Secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the Droseraceae family

Zbog nedostataka umjetno sintetiziranih lijekova, sve se više radi na otkrivanju zdravstvenih učinka biljnih ekstrakta koji bi mogli imati važnu ulogu u borbi protiv raka i drugih bolesti. Naftokinoni i flavonoidi su najvažniji sekundarni metaboliti mesojednih biljaka iz porodice Droseraceae. Pokazalo se da imaju brojna farmakološka djelovanja među kojima je ublažavanja kašlja ali i uništavanje tumorskih stanica. Zbog sve manje površine njihovog prirodnog staništa, biljke porodice Droseraceae zakonom su zaštićene vrste u mnogo zemalja. Kako bi bila osigurana dovoljna količina biljnog materijala za ekstrakciju medicinski korisnih sekundarnih metabolita, potreban je intenzivan uzgoj ovih biljaka u kulturama in vitro. Dodatkom elicitora u medije za uzgoj postiže se vrlo visoki prinos naftokinona i flavonoida. Ključno je istražiti prave uvjete za uzgoj in vitro, kao što su koncentracija i vrsta nutrijenata i elicitora, te optimalni pH medija za pojedinu vrstu. Također treba dodatno istražiti i međudjelovanje pojedinih sekundarnih metabolita da bi se utvrdilo u kojim je uvjetima ono sinergističko, a u kojim antagonističko.Due to the flaws of artificially synthesized drugs, more work is being done on discovering health effects of plant extracts which could play an important role in fighting cancer and other diseases. Naphtoquinons and flavonoids are the most important secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the family Droseraceae. It has been shown that they have numerous pharmacological effects, including mitigation of cough and destruction of tumor cells. Due to ever-smaller areas of their natural habitat, the plant family Droseraceae is legally protected species in many countries. In order to ensure a sufficient amount of plant material for medically useful secondary metabolites extraction, intensive in vitro cultivation of these plants is required. By adding elicitors to the culture medium, high income in naphtoquinon and flavonoid content is achieved. The key is to explore the right conditions to grow these plants in vitro, such as the concentration and type of nutrients and elicitors, and the optimum pH for each type of media. The interaction of certain secondary metabolites should also be further explored to find out in which conditions it is synergistic and in which antagonistic

Metode za mjerenje ekspozicije antikolinesteraznim insekticidima

Many methods for cholinesterase activity determination have been suggested and compared, but only a few of them have been found suitable for the routine monitoring of occupational exposure to anticholinesterase compounds. In the present paper the factors determining the choice and applicability of a method are discussed with particular reference to the differences between organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides. Some results of own studies on volunteers and workers exposed to anticholinesterases are also presented.Od mnogih metoda za mjerenje aktivnosti kolinesteraze razmjerno je malo prikladnih za rutinsku kontrolu profesionalne ekspozicije antikolinesteraznim spojevima. U radu su prikazani činioci od kojih zavisi izbor i primjenljivost pojedine metode s osobitim obzirom na razlike između organofosfornih i karbamatnih spojeva. Također su izneseni rezultati vlastitih istraživanja na dobrovoljcima i radnicima zaposlenim u proizvodnji spomenutih insekticida

Secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the Droseraceae family

Zbog nedostataka umjetno sintetiziranih lijekova, sve se više radi na otkrivanju zdravstvenih učinka biljnih ekstrakta koji bi mogli imati važnu ulogu u borbi protiv raka i drugih bolesti. Naftokinoni i flavonoidi su najvažniji sekundarni metaboliti mesojednih biljaka iz porodice Droseraceae. Pokazalo se da imaju brojna farmakološka djelovanja među kojima je ublažavanja kašlja ali i uništavanje tumorskih stanica. Zbog sve manje površine njihovog prirodnog staništa, biljke porodice Droseraceae zakonom su zaštićene vrste u mnogo zemalja. Kako bi bila osigurana dovoljna količina biljnog materijala za ekstrakciju medicinski korisnih sekundarnih metabolita, potreban je intenzivan uzgoj ovih biljaka u kulturama in vitro. Dodatkom elicitora u medije za uzgoj postiže se vrlo visoki prinos naftokinona i flavonoida. Ključno je istražiti prave uvjete za uzgoj in vitro, kao što su koncentracija i vrsta nutrijenata i elicitora, te optimalni pH medija za pojedinu vrstu. Također treba dodatno istražiti i međudjelovanje pojedinih sekundarnih metabolita da bi se utvrdilo u kojim je uvjetima ono sinergističko, a u kojim antagonističko.Due to the flaws of artificially synthesized drugs, more work is being done on discovering health effects of plant extracts which could play an important role in fighting cancer and other diseases. Naphtoquinons and flavonoids are the most important secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the family Droseraceae. It has been shown that they have numerous pharmacological effects, including mitigation of cough and destruction of tumor cells. Due to ever-smaller areas of their natural habitat, the plant family Droseraceae is legally protected species in many countries. In order to ensure a sufficient amount of plant material for medically useful secondary metabolites extraction, intensive in vitro cultivation of these plants is required. By adding elicitors to the culture medium, high income in naphtoquinon and flavonoid content is achieved. The key is to explore the right conditions to grow these plants in vitro, such as the concentration and type of nutrients and elicitors, and the optimum pH for each type of media. The interaction of certain secondary metabolites should also be further explored to find out in which conditions it is synergistic and in which antagonistic

Secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the Droseraceae family

Zbog nedostataka umjetno sintetiziranih lijekova, sve se više radi na otkrivanju zdravstvenih učinka biljnih ekstrakta koji bi mogli imati važnu ulogu u borbi protiv raka i drugih bolesti. Naftokinoni i flavonoidi su najvažniji sekundarni metaboliti mesojednih biljaka iz porodice Droseraceae. Pokazalo se da imaju brojna farmakološka djelovanja među kojima je ublažavanja kašlja ali i uništavanje tumorskih stanica. Zbog sve manje površine njihovog prirodnog staništa, biljke porodice Droseraceae zakonom su zaštićene vrste u mnogo zemalja. Kako bi bila osigurana dovoljna količina biljnog materijala za ekstrakciju medicinski korisnih sekundarnih metabolita, potreban je intenzivan uzgoj ovih biljaka u kulturama in vitro. Dodatkom elicitora u medije za uzgoj postiže se vrlo visoki prinos naftokinona i flavonoida. Ključno je istražiti prave uvjete za uzgoj in vitro, kao što su koncentracija i vrsta nutrijenata i elicitora, te optimalni pH medija za pojedinu vrstu. Također treba dodatno istražiti i međudjelovanje pojedinih sekundarnih metabolita da bi se utvrdilo u kojim je uvjetima ono sinergističko, a u kojim antagonističko.Due to the flaws of artificially synthesized drugs, more work is being done on discovering health effects of plant extracts which could play an important role in fighting cancer and other diseases. Naphtoquinons and flavonoids are the most important secondary metabolites in carnivorous plants from the family Droseraceae. It has been shown that they have numerous pharmacological effects, including mitigation of cough and destruction of tumor cells. Due to ever-smaller areas of their natural habitat, the plant family Droseraceae is legally protected species in many countries. In order to ensure a sufficient amount of plant material for medically useful secondary metabolites extraction, intensive in vitro cultivation of these plants is required. By adding elicitors to the culture medium, high income in naphtoquinon and flavonoid content is achieved. The key is to explore the right conditions to grow these plants in vitro, such as the concentration and type of nutrients and elicitors, and the optimum pH for each type of media. The interaction of certain secondary metabolites should also be further explored to find out in which conditions it is synergistic and in which antagonistic

Variability of major histocompatibility complex class II DQA and DQB genes in the golden jackal (Canis aureus)

Geni unutar glavnog sustava tkivne podudarnosti (MHC) kodiraju receptore koji su odgovorni za preradu i prikazivanje antigena limfocitima T, čime se pokreće adaptivni imunosni odgovor organizma. Veća varijabilnost genskih lokusa MHC omogućuje prepoznavanje šireg spektra antigena, pa posljedično i bolju obranu od patogena. Varijabilnost lokusa MHC održava ravnotežna selekcija, koju karakterizira veći broj raznolikih alela u populaciji. Geni MHC pokazali su se kao dobar marker za proučavanje adaptivne evolucije vrsta i populacija. Čagalj (Canis aureus) široko je rasprostranjen ali jedan od dosad najmanje istraženih pripadnika porodice pasa (Canidae). U ovom istraživanju utvrdila sam i opisala alele na lokusima DLA-DQA i DQB gena MHC skupine II u uzorku od 27 čagljeva iz istočne Europe. Pronašla sam 2 alela po lokusu, a svi su poznati iz prethodnih istraživanja. Unatoč malom broju pronađenih alela, evolucijske udaljenosti ukazuju na veliku raznolikost među njima. Potvrdila sam djelovanje ravnotežne selekcije na održavanje varijabilnosti oba istražena lokusa koristeći omjer stopa nesinonimnih i sinonimnih mutacija na čitavom nukleotidnom slijedu, kao i na pojedinim kodonima.Genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encode receptors that are responsible for processing and presentation of antigens to T lymphocytes, which initiates the adaptive immune response of the organism. Increased variability of MHC gene loci enables identification of a broader range of antigens, and consequently a better defense against pathogens. The variability of the MHC loci is maintained by the balancing selection, which is characterized by a larger number of divergent alleles in the population. MHC genes proved to be a good marker for the study of adaptive evolution of the species and populations. Golden jackal (Canis aureus) is widespread, but so far one of the least studied members of the dog family (Canidae). In this research, I found and described the alleles of the DLA-DQA and DQB MHC class II loci in a sample of 27 jackals from Eastern Europe. I found two alleles per locus, all of which are known from previous research. Despite the small number of alleles found, evolutionary distances indicate a considerable diversity among them. I confirmed the role of balancing selection on maintaining variability of the investigated loci, using the ratio of synonymous and nonsynonymous mutations both on the entire nucleotide sequence, and the particular codons

Microwave assisted extraction of polyphenols from aspargus (Asparagus officinalis)

U ovom radu je ispitan utjecaj ekstrakcije aktivirane mikrovalovima na sastav i koncentraciju polifenolnih spojeva iz uzorka šparoga različitog geografskog podrijetla. Ispitan je utjecaj vremena ekstrakcije, vrste otapala te temperature na efikasnost ekstrakcije. Koncentracija ukupnih fenolnih spojeva određena je Folin-Ciocalteu metodom. Provedena je ekstrakcija u 40%, 60% i 80%- tnoj otopini etanola pri temepraturi od 50°C i 65°C te u vremenskom periodu od 10 i 15 min. Najbolji ekstrakcijski kapacitet se postiže primjenom 80% vodene otopine etanola pri 50°C u vremenu od 15 min.This study describes the impact of microwave assisted extraction on composition and concentra-tion of polyphenols from asparagus samples originated from different geographical area. The ef-fects of extraction time, solvent and temperature on the extraction efficiency was tested. The concentration of total phenolic compounds was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Ex-traction was conducted in a 40%, 60% and 80% aqueous ethanol at a temperature of 50 ° C and 65 ° C and in a time period of 10 and 15 min. Best extraction capacity is achieved by using 80% aqueous ethanol at 50 ° C for 15 min

Metaproteomics of gastrointestinal microbiota of a healthy person

Crijevna mikrobiota čovjeka se sastoji od velikog broja mikroorganizama te se njihova disbioza povezuje s mnoštvom bolesti. Identifikacija tih mikroorganizama je vrlo važna kako bi se bolje rzumjela veza između bolesti i crijevne mikrobiote. Metaproteomika koja se definira kao identifikacija svih proteina iz mikrobne zajednice nekog uzorka pruža informacije o vrsti mikroorganizma. Zasniva se na digestiji proteina, sekvencioniranju peptida tandemnom spektrometrijom masa i pretragom baza podataka. Cilj ovog rada je bio usporediti utjecaj metoda za izolaciju proteina i utjecaj spekrometra masa te pretražnog programa na taksonomsku kompoziciju crijevne mikrobiote. Rezultati su uspoređeni s literaturnim podacima i s genomskom analizom. Najviše proteina i bakterijskih vrsta je određeno koristeći 4% SDS i B-PER u kombinaciji s ultrazvukom kada se analiza provodila na spektrometru masa ESI-Q-TOF i kada je korišten novorazvijeni bioinformatički program temeljen na LSI. Metagenomska analiza je rezultirala manjim brojem bakterija Bacteroidetes nego metaproteomika te se podudarala s rezultatima metaproteomike u koljenima Firmicutes i Proteobacteria.Human intestinal microbial consists of a large number of microorganisms and their dysbiosis is associated with a great number of diseases. Identification of these microorganisms is very important in order to better interrupt the connection between the disease and the intestinal microbiota. Metaproteomics, which is defined as the identification of all proteins from a sample, provides information on the species of microorganisms. The worklow consists of digestion of proteins, sequencing of the peptides by tandem mass spectrometry and database searching. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the protein isolation method and the influence of the mass spectrometer and the bioinformatic tool on the taxonomic composition of the intestinal microbiote. The results were compared with literary data and genomic analysis. The biggest number of bacterial species was determined using 4% SDS and B-PER in combination with sonification when analyzed on ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometer and when a newly-developed bioinformatic LSI tool was used. Metagenomic analysis resulted in a smaller number of bacteria from phyilia Bacteroidetes than metaproteomics but it had similar results in phylia Firmicutes and Proteobacteria

Therapy in organophosphorus poisoning

Iznesen je kratak pregled načina djelovanja farmakoloških i toksičkih učinaka organskih fosfornih spojeva. Prikazano je antidotno djelovanje atropina i oksima pri otrovanju organofosfatima. Istaknuta je i važnost istraživanja novih reaktivatora kolinesteraze.A brief outline is given of the mechanism of action, pharmacology and toxic effects of organophosporus cholinesterase inhibitors. Therapeutic possibilities with respect to antidotal application of atropine and oximes in organophosphorus poisoning are discussed in more detail. The importance of further investigation of this group of compounds from the theoretical and practical aspects is pointed out