Correlations on Phenolic Screening Related to In Vitro and In Ovo Assessment of Ocimum basilicum L. Hydro-Alcoholic Extracts Used as Skin Active Ingredient.

The current study was aimed to evaluate the phenolic composition parameters of two hydro-alcoholic extracts of Ocimum basilicum L. (OB) obtained from the aerial part (without leaves) and leaves, in order to determine their contribution to the antioxidant activity (AOA). Both hydro-alcoholic extracts have proven to be rich in polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, flavonols and tannins. Therefore, the leaves' extracts reveal an inhibition percentage of 89%, almost comparable with the standard reference (95%). To complete the toxicological profile, the study also assessed the potential cytotoxicity of basil hydro-alcoholic extracts on immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT), skin human fibroblasts (1BR3), mice epidermis (JB6Cl41-5a) and primary human melanocytes (HEMa) cells, correlated to A375 antitumor in vitro activity. The extracts did not induce significant cytotoxic effect on any of the selected normal cell lines but showed relevant activity on A375 cells. Considering the low values obtained regarding the irritative effects in the chorionallantoic membrane of the egg on blood vessels, we can emphasize that both extracts can be considered as biocompatible ingredients. Regarding the potential activity of hydro-alcoholic extracts on human skin, the decrease of erythema values after the application of extracts was a relevant observation which indicates the anti-inflammatory potential of Ocimum basilicum L.

Microscopic assessment of degenerated intervertebral disc: clinical implications and possible therapeutic challenge.

AIM: To investigate a possible correlation between the histological and morphometric properties of herniated intervertebral disc, clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of patients with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty six patients with LDD were clinically evaluated using Japanese Orthopaedic Association Score (JOAS), visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain in the lower back or in the pelvic limb; MRI-based classification according to Pfirrmann and Modic criteria. All patients underwent decompressive surgery and herniated intervertebral disc samples were histologically and morphometrically analyzed. Data obtained were statistically analyzed for bivariate and partial correlations. RESULTS: The mean area size of chondron clusters correlated with age, JOAS (r=-0.385, p=0.032, tau=-0.279, rho=-0.380), Pfirrmann (r=0.505, p=0.002, tau=0.289, rho=0.365) and Modic (r=0.500, p=0.002, tau=0.331, rho=0.419) grading. There was a strong correlation between maximum area size of chondrons and JOAS (r=-0.427, p=0.009, tau=-0.299, rho=-0.430), Pfirrmann changes (r=0.432, p=0.008, tau=0.309, rho=0.388) and Modic endplate changes (r=0.444, p=0.007, tau=0.343, rho=0.434). JOAS correlated with both MRI classifications used for LDD. CONCLUSION: The intervertebral disc cells tend to aggregate in clusters and the size of the chondrons from LDD correlated with JOAS, Pfirrmann and Modic. JOAS correlates with the imagistic evaluation systems Pfirrmann and Modic.

VEGF mRNA assessment in human pterygium: a new 'scope' for a future hope.

PURPOSE: The lack of powerful evidence to support the efficacy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in human pterygium can be attributed to incomplete VEGF expression assessment by restrictive use of immunohistochemistry only and failure to use the molecular methods able to confirm immunohistochemical findings. By adding at least one more sensitive method to assess human pterygium VEGF expression, a more accurate selection of patients for bevacizumab therapy could be done and this would improve the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in human pterygium. METHODS: We assessed VEGF mRNA amplification on paraffin-embedded specimens by applying the RNAscope method for the first time in human pterygium, an in situ hybridization-based technique able to detect VEGF mRNA as a single gene copy on paraffin-embedded samples. RESULTS: Heterogeneous VEGF mRNA distribution and amplification inside the epithelial compartment of human pterygium were observed. Despite previous reports concerning the immunohistochemical expression of VEGF in the human pterygium fibrovascular compartment, no stromal components were characterized by VEGF mRNA amplification assessed by in situ hybridization in our study. A higher amplification score was observed in epithelium from recurrent pterygium, especially located in the basal and suprabasal epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our findings we consider that in situ hybridization assessment of VEGF for human pterygium specimens can be a useful tool for reconsidering the selection of pterygium patients to be enrolled in anti-VEGF therapy.