Essential oil composition of Achillea lingulata and A-umbellata

The composition of the essential oils of Achillea lingulata and A. umbellata were analysed by GC and GCMS. Among the determined constituents, borneol, bornyl acetate, camphor, alpha- and beta-thujone, and 1,8-cineol were found as the main components. Copyrigh

Triterpenic derivatives of Achillea alexandri-regis Bornm. & Rudski

Investigation of the aerial parts of Achillea alexandri-regis led to the identification of 19 chemical constituents: twelve 3-O-fatty acid esters of triterpene alcohols arnidiol (1-4), maniladiol (5-8) and 16beta-hydroxy-lupeol (9-12), alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, beta-sitosterol, 3,4-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid, cinnamic acid, pinoresinol-beta-D-glucoside and rutin. Among them, compounds 3, 4, 8, 11 and 12 are new natural products. The structures of all compounds have been elucidated on the basis of their spectral and chemical data

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities of naphthazarine derivatives from Onosma lentantha

The root extracts of Onosma leptanhtha were evaluated for their anti-iflammatory and cytotoxic activities. The cyclohexane extract, which appeared as the most active in both assays, has been further subjected to bioassay-directed fractionation to afford the naphthazarine derivatives: beta,beta-dimethylacrylshikonin (1), isovalerylshikonin (2) and acetylshikonin (3). The evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity was performed on carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test. All the tested compounds proved to be active, while compound 3 showed the best anti-inflammatory effect. In addition, the cytotoxic activity of the extracts and isolated compounds, was also assayed against L1210 murine lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, and human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cells. Compound I exhibited remarkable cytotoxic activity (390nM for L1210 cells), which is superior to that of shikonin, which was used as control

Essential oil composition of different parts of endemic species Seseli gracile Waldst. & Kit. (Apiaceae) from natural and cultivated conditions

The chemical composition of the essential oils of Seseli gracile Waldst. & Kit. from natural habitat (Đerdap Gorge, Serbia) and from cultivated plants (Belgrade, Serbia) were characterized. The essential oils of the root, aerial parts, inflorescence and fruit were analyzed by GC/MS and GC/FID. Monoterpene hydrocarbons were the main compounds in the essential oil of aerial parts (45.2–93.0 %), inflorescences (84.1 and 90.0 %) and fruit (85.0 %). Polyacetylenes (38.8 and 87.6 %) were dominant in the essential oil of root. The cluster analysis revealed that there were significant differences in the chemical composition of the S. gracile oils at different phenological stages. On the other hand, essential oils from the aerial parts from natural and cultivated plants showed quite uniform qualitative composition. The aerial parts essential oil from natural habitat contained higher content of para-cymene (mean values 17.3 vs. 6.5 %) and lower amounts of terpinolene (mean values 23.1 vs. 49.9 %). Also polyacetylene falcarinol was present only in the aerial parts samples from natural habitat. The essential oil of inflorescences from natural habitat contained higher concentration of terpinolene, quite similar amount of para- -cymene and lower content of α-pinene. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 173021 Grant no. 173030

Assessment of depression and anxiety in patients with chronic liver disease

Background/Aim. In recent years mental health of patients including those with chronic liver disease (CLD), has become interesting because its disturbance leads to reduced quality of life, that is associated with worsening of clinical outcome, reduced compliance and increased mortality. The aim of the study was to determinate the frequency and severity of depression and frequency of anxiety in patients with CLD and to assess the contribution of selected socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory risk factors for depression and anxiety. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, we used the Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS) and Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HARS) in patients with CLD. Results. The study included 54 male and 43 female patients. Depression was present in 62.9%, and anxiety in 13.4% of the patients. A higher HDRS was noted in the patients older than 50 years (p = 0.022) and unemployed patients (p = 0.043). The patients with at least one episode of gastrointestinal bleeding had a significantly higher frequency of anxiety than those without bleeding (p = 0.018). A higher HARS score was present in the women (p = 0.011), unemployed patients (p = 0.008) and those with non-alcoholic liver disease (p = 0.007). There was a significant correlation between the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the value of the HDRS score, and between serum potassium and sodium levels and HDRS score. Conclusion. Age and the mean corpuscular volume have significant influence on the HDRS score while unemployment, gastrointestinal bleeding, serum potassium and serum sodium have predictive value for HARS score