Organic acids, sugars, vitamin C content and some pomological characteristics of eleven hawthorn species (Crataegus spp) from Turkey

BACKGROUND: The Hawthorn (Crateagus sp.) mostly occurs around the temperate region of the world with a high number of species, producing a fruit with numerous beneficial effects for human health. The aim of the study was to determine organic acid and sugar contents in the fruit of a number of hawthorn species grown in Erzincan province of Turkey. RESULTS: Citric acid was the predominant organic acid in all hawthorn species and C. pseudoheterophylla had the highest citric acid content (23.688 g/100 g). There were not statistically significant differences among hawthorn species (except C. atrosanguinea Pojark) in terms of fumaric acid content. C. pontica C.Koch had a higher content of vitamin C (9.418 mg/100 g) compared to other species. Fructose was the predominant sugar component in all species and C. monogyna subsp. monogyna Joiq had the highest fructose content (18.378 g/100 g). CONCLUSIONS: The high fruit quality of the studied species indicates the importance of this fruit in human nutrition as a natural source. The study revealed that there were differences in terms of fruit characteristics among hawthorn species and thus better quality hawthorn genotypes can be selected within the species. Hence, this study is considered to be a valuable reference for forthcoming studies. The high fruit quality of the studied species indicates the importance of this fruit in human nutrition as a natural source.

Antimicrobianos tópicos en acné: novedades / Topical antimicrobials in acne: news

Los antimicrobianos y principalmente los antibióticos tópicos son un arma terapéutica eficaz y segura en el tratamiento del acné. Antiobióticos tópicos tales como Eritromicina, Clidamicina o Tetraciclina son eficaces en el acné inflamatorio leve a moderado. Su mecanismo de acción es por inhibición de la inflamación más que por un efecto bactericida. Su uso combinado con Peróxido de Benzoílo, Tretinoina o Zinc aumentan su eficacia. Los efectos adversos son leves siendo el de mayor relevancia el desarrollo de cepas resistentes de Propionibacterium Acnes. Nuevos antibióticos tópicos están en investigación siendo una promesa al futuro del tratamiento tópico del acné

Melanins and lens pigments: a comparative study

Based on previous findings that lens pigments and melanins share many physicochemical properties, human lens pigments and natural (hair) and synthetic melanins were submitted to oxidation with permanganate under strong acidic conditions. This procedure has been utilized for the characterization of melanins and results in the well defined products, thiazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (TDCA) and pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA), which can be quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). PTCA is regarded as a marker of black eumelanins and was therefore a main component of synthetic DOPA-eumelanin and dark hair. Its identity was established by synthesis from 5-hydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid. TDCA derives from pheomelanins and was therefore an important component of red hair and synthetic GSH-pheomelanin. TDCA was identified by its retention time relative to PTCA. The analysis of a series of cataract digests of increasing pigmentation (type I < type IV < type V) and a purified fraction of lens pigments (DE52 pigment) revealed the presence in these preparations of both PTCA and TDCA. The concentration of TDCA significantly increased with the degree of pigmentation of the digests and reached a maximum in the DE52 pigment. The TDCA/PTCA ratio was high in the lens preparations and comparable to that given by hair pheomelanin. These findings support that pheomelanin is an integral part of lens pigments. By comparing the yields of TDCA in GSH-pheomelanin and in the purified lens pigment, a 9 per cent contribution of pheomelanin to the lens pigment was estimated

Actualidades terapéuticas en acné / Managament currents in acne

Una revisión bibliográfica de los últimos años sobre terapéutica en acné nos muestra que constantemente se están probando sustancias para encontrar el medicamento tópico ideal, el cual debe ser comedolítico, antiinflamatorio no irritante, bien tolerado y aceptado por los pacientes. Esto aún no se ha logrado. Las tetraciclinas orales han demostrado su gran beneficio en el control del acné inflamatorio. Actualmente es posible controlar el acné severo con los retinoides orales; creo que serán usados más frecuentemente en un futuro próximo.

Intercambio de proteinas entre homogeneizados de plaquetas humanas y liposomas de lecitina / Exchange of proteins between human homogenized platelets and lecithin liposomes

Liposomas de lecitina de yema de huevo obtenidos por sonicación fueron incubados durante 30 min en medio salino con homogeneizados de plaquetas humanas con tratamiento y sin tratamiento previo con ácido dicarboxílico-bisdimetilamida (DIAMID). La mezcla fue separada por ultracentrifugación en gradiente de densidad y la caracterización de las proteínas absorbidas a la membrana liposomal se realizó mediante electroforesis en gel de poliacrilamida (PAGE). Se encontró que proteínas provenientes tanto del citoesqueleto plaquetario como de otras partes eran incorporadas a la membrana liposomal