Tagetes spp. Essential oils and other extracts : chemical characterization and biological activity

Tagetes (marigold) is native to America, and its cultivation currently extends to other countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Many species of this genus, such as T. minuta, T. erecta, T. patula, and T. tenuifolia, are cultivated as ornamental plants and studied for their medicinal properties on the basis of their use in folk medicine. Different parts of the Tagetes species are used as remedies to treat various health problems, including dental, stomach, intestinal, emotional, and nervous disorders, as well as muscular pain, across the world. Furthermore, these plants are studied in the field of agriculture for their fungicidal, bactericidal, and insecticidal activities. The phytochemical composition of the extracts of different Tagetes species parts are reported in this work. These compounds exhibit antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and enzyme inhibitory properties. Cultivation and the factors affecting the chemical composition of Tagetes species are also covered. In the current work, available literature on Tagetes species in traditional medicine, their application as a food preservative, and their antimicrobial activities are reviewed

Using polychromatic X-radiography to examine realistic imitation firearms

Sections 36–41 of the Violent Crimes Reduction Act (2006), which came into force in England and Wales on 1st October 2007, have placed significant restrictions on the sale and possession of ‘realistic imitation firearms’. This legislation attempts to produce a definition of a ‘realistic imitation’ which clearly differentiates these items from other imitation firearms (which are not covered by the legislation). This paper will go a stage further by demonstrating techniques by which blank firing realistic imitation firearms which may be suitable for illegal conversion to fire live rounds may be differentiated from other less ‘suitable’ (but visually identical) realistic imitations. The article reports on the use of X-radiography, utilizing the bremsstrahlung of a commercial broad spectrum X-ray source, to identify the differences between alloys constituting the barrels of distinct replica and/or blank firing handguns. The resulting pseudo-signatures are transmission spectra over a range from 20 to 75 kV, taken at 1 kV intervals, which are extracted from stacks of registered, field flattened images. It is shown that it is possible to quantify differences between transmission spectra for components of different realistic imitation fire arms, and apply the results to determine the suitability of particular gun barrels from blank firing imitation firearms for illegal conversion to fire live rounds, or related illegal modifications

Characterisation of metallic powder impregnated pastes using polychromatic X-radiography

This article reports on the employment of X-radiography using the bremsstrahlung of a commercial broad-spectrum X-ray source to quantify the differences and relationships between complex materials of unknown composition. The materials examined were metallic powders embedded in a carrier paste. The resulting pseudo-signatures are transmission spectra over a range from 15 to 75 kV taken at 1 kV intervals, which were extracted from stacks of registered, field-flattened images. It is shown that it is possible to quantify differences between transmission spectra in order to differentiate between metallic powders used to impregnate the carrier paste

Comparative and functional screening of three species traditionally used as antidepressants: Valeriana officinalis L., valeriana jatamansi jones ex roxb. and nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC

The essential oils (EOs) of three Caprifoliaceae species, the Eurasiatic Valeriana officinalis (Vo), the Himalayan Valeriana jatamansi (Vj) and Nardostachys jatamansi (Nj), are traditionally used to treat neurological disorders. Roots/rhizomes micromorphology, DNA barcoding and EOs phytochemical characterization were carried out, while biological effects on the nervous system were assessed by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity and microelectrode arrays (MEA). Nj showed the highest inhibitory activity on AChE (IC50 67.15 \ub5g/mL) followed by Vo (IC50 127.30 \ub5g/mL) and Vj (IC50 246.84 \ub5g/mL). MEA analyses on rat cortical neurons, carried out by recording mean firing rate (MFR) and mean bursting rate (MBR), revealed stronger inhibition by Nj (IC50 18.8 and 11.1 \ub5g/mL) and Vo (16.5 and 22.5 \ub5g/mL), compared with Vj (68.5 and 89.3 \ub5g/mL). These results could be related to different EO compositions, since sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes significantly contribute to the observed effects, but the presence of oxygenated compounds such as aldehydes and ketones is a discriminating factor in determining the order of potency. Our multidisciplinary approach represents an important tool to avoid the adulteration of herbal drugs and permits the evaluation of the effectiveness of EOs that could be used for a wide range of therapeutic applications

Undiagnosed coeliac disease and risk of autoimmune disorders in subjects with Type I diabetes mellitus

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We tested the hypothesis that silent coeliac disease is more frequent than expected in both patients with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and their first-degree relatives. We evaluated how the presence of other autoimmune disorders in diabetic patients and their first-degree relatives is related to silent, unrecognized coeliac disease. METHODS: Sera from 491 subjects with Type I diabetes, 824 relatives and 4,000 healthy control subjects were screened for anti-endomysial antibodies and all those subjects who tested positive for anti-endomysial antibodies underwent intestinal biopsy. RESULTS: We found that the prevalence of coeliac disease was 5.7 % among the diabetic patients and 1.9 % among the relatives, values significantly higher than those found among the control subjects (p < 0.0001; p < 0.001). The prevalence of autoimmune disorders in diabetic patients with coeliac disease was significantly higher than in subjects with Type I diabetes alone (p < 0.0001). The prevalence of autoimmune disorders in the relatives with coeliac disease was significantly higher than in those who tested negative for anti-endomysial antibodies (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: This report provides further confirmation of the high prevalence of undiagnosed coeliac disease among diabetic patients and their relatives. This interesting new finding is the increased presence of other autoimmune diseases in these patients, as well as in their relatives with a delayed diagnosis for coeliac disease. Patients newly diagnosed with coeliac disease showed excellent compliance with the gluten-free diet. This should encourage policymakers to consider introducing an easy-to-use screening programme for diabetic patients and their relatives into everyday clinical practice, in order to prevent coeliac-associated symptoms and the onset of additional, more serious auto-immune disorders