Placental extract has been attracting attention as a functional food. In this review, I specifically described the effects of porcine placenta extract on beauty, menopausal symptom, Late-Onset Hypogonadism syndrome (LOH syndrome), shoulder stiffness, knee pain, cognition and osteoporosis. The excellent actions of porcine placental extract are considered to bring light to men as well as middle-aged women.

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In this study, we examined the effects of Lentinula edodes mycelia (LEM) on fatigue and immune function in healthy subjects. 22 people were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the LEM ingestion group and the placebo group. Daily oral ingestion of LEM for 4 weeks (600 mg/day) significantly improved the VAS fatigue score compared with before treatment (p<0.01). Additionally, NK cell activity was increased by ingestion of LEM (p<0.01) and was higher level compared to the placebo group (p<0.05). These results indicate that oral ingestion of LEM may improve the feeling of fatigue and immune function.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the perceived importance of various pharmacy functions among residents in the community health care system. Methods: We conducted an online survey of nationwide panelists enrolled by a research company to assess the perceived degree of importance of having a pharmacy that performs various functions in the community health care system (i.e., “comprehensive importance”). Results: “Comprehensive importance” was compared among 2,400 respondents disaggregated into several groups. The results revealed that “encouragement for medical consultations at medical institutions” had a strong effect on “comprehensive importance”. Conclusion: The results of this survey highlight the need for preventive medical care and a further expansion of the consultation function at pharmacies in the future.

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We conducted a clinical trial in 26 healthy adult women to evaluate the effect of foods containing placental extract ingested for 12 consecutive weeks on 9 constitutional types in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The body constitution analysis set consisted of 23 subjects (excluding 3 dropouts). Twelve-week ingestion of placental extract-containing foods improved individual scores for “Gentleness” type, a healthy constitution, and “Qi-deficiency,” “Yang-deficiency,” “Yin-deficiency,” “Wet-heat” and “Qi-depression” types, which are all mibyou constitution. The safety analysis set consisted of 25 subjects (excluding 1 dropout). Only one subject experienced an adverse event (exacerbation of urticaria, an underlying disease). No other safety concerns arose.

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Turmeric-induced liver damage, which is driven mostly by allergic mechanisms, is the most common disease related to health food intake. A positive drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) is considered evidence in the diagnosis of this condition. However, a false positive result may occur with the DLST as the blood concentration of turmeric in the body is unclear, which casts doubt on the reliability of the test. This reliability problem is mainly due to insufficient control data about antigen activity during the testing process. Given these circumstances, this study examined the optimal antigen concentration of turmeric using the leukocyte migration test (LMT). The results of nine volunteer healthy individuals suggested that a reaction at antigen levels of 0.1 µg/mL or higher could produce false positive reactions through the effects of mitogen activation. Therefore, when DLST, LMT, or any other similar test is performed for turmeric, an antigen response of 10 ng/mL or lower is necessary. The results of these tests for curcumin also suggested that the same level of concentration is suitable.

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Objective: Phosphatidylinositol (PI) has been suggested to have important functions in intracellular signal transduction and to be effective in improving brain function. However, its effects on memory and learning ability have not been elucidated. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to clarify the effects of oral administration of 59% purified PI (PI 50) on memory and learning ability in rats.
Methods: Wistar male rats were divided into four groups: (1) distilled water administration group, (2) 30 mg/kg PI 50 administration group, (3) 100 mg/kg PI 50 administration group, and (4) 300 mg/kg PI 50 administration group. Effects of oral administration of PI 50 on memory and learning ability were investigated using behavioral and molecular biological techniques.
Result: In the learning and memory behavioral tests, the PI 50-administered group showed improvements in spatial memory and learning ability compared to the distilled water-administered group. Additionally, c-Fos- and BrdU-positive cells in the hippocampus increased significantly in the PI 50-administered group. The PI 50-administered group showed a significant increase in BDNF, PKC-α, and MAPK protein expression compared to the distilled water- administered group.
Conclusion: These results indicate that PI 50 intake stimulates nerve cell activation and growth factor secretion in the hippocampus by activating the PKC-α and MAPK signal pathways, thus, facilitating the development and proliferation of nerve cells and may affect the enhancement of learning and memory ability. This study provides evidence that PI 50 may affect the enhancement of learning and memory ability.

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With the cooperation of Kurobe City, we conducted a basic survey using the nine classification of constitution and an intervention survey using a constitutional guidance program. The basic survey was conducted by the Kurobe group (Kurobe River alluvial fan spring water drinker n=155, 60.6±10.4 years old) and the non-Kurobe group (normal tap water drinker n=99, 50.7±12.8 living in the Hokuriku region without Kurobe City). A total of three surveys were conducted using the constitution Questionnaire (CCMQ-J). As a result, the Gentleness type, which is usually called the healthy constitution, was clearly higher in the Kurobe group, with 44.6 % in the Kurobe group and 22.5 % in the non-Kurobe group. In the proportion of each biased constitution(Mibyo constitution), the Kurobe group had less Wet-heat type (4.5 % vs 11.8 %), Qi-depression type (5.4 % vs 10.7 %), Yin-deficiency type (7.1 % vs 12.3 %) , and Phlegm-wetness type (5.8 % vs 9.6 %) than the non-Kurobe group. After the basic survey was completed, the Kurobe group was randomly divided into two groups, an intervention group (n=65, 62.3±9.3 years old) and a non-intervention group (n=68, 62.7±9.8 years old), and compared with the non-Kurobe group (control group) (n=80, 51.9±13.6 years old). The survey design was a simple comparative study, and the primary endpoint was a comparative study of changes in constitutional scores before and after intervention. As a result, in the Yang-deficiency type, a significant difference was observed between the intervention group, the non-intervention group and the control group at the first time after the intervention (One-way ANOVA p=0.04). No change was seen in the second survey after the intervention. In the comparison of Phlegm-wetness type between the three groups, there was a tendency in the amount of change in the constitutional score (One-way ANOVA p=0.087). From the above, it was suggested that the constitutional survey can not only grasp the health and the pre-symptomatic state, but also improve the pre-symptomatic by combining the guidance methods according to the constitution.

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In this report, we introduce the patient who show good prognosis after receiving combination therapy with in situ tumor vaccination therapy and nutritional intervention utilizing Lentinula Edodes Mycelia extract. In addition to the disease status, immune condition was also improved by combination therapy.

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