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Reactive species of oxygen (ROS), responsible for oxidative stress, accumulate in various tissues damaged by burns, decubitus ulcers, and vascular lesions. Antioxidants play an important and well-documented role in healing of chronic and acute wounds. Rigenase®, a specific extract of Triticum vulgare manufactured by Farmaceutici Damor, is employed in products used for the regeneration of tissue injuries. In this work, we show that Rigenase® exhibits a scavenging effect toward free radicals, thus pointing to its relevant antioxidant activity.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Triticum vulgare has been extensively used in traditional medicine thanks to its properties of accelerating tissue repair. The aqueous extract of Triticum vulgare (TVE) is currently an active component used by Farmaceutici Damor in the manufacture of certain pharmaceutical products already marketed in Italy and abroad under the brand name Fitostimoline®, in the formulation of cream and medicated gauze and is commonly used for the treatment of decubitus ulcers, sores, burns, scarring delays, dystrophic diseases, and, more broadly, in the presence of problems relating to re-epithelialization or tissue regeneration. The active components of Fitostimoline®-based products determine a marked acceleration of tissutal repairing processes, stimulate chemotaxis and the fibroblastic maturation, and significantly increase the fibroblastic index, which are crucial points in the repairing processes. The aim of the present paper was to identify and characterize the active fractions of TVE responsible for the pharmacological effect in tissutal repairing processes. Materials and methods Several fractions obtained from TVE by ultrafiltration procedures and HPAE chromatography were tested to measure their growth-enhancing activity on NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. The healing action of the same fractions, prepared as cream formulation, was assessed in rat subjected to two different models of skin lesion, skin scarification and excision. Results Our results showed a pro-proliferative effect of the fractions ST-98 and K>1000 in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. Moreover these fractions formulated as cream preparations were effective also in in vivo models of skin lesion. Conclusions The results of the present study showed that these active fractions of TVE are responsible for its pro-proliferative effect.

Triticum vulgare has been extensively used in traditional medicine thanks to its properties of accelerating tissue repair. The specific extract of Triticum vulgare manufactured by Farmaceutici Damor (TVE-DAMOR) is already present in some pharmaceutical formulations used in the treatment of decubitus ulcers, skin lesions and burns. It has been recently suggested that this Triticum vulgare extract may possess potential anti-inflammatory properties. In the light of these premises the aim of the present paper was to verify the anti-inflammatory role of TVE, using the LPS-stimulated microglia model of inflammation. In particular the effect of different concentrations of TVE on the release of several mediators of inflammation such as nitric oxide, IL-6, PGE2 and TNF alpha was evaluated. More important, the anti-inflammatory effect of TVE was confirmed also in primary rat microglia cultures. The results of the present study show that TVE exerts anti-inflammatory properties since it reduces the release of all the evaluated markers of inflammation, such as NO, IL6, TNF alpha and PGE2 in LPS-activated BV2 microglial cells. Intriguingly, TVE reduced microglia activation and NO release also in primary microglia. Indeed, to verify the pathway of modulation of the inflammatory markers reported above, we found that TVE restores the cytoplasmic expression of p65 protein, kwown as specific marker associated with activation of inflammatory response. The evidence for an inhibitory activity on inflammation of this specific extract of Triticum vulgare may open the way to the possibility of a therapeutical use of the Triticum vulgare extract as an anti-inflammatory compound in certain pathological states such as burns, decubitus ulcers, folliculitis and inflammation of peripheral nerve.

The 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of lycorine and its α-dihydro derivative have been studied. The employment of nuclear magnetic double resonance, nuclear Overhauser effect and acetylated derivatives, allows the assignment of all proton resonances. The assignments of the carbon shifts have been obtained by means of proton noise decoupled, single frequency off-resonance decoupled, single frequency selective decoupling, time dependence nuclear Overhauser effect and by comparison with reference compounds.

Twenty three lycorine derivatives and naturally occurring alkaloids, structurally related to lycorine, were tested for their ability to inhibit ascorbic acid biosynthesis in potato tubers. The following relationships between structure modification and activity were observed: (a) cleavage of the acetalic bonds on the dioxole ring had no effect on activity; (b) derivatives with a methoxy group on C-8 (A ring) were inactive; (c) oxidation of NCH 2 -7 to an amide group (B ring) caused loss of activity; (d) modification of the C/D ring junction had no effect on activity when the D ring assumed a β configuration whereas a great decrease of activity was observed when that ring assumed an α configuration; (e) selective or complete acetylation of hydroxyl groups of the C ring, epimerization or oxidation of the hydroxyl group on C-2 led to a loss of activity; (f) a compound with a double bond located in the 1,2 position showed activity almost identical to lycorine; (g) stereoselective hydrogenation of the double bond of the C ring induced a considerable increase of the activity; (h) protonation of the nitrogen atom had no effect on activity.