We are pleased to announce that Kenji Otsuka, a graduate of Yamamoto Laboratory (master degree), has had his research paper accepted for publication in the international journal, Food Science and Technology Research as follows. This is a joint research project with the Kohmura Laboratory.

Authors：Kenji Otsuka, Hiroyuki Kohmura, Yukihiro Yamamoto.
Title：Physiological effects of Asparagus officinalis L. fruit extracts: inhibition of a-amylase, a-glucosidase, lipase and angiotensin-I converting enzyme, and effects on 3T3-L1 preadipocyte/adipocyte. (July 24th 2023, accepted)

The asparagus we usually eat is the 20-cm stalk that has just grown out of the soil. If not harvested, it will grow larger and larger, eventually producing red fruits (Photo 1). However, most of the large asparagus (Photo 2), including the fruits, are discarded. We wondered if there was any effective use for asparagus, and first focused on the fruits. We then prepared an extract of the fruit and investigated whether it had any physiological function.

As a result, we found that the extract of the fruit has various attractive physiological functions. For example, in an experiment using adipose cells, we found that it inhibited fat accumulation. Furthermore, the extract contained a substance called luteolin, which was suggested to act as an active ingredient in part.

Thus, we found that asparagus fruits, which are usually discarded, are indeed a promising material for the development of products for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.

Photo 1. Red fruits of Asparagus. Extracts were prepared from these as experimental samples and tested for functional evaluation.

Photo 2. Asparagus grows like this. After harvesting, most of them, including the fruits, are discarded. (Photo provided by Prof. Koumura)