In vitro antioxidant and antibabesial activities of the extracts of Achillea millefolium.

Despite many phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, to date, there are no reports concerning the antibabesial activity of extracts of A. millefolium against B. canis. This study was aimed at investigating the biological activities of A. millefolium against the Babesia canis parasite and to identify its chemical ingredients. The water (WE), ethanol (EE) and hexane/acetone (H/AE) extracts of plant aerial parts were screened for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid compound (TFC), DPPH free radical-scavenging activity and its antibabesial activity assay. In this study, imidocarb diproprionate was used as a positive control. The H/AE and EE extracts were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). In the EE extract, the main compounds were 17.64% methyl octadec-9-ynoate, 16.68% stigmast-5-en-3-ol(3α,24S) and 15.17% hexadecanoic acid. In the H/AE extract, the main compounds were 34.55% 11-decyldocosane, 14.31% N-tetratetracontane, 8.22% ß-caryophyllene, and 7.69% N-nonacosane. Extract of EE contained the highest content of phenolics followed by H/AE and WE. The concentration of flavonoids in EE, H/AE and WE extracts showed that TFC was higher in the EE samples followed by H/AE and WE. The antioxidant activities were highest for AA, followed by EE, WE and H/AE. The antibabesial assay showed that the WE, EE and H/AE extracts of A. millefolium were antagonistic to B. canis. At a 2 mg/mL concentration, it showed 58.7% (± 4.7%), 62.3% (± 5.5%) and 49.3% (± 5.1%) inhibitory rate in an antibabesial assay, respectively. Considering these results, the present findings suggest that A. millefolium extracts may be a potential therapeutic agent and that additional studies including in vivo experiments are essential.

[Aromatase (P450AROM) mRNA expression in normal, hyperplastic and malignant endometrium and aromatase activity in endometrial cancer tissue culture]. / Ekspresja genu P450AROM w prawidlowym, rozrostowym i nowotworowym endometrium oraz aktywnosc aromatazy w hodowli skrawków raka endometrium.

Aromatase (P450AROM) is the enzyme complex with converts testosterone to estradiol and androstendione to estrone. This enzyme was detected in various normal tissues and uterine pathology such as uterine myoma, endometrial cancer and endometriosis. The aim of the study was to estimate expression of P450AROM messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in normal, hyperplastic and malignant endometrium, and the ability to convert androstenedione to estrone by endometrial cancer tissue. Normal endometrium was obtained from 16 (12 proliferative phase, 4 secretory phase) regularly cycling women after hysterectomy for myomas, hyperplastic endometrium (n = 5) and endometrial cancer (n = 5) from postmenopausal women. The ability to convert androstenedione to estrone was estimated in 16 cases of endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. P450AROM mRNA was measured by a quantitative assay based on reverse transcribing the mRNA into cDNA with reverse transcriptase (RT) then amplification of the cDNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mean (+/- SEM) expression of aromatase gene in proliferative endometrium was 84.4 +/- 14.0 pg mRNA/microgram DNA and in secretory endometrium 200.3 +/- 87.8 pg mRNA/microgram DNA. The mean (+/- SEM) P450AROM mRNA expression in endometrial hyperplasia was 92.9 +/- 17.8 pg mRNA/microgram DNA, in endometrial cancer was 14.3 +/- 7.7 pg mRNA/microgram DNA. Androstenedione to estrone conversion in endometrial cancer tissue culture was 252.5 +/- 91 fmol/g tissue/h. Our data confirm that human normal, hyperplastic and malignant endometrium do express P450AROM mRNA and that aromatase activity is present in endometrial cancer tissue.