Highly potent antioxidant Olea europaea L. leaf extract affects carotid and renal haemodynamics in experimental hypertension

Haemodynamic alterations in carotid and renal arteries are associated with the severity of target organ damage in patients with hypertension. Dietary habits, such as the Mediterranean diet, regulate blood pressure and oxidative stress, thus reduce the mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the reducing activity, antioxidant capacity and metal chelating ability of standardized Olea europaea L. leaf extract (OLE), and to test its (5, 25, 50 mg/kg) acute in vivo effects, as well as oleuropein’s (OP, 10 mg/kg) on oxidative stress, carotid, renal and systemic haemodynamic parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, peripheral resistance) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). OLE has a higher antioxidative capacity than BHT, higher reducing ability than vitamin C, and 23 times lower capacity for metal ion chelation than EDTA. All three doses of OLE, and OP, improved oxidative stress in SHR. OLE5 improved carotid and renal haemodynamics, without significant effects on systemic haemodynamics. Two different mechanisms of antihypertensive responses to OLE were observed, OLE25 was most effective in reducing cardiovascular risks by improving systemic and regional (carotid and renal) haemodynamics, peripheral and regional vascular resistance. OLE50 causes the improvement of blood pressure and cardiac performances, but tends to retain elevated vascular resistance, therefore, reducing the inflow of blood into the brain and kidneys of the SHR. The OP did not alter systemic or regional haemodynamics, suggesting others constituents responsible for changes of cardiac function, as well as carotid and renal haemodynamics in response to OLE50

An updated pharmacological insight into calotropin as a potential therapeutic agent in cancer

Calotropin is a pharmacologically active compound isolated from milkweed plants like Calotropis procera, Calotropis gigantea, and Asclepias currasavica that belong to the Asclepiadaceae family. All of these plants are recognised as medical traditional plants used in Asian countries. Calotropin is identified as a highly potent cardenolide that has a similar chemical structure to cardiac glycosides (such as digoxin and digitoxin). During the last few years, cytotoxic and antitumor effects of cardenolides glycosides have been reported more frequently. Among cardenolides, calotropin is identified as the most promising agent. In this updated and comprehensive review, we aimed to analyze and discuss the specific mechanisms and molecular targets of calotropin in cancer treatment to open new perspectives for the adjuvant treatment of different types of cancer. The effects of calotropin on cancer have been extensively studied in preclinical pharmacological studies in vitro using cancer cell lines and in vivo in experimental animal models that have targeted antitumor mechanisms and anticancer signaling pathways. The analyzed information from the specialized literature was obtained from scientific databases until December 2022, mainly from PubMed/MedLine, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases using specific MeSH search terms. The results of our analysis demonstrate that calotropin can be a potential chemotherapeutic/chemopreventive adjunctive agent in cancer pharmacotherapeutic management

Antifeedant activity of the plant products derived from the neem and linalool on the spongy moth larvae

With the significant loss of biodiversity in the 20th and 21st century, pollution of air, soil, and water, alternatives to chemical pesticides are needed to preserve nature. One of the alternatives is the usage of plant components as pest insect control. They are an appropriate alternative to chemical pesticides as they are cost-effective, easy, and safe to use, do not affect the environment or beneficial insects negatively, and are still an effective measure against pest insects. The biggest challenge with plant components is that they are biologically unstable. That is why further insight into the effectiveness of different extracts and oils against different pest insects is needed. We tested the antifeedant activity of plant products derived from neem (Azadirachta indica A.Juss.), and linalool on the Spongy moth (Lymantria dispar L, 1758) larvae. To test the efficiency of these compounds, we conducted choice tests in laboratory conditions. Two disks (treatment and control) cut from red oak (Quercus rubra L.) leaves were presented to the second instar spongy moth larvae in Petri dishes for the testing. Twenty-five Petri dishes were used for each of the tested compounds at four concentrations (200 in total). The tested compounds showed the most significant effect at higher concentrations

Effects of losartan, tempol, and their combination on renal nitric oxide synthases in the animal model of chronic kidney disease

Down-regulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO defi ciency in the kidneys have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this study we examined the effects of losartan, tempol, and combined treatment on three NOS isoforms expressions, kidney NO content and NOS correlation with renal function and structure in the early stage of adriamycin (ADR)-induced CKD in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Rats were divided into control group, and four other groups which were treated with ADR and received vehicle, losartan (L, angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker), tempol (T, redox-cycling nitroxide) or T + L treatment (by gavage) in a six-week study. Reduction of all NOS isoforms expressions were signifi cantly improved by losartan or tempol, and correlated with proteinuria amelioration. Combined treatment induced down-regulation of constitutive NOS isoforms, whilst inducible NOS was up-regulated and followed by increased nitrite content and a signifi cant decline in the glomerular fi ltration rate. Losartan or tempol prevented ADR-induced neoexpression of vimentin in the glomeruli and tubulointerstital areas, whereas de novo vimentin expression was still observed in the atrophic tubules and in the interstitial fi broblasts and myofi broblasts in combined treatment. It can be concluded that single treatments, contrary to combined, were effective in improving NO bioavailability and slowing down the progression of CKD

Bioaccumulation and Toxicity of Organic Chemicals in Terrestrial Invertebrates

Terrestrial invertebrates are key components in ecosystems, with crucial roles in soil structure, functioning, and ecosystem services. The present chapter covers how terrestrial invertebrates are impacted by organic chemicals, focusing on up-to-date information regarding bioavailability, exposure routes and general concepts on bioaccumulation, toxicity, and existing models. Terrestrial invertebrates are exposed to organic chemicals through different routes, which are dependent on both the organismal traits and nature of exposure, including chemical properties and media characteristics. Bioaccumulation and toxicity data for several groups of organic chemicals are presented and discussed, attempting to cover plant protection products (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and molluscicides), veterinary and human pharmaceuticals, polycyclic aromatic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants, and personal care products. Chemical mixtures are also discussed bearing in mind that chemicals appear simultaneously in the environment. The biomagnification of organic chemicals is considered in light of the consumption of terrestrial invertebrates as novel feed and food sources. This chapter highlights how science has contributed with data from the last 5 years, providing evidence on bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and toxicity derived from exposure to organic chemicals, including insights into the main challenges and shortcomings to extrapolate results to real exposure scenarios

Chemical binding of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles onto oxidized cellulose

The aim of this study was to analyze binding of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles onto cellulose via oxidized cellulose. The ability of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles to be adsorbed onto surfaces was determined by the use of the XPS spectroscopy which provided information about chemical composition of the fiber surface. On the other hand, the gravimetric method was also used by which the amount of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles bounded onto surface was calculated based on the difference in masses before and after functionalization. The most important was to study the influence of aldehyde groups on the stability of chitosan binding onto cellulose. Thus, desorption of chitosan/chitosan nanoparticles from the fiber surfaces was evaluated by the presence of total nitrogen (TN) in desorption bath as well as by polyelectrolyte titrations. Together with these two methods, desorption was evaluated also by gravimetric method, where the extent of desorption was evaluated on the basis of the differences in the masses of fibers before and after desorption. It is concluded that the chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles are more efficiently bounded onto oxidized cellulose in comparison with the non-oxidized (reference) ones. Despite the binding of the positively-charged amino groups with the negative groups of cellulose and consequently smaller amount of available/residual protonated amino groups that are responsible for bioactivity, such functionalized fibers are still specifically antimicrobial

Structure and properties of tempo-oxidized cotton fibers

In this paper, the influence of the catalytic oxidation using water soluble and stable nitroxyl radical 2,2´,6,6´-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) on structure and properties of cotton fibers was studied. In particular, the selective TEMPO-mediated oxidation has become very interesting way for introduction of functional groups into cellulose fibers with the aim to obtain oxycellulose fibers with specific properties. Unmodified and modified fibers were characterized in terms of weight loss values, introduced functional groups and crystallinity index. Also, oxidized fibers were characterized in terms of the sorption, morphological, and physico-mechanical properties. The TEMPO-oxidized cotton fibers show a minimum increase of fineness (from 1.32 to 1.28 dtex) and increase of crystallinity index (up to 91.9%), while the tensile strength of fibers decreases (up to 10.82 cN/tex). By the TEMPO-mediated oxidation of cotton fibers significant amount of carboxyl groups (up to 0.795 mmol/g cell) can be introduced into cellulose fibers. Introduced hydrophilic carboxyl groups increases the sorption properties of oxidized fibers, that can be used directly or for further chemical modification

Functional groups amount in unmodified (0) and in the TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose fibers (samples 1–5), and the amount of consumed NaOH solution for maintaining pH during oxidation.

<p>Functional groups amount in unmodified (0) and in the TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose fibers (samples 1–5), and the amount of consumed NaOH solution for maintaining pH during oxidation.</p

Oxidized cotton fabric cross-linked with citric acid and ethyl lysinate for cationic dyes adsorption

In the last decades, the rapid development of industrial and agricultural activity caused the release of different organic/or nonorganic pollutants in water, earth, and air which lead to a threat to human health and the ecological environment. These pollutants contain toxic heavy metals, organic dyes, pesticides, pharmaceutics, and others (Aboua et al., 2015). Organic dyes are visible pollutants used as coloring agents in, textiles, plastics, paper, food industries, etc. For their removal from wastewater, eco-friendly treatment is needed. Among many process purification, the process of adsorption proved to be an effective method for removing pollutants that are present in water, such as pesticides, dyes, and heavy metal ions. Due to the specific properties of polluting substances, the goal is to develop a cheap, efficient, environmentally friendly material. Among them, cotton-based materials can be obtained from various natural sources and can be employed as inexpensive adsorbents. Their adsorption capacities for pollutants can be related to chemical treatment. In general, chemically modified cellulose exhibits higher adsorption capacities for various aquatic pollutants than their unmodified forms. In this aim, oxidized cotton fabric was used in this work, which was chemically modified with citric acid and ethyl lysinate, respectively. In order to activate the surface of the fabric for chemical modification and increase absorption ability, carboxyl and aldehyde functional groups were introduced using hydrogen peroxide. Then the oxidized cotton fabric was cross-linked with citric acid and ethyl lysinate (Co-CA-Et-Lys) using diisopropylcarboimide to promote ester and amide groups formation. The structure of obtained material was analyzed by using the ATR-FTIR technique. The resulting modified fabric proved to be a good adsorbent for the removal of cationic dyes malachite green (MG) and methylene blue (MB). Its adsorption behavior with respect to the pH, adsorption time, and initial concentration was investigated. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the adsorption equilibrium was reached after 1 h for both Malachite Green (MG) and Methylene Blue (MB). Adsorption kinetics data were satisfactorily fitted with the pseudo-second-order rate model (PSO), and adsorption data were best fitted using Langmuir model. The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacities for Co-CA-Et-Lys cross-linked fabric showed a maximum of 168.4 mg/g and 124.9 mg/g for MG and MB, respectively. Compared to other adsorbents based on natural materials, oxidized cotton fabric showed much better sorption properties

Precision testing of peristaltic pump powered at 9V and 12V.

<p>Precision testing of peristaltic pump powered at 9V and 12V.</p