Morphogenesis of Anthers Isolated From Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea L.) In Vitro

This study aimed to optimize the steps of obtaining regenerated cabbage plants by direct embryogenesis from isolated anthers and ovaries. Stepwise pretreatment of inflorescences was usedfor the studied hybrids and inbred lines. First, the inflorescences were placed in water and kept at a temperature of +4-6∘C for one day without the use of biologically active substances. Then the inflorescences were placed in a solution of the drug Dropp (10 mg/l) and cultivated for two days. After that, the anthers and ovaries were isolated from the flower buds and cultured on the MS culture medium at a temperature of + 32∘C for one day. The cultivation of the isolated explants on a nutrient medium (containing 0.01 mg/lof Dropp, 1.0 mg/lof NAA, 500 mg/lof asparagine, 100 mg/l of tyrosine, and 10 g/l of sucrose)led to an increase in their morphogenetic potential in the culture of anthers and ovaries (by 3.42% and 5.54%, respectively).A cytological method was usedto demonstrate the haploid nature of the regenerating plants. The number of chromosomes in the root meristem andleaves, and the chloroplasts in the closing cells of the stomatawere calculated. Keywords: cabbage, culture in vitro, regenerated plants, anthers, ovaries, reproductive organs

Biologically Active Substances from Powdered Barberry and Viburnum

Introduction. Plant raw materials can be a source of biologically active substances and increase the nutritional value of food products. The present research objective was to determine the content of biologically active substances in powdered viburnum and barberry. Study objects and methods. The study featured viburnum (Viburnum opulus L.) and barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.), dried by convection and crushed into particles of 50 microns. Results and discussion. The total content of phenolic compounds in powdered viburnum was 3114.07 mg/100 g, in powdered barberry – 2272.7 mg/100 g. The content of flavonoids in powdered viburnum was 324.52 mg/100 g, in powdered barberry – 390.00 mg/100 g. The flavonoid profile of the powders included rutin, hyperoside, quercitrin, isoquercintrin, and astralagin. The total content of catechins was 446 mg/100 g for viburnum and 506 mg/100 g for barberry. The catechins included mainly epigallocatechin and catechin. In powdered viburnum, the catechin composition was as follows: epicatechin – 196, catechin – 118, and epigallocatechin – 89 mg/100 g; in powdered barberry: epigallocatechin – 173, catechin – 111, and epicatechin – 74 mg/100 g. The antiradical activity in relation to trolox equivalent was 7560 mg/100 g in powdered viburnum and 9460 mg/100 g in powdered barberry. Conclusion. The obtained viburnum and barberry powders can fortify food with biologically active substances and expand the range of functional products.

Herbal Medicines—Are They Effective and Safe during Pregnancy?

Since the teratogenicity of Thalidomide has been proven, herbal products are more commonly used in pregnancy to not only relieve morning sickness but also to fight infections. These products are frequently considered as natural and therefore harmless. However, herbs contain a number of active substances that, when used during pregnancy, can affect the development of the fetus. Often, pregnant women do not consult the usage of herbal medicines with a physician. The access to these products is easy and treatment of certain ailments with the use of herbs is common in many countries. The aim of the present literature review was to discuss available data regarding the efficacy and safety of cranberry, chamomile, Echinacea purpurea, garlic, ginger, Ginkgo biloba, and peppermint, which are used to counteract the most common ailments during pregnancy, i.e., infections and pregnancy-related ailments (e.g., nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and headache). Analysis of available data showed that ginger is one of the most extensively analyzed herbal remedies. The dose of ginger below 1000 mg per day may help to relief hypereremesis gravidarum, and such an amount of ginger did not increase frequency of adverse effects for either woman or developing fetus. Data regarding other herbs are most often heterogeneous and give conflicting results with no clear conclusions. However, all herbal products should be used with a special caution in pregnancy. Further high-quality human studies should be determined to confirm the safe doses of herbal products which could be used by pregnant or breast-feeding women.

The Regenerative Potential of Substance P

Wound healing is a highly coordinated process which leads to the repair and regeneration of damaged tissue. Still, numerous diseases such as diabetes, venous insufficiencies or autoimmune diseases could disturb proper wound healing and lead to chronic and non-healing wounds, which are still a great challenge for medicine. For many years, research has been carried out on finding new therapeutics which improve the healing of chronic wounds. One of the most extensively studied active substances that has been widely tested in the treatment of different types of wounds was Substance P (SP). SP is one of the main neuropeptides released by nervous fibers in responses to injury. This review provides a thorough overview of the application of SP in different types of wound models and assesses its efficacy in wound healing.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF IN SITU OPHTHALMIC GEL: A CONCISE REVIEW

In situ ophthalmic gel is a type of eye drug preparation that has a higher bioavailability value and has a longer contact time with maximum therapeutic effect and with minimal side effects compared to conventional eye preparations. The preparation of ophthalmic in situ gel is required characterization to make sure that the prepared preparations meet the standards and are safe when used. This journal review aims to look at the methods used in characterizing physical properties in in situ ophthalmic gel formulations with different active substances such as rheology studies, organoleptic tests, pH, clarity, and gelling capacity. In order to get the best formulation of in situ ophthalmic gel preparations so as to provide maximum therapeutic effect.

Analysis of amino acids content in the plant components of the antidiabetic herbal mixture by GC-MS

Medicinal plants and their combinations due to the wide range of biologically active substances can influence on various links of the pathogenetic mechanism of development of DM type 2 and its complications. One of such combinations is an antidiabetic herbal mixture (Urticae folia, Rosae fructus, Myrtilli folia, Menthae folia and Taraxaci radices) with established hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, pancreatoprotective activity in previous pharmacological studies in vivo and in vitro and defined phytochemical composition. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify and establish the content of amino acids in the plant components of antidiabetic herbal mixture. The amino acids were separated by GC-MS method with pre-column derivatization. The calibration curves of twenty CRS of amino acids were linear (R2 > 0.98) over the range of 1–100 µg/mL, the LODs and the LOQs were in the range of 0.01–0.07 µg/mL and 0.02–0.20 µg/mL, respectively. The results of analysis showed that the predominant essential amino acid was L-proline in Taraxaci radices, Urticae folia, Rosae fructus and Menthae folia, its total content was 101.46 mg/g, 25.31 mg/g, 23.04 mg/g and 19.30 mg/g, respectively. In addition, it was established total content of essential amino acid – L-leucine that can stimulate insulin secretion in β-cells of the pancreas. Its total content was 58.51 mg/g in Taraxaci radices, 9.58 mg/g in Myrtilli folia, 4.68 mg/g in Rosae fructus, 2.99 mg/g in Urticae folia and 0.79 mg/g in Menthae folia. Chromatographic examination also revealed L-phenylalanine, an essential amino acid important for antidiabetic therapy that can increase insulin secretion, stimulate proliferation and neogenesis of β-cells of the pancreas and reduce insulin resistance. Its total content was 13.42 mg/g in Myrtilli folia, 2.23 mg/g in Rosae fructus, 1.478 mg/g in Urticae folia, 1.46 mg/g in Taraxaci radices and 0.52 mg/g in Menthae folia. This phytochemical study shows, which plant material forms the amino acid composition and content in the finished herbal mixture and due to which biologically active substances the antidiabetic activity of this phytocomposition is manifested.

Sensors to the Diagnostic Assessment of Anticancer and Antimicrobial Therapies Effectiveness by Drugs a with Pyrazine Scaffold

Treatment with pyrazine derivatives—antituberculosis pyrazinamide (PZA), anticancer bortezomib (BZM), and antifungal pyrazine-2-amidoxime (PAOX) and pyrazine-2-thiocarboxamide (PTCA)—is associated with side effects, as observed in the case of other therapeutic drugs. To prevent the side effects of pyrazine derivatives, researchers are working to develop a universal method that will detect these compounds in body fluids. There is a lack of literature data about voltammetric measurements with poly-L-amino acid-modified GCEs surfaces. The available reports describe the application of various modifications of these electrodes for the detection of different active substances of drugs; however, they do not indicate one particular method for the detection of drugs with a pyrazine skeleton. This research aimed to prepare three types of glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) with modified surfaces by electropolymerization using 1, 10, and 100 mM solutions of L-glycine (Gly), L-alanine (Ala), L-lysine (Lys), respectively. The poly-amino acid coatings applied on GCE surfaces were analyzed in detail under a three-dimensional (3D) microscope and were used as chemosensors of four pyrazine drugs in stoichiometric tests. The results were compared with the measurements made on an unmodified GCE. To obtain reliable results, the linearity of measurements was also verified in the concentration gradient and appropriate scanning speed was chosen to achieve the most accurate measurements.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Modified Glycidyl Methacrylate–Ethyl Methacrylate Oligomers, Their Physico-Chemical and Biological Characteristics

In this study, well-known oligomers containing ethyl methacrylate (EMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) components for the synthesis of the oligomeric network [P(EMA)-co-(GMA)] were used. In order to change the hydrophobic character of the [P(EMA)-co-(GMA)] to a more hydrophilic one, the oligomeric chain was functionalized with ethanolamine, xylitol (Xyl), and L-ornithine. The oligomeric materials were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and differential thermogravimetric analysis. In the final stage, thanks to the large amount of -OH groups, it was possible to obtain a three-dimensional hydrogel (HG) network. The HGs were used as a matrix for the immobilization of methylene blue, which was chosen as a model compound of active substances, the release of which from the matrix was examined using spectrophotometric detection. The cytotoxic test was performed using fluid extracts of the HGs and human skin fibroblasts. The cell culture experiment showed that only [P(EMA)-co-(GMA)] and [P(EMA)-co-(GMA)]-Xyl have the potential to be used in biomedical applications. The studies revealed that the obtained HGs were porous and non-cytotoxic, which gives them the opportunity to possess great potential for use as an oligomeric network for drug reservoirs in in vitro application.

Modern Technologies for Producing Foamed Phosphate Glass for Oil Sorbents

The paper considers applications of foamed glassy phosphate materials as carriers of biologically active substances. The atomic layer deposition method allowed chemically synthesizing surface-modified composite materials based on graphite and carbon fibers, which maximally preserved the activity of enzymes and biologically active substances. The synthesis process of a mono-layer titanium-containing coating on the surface of graphite and carbon fibers by processing them with TiCl4 vapors is considered. The main characteristics of the graphite surface before and after modification and characteristics of the porous structure and surface of carbon fibers are obtained. Biologically active substances by adsorption from a solution to the surface of both the original and modified carriers were applied. biological activity and temperature stability of the obtained composite materials were studied. It is shown that the activity of a biologically active substance depends on the chemical composition and state of the surface of carbon-based carriers.