A methanol extract from unripe Japanese apricot showed inhibitory activity of Helicobacter pylori motility. Inhibitory compound 1 was isolated and identified as (+)-syringaresinol (1) by spectoroscopic means. (+)-Syringaresinol (1) inhibited >90% of the H. pylori motility at a concentration of 500 μg/ml and the IC50 value was 50 μg/ml.

Inhibitory compound of α-glucosidase activity, (+)-afzelechin (1), was isolated from rhizomes of Bergenia ligulata. The structure was identified by IR, EI-MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The ID50 (50% inhibition dose) value of compound 1 was 0.13 mM. To investigate the structure-activity relationship, (+)-afzelechin tetraacetate (2), (+)-5,7,4’-trimethoxyafzelechin (3), (+)-tetramethoxyafzelechin (4), and (+)-3-acetyl-5,7,4’-trimethoxyafzelechin (5) as the derivatives of compound 1 were evaluated as well.

Osteoporosis is a serious disease caused by decreased bone mass. There is constant matrix remodeling in bones, by which bone formation is performed by osteoblastic cells, whereas bone resorption is accomplished by osteoclast cells. We investigated the effect of a Japanese apricot (Prunus mume SIBE. et ZUCC.) extract on the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation in pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. An alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay, cell proliferation assay, alizarin red staining and expression analysis of osteoblastic genes were carried out to assess the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation. The water-soluble fraction of Prunus mume (PWF) increased the ALP activity, cell proliferation and mineralization. The gene expression of osteopontin and bone morphogenetic protein-2, which are markers in the early period of osteoblastic differentiation, were significantly enhanced by the PWF treatment. PWF therefore stimulated the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of cells and may have potential to prevent osteoporosis.

Japanese apricot (Prunus mume;ume) is a traditional food in Japan that has been shown to have various beneficial health effects. There is some evidence to suggest thatumeis also effective against allergic disease. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological pilot study to examine the association betweenumeintake frequency and allergic symptoms including rhinitis in 563 adults (288 men and 275 women) who resided in Wakayama, Japan. After adjusting for age, present illness and medication, women with highumeintake had significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for the presence of symptoms of allergy [OR: 0.49 with 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25–0.97]. Therefore, we investigated the anti-allergic effect ofumeon passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction in immunoglobulin E (IgE)-sensitized mice. The animal study demonstrated that oral administration ofumeextract attenuated the PCA reaction and mast cell degranulation. Furthermore, RBL-2H3 mast cells were used to identify anti-allergicumecompounds. The followingumecompounds inhibited IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation: vanillin, syringic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, lyoniresinol andp-coumaric acid. These results suggested thatumehas the potential to inhibit mast cell degranulation and may be associated with reduced risk of allergic symptoms in women.