HPLC/DAD, GC/MS and GC/GC/TOF analysis of Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) sample as standarlized raw material for food and nutraceutical uses

Melissa officinalis L., commonly known as lemon balm, is a perennial herb belonging to Lamiaceae family. Traditionally administered in infusion form, it has therapeutic properties, such as sedative, carminative and antispasmodic, but also it is used for treatment of headache, rheumatism, indigestion and hypersensitivities. Lemon balm has a complex chemical composition. The aim of this work was the comprehensive characterization of secondary metabolites of a dried Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) sample, through HPLC/DAD, GC/MS and GC/GC/TOF analysis, as raw material for the standardized phyto-complexes production useful for food and nutraceutical application. This sample contained rosmarinic acid (caffeic acid dimer) as the main compound of phenolic fraction (32.4 mg g-1). Citronellal was the most abundant compound in the volatile fraction, followed by α-citral and β-caryophyllene. The total citral amount, in terms of sum of α- and β-citral, was 149.4 mgcitral kg-1. Comprehensive two-dimensional GC fingerprint analysis of lemon balm produced rationalized peak patterns for up to 200 volatile compounds

A plaster combining diclofenac and heparin : microcirculatory evaluation in 2 models of high-perfusion microangiopathy

A medicated plaster containing diclofenac epolamine (DHEP) and heparin has been recently proposed for the treatment of local trauma (ie, ankle sprains) accompanied by a clinically significant edema and/or hematoma formation, based on the combined antiinflammatory, hemorheologic, and antiedema properties of diclofenac and heparin. The aim of this study was therefore to compare the effects of a combined DHEP/heparin and DHEP alone in 2 clinical experimental models of microangiopathy, in order to provide a pharmacologic rationale for association of diclofenac and heparin. The microcirculation was evaluated by measuring cutaneous blood flow (laser Doppler) and transcutaneous oxygen and carbon dioxide pressures (TcPO(2) and TcPCO(2)) in 10 healthy volunteers before and after producing 2 microcirculatory models of microangiopathy: the models were based on reactive hyperemia (RH) and on local histamine injection, which both produce a significant increase in skin flux and alterations of TcPO(2) and TcPCO(2). The area of the study was the distal medial leg, treated with placebo, DHEP alone (Flector Tissugel), and DHEP/heparin (Flector Tissugel Heparin). The plasters were applied before producing the microcirculatory models to evaluate the efficacy of DHEP and DHEP/heparin in controlling and limiting vasodilatation and development of microangiopathy. A significant increase in cutaneous flux was obtained with both models. The application of DHEP partially limited the increase in flux and in TcPCO(2), as well as the decrease in TcPO(2) (which were considered signs of microangiopathy), but the combination DHEP/heparin was significantly more effective than DHEP alone. The inclusion of heparin in the plaster thus improved the control of the microcirculation achieved with diclofenac alone, when an experimental model of venous/arterial hyperemia and microangiopathy was used. In conclusion, DHEP in association with heparin modulates microcirculatory changes better than DHEP alone. It should be interesting to investigate the product in comparable clinical conditions in which it may be useful to act pharmacologically both on inflammation and microcirculatory disturbances that delay the recovery of patients

Abacavir/lamivudine and tenofovir/emtricitabine in pregnant women with HIV: Laboratory and clinical outcomes in an observational national study

Background: Abacavir-lamivudine (ABC/3TC) and tenofovir-emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) represent in the guidelines of several countries, including Italy and United States, the preferred nucleoside/nucleotide backbones of antiretroviral regimens. We assessed their profile in pregnancy using data from a national observational study. Methods: Laboratory measures (CD4, HIV-RNA, lipid profile, glucose, hemoglobin, and alanine transferase) and pregnancy outcomes (preterm delivery, low birthweight, nonelective cesarean section, birthweight Z-score, congenital defects, HIV transmission, maternal weight gain, and pregnancy complications) were compared after prenatal exposure to ABC/3TC or TDF/FTC. Results: The study evaluated 913 pregnancies (ABC/3TC: 252; TDF/FTC: 661). At entry in pregnancy, women on TDF/FTC were older (33.6 vs. 32.4 years, P = 0.005), less frequently on treatment (66.9% vs. 80.2%, P < 0.001), and had lower CD4 counts (475/mm3 vs. 533/mm3, P = 0.003) and higher plasma HIV-RNA levels (2.48 vs. 2.22 log10 copies/mL, P = 0.003). Women on ABC/3TC had more commonly hypertension/nephropathy (5.2% vs. 2.0%, P = 0.013). No major differences were observed in the main pregnancy outcomes and in rates of undetectable HIV-RNA at third trimester. In a subgroup analysis that evaluated at third trimester only cases with regular 3-drug treatment during pregnancy, women on TDF/FTC had lower hemoglobin levels (median: 11.1 vs. 11.8 g/dL, P = 0.002) and women on ABC/3TC had higher levels of total cholesterol (median: 230 vs. 216 mg/dL, P = 0.023) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (133 vs. 111 mg/dL, P = 0.030). Conclusions: In this study, use of TDF/FTC and ABC/3TC in pregnancy was associated with similar pregnancy outcomes and with some differences in laboratory measures that might guide physicians' prescriptions in mothers with hematologic or metabolic risk factors