Maximizing Wine Antioxidants: Yeast's Contribution to Melatonin Formation.

Melatonin is commonly found in various fruits, juices, and some fermented beverages. Its concentration in wine is influenced by soil properties, climatic factors, and yeast activity. Even if it is found in fermented beverages in relatively low proportions, melatonin still holds significant nutritional value, giving anti-aging properties, anti-inflammatory actions, and antidepressant effects. In this context, this article focuses on evaluating the impact of different Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast species on the formation of melatonin and its contribution to wines' total antioxidant capacity. Considering that the antioxidant activity of wine is usually related to the content of phenolic compounds, ten such compounds were analyzed. The evaluation of bioactive compounds was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry. The total antioxidant capacity of wine samples was evaluated by the ABTS+ method. The administration of bâtonnage products increased the efficiency of non-Saccharomyces yeasts. The mixtures of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts generated higher values for melatonin. The results confirm a significant impact from the grape variety and the specific yeast strains on the melatonin concentration. Also, a strong dependence between antioxidant activity and melatonin levels was observed. Given the limited existing studies on the presence of melatonin in wines, new perspectives are needed for future exploration and understanding.

Determination of Degradation Products of Cyclobenzaprine Hydrochloride, Lidocaine and Piroxicam in a Semi-Topical Formulation: MS-MS Confirmation of Unknown Impurities.

Association of cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, piroxicam and lidocaine in a topical formulation is one of the newest innovations in the pharmaceutical formulary field. In this study, a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for the establishment of the impurities of cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, lidocaine and piroxicam in the semisolid topical formulation. In this study, we not only determined 2,6-dimethylaniline, 2-pyrydilamine but also specified impurities of cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride (dibenzosuberenone, amitriptyline, carbinole, cyclobenzaprine N-oxide and anthrachinone). The target compounds were determined using a mobile phase that consisted of a mixture of phosphate buffer (0.025 M; pH 6.2)-acetonitrile-methanol (60 : 13 : 27, v/v/v). A minimum of three supplementary possible degradation products were determined. Using mass spectrometry, the unspecified impurities were identified and the use of correlation matrices permitted the association with the possible source compounds. The chromatographic conditions were qualified and validated according to ICH guideline requirements to confirm specificity, linearity, accuracy and precision.

Investigations on nanoconfinement of low-molecular antineoplastic agents into biocompatible magnetic matrices for drug targeting.

Magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles are employed as biocompatible matrices to host low-molecular antineoplastic drugs. 5-Fluorouracil is a well-known antimetabolite drug used to treat many malignancies: colon, rectal, breast, head and neck, pancreatic, gastric, esophageal, liver and G-U (bladder, penile, vulva, prostate), skin cancers (basal cell and keratosis). Unfortunately severe gastrointestinal, hematological, neural, cardiac and dermatological toxic effects are often registered due to its cytotoxicity. Thus, this work focuses on development of a magnetic silica nanosystem, capable of hosting high amounts of 5-fluorouracil and delivers it in a targeted manner, under the influence of external magnetic field. There are few reports on nanoconfinement of this particular small molecule antimetabolite on mesoporous silica hosts. Therefore we have investigated different ways to confine high amounts of 5-FU within amino-modified and non-modified mesopores of the silica shell, from water and ethanol, under magnetic stirring and ultrasound irradiation. Also, we have studied the adsorption process from water as a function of pH in order to rationalize drug-support interactions. It is shown that nature of the solvent has great influence on diffusion of small molecules into mesopores, which is slower from alcoholic solutions. More importantly, sonication is proven as an excellent alternative to long adsorption tests, since the time necessary to reach equilibrium is drastically reduced to 1h and higher amounts of drug may be immobilized within the mesopores of amino-modified magnetic silica nanoparticles. These results are highly important for optimization of drug immobilization process in order to attain desired release profile.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lung tissue of patients with pulmonary cancer from Romania. Influence according as demographic status and ABO phenotypes.

The lung is a target organ for the toxic effects of several chemical agents, including natural products, industrial chemicals, environmental agents, and occasionally, drugs. The assessment of PAHs in the lungs of patients with pulmonary cancer is important because these pollutants have mutagenic, carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting properties. This study included 31 histological confirmed lung cancer cases diagnosed consecutively at the Clinical Hospital of Pneumology (Iasi, Romania) from 2008 to 2009. Analyses were carried out using an accelerated solvent extraction technique and HPLC with a fluorescence detector. Fifteen PAHs were detected in all analyzed samples with non-carcinogenic compounds significantly elevated (45.57 ng g(-1) wet tissue) against carcinogenic compounds (6.12 ng g(-1) wet tissue). The mean ± SD lung tissue level of benzo(a)anthracene (3.57 ± 4.64 ng g(-1) wet tissue), a carcinogenic PAH, was found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in patients from urban areas compared with the level (1.22 ± 1.45 ng g(-1) wet tissue) in patients from rural areas. Similarly, the levels of non-carcinogenic acenaphtene (8.95 ± 13.32 ng g(-1) wet tissue), fluoranthrene (5.31 ± 5.40 ng g(-1) wet tissue) and anthracene (4.83 ± 7.57 ng g(-1) wet tissue) were also detected to be higher (p<0.05) in the urban group compared to the levels for the rural group (1.46 ± 2.34, 1.83 ± 2.50 and 1.89 ± 3.79 ng g(-1) wet tissue, respectively). High concentrations of PAHs, especially carcinogenic PAHs, such as benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthrene, and benzo(k)fluoranthrene, were observed in lung tissue samples collected from subjects with A and O blood types.