PRELIMINARY CHROMATOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION OF FOUR STACHYS SPP. (LAMIACEAE) FROM OLTENIA FLORA

Concerning four Stachys spp. (Lamiaceae) from the Oltenia flora, the paper highlights the polyphenolic content of aerial parts through high-performance thin-layer chromatography coupled with photodensitometry. Chlorogenic acid (CA) was identified and quantified in all 20% methanolic extracts of Stachydisherba. The highest CA amount was determined in S. recta (59.88 mg%), followed by S. sylvatica (32.90 mg%), S. officinalis (31.34 mg%), and S. germanica (25.16 mg%), respectively

Development and Validation of an HPLC Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Clopidogrel Bisulfate, Its Carboxylic Acid Metabolite, and Atorvastatin in Human Plasma: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

A simple, sensitive, and specific reversed phase liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of clopidogrel, its carboxylic acid metabolite, and atorvastatin in human serum. Plasma samples were deproteinized with acetonitrile and ibuprofen was chosen as internal standard. Chromatographic separation was performed on an BDS Hypersil C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm; 5 μm) via gradient elution with mobile phase consisting of 10 mM phosphoric acid (sodium) buffer solution (pH = 2.6 adjusted with 85% orthophosphoric acid) : acetonitrile : methanol with flow rate of 1 mL·min−1. Detection was achieved with PDA detector at 220 nm. The method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy, limit of quantification, and stability tests. Calibration curves of the analytes were found to be linear in the range of 0.008–2 μg·mL−1 for clopidogrel, 0.01–4 μg·mL−1 for its carboxylic acid metabolite, and 0.005–2.5 μg·mL−1 for atorvastatin. The results of accuracy (as recovery) with ibuprofen as internal standard were in the range of 96–98% for clopidogrel, 94–98% for its carboxylic acid metabolite, and 90–99% for atorvastatin, respectively

New Insights into Boron Essentiality in Humans and Animals

Boron (B) is considered a prebiotic chemical element with a role in both the origin and evolution of life, as well as an essential micronutrient for some bacteria, plants, fungi, and algae. B has beneficial effects on the biological functions of humans and animals, such as reproduction, growth, calcium metabolism, bone formation, energy metabolism, immunity, and brain function. Naturally organic B (NOB) species may become promising novel prebiotic candidates. NOB-containing compounds have been shown to be essential for the symbiosis between organisms from different kingdoms. New insights into the key role of NOB species in the symbiosis between human/animal hosts and their microbiota will influence the use of natural B-based colon-targeting nutraceuticals. The mechanism of action (MoA) of NOB species is related to the B signaling molecule (autoinducer-2-borate (AI-2B)) as well as the fortification of the colonic mucus gel layer with NOB species from B-rich prebiotic diets. Both the microbiota and the colonic mucus gel layer can become NOB targets. This paper reviews the evidence supporting the essentiality of the NOB species in the symbiosis between the microbiota and the human/animal hosts, with the stated aim of highlighting the MoA and targets of these species