Objective To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health. Methods Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group wa...Objective To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health. Methods Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area. Serum cytokine levels reflecting inflammatory and stress response, indicators reflecting oxidative stress, the distribution of leukocyte subsets, and plasma endothelin-1 （ET-1） concentrations were measured before and after the experiment to evaluate the positive health effects of forest environments. A profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation was used to assess changes in mood states. Results No significant differences in the baseline values of the indicators were observed between the two groups before the experiment. Subjects exposed to the forest environment showed reduced oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory level, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor a levels compared with the urban group. Serum cortisol levels were also lower than in the urban group. Notably, the concentration of plasma ET-1 was much lower in subjects exposed to the forest environment. The POMS evaluation showed that after exposure to the forest environment, subjects had lower scores in the negative subscales, and the score for vigor was increased. Conclusion Forest bathing is beneficial to human health, perhaps through preventive effects related to several pathological factors.展开更多
Podophyllotoxin is isolated mainly from the rhizomes of Podophyllum plants, and serves as the main precursor for synthesis of anticancer drugs, such as VP-16 and VM-26. VP-16 and VM-26 are used for curing lung cancer,...Podophyllotoxin is isolated mainly from the rhizomes of Podophyllum plants, and serves as the main precursor for synthesis of anticancer drugs, such as VP-16 and VM-26. VP-16 and VM-26 are used for curing lung cancer, testicular cancer, neuroblastoma, hepatoma and other tumors. However, these plants are all near-extinction species due to over-collection and their own biological characteristics. The chemical synthesis of podophyllotoxin is so complicated that its price is unbelievably high. This paper discusses the current status of the biosynthetic pathway of podophyllotoxin and that of the podophyllotoxin production using several biotechnological approaches such as plant organ cultures, plant cell cultures with both flasks and bioreactors, hairy root cultures, bioconversions and metabolic regulations.展开更多
基金supported by the project "Modern forestry-exploitation and utilization of therapeutic forest" commissioned by the Forestry Department of Zhejiang Provincefunds from the Ministry of Health of P.R.China (WKJ2011-2-014)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province Program (2008C33046)Zhejiang Provincial key disciplinary fields of Geriatrics Program (2007ZB006 and 2008ZJ004)
文摘Objective To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health. Methods Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area. Serum cytokine levels reflecting inflammatory and stress response, indicators reflecting oxidative stress, the distribution of leukocyte subsets, and plasma endothelin-1 （ET-1） concentrations were measured before and after the experiment to evaluate the positive health effects of forest environments. A profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation was used to assess changes in mood states. Results No significant differences in the baseline values of the indicators were observed between the two groups before the experiment. Subjects exposed to the forest environment showed reduced oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory level, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor a levels compared with the urban group. Serum cortisol levels were also lower than in the urban group. Notably, the concentration of plasma ET-1 was much lower in subjects exposed to the forest environment. The POMS evaluation showed that after exposure to the forest environment, subjects had lower scores in the negative subscales, and the score for vigor was increased. Conclusion Forest bathing is beneficial to human health, perhaps through preventive effects related to several pathological factors.
基金Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Tibet (Grant No. 2002-66)
文摘Podophyllotoxin is isolated mainly from the rhizomes of Podophyllum plants, and serves as the main precursor for synthesis of anticancer drugs, such as VP-16 and VM-26. VP-16 and VM-26 are used for curing lung cancer, testicular cancer, neuroblastoma, hepatoma and other tumors. However, these plants are all near-extinction species due to over-collection and their own biological characteristics. The chemical synthesis of podophyllotoxin is so complicated that its price is unbelievably high. This paper discusses the current status of the biosynthetic pathway of podophyllotoxin and that of the podophyllotoxin production using several biotechnological approaches such as plant organ cultures, plant cell cultures with both flasks and bioreactors, hairy root cultures, bioconversions and metabolic regulations.
