Kvantitativna analiza polifenola u nekim vrstama roda Teucrium L.

The research was conducted on the leaves and stems of the following species of the genus Teucrium: T. scordioides, T. fruticans and T. polium. Species of the genus Teucrium are widespread troughout the Mediterranean region and are used in folk medicine as antidiabetics, diuretics, diaphoretics, expectorants, cholagogues, spasmolytics and antiinflamatory drugs. The quantity of polyphenols was determined using spectrophotometric methods. The results were compared between different species, plant parts and, for T. polium, different collection sites. T. fruticans contained the highest quantity of flavonoids, 0.437% (0.347% in the leaves and 0.090% in the stems) and the lowest quantity of phenolic acids, 4.05% (2.67% in the leaves and 1.38% in the stems). T. polium (Korčula) contained the highest quantity of phenolic acids, 5.72% (3.67% in the leaves and 2.05% in the stems) and the lowest quantity of flavonoids, 0.150% (0.125% in the leaves and 0.025% in the stems). The content of flavonoids and phenolic acids was higher in the leaves than in the stems. T. scordioides contained the highest quantity of total polyphenols, 15.63% while T. polium (Lastovo) contained the lowest quantity, 10.71%. The quantity of tannins ranged from 1.00 to 4.02%. T. polium collected on Korčula contained higher quantity of phenolic acids, total polyphenols, polyphenols unadsorbed on hide powder and lower quantity of flavonoids and tannins than the same species collected on Lastovo

Razvoj i validacija HSS-GC-FID metode za određivanje sadržaja lakohlapljivih sastavnica sirupa za iskašljavanje za djecu

A cough syrup is a medicinal product used in an attempt to treat coughing and related conditions. Traditional herbs are used for preparation of cough syrup. There are two main categories of herbs that are used in preparation of cough remedies: expectorants and antitussives. For productive coughs, treatment with expectorants may be attempted to loosen mucus from the respiratory tract. For dry coughs antitussives are used to suppress the body’s urge to cough. Herbal medicinal products may contain significant levels of ethanol arising from its use as an extraction solvent in liquid extracts and tinctures. Although the use of ethanol is necessary for extraction of pharmacologically active compounds, it was found that some herbal medicinal products contain large amounts (up to 60 %) of ethanol with even less clinical need or benefit. In young children ingestion of even modest amounts of ethanol may lead to permanent neurological damage as result of hypoglycemia. Therefore, special attention should be given to the ethanol content of herbal medicinal products for pediatric use. At the moment the safety evaluation of the ethanol content of herbal medicinal products for pediatric use is not harmonized between different European Union Member States. Moreover, the lack of guidelines relating to safe limits of ethanol as part of herbal medicinal products for pediatric use has also led to different national labeling practices. Therefore, the aim of our work was to develop and validate a new HSS-GC-FID method for quantification of ethanol and its main impurity, methanol, present in children’s cough syrup

Chemical Differentiation of Berberis croatica and B. vulgaris Using HPLC Fingerprinting

In Croatia, two indigenous species of the genus Berberis L. occur: common barberry (B. vulgaris L.) and Croatian barberry (B. croatica Horvat), endemic to the Balkano-Illyric region. As a contribution to the chemotaxonomy of the two species, differences of their RP-HPLC chromatograms were investigated. A HPLC method combined with Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic means (UPGMA) was developed for species differentiation and compared to several previously described procedures for the differentiation of other species. The results indicate that common and Croatian barberry are closely related species, but can be differentiated according to their HPLC fingerprints under appropriate chromatographic conditions and selection of clustering variables. Generally, the amount of berberine was higher in samples obtained from B. vulgaris than from B. croatica

Chemical composition, antioxidant, and α-Glucosidase-Inhibiting activity of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts of traditional antidiabetics from croatian ethnomedicine

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic disease with a growing prevalence worldwide. In addition to the conventional therapy, many T2D patients use phytotherapeutic preparations. In the present study, chemical composition, antioxidant, and -glucosidase inhibiting activity of traditional antidiabetics from Croatian ethnomedicine (Achillea millefolium, Artemisia absinthium, Centaurium erythraea, Morus alba, Phaseolus vulgaris, Sambucus nigra, and Salvia officinalis) were assessed. The efficacy of water and 80% ethanol as extraction solvents for bioactive constituents was compared. HPLC analysis revealed that the prepared extracts were rich in phenols, especially rutin, ferulic, and chlorogenic acid. Antiradical (against DPPH and ABTS radicals), reducing (towards Mo6+ and Fe3+ ions), and enzyme inhibiting properties were in linear correlation with the content of phenolic constituents. Ethanolic extracts, richer in phenolic substances, showed dominant efficacy in those assays. Aqueous extracts, on the other hand, were better Fe2+ ion chelators and more active in the -carotene linoleic acid assay. Extracts from S. officinalis and A. millefolium were particularly active antioxidants and -glucosidase inhibitors. A. absinthium, another potent -glucosidase inhibitor, contained chromium, a mineral that promotes insulin action. The investigated plants contained significant amounts of minerals useful in management of T2D, with negligible amounts of heavy metals deeming them safe for human use.IP-2018-01-6504info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SOLVENT EXTRACTION AND CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF POLYPHENOLS IN OLIVE POMACE

Olive oil mill waste obtained after two-phase olive oil extraction process was subjected to conventional liquid solvent extraction under different pH/temperature/duration conditions using different types of food-grade solvents. The independent variables were: solvent type (ethanol percentage), extraction temperature (20-90 °C), extraction time (30 min-24 h) and pH (2-10.3) of extraction solvent while the response variables were total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of obtained extracts. The optimum solvent extraction conditions for phenols were 120 min at 70 °C using 60% ethanol as extraction solvent, at solvent to sample ratio 5:1 (v/w). For quantification of major bioactive olive polyphenols hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein in obtained extracts, fast and simple RP-HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated. Oleuropein was presented in highest amounts with average value of 115.14±0.19 mg/kg of fresh olive pomace

Dvojni lijekovi primakina i nesteroidnih protuupalnih lijekova: Sinteza, hvatanje slobodnih radikala, antioksidativno djelovanje i keliranje Fe2+ iona

Novel primaquine conjugates with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (PQ-NSAIDs, 4a-h) were prepared, fully chemically characterized and screened for radical scavenging and antioxidant activities. The synthetic procedure leading to twin drugs 4a-h involved two steps: i) preparation of NSAID benzotriazolides 3a-h from the corresponding NSAID (ibuprofen, ketoprofen, fenoprofen, ketoprofen hydroxy and methylene analogues, diclofenac or indomethacin) and benzotriazole carboxylic acid chloride (BtCOCl, 1), ii) reaction of intermediates 3a-h with PQ. The prepared PQ-NSAIDs exerted moderate activities in the DPPH free radical test and -carotene-linoleic acid assay. Moreover, ketoprofen derivatives 4d and 4b demonstrated a notable Fe2+ chelating ability as well. On the other hand, negligible antiproliferative and antituberculotic effects of conjugates 4a-h were observed.U radu je opisana sinteza novih konjugata primakina s nesteroidnim protuupalnim lijekovima (PQ-NSAIDs, 4a-h), njihova potpuna karakterizacija te testiranje sposobnosti hvatanja slobodnih radikala i antioksidativnog djelovanja. Sintetski postupak za pripravu dvojnih lijekova 4a-h uključuje dva koraka: i) pripravu NSAID-benzotriazolida 3a-h iz odgovarajućih nesteroidnih protuupalnih lijekova (ibuprofena, ketoprofena, fenoprofena, hidroksi i metilenskih analoga ketoprofena, diklofenaka i indometacina) i klorida 1-benzotriazol karboksilne kiseline (BtCOCl, 1), ii) reakciju intermedijera 3a-h s primakinom. Novi PQ-NSAID konjugati pokazuju umjerenu sposobnost hvatanja slobodnih radikala u DPPH testu te umjereno antioksidativno djelovanje u pokusu s -karotenom i linoleinskom kiselinom. Osim toga, derivati ketoprofena 4d i 4b imaju primjetnu sposobnost keliranja Fe2+ iona. Svi konjugati 4a-h pokazuju vrlo slabo antiproliferativno i antituberkulotsko djelovanje

Pharmacy Practice and Education in Croatia

The PHARMINE (“Pharmacy Education in Europe”) project examined the organisation of pharmacy practice and education in the European Union (EU). An electronic survey was sent out to community, hospital, and industrial pharmacists, and university staff and students. This paper presents the results of the PHARMINE survey for Croatia. We examined to what extent harmonisation with EU norms has occurred, whether this has promoted mobility, and what impact it has had on healthcare

Multi-response optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of bioactive components from Medicago sativa L.

Response surface methodology was used to optimize experimental conditions for ultrasound-assisted extraction of functional components from Medicago sativa L. (Fabaceae) aerial parts. The procedure was performed according to the Box–Behnken design. The independent variables were ethanol concentration (X1), temperature (X2), and pH (X3), while the responses were extraction yield, DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extracts (RSA IC50), content of total phenols (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and total phenolic acids (TPA). The response values of the extracts prepared at optimum conditions (X1, X2, X3) were: yield (162 mg/ml, 20 %, 60 °C, 5.5), TP (6.63 mg/ml, 100 %, 60 °C, 5.5), TF (0.292 mg/ml, 100 %, 23 °C, 5.5), TPA (0.275 mg/ml, 100 %, 23 °C, 8.5) and RSA IC50 (3.97 mg/ml, 40 %, 60 °C, 7.0). The predicted values matched well with the observed ones indicating the suitability of the selected models for extraction of bioactive compounds from M. sativa. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic antioxidants from Lotus corniculatus

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic antioxidants from Lotus corniculatus was optimized using response surface methodology. The extraction was performed according to the Box–Behnken design with ethanol concentration, temperature, and pH, as independent variables. The responses were extraction yield, DPPH radical scavenging activity (RSA) IC50 and content of different phenolic compounds (total phenols, flavonoids and phenolic acids, as well as quercetin, kaempferol and genistein derivatives). The models were used to calculate best conditions for maximal extraction of phenolic compounds and antiradical activity. Use of the optimized extraction parameters increased the content of quercetin and kaempferol derivatives more than tenfold (from 6.07 to 65.10 mg mL–1 and 6.69 to 92.75 mg mL–1, respectively). The results of this work stress the importance of careful selection of conditions for flavonoids extraction. Abundance of bioactive phenolics in L. corniculatus extracts obtained under optimized extraction conditions opens the possibility for wider utilization of this plant. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License