Antioxidant Capacities and Phenolic Levels of Different Varieties of Serbian White Wines

The biologically active compounds in wine, especially phenolics, are responsible for reduced risk of developing chronic diseases (cardiovascular disrease, cancer, diabetes, etc.), due to their antioxidant activities. We determined the contents of total phenolics (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) in selected Serbian white wines by colorimetric methods. Total antioxidant activity (TAA) of the white wines was analyzed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity assay. Međaš beli had the highest content of TP, TF and TAA. The radical scavenging capacity (RSC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA) of white wines were 15.30% and 1.055 mM Trolox equivalent, respectively. Total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents in white wines ranged from 238.3 to 420.6 mg gallic acid equivalent per L of wines and 42.64 to 81.32 mg catechin equivalent per L of wines, respectively. A high and significant correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content was determined in wines (R2 = 0.968, p < 0.01). For the individual polyphenols determination we used a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detection (DAD) technique. The majority of white wine polyphenols was represent by four hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs)

Content of Trace Metals in Medicinal Plants and their Extracts

The heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents of selected plant species, grown in Southeast region of Serbia, that are traditionally used in alternative medicine were determined. Among the considered metals, iron content was the highest one and varied from 137.53 up to 423.32 mg/kg, while the contents of Cu, Zn and Mn were remarkably lower, and ranged from 8.91 to 62.20 mg/kg. In addition, an analysis of plants extracts showed a significant transfer of heavy metals during extraction procedure; therefore, the corresponding extraction coefficients reached values up to 88.8%. Those were especially high in the ethanol based extracts. Moreover, it is was established that such coefficients mostly depend on the solvent nature and also on the treated plant species. The obtained results impose that medicinal plants from Southeast region of Serbia due to rather low content of heavy metals are appropriate for preparation of teas and medicinal extracts

Polyphenol Content and Antioxidant Activity of Sour Cherries From Serbia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of phenolics: the total phenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), anthocyanins (TA), as well as the total antioxidant\ud capacity (TAC) in three sour cherry cultivars (Prunus cerasus L.) introduced to the southeast Serbia climate conditions. Among the investigated sour cherries,\ud „Oblačinska“ cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by „Cigančica“ > „Marela“. A significant difference were observed in the phenolic content among different cultivars and growing seasons (p  0.05), and the phenolic compounds were significantly higher in the growing season 2009. The examined cultivars possess a high antioxidant capacity, and all phenolics of highy correlation with TAC. The following compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 4 anthocyanins, the most abundant of which was cyanidin-3-glucoside in “Marela” and “Oblačinska”, and cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside in „Cigančica“, and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, the most abundant of which was neochlorogenic acid in all sour cherry cultivars. The growing and ripening process on the tree of sour cherry cv. „Oblačinska“ was evaluated also. The results showed significant increases in total phenols during the ripening, the total anthocyanins and total antioxidant capacity and 4 quantified anthocyanins, however the neochlorogenic acid decreased during the ripening. The study indicated that the growing and climate conditions in southeast Serbia are convenient for introducing sour cherry cultivars.\u

Identification of a rare p.G320R alpha-1-antitrypsin variant in emphysema and lung cancer patients

The alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) gene is highly polymorphic, with more than 100 genetic variants identified of which some can affect A1AT protein concentration and/or function and lead to pulmonary and/or liver disease. This study reports on the characterization of a p.G320R variant found in two patients, one with emphysema and the other with lung cancer. This variant results from a single base-pair substitution in exon 4 of the A1AT gene, and has been characterized as P by isoelectric focusing. Functional evaluation of the A1AT p.G320R variant was through comparing specific trypsin inhibitory activity in two patients with pulmonary disorders, carriers of the p.G320R variant, and 19 healthy individuals, carriers of normal A1AT M variants. Results showed that specific trypsin inhibitory activity was lower in both emphysema (2.45 mU/g) and lung cancer (2.07 mU/g) patients than in carriers of the normal variants (range 2.51-3.71 mU/g). This rare A1AT variant is associated with reduced functional activity of A1AT protein. Considering that it was found in patients with severe pulmonary disorders, this variant could be of clinical significance

Impact of clinical phenotypes on management and outcomes in European atrial fibrillation patients: a report from the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in AF (EORP-AF) General Long-Term Registry

Background: Epidemiological studies in atrial fibrillation (AF) illustrate that clinical complexity increase the risk of major adverse outcomes. We aimed to describe European AF patients\u2019 clinical phenotypes and analyse the differential clinical course. Methods: We performed a hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward\u2019s Method and Squared Euclidean Distance using 22 clinical binary variables, identifying the optimal number of clusters. We investigated differences in clinical management, use of healthcare resources and outcomes in a cohort of European AF patients from a Europe-wide observational registry. Results: A total of 9363 were available for this analysis. We identified three clusters: Cluster 1 (n = 3634; 38.8%) characterized by older patients and prevalent non-cardiac comorbidities; Cluster 2 (n = 2774; 29.6%) characterized by younger patients with low prevalence of comorbidities; Cluster 3 (n = 2955;31.6%) characterized by patients\u2019 prevalent cardiovascular risk factors/comorbidities. Over a mean follow-up of 22.5 months, Cluster 3 had the highest rate of cardiovascular events, all-cause death, and the composite outcome (combining the previous two) compared to Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 (all P &lt;.001). An adjusted Cox regression showed that compared to Cluster 2, Cluster 3 (hazard ratio (HR) 2.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.27\u20133.62; HR 3.42, 95%CI 2.72\u20134.31; HR 2.79, 95%CI 2.32\u20133.35), and Cluster 1 (HR 1.88, 95%CI 1.48\u20132.38; HR 2.50, 95%CI 1.98\u20133.15; HR 2.09, 95%CI 1.74\u20132.51) reported a higher risk for the three outcomes respectively. Conclusions: In European AF patients, three main clusters were identified, differentiated by differential presence of comorbidities. Both non-cardiac and cardiac comorbidities clusters were found to be associated with an increased risk of major adverse outcomes

Development and Application of Ligand-Exchange Reaction Method for the Determination of Clonazepam

Purpose: This paper presents an improved kinetic-spectrophotometric procedure for determining clonazepam (CZP) in pharmaceutical formulations and human serum. Methods: The method is based on ligand-exchange reaction. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change of absorbance at 425 nm in ethanolic sodium hydroxide solution.3 Results: The optimum operating conditions for reagent concentrations and temperature were established. Linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 0.32 - 4.10 μg mL-1. The optimized conditions yielded a theoretical detection limit of 0.24 μg mL-1 based on the 3.3So criterion, where S0 is standard deviation of the calibration line. The interference of certain drugs, foreign ions and amino acids on the reaction rate were studied in order to assess the selectivity of the method. Conclusion: The developed method is sensitive, accurate and reproducible and could be used for routine anlysis of clonazepam in pharmaceutical preparations and serum samples

Phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities of Serbian table and wine grapes

International audienceThree table grapes and 4 wine grapes collected from a southern Serbian vineyard were evaluated and compared for their antioxidant properties and phenolic profile. Among the varieties tested, 'Cabernet Sauvignon' contained the highest total phenolic content with 173.6 mg/100 g of fresh weight. Also, the total flavonoid and antocyanin content of 'Cabernet Sauvignon' was significantly higher from the other. 'Cabernet Sauvignon' and 'Merlot' had the strongest DPPH center dot radicals scavenging activity (1,318.6 and 1,282.0 mu mol Trolox equivalent/100 g, respectively). 'Cabernet Sauvignon', 'Merlot', 'Prokupac', 'Vranac', 'Muscat Hamburg', and 'Ribier' grape varieties were found to be rich in malvidin-3-O-glucoside, while 'Cardinal' grape variety was found to be rich in peonidin-3-O-glucoside. The following compounds were also identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 2 flavan-3-ols and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids in all grape samples. The results suggested that phytochemicals in the selected table and wine grapes have potent antioxidant activities in correlation with phenolic content

Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Crataegus Oxyacantha L (Rosaceae) Fruit Extract from Southeast Serbia

Purpose: The aim of this work was to determine the content of total phenols, total flavonoids, anthocyanins, as well as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of hawthorn ( Crataegus oxyacantha L.) alcohol, hydroalcohol and aqueous extracts. Methods: The content of total phenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins of the alcohol, hydroalcohol and aqueous extracts of hawthorn were determined using spectrophotometric methods. Antioxidant assay was based on the measurement of DPPH absorbance at 517 nm caused by the reaction of DPPH with the test sample. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by measuring the zone of inhibition against selected test microorganisms: Bacillus subtilis , Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Salmonella abony while antifungal activity was tested against two organisms: Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans . Results: The results of spectrophotometric investigations indicate that the content of total phenol compounds in the investigated extracts varied from 2.12 to 30.63 mg GAE g-1 of fresh hawthorn sample. The content of anthocyanins ranged from 0.3207 to 3.168 mg of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside g-1 of fresh hawthorn fruit. The fruit extracts showed high antioxidant activity with DPPH radical transformation value as high as 89.9 % in the methanol-water (50/50, v/v%)) extract. The ethanol extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against all test microorganisms except two, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, and one species of fungi, Aspergillus niger.Flavonoid structure influenced the extract’s selectivity towards Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria. Conclusion: Extracts of the fruit of Crataegus oxyacantha L. can be used as natural antioxidant and antimicrobial preparations

Evaluation of individual phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties of black, green, herbal and fruit tea infusions consumed in Serbia: spectrophotometrical and electrochemical approaches

The aim of this study was evaluation of individual phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of commercially consumed black, green, fruit and herbal tea infusions in Serbia in order to characterize the quantity and quality of teas. The most abundant compound was gallic acid, followed by caffeic acid, rutin, (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin. The main procyanidin was procyanidin B1. The antioxidant activity was measured using five in vitro methods: determination of 1,1-dipheny1-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical cation-scavenging activity (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), reduction power (RP) Fe(III) to Fe(II) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Obtained results of FRAP and of the Fe(III)/Fe(III) method correlated strongly with the total phenolics content (R-2 = 0.92246, R-2 = 0.88084, p lt 0.0001). Antioxidant power of green tea and bearberry tea was considerably higher than that of black tea. Raspberry and cherry showed the highest antioxidant power among fruit tea infusions. Contribution of phenolic compounds to tea antioxidant activity was also quantified in this study. Stepwise linear regression demonstrated that quantification of different phenolic compounds responsible for tea antioxidant activity was dependent on the method used. Gallic acid, caffeic acid (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2 together made up 43.6-99.9% of the antioxidant activity of tea

Rapid and Reliable HPLC Method for the Determination of Vitamin C in Pharmaceutical Samples

Purpose: To develop and validate an accurate, sensitive and reproducible high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the quantitation of vitamin C in pharmaceutical samples. Method: The drug and the standard were eluted from Superspher RP-18 (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 10µm particle size) at 20 0C. The mobile phase was prepared by carefully adding acetic acid (500 ml) to 1.5g of 1-hexanesulfonic acid sodium salt and mixing well (pH 2.6). The flow rate was 0.7 mL min-1. UV detector, set at 280 nm, was used to monitor the effluent. Results: Each analysis required no longer than 4 min. The limit of quantitation was 1.95 µg mL-1 . Recovery (%) for different concentrations ranged from 99.58 to 101.93. Conclusion: The simplicity of this low-cost, rapid technique and its high specificity to ascorbic acid, even in the presence of a variety of excipients, demonstrate that this HPLC method would be particularly suitable for the determination of ascorbic acid in the investigated preparations as well as other similar pharmaceutical/veterinary formulations without prior sample preparation