Pearl powder - an innovation in medicine and dermatocosmetics

Въведение: Познанието за перления прах, използван от традиционната китайска медицина като лечебно средство, датира от преди 2000 години. Добиван от природни източници - черупки и перли на миди, стриди и морски охлюви, днес перленият прах провокира сериозен научен интерес поради уникалните си характеристики и качества. Цел: Да се анализира достъпната литература, реферирана в базите данни MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus и Web of Science през последните 10 г. Материал и методи: Проучени са съдържанията на резюметата и пълнотекстовите публикации по проблема. Резултати: Перленият прах се разглежда като активно вещество с овлажняващ, избелващ, стимулиращ регенерацията и заздравяването на рани, антиконвулсивен, антиоксидантен, седативен, остеогенен, антиостеопоротичен ефект. Доказано е и противостареещото му действие. Изводи: Приложението на перлен прах е иновация както в медицината, така и в дерматозметиката. Модифицирането на перлен прах посредством нанотехнологии демонстрира големи промени в абсорбцията и бионаличността на веществото, което го прави още по-ефективно средство.Introduction: Pearl powder has been known for more than 2000 years, including as a remedy in traditional Chinese medicine. Nowadays, pearl powder raises serious scientific interest due to its unique characteristics and properties. The main natural sources include shells and pearls of mussels, oysters and molluscs. Aim: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the literature referred in the last 10 years in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus and Web of Science-referred literature data bases. Materials and Methods: Abstracts and full text publications on the topic were reviewed. Results: Pearl powder is considered an active substance with numerous actions, including moisturizing, whitening, anticonvulsive, antioxidant, sedative, antiosteoporotic and osteogenic effects. It stimulates regeneration and wound healing and is shown to have anti-aging properties. In addition, pearl powder modifications via nanotechnology demonstrate considerable changes in absorption and bioavailability. Conclusion: Pearl powder application is an innovation in both medicine and dermatocosmetics. Combined with nanotechnology it can become even more effective

Post-mortem volatiles of vertebrate tissue

Volatile emission during vertebrate decay is a complex process that is understood incompletely. It depends on many factors. The main factor is the metabolism of the microbial species present inside and on the vertebrate. In this review, we combine the results from studies on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected during this decay process and those on the biochemical formation of VOCs in order to improve our understanding of the decay process. Micro-organisms are the main producers of VOCs, which are by- or end-products of microbial metabolism. Many microbes are already present inside and on a vertebrate, and these can initiate microbial decay. In addition, micro-organisms from the environment colonize the cadaver. The composition of microbial communities is complex, and communities of different species interact with each other in succession. In comparison to the complexity of the decay process, the resulting volatile pattern does show some consistency. Therefore, the possibility of an existence of a time-dependent core volatile pattern, which could be used for applications in areas such as forensics or food science, is discussed. Possible microbial interactions that might alter the process of decay are highlighted