X-Message-Number: 32566
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:22:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: 
Subject: could adzucki beans explain why Asians have less hair greying...

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2005 May;69(5):873-82.

Hot-water extracts from adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) stimulate not only 
melanogenesis in cultured mouse B16 melanoma cells but also pigmentation of hair
color in C3H mice.
Itoh T, Furuichi Y. Imuraya Confectionary Co., Ltd., Mie, Japan
Abstract

    A hot-water extract of adzuki was obtained by boiling beans of adzuki (Vigna
    angularis). This hot-water extract was fractionated using HP-20 column 
    chromatography. Its distilled water fraction (WEx) was found to stimulate 
    tyrosinase activity in cultured mouse B16 melanoma cells and hair color 
    pigmentation in C3H mice. At concentrations of 1-3 mg/ml, WEx stimulated 
    melanogenesis without inhibiting cell growth. During this effect, WEx 
    activated tyrosinase-inducing activity in the cells, but did not activate 
    tyrosinase, which exists at an intracellular level. In this study, WEx 
    increased cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophospate (cAMP) content in the cells 
    and protein kinase A (PKA) activity, and stimulated translocation of 
    cytosolic protein kinase C (PKC) to the membrane-bound PKC. These results 
    suggest that the addition of WEx activates the adenylcyclase and protein 
    kinase pathways and, as a result, stimulates melanogenesis. WEx was found to
    have pigmentation activity on hair color in C3H mice. It might be useful in
    anti-graying, protecting human skin from irradiation.
PMID: 15914904
Free text>
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bbb/69/5/873/_pdf

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32566