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Rosmarinus officinalis L. (RO), an aromatic plant used as food condiment and in traditional medicine, exerts numerous beneficial properties including antioxidant, analgesic and neuroprotective effects. Onset and progression of homeostatic imbalances observed in the early phases of a number of neurodegenerative diseases, have been associated with a gap junction (GJ)-dependent increased membrane permeability and alterations of connexins (Cxs), including Cx43. Here, we evaluate spray-dried RO extract (SDROE)-mediated effects on cell viability, apoptosis and Cx43-based intercellular communication using human SH-SY5Y neuron-like and human A-172 glial-like cells in an in vitro model of oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) injury. We found that SDROE exerts a protective action in OGD-injured cells, increasing cell viability and metabolic turnover and decreasing Cx43-based cell coupling. These data suggest that SDROE-mediated Cx43 reduction may be the molecular basis for its beneficial effects to be exploited for preventive treatment against the risk of some neurodegenerative disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grape pomace (GP) is an important by-product of winemaking, accounting for about 13-25% of the grapes processed. The aim of this work was to investigate the nutritional and antioxidant composition of GP obtained from Nero d'Avola (NA) grape, one of the most important indigenous varieties in Italy, in order to verify application in nutraceutics. Seeds and skin of the GP were studied for their nutritional and antioxidants composition, fatty acid and polyphenols profile, bioactives properties in vitro, by gravimetric, spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques. The results showed that NAGP seeds are rich in the beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids and that the polyphenols extracted from the GP skin present a strong antiradical and antiproliferative activity, attested also in vitro, in human skin fibroblast (HS-68) and in hepatoma cell line (Hep-G2). Obtained results underline the possibility to employ this residual biomass for nutraceuticals application, contributing also to increase the sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) are regarded as interesting drug delivery systems and their preparation techniques have gained a great deal of attention. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of preparing idebenone (IDE) loaded SLN from O/W microemulsions by the phase-inversion temperature (PIT) method. Since SLN have been proposed to improve drug delivery to the brain, IDE was chosen as model drug due to its activity in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Materials and Methods: Cetyl palmitate was used as solid lipid to prepare SLN containing two surfactant/cosurfactant mixtures, isoceteth-20/glyceryl oleate (SLN A) and ceteth-20/glyceryl oleate (SLN B) by the PIT method. Results and discussion: All the formulations tested showed a mean particle diameter ranging from 30 to 95 nm and a single peak in size distribution. Stability tests showed that SLN B were more stable than SLN A. IDE release was dependent both on the type of primary surfactant used and the amount of loaded drug. IDE-loaded SLN were effective in inhibiting 2,2′′-azobis-(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride (APPH)-induced lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in primary cultures of astrocytes obtained from rat cerebral cortex. It is noteworthy that SLN B2 (containing ceteth-20 as primary surfactant and 0.7% w/w IDE) were able to prevent entirely both the LDH release and ROS production induced by APPH. Conclusion: The PIT method provided SLN with good technological properties. The tested SLN could be regarded as interesting carriers to overcome the blood brain barrier and increase the efficacy of the loaded drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented which report the results of endothelial function assessed by brachial flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who are in remission phase.

In this work we investigated the effects of oil phase lipophilicity on in vitro drug release from topical o/w microemulsions (MEs) containing low percentages of emulsifiers. Three different lipids, isopropyl myristate (IPM), isopropyl palmitate (IPP), and isopropyl stearate (IPS), whose lipophilicity increased in the order IPM Three active compounds (0.5% w/w), Naproxen (NAP), Idebenone (IDE), and Butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane (BMBM), were selected as model drugs and their release rates from PIT MEs were evaluated using Franz-type diffusion cells. All the MEs gave a mean droplet diameter ranging from 28 to 44 nm and showed a single peak in size distribution. The addition of IDE to MEs 1–6 did not significantly change ME droplet size. On the contrary, an increase of the droplet size beyond the ME limit (150 nm) was observed when isoceteth-20 was used as surfactant to prepare MEs containing NAP or MEs containing BMBM and IPS as oil phase. Pseudo-first order release rates were observed only for NAP from MEs 1–3, while MEs containing IDE showed an initial slow release followed by an increased release of the test compound. The release rate constants were found to be dependent on the ME composition and on the active compound incorporated. The highest release rate was observed from ME 1 containing IPM as oil phase and NAP as drug. As regards BMBM, its release rate was not calculated since no release was observed until 6 h from the beginning of the experiment. The cumulative amount of active compound released after 22 h was inversely related to drug lipophilicity (NAP Log P = 2,9; IDE Log P 3,5; BMBM Log P 4,8). These findings could be attributable to a reduced thermodynamic activity of the drugs in the vehicles containing the most lipophilic oil phase due to an increase of drug solubility which could lead to an unfavorable drug partition from the oil phase. The results of this study suggest that the choice of proper combinations of oil phase lipids and emulsifiers may allow achieving drug controlled delivery from topical o/w MEs with low emulsifier content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]