The present study was designed to investigate the anti-stress activity of Aqueous Extract of Asparagus (AEA) in a laboratory setting by the Trier Social Stress Test. Twenty four subjects were randomly divided into three groups: aqueous extract of asparagus, placebo and control treatment. The experimental sessions were performed by single-blinded, and the order of them was counterbalanced. The experiment protocol began with a 30 min rest period (baseline), followed by the Trier Social Stress Test task for 20 min and two rest periods. The saliva samples and psychological measure (state anxiety scores) were obtained at the end of each period. Heart Rates (HR), Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure (SBP, DBP) were measured using an Omron electronic blood pressure monitor. The results showed that aqueous extract of asparagus intake resulted in a significant reduction of state anxiety score, HR and SBP responses to an acute stress task relative to the placebo control condition. Moreover, analyses of saliva cortisol level indicated that the reductions in saliva cortisol level was likely attributable to an attenuation of sympathetic nervous activation. Thus, it was suggested that the oral intake of aqueous extract of asparagus could cause anti-stress effects via the inhibition of cortical neuron excitation. These results might suggest AEA consumption as an innovative and effective approach to reduce psychological and physiological stress responses.

Objective: The experiment intended to analyze chemical components of volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis by GC-MS, and to explore its inhibitory action on the growth of human lung cancer cells.

Methods: Extracted with the steam distillation, chemical compositions of volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis were isolated and identified by GC-MS and computer similarity retrieval. Relative percentage contents of each ingredient were determined with peak area normalization. And active ingredients of Curcuma kwangsiensis were determined its inhibitory action on the growth of human lung cancer cells.

Results: Twenty compounds were identified from volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis. They were almost sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes. The relative percentage content of curzerenone was highest, 4.94 %, followed by eucalyptol, 3.03 %, γ-gurjunenepoxide-(1), 2.03 %, germacrone, 1.8 %, camphor, 1.57 %. The IC50 value of volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis acting on H446 cells was 7.55±0.38 μg/mL.

Conclusion: Compounds of volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis were almost sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes, and volatile oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis had an inhibitory action on the growth of human lung cancer cells, H446 cells.

Several current publications have been collected to present in this paper. Taiwan local projects have also provided. Integrated phytoremediation can be defined using plant such as hyper accumulating plant as well as energy plant to remove heavy metals. Chelating agents, phytohormones, and calcium peroxide can be employed to enhance phytoremediation. Energy plants can be extract oil from energy plant to provide biogas and biofuel.