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Soxhlet and microwave assisted extraction (MAE) methods were used to obtain non-polar compounds from pistachio hull. MAE parameters (liquid to solid ratio, microwave power, and extraction time) were studied to obtain maximum extraction yield. The optimal conditions were found to be liquid to solid ratio of 15:1 (v/w), microwave power of 250 W and extraction time of 12.5 min. The extraction yields were 9.81 and 9.50% for MAE and Soxhlet methods, respectively. The total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and tocopherol content of the extract obtained by MAE was found to be significantly higher than those of the Soxhlet extract (p < 0.05). The results showed that the extract contained α-tocopherols (567.65 mg/kg) and oleic acid (48.46%) as the major tocopherols and fatty acids. These findings propose that hull extracts can be considered as a good source of natural bioactive compounds and MAE can be a good alternative to the traditional Soxhlet method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water extract of Viburnum opulus L. (Caprifoliaceae) (VO) leaf was investigated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in mice and rats. The tail flick test, acetic acid-induced writhing test, and the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test were used to determine these effects. Our findings show that VO causes dose related inhibition in acetic acid-induced abdominal stretching in mice. VO inhibited abdominal stretching at 100 and 200 mg/kg. VO showed antinociceptive activity, which was quantified by the tail-flick test at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg. However, VO did not have an anti-inflammatory effect at these doses. The LD50 of VO was determined as 5.447 g/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this adiabatic scanning calorimetry (ASC) study we investigated the liquid crystal 4-butyloxyphenyl-4'-decyloxybenzoate ([image omitted]) with the emphasis on the nematic-to-smectic A (N-SmA) and the nematic-to-isotropic (N-I) phase transitions. Because of the high resolution ASC technique we were able to accurately determine the latent heat of the first order N-I transition. The N-SmA transition was found to be a continuous one within the experimental resolution and the value of the effective specific heat capacity critical exponent, α, was found to be 0.23±0.01, thus between the 3D XY and tricritical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new high-resolution experimental data on the temperature dependence of the refractive index in the isotropic (I), nematic (N) and smectic A (SmA) phases of the 4-butyloxyphenyl 4'-decyloxybenzoate ([image omitted] ) liquid crystal. From an analysis of the data, using both the Vuks and Neugebauer models for the internal electric field, information on the orientational order parameter S(T) was derived. From a fitting procedure consistent with mean-field theory and the first-order character of the N-I transition, we obtain a value of 0.246±0.06 for the exponent β describing the critical behaviour of S(T) at the N-I transition, which is in good agreement with the tricritical value β = 0.25. In a temperature range of about 4 K above and below the N-SmA transition temperature, pre-transitional evidence for the coupling between the nematic and smectic order parameters was observed. We show, for the first time, that the temperature derivative of the S(T) curve below and above the N-SmA transition has the same power law behaviour as the specific heat capacity with an effective critical exponent of 0.23±0.01. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water extract of Viburnum lantana L. (Caprifoliaceae) (VL) leaf was investigated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in mice and rats. The tail-flick test, acetic acid-induced writhing test, and the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test were used to determine these effects. Our findings show that VL causes dose-related inhibition in acetic acid-induced abdominal stretching in mice. VL inhibited abdominal stretching at 100 mg/kg, which is similar to that of aspirin, but this extract exhibited stronger antinociceptive activity than aspirin at a 200 mg/kg dose. VL showed powerful antinociceptive activity, which was quantified by a tail-flick test in 100 mg/kg dose. The anti-inflammatory activity of VL was not found to be significantly different at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg. As a result, VL had shown slight anti-inflammatory activity compared with indomethacin. The LD50 of VL was determined as 2.169 g/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water extract of Ballota inaequidens Hub.-Mor. & Patzak (Lamiaceae) was investigated for antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities in mice and rats. The tail-flick test, acetic acid–induced writhing test, and the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test were used to determine these effects. Our findings show that Ballota inaequidens caused dose-related inhibition in the acetic acid–induced abdominal stretching in mice. The medium effective dose (ED50) value of Ballota inaequidens was found to be 85.38 mg/kg. Ballota inaequidens showed no significant changes in the nociceptive threshold of the tail-flick test but did show an inhibition of paw edema induced by carrageenan. The ED50 value of Ballota inaequidens was found to be 99.42 mg/kg. The current study reveals that the water extract of Ballota inaequidens possesses promising antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topical oral sprays are frequently used to prevent and manage oropharyngeal inflammation and lesions. This study investigated the histopathologic changes noted in the oral mucosa of mice after topical application of 3 widely prescribed antibacterial products. The 25 animals were divided into 5 groups and treated for 10 days with 2 sprays daily, as follows: group 1-chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% + benzydamine hydrochloride 0.15%; group 2-benzydamine 0.27 mg/0.18 mL x 30 mL; group 3-chlorhexidine 0.2%; group 4-fusafungine 1%; and group 5 (cohort)-physiologic serum. On day 10 after drug administration, biopsy specimens were taken from the oropharyngeal mucosa of the tongue, the cheek mucosa, and the tongue base; these were examined under a light microscope and were classified as normal or pathologic. All topical oral sprays produced some degree of histopathologic change, such as hyperplasia, fibrosis, low-grade dysplasia, congestion, or edema. The local irritant effects of topical oral sprays should be considered when treatment is selected for patients with oropharyngeal disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultraviolet/visible photon transmission technique was applied to study the phase diagram of a mixture of 4-ethoxy-4'-(6-vinyloxyhexyloxyl) azobenzene (VE), a smectogen, and 4-hexoxy-3'-methyl-4'-(6-acryloyloxyhexyloxy) azobenzene (AH), which by itself exhibits no liquid crystalline behavior. It has been found that the N-Sm-A phase line terminates at either a tricritical point at about X[sub VE] = 0.9, where X[sub VE] is the weight percentage of VE in the binary mixture, or at least at a tricritical region 0.9 < X[sub VE] < 1 within the experimental resolution. For X[sub VE] = 1 the nematic phase region is not large enough to drive the transition second-order. It is found that the value of the critical exponent β for X[sub VE] = 0.9 is consistent with the tricritical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate possible effects of aspirin treatment on cellular oxidant/antioxidant system. In the first part of the study, 15 guinea pigs were given aspirin at three different doses (2200, 440 and 10 mg/kg/day) for 30 days and five were fed on the same diet without aspirin. After a month, animals were killed and their hearts were removed for use in analyses. In the other part, after fasting blood samples were obtained from 11 volunteer subjects, they were given aspirin (approximately 10 mg/kg/day) for 30 days and second blood samples were obtained after 1 month. Five volunteer subjects also participated as placebo control. Oxidant/antioxidant parameters, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), nonenzymatic superoxide scavenger activity (NSSA), susceptibility to oxidation (SO) and antioxidant potential (AOP) values, were assayed in the samples. Antioxidant system was found to be impaired in the heart tissue from guinea pigs and in the erythrocytes from volunteer subjects. AOP and NSSA values were lower and MDA higher after aspirin treatment in both heart tissues and erythrocytes. In guinea pig heart tissue, SO was lower, but GSH-Px and CAT were unchanged after aspirin treatment. In human erythrocytes, SO was unchanged, but GSH-Px and CAT activities were increased after aspirin treatment. Changes in guinea pig heart tissues from animals treated with higher aspirin doses were more drastic relative to those of human erythrocytes, but no meaningful differences were observed between analysis parameters of control and lower-dose (10 mg/kg/day) aspirin-treated animals. Our results suggest that high-dose aspirin exerts significant toxicity to guinea pig myocardium and normal dose aspirin may cause peroxidation in the human erythrocytes due to its oxidant potential. We suppose that antioxidant supplementation may be beneficial for the people using aspirin for longer periods in order to prevent peroxidation damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatoprotective activity of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) essential oil (FEO) was studied using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver injury model in rats. The hepatotoxicity produced by acute CCl4 administration was found to be inhibited by FEO with evidence of decreased levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin. The results of this study indicate that FEO has a potent hepatoprotective action against CCl4-induced hepatic damage in rats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report optical birefringence data by two different methods with high temperature resolution for octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) near the smectic-A to nematic (Sm-A-N) phase transition temperature TAN. Within the resolution of our experiments, we find that the Sm-A-N phase transition is continuous. For a possible discontinuity in the orientational order parameter S(T) at TAN, we arrive at an upper limit of 0.0002, which is substantially smaller than other estimates in literature, but consistent with the value of 0.00008 derived from the upper limit of the latent heat from high-resolution adiabatic scanning calorimetry (ASC), which is itself consistent with the Halperin-Lubensky-Ma theory. The temperature derivative of the order parameter exhibits a power law divergence with a critical exponent that is consistent with the value a = 0.31 ± 0.03 for the specific heat capacity obtained by ASC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study reports the potential antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities of lycorine from Sternbergia fischeriana (Herbert) Rupr. (Amaryllidaceae). Lycorine was evaluated on mice by using acetic-acid induced writhing and tail-flick tests. Lycorine exhibited stronger inhibition than aspirin in acetic-acid induced abdominal stretching at 1.0mg/kg dose. Lycorine also showed antinociceptive activity at 1.0mg/kg dose in tail-flick test. The anti-inflammatory activity of lycorine was not found to be significant at dose of 0.5mg/kg. However, at doses of 1.0mg/kg and 1.5mg/kg, i.p. showed a significant reduction with 53.45% and 36.42%, respectively in rat paw oedema induced by carrageenan against the reference anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin (3mg/kg, i.p.) (95.70%). The ED50 of lycorine was determined as 0.514mg/kg. Hepatoprotective activity of lycorine on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced acute liver toxicity following biochemical parameters were also evaluated. Rats were treated with lycorine at doses of 1.0mg/kg and 2.0mg/kg, i.p. Results of biochemical tests were confirmed by histopathological examination. Lycorine exhibited significant hepatoprotective effect at dose of 2.0mg/kgi.p. dose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: To investigate the ratio of rickets and vitamin D deficiency in healthy adolescents at Van region. Method: Totally 126 cases were included in this study. All cases were evaluated for the presence of rickets symptoms, daily sun exposure,and vitamin usage, covering and eating habit. Diagnosis of rickets was made based on biochemical findings. The children whose vitamin D levels were lower than 10 ng/dl were accepted as vitamin 25(OH)D3 deficiency, but whose levels between 10-20 ng/dl were accepted as vitamin D insufficiency. Result: Sixty girls (47.6%) and 66 boys (52.4%) were included in this study. They were between 9 and 17 years old (11.94 ± 1.9 years). Vitamin D levels in 60 (47.6%) cases were normal, but 48 (38.1%) cases had rickets, 13 (10.3%) cases had vitamin D insufficiency and 5 (4.0%) cases had vitamin D deficiency. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of rickets between the cases with or without covered-dress. However, there was a significant difference in the incidence of vitamin D insufficiency (p< 0.05). All of the cases had less daily calcium, phosphorus, protein and vitamin D intake than recommended daily amount. In the rickets group, alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly higher comparing with the others (p< 0.05), but there was no difference in plasma intact parathyroid hormone levels. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that most adolescents who appeared to be healthy (52.4%) could have vitamin D insufficiency. Therefore, we believe that dietary education and/or vitamin D prophylaxis might be given to all adolescents. However, more extensive researches should be done to elucidate of our suggestion's correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonum cognatum Meisn. (Polygonaceae) is used both as food and as a folk medicine to treat diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the extracts, along with isolated compounds, from P. cognatum aerial parts on diabetes. In vitro studies were conducted using an α-glucosidase inhibitory assay, while in vivo antidiabetic studies were carried out on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Effective extracts were subjected to isolation studies, and structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts had the highest effect in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. They also decreased aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and malondialdehyde levels, while increasing glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity in rats. From the active extracts, 11 phenolic compounds were isolated and characterized. Among the isolated compounds, quercetin was found to be the most active according to α-glucosidase inhibitory activity studies. This study provided scientific evidence for the traditional use of P. cognatum as a folk medicine for treating diabetes. The findings suggest that the ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts, as well as quercetin, have the potential for development as antidiabetic agents., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The medicinal plant Paeonia mascula L. is commonly used in Anatolian folk medicine for its antidiabetic properties. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition effect, in vivo antidiabetic, and antioxidant activities of extracts obtained from P. mascula. The in vivo studies were conducted on diabetic rats induced with streptozotocin. The ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts showed the highest efficacy in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, reducing AST, ALT, and MDA levels while increasing GSH and SOD activities in rats. In total, seven compounds were isolated from both extracts, and their structures were identified using spectroscopic methods such as 1D and 2D NMR and Mass Spectrometry. The in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition assay on purified compounds revealed that 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose was the most effective compound. These findings support the traditional use of P. mascula as an antidiabetic agent., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Astragalus L. is a genus member of the Fabaceae family, representing about 3,000 species all over the world and 380 species in Turkey. Astragalus species have been used in traditional medicine for many years. Astragalus globosus Vahl, known as "top geven", is a dwarf, scapose, perennial herb, Astragalus breviflorus DC., known as "yünlü geven", is an extremely spiny dwarf shrub. These endemic species grow in the Turkish cities of Erzurum, Kars, and Van. This is the first phytochemical and cytotoxic investigation of Astragalus globosus Vahl and Astragalus breviflorus DC. The main extracts and sub-fractions from the plants were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic and apoptotic activities. The IC 50 values of dichloromethane, n -butanol, and water extracts of the aerial parts of A. globosus against the MCF-7 cell line were determined as 28.39, 868.60, and 1753.00 µg/mL. The values for the MDA-MB-231 cell line were 264.00, 620.30, and 1300.50 µg/mL, respectively. From A. globosus , the following were isolated: a flavone glycoside, diosmetin-7- O -rutinoside (1); and two flavonol glycosides, isorhamnetin-3- O -rutinoside (2) and quercetin-3- O -galactoside (3). From A. breviflorus , two phenolic acids, caffeic acid (4) and chlorogenic acid (5), and a flavan-3-ol, catechin (6), were isolated. Diosmetin-7- O -rutinoside was isolated from Astragalus species for the first time and showed the highest cytotoxic activities on the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines with IC 50 values of 13.65 and 12.89 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, we observed that diosmin exerts cytotoxic effects by causing cell necrosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

In the present work, the new aluminium-substituted polyoxometalates of the Anderson-Evans type have been prepared and structurally defined by the reaction of aluminium (III) chloride hexahydrate and sodium tungstate dihydrate/sodium molybdate dihydrate in an aqueous basic medium. Elemental analysis, FT-IR, TGA, 1 H NMR, and 31 P NMR analysis revealed that these polyoxometalates had the following formula: [Ph 4 P] 3 [Al(OH) 6 Mo 6 O 18 ]·4H 2 O 1 , [Ph 4 P] 3 [Al(OH) 6 W 6 O 18 ]·4H 2 O 2 , [C 7 H 10 N] 3 [Al(OH) 6 Mo 6 O 18 ]·4H 2 O 3 , [C 7 H 10 N] 3 [Al(OH) 6 W 6 O 18 ]·4H 2 O 4 . The compounds 1 and 2 show promising antibacterial activity against gram-positive Staphylcoccus aureus ATCC 25923 and gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 bacteria., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The author declares that there is no conflict of interest., (© TÜBİTAK.)

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between diabetes (DM) and nitrite, nitrate and MDA levels and effect of melatonin and pentoxifylline., Methods: Sixty mice were randomly divided into four groups. Control: no action; Diabetes group (DM): after fasting-blood-glucose (FBG) was measured, 150 mg/kg alloxane was applied intraperitoneally three-times every other day; Diabetes + Melatonin (DM + MLT) and Diabetes + Pentoxifylline groups (DM + PTX): following the same procedures with DM, 10 mg/kg melatonin and 50 mg/kg pentoxifylline were administered subcutaneously six days, respectively. Following FBG analysis, brain tissues were taken under the anaesthesia. Nitrite, nitrate and MDA levels were measured., Results: In the all groups with alloxane, FBG were higher than in before application ( p  < .05). Also, FBG, nitrite, nitrate and MDA levels in the DM + MLT and DM + PTX groups were lower than in the DM ( p  < .05)., Conclusions: Nitrite and nitrate may be related to etiopathogenesis of DM, and pentoxifylline and especially melatonin relatively decrease nitrite, nitrate and lipid peroxidation.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are conserved in all kingdoms of life, where they transport substrates against a concentration gradient across membranes. Some ABC transporters are known to cause multidrug resistances in humans and are able to transport chemotherapeutics across cellular membranes. Similarly, BmrA, the ABC transporter of Bacillus subtilis, is involved in excretion of certain antibiotics out of bacterial cells. Screening of extract libraries isolated from fungi revealed that the C14 fatty acid myristic acid has an inhibitory effect on the BmrA ATPase as well as the transport activity. Thus, a natural membrane constituent inhibits the BmrA activity, a finding with physiological consequences as to the activity and regulation of ABC transporter activities in biological membranes.

Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Elaeagnaceae) is an important medicinal plant associated with numerous pharmacological activities. Its leaves are used as a therapeutic agent in traditional medicinal systems to treat diabetes. However, the active compounds responsible for the beneficial effects of E. angustifolia remain unclear. In this study, we determined the bioactive profile of E. angustifolia leaves using open column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Further, we sought to determine its α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities, and its DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging activities. Four undescribed flavonol glycosides, igdoside A-D, and four known glucosides were isolated from the ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts of E. angustifolia leaves. Thereafter, the compound structures were identified using spectroscopic methods, including NMR and mass spectrometry. Of the compounds extracted, kaempferol-3-O-(6″-trans-p-coumaroyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (trans-tiliroside), exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC 50 value of 2128 ± 63 μM compared to the positive control, acarbose (IC 50  = 6561 ± 207 μM). trans-Tiliroside was also found to exhibit potent scavenging activity against the ABTS radical, with an IC 50 value of 5 ± 0 μM, compared to the positive controls, trolox (31 ± 1 μM) and α-tocopherol (50 ± 1 μM). In addition, isorhamnetin-3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (IC 50  = 6 ± 0 μM) and astragalin (IC 50  = 6 ± 0 μM) showed similar ABTS radical-scavenging activity as trans-tiliroside. Based on HPLC, the content of trans-tiliroside was 9.69% in the ethyl acetate extract, 1.04% in decoction, 0.34% in 70% methanol extract, and 0.23% in infusion. None of the extracts and compounds showed α-amylase inhibition or DPPH-scavenging activity., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Alchemilla species are used in Turkish folk medicine for the treatment of many diseases together with diabetes. Alchemilla persica , belonging to this genus, is widely distributed in Eastern Anatolia as well as in Caucasia, northern and northeastern Iran, and northern Iraq., Materials and Methods: Methanolic-water extracts of the aerial parts and roots of A. persica were evaluated for their hypoglycemic activities in mice with alloxan-induced diabetes in order to verify its usage in folk medicine., Results: None of the tested extracts exhibited a significant lowering effect on blood glucose levels. However, the aerial parts notably increased blood glucose levels at doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg., Conclusion: A. persica usage as an antidiabetic is not confirmed in the present study., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors., (©Copyright 2019 Turk J Pharm Sci, Published by Galenos Publishing House.)

Ferulago species have been utilized since ancient times as digestive, sedative, aphrodisiac, along with in salads or as a spice due to their special odors. The study reports isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds of Ferulago pachyloba (F. pachyloba) , Ferulago trachycarpa (F. trachycarpa), Ferulago bracteata ( F. bracteata) , and Ferulago blancheana ( F. blancheana) via bioassay guided fractionation and isolation process. The structures of compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analyses. They were also assessed for their activities at 1000-31.25 µg/mL concentrations by microbroth-dilution methods. Antimicrobial activity of aqueous, methanol extracts and dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n -butanol and aqueous residue fractions of methanol extracts from aerial parts and roots of species along with isolated compounds [osthole, imperatorin, bergapten, prantschimgin, peucedanol-2'-benzoate, grandivitinol, suberosin, xanthotoxin, felamidin, marmesin, umbelliferone, ulopterol and a sterol mixture consisted of stigmasterol, β -sitosterol] were evaluated. Antimicrobial effect has been seen against Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, and a yeast C. albicans at a concentration between 31.25 and 62.5 μg/mL. Especially, C. albicans (MIC = 31.25 μg/mL) was the most inhibited microorganism. Moreover, growth of P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis , E. coli , and S. aureus were inhibited at 62.5 μg/mL MIC values. Among tested samples prantschimgin and dichloromethane fraction of aerial parts from F. pachyloba showed the best activity against C. albicans (MIC = 31.25 μg/mL). However, among aqueous extracts and residue fractions, only F. blancheana aerial parts, F. trachycarpa aerial parts, and roots and F. bracteata roots showed activity against C. albicans . Among microorganisms E. coli was found to be the least affected.

Context: Ferulago (Apiaceae) species have been used since ancient times for the treatment of intestinal worms, hemorrhoids, and as a tonic, digestive, aphrodisiac, or sedative, as well as in salads or as a spice due to their special odors., Objectives: This study reports the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of dichloromethane extract and bioactive compounds isolated from Ferulago bracteata Boiss. & Hausskn. roots., Materials and Methods: The isolated compounds obtained from dichloromethane extract of Ferulago bracteata roots through bioassay-guided fractionation and isolation process were evaluated for their in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities at 5000-400 µg/mL concentrations. Compound structures were elucidated by detailed analyses (NMR and MS)., Results: A new coumarin, peucedanol-2'-benzoate (1), along with nine known ones, osthole (2), imperatorin (3), bergapten (4), prantschimgin (5), grandivitinol (6), suberosin (7), xanthotoxin (8), felamidin (9), umbelliferone (10), and a sterol mixture consisted of stigmasterol (11), β-sitosterol (12) was isolated from the roots of F. bracteata. Felamidin and suberosin showed significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC 50 0.42 and 0.89 mg/mL, respectively) when compared to the reference standard acarbose (IC 50 4.95 mg/mL). However, none of the tested extracts were found to be active on α-amylase inhibition., Discussion and Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that among the compounds isolated from CH 2 Cl 2 fraction of F. bracteata roots, coumarins were determined as the main chemical constituents of this fraction. This is the first report on isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds from root extracts of F. bracteata and on their α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.

Oxidative stress had a great importance in development of complications in diabetes. We investigated effects of melatonin and pentoxifylline in diabetic mice. Swiss albino mice (n = 40) were divided into four groups: alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus (DM), alloxan-induced diabetes with melatonin supplementation (DM + MLT), alloxan-induced diabetes with pentoxifylline supplementation (DM + PTX), and control. Glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and susceptibility to oxidation of erythrocytes were measured. MDA levels were higher than control in the DM and DM + MLT. The DM had more MDA level than the DM + MLT and DM + PTX (P < 0.001). After in vitro oxidation, MDA levels of all groups were found higher than the control. However, they were significantly lower than the DM in DM + PTX and DM + MLT (P < 0.001). Although GSH levels of the DM and DM + PTX were less than the control, GSH-Px activity of the DM was lower than the control and DM + PTX (P < 0.05). We suggest that there is increased oxidative stress and compromised antioxidant status of erythrocytes in diabetes; however, it can be effectively prevented by melatonin or pentoxifylline supplementation., (© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: Radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFT) has been reported to be used safely to treat ischemic lower extremity pain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate efficiency of RFT for treatment of lower extremity ischemic pain and to compare effectiveness of monopolar RFT and bipolar RFT modes., Methods: Following ethics committee approval, 30 American Society of Anesthesiologists classification I-III patients with ischemic lower extremity pain aged between 18 and 65 years were recruited. Patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups: MRT group (n=15) received monopolar RFT (80°C) for 2 minutes at L2-3 level, and BRT group (n=15) received bipolar RFT (80°C) for 2 minutes at L2-3 level. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, pain score, and supplemental analgesic requirements were recorded at 24 hours after application and at 7, 30, and 90 days., Results: Numerical rating scale values in both groups decreased significantly over time and it was found to be significantly lower in BRT group after first and third months (p<0.05). Supplemental analgesic requirements were similar with no significant difference between the 2 groups at any point of study period (p>0.05). No adverse event or complication related to procedure or treatment was reported., Conclusion: In patients with ischemic lower extremity pain, both monopolar and bipolar RFT treatment modalities were found to significantly decrease pain levels. However, bipolar mode led to lower pain scores at 30 and 90 days, and longer duration of analgesia than monopolar mode.

Purpose: The present study aimed to analyze the researches that are at the experimental phase concerning osteosarcoma treatment. The researches included drug delivery systems which allow controlled release and imbue small interfering-/micro- ribonucleic acid., Methods: Without any language preference, we searched US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, Embase, OVID, Cochrane Library database of clinical trials from 1843 to May 25, 2016 and traced all the references of incorporated documents. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics and the results are shown as frequency (%)., Results: We haven't encountered any drug delivery system in which Small interfering ribonucleic acid/ micro ribonucleic acid oligonucleotides were embedded successfully against osteosarcoma. There has been only one research in which hairpin-ribonucleic acid was embedded., Conclusion: It was considered that drug delivery system enabling controlled oligonucleotide release in the treatment period of osteosarcoma was not projected for the clinical use. However, it cannot be neglected that the mentioned experimental studies with regard to osteosarcoma treatment establish the basis of target therapies. The method in question looks promising regarding effective treatment of osteosarcoma in the future., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

We report optical birefringence data for a series of mixtures of the liquid crystals octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) and decylcyanobiphenyl (10CB). Nematic order parameter S data in the nematic and smectic A phases have been derived from phase angle changes obtained in temperature scans with a rotating analyzer method. These S values have been used to arrive at values for possible entropy discontinuities at the smectic A to nematic phase transition temperature T&#95;{NA}. The 10CB mole fraction dependence of the obtained entropy discontinuities could be well fitted with a crossover function consistent with the mean-field free-energy expression with a nonzero cubic term arising from the coupling between the smectic-A order parameter and the orientational order parameter director fluctuations in the Halperin-Lubensky-Ma theory. The obtained results are in good agreement with existing results from adiabatic scanning calorimetry. By exploiting the fact that the temperature derivative of the order parameter S(T) near T&#95;{NA} exhibits the same power law divergence as the specific heat capacity, we have extracted the effective critical exponent α values for the compositions under study. The critical exponent α has been observed to reach the tricritical value α&#95;{TCP}=0.5 for the 10CB mole fraction of x=0.330.

A new β-hydroxydihydrochalcone glycoside named ziganin (1) and a new acylated flavonol glycoside named isorhamnetin-3-O-α-L-(2″,3″-di-O-trans-coumaroyl)-rhamnopyranoside) (2), along with two known flavonoid glycosides, a β-hydroxydihydrochalcone glycoside, a hydroxybenzoic acid derivative, a trinorguaiane type sesquiterpenoid, a triterpenic saponin and a polyol were isolated from the herbs of Pimpinella rhodantha Boiss. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses including 1D-and 2D-NMR, UV, IR, CD, ESI-MS, APCI-MS, HR-ESI-MS techniques. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant capacity through the DPPH free-radical scavenging assay and ferrous ion-chelating power test.

We report high-sensitivity and high-temperature resolution experimental data for the temperature dependence of the optical birefringence of a nonpolar monolayer smectogen 4-butyloxyphenyl-4'-decyloxybenzoate (10[over ¯].O.4[over ¯]) liquid crystal by using a rotating-analyzer technique. The birefringence data cover nematic and smectic-A phases of the 10[over ¯].O.4[over ¯] compound. The birefringence data are used to probe the temperature behavior of the nematic order parameter S(T) in the vicinity of both the nematic-isotropic (N-I) and the nematic-smectic-A (N-SmA) transitions. For the N-I transition, from the data sufficiently far away from the smectic-A phase, the average value of the critical exponent β describing the limiting behavior of S(T) is found to be 0.2507±0.0010, which is in accordance with the so-called tricritical hypothesis, which predicts β=0.25 and excludes higher theoretical values. The critical behavior of S(T) at the N-I transition is discussed in detail by comparing our results with the latest reports in the literature and we conclude that by comparing with the previously reported results, the isotropic internal field assumption by the Vuks-Chandrasekhar-Madhusudana model is adequate to extract the critical behavior of S(T) from the optical birefringence data. We observe that there is no discontinuous behavior in the optical birefringence, signaling the second-order nature of the N-SmA transition. The effect of the coupling between the nematic and smectic-A order parameters on the optical birefringence near the N-SmA transition is also discussed. In a temperature range of about 4K above and below the N-SmA transition, the pretransitional evidence for the N-SmA coupling have been detected. From the analysis of the optical birefringence data above and below the N-SmA transition by means of various fitting expressions we test the validity of the scaling relation λ=1-α between the critical exponent λ describing the limiting behavior of the nematic order parameter and the specific heat capacity exponent α. We then show that the temperature derivative of the nematic order parameter S(T) near T(NA) exhibits the same power-law divergence as the specific heat capacity with an effective critical exponent of 0.2303±0.0035.