The incidence of allergic diseases has dramatically increased in recent decades, particularly in developed areas. The precise reason for this has not been figured out. However, improved hygiene, having such results as a decrease in childhood infections, has been thought to be an important environmental factor from the points of epidemiology. To clarify the molecular mechanism of the effects of environmental factors on allergic diseases is important to consider what kind of complementary and alternative medicine is effective for the improvement of allergic diseases.

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I believe that 21^st century is the century of Quality of Life (QOL). I recognize that QOL assessment plays very important roles to evaluate the usefulness of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), because both QOL and CAM have the same direction and philosophy to understand the humanbeing as a whole. In addition, not only QOL but also CAM struggle with the difficulty of the translation from subjective evaluation into objective one together. I hope that CAM repairs the demerits of fractionalized medicine with the help of concept based on QOL in order to establish the ideal medicine for humanbeing in future.

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We have reported that O-methylated EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-O-(3-O-methyl)gallate (EGCG3″Me) had 2.5-fold anti-allergic action compared with EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), and that the tea (Camellia sinensis L.) cultivar ‘Benifuuki’ was rich in EGCG3″Me. The EGCG3″Me content was high and caffeine content decreased in fully-matured tea leaves in second or third crop season, and EGCG3″Me was disappeared under black tea manufacturing process. ‘Benifuuki’ is a cultivar with strong resistance for diseases, strong vigor of plant, many yield and excellent fragrance. The EGCG3″Me strongly inhibited mast cell activation through the prevention of tyrosine phosphorylation (Lyn, Syk and Btk) of cellular protein, the phosphorylation of myosin light chain and the expression of Fcepsolon RI, and histamine/leukotrienes release. Furthermore, over one consecutive month intake of ‘Benifuuki’ green tea was useful for reduction of some symptoms derived from Japanese cedar pollinosis, and did not affect any normal immune response in the subjects with Japanese cedar-pollinosis. So, in cooperation with food companies, we developed PET beverage and sweet using ‘Benifuuki’ green tea.

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Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6 and HHV-7 establish life-long latency, a hallmark of herpesviruses, reactivate frequently, and are shed in saliva. In the study on the latency and reactivation of HHV-6, we have identified the association between HHV-6 reactivation and the work-induced fatigue in healthy adults. This finding suggests that the HHV-6 reactivation can be an objective biomarker for fatigue.

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