Investigation on the phenolics of some spices having pharmacotherapeuthic properties

Spices are an important group of agricultural commodities being used by many civilizations all over the world to aid flavor, taste and nutritional values in the food. In traditional medical systems, their ability to heal various physical, mental and emotional problems has widely been reported. With this view, HPLC analysis was performed to estimate phenolic acids in 21 spices (asafetida, Bishop's weed, black mustard, coriander, cinnamon, clove, curry leaf, cumin black, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, Indian cassia, Indian dill or dill large cardamom, onion, saffron, tamarind, true cardamom, yellow mustard) commonly used in India in different forms. In all, 7 phenolic acids; viz., tannic, gallic, caffeic, cinnamic, chlorogenic, ferulic and vanillic acids could be identified on the basis of their retention time with standard compounds and co-chromatography. Several parts of the spices, for instance, seeds, leaves, barks, rhizomes, latex, stigmas, floral buds and modified stems were used in the study. Maximum amount of tannic and gallic acids was observed in black mustard and clove. Caffeic, chlorogenic and ferulic acids were found maximum in cumin while vanillic and cinnamic acids in onion seeds. The spices are known to significantly contribute to the flavor, taste, and medicinal properties of food because of phenolics.     

Visual evoked potential & brainstem auditory evoked potentials in acute attack & after the attack of migraine

PURPOSE: To study the effect on visual evoked potential (VEP) and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) at time of acute attack and after 7 days of the attack of migraine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied BAEP and pattern reversal VEP in 25 patients during acute attack and after 7 days of the attack. The diagnosis of migraine was established according to criteria given by international headache society (IHS). Peak and interpeak latencies (IPL's) of BAEP and P100 latency of VEP were the main criteria to judge abnormalities. RESULTS: There were prolonged peak and interpeak latencies in BAEP and prolonged peak latency (P100) in VEP at the time of acute attack of migraine. The data of these abnormal recording were highly significant. After 7 days when the attack was over, we recorded the BAEP and VEP again. The observation obtained at this time was comparable to normal values. CONCLUSIONS: From the observation of this study we can safely conclude that in acute attacks of migraine there may be some pathological changes in different areas of brain and brainstem, producing changes in evoked potential which are statistically highly significant. However, these changes are reversible, as the values of BAEP & VEP on 7th day after the attack were comparable to those observed in normal healthy control.     

Occurrence,Impact on Agriculture,Human Health,and Management Strategies of Zearalenone in Food and Feed: A Review

Mycotoxins represent an assorted range of secondary fungal metabolites that extensively occur in numerous food and feed ingredients at any stage during pre- and post-harvest conditions. Zearalenone (ZEN), a mycotoxin categorized as a xenoestrogen poses structural similarity with natural estrogens that enables its binding to the estrogen receptors leading to hormonal misbalance and numerous reproductive diseases. ZEN is mainly found in crops belonging to temperate regions, primarily in maize and other cereal crops that form an important part of various food and feed. Because of the significant adverse effects of ZEN on both human and animal, there is an alarming need for effective detection, mitigation, and management strategies to assure food and feed safety and security. The present review tends to provide an updated overview of the different sources, occurrence and biosynthetic mechanisms of ZEN in various food and feed. It also provides insight to its harmful effects on human health and agriculture along with its effective detection, management, and control strategies.     

A study of association between regulatory polymorphism in the IL-10 gene promoter region and acute viral hepatitis,and acute liver failure

Background

The level of inflammatory cytokine Interleukin (IL)-10 is increased in patients infected with hepatitis-related acute liver failure (ALF), and this was thought to be because of the regulatory polymorphism in the IL-10 gene promoter region. The present study was designed to analyze the possible association between IL-10 gene promoter polymorphism and acute viral hepatitis (AVH), and ALF. An attempt was made to quantify IL-10 levels at admission, during the hospital stay, and at the final outcome to study its relationship with liver injury among patients with AVH, ALF, and controls.

Methods

The study included 40 patients each with ALF and AVH. IL-10 gene promoter polymorphism was detected by the PCR-RFLP method. Quantification of IL-10 was done using commercially available ELISA kits.

Results

The individuals with ?592 AC, ?819 TC, ?1082 AA genotypes were found to have a significantly higher risk of ALF whereas those with ?592 AA and ??819 CC polymorphism were found to be less susceptible. Individuals with ??819 CC were found to be more susceptible to AVH while those with ?592 AA and ?819 TT were less susceptible as compared to controls. Mean serum IL-10 at admission was significantly elevated in patients with ALF (38.4±11.3 pg/mL) as compared to patients with AVH (16.7±5.4 pg/mL) and control population (8.3±3.6 pg/mL, p?<?0.05).

Conclusion

Regulatory polymorphism in the IL-10 gene promoter has a possible and significant association with severity and outcome in patients with AVH and ALF. Raised levels of IL-10 could be predictive of prognosis in patients with ALF.

     

湖北贝母属植物化学成分的研究——Ⅹ.紫花鄂北贝母生物碱的分离与鉴定

紫花鄂北贝母FritiItaria ebeiensis var.pvrpvreaG.D.Yu et P.Li系贝母属植物新变种,从它的鳞茎中分离到Ⅰ～Ⅶ个生物碱。经理化常数测定和波谱分析,并与标准品对照,鉴定碱Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ和Ⅳ分别为浙贝甲素(peimine)、浙贝乙素(peiminine)、鄂贝甲素(ebeinine)和鄂贝乙素(ebeinone)。碱Ⅵ为新的异甾生物碱,定名为紫鄂贝碱(ziebeimine),其结构鉴定为5α,14α-cevanine-13,17-dehydro-3α,6β-diol。碱Ⅴ和Ⅶ的结构尚待鉴定。     

脊柱侧弯手术中正常体感诱发电位时频特征分析

目的提取脊柱术中体感诱发电位(SEP)的时频特征参数,确定时频域特征参数的正常值范围。方法选取1998年9月至2006年1月脊柱侧弯手术病人183例,其中皮层诱发电位168例有效(92%),女性129例,男性39例,年龄7～40岁(平均年龄16.8岁);下皮层诱发电位183例有效(100%),女性144例,男性39例,年龄7～40岁(平均年龄16.69岁)。运用短时傅立叶变换对手术中采集的体感诱发电位进行分析处理,提取信号在时频域的三个特征参数,并与时域分析方法进行比较。结果谱峰功率比波幅的变异系数更小,SEP(Cz′)的谱峰时间以(41.2±4.1)ms为中心,范围是29～55ms,谱峰频率以(53.6±6.2)Hz为中心,范围是37～79Hz;SEP(Cv)的谱峰时间以(30.1±2.9)ms为中心,范围是21～39ms,谱峰频率以(81.8±4.9)Hz为中心,范围是67～111Hz。结论运用短时傅立叶变换获得的脊柱手术时频谱具有稳定的时频特征参数分布,为建立自动判别标准及临床应用打下了基础。     

Evolution of a culture protocol for successful blastocyst development and pregnancy

A cell-free culture system was designed for human embryo development to the blastocyst stage by testing a range of culture conditions in a series of protocols. The culture system that was evolved has a brief 1 h exposure to spermatozoa and then culture of the pronucleate zygote for 2 days in IVF-50 medium. Two or three embryos were cultured together in 20 microl microdrops of medium under oil. Embryos were then regrouped and two or three at a similar stage were cultured together in 50 microl microdrops of Gardner's G2 medium under oil from days 3 to 5. Embryos were transferred to fresh G2 medium on day 5 and cultured for a further 1 or 2 days (day 6 or 7). No serum was used in any of the cultures. The embryo transfer medium and G2 medium were supplemented with human serum albumin. The zonae of all blastocysts to be transferred to patients were completely removed enzymatically. Using this protocol, 52% of zygotes developed to blastocysts and 34 out of 35 patients treated received 82 blastocysts and 11 morulae on day 5 or 6. Twenty-one fetal sacs with positive heartbeats (23% implantation rate) were detected in 13 ongoing pregnancies (38% pregnancy rate/transfer or 37%/patient treated). We anticipate that further improvements in embryo development and the selection of viable embryos can be achieved using this simple and effective culture system.      

Interleukin-6 response to exercise during acute and chronic hypoxia

Prolonged exercise is associated with increased plasma levels of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). Both circulating catecholamine levels and exercise intensity have been related to the exercise-derived IL-6. During hypoxia and acclimatization, changes in sympathetic activity is seen, and also a given workload becomes more intense in hypoxia. Therefore, hypoxia offers a unique opportunity to study the effect of catecholamines and intensity on exercise-derived IL-6. In the present study, eight Danish sea-level residents performed 60 min of cycle ergometer exercise at sea level (SL) (154 W, 45% maximal O₂ consumption, O₂max), in acute (AH) and chronic hypoxia (CH), at the same absolute (_abs) (AH_abs=154 W, 54% O₂max; CH_abs=154 W, 59% O₂max) and same relative (_rel) (AH_rel=130 W, 46% O₂max; CH_rel=120 W, 44% O₂max) workload. We hypothesized that the IL-6 response to exercise at the same absolute workload would be augmented during hypoxia compared with sea level, and that these changes would not correlate with changes in catecholamines. In AH_abs (2.35 pg·ml^–1) and CH_abs (3.34 pg·ml^–1) the IL-6 response to exercise was augmented (p<0.05) compared with that at sea level (0.78·ml^–1). In addition, after 60 min of bicycling at sea level, AH_rel (1.02 pg·ml^–1) and CH_rel (1.31 pg·ml^–1) resulted in similar IL-6 responses. The augmented IL-6 response during AH_abs and CH_abs did not match changes in circulating catecholamine levels when comparing all trials. We conclude that the plasma IL-6 concentration during exercise in hypoxia is intensity dependent, and that factors other than catecholamine levels are more important for its regulation.