Antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) extracts

Antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of sumac extracts were investigated. Sumac was extracted in methanol and subjected to solvent-solvent partitioning to yield two fractions as ethyl acetate and aqueous. Methanol extract was further fractioned over Sephadex LH-20 column. Antioxidant activity of extracts and fractions were screened using ferric thiocyanate and DPPH radical scavenging methods. Phenolic composition of active fraction(s) was determined by HPLC-MS systems. Those fractions which exhibited strong antioxidant activity were rich in anthocyanins and hydrolysable tannins. While gallic acid was the main phenolic acid in the extracts, anthocyanin fraction contained cyanidin, peonidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, and delphinidin glucosides and coumarates. Pentagalloyl glucose was abundant in the hydrolysable tannin fraction. Effective scavenging concentration (EC50) on DPPH radical was 0.70 mu g/mL both in ethyl acetate and tannin fractions, and 5.33 mu g/mL in anthocyanin rich fraction. Same extracts and fractions showed moderate lipid peroxidation inhibition effect compared with the synthetic antioxidants. The findings demonstrate that sumac can be used as a natural antioxidant. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Comparison of microwave-assisted hydrodistillation and hydrodistillation methods for the analysis of volatile secondary metabolites

Microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MWHD) and hydrodistillation (HD) were carried out for the analysis of volatile components in Whole and ground fruits of Anethum graveolens L. (dill seed) and Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander seed). Fruits were distilled using a microwave oven modified to fit a Clevenger apparatus. The effect of microwave energy on the yield and composition of the essential oil was investigated against the classical hydrodistillation. Essential oils of all samples were analyzed by GC-FID and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In the whole dillseed oil, the amounts of cis-isodihyorocarvone (from 7.5% to 10.9%) and carvone (from 45.7% to 69.3%) were increased by microwave energy while limonene (from 17.7% to 4.7%), myristicin (from 8.7% to 5.7%) and dill apiole (from 14.1% to 6.1%) were decreased. Grinding of the material also increased the amounts of main components except for myristicin and dill apiole. A decrease in the linalool content of the coriander oil (from 80.0% to 75.5%) was observed in the microwave-assisted hydrodistilled ground fruits. Microwave-assisted distillation appeared to increase the amounts of fatty acids, for example, tetradecanoic acid (from 2.8% to 8.8%) and hexadecanoic acid (from 1.9% to 6.0%) in coriander oil

THE ROLE OF CHITOTRIOSIDASE ACTIVITY AS A PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKER IN SARCOIDOSIS

Introduction: Chitotriosidase (ChT) is a chitinase that is massively expressed by lipid-laden tissue macrophages in human beings. The aim of this study was to compare ChT activities in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum ChT levels with serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels in patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis (SARC), pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), all of which create difficulties in the differential diagnosis in daily practice. Materials and methods: ACE concentration and ChT activity were measured in pulmonary TB (n=28), SARC (n=37), and different types of ILD (n=23). ChT activities in the serum, BAL fluid and serum ACE concentrations were determined using ELISA kits. Results: Serum ACE levels were significantly higher in the SARC patients than those in the TB and ILD patients (p<0.001). There were no differences among patients regarding ChT activities in serum and BAL fluid. ChT activities in the BAL fluid and serum did not correlate with serum ACE levels. Conclusion: Our results indicate that, ChT cannot be considered as a specific marker of SARC since ChT activities were also increased in TB and ILD. ACE level seemed to be a more specific biomarker for SARC than ChT. Further studies are required to better understand the role of ChT and ACE concentrations in the pathogenesis of SARC and their involvement in fibrotic remodeling in certain types of diffuse lung diseases.WOS:0003753370000152-s2.0-8495028735

Determination of the etiological organism during acute exacerbations of COPD and efficacy of azithromycin, ampicillin-sulbactam, ciprofloxacin and cefaclor

Acute exacerbations, most of which are due to lower respiratory tract infections, cause great morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and most of these are due to lower respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study was to determine the causative organism and the effects of azithromycin, ampicillin sulbactam (sultamicillin), ciprofloxacin and cefaclor monohydrate therapy in COPD. One hundred and six patients with COPD in acute exacerbation were randomized into four groups for empiric antibiotic treatment following lung function tests and sputum examination. The most common strains isolated from sputum were Haemophilus influenzae (30.8%), Streptoccocus pneumoniae (12%) and Moraxella catarrhalis (7.7%). Azithromycin, sultamicillin, ciprofloxacin and cefaclor monohydrate were found to be effective in treating COPD exacerbations