Institutional Ownership and Stock Liquidity: International Evidence

© 2018 Korean Securities Association This paper investigates the relation between institutional ownership and stock liquidity, and explores whether this relation differs across institutional settings. Using a comprehensive data set across 41 countries from 2000 to 2010, we find that institutional ownership is positively correlated with stock liquidity. Importantly, the positive association between institutional ownership and stock liquidity is stronger (weaker) for firms in countries with opaque (transparent) information environments or poor (good) institutional characteristics. Our additional analysis reveals that the positive association between institutional ownership and liquidity is attributable to non-block institutional investors

Evaluation of the use of different solvents for phytochemical constituents, antioxidants, and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of severinia buxifolia

Severinia buxifolia (Rutaceae) is a promising source of bioactive compounds since it has been traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of different solvents on extraction yields, phytochemical constituents and antioxidants, and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of S. buxifolia. The results showed that the used solvents took an important role in the yield of extraction, the content of chemical components, and the tested biological activities. Methanol was identified as the most effective solvent for the extraction, resulting in the highest extraction yield (33.2%) as well as the highest content of phenolic (13.36&thinsp;mg GAE/g DW), flavonoid (1.92&thinsp;mg QE/g DW), alkaloid (1.40&thinsp;mg AE/g DW), and terpenoids (1.25%, w/w). The extract obtained from methanol exhibited high capacity of antioxidant (IC50 value of 16.99&thinsp;&mu;g/mL) and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity (i.e., albumin denaturation: IC50&thinsp;=&thinsp;28.86&thinsp;&mu;g/mL; antiproteinase activity: IC50&thinsp;=&thinsp;414.29&thinsp;&mu;g/mL; and membrane stabilization: IC50&thinsp;=&thinsp;319&thinsp;&mu;g/mL). The antioxidant activity of the S. buxifolia extract was found to be 3-fold higher than ascorbic acid, and the anti-inflammatory activity of S. buxifolia extract was comparable to aspirin. Therefore, methanol is recommended as the optimal solvent to obtain high content of phytochemical constituents as well as high antioxidants and in vitro anti-inflammatory constituents from the branches of S. buxifolia for utilization in pharmacognosy.</jats:p