The human β-amyloid (Aβ) cleaving enzyme (BACE-1) is a target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatments. This study was conducted to determine if acacetin extracted from the whole Agastache rugosa plants had anti-BACE-1 and behavioral activities in Drosophila AD models and to determine acacetin’s mechanism of action. Acacetin (100, 300, and 500 μM) rescued amyloid precursor protein (APP)/BACE1-expressing flies and kept them from developing both eye morphology (dark deposits, ommatidial collapse and fusion, and the absence of ommatidial bristles) and behavioral (motor abnormalities) defects. The RT-PCR and Western blot analysis revealed that the protective effect of acacetin on Aβ production is mediated by transcriptional regulation of BACE-1 and APP, resulting in decreased APP protein expression and BACE-1 activity, and reduced Aβ production by interfering with BACE-1 activity and APP synthesis, resulting in a decrease in the levels of the APP carboxy terminal fragments and the APP intracellular domain, and finally, resulting in a decrease in the number of amyloid plaques.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens pallens mosquitoes transmit dengue fever and West Nile virus diseases, respectively. This study was conducted to determine the toxicity and mechanism of action of four flavonoids and seven fatty acids from Millettia pinnata (Fabaceae) seed as well as four fatty acid esters toward third instar larvae from insecticide-susceptible C. p. pallens and A. aegypti as well as wild A. albopictus. Potent toxicity was produced by karanjin, oleic acid, karanjachromene, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, pongamol, pongarotene, and elaidic acid toward C. p. pallens larvae (24 h LC50, 14.61–28.22 mg/L) and A. aegypti larvae (16.13–37.61 mg/L). Against wild A. albopictus larvae, oleic acid (LC50, 18.79 mg/L) and karanjin (35.26 mg/L) exhibited potent toxicity. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the main site of action of the flavonoids, oleic acid, and palmitic acid.,Linoleic acid and linolenic acid might act on both AChE and octopaminergic receptor. Further studies will warrant possible applications of M. pinnata seed-derived products as potential larvicides for the control of mosquito populations.

Propolis collected from botanical sources by honey bee, has been used as a popular natural remedies in folk medicine throughout the world. This study was conducted to assess growth inhibitory effects of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEPs) from 20 different regions in South Korea on human intestinal bacteria as well as BACE-1, AChE inhibitory, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and anti-human rhinovirus activities. Correlation coefficient (r) analysis of the biological activities of EEP samples was determined using their 50% inhibition concentration or minimal inhibitory concentration values and their polyphenol or flavonoid contents in 20 Korean EEP samples. Correlation coefficient analysis showed that total polyphenol contents may be negatively correlated with DPPH free radical scavenging activity (r = –0.872) and total flavonoid content has no correlation with the activity (r = 0.071). No direct correlation between BACE-1 inhibition, AChE inhibition, or antiproliferative activity and total polyphenol or total flavonoid content in Korean EEP samples was found.

This study was conducted to determine the toxicity to adult Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Aphis gossypii Glover of 88 plant essential oils and six experimental spray formulations containing bitter orange or marjoram oil was examined using the vapor-phase mortality and spray bioassays. Results were compared with those of two conventional insecticides deltamethrin and dichlorvos. As judged by 24 h LC50 values, bitter orange oil (0.0212 and 0.0192 mg/cm3) was the most active material, followed by marjoram, celeryseed, and cypress oils (0.0239-0.0508 and 0.0209-0.0542 mg/cm3). These essential oils were significantly less toxic than dichlorvos, respectively. These essential oils were consistently more toxic to adult M. persicae in closed versus open containers, indicating that toxicity was achieved mainly through the action of vapor. Bitter orange oil and marjoram oil applied as 1% spray provided complete mortality toward two aphid species adults. Reasonable aphid control in greenhouses can be achieved by a spray formulation containing the 1% oil as potential contact-action fumigant.

The longevity and fecundity of Naranga aenescens adult were investigated at temperatures of 15.0, 17.5, 20.0, 22.5, 25.0, 27.5, 30.0, and 32.5°C. Adult longevity was influenced by temperature but there was no temperature effect of fecundity. Longevity decreased with increasing temperature: it was highest at 15°C (22.2 ± 3.51 days) and lowest at 32.5°C (6.2 ± 0.32 days). Total fecundity was highest at 25°C (1693 eggs) and lowest at 15.0°C (1115 eggs). The oviposition period was longest at 20°C (8.8 ± 0.57 days) and shortest at 32.5°C (4.1 ± 0.21 days). The oviposition model presented in this study consisted of two reproductive components (total fecundity and age-specific oviposition rate) and a survival component (age-specific survival rate). The relationship between adult developmental rate and temperature was described by the Logan 6 model (r2=0.98, p<0.0001).The age-specific survival rate was explained by a exponential function (r2=0.98, p<0.00001). The age-specific cumulative oviposition rate was described by the two-parameter Weibull function (r2=0.95, p<0.00001). Temperature-dependent fecundity was estimated using the Briere-2 model (r2=0.91, p<0.0125). Daily egg production of N. aenescens in relation to adult age and temperature was estimated.

The present study investigated the role of central GABAA and GABAB receptors in orofacial pain in rats. Experiments were conducted on Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 230 and 280 g. Intracisternal catheterization was performed for intracisternal injection, under ketamine anesthesia. Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA)-induced thermal hyperalgesia and inferior alveolar nerve injury-induced mechanical allodynia were employed as orofacial pain models. Intracisternal administration of bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist, produced mechanical allodynia in naive rats, but not thermal hyperalgesia. However, CGP35348, a GABAB receptor antagonist, did not show any pain behavior in naive rats. Intracisternal administration of muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist, attenuated the thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in rats with CFA treatment and inferior alveolar nerve injury, respectively. On the contrary, intracisternal administration of bicuculline also attenuated the mechanical allodynia in rats with inferior alveolar nerve injury. Intracisternal administration of baclofen, a GABAB receptor agonist, attenuated the thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in rats with CFA treatment and inferior alveolar nerve injury, respectively. In contrast to GABAA receptor antagonist, intracisternal administration of CGP35348 did not affect either the thermal hyperalgesia or mechanical allodynia. Our current findings suggest that the GABAA receptor, but not the GABAB receptor, participates in pain processing under normal conditions. Intracisternal administration of GABAA receptor antagonist, but not GABAB receptor antagonist, produces paradoxical antinociception under pain conditions. These results suggest that central GABA has differential roles in the processing of orofacial pain, and the blockade of GABAA receptor provides new therapeutic targets for the treatment of chronic pain.

The rice green caterpillar Naranga aenescens Moore (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of important destructive insect pests to Poaceae including rice and corn. We investigated the development periods of N. aenescens egg, larva, pupa and total immature at eight constant temperatures of 15.0, 17.5, 20.0, 22.5, 25.0, 27.5, 30.0, and 32.5°C, respectively. N. aenescens developed successfully from egg to the adult stage at all temperatures tested except 15.0°C. Developmental rate of N. aenescens increased as temperature increased from 15.0 to 30.0°C but declined at 32.5°C except pupa stage. The lower developmental threshold (LDT) and thermal constant (K) was estimated by linear regression. Higher temperature threshold (TH) and lower temperature threshold (TL) were calculated by two nonlinear functions. LDT and K from egg to adult emergence were 12.01°C and 330.84DD. The temperature range of N. aenescens from TL to TH using performance model (24.03) was wider than that from SSI model (19.77). Developmental completion of N. aenescens was described using a two-parameter Weibull distribution model. The adult emergence frequency of N. aenescens over full range of constant temperatures was simulated using developmental rate functions and Weibull function.