PINUS cembra L: histo-anatomical features, antioxidant enzyme activities and heavy metal contents of leaves and long shoots.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the histo-anatomical features of the long shoots and leaves (young and mature) of Pinus cembra L.. The activity of antioxidant enzymatic systems and the content of heavy metals were also evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the histo-anatomical study, the cross-sections were performed by usual techniques. The activity of antioxidant enzymatic systems (superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase) was evaluated by spectrophotometric methods. The content of heavy metals was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. RESULTS: The cross-section through the long shoots shows many resiniferous canals and a periderm of variable thickness. The leaf has a triangular shape and only two vascular bundles in the inferior and upper levels. The highest level of superoxide dismutase activity (344.90 U/mg protein) was determined in the long shoots collected from a cembran pine in Vatra Dornei, while the highest level of peroxidase activity (7611.11 U/mg protein) was found in the leaves collected in Calimani Mountains. Cd level in all samples was under the quantification limit. Higher levels of Pb were determined in the long shoots (3 µg/g dry weight for the vegetal material collected in Vatra Dornei and 2.86 µg/g dry weight for the vegetal material collected in Calimani Mountains). CONCLUSIONS: Pinus cembra L. leaves show specific elements of subgenus Strobus (a triangular shape of the cross section, one single vascular bundle and two resiniferous canals). The results obtained for the superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities corroborated with those obtained for the heavy metal contents indicate that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in the protection of Pinus cembra L. against exogenous stress factors.

The efficiency of some natural drugs in the treatment of burns.

In this paper we present an original product for burns. It is an ointment with bacteriostatic, bactericidal and epithelializing action and it is make up in accordance with technology of sunflower oil, beeswax, sintopholin, chloramphenicol, procaine, and vitamin E. An experimental study on burnt animals in order to prove the efficiency of the product was carried out. For histological investigation tegument was collected from the burnt area. A rapid evolution of epithelialization was found in case of treated animals as distinguished from control sample, where the infected crust was far from being healed. We also present some photos in account with the upper fact.