13 results on '"Beconcini D."'
Search Results
2. Characterization of nutritional and health properties of local Tuscany cherry varieties and evaluation of innovative nanosystems delivery
- Author
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Beconcini D., Berni R., Felice F., Romi M., Fabiano A., Zambito Y., Di Stefano R., Cai G., Santoni T., and Cantini C.
- Published
- 2017
3. Short- and long-term considerations concerning the management of plaque psoriasis with low-dose cyclosporin
- Author
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Ippolito, F, Carducci, M, Fazio, M, Giacalone, B, Giannotti, B, Carli, P, Massone, L, Borghi, S, Chimenti, S, Legge, A, Lisi, P, Solaroli, C, Ghelli, E, Lazzaro, C, Spitalieri, S, Varotti, C, Bardazzi, F, Peluso, Am, Tosti, A, Biggio, P, Aste, N, Miani, F, Carriera, Ml, Calandra, P, Assalve, D, Marson, G, Carrabba, E, Rodeghiero, R, Scarpa, C, Kokelj, F, Garcovich, A, Pompili, A, Gatti, M, Berruti, G, Carlesimo, Oa, Clerico, R, Indelicato, V, Amerio, P, Masci, S, Gravante, M, Arico, M, Larocca, E, Rebora, A, Parodi, A, Coglio, G, Calzavarapinton, Pg, Panconesi, E, Campolmi, P, Bonan, P, Altobella, L, Barone, R, Poeta, G, Desalvo, V, Finzi, Af, Schmitt, E, Leigheb, G, Gattoni, M, Rabito, C, Vellerfornasa, C, Cancian, G, Fadel, A, Califano, L, Altieri, E, Giannetti, A, Fantini, F, Cimitan, A, Allegra, F, Devoto, Mr, Bossi, G, Ricotti, G, Atzori, F, Laurenti, G, Amerighi, F, Sirna, R, Barbieri, G, Griseta, V, Mian, E, Beconcini, D, Rantuccio, F, Sinisi, D, Cainelli, T, Andreassi, L, Perotti, R, Cottoni, F, Colombo, E, Chieregato, G, Leoni, A, Galbiati, G, Nicoletti, A, Rabbiosi, G, Miori, L, Quarta, G, Pazzaglia, A, Nini, G, Dellacasaalberighi, O, and Antonellini, A
- Published
- 1993
4. Quaternary Ammonium Chitosans: The Importance of the Positive Fixed Charge of the Drug Delivery Systems.
- Author
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Fabiano A, Beconcini D, Migone C, Piras AM, and Zambito Y
- Subjects
- Chitosan analogs & derivatives, Drug Delivery Systems, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds chemistry
- Abstract
As a natural polysaccharide, chitosan has good biocompatibility, biodegradability and biosecurity. The hydroxyl and amino groups present in its structure make it an extremely versatile and chemically modifiable material. In recent years, various synthetic strategies have been used to modify chitosan, mainly to solve the problem of its insolubility in neutral physiological fluids. Thus, derivatives with negative or positive fixed charge were synthesized and used to prepare innovative drug delivery systems. Positively charged conjugates showed improved properties compared to unmodified chitosan. In this review the main quaternary ammonium derivatives of chitosan will be considered, their preparation and their applications will be described to evaluate the impact of the positive fixed charge on the improvement of the properties of the drug delivery systems based on these polymers. Furthermore, the performances of the proposed systems resulting from in vitro and ex vivo experiments will be taken into consideration, with particular attention to cytotoxicity of systems, and their ability to promote drug absorption.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Cherry Extract: Nanosystems-Based Strategies to Improve Endothelial Function and Intestinal Absorption.
- Author
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Beconcini D, Felice F, Fabiano A, Sarmento B, Zambito Y, and Di Stefano R
- Abstract
Cherry fruit has a high content in flavonoids. These are important diet components protecting against oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction, which are all involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, which is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Since the seasonal availability of fresh fruit is limited, research has been focused on cherry extract (CE), which also possesses a high nutraceutical potential. Many clinical studies have demonstrated the nutraceutical efficacy of fresh cherries, but only a few studies on CE antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities have been carried out. Here, the results concerning the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of CE are reviewed. These were obtained by an in vitro model based on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC). To clarify the CE mechanism of action, cells were stressed to induce inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Considering that antioxidants' polyphenol compounds are easily degraded in the gastrointestinal tract, recent strategies to reduce the degradation and improve the bioavailability of CE are also presented and discussed. In particular, we report on results obtained with nanoparticles (NP) based on chitosan derivatives (Ch-der), which improved the mucoadhesive properties of the chitosan polymers, as well as their positive charge, to favor high cellular interaction and polyphenols intestinal absorption, compared with a non-mucoadhesive negative surface charged poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid NP. The advantages and safety of different nanosystems loaded with natural CE or other nutraceuticals are also discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Antioxidant Effect of Cocoa By-Product and Cherry Polyphenol Extracts: A Comparative Study.
- Author
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Felice F, Fabiano A, De Leo M, Piras AM, Beconcini D, Cesare MM, Braca A, Zambito Y, and Di Stefano R
- Abstract
Background: Recent studies have highlighted the importance of cherry and cocoa extracts consumption to protect cells from oxidative stress, paying particular attention to cocoa by-products. This study aims to investigate the protective effect of cocoa husk extract (CHE) and cherry extracts (CE) against ROS-induced oxidative stress in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs)., Methods: CE and CHE had antioxidant activity characterized by total polyphenols content (TPC). HUVECs were treated for 2 h and 24 h with increasing TPC concentrations of CE and CHE (5-10-25-50-100 µg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/mL) and then with H
2 O2 for 1 h. Cell viability and ROS production were evaluated. CE and CHE polyphenols permeability on excised rat intestine were also studied., Results: CE and CHE showed a similar antioxidant activity (2.5 ± 0.01 mmol Fe2+ /100 g FW (fresh weight) and 2.19 ± 0.09 mmol Fe2+ /100 g FW, respectively, p > 0.05) whereas CHE had a higher TPC (7105.0 ± 96.9 mg GAE/100 g FW) than CE (402.5 ± 8.4 mg GAE/100 g), p < 0.05. The in vitro viability assay showed that both extracts were non-cytotoxic. CHE resulted in protection against ROS at lower concentrations than CE. CHE showed a 2-fold higher apparent permeability compared to CE., Conclusions: CHE represents a high-value antioxidant source, which is interesting for the food and pharmaceutical industries.- Published
- 2020
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7. Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Cherry Extract Loaded in Polymeric Nanoparticles: Relevance of Particle Internalization in Endothelial Cells.
- Author
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Beconcini D, Felice F, Zambito Y, Fabiano A, Piras AM, Macedo MH, Sarmento B, and Di Stefano R
- Abstract
This study aimed at evaluating the anti-inflammatory effect of natural cherry extract (CE), either free or encapsulated in nanoparticles (NPs) based on chitosan derivatives (Ch-der) or poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA), on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). CE from Prunus avium L. was characterized for total polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins content. CE and CE-loaded NP cytotoxicity and protective effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stressed HUVEC were tested by water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) assay. Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and PGE2) released by HUVEC were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All NP types were internalized into HUVEC after 2 h incubation and promoted the anti-inflammatory effect of free CE at the concentration of 2 µg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL. CE-loaded Ch-der NPs showed the highest in vitro uptake and anti-inflammatory activity, blunting the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE2 cytokines. Moreover, all NPs reduced the production of nitric oxide and NLRP3 inflammasome, and had a stronger anti-inflammatory effect than the major corticosteroid dexamethasone. In particular, the results demonstrate that natural CE protects endothelial cells from inflammatory stress when encapsulated in NPs based on quaternary ammonium chitosan. The CE beneficial effects were directly related with in vitro internalization of CE-loaded NPs.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
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8. Cherry Extract from Prunus avium L. to Improve the Resistance of Endothelial Cells to Oxidative Stress: Mucoadhesive Chitosan vs. Poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) Nanoparticles.
- Author
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Beconcini D, Fabiano A, Di Stefano R, Macedo MH, Felice F, Zambito Y, and Sarmento B
- Subjects
- Caco-2 Cells, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells pathology, Humans, Antioxidants chemistry, Antioxidants pharmacology, Chitosan chemistry, Chitosan pharmacology, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells metabolism, Nanoparticles chemistry, Plant Extracts chemistry, Plant Extracts pharmacology, Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer chemistry, Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer pharmacology, Prunus avium chemistry
- Abstract
Polyphenolic compounds contained in cherry extract (CE) are well known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Unfortunately, most of these natural compounds have low oral bioavailability, reducing their widespread use. Here, different concentrations of polyphenol-rich CE from Tuscany (Italy), encapsulated in poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs), were compared with those encapsulated in two NP types, different from each other in terms of mucoadhesivity, obtained with chitosan derivatives (Ch-der), regarding CE gastrointestinal (GI) permeability and protective effect on oxidative stress. Different NP systems were physico-chemically characterized, and the antioxidant GI permeability was evaluated in a triple-cell co-culture model (Caco-2/HT29-MTX/Raji B), resembling the intestine. PLGA NPs efficiently entrapped CE (up to 840 µg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/mL) without altering size (210 nm), polydispersity index (0.05), or zeta potential (-10.7 mV). Such NPs promoted permeation of encapsulated CE at a CE polyphenolic concentration of at least 2 µg GAE/mL. More mucoadhesive NPs from Ch-der, coded quaternary ammonium S-protected thiolated chitosan (QA-Ch-S-pro) NP, promoted CE GI permeation of 0.5 µg GAE/mL. At higher concentrations of Ch-der polymers, the resulting NPs containing CE were toxic toward Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells. CE protected human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from oxidative stress and maintained its activity when entrapped in PLGA NPs. CE encapsulated in QA-Ch-S-pro NP protected HUVECs from oxidative stress, even more effectively than non-encapsulated CE. Furthermore, mucoadhesive NPs from Ch-der were more effective antioxidant protectors than PLGA NPs, but less cytotoxic PLGA NPs could be more useful when comparatively high therapeutic antioxidant doses are needed.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Chitosan-Based Nanoparticles Containing Cherry Extract from Prunus avium L. to Improve the Resistance of Endothelial Cells to Oxidative Stress.
- Author
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Beconcini D, Fabiano A, Zambito Y, Berni R, Santoni T, Piras AM, and Di Stefano R
- Subjects
- Antioxidants chemistry, Antioxidants pharmacology, Cell Survival, Humans, Plant Extracts chemistry, Reactive Oxygen Species, Chitosan chemistry, Fruit chemistry, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells drug effects, Nanoparticles chemistry, Plant Extracts pharmacology, Prunus avium chemistry
- Abstract
Cherries are known for their nutraceutical properties, in particular for their antioxidant ability due to their polyphenol content, which causes a reduction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. However, once ingested these molecules are degraded in the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract before reaching the blood, which is the action site. The object of the present work is to evaluate the ability of cherry extract (CE), encapsulated in nanoparticles (NPs) based on different chitosan (Ch) derivatives, to promote a protective effect of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) involved in vascular dysfunction against oxidative stress. CE-loaded NPs based on quaternary ammonium chitosan (NP1) and an S-protected thiolated derivative thereof (NP2) were prepared. The mean particle size (NP1 344.9 ± 17.8, NP2 339.9 ± 68.2 nm), the polydispersity index, the encapsulation efficiency (NP1 78.4 ± 4.5, NP2 79.8 ± 0.6%), and the zeta potential (NP1 14.8 ± 0.3, NP2 15.8 ± 0.5 mV) did not appear to be significantly different. Both NP types improved the CE apparent permeation parameters with respect to the control. Conversely, CE-loaded NP2 protected HUVECs from oxidative stress and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production more than CE-loaded NP1 and free CE. In addition to promoting HUVEC resistance, NP2 could be a useful tool to overcome the problem of cherry seasonality.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
10. Sucrosomial® iron absorption studied by in vitro and ex-vivo models.
- Author
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Fabiano A, Brilli E, Fogli S, Beconcini D, Carpi S, Tarantino G, and Zambito Y
- Subjects
- Animals, Biological Transport, Body Fluids, Caco-2 Cells, Dosage Forms, Drug Liberation, Humans, Intestinal Mucosa metabolism, Iron metabolism, Lecithins, Rats, Sucrose chemistry, Diphosphates chemistry, Diphosphates metabolism, Iron chemistry
- Abstract
This paper presents a comparative evaluation of different oral ferric iron formulations for ability to retain Fe
3+ in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), be internalized by cells lining intestinal epithelium, and cross it to reach the bloodstream. In all formulations iron was ferric pyrophosphate, the excipients were different types and fractions of lecithin plus sucrose esters of fatty acids matrix (Sideral® RM; PRT1; PRT2) or lecithin without sucrester (SUN). Dissolution kinetics of formulations in SGF was studied by USP method. The ability of the formulations to promote iron intestinal absorption was evaluated by the Caco-2 cell model, measuring cellular ferritin content, and by the excised rat intestine model, yielding apparent permeability parameters (Papp ). All formulations limited iron release in SGF to ≤10%. Sideral® RM was by far the most absorbed by Caco-2, as ferritin content was in the order: Sideral® RM≫PRT2>PRT1>SUN>control. The Fe3+ crossing the intestinal barrier was in part reduced to Fe2+ by epithelial enzymes, in part it was carried by formulation rearrangement into nano-structures able to protect it from reduction and apt for internalization by epithelium cells. Papp parameters were in the order: Sideral® RM≫PRT1>PRT2>SUN=control. Relevance of transepithelial Fe2+ carrier, DMT-1, to Fe3+ transport was ruled out using a DMT-1 inhibitor. In conclusion, Sideral® RM retains iron in SGF, and is the most suitable for Fe3+ internalization by Caco-2 cells, Fe3+ protection from enzymatic reduction and promotion of Fe3+ absorption across intestinal epithelium, non-mediated by DMT-1., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Healing of open skin surfaces with collagen foils.
- Author
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Mian E, Martini P, Beconcini D, and Mian M
- Subjects
- Burns pathology, Cicatrix drug therapy, Humans, Microcirculation drug effects, Regeneration drug effects, Skin Ulcer pathology, Biological Dressings, Burns drug therapy, Collagen administration & dosage, Skin Ulcer drug therapy, Wound Healing drug effects
- Abstract
Applications of Condress (patented sheets of pure bovine collagen) on open skin surfaces (30 cases of "ulcus cruris", 5 cases of decubitus, and malum perforans; 10 cases of full-thickness burns) were examined in a controlled trial. Quantification of regeneration speed, macrophotographic survey of granulation tissue and epithelial border, thermographic and chromometric evaluation of the skin microcirculation, and histological observation of regenerating tissues, were the parameters used. The following results were obtained: marked reduction of healing time, different aspects of the granulation-tissue responses, different times of topical collagenolysis, increased vascular perfusion, histological activation of angiogenesis, fibrogenesis, histiomacrophage function and superficial absorption. The employment of Condress in burn areas seems to be highly promising.
- Published
- 1992
12. High testosterone levels of ovarian origin affect adrenal steroidogenesis?
- Author
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Fruzzetti F, Melis GB, Mais V, Beconcini D, Paoletti AM, Cristiani G, Mian E, and Fioretti P
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- 17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone, Adolescent, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Adult, Buserelin pharmacology, Buserelin therapeutic use, Estradiol blood, Female, Follicle Stimulating Hormone blood, Hirsutism metabolism, Humans, Luteinizing Hormone blood, Adrenal Glands metabolism, Hydrocortisone biosynthesis, Hydroxyprogesterones metabolism, Ovary metabolism, Testosterone blood
- Abstract
Androgens of ovarian origin have been suggested to affect adrenal enzymatic activity. To investigate this possibility, the 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH P) and cortisol (F) responses to an ACTH stimulation test (0.25 mg iv, bolus) were evaluated in 10 normal women and in 39 hyperandrogenic women with normal (14 subjects) or high (25 subjects) testosterone (T) levels. The 17-OH P release and the ratio between 17-OH P and F release in response to the ACTH stimulation test were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in hyperandrogenic women with high T levels than in normal subjects. Eight hyperandrogenic women with high T received intranasal GnRH agonist (Buserelin, 1200 micrograms/day) for 4 weeks, and the 17-OH P and F release in response to the ACTH stimulation was reassessed after agonist treatment. At the end of GnRH agonist administration the mean circulating levels of T were significantly reduced (P less than 0.05). The F response to the ACTH test was not modified by pretreatment with the GnRH agonist. The 17-OH P response to the ACTH stimulation test after the GnRH agonist was unchanged in comparison with control tests, as well as the ratio between 17-OH P and F responses to the ACTH test. These data do not seem to confirm, as previously suggested, that high T levels of ovarian origin affect adrenal steroidogenesis.
- Published
- 1991
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. Effect of denervation on cyclic amp regulating enzymes in the rat gastrocnemius muscle.
- Author
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Pacifici GM, Pellegrino C, Maffei C, and Beconcini D
- Subjects
- Animals, Carbachol pharmacology, Epinephrine pharmacology, Male, Norepinephrine pharmacology, Rats, Sodium Fluoride pharmacology, 3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases metabolism, Adenylyl Cyclases metabolism, Muscle Denervation, Muscles enzymology
- Abstract
The activities of cyclic AMP regulatory enzymes (adenylate cyclase and phosphodiesterase) were studied in rat gastrocnemius muscle after denervation. Basal adenylate cyclase activity in whole homogenate increased progressively from the 3rd day reaching values more than 7-fold those of the controls 30 days after denervation. No significant differences between the contralateral and denervated muscle were detected as regards adenylate cyclase activation by catecholamines or NaF. Carbamylcholine was with effect. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity increased significantly at 3 days after denervation as was still significantly elevated at 60 days.
- Published
- 1981
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