Maternal mental health and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in extremely low birth weight adults.

The mental health of adult extremely low birth weight (ELBW) (<1000 g) survivors is poorer than their normal birth weight (NBW) peers. An understanding of the modifiable factors that affect this risk could provide targets for intervention. We set out to determine the extent to which a maternal history of mental health problems influenced mental health in ELBW and NBW offspring in adulthood. A total of 85 ELBW and 88 NBW individuals born between 1977 and 1982 in central west Ontario, Canada self-reported on internalizing (depression, anxiety) and externalizing (attention-deficit hyperactivity and antisocial) problems using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) scales of the Young Adult Self-Report at ages 22-26 and 30-35. They also reported on their mother's maternal mental health using the Family History Screen. An interaction was found between birth weight status and maternal history of an anxiety disorder such that ELBW survivors showed a greater increase in internalizing scores than NBW participants at 22-26 (ß = 10.27, p = 0.002) and at 30-35 years of age (ß = 12.65, p = 0.002). An interaction was also observed between birth weight and maternal history of mood disorder, with higher externalizing scores in ELBW survivors than NBW adults at 22-26 (ß = 7.21, p < 0.0001). ELBW adults appear to be more susceptible to the adverse mental health effects of exposure to maternal mood and anxiety disorders than those born at NBW. These links further highlight the importance of detecting and treating mental health problems in the parents of preterm survivors as a means of attempting to reduce the burden of psychopathology in this population.

Tetrahydroamentoflavone (THA) from Semecarpus anacardium as a potent inhibitor of xanthine oxidase.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Seed of Semecarpus anacardium L. is widely used in Indian traditional medicine; Ayurveda and Sidha, for treatment of inflammatory disorders and gout. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was aimed at isolation of a compound for its potential to inhibit xanthine oxidase (XO), over expression of which lead to inflammation and gout. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Activity guided fractionation of S. anacardium seed was conducted using liquid-liquid partition and preparative HPLC. The fractions were evaluated for their XO inhibition and antioxidant activity. The ethyl acetate fraction with the highest XO activity yielded a biflavonoid compound tetrahydroamentoflavone (THA). Lineweaver-Burk (LB) plot for the XO inhibition of THA and allopurinol was constructed from the kinetic data. RESULTS: IC50 values of THA and allopurinol for XO inhibition were 92 and 100 nM respectively and their corresponding values for K(i) were 0.982 and 0.612 µM respectively. CONCLUSION: THA was a potent XO inhibitor which could be considered as a drug candidate or chemopreventive agent, after establishing its pharmacological and clinical evaluation. The study results appear to support the claim of the traditional medicine with respect to the efficacy of S. anacardium seed against inflammation and gout.

Semi-preparative HPLC preparation and HPTLC quantification of tetrahydroamentoflavone as marker in Semecarpus anacardium and its polyherbal formulations.

Application of modern scientific knowledge coupled with sensitive analytical technique is important for the quality evaluation and standardization of polyherbal formulations. Semecarpus anacardium, an important medicinal plant with wide medicinal properties, is frequently used in a large number of traditional herbal preparations. Tetrahydroamentoflavone (THA), a major bioactive biflavonoid was selected as a chemical marker of S. anacardium and RP-semi-preparative HPLC conditions were optimized for the isolation of tetrahydroamentoflavone. HPTLC analytical method was developed for the fingerprinting of S. anacardium flavonoids and quantification of tetrahydroamentoflavone. The method was validated in terms of their linearity, LOD, LOQ, precision and accuracy and compared with RP-HPLC-DAD method. The methods were demonstrated for the chemical fingerprinting of S. anacardium plant parts and some commercial polyherbal formulations and the amount of tetrahydroamentoflavone was quantified. HPTLC analysis showed that S. anacardium seed contained approximately 10 g kg(-1) of tetrahydroamentoflavone. The methods were able to identify and quantify tetrahydroamentoflavone from complex mixtures of phytochemicals and could be extended to the marker-based standardization of polyherbal formulations, containing S. anacardium.