CULTIVATION AND ECONOMICAL PERSPECTIVES OF GRACILLARIA: MARINE SEAWEED

For decades, seaweed has been of biological, industrial, and pharmaceutical importance. Because of their nutraceutical potential, seaweed has been used as a food throughout Asia. Traditional Chinese medicine used aqueous hot extracts of certain seaweeds in the treatment of cancer. Further, the Japanese and Chinesecultures have used seaweeds to treat goiter and other glandular problems since 300 BC. The Romans used seaweeds in the treatment of wounds, burns, and rashes. The Celts noted that ordinary seaweed contracted as it dried and then expanded with moisture. In Scotland during the 18th century, physicians used dried seaweed stem to successfully drain abdominal wall abscesses. They also inserted seaweed into the cervix in an attempt to treat dysmenorrhea. Many reports outline the use of seaweed to induce abortion. Seaweed was employed intravaginally for ripening of the cervix and was used rectally for strictures. In this juncture, culture and therapeutic potential of Gracilaria was reviewed. Gracilaria is a genus of red algae notable for its economic importance as an agarophyte, as well as its use as a food for humans and various species of shellfish. Various species within the genus are cultivated among Asia, South America, Africa and Oceania. Gracilaria is used as a food in Japanese, Hawaiian, and Filipino cuisine. In Japanese cuisine, it is called ogonori or ogo. In thePhilippines, it is called gulaman and used to make gelatin. In Jamaica, it is known as Irish moss. The moisture content is 12% and protein is 8%. The species are used by local people as salad, preparation of various curries and industrially many by products are synthesized from this sea weed. Medicinally as microbicidal, antiinflammatory, antimetastatic and immuno modulatory potential.

Certain important aspects of the prevention of pathologies of labor activity in obstetric practice (Сlinical lecture)

The question of the prevention of pathologies of the labor is currently very important, the answer to them has become the favored formation of «dominants of delivery», choice of the optimal time to delivery, effective and safe method of induction, that promotes the promptness of the female organism and ripening of the cervix, as well as the timely identification and correction of pathological prelмmмnary period. In a review article describes the modern approaches and methods of preventing the pathology of labor activity, presented by the authors ‘ own experience regarding the use of prostaglandins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, individual approach to the management of perinatal risk. Key words: childbirth, prevention, induction, prostaglandin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Cervical remodeling in term and preterm birth: insights from an animal model

Proper cervical function is essential for a normal pregnancy and birth to occur. Understanding the mechanisms that take place in normal pregnancy will allow a better comprehension of the complications involved in premature cervical remodeling and lead to better methods of diagnostics and prevention for preterm birth. Unfortunately, human samples are not easily available, and samples that are collected are often confounded by variations in timing and region of cervix from which sample is collected. Animal models, specifically the mouse, have facilitated a great deal of exploration into the mechanisms of cervical function and pathways of preterm birth. This review highlights some of the groundbreaking discoveries that have arisen from murine research including 1) the identification of early pregnancy changes in collagen fibril processing and assembly that result in progressive modifications to collagen architecture with subsequent loss of tissue stiffness during pregnancy, 2) the determination that immune cells are not key to cervical ripening at term but have diverse phenotypes and functions inpostpartumrepair, and 3) the finding that the process of preterm cervical ripening can differ from term ripening and is dependent on the etiology of prematurity. These findings, which are relevant to human cervical biology, provide new insights that will allow targeted studies on the human cervix as well as identify potential biomarkers for early detection of premature cervical ripening and development of improved therapies to prevent premature ripening of the cervix and subsequent preterm birth.