2000 Volume 47 Issue 9 Pages 700-707
The effects on biological activities of cabbages and Japanese radish grown with different fertilizers were investigated. Experimental fields were divided into three plots, which were respectively treated with chemical fertilizer only, chemical supplemented with organic (compost) fertilizer and nitrogen-free fertilizer. The growth conditions of the vegetables were assessed, with the yields of cabbage and radish root grown using chemical supplement with organic fertilizer found to be about 20% higher than those obtained with application of chemical fertilizer only. The endogenous production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was measured by the two-step stimulation method using vegetable juice as a priming substance and OK-432 as the triggering reagent. Each cabbage juice induced about 12-13ng/ml of TNF-α, but there was no significant difference between the three experimental fertilizer applications. Then cabbage juice was assessed on the basis of the induction of quinone reductase (QR) that was one of detoxification phase-II enzymes in the liver on murine hepatoma cell line, Hepalclc7 cells. All sample of cabbage juice stimulated the induction of QR, but the juice from cabbage grown with the chemical supplemented with organic fertilizer and with the chemical-only fertilizer displayed similar activities.
