Pharmacological study of original extracts of corn silk

Aim: the aim of the research is a pharmacological study of the original extracts of corn silk. Materials and methods. The object of the study were 4 original extracts of corn silk, obtained by extraction with water and ethanol of different concentrations, namely: aqueous extract of corn silk (ACSE), extract of corn silk, extracted with ethanol 30 % (ECSE 30 %) , extract of corn silk, extracted with ethanol 50 % (ЕCSЕ 50 %), extract of corn silk, extracted with ethanol 70 % (ЕCSЕ 70 %). A screening study of the antioxidant properties of corn silk extracts was carried out in vitro using models of spontaneous and ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO) in rat liver homogenate. Results. As can be seen from the given data, ECSE 50 % at a dose of 20 mg/kg showed a pronounced protective effect on the hepatotoxicity of TСM. Its use led to a probable restoration of the bile-forming function of the liver against the background of tetrachloromethane hepatitis: in response to an increase in the cholesterol content (by 43 %, p<0.05), the content of bile acids increased 2 times (p<0.05), as a result of which cholate -cholesterol ratio approached the level of indicators of intact animals, the rate of bile secretion normalized. Based on the analysis of the results of the study, it can be concluded, that in terms of bile-forming and choleretic activity on the tetrachloromethane hepatitis model, ECSE 50 % was not inferior to silibor and superior to quercetin (р<0.05). Conclusions. Biologically active substances of corn silk affect not only the diffusion and filtration processes of the liver parenchyma, but also the biosynthesis and transport of its organic components, that is, they affect the bile-forming functio

Some biological, behavioral and social aspects of the perfumery use in the Ukrainian population sample (part 1. age associations)

The aim. The study encompassed some aspects related to perfumes use, which can potentially influence the individual perfume choice, in particular, among different age groups of the Ukrainian population. Factors related to perfumes choice, the state of awareness of respondents regarding quality, safety, and existing stereotypes regarding the characteristics of perfumes and potential harmful effects on the human body were investigated. Materials and methods. The analysis was performed on a sample of 124 residents of Ukraine. Respondents, who were randomly selected, were offered a questionnaire, developed by us, which included 15 items on the demographic characteristics of the subjects and questions related to the perfume use of and stereotypes about them. The Pearson chi-squared (χ2) test was used to analyze the relationships between qualitative characteristics. Results and discussion. About 98 % of surveyed persons in Ukraine use perfumery. Associations were found between age and the probability of purchase by the study participants of non-original perfume products and awareness of the safety of various perfume products. It has been established, that the determining factors when choosing a perfume is a certain scent, while the brand is given secondary importance. An increase in the effect of the brand in older age groups of the population has been demonstrated. Behavioral features of perfume use have been established: in younger women, it is associated with increased self-esteem and the influence of social networks, with age, the focus shifts to the desire for a positive effect on the mood from the use of a certain fragrance. However, in all age groups, the main purpose of perfume using was to improve the emotional state. Middle-aged women are more democratic in choosing perfumery with a specific gender orientation. Conclusions. For the first time in Ukraine, a pilot study was conducted to find possible associations between some biological, behavioral and demographic characteristics and the perfume use. Such factors as age and education level are promising for further analysis of the selected issue

Study of analgesic and myotropic spasmolytic activity of alkylcarb

The work is devoted to the search for new biologically active substances in a series of alkylamides of dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid. Analgesic properties of 30 newly synthesized substances were studied, which made it possible to identify the leader compound (provisional name alkylcarb) and recommend its effectiveness for further research as an antispasmodic agent for pain relief. It has been established experimentally, that the substance alkylcarb exhibits concentration-dependent vasodilatory properties in vitro on segments of the thoracic aorta of rats. The data, obtained in the work, justify the prospect of using the leader substance as a new analgesic and antispasmodic drug. The research expands and deepens knowledge about the pharmacological properties of alkylamide derivatives of dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid. The aim of the work was to conduct screening studies to establish the analgesic activity of a newly synthesized series of chemical compounds among alkylamides of dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid and to study the myotropic spasmolytic activity of the leader substance. Materials and methods. Analgesic properties of alkylamides of dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid were studied on outbred white mice in the "acetic acid convulsions" test. During the experiment, the animals were treated in accordance with the International Principles of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experiments and Other Scientific Purposes (Strasbourg, March 18, 1986). The studied substances were administered intragastrically to experimental animals at a dose of 10 mg/kg in the form of a finely dispersed aqueous suspension, stabilized with Tween-80. Voltaren at a dose of 8 mg/kg, recommended for preclinical studies, and analgin at a dose of 50 mg/kg were chosen as reference drugs. The studies of the contractile activity of smooth muscle vessels were carried out on segments of the thoracic aorta of rats of both sexes weighing 180-200 g. The studies of dilator reactions were carried out against the background of preliminary contraction with phenylephrine at a concentration of 10-6 mol/l. The antispasmodic efficiency of the new compound was determined in comparison with the classic antispasmodic drotaverine. The statistical processing of the results was carried out using the package of statistical analysis of electronic spreadsheets Exel, with the help of the program "Statgraphics Plus v. 3.0.” and the standard package of statistical programs "Statistica, V. 6.0". We used the Student's test, a non-parametric analog of univariate variance analysis - the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Mann-Whitney test. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results. The study of the analgesic activity of substances АO1-АO30 in the "acetic acid convulsion" test in mice showed that a compound АO26 (provisional name alkylcarb) has the most pronounced analgesic activity when administered intragastrically. In the "acetic acid convulsion" test, alkylcarb (10 mg/kg, per os) probably reduces the number of convulsions, caused by acetic acid. The level of activity of this compound is comparable to the activity of diclofenac (8 mg/kg, per os) and exceeds analgin (50 mg/kg, per os). The substance alkylcarb relieved vasospasm at the level of the comparison drug drotaverine in in vitro experiments on a model of an isolated fragment of the thoracic aorta of rats against the background of previous constriction with phenylephrine. Conclusion. Today, the search for new highly effective non-opioid analgesics is an urgent problem of modern pharmacology, since painkillers used in clinical practice do not meet the requirements of efficiency and safety. In this regard, in recent years, scientists of the National Pharmaceutical University have been intensively searching for new, highly effective substances with antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects among alkylamides of dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid

Impact of migration on the expression of aggression and empathy in urban populations

Background: Migration is a very important and powerful factor of population dynamics. It can lead to evident genetic consequences, like allele frequency change, as well to non-direct effects by creating new environment for migrant genes to be realized, and different personality and somatic traits, governed by these genes, to be expressed, accordingly. Aim: The aim of this research was to assess the impact of migration on the level of empathy and aggression among native population and migrants of the Ukrainian megapolis. Subjects and methods: Altogether 444 males and 597 females – permanent residents of Kharkov aged 45–65 years passed a test for the level of aggression by Assinger's questionnaire and for the level of empathy by Mehrabian-Epstein's questionnaire. Results: Place of birth of both subjects and their parents was taken into account. The migration and the “alien” genes appear to increase the level of aggression and reduce the level of empathy. Combined action of these factors resulted in an average level of empathy by 15–16% and aggression by 5–6%. Conclusion: Variation in the level of aggression is much more dependent on the genetic factor (4%) rather than on the environmental (1.8%). The rate of the environmental factor in the empathy variation is 9%, when the genetic − 7%. Keywords: Migration, Ukraine, Aggression, Empath

Some biological, behavioral and social aspects of the perfumery use in the Ukrainian population sample (Part 2. Education level associations)

The aim. The study represents a continuation of the previous one, and provide various aspects related to the use of perfumery, which can be characterized by certain associations with the education level of Ukrainian consumers. Factors that have direct or indirect biological and medical significance and, accordingly, may have a potential impact on the safety of the perfume products use by humans, were selected for the analysis. Materials and methods. The analysis included information about 124 individuals living in Ukraine. The respondents answered the questions of the questionnaire developed regarding some aspects of the perfumery use. The Pearson chi-squared (χ2) test was used to analyze the relationships between qualitative characteristics. Results and discussion. Most of the studied aspects related to the perfumes use demonstrate associations, caused by the dependence of the education level on age. The analysis revealed that individuals with any education most often (about half of the cases or more) choose a perfume based on its scent. The study showed that the majority of respondents believe that the price of a perfume depends on a combination of factors, namely the composition of the products, the brand and the cost of the packaging. More than 80 % of people, regardless of the education level, believe that the persistence of a perfume is definitely a sign of quality. The most common opinion among people of all education levels was that non-original perfumes can have a more negative effect on people's health than original products. The "lipstick effect" in relation to perfume products (demand for items of "affordable luxury" in times of economic crises and wars) was observed. Conclusions. The study supplemented the previously found associations of age and some biological and behavioral aspects of perfume use among the population of Ukraine with data on the presence or absence of such associations in relation to the education leve

Investigation of the influence of dry extracts of bupleurum aureum and Salsola collina L. on the antimicrobial effect of co-trimoxazole

Scientific data on the pharmacodynamics of dry extracts of Bupleurum aureum and Salsola collina L. based on the results of studying the antimicrobial effect and the similar effect of co-trimoxazole when they are used together have been supplemented. The investigated phytoextracts do not show antimicrobial properties, but they do not change the antimicrobial effect of co-trimoxazole when they are used in combination. The aim of the study was to experimentally investigate the antimicrobial effect of extracts of Bupleurum aureum and Salsola collina L. and establish the possible antagonistic effect of these extracts on the antimicrobial drug co-trimoxazole when used together. Materials and methods. The research was conducted in May 2016. Screening of the antimicrobial effect of extracts of Bupleurum aureum and Salsola collina L. and establishing of the possible antagonistic effect of these extracts on the antimicrobial drug co-trimoxazole when they are used together was carried out in the laboratory of the Department of Microbiology of the National Pharmaceutical University, which has a certificate of attestation 045/14 dated 28.10.2014. For determination of antimicrobial activity, the agar diffusion method ("well" method), which is based on the ability of medicinal substances to penetrate the agar layer, was used. A set of reference strains of microorganisms was used: S. aureus ATCC 6538, E. coli ATCC 8739, P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027, B. subtilis ATCC 6633, C. albicans ATCC 10231. Petri dishes were filled with two layers of solid nutrient medium. The lower layer - 10 ml of melted "cold" AGV agar (medium No. 3), the upper layer - nutrient medium for the corresponding test strain. After cooling the lower layer of agar, three thin-walled steel cylinders (inner diameter - 6.0±0.1 mm, height - 10.0±0.1 mm) were placed on it at an equal distance from each other and from the edge of the cup. The top layer was poured around the cylinders - 13.5 ml of agar, melted and cooled to 45-48°С, mixed with the seed dose of the test microorganism (1.5 ml of microbial suspension, the concentration corresponding to the type of microorganism). After cooling the upper layer of agar, the cylinders were removed with sterile tweezers and 0.25-0.3 ml of the studied drug was added to the resulting wells. The results were recorded after 24 h by measuring the zone of growth inhibition, including the diameter of the wells. Measurements were made with an accuracy of 1 mm, while focusing on the complete absence of visible growth. The obtained data were analyzed using the methods of variational statistics. The significance level is p<0.05. The studied plant extracts of Bupleurum aureum (aqueous and alcoholic) and Salsola collina L. (aqueous and alcoholic) were used in doses of 0.005 mg/ml and 0.01 mg/ml, which corresponded to doses of 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg. Experimental data were also processed by parametric (Newman-Keuls) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney) methods of variational statistics, using the Statistica 6.0 statistical software package; differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results. At the final stage, the determination of the antimicrobial effect of water and alcohol extracts of Bupleurum aureum and Salsola collina L. at doses of 1 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml was carried out, and the effect of BAS of these extracts on the antimicrobial effect of co-trimoxazole when used together was determined. In the course of the study, it has been established, that the addition of the above-mentioned extracts to the co-trimoxazole formulation does not affect its initial antimicrobial properties. Conclusion. Today, drug-induced liver injury remains one of the most important problems of hepatology and pediatrics, pharmacological science pays a lot of attention to the search for new effective and harmless drugs with a hepatoprotective effect, and the improvement of existing drugs is primarily aimed at increasing their specificity and reducing side effects related to the pharmacological properties of the drug. Currently, there is increasing interest in medicinal plants as a source of various biologically active substances (BAS), which provide a wide spectrum of pharmacological action of the agent, which allows to immediately affect various links of the pathogenesis of liver diseases. The analysis of scientific sources made it possible to establish that medicinal products of plant origin, thanks to BAS, possess polymodality of effects and reveal a versatile complex effect on the course of pathological processes in the body. Most drugs are characterized by good tolerability, absence of withdrawal syndrome and toxicity to parenchymal organs. Medicinal plants are used not only as monopreparations, but also in combination with synthetic drugs and as raw materials for obtaining BA

Дієтичні переваги та аналіз «рослинного кошику» серед українських підлітків

The aim. The aim of the study was to analyze aspects related to a healthy diet and lifestyle, more specifically to the consumption of plant-based food among Ukrainian preteens and teenagers aged 10 to 17 years. Materials and methods. 231 individuals aged 10 to 17 participated in the study, 85 of them were boys, 146 were girls, all of them were residents of Kharkiv city at the time of participation in the study. The respondents were presented with a questionnaire regarding their attitude to a healthy lifestyle, in particular, rational nutrition. The χ2 test was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results and discussion. In the work, it was found that more than half of the respondents led only a partially healthy lifestyle, 60.3 % and 54.1 % among girls and boys, respectively. Only 11.6 % and 18.8 % of girls and boys followed the diet, although the majority of preteens and teenagers did not skip breakfast (80.8 % of girls and 89.4 % of boys). Unfortunately, the vast majority of subjects (58.9 % of girls and 56.5 % of boys) sometimes indulged in "harmful food". Also, the majority of preteens and teenagers consumed food between principal meals (83.6 % of girls and 72.9 % of boys), which, taking into account current ideas, should be considered an alarming trend. The main motivation for choosing food among preteens and teenagers was their own food tastes and family traditions, while food advertising was taken into account by just over 1 % of preteens and teenagers. Self-assessment of the health state shows that only 2/3 to ¾ of preteens and teenagers had no complaints about their health. No sex differences were observed for all the indicated characteristics. The most popular vegetable product among Ukrainian preteens and teenagers was potato, it was consumed by more than ¾ of preteens and teenagers, its popularity grew with age, which can be considered a negative trend (fast food). The least popular plant-based product among preteens and teenagers was seeds, consumed by only 19.9 % of girls and 8.2 % of boys. It was the only plant-based product, for which a statistically significant difference in consumption was found (2.4 times more common among girls than among boys). With age, the frequency of coffee consumption as an "adult drink" increased among preteens and teenagers, while a "leap" in the prevalence of its consumption can be seen when passing from 14-15 years to 16-17 years. Therefore, most of the results obtained should be considered as concerning ones. Conclusions. The consumption of plant-based food among Ukrainian preteens and teenagers is almost not associated with sex, while the consumption of some types of plant-based food is more closely related to the age of preteens and teenagers, which may indicate the continuation of the process of forming food habits in this ontogenesis period. The practical value of the work lies in potential corrective recommendations from doctors, valeologists, nutritionists, psychologists and other related specialistsМета. Мета дослідження полягала в аналізі аспектів, пов’язаних із раціональним харчуванням та способом життя, більш конкретно з вживанням рослинної їжі серед українських підлітків у віці від 10 до 17 років. Матеріали та методи. У дослідженні взяла участь 231 особа віком від 10 до 17 років, з них 85 – хлопці, 146 – дівчата, всі на момент участі в дослідженні були мешканцями м. Харків. Респондентам було представлено анкету щодо відношення до здорового способу життя, зокрема, раціонального харчування. Для аналізу якісних ознак використовували статистичний критерій χ2. Результати. В ході роботи було виявлено, що респондентів, які вели лише частково здоровий спосіб життя, було більше половини, відповідно серед дівчат та хлопців 60,3 % та 54,1 %. Тільки 11,6 % та 18,8 % дівчат та хлопців дотримувалися режиму харчування, хоча при цьому більшість підлітків не пропускала сніданок (80,8 % дівчат та 89,4 % хлопців). На жаль, переважна більшість осіб (58,9 % дівчат та 56,5 % хлопців) інколи дозволяла собі вживати «шкідливу їжу». Також більшість підлітків вживали їжу між її основними прийомами (83,6 % дівчат та 72,9 % хлопців), що з урахуванням сучасних уявлень слід вважати тривожною тенденцією. Основним мотивом при виборі їжі серед підлітків були власні харчові смаки та традиції сім’ї, в той час як рекламу їжі приймали до уваги трохи більше 1 % підлітків. Самооцінка стану здоров’я свідчить, що лише від 2/3 до ¾ підлітків не мали нарікань щодо самопочуття. За всіма зазначеними ознаками статевих відмінностей не спостерігалося. Найбільш популярним рослинним продуктом серед українських підлітків була картопля, її вживали більше ¾ підлітків, з віком її популярність зростала, що можна вважати негативною тенденцією (фаст-фуд). Найменш популярним рослинним продуктом серед підлітків стало насіння, його вживали лише 19,9 % дівчат та 8,2 % хлопців. Воно було єдиним рослинним продуктом, за яким було виявлено статистично значущу різницю у вживанні (у 2,4 рази частіше серед дівчат, ніж серед хлопців). З віком серед підлітків зростала частота вживання кави, як «напою для дорослих», при цьому «стрибок» у поширенні її вживання можна помітити при переході від 14-15 років до 16-17 років. Таким чином, більшість отриманих результатів слід вважати такими, що викликають стурбованість. Висновки. Вживання рослинної їжі серед українських підлітків майже не асоціюється зі статтю, в той час як більшою мірою має місце зв'язок вживання деяких видів рослинної їжі з віком підлітків, що може свідчити про продовження процесу формування харчових звичок в цьому періоді онтогенезу. Практичне значення роботи полягає в потенційних коригувальних рекомендаціях з боку медиків, валеологів, дієтологів, нутриціологів, психологів та інших суміжних фахівці