Effects of sodium naproxen eye drops on rabbit ocular inflammation induced by sodium arachidonate.

Sodium naproxen, a reversible competitive inhibitor of cyclooxygenase, is widely used as an anti-inflammatory agent in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether eye drops containing 0.5% (w/v) sodium naproxen reduce a number of inflammatory responses produced by sodium arachidonate in the rabbit's eye. Sodium naproxen eye drops successfully reduced the primary signs of ocular inflammation elicited by 0.5% sodium arachidonate on conjunctiva and iris. However, the drug was less effective in reducing conjunctival inflammation induced by 1% sodium arachidonate. Sodium naproxen treatment significantly reduced the levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), polymorphonuclear leukocytes and protein concentration in aqueous humor samples obtained from the eyes of rabbits treated with 0.5% sodium arachidonate whereas aqueous humor levels of leukotriene B4(LTB4) were not found significantly different from control rabbits. Interestingly, PGE2 as well as LTB 4 "de novo" production by corneas and lenses obtained from rabbits sacrificed 2 h after arachidonate and incubation "in vitro" for 20 min were significantly higher in samples taken from controls than in tissues obtained from the eyes treated with sodium naproxen eye drops. Finally, this drug treatment significantly antagonized the rise in intraocular pressure induced by 0.5% sodium arachidonate. Present data suggest that sodium naproxen may be employed topically to prevent ocular inflammatory reactions where the arachidonic acid cascade is activated.

Sterols of Delphinium ajacis; production and metabolic relationships in whole plants and callus tissue.

Sterols from whole nonsterile Delphinium ajacis plants and from sterile tissue cultures (callus) were identified and determined quantitatively. The major sterols in the whole plant tissues were sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol, whereas those in the callus tissue were stigmastanol, 24-ethylidenelophenol and Delta (7)-stigmastanol. Of the 21 compounds identified in callus tissue, 5 were not present in the whole plant, most notably Delta (7)-stigmastanol. For both sources of tissue, the sterol predominating in one was a minor component in the other (whole plant/tissue cultures: sitosterol 57%/5%; stigmastanol 2%/35%). On a tissue dry-weight basis, the amount of sterols isolated from callus tissue culture was ten to twenty times that obtained from the whole plant. Qualitatively the sterols from both sources fit into a metabolic scheme which proceeds from cycloartenol through 4,4-dimethylsterols and 4-methylsterols to sterols. A proposed metabolic pathway shows the differences in accumulation of sterols in the two types of tissue. The increase in sterol production in cultured cells, especially when favored by growth conditions, has promise for industrial application and in organic synthesis.