Hepatoprotective effects of loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) lyophilized powder on dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrosis in rats.

This study investigates the hepatoprotective effects and the potential therapeutic mechanisms of loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) lyophilized powder (MLP) on dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) induced liver fibrosis in rats. After treatment with MLP (50, 100, 200 mg/kg), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin (Alb), total protein (TP) and hydroxyproline (Hyp) levels were detected, to assess the destruction of hepatocytes and the extent of liver fibrosis. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), hyaluronic acid (HA), Laminin (LN), procollagen type-III (PC-III), collagen type-IV (C-IV), and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) contents in serum were all tested using ELISA kits. Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) protein contents and distribution were evaluated using western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. MLP significantly decreased the serum concentrations of ALT, AST, Hyp, HA, LN, PC-III, C-IV, MMP-2, TIMP-1, α-SMA and TGF-ß1, while increasing the contents of Alb and MMP-9. No significant changes on TP serum concentrations were observed. These results suggest that MLP has anti-hepatic fibrosis effects and its mechanism may be associated with the attenuation of extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, the acceleration of ECM degradation, inhibition of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation and TGF-ß1 expression.

Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts of 12 Melon (Cucumis melo) Peel Powders Prepared from Commercial Melons.

Melons are a diverse group of fresh, dessert fruits that includes orange flesh cantaloupe, green flesh honeydew, and mixed hybrid melons. As part of an effort to discover potential health benefits of fruit and vegetable peels that are considered to be byproducts of food processing, we determined the total phenolic content and antioxidative activities of methanolic extracts of the powdered peels of the following commercial melon (Cucumis melo) varieties sold at retail markets in California that were imported from Mexico and Honduras: nonorganic Canary, Charentias, Hani Gold, Vine ripened, and Santa Claus; and organic Ambrosia, Cantaloupe, Galia, Goddess, Ham, Honeydew, and Tuscan. The total phenolic content (in mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract) ranged from 0.69 (Tuscan) to 2.96 (Galia) or 4.3-fold variation from lowest to highest value. The antioxidative activity (in mg ascorbic acid equivalents/mL extract) ranged from 0.13 (organic Tuscan) to 0.26 (organic Galia). Similar results were observed using the ABTS antioxidative assay. The content of the phenolic and flavonoid compounds 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, isovanillic acid, apigenin-7-α-glucoside, luteolin-7-o-glucoside, and quercetin-3-galactoside in three melon flesh samples (nonorganic and organic Galia from Honduras and organic Galia from Mexico and two peel samples (Mexican organic peel and flesh) were analyzed using HPLC. The results suggest that the peel from the Honduran Galia melon with the highest antioxidative activity merits further study to investigate potential health properties. Potential nutritional and health benefits of melon peels, Seeds, and their bioactive compounds are discussed. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The peel from the Honduran Galia melon variety merits further study for potential health benefits, including antioxidative, anticholesterol, and antidiabetic activities, and stimulation of thyroid function, as reported for peels from other melon varieties, as well as antibiotic activities against pathogenic bacteria, protozoa, and viruses.

Evaluation system construction and factor impact analysis of silica-gel adsorption to extract phytosterol glycosides from soybean lecithin powder.

BACKGROUND: Soybean lecithin powders are good sources of phytosterol glucosides (PGs) containing acyl-sterylglycosides (ASGs) and sterylglucosides (SGs), but PG extraction from soybean lecithin powder is difficult due to the solubilizing property of phospolipids. To comprehensively utilize soybean lecithin resources, an evaluation system construction and factor impact analysis of PG extraction by silica-gel adsorption was investigated in this article. RESULTS: With high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as the main experimental analysis method, software such as SIMICA and SPSS were applied to construct an evaluation system of PG extraction. Different from scores plot in SIMICA for distinguishing samples in chloroform from others, the loading plot and binary variant correlation analysis of all indicators in PG extraction were brought to confirm four evaluation indicators containing PG purity, ASG recovery, SG recovery and phospholipid recovery. In the factor impact analysis, four times elution from silica-gel sediment was enough to achieve a PG product with least reagent waste, while SPW in petroleum ether at 50 mg mL-1 with 1:3 silica-gel dosage (lecithin/silica-gel, w/w) was then determined as the optimum of single factors. CONCLUSION: All studies in this article were of great significance, as they laid foundations for research of PG extraction procedure, as well as PG industrial production, facilitating the comprehensive utilization of lecithin resources. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of freeze-dried grapefruit phenolics as affected by gum arabic and bamboo fibre addition and microwave pretreatment.

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that phenolic compounds present in grapefruit play an important role in the bioactive properties of this fruit. However, the consumption of fresh grapefruit is low. Freeze-dried powdered grapefruit can be an alternative to promote this fruit consumption. To improve the quality and stability of the powdered fruit, encapsulating and anticaking agents can be added. In the present study, different grapefruit powders obtained by freeze-drying with the addition of gum arabic (1.27 g per 100 g) and bamboo fibre (0.76 g per 100 g) with and without a pre-drying microwave treatment were compared with the fresh and freeze-dried fruit with no carriers added, aiming to evaluate the effect of these preservation processes on phenolics content and on its antioxidant [1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP)] and anti-inflamatory (evaluated in RAW 264.7 macrophages) capacities. RESULTS: Freeze-drying and gum arabic and bamboo fibre addition significantly increased total phenolics, as well as the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities (by inhibiting nitric oxide production of lipopolysaccharide activated RAW 264.7 macrophages), of grapefruit. An additional increase in these parameters was obtained with microwave pretreatment before freeze-drying. CONCLUSIONS: The combined addition of gum arabic and bamboo fibre to grapefruit puree and the application of a microwave pretreatment improve the functional properties of the fruit without showing cytotoxicity in vitro. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf powder on the pharmacokinetics of nevirapine in HIV-infected adults: a one sequence cross-over study.

BACKGROUND: Moringa oleifera Lam., an herb commonly consumed by HIV-infected people on antiretroviral therapy, inhibits cytochrome P450 3A4, 1A2 and 2D6 activity in vitro; and may alter the pharmacokinetics (PK) of antiretroviral drugs metabolized via the same pathways. However, in vitro drug interaction activity may not translate to a clinically significant effect. Therefore, the effect of moringa leaf powder on the PK of nevirapine in HIV-infected people was investigated. METHODS: Adult patients at steady-state dosing with nevirapine were admitted for 12-h intensive PK sampling following a 21-day herbal medicine washout. Blood sampling was repeated after 14 days of nevirapine and moringa (1.85 g leaf powder/day) co-administration. Nevirapine plasma concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. To assess the effect of moringa on nevirapine PK, the change in nevirapine area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) was determined. The mean difference in pre- and post-moringa nevirapine, maximum concentration (Cmax) and concentration at 12 h (C12h) were also calculated. The PK parameters were compared by assessing the post/pre geometric mean ratios (GMRs) and associated 90% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Pharmacokinetics analyses were performed on the results from 11 participants for whom complete data were obtained. The post/pre GMRs and associated 90% CIs for nevirapine were 1.07 (1.00-1.14) for the AUC; 1.06 (0.98-1.16) for Cmax and 1.03 (0.92-1.16) for C12h. CONCLUSION: Co-administration of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf powder at the traditional dose did not significantly alter the steady-state PK of nevirapine. Trial registration number NCT01410058 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Chemical composition and functional characteristics of dietary fiber-rich powder obtained from core of maize straw.

A novel dietary fiber (MsCDF) based core of maize straw (Core) was prepared by using high boiling solvent of sodium peroxide by high pressure pretreatment (HBSHP). The composition of MsCDF, and several physicochemical properties for MsCDF related to its nutritional quality were investigated. The results revealed that the MsCDF contains high contents total dietary fiber (TDF), soluble dietary fiber (SDF), insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) and two main monosaccharaides, xylose and glucose. Meanwhile, the studies of physicochemical properties of MsCDF indicated that MsCDF performed well water-holding capacity (WHC), oil-holding capacity (OHC), Swelling, solubility (SOL), Glucose dialysis retardation index (GDRI) and adsorption capacity on cholesterol. The results of this study serve as evidence that MsCDF can be used as a functional food additive, Core can be used as a crude material to produce MsCDF and the technology of HBSHP can be used to modify the physico-chemical properties of Core.

Evaluation of PCR Systems for Field Screening of Bacillus anthracis.

There is little published data on the performance of hand-portable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems that can be used by first responders to determine if a suspicious powder contains a potential biothreat agent. We evaluated 5 commercially available hand-portable PCR instruments for detection of Bacillus anthracis. We used a cost-effective, statistically based test plan to evaluate systems at performance levels ranging from 0.85-0.95 lower confidence bound (LCB) of the probability of detection (POD) at confidence levels of 80% to 95%. We assessed specificity using purified genomic DNA from 13 B. anthracis strains and 18 Bacillus near neighbors, potential interference with 22 suspicious powders that are commonly encountered in the field by first responders during suspected biothreat incidents, and the potential for PCR inhibition when B. anthracis spores were spiked into these powders. Our results indicate that 3 of the 5 systems achieved 0.95 LCB of the probability of detection with 95% confidence levels at test concentrations of 2,000 genome equivalents/mL (GE/mL), which is comparable to 2,000 spores/mL. This is more than sufficient sensitivity for screening visible suspicious powders. These systems exhibited no false-positive results or PCR inhibition with common suspicious powders and reliably detected B. anthracis spores spiked into these powders, though some issues with assay controls were observed. Our testing approach enables efficient performance testing using a statistically rigorous and cost-effective test plan to generate performance data that allow users to make informed decisions regarding the purchase and use of field biodetection equipment.

Separation and identification of smokeless gunpowder additives by capillary electrochromatography.

This paper details a method for the separation and identification of fourteen organic compounds commonly found as constituents in commercial smokeless powders using a hexyl acrylate-based porous monolith. Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) coupled to UV and time of flight-mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) methods were both explored. The CEC-UV method provides an effective and efficient method for the detection of all components in the additive package of the powder. The TOF-MS procedure provides better sensitivity and selectivity allowing an additional confirmation of the presence of the subset of those compounds, which are detectable via positive and/or negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Both methods were used for the analysis of smokeless powder components in a mixed standard as well as in the determination of the composition of the additive package of individual powders.

Highly sinterable calcium phosphate fabricated by using starfish bone.

Nano-sized calcium phosphate powders were simply synthesized by using dried starfish bone. The calcined bone was mixed with phosphoric acid and the dried mixtures were heated for synthesis. The powder compacts were fully sintered at 1100 degrees C for 1 h. The densified samples showed CaO-free calcium phosphate phase and non-uniform, over sized grains.

Polymorphic transformation of anhydrous caffeine under compression and grinding: a re-evaluation.

Polymorphic transformations that may occur during mechanical treatment are of great interest for the production of pharmaceutical solids. Anhydrous caffeine is a well-known example of such transformations but a careful reading of the already existing literature shows that published results are contradictory. In this study, both forms of caffeine, form I and form II, respectively metastable and stable at ambient pressure and temperature, were submitted to compression in an instrumented alternative press and to grinding, and were studied before and after treatment by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Compression experiments showed no changes of form II during compression, whereas form I was partially transformed into form II. Nevertheless, this transformation did not happen immediately. Form II appeared after a kinetically slow transformation and was clearly detectable only after a few days, fact that was never mentioned by previous authors. Same phenomenon was observed after the grinding of form I but also after an extensive grinding of form II. DSC and XRPD measurements indicated that polymorphic transformation did not happen directly, but that a new intermediate form was obtained after mechanical treatment, which slowly turned into form II within a few days.

Differential effects of insufflated, subcutaneous, and intravenous growth hormone on bone growth, cognitive function, and NMDA receptor subunit expression.

The objective of this study was to characterize the effect of inhalable growth hormone (GH) delivered by an insufflator to the lungs of hypophysectomized Sprague Dawley rats. In the first cohort, the safety and efficacy of the insufflated GH were evaluated. Three experimental groups (n = 7 per group) were treated with GH for 15 d: One group received sc injection of GH daily at 200 microg/kg (SC200). Two other groups received GH by insufflation daily: 200 microg/kg (INS 200) and 600 microg/kg (INS 600). In the second set of experiments, GH was administered in three routes [SC200, INS200, intravenous (IV200)] (n=10) for 5 d, and escape latency and N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression were evaluated. In the first cohort, INS200 showed similar bioactivity as SC200 in growth promotion, tibial growth, as well as escape latency on the 12th day of treatment. Insufflated GH was well tolerated without significant inflammatory responses. In the second cohort, expression of the NMDA receptor 1 and 2B in hippocampus measured after 3 or 6 d of daily treatments were significantly higher in INS200 as compared to IV200, consistent with the improvement of the escape latency. In summary, the inhalable form of GH delivered by intratracheal insufflation was safe, and its bioactivity was comparable to sc injection both in promotion of growth and acquisition of learning ability. If applied properly to human, inhalable GH would be effective for growth promotion and possibly for several disorders caused by underexpression of NMDA receptors.

The spectroscopic detection of drugs of abuse in fingerprints after development with powders and recovery with adhesive lifters.

The application of powders to fingerprints has long been established as an effective and reliable method for developing latent fingerprints. Fingerprints developed in situ at a crime scene routinely undergo lifting with specialist tapes and are then stored in evidence bags to allow secure transit and also to preserve the chain of evidence. In a previous study we have shown that exogenous material within a fingerprint can be detected using Raman spectroscopy following development with powders and lifting with adhesive tapes. Other reports have detailed the use of Raman spectroscopy to the detection of drugs of abuse in latent fingerprints including cyanoacrylate-fumed fingerprints. This study involves the application of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of drugs of abuse in latent fingerprints for fingerprints that had been treated with powders and also subsequently lifted with adhesive tapes. Samples of seized ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and amphetamine were supplied by East Sussex Police and by the TICTAC unit at St. Georges Hospital Tooting. Contaminated fingerprints were deposited on clean glass slides. The application of aluminium or iron based powders to contaminated fingerprints did not interfere with the Raman spectra obtained for the contaminants. Contaminated fingerprints developed with powders and then lifted with lifting tapes were also examined. The combination of these two techniques did not interfere with the successful analysis. The lifting process was repeated using hinge lifters. As the hinge lifters exhibited strong Raman bands the spectroscopic analysis was more complex and an increase in the number of exposures to the detector allowed for improved clarification. Spectral subtraction was performed to remove peaks due to the hinge lifters using OMNIC software. Raman spectra of developed and lifted fingerprints recorded through evidence bags were obtained and it was found that the detection process was not compromised. Although the application of powders did not interfere with the detection process the time taken to locate the contaminant was increased due to the physical presence of more material within the fingerprint.

Is it the method or the process-separating the causes of low recovery.

During the development of a tablet formulation, a solvent capable of extracting 100% of the drug from the tablet excipients must be identified as part of the analytical assay method. When a low drug recovery from a tablet is observed with the assay method, it must be determined whether a problem with the manufacturing process exists, or if the extraction of the drug was incomplete. A solvent screen study was conducted with CP-122,721 prototype formulations to select a robust solvent for the assay method. However, low tablet assay values (ca. 95%) were routinely observed during tablet formulation development and process scale up. Drug-excipient interactions in a variety of solvents were subsequently evaluated to confirm the selection of the extraction solvent as capable of 100% extraction. At this point the focus of the investigation was placed on process-related sources of low recovery, such as loss of drug to manufacturing equipment and/or segregation during the tableting process. The results suggest that the low drug recovery observed for the CP-122,721 tablets was due to segregation during the manufacture, while the selected extraction solvent was able to eliminate any interactions between CP-122,721 and the tablet excipients.

Fabrication and properties of spray-dried nanofeatured spherical Ni(OH)2 materials.

Spherical agglomerates of nanostructured beta-phase Ni(OH)2 with the general formula Ni1-xCox(OH)2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3) for use as cathode materials were produced by a modified method including coprecipitation of Ni or Ni composite hydroxide and further spray drying of the precipitated and washed slurry. This process leads to the formation of spherical agglomerate particles with a narrow Gaussian-type distribution range. The method permits faster and cheaper production of cathode materials with a higher specific surface area and similar or better capacity and cycle life compared with the materials prepared via conventional technology.