Evaluation of Hungarian Wines for Resveratrol by Overpressured Layer Chromatography

A method, including solid phase extraction sample preparation, overpressured layer chromatographic separation and subsequent densitometric evaluation, was developed for measurement of total resveratrol (cis- and trans-isomers) content of wine. The amount of resveratrol was determined in wine samples from different winemaking regions of Hungary. The total resveratrol was high in Hungarian red wines (3.6–11 mg/L), and much lower in white ones (0.04–1.5 mg/L)

Rescue of Photoreceptor Degeneration by Curcumin in Transgenic Rats with P23H Rhodopsin Mutation

The P23H mutation in the rhodopsin gene causes rhodopsin misfolding, altered trafficking and formation of insoluble aggregates leading to photoreceptor degeneration and autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). There are no effective therapies to treat this condition. Compounds that enhance dissociation of protein aggregates may be of value in developing new treatments for such diseases. Anti-protein aggregating activity of curcumin has been reported earlier. In this study we present that treatment of COS-7 cells expressing mutant rhodopsin with curcumin results in dissociation of mutant protein aggregates and decreases endoplasmic reticulum stress. Furthermore we demonstrate that administration of curcumin to P23H-rhodopsin transgenic rats improves retinal morphology, physiology, gene expression and localization of rhodopsin. Our findings indicate that supplementation of curcumin improves retinal structure and function in P23H-rhodopsin transgenic rats. This data also suggest that curcumin may serve as a potential therapeutic agent in treating RP due to the P23H rhodopsin mutation and perhaps other degenerative diseases caused by protein trafficking defects

Phyto-polyphenols as potential inhibitors of breast cancer metastasis

Abstract Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women as metastasis is currently the main cause of mortality. Breast cancer cells undergoing metastasis acquire resistance to death signals and increase of cellular motility and invasiveness. Plants are rich in polyphenolic compounds, many of them with known medicinal effects. Various phyto-polyphenols have also been demonstrated to suppress cancer growth. Their mechanism of action is usually pleiotropic as they target multiple signaling pathways regulating key cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. Importantly, some phyto- polyphenols show low level of toxicity to untransformed cells, but selective suppressing effects on cancer cells proliferation and differentiation. In this review, we summarize the current information about the mechanism of action of some phyto-polyphenols that have demonstrated anti-carcinogenic activities in vitro and in vivo. Gained knowledge of how these natural polyphenolic compounds work can give us a clue for the development of novel anti-metastatic agents