Oxidative stress markers have a distinct role in the process of demyelination in multiple sclerosis. This study investigated the potential correlation of markers of oxidative stress (glutathione GSH, ...catalase) with the number of demyelinating lesions and the degree of disability, cognitive deficit, and depression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Sixty subjects meeting the criteria for RRMS (19 men and 41 women), and 66 healthy controls (24 men, 42 women) were included. In this study, GSH significantly negatively correlated with the degree of cognitive impairment. This is the first study of subjects with RRMS that performed the mentioned research of serum GSH levels on the degree of cognitive damage examined by the Montreal Scale of Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. The development of cognitive changes, verified by the MoCA test, was statistically significantly influenced by the positive number of magnetic resonance lesions, degree of depression, expanded disability status scale (EDSS), age, and GSH values. Based on these results, it can be concluded that it is necessary to monitor cognitive status early in RRMS patients, especially in those with a larger number of demyelinating lesions and a higher EDSS level and in older subjects. Also, the serum level of GSH is a potential biomarker of disease progression, which could be used more widely in RRMS.
Data on all patients admitted in 2008 to the Department of Neurology, Dubrovnik General Hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. In a total of 663 patients, there were 247 (37.25%) stroke patients. ...Ischemic stroke was diagnosed in 217 (87.85%) and hemorrhagic stroke in 30 (12.15%) patients. In the cohort of stroke patients, there were 136 (55.00%) women and 111 (45.00%) men. The group of patients with ischemic stroke consisted of 124 (57.15%) women and 93 (42.85%) men, and the group of those with hemorrhagic stroke of 12 (40%) women and 18 (60%) men. The majority of patients with ischemic stroke (89.86%) and hemorrhagic stroke (76.66%) were over 60 years of age. Only 9 (4.14%) patients with ischemic stroke and 5 (16.66%) patients with hemorrhagic stroke were employed. The mortality rate was 20.24% in the overall stroke group and 19.35% in the ischemic stroke group. In the group of patients with hemorrhagic stroke, 26.66% of patients died at our Department, however, additional 20% of patients with this type of stroke were transferred to the Hospital Intensive Care Unit or to Departments of Neurosurgery in Split and Zagreb, so precise data on the disease outcome in these patients were missing. Eighteen (7.29%) patients were from other countries, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The majority of them had ischemic stroke (83.33%) and 12 (66.66%) patients were over 60 years of age.
Benign angiopathy of the central nervous system is a subset of primary angiitis of the central nervous system characterized by "benign" course. It means that changes of cerebral vessels are ...reversible after treatment with corticosteroids and calcium channel blockers, so these abnormalities are believed to reflect vasospasm rather than true vasculitis. The diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical presentation, brain magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral angiography. We present a young man with acute onset of headache and neurologic impairment secondary to ischemic stroke with intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cerebral angiography showed characteristic findings of diffuse vasculitis but good response to treatment with corticosteroids and calcium channel blockers distinguish this benign angiopathy from the more aggressive form of the central nervous system vasculitis.
Retrospektivnom analizom obuhvaćeni su podaci o svim bolesnicima liječenim na Neurološkom odjelu Opće bolnice Dubrovnik tijekom 2008. godine. U tom razdoblju hospitalizirano je 663 bolesnika, od čega ...247 (37,25%) s moždanim udarom. Ishemijski moždani udar imalo je 217 (87,85%), a hemoragijski moždani udar 30 (12,15%) bolesnika. U ukupnom broju bolesnika s moždanim udarom bilo je 136 (55,00%) žena i 111 (45,00%) muškaraca. U skupini ishemijskih moždanih udara bile su 124 (57,15%) žene i 93 (42,85%) muškarca, a u skupini s hemoragijskim moždanim udarom 12 (40%) žena i 18 (60%) muškaraca. Većina bolesnika s ishemijskim (89,6%) i hemoragijskim (76,66%) moždanim udarom bili su stariji od 60 godina. Samo 9 (4,14%) bolesnika s ishemijskim moždanim udarom i 5 (16,66%) bolesnika s hemoragijskim moždanim udarom su bili zaposleni. Stopa smrtnosti je ukupno iznosila 20,24%; 19,35% za ishemijski i 26,66% za hemoragijski moždani udar. Također, 20% bolesnika s hemoragijskim moždanim udarom premješteno je na Odjel intenzivnog liječenja naše bolnice ili na neurokirurške klinike u Splitu i Zagrebu, pa nisu bili dostupni podaci o ishodu liječenja tih bolesnika. Isto tako, 18 (7,29%) bolesnika je bilo iz drugih zemalja, najviše iz Bosne i Hercegovine. Većina ih je imala ishemijski moždani udar (83,33%), a 12 (66,66%) bolesnika je bilo starije od 60 godina.
Benigna angiopatija središnjeg živčanog sustava je podtip primarne upale krvnih žila središnjeg živčanog sustava (PACNS ) koju karakterizira „benigni“tijek. To znači da su promjene na krvnim žilama ...mozga reverzibilne nakon liječenja kortikosteroidima i blokatorima kalcijevih kanala pa se pretpostavlja da su promjene prije odraz vazospazma nego prave upale. Dijagnoza se postavlja na osnovi kliničke prezentacije, magnetske rezonance mozga i moždane angiografije. Prikazujemo mladića s naglo nastalom glavoboljom i neurološkim poremećajem na podlozi ishemijskog moždanog udara s intracerebralnim i subarahnoidnim krvarenjem. Cerebralna angiografija je pokazala promjene tipične za difuznu upalu krvnih žila, ali dobar odgovor na liječenje kortikosteroidima i blokatorima kalcijevih kanala razlikuje ovu benignu angiopatiju od agresivnijeg oblika vaskulitisa središnjeg živčanog sustava.
► We analysed essential oil from
Ferula
heuffelii underground parts. ► Composition was analysed by GC and GC–MS and elemicin was the main compound. ► Good activity against
Candida albicans and Gram ...(+) bacteria was noted. ► Essential oil showed substantial anti-DPPH activity. ► Good spasmolytic activity of essential oil was demonstrated
in vitro.
The essential oil from underground parts of
Ferula heuffelii from N.E. Serbia, was analysed using GC and GC–MS. The main compounds of the essential oil were elemicin (35.4%) and myristicin (20.6%). The essential oil exhibited the best antimicrobial activity against two strains of
Candida albicans (MIC
=
7.0 and 13.7
μg/ml), as well as against
Micrococcus luteus (MIC
=
13.7
μg/ml),
Staphylococcus epidermidis (MIC
=
17.6
μg/ml),
Bacillus subtilis (MIC
=
21.1
μg/ml) and
Micrococcus flavus (MIC
=
28.2
μg/ml). In the DPPH radical scavenging assay, essential oil showed substantial activity with SC
50
=
22.43
μl/ml. The essential oil was also tested for antispasmodic activity. It inhibited spontaneous contraction of isolated rat ileum dose-dependently, and at the concentration of 86.64
μg/ml exhibited 50% of the maximum effect of atropine. After incubation with 75.00
μg/ml of essential oil, acetylcholine did not induce contractions of ileum, and at 250.00
μg/ml, the essential oil almost completely abolished the spasmodic effect of potassium chloride (80
mM).
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•Herbal teas of Hungarian thyme, culinary and medicinal herb, were analyzed.•Rosmarinic acid and luteolin glucuronides were the most abundant polyphenolics.•Citral, 3-octanone, ...1-octen-3-ol, linalool or 1,8-cineole dominated in volatile fractions.•Good antioxidant activity of infusions was demonstrated.•Antimicrobial activity was noticeably influenced by the presence of volatiles.
Hungarian thyme (Thymus pannonicus All., Lamiaceae) is an aromatic herb used as traditional remedy, a refreshing beverage and a food aromatizer. Herbal teas, i.e., infusions, of Hungarian thyme from eight localities in Serbia were analyzed regarding their polyphenolic and volatile composition, and tested for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The total polyphenolics content, determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, ranged from 1122.25 to 1979.93mg gallic acid/L. HPLC analysis revealed rosmarinic acid (367.42–1199.47mg/L) and luteolin glucuronides as the main polyphenolics. The volatile fractions of the infusions, analyzed by static headspace extraction coupled with GC and GC–MS analyses, contained citral, 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-ol, linalool and 1,8-cineole as the dominant constituents. The antioxidant activity of the infusions was examined through the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (68.09–124.58mmol Fe2+/L) and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical tests (SC50 1.32–2.96μL/mL). The antimicrobial activity was tested by the broth microdilution method against standard strains of Gram(+) Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis and Gram(−) bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and one strain of yeast Candida albicans. The infusions inhibited microbial growth in the tested concentration range (31.25–500.00μL/mL) and the strongest activity was exhibited against the strain of C. albicans (MIC 31.25–62.50μL/mL). The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the infusions were, to some extent, in correlation with the composition and content of the polyphenolic compounds, whereas the volatiles noticeably influenced the exhibited antimicrobial activity.
•Thymus dacicus herb methanol extract and essential oil were investigated.•HPLC analysis revealed domination of rosmarinic acid in the extract.•Geranial and neral prevailed in the oil analyzed by GC ...and GC–MS.•The extract showed strong antioxidant activity determined by three assays.•The oil showed synergism with antibiotics on three bacteria in checkerboard test.
In a search for novel food additives/functional food ingredients, chemical composition, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Thymus dacicus Borbás (Lamiaceae) flowering aerial parts dry methanol extract and essential oil were tested for the first time. HPLC analysis of the extract revealed that among dominant polyphenols, rosmarinic acid was the most abundant (71.33±1.11mg/g). Monoterpenes geranial (34.4%) and neral (23.9%) prevailed in the oil, analyzed by GC and GC–MS. The extract showed pronounced antioxidant activity, with FRAP value of 5.16±0.19mmol Fe2+/g, OH radical SC50 of 18.85μg/mL (determined by 2-deoxyribose assay) and DPPH radical SC50 of 28.04μg/mL. Eight out of ten tested microbial strains were susceptible to the oil in microdilution test. Furthermore, for the combination of the oil and vancomycin/gentamicin, synergism was demonstrated against MRSA, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli in checkerboard test. Obtained results encourage further research of this herb as potentially beneficial ingredient in foodstuffs.
Aromatic plants and essential oils have many applications in medicine,
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and the food industry. The essential oil of the
flowering aerial parts of Achillea grandifolia, ...obtained by
hydrodistillation, was analyzed for its constituents and investigated for
antimicrobial and radical scavenging activity. The essential oil was
characterized by a high amount of oxygenated monoterpenes (72.7%) with
1,8-cineole (29.2%) and camphor (23.4%) being the most abundant.
Sesquiterpenes were present in smaller quantities (4.8%). Antimicrobial
activity was tested against eight ATCC bacterial strains and two ATCC
strains of Candida albicans. The essential oil exhibited highly pronounced
antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus luteus with a MIC value of 3.50
?g/mL, as well as significant antimicrobial activity (<100 ?g/mL) against
Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and Bacillus subtilis. Gram-negative
bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant.
Achillea grandifolia essential oil exhibited concentration-dependent
antiradical activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical
with an SC50 value of 5.4 mg/mL. The TLC-DPPH assay revealed two main light
yellow spots indicating components with anti-DPPH activity, which after
isolation were identified as 1,8-cineole and camphor.
Composition and antimicrobial activity of root, leaf, stem, flower and fruit essential oils from cultivated Pastinaca sativa subsp. sativa, and its two wild-growing relatives P. sativa subsp. urens ...and P. hirsuta (Apiaceae) were investigated. Twenty-nine hydrodistilled essential oils of plants from different localities and/or years were analysed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Dominant in root oils was myristicin (P. sativa) or apiole (P. hirsuta), in leaf and stem oils myristicin (cultivated plants) or γ-palmitolactone (wild-growing plants) and in flower and fruit oils aliphatic esters. Multivariate statistics (PCA, nMDS, UPGMA clustering) generally revealed separation of oils of investigated Pastinaca taxa and demonstrated their chemosystematic significance. One oil per each organ of all three plants (fifteen in total) was tested using microdilution method for activity against Candida tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium and Enterobacter cloacae; MIC = 0.25-8 mg/mL, MBC(MFC) = 0.5-16 mg/mL.
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