1,720,982 research outputs found
Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC: phytochemical profile and potential anti-obesity activity
No full textNon previst
Conjugation of L-NAME to prenyloxycinnamic acids improves its inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production
No full textA series of 10 compounds resulting from the conjugation of O-prenylated naturally occurring benzoic and cinnamic acids to l-NAME were synthesized and tested together with the corresponding unprenylated parent molecule as anti-inflammatory agents for their inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Results indicated that the coupling between O-geranyl and O-isopentenylcinnamic acids and l-NAME led to products with an enhanced activity when compared to the parent compounds
Variation of Malva sylvestris essential oil yield, chemical composition and biological activity in response to different environments across Southern Italy
No full textMallow grows wild in many countries, and the amount of drug required as functional food or even pharmafood, due to its both medicinal and industrial importance, is produced almost entirely from wild harvest. We studied the effect of environment on crop yield, biological activity and composition of the essential oils of different mallow samples. GC–MS analysis of the essential oils revealed the presence of phenolics and fatty acids that were the main compounds in all the samples. Antioxidant activities of the essential oils were evaluated by DPPH radical-scavenging activity and FRAP assay. Antimicrobial activity was determined by using the broth dilution method. Samples were also evaluated for their anti-inflammatory properties verifying their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. All essential oils inhibited NO production in cell supernatants in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, antiproliferative activity was assessed on three human cancer cell lines: cells MCF-7 and SKBr3, and cells C32. Our study demonstrates that the crop performance was greatly influenced by the pedo-climatic conditions, and particularly fertility of the environment and the crop management that increased also mallow crop yield. The results of this study provide new knowledge to produce adequate quality of mallow oil
Composition, antibacterial, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of essential oils from three Origanum species growing wild in Lebanon and Greece
No full textThe essential oils from Origanum dictamnus, Origanum libanoticum and Origanum microphyllum were analyzed by GC-MS, finding carvacrol, p-cymene, linalool, γ-terpinene and terpinen-4-ol as major components. The antioxidant activity by the DPPH and FRAP tests and the antiproliferative activity against two human cancer cell lines, LoVo and HepG2, were investigated, showing that the essential oil of O. dictamnus was statistically the most inhibitory on both the cell lines, while all the oils exerted a weak antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the samples were tested against 10 Gram-neg. and Gram-pos. bacteria; all the oils were active on Gram-pos. bacteria but O. dictamnus essential oil was the most effective (MIC = 25-50 μg/mL), showing also a good activity against the Gram-neg. Escherichia coli (MIC = 50 μg/mL). Data suggest that these essential oils and particularly O. dictamnus oil could be used as valuable new flavors with functional properties for food or nutraceutical products
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Inhibition of cancer cell proliferation and antiradical effects of decoction, hydroalcoholic extract, and principal constituents of Hemidesmus indicus R. Br
No full textIndian Sarsaparilla (Hemidesmus indicus R. Br.) is widely used in Indian traditional medicine. In the present work, we explored the effects of decoction, traditional Ayurvedic preparation, and hydroalcoholic extract, a phytocomplex more traditionally studied and commercialized as food supplement in western medicine, from the roots as possible source of chemicals with new functional potential linked to their nutritional uses. The antiproliferative and antioxidant properties were assayed. To test antiproliferative affects, different cancer cell lines, growing both as monolayers (CaCo2, MCF-7, A549, K562, MDA-MB-231, Jurkat, HepG2, and LoVo) and in suspension (K562 and Jurkat) were used. The decoction showed strong activity on HepG2 cells, while the hydroalcoholic extracts were active on HepG2, LoVo, MCF-7, K562, and Jurkat cell lines. Weak inhibition of cancer cell proliferation was observed for the principal constituents of the preparations: 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid, and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde that were tested alone. The antiradical activity was tested with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt tests and inhibition of nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Interesting result has also been obtained for hydroalcoholic extract regarding genoprotective potential (58.79% of inhibition at 37.5-μg/mL)
In vitro evaluation of anti-proliferative and geno-protective activity of Hemidesmus indicus crude drug extracts
No full textOne aspect of modern research focused on prevention and cure of cancer is the investigation of new material of plant origin, with the objective of discovering new botanicals to use as active principle or to draw inspiration in the design of new molecular models1.
For this aim, decoction (belonging to Ayurveda culture) and hydro-alcoholic extract (closer to occidental tradition) of the Hemidesmus indicus R.Br. (Asclepiadaceae) root was studied .
The phytochemical characterisation of the hydro-alcoholic extract, performed by RP-HPLC-DAD, showed an higher quantity of vanillin isomers and derivatives (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid) in comparison to decoction. In the aqueous preparation, in addition to these molecules, lupeol, lupeol acetate, β-amyrin acetate and β-sitosterol were identified by GC-MS.
Being aware that oxidative stress is a key factor in the cancer development, the study of bio-activities started from the evaluation of the antioxidant capacity through spectrophotometric methods (DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching test) and HPTLC-bioautographic assays4 (DPPH, ABTS test). At a later stage, the evaluation of geno-protective (SOS-Chromotest) and anti-proliferative activity (using CCRF-CEM, CEM/ADR5000, MCF7, A549, MDA-MB-231, LoVo, HepG2, K562 and Jurkat cell lines) was carried out, focusing on the vanillin derivatives identified and quantified in H. indicus.
Plant decoction had already evidenced an important anti-leukemic effect through the modulation of different critical targets2,3, and the vanillin derivative showed relevant data for the geno-protective and anti-proliferative activity. In particular, the most active vanillin isomer 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde showed IC50 values of 79.52 ± 18.27 μM against K562, 85.39±1.70 μM against CCRF-CEM and 86.46 ± 3.66 μM against Jurkat.
Further in-depth analysis regarding anti-proliferative bioactivity of traditional preparations, identification and quantification of other characteristic compounds and more selective extractions are still in progress.
In conclusion: H. indicus evidenced promising data against Jurkat (63.79±7.97 μg/mL), CCRF-CEM (46.23±1.12 μg/mL), Hep-G2 (34.50±0.14 μg/mL) and LoVo (29.84±0.24 μg/mL); H. indicus hydro-alcoholic extract and decoction were more effective than 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde against Hep-G2 cell, pointing out possible synergistic (agonistic) activity of minor compounds
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