Protective Effect of a (Poly)phenol-Rich Extract Derived from Sweet Cherries Culls against Oxidative Cell Damage.

Oxidative stress is one of the key phenomena behind the most common types of chronic diseases. Therefore, the modulation of oxidative stress is an interesting target for acting either through prevention or as a therapeutic approach. In this work, a Portuguese variety of cherry (Saco Cherry) was processed in order to obtain a potent in vitro antioxidant phenolic-rich extract (Ch-PRE), which was further explored to evaluate its potential application as nutraceutical agent against cellular oxidative stress damage. Ch-PRE was mainly composed of anthocyanins, particularly cyanidin-3-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside and neochlorogenic acid, and exhibited a potent chemical antioxidant activity expressed by its oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and hydroxyl radical averting capacity (HORAC) values. Ch-PRE also displayed effective intracellular radical scavenging properties in intestinal epithelial and neuronal cells challenged with oxidative stress but showed a different order of effectiveness regarding the modulation of endogenous antioxidant system. Ch-PRE could be an attractive candidate to formulate an agent for the prevention of oxidative stress-induced disorders such as intestinal inflammation disorders or with an appropriated delivery system for neurodegenerative diseases.

Novel organic salts based on fluoroquinolone drugs: synthesis, bioavailability and toxicological profiles.

In order to overcome the problems associated with low water solubility, and consequently low bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), novel organic salts containing fluoroquinolones (e.g. ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin) were prepared, using an optimized synthetic procedure based on direct protonation, with different biocompatible counter ions such as mesylate, gluconate and glycolate. All the prepared organic salts were characterized by spectroscopic techniques, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis. Solubility studies in water and simulated biological fluids at 25°C and 37°C were also performed. Additionally, octanol-water and phospholipid-water partition coefficients were measured at 25°C. The cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory efficacy using an human cell model of intestinal epithelia (Caco-2 cells) were also evaluated and compared to those of the parent APIs. The adequate selection of the biocompatible anions allows the tuning of important physical, thermal and toxicological properties.