Anticholinergic, Antioxidant, and Antibacterial Properties of Vitex Agnus-Castus L. Seed Extract: Assessment of Its Phenolic Content by LC/MS/MS.

In this current study, Vitex agnus-castus seed ethanol extracts were analyzed for their phytochemical component content, anticholinergic and antioxidant activities, and antibacterial properties. The phenolic compound composition of these seeds was determined by using LC/MS/MS. Antioxidant activity of the seeds was examined by the DPPH, ABTS, Fe3+ -Fe2+ reducing, and CUPRAC. Also, the anticholinergic activity was measured by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The antibacterial activity was performed by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration methods. The main phenolic compound was vanillic acid (22812.05 µg/L) and followed by luteolin, fumaric acid, quercetin, caffeic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, salicylic acid, kaempferol, butein, ellagic acid, resveratrol, catechin hydrate, phloridzin dehydrate, naringenin, respectively. The DPPH free radical scavenging value of ethanol extract of plant seeds was 9.41 %, while the ABTS radical scavenging activity was determined as 12.66 %. The ethanol extract of the seeds exhibited antibacterial activity on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Typhimurium, differently. S. aureus was found to be more susceptible to the extract than other bacteria. Also, the inhibition effect of seed ethanolic extract on the AChE with IC50 values were 36.34±5.6 µg/mL. From the results, V. agnus-castus seed can be suggested as a promising natural antioxidant and antibacterial candidate for the preservation of foods.

Serum ferritin and vitamin D levels should be evaluated in patients with diffuse hair loss prior to treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Various factors like physiological and emotional stress, drugs and nutritional deficiencies can result in hair loss. Results of laboratory tests examining the underlying aetiology of hair loss vary in patients. AIM: We aimed to compare the serum levels of ferritin, folate, vitamin B12, zinc, thyroid stimulating hormone and vitamin D in patients complaining of diffuse hair loss and in healthy individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-four patients with hair loss (47 females, 7 males) and 55 healthy individuals within the control group (47 females, 8 males) were included in this study. Serum levels of ferritin, folate, vitamin B12, zinc, thyroid stimulating hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were evaluated in all participants retrospectively. RESULTS: Serum concentrations of folate, vitamin B12, zinc and thyroid stimulating hormone were similar in the two groups. However, the mean serum ferritin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were significantly lower in patients with hair loss than in healthy individuals. The mean serum ferritin levels of the patients and healthy individuals were 14.72 ±10.70 ng/ml and 25.30 ±14.41 ng/ml, respectively. The mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of the patients and healthy individuals were 14.03 ±8.09 ng/ml and 17.01 ±8.59 ng/ml, respectively. Eleven (20.4%) patients had low serum ferritin levels, while 43 (79.6%) patients had low vitamin D levels. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained from this study reveal that serum ferritin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are generally low in patients complaining of hair loss. Therefore, serum ferritin and vitamin D levels should be evaluated and supplemented prior to treatment in all patients complaining of diffuse hair loss.

Event-related potentials to changes of rhythmic unit: differences between musicians and nonmusicians.

We investigated whether the expected differences between musicians and nonmusicians in their ability to detect a rhythm change were reflected in their event-related potentials (ERPs) and, if reflected, how these ERP differences associated with behavioral indices. Stimuli were three consecutive and equally spaced drum beats followed by a rest period to form a rhythmic unit (RU). By using three different inter-beat periods, three RUs were produced. Combinations of these RUs served as the "target/standard" pairs of an oddball sequence. In four different experiments, we tried two RU-change types each with two levels of detection difficulty. ERPs were recorded from the F3, Fz, F4, Cz and Pz scalp sites of 12 musicians and 12 nonmusicians. RT, hit and false-alarm rates were also measured. The data have shown with high statistical confidence that, associated with the musicians' better detection performance and shorter RTs, their ERP P3 to rhythm changes peaked significantly earlier and was significantly larger compared to nonmusicians. Intergroup ERP differences allowed above 90% correct classification. This study has also showed that not only violations of relatively complex musical regularities, but very simple rhythmic unit alterations could lead to significant P3 differences between musicians and nonmusicians. The high accuracy of the musician/nonmusician classification based only on their P3 data strongly supported the hypothesis that sensory and/or cognitive advantage of musicians in detecting rhythm changes does reflect in their P3.