a paragraph or two of attention in previous editions are now covered in entire chapters. Among the chapters that have been extensively revised are the chapters on infections in the compromised host, on skin rashes in infections, on many of the viral infections, including cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, on sexually transmitted diseases, on diabetes mellitus, on disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, and on lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. The major revisions in these chapters and many

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day! This is what is highly recommended and heavily advertised nowadays to the general public to stay fit and healthy! Drinking green tea on a regular basis, eating chocolate from time to time, as well as savoring a couple of glasses of red wine per day have been claimed to increase life expectancy even further! Why? The answer is in fact still under scientific scrutiny, but a particular class of compounds naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables is considered to be crucial for the expression of such human health benefits: the polyphenols! What are these plant products really? What are their physicochemical properties? How do they express their biological activity? Are they really valuable for disease prevention? Can they be used to develop new pharmaceutical drugs? What recent progress has been made toward their preparation by organic synthesis? This Review gives answers from a chemical perspective, summarizes the state of the art, and highlights the most significant advances in the field of polyphenol research.

Plant Polyphenols: Chemical Properties, Biological Activities, and Synthesis

Pharmacology of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid

Palladium-catalyzed carbonylation reactions of aromatic halides in the presence of various nucleophiles have undergone rapid development since the pioneering work of Heck and co-workers in 1974, such that nowadays a plethora of palladium catalysts are available for different carbonylative transformations. The carboxylic acid derivatives, aldehydes, and ketones prepared in this way are important intermediates in the manufacture of dyes, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other industrial products. In this Review, the recent academic developments in this area and the first industrial processes are summarized.

Palladium-catalyzed carbonylation reactions of aryl halides and related compounds.

C-C, C-O, C-N bond formation on sp2 carbon by Pd(II)-catalyzed reactions involving oxidant agents.

Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes from Curcuma zedoaria

Neurotrophic factors are essential to maintain and organize neurons functionally; thereby neurotrophic factor-like substances or their inducers are expected to be applied to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we firstly examined the effects of ethanol extracts of four edible mushrooms, Hericium erinaceus (Yamabushitake), Pleurotus eryngii (Eringi), Grifola frondosa (Maitake), and Agaricus blazei (Himematsutake), on nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells. Among the four mushroom extracts, only H. erinaceus extract promoted NGF mRNA expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, secretion of NGF protein from 1321N1 cells was enhanced by H. erinaceus extracts, and the conditioned medium of 1321N1 cells incubated with H. erinaceus extract enhanced the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells. However, hericenones C, D and E, constituents of H. erinaceus, failed to promote NGF gene expression in 1321N1 cells. The enhancement of NGF gene expression by H. erinaceus extracts was inhibited by the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125. In addition, H. erinaceus extracts induced phosphorylation of JNK and its downstream substrate c-Jun, and increased c-fos expression, suggesting that H. erinaceus promotes NGF gene expression via JNK signaling. Furthermore we examined the efficacy of H. erinaceus in vivo. ddY mice given feed containing 5% H. erinaceus dry powder for 7 d showed an increase in the level of NGF mRNA expression in the hippocampus. In conclusion, H. erinaceus contains active compounds that stimulate NGF synthesis via activation of the JNK pathway; these compounds are not hericenones.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bpb/31/9/31_9_1727/_pdf

Nerve Growth Factor-Inducing Activity of Hericium erinaceus in 1321N1 Human Astrocytoma Cells

Bitter steroid glucosides, vernoniosides A1, A2, and A3, and related B1 from a possible medicinal plant, Vernonia amygdalina, used by wild chimpanzees.

From Vernonia amygdalina, a possible medicinal plant used by wild chimpanzees, three bitter steroid glucosides, vernoniosides A1, A2, and A3 and a nonbitter vernonioside B1, were isolated. The oxygenation patterns of the aglycone parts were new, especially the pattern of the car☐yl group at C21. The oxygen functionalities at C16 were important for the bitter taste.

Bitter Steroid Glucosides, Vernoniosides A1, A2, and A3, and Related B1 from a Possible Medicinal Plant, Vernonia amygdalina, Used by Wild Chimpanzees.

Mitsuru Hirota

Papers

Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes from Curcuma zedoaria

Nerve Growth Factor-Inducing Activity of Hericium erinaceus in 1321N1 Human Astrocytoma Cells

Bitter steroid glucosides, vernoniosides A1, A2, and A3, and related B1 from a possible medicinal plant, Vernonia amygdalina, used by wild chimpanzees.

Bitter Steroid Glucosides, Vernoniosides A1, A2, and A3, and Related B1 from a Possible Medicinal Plant, Vernonia amygdalina, Used by Wild Chimpanzees.

Steroid glucosides from vernonia amygdalina, a possible chimpanzee medicinal plant