Antioxidant properties of extracts of wild medicinal mushroom species from Croatia.

Antioxidant activity and total phenol (TP) content of methanol and water extracts of three wild Croatian mushroom species Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) Quél., Sarcoscypha austriaca (Sacc.) Boud., and Strobilurus esculentus (Wulfen) Singer were determined and compared with the values obtained for extracts of four cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus (J.E. Lange) Imbach (brown and white strains), Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm., and Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Singer. Spectrophotometric determination of the TP content was performed using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while antioxidant activity was measured in a reaction with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH assay) and ferric-tripyridyltriazine (Fe3+-TPTZ) complex (FRAP assay). On the average, 5.8-fold higher TP content was observed for water in comparison to methanol extracts of all analyzed mushrooms. Consequently, antioxidant activity was also higher for water extracts, which is evident from the obtained higher values in the FRAP assay and lower EC50 values in the DPPH assay. Among the three tested wild species, the water extract of S. esculentus exhibited the highest concentration of TP, 8.12 mg/g gallic acid equivalents (GAE), the highest reducing power, 19.42 mmol Fe2+/kg, and the best radical scavenging properties, EC50= 13.5 mg/mL.

[Disseminated aspergillosis in a patient with simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant]. / Diseminirana aspergiloza u bolesnice s transplantiranim bubregom i gusteracom.

A 31-year-old woman suffering from diabetes type1 and terminal kidney disease, with simultaneously transplanted kidney and pancreas, developed an episode of acute organ rejection caused by antibodies. The management of organ rejection was complicated by cytomegalovirus viremia, with accompanying leukopenia and neutropenia. The patient also developed invasive aspergillosis of the lungs, which progressed and disseminated hematogenously to the thyroid gland and the skin. Due to resistance to classical antimycotic therapy, the patient was treated with a combination of caspofungin and variconazole. In the beginning of treatment, the effects of this combined therapy were not evident due to strong immunosuppression caused by antimycotic immunoglobulin, which the patient had been administered on her previous hospital stay to treat acute kidney transplant rejection caused by antibodies, as well as due to immunosuppression caused by tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisone. On combined therapy with antimycotic drugs and supportive therapy, the patient was completely cured.

Enhanced healing of full-thickness burn wounds using di-rhamnolipid.

The aim of this study was to investigate the properties of di-rhamnolipid [alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid, also referred to as di-rhamnolipid BAC-3] relating to the process of cutaneous wound healing. Di-rhamnolipid was prepared in a eucerin ointment and applied topically on full-thickness burn wounds in normal Sprague-Dawley rats covering 5% of the total body surface area. The rate of wound closure was measured over the period of 45 days. The collagen content was evaluated microscopically, by performing densitometric analysis on Verhoeff's stained histopathological slides of wound biopsies taken at the end of 45th day of di-rhamnolipid treatment. Di-rhamnolipid toxicity was assessed with the subcutaneous multi-dose study in Swiss-Webster mice. The treatment of full-thickness-burn wounds with topical 0.1% di-rhamnolipid accelerated the closure of wounds on day 21 of the treatment by 32% compared to the control (p < 0.05). On day 35, the wounds closed in all animals-treated with 0.1% di-rhamnolipid ointment while some rats in the control group had open wounds on days 35 and even 45. Histologic comparisons have shown that di-rhamnolipid significantly decreased collagen content in burn wounds (47.5%, p < 0.05) as compared to the vehicle-treated (control) wounds. Di-rhamnolipid was well-tolerated. The results of this study raise the possibility of potential efficacy of di-rhamnolipid in accelerating normal wound healing and perhaps in overcoming defects associated with healing failure in chronic wounds.

Inverse Levels of Adiponectin in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Are in Accordance with the State of Albuminuria.

Aims. To investigate the behaviour of adiponectin (ApN) in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Methods. ApN and inflammatory and other markers of the metabolic syndrome were compared across diabetes types, albumin excretion rate (AER), and creatinine clearance (CrCl) categories in 219 type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Results. Significant differences among ApN levels according to AER were found in both types of diabetes (F = 8.45, df = 2, P < 0.001). With the progression of albuminuria, ApN increased in type 1 and decreased in type 2 diabetes. Patients with decreased CrCl had higher ApN levels than those with normal CrCl in either type of diabetes (F = 12.7, df = 1, P < 0.001). The best model for ApN (R (2) = 0.9002) obtained from stepwise regression in type 1 diabetes included CrCl, BMI, WBC, CRP, and age, while in type 2 diabetes (R (2) = 0.2882) it included ppPG, LDL, and UA. Conclusion. ApN behaved differently in relation to albuminuria, increasing with its progression in type 1 diabetes and decreasing in type 2 diabetes. It was however increased in the subgroups with decreased CrCl in both types of diabetes. Albuminuria seems to be more important than renal insufficiency in the definition of ApN levels in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Successful treatment of chronic decubitus ulcer with 0.1% dirhamnolipid ointment.

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations of the biologic activities of dirhamnolipid alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-3-hydroxydecanoyl-3-hydroxydecanoic acid have demonstrated that it could be a novel therapeutic agent for wound healing and various immunologic and dermatologic conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to report the successful treatment of a decubitus ulcer with dirhamnolipid. METHODS: The patient was a 90-year-old woman who developed a decubitus ulcer on her right buttock. The patient was initially treated by a standard procedure using pressure reduction, wound management, surgical intervention, and nutrition. The open, full-thickness wound progressed to a size of 10 x 7 cm, with evidence of tissue deterioration. The draining ulcer reached a dimension of 1 x 1.5 x 3 cm. The 0.1% dirhamnolipid ointment was administered at regular intervals, three times daily, by applying a thin layer of ointment directly to the wound area. Photographs were taken at regular 5-day intervals. RESULTS: The standard therapy gave no improvement. Subsequently, therapy with topical dirhamnolipid ointment resulted in a completely healed wound on day 48 of the treatment. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates that application of dirhamnolipid resulted in the healing of a chronic decubitus ulcer in an elderly, debilitated patient and might be a useful therapy to improve healing of decubitus ulcers.