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Hydrogels for complex and chronic wound dressings must be conformable, absorb and retain wound exudates and maintain hydration. They can incorporate and release bioactive molecules that can accelerate the healing process. Wound dressings have to be in contact with the wound and epidermis, even for long periods, without causing adverse effects. Hydrogel dressing formulations based on biopolymers derived from terrestrial or marine flora can be relatively inexpensive and well tolerated. In the present article hydrogel films composed by agarose (1.0 wt%), κ-carrageenan at three different concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt%) and glycerol (3.0 wt%) were prepared without recourse to crosslinking agents, and characterized for their mechanical properties, morphology, swelling and erosion behavior. The films resulted highly elastic and able to absorb and retain large amounts of fluids without losing their integrity. One of the films was loaded with the aqueous extract from Cryphaea heteromalla (Hedw.) D. Mohr for its antioxidant properties. Absence of cytotoxicity and ability to reduce the oxidative stress were demonstrated on NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell cultures. These results encourage further biological evaluations to assess their impact on the healing process., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest and that they do not have any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction play an important role in the onset of neurodegenerative diseases; thus, the antioxidant use could be a promising preventive or therapeutic intervention. The food and agricultural industries generate huge quantities of by-products rich in biophenolic compounds. If, on the one hand, they represent a serious environmental problem, on the other hand, are valuable natural sources of antioxidants. In the present work, the total phenolic content and the antioxidant power of the wastewater derived from the production of four Sicilian extra virgin olive oils are shown. Four biophenols, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol alcohols and caffeic acid (CA) and p-coumaric acids, were identified and quantified and their antioxidant ability determined. Their effects in counteracting Abeta1-42 oligomer oxidative damage in LAN5 cell culture were investigated. Results indicated that CA was the most effective compound in counteracting the cell damages induced by Abeta1-42 oligomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is commonly consumed as spice or herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. It is rich of many bioactive constituents, mainly gingerols and shogaols. Although the bioactive constituents have been identified, the molecular mechanisms of ginger action are still limited, and the related signalling pathways not completely defined. Here, we used a simple ethanol/freeze-drying method to obtain a new ginger extract (GE), which was chemically characterised by Folin-Ciocalteu, antioxidant ORAC and HPLC assays. At cellular level, anti-inflammatory/antioxidant properties of GE, in addition to the commercial [6]-gingerol, were evaluated using RAW264.7 murine macrophages. Cell viability tests verified the non-toxic doses of GE and [6]-gingerol, and the glutathione assay confirmed the antioxidant property of GE. By quantitative PCR, we analysed the differential expression of various genes in LPS-treated cells, after GE/[6]-gingerol pre-treatments. The genes belonged to different categories: immune signalling, pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines, pro-/anti-antioxidant enzymes, hallmarks of macrophage polarization and endoplasmic reticulum stress response. Results showed that pre-treatment with two doses of GE reduced the LPS-induced expression of TLR4, MyD88, Rel-A, IL-1α, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, iNOS and TRIB3 genes to varying degrees, whereas increased Jun, Light/Tnfsf14, HO-1 and Arg-1 gene expression. No effect was found on MIF expression in LPS-induced cells after GE pre-treatments. These results also suggested that GE pre-treatment promotes the expression of specific markers of macrophage polarization in LPS-stimulated cells, with a trend to activate an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Further analyses will broaden the understanding of the role of individual GE components in cellular inflammation/immunomodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]