22 research outputs found
Environmental Law in the Republic of Bulgaria: General Part
No full textA very useful textbook entitled Environmental Law in the Republic of Bulgaria: General Part (in Bulgarian)1 has been published in 2011 in Bulgaria. Its author, Professor George Penchev, PhD, is a lecturer in Environmental Law in the Faculty of Law in Plovdiv University. He is also the author of six books and 170 articles mainly in the field of Environmental Law (its national and international aspects). The reviewed book consists of a preface, 14 chapters, conclusions, and lists of literature and useful Internet web sites in the field of environmental protection. The first four chapters are dedicated to some general theoretical problems in Environmental Law, especially the role of Law for the solving of environmental problems (chapter 1); Environmental Law as a branch of the legal system in the Republic of Bulgaria (chapter 2); the State’s environmental policy and its principles (chapter 3); and, the sources of Environmental Law (chapter 4). The author considers that Environmental Law is a complex branch of Law which regulates two kinds of public relations –those related to the protection of the environment from pollution and the ones which refer to a rational use of natural resources (p. 26). He emphasizes the fact that the system of the Environmental Law is divided into two parts –general and special. The general part is related to legal tools with more general meaning for the protection of the environment whereas the special part is dedicated to the protection of the separate components of the environment or to the activities with significant impact on its state (p. 30). According to Professor Penchev, the State’s environmental policy consists of ideas, principles and practical approaches to solve ecological problems in society, regulated by regulations and documents adopted by the competent authorities (p. 31). The following five chapters relate to the powers of central (chapters 5-7) and local (chapter 8) administration in the field of environmental protection, as well as to the rights of non-governmental organizations in this field (chapter 9). Special attention is given to the Ministry of Environment and Waters as a special body for the implementation of the State’s environmental policy (pp. 72-81). The author shows the trend towards the increase of the local authorities’ power in the field of environmental protection in Bulgarian legislation as well as the necessity of administrative capacity and financial resources (p. 105). In chapter 10 different kinds of liability for the infringement of environmental legislation are evaluated, and, in chapter 11, compulsory administrative measures are analysed. The author considers that, from a theoretical point of view, it is possible to create a special kind of liability, which he calls “ecological financial liability” for legal persons in the field of environmental protection (p. 120-122). The last three chapters are devoted to some legal tools with general meaning for the protection of the environment as a whole, such as environmental impact assessment (chapter 12), ecological assessment of plans and programmes (chapter 13) and the right to information on the environment (chapter 14). According to the author, environmental impact assessment is a procedure regulated by law for the assessment of the negative effects caused by significant antropogenic impact on the environment through investment projects (p. 128). He emphasizes that ecological assessment is also a procedure regulated by law, but for the assessment of the negative effects caused by significant antropogenic impact on the environment through plans and programmes (p. 147). Both procedures are legal tools with a preventative character for environmental protection. Finally, some general conclusions are drawn in order to improve Bulgarian environmental legislation and its implementation. As for the features and contents of the reviewed book, it can be concluded that it is very interesting and useful not only for students and lawyers in practice but also for ecologists.Environmental Law, General part, Textbook.
Sesquiterpene Lactones with the 12,8-Guaianolide Skeleton from Algerian <i>Centaurea omphalotricha</i>
No full textIn continuing our investigation on the chemical diversity of Algerian plants, we examined Centaurea omphalotricha, whose chemical composition has been poorly studied. The present work was aimed at characterizing the secondary metabolite pattern of the CHCl3 extract of the aerial parts of this plant that displayed antiproliferative properties in a preliminary screening on HeLa cell line. The chemical analysis led us to characterize the bioactive oxygenated terpenoid fraction which includes, within major known metabolites, two new minor sesquiterpene lactones, centaurolide-A (1) and centaurolide-B (2). The structures of two compounds exhibiting the 12,8-guaianolide skeleton were determined by spectroscopic methods as well as by chemical correlation with inuviscolide (3), a well-known bioactive guaianolide isolated from Dittrichia (=Inula) viscosa. Centaurolides A and B represent the first report of 8,12-guaianolide skeleton in Centaurea genus. The effect of new compounds 1 and 2 and inuviscolide (3) on HeLa cell has also been evaluated
Determination of Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents and Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity of an Algerian Medicinal Species, Arbutus serratifolia Salisb: Arbutus serratifolia Salisb
No full textArbutus serratifolia Salisb. is known as a strawberry tree belonging to the Ericaceae family and represents a Mediterranean evergreen shrub. The species distributed in the forest of El Milia region (Jijel) was chosen as a specimen for chemical investigation and biological evaluation for the first time from this region. The MeOH extract of the aerial parts underwent qualitative phytochemical screening using conventional techniques. While CHCl3, EtOAc, n-BuOH, and even MeOH fractions were subjected to quantitatively determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents using the Folin-Ciocalteu and Aluminium trichloride methods respectively. The antioxidant potential of these fractions was assessed using the DPPH scavenging activity, ABTS cation radical reduction, CUPRAC reducing capacity and Phenanthroline assays. This study revealed that A. serratifolia Salisb. fractions are endowed with potent antioxidant activity; thus, it is worth noting that this plant could be used as a rich food source for a wide range of phenolic compounds, particularly of new antioxidant agents
Modulation of Liver Glutathione-Dependent Enzymes and Steatosis by<i>Linaria tingitana</i>in Sodium Valproate-Treated Rats
No full textChemical composition and biological activities of the Algerian <i>Cymbalaria muralis</i> aerial parts
No full textIn the present study we report data about antioxidant (DPPH, β-Carotene, reducing power), anti-inflammatory (xylene-induced ear oedema in mice (76 ± 1.0%) and membrane stabilisation (100%)) and antimicrobial (Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Pseudomonas arugenosa ATCC27853 and Fusarium oxysporum ATCC62506) activities of the ethanolic extract from the Algerian Cymbalaria muralis P. Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb (CME). The LC-ESIMS analysis of CME chemical profile allowed to identify antirrhinoside (1), catalpol (2), linarioside (3), glucosyringic acid (4), angoroside C (5), apigenin 7-O-glucoside (6), acacetin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), apigenin (8), chrysoeriol 7-rutinoside (9), diosmin (10) and linarin (11). The evaluated total phenolic and flavonoid contents support the biological activities.</p
Isolation and Biological Properties of the Natural Flavonoids Pectolinarin and Pectolinarigenin—A Review
No full textFlavonoids are metabolites widely distributed in plants and commonly present in foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Pectolinarin, which belongs to the flavone subclass, has attracted considerable attention due to its presence in many medicinal plants. It has turned out to be a good biological agent especially due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and antitumor activities, evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Its aglycone, the metabolite pectolinarigenin, is also known for a series of biological properties including anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects. In the first overview on the two metabolites here presented, their collection, isolation and the results of their biological evaluation are reported
L. (Lamiaceae) Essential Oils from the Aures Region
No full textInternational audienceThis study was aimed to determine the chemical composition of essential oils obtained from aerial parts of Thymus algeriensis Boiss. & Reut. and Marrubium vulgare L. collected in the Aures region of Algeria. Essential oils were extracted by steam distillation method and analyzed using GC-MS and GC-FID techniques. Thirty-five (35) and twenty-nine (29) components were identified respectively in T. algeriensis and M. vulgare essential oils to represent respectively 94.8% and 75.7% of the total oil composition. The main compounds of T. algeriensis oil were germacrene D (29.6%), β-caryophyllene (11.0%), E-β-farnesene (7.8%), bicyclogermacrene (4.4%) and δ-cadinene (4.0%), while, β-bisaboene (36.3%), β-caryophyllene (7.8%), phytol (6.2%), nonacosane (4.0%) and heptacosane (3.3%) were the main components of M. vulgare oil. The richness of these two oils in germacrene D and β-bisaboene respectively could suggest a new bioactivity
A new flavonoid and other constituents from Centaurea nicaeensis All. var. walliana M.
No full textInternational audienc
A new flavonoid and other constituents from Centaurea nicaeensis All. var. walliana M.
No full textA new flavone glucoside, apigenin 4′-(6″-methylglucuronide) (1), together with six known compounds, cirsilineol, jaceosidin, melitensin, apigenin, apigenin 7-(6″-methylglucuronide) and prunasin, were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of Centaurea nicaeensis All. var. walliana M. (Asteraceae) collected from Souk-Ahras, eastern Algeria. The structures were established by spectral analysis, mainly HRESI-MS, UV and 2D-NMR experiments (COSY, HSQC and HMBC).This study was supported by Algerian FNR program and by the PCI-Mediterranean project (A/023594/09) from Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperacción-AECID
HPLC-UV profile of Genista ulicina Spach. (Fabaceae) extracts and in vitro antioxidant activity
No full textTo perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the phenolic and flavonoid contents and evaluate the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-butanol (n-BuOH) extracts of the aerial parts of Genista ulicina Spach. from Algeria. The qualitative analysis of plant extracts was carried out by RP-HPLC using UV detector, whereas the quantification of total phenolic and flavonoid contents was completed according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and aluminium chloride colorimetric method respectively. To evaluate the extract\u27s antioxidant activity, Two in vitro antioxidant tests were employed: DPPH and β-carotene bleaching assay. The HPLC/DAD chromatogram showed several peaks indicating the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and isoflavonoids in both extracts. The total phenolic content (TPC) ranged from 62.56 and 50.45 mgGAE/g extract, while the total flavonoids content varied between 53.1 and 48.4 mgQE/g extract for EtOAC and n-BuOH respectively. EtOAc extract showed a maximum inhibition value (78.15%) at 150µg/mL using DPPH test and highest antioxidative power (82.42%) using β-carotene bleaching assay comparing with standards. The HPLC-UV analysis showed the richeness of both extracts in phenolic and flavonoid contents. The EtOAc extract exhibited good antioxidant activities comparing to the n-BuOH extract. Thus Genista ulicina could be indicated as a plant of phytopharmaceutical importance
