Aспекты методики выделения коллагена

Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Cells Cultures and Laboratory of Biochemistry, Nicolae Testemitanu State Medical and Pharmaceutical University, ChisinauBecause of the extreme diversity of tissues and types of collagen’ it is difficult to develop a standard method of extraction for all types of collagen from different tissues. Two procedures based on acid- and enzymatic-soluble collagen isolation were combined and offer some advantages and disadvantages to methods used in the present. Our results have demonstrated relatively low concentrations of collagen in the final solutions. There is 4.7 mg/ml from theoretically 10 mg/ml of acid-soluble fraction of collagen. This article describes some advantages and disadvantages of this isolation method. Due to the importance of biocompatible matrices for biomedical tissue engineering, the availability of native collagen should be studied by refining the extraction procedure of collagens. По причине чрезвычайного разнообразия тканей и типов коллагена содержащиеся в них, сложно разработать унифицированный метод получения коллагена. Были объединены две процедуры выделения коллагена, основанных на кислотном и ферментном растворении коллагена животного происхождения. Наши результаты показали относительно невысокие концентрации коллагена в конечном растворе, что составляет 4,7 мг/мл кислото-растворимого коллагена из теоретически возможных 10 мг/мл. В статье описаны некоторые преимущества и недостатки существующих методов. Разработка методов выделения коллагена первого типа важна по причине его использования для получения биосовместимых матриц и их применения в тканеинженерных конструкциях

The stem cells in chronic experimental liver diseases

Introduction: Chronic liver diseases (CLD) are increasing worldwide affecting almost 17% of general population."In the Republic of Moldova during the last ten years the incidence and prevalence of CLD had increased continuously. The liver cirrhosis in our country is the third cause of death after cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Ihis situation is the result of a high prevalence of infectious viral hepatitis, alcohol and hepatotoxic drug abuse, and the unavailable so far of the orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), the only curative treatment for rhe end stage liver diseases. The number of patients waiting for an OLT has increased during the last years, meanwhile the organ donation has not kept up with demand. Consequently the organ shortage is increasing the morbidity and mortality of patients on waiting list. This clearly implies the need for finding alternative solutions for the patients with end stage liver disease, and stem ceil therapy is the one that gives the most hope so far. The aim ot this study was to induce chronic experimental liver disease in rats, then transplant stem cells and further evaluate the effect on liver function. Material and methods: Chronic liver lesions were induced on white female rats of 6-8 months age, weighting 210-250 mg, by injecting CCL4 subcutaneously, dissolved in olive oil, twice a week, for 8 weeks. At the end of 6 weeks the rats were divided into 5 groups with further intrasplenic transplantation of 6xl03 allogenic stem cells (SC) performed. The animals in group 1 received blood marrow SC, the second group received umbilical cord SC, the third group received hepatic fetal SC. The fourth and fifth groups received intrasplenic saline solution only. Meanwhile we continue to inject CCL4 subcutaneously twice a week for the groups 1,2,3 to prevent endogenous liver regeneration and allow the stem cells to act. For the fourth group we continue with CCL4 and for the 5 without CCL4 to allow endogenous regeneration for another 6 weeks. The animals were sacrificed at 10, 20 and 40 days after transplantation, and there were collected 5 ml of blood and the liver specimens. Preventive results: After 6 weeks of CCL4 administration 90% of rats presented weight loss ranging between 5 to 20%, and signs of coagulopathy like periocular bleeding. The 6 rats sacrificed just before the SC transplantation proved the presence of ascites and yellow, nodular liver changes. Histological examination showed the presence of infiltration of the liver with neutrophils, regenerating nodules of hepatocytes and the deposition of connective tissue between these nodules. Conclusions: Further biochemical, histological and immunohystochemical analyses have to be done on liver specimen and collected blood to evaluate the effects of SC therapy on the end stage of the liver disease

Corrigendum: Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part II. Highly Used Plant Species from Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Combretaceae, and Fabaceae Families

In the original article, there was a mistake in the legend for Figure 4 as published (the spelling of isosilibin was incorrect). The correct legend appears below. In the original article, there was a mistake in Figure 4 as published (CH3 group was missing in the Silybin structure). The corrected Figure 4 appears below. The authors apologize for these errors and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way

Rationality of Direct Tax Revenue Forecasts under Asymmetric Losses: Evidence from Swiss Cantons

The current debt crisis has shed light on the importance of accurate fiscal forecasts. In particular, the accuracy of revenue forecasts is central since they set the limit within which expenditure should remain in order to reach fiscal balance. Therefore, forecasting tax revenue accurately is a key step in the implementation of sound fiscal policies. The current paper contributes to the empirical literature on budget predictions by providing new evidence about Swiss cantons. Using data from 26 Swiss cantons over 1944-2010, we apply the method developed by Elliott et al. (2005) to test the rationality of direct tax revenue forecasts. We mainly find that 1) when considering the percent forecast error, loss functions are asymmetric in a majority of cantons, 2) allowing for asymmetric losses, results of rationality tests are substantially altered in the sense that more cantons turn out to produce rational forecasts 3) when considering forecasts of growth rates, almost no evidence of asymmetric loss function is found and finally 4) forecasts of tax revenue growth rate turn out to be rational in a higher number of cantons than forecasts of levels of tax revenue

Natural products in diabetes research: quantitative literature analysis

The current study aimed to identify which natural products and which research directions are related to the major contributors to academic journals for diabetes therapy. Bibliometric data were extracted from the Web of Science online database using the search string TOPIC=(natural product* OR natural compound* OR natural molecule* OR phytochemical* OR secondary metabolite*) AND TS=(diabet*) and analysed by a bibliometric software, VOSviewer. The search yielded 3694 publications, which were collectively cited 80,791 times, with an H-index of 117 and 21.9 citations per publication on average. The top-contributing countries were India, the USA, China, South Korea and Brazil. Curcumin, flavanone, resveratrol, carotenoid, polyphenols, flavonol, flavone and berberine were the most frequently cited natural products or compound classes. Our results provide a brief overview of the major directions of natural product research in diabetes up to now and hint on promising avenues for future research.Atanas G. Atanasov acknowledges the support of the Polish KNOW (Leading National Research Centre) Scientific Consortium ‘Healthy Animal – Safe Food’, decision of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. 05-1/KNOW2/2015. Dongdong Wang acknowledges the Cultivation project for clinical medicine of the integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine and Cultivation project for education team of internal medicine of the integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine in the first-term subjects with special support in the first-class universities in Guizhou province (Qin Jiao Gao Fa No. 2017-158). Javier Echeverría gratefully acknowledges funding from CONICYT (PAI/ACADEMIA No. 79160109).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I

Jaundice is a very common symptom especially in the developing countries. It is associated with several hepatic diseases which are still major causes of death. There are many different approaches to jaundice treatment and the growing number of ethnomedicinal studies shows the plant pharmacology as very promising direction. Many medicinal plants are used for the treatment of jaundice, however a comprehensive review on this subject has not been published. The use of medicinal plants in drug discovery is highly emphasized (based on their traditional and safe uses in different folk medicine systems from ancient times). Many sophisticated analytical techniques are emerging in the pharmaceutical field to validate and discover new biologically active chemical entities derived from plants. Here, we aim to classify and categorize medicinal plants relevant for the treatment of jaundice according to their origin, geographical location, and usage. Our search included various databases like Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar. Keywords and phrases used for these searches included: “jaundice,” “hyperbilirubinemia,” “serum glutamate,” “bilirubin,” “Ayurveda.” The first part of the review focuses on the variety of medicinal plant used for the treatment of jaundice (a total of 207 medicinal plants). In the second part, possible mechanisms of action of biologically active secondary metabolites of plants from five families for jaundice treatment are discussed

Taming the pandemic? The importance of homemade plant-based foods and beverages as community responses to COVID-19

Household responses to COVID-19 in different corners of the world represent the primary health care that communities have relied on for preventing and mitigating symptoms. During a very complex and confusing time, in which public health services in multiple countries have been completely overwhelmed, and in some cases even collapsed, these first-line household responses have been quintessential for building physical, mental, and social resilience, and for improving individual and community health. This editorial discusses the outcomes of a rapid-response preliminary survey during the first phase of the pandemic among social and community contacts in five metropolises heavily affected by the COVID-19 health crisis (Wuhan, Milan, Madrid, New York, and Rio de Janeiro), and in twelve rural areas or countries initially less affected by the pandemic (Appalachia, Jamaica, Bolivia, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Turkey, Pakistan, Cambodia, and South Africa). We summarized our perspectives as 17 case studies, observing that people have relied primarily on teas and spices (“food-medicines”) and that there exist clear international plant favorites, popularized by various new media. Urban diasporas and rural households seem to have repurposed homemade plant-based remedies that they use in normal times for treating the flu and other respiratory symptoms or that they simply consider healthy foods. The most remarkable shift in many areas has been the increased consumption of ginger and garlic, followed by onion, turmeric, and lemon. Our preliminary inventory of food medicines serves as a baseline for future systematic ethnobotanical studies and aims to inspire in-depth research on how use patterns of plant-based foods and beverages, both “traditional” and “new”, are changing during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our reflections in this editorial call attention to the importance of ethnobiology, ethnomedicine, and ethnogastronomy research into domestic health care strategies for improving community health