Abstract: A composition, an Nrf2 activating agent, and a food according to the present invention comprise isohumulones or isomerized hop extract as an active ingredient. They are useful in treating, preventing, or ameliorating a disease of condition which is treatable, preventable, or ameliorable by the activation of transcription factor Nrf2. More specifically, the composition, the Nrf2 activating agent and the food according to the present invention are useful in treating, preventing, ameliorating, or alleviating chronic diseases which are believed to be caused or exacerbated by cellular damages due to oxidative stress in the body or environmental substances (for example, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, cerebral nerve degenerative diseases, skin diseases, eye diseases, asthma, and cancer) or delaying progress of these diseases, or in detoxificating xenobiotic substances.

Abstract: There is provided a composition useful for mitigating a physical burden and recovering from fatigue at the time of alcohol intake, within a safety dose of active ingredients. The composition is for accelerating alcohol metabolism and for relieving fatigue by gluconeogenesis in vivo, and is characterized by comprising an effective amount of caffeine and an effective amount of an amino acid(s) or a peptide(s) selected from the group consisting of serine, tryptophan, serine rich peptides, tryptophan rich peptides, serine/tryptophan rich peptides and mixtures thereof, as active ingredients.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an enzyme having novel N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (OMGnT) activity, a polynucleotide encoding the enzyme, a recombinant polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide, a host cell comprising the recombinant polynucleotide, a method for producing an enzyme protein having OMGnT activity by culturing the host cell in a medium, and a method for modifying a sugar chain structure with the enzyme and a carbohydrate having a sugar chain structure modified by the method. This enzyme enables the production of complex carbohydrates, which could not be formed with conventional glycosyltransferases.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a blood pressure-lowering agent, a vascular flexibility-ameliorating agent and foods having these functions imparted thereto, which are comprising isohumulones or a hop extract and/or an isomerized hop extract as an active ingredient.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an enzyme having novel N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (OMGnT) activity, a polynucleotide encoding the enzyme, a recombinant polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide, a host cell comprising the recombinant polynucleotide, a method for producing an enzyme protein having OMGnT activity by culturing the host cell in a medium, and a method for modifying a sugar chain structure with the enzyme and a carbohydrate having a sugar chain structure modified by the method. This enzyme enables the production of complex carbohydrates, which could not be formed with conventional glycosyltransferases.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel enzyme having &bgr;1→4 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-IV) activity; a gene encoding the enzyme; a recombinant DNA comprising the gene; a host cell comprising the recombinant DNA; a method for producing an enzyme protein having GnT-IV activity comprising culturing the host cell in a medium; and a saccharide in which the sugar chain is modified using a GnT-IV. According to the present invention, a novel GnT-IV, a method for producing the enzyme and a gene coding for the enzyme are provided. With the GnT-IV of the present invention, it has become possible to produce a saccharide having a branching structure which could not be formed with conventional glycosyltransferases. Thus, the GnT-IV of the invention is useful not only for producing or improving glycoconjugate type pharmaceuticals, reagents and foods, but also for modifying the sugar chain structure of any biopolymer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel enzyme having &bgr;1→4 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-IV) activity; a gene encoding the enzyme; a recombinant DNA comprising the gene; a host cell comprising the recombinant DNA; a method for producing an enzyme protein having GnT-IV activity comprising culturing the host cell in a medium; and a saccharide in which the sugar chain is modified using a GnT-IV.

Abstract: An amino acid sequence that can specifically introduce a mucin type sugar chain into a protein or peptide chain and a technique of introducing a mucin type sugar chain into protein or peptide by utilizing such a sequence are disclosed. GalNAc moiety of UDP-GalNAc (where UDP represents uridine 5'-diphosphate and GalNAc represents N-acetylgalactosamine) is introduced into the amino acid X(O) in the presence of UDP-GalNAc: polypeptide .alpha.1, O-GalNAc transferase (O-GalNAc T):X(-1)-X(0)-X(1)-X(2)-X(3) (I)where X(-1) and X(2) represent independently any amino acid, X(O) represents T or S and X(1) and X(3) represent independently any amino acid except that at least one of X(1) and X(3) represents P.