Objective Enveloping airflow, as opposed to direct airflow, warms the room by gently circulating the airflow along the floor, wall, and ceiling, thereby uniformly warming the entire room. The objective of our study was to determine the effects of air-conditioned heating by enveloping-airflow on sense of fatigue and comfort in healthy volunteers.
Design Eight healthy women, who often felt discomfort in an air-conditioned heating environment, participated in a randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial. Subjects rested for 30 minutes in a room air-conditioned either by enveloping airflow or by direct airflow, and then performed fatigue-inducing tasks for 2 hours.
Methods We evaluated the sense of fatigue by visual analogue scale (VAS), peripheral blood flow by laser-Doppler flowmetry, and sympathetic nerve activity by urinary vanillylmandelic acid level.
Result Air conditioning by enveloping-airflow, as compared to direct airflow, enhanced peripheral blood flow and attenuated sympathetic nerve hyperactivity caused by performing fatigue-inducing tasks. Moreover, it helped to maintain subjective levels of motivation and comfort, as well as to alleviate sense of fatigue and cold.
Conclusion Air-conditioned heating by enveloping-airflow is effective for attenuating sense of fatigue and discomfort as well as health maintenance.

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The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of Hericium erinaceum (Yamabusitake) and Grifola frondosa (Maiteke) on the proliferation for EL4-tumor and immunoregulatory function by flow cytometory.
It was found that Yamabushitake and Maitake tend to inhibit the proliferation of EL4-tumor individually. In the flow cytometory analysis, Maitake-treatment showed the preserve effect against the depression effect by bearing EL4-tumor on cytotoxic T cell and NK-cell from spleen cell. This effect was shown more clear in the group of mixture Yamabusitake and Maitake.

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Objective: To clarify the effect of Pycnogenol, French maritime pine bark extract, side effects of hormonal therapies.
Study Design: Side effects of patients with continuous intake of Pycnogenol during and after Gn-Rh analogue therapy (G group; n=22 (c=14)), moderate (M group; n=21 (c=13)) and low (L group; n=40 (c=23)) dose of cyclic hormonal therapies due to uterine myomas, dysmenorrhea and endometriosis were observed. All subjects provided signed informed consent after understanding the purpose and methods of this study. The ethical committee of Keiju Medical Center approved this study.
Result: Continuous intake of Pycnogenol significantly reduced the joint pain, general malaise and dysmenorrhea after the treatment of Gn-Rh analogue and reduced the increase of body weight and edema during the treatments of moderate and low dose of cyclic hormonal therapies.
Conclusion: Pycnogenol has preventive effects on the side effect of gynecological hormonal therapies.

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Objective: Anti-human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) activity of 5 compounds, especially tricin, isolated from Kumazasa extract were investigated in the human embryonic lung (HEL) fibroblast cell.
Method: This study examined the effect of tricin on HCMV replication, viral-specific major immediate early (IE) gene expression, and protein synthesis.
Results: Pretreatment of HEL cells before HCMV infection with tricin inhibited viral production in a dose-dependent manner, as well as posttreatment of HCMV-infected HEL cells with tricin. Real-time RT-PCR assay and Western blotting analysis indicated that tricin decreased expression of the HCMV IE gene in virus-infected HEL cell.
Conclusion: These date suggest that the primary mechanism of anti-HCMV activity for tricin, isolated from Kumazasa hot water extract, inhibit IE gene expression.

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Objective: The water-soluble extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia (WER) is prepared from a solid medium composed of bagasse and rice bran overgrown with Ganoderma lucidum mycelia. Recently, we have reported that WER had glucose-lowering effect in streptozotosin-induced diabetic mice, an animal model of type 1 diabetes. Here, we investigated whether long-term treatment with WER affects hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in KK-A^y mice, a type 2 diabetic animal model with obesity.
Methods: Female KK-A^y mice were given free access to water and high-fat food containing 0.5% WER for 8 weeks, with blood glucose and plasma insulin levels assessed every week. At the end of the experimental period, insulin tolerance test (ITT) was performed, and plasma levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, AST, ALT and adiponectin were measured. Furthermore, expression of GLUT4 in skeletal muscle cell membrane and adipocytes was also determined by immunostaining and Western blot analysis.
Results: The mice with high-fat ingestion showed a gradual increase in levels of blood glucose and body weight. In the WER-treated mice, the blood glucose level was significantly suppressed after 2 weeks of treatment. WER also reduced plasma levels of ALT and insulin, but did not affect the other parameters. Additionally, ITT revealed that WER improved insulin sensitivity. Moreover, expression of GLUT4 in the plasma membrane of skeletal muscle cells and adipocytes of the WER-treated mice was increased.
Conclusion: These results indicate that WER has a glucose-lowering effect in type 2 diabetic mice. WER also improved hyperinsulinemia and insulin sensitivity, which may derive from enhancement of glucose uptake through GLUT4 of skeletal muscle cells and adipocytes.

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A long-term safety study was conducted with astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis algae extract. Fifteen healthy volunteers took 9 mg of astaxanthin daily for 12 weeks. Physiological (including doctor’s consultation), haematological, biochemical, and urinary markers were examined at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12. No adverse effects or clinical changes were observed throughout the test period. It was concluded that a healthy adult can consume 9 mg of astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis algae extract for 12 weeks without any safety concern.

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Objective: Extract from cultured Lentinula edodes mycelia (L.E.M.) is a food ingredient possessing various pharmacologic actions such as immunomodulatory properties, antitumor and hepatoprotective effects. In Japan, it has been used as a health food for 30 years or more.
In the present study to evaluate the safety of L.E.M., a genotoxicity study and acute toxicity study were conducted. In addition, the inhibitory effect of drug-metabolizing enzyme by L.E.M. was tested in vitro, to gain insight on the interaction with medicines.
Methods: The genotoxicity study was performed using a bacterial reverse mutation assay and a in vivo mammalian bone marrow cell chromosomal mutation assay. The acute toxicity study was performed using a single-dose oral toxicity test in rats. Inhibitory activity of cytochrome P-450 3A4 (CYP3A4), one of the most important drug-metabolizing enzymes, by L.E.M. was tested using a baculovirus-expressed system.
Results: In the genotoxicity study, mutagenicity was negative for both bacterial reverse mutation assay and in vivo mammalian bone marrow cell chromosomal mutation assay. In the acute toxicity study, no toxic symptoms were observed by single dose oral administration of L.E.M. at a dose of 10,000 mg/kg BW in rats. This implies LD₅₀>10,000 mg/kg BW. No inhibitory activity of CYP3A4 by L.E.M. was observed at in the in vitro screening system to investigate drug-L.E.M. interaction.
Conclusion: It is believed L.E.M. is a safety ingredient for foods used in complementary and alternative medicine, since it was toxicologically safe and showed no inhibitory activity of CYP3A4 in the studies conducted.

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14 Japanese patients ≥18 years old who were diagnosed to have influenza A by an influenza antigen detection kit test were randomized to two groups and received either Maoto and Shosaikoto (MS; n=6) or Oseltamivir (O; n=8). The MS group received 7.5 g/day Maoto extract granules and the same dose of Shosaikoto for 3 days. The O group received 150 mg/day Oseltamivir for 5 days. No significant differences were observed between the MS and the O group in regards to the duration of fever after treatment (2.3±1.0 vs. 2.0±0.6 days).

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