Anahi Bucchini

Melatonin antagonizes apoptosis via receptor interaction in U937 monocytic cells

Abstract:  Among the non‐neurological functions of melatonin, much attention is being directed to the ability of melatonin to modulate the immune system, whose cells possess melatonin‐specific receptors and biosynthetic enzymes. Melatonin controls cell behaviour by eliciting specific signal transduction actions after its interaction with plasma membrane receptors (MT1, MT2); additionally, melatonin potently neutralizes free radicals. Melatonin regulates immune cell loss by antagonizing apoptosis. A major unsolved question is whether this is due to receptor involvement, or to radical scavenging considering that apoptosis is often dependent on oxidative alterations. Here, we provide evidence that on U937 monocytic cells, apoptosis is antagonized by melatonin by receptor interaction rather than by radical scavenging. First, melatonin and a set of synthetic analogues prevented apoptosis in a manner that is proportional to their affinity for plasma membrane receptors but not to their antioxidant ability. Secondly, melatonins antiapoptotic effect required key signal transduction events including G protein, phospholipase C and Ca2+ influx and, more important, it is sensitive to the specific melatonin receptor antagonist luzindole.

Polyphenols profile and antioxidant activity of skin and pulp of a rare apple from Marche region (Italy)

BackgroundApples are an important source of polyphenols in the human diet and the consumption of this fruit has been linked to the prevention of degenerative diseases.ResultsCatechins, procyanidins, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonol glycosides, dihydrochalcone glycosides and one anthocyanin: cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, were identified both in the peel and pulp. Procyanidins, catechins and flavonols represent the main constituents of peel. Concerning the antioxidant activity, in the reduction of the stable DPPH radical and in the inhibition of lipid peroxidation, the ethanolic extracts of red peel and red pulp showed a good similar activity comparable to ascorbic acid in the DPPH test and about ten times more active than BHT in the lipoxygenase test, and were much more active than aqueous extracts. The ORAC value of red pulp aqueous extract resulted comparable to that of red berries: vaccinium, rubus and ribes, foods appreciated for their health value.ConclusionThis apple contains an appreciable amount of polyphenols also in the flesh; this variety with red flesh can also be useful for researchers engaged in apples varietal innovation in addition to being used as food apple.

Chemical composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of Satureja montana from central Italy

Bo,” Urbino, Italy; 2) Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti Scalo (CH), Italy, fax: +3908713555315, e-mail: fepifano@unich.it; 3) Dipar timento di Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sezione di Chimica Organica, Universita degli Studi, Via del Liceo, 06123 Perugia, Italy. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 514-515, September-October, 2007. Original article submitted June 16, 2006.

Composition and antifungal activity of essential oil of Salvia sclarea from Italy

Salvia sclarea L. (clary sage) is a biennial or perennial shrub, native to southern Europe and belonging to the family of Lamiaceae [1]. Oil of clary sage has been reported to exert a depressant action on the CNS in mice and a hydrocolerethic effect in rats [2], a topical antiinflammatory activity in porcine buccal mucosa [3], and to act as a stomachic in digestive disorders and in kidney diseases. In Italy S. sclarea is traditionally used to cure coughs and as a stomachic or to treat intestinal spasms [4]. The chemical composition of S. sclarea essential oils of different origins has been reported [5] and a significant antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermis, S. aureus, and Candida albicans has been observed. To the best of our knowledge, the antifungal activity of S. sclarea oil on phytopathogenic fungi has so far been studied only on three fungi [5]. The aim of this work was to examine the chemical composition of the essential oil of S. sclarea collected near Urbino (central Italy) and to evaluate the activity of the oil and two of its major components on the growth of four phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Alternaria solani. The chemical composition of the essential oil is reported in Table 1. The major components of the oil were linalool (24.5%), linalyl acetate (20.9%), geranyl acetate (6.3%), (E)β-ocimene (5.7%), and caryophyllene oxide (5.3%). The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of S. sclarea showed that R. solani is totally inhibited at 800 ppm, and B. cinerea at 1600 ppm, both by fungistatic effects, and F. oxysporum and A. solani at 3200 ppm by fungicidal and fungistatic effect, respectively (see Table 2). Results (expressed as MIC values) obtained from the agar dilution method are respectively 700 ppm for R. solani , 950 ppm for B. cinerea, and 1800 and 1900 ppm for F. oxysporum and A. solani , respectively, while MFCs are 1450 ppm for R. solani , 3000 for F. oxysporum and B. cinerea, and more than 3200 for A. solani (Table 3). The most sensitive microorganism tested with the lowest MIC value was therefore R. solani . Pure commercial linalool and linalyl acetate were then tested independently for their antifungal action on the fungal strains tested and showed different degrees of inhibition. The MIC val u s obtained for pure linalool on R. solani , B. cinerea, F. oxysporum, and A. solani were 200, 300, 800, and 1000, respectively, and MFCs obtained for the same fungi were 2400, 2400, 2800, and 3200 respectively. The MIC value for linalyl acetate, tested on all fungal strains, was over 4000 ppm. Basing on the literature data, [5] it is conceivable that the activity of oil from S. sclarea could be due mainly to the presence of linalool.

Inhibition of Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation and In Vitro Tumorigenesis by a New Red Apple Cultivar

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative activity in breast cancer cells and the inhibition of tumorigenesis in pre-neoplastic cells of a new apple cultivar with reddish pulp, called the Pelingo apple. Methods The antiproliferative activity was evaluated in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. The inhibition of tumorigenesis was performed in JB6 promotion-sensitive (P+) cells. Results Results showed that Pelingo apple juice is characterized by a very high polyphenol content and strongly inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation. Its antiproliferative activity was found to be higher than the other five apple juices tested. Pelingo juice induced cell accumulation in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and autophagy through overexpression of p21, inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) activity and an increase in lipidated microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain-3 beta (LC3B). Remarkably, Pelingo juice inhibited the 12-o-tetra-decanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced tumorigenesis of JB6 P+ cells, suppressing colony formation in semi-solid medium and TPA-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Conclusions Our data indicate that the Pelingo apple is rich in food components that can markedly inhibit in vitro tumorigenesis and growth of human breast cancer cells and could provide natural bioactive non-nutrient compounds, with potential chemopreventive activity.

Chemical Composition, Antifungal and In Vitro Antioxidant Properties of Monarda didyma L. Essential Oil

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from Monarda didyma stem with leaves and flowers was analyzed by GC and GC/MS and the components identified were 22, mainly thymol (57.3% and 51.7%, respectively), γ-terpinene (9.3% and 14.3%), p-cymene (10.5% and 9.7%), δ-3-carene (4.5% and 6.2%) and myrcene (3.7% and 3.7%). The two oils were qualitatively similar. The antifungal activity of the oil was evaluated against four phytopathogenic fungi by direct contact with the Agar diffusion method and with the fungistatc action of the vapors using the Micro-atmosphere method. The most sensitive fungus resulted Rhizoctonia solani in the first test and Botrytis cinerea in the second. The antioxidant activity of the oil was evaluated by DPPH test, were the oil showed an effect comparable to Trolox, and by lipid peroxidation test, where the activity of the oil was similar to that of BHT.

COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF Nepeta foliosa ESSENTIAL OIL FROM SARDINIA (ITALY)

The feline attractant properties of several Nepeta species have been known for a long time; in fact the activity of nepetalactone and also of its isomers on the olfactory sense of domestic cats (Felix domestica) was proven in 1969 [10]. The antioxidant activity was evaluated “in vitro” only in Nepeta flavida essential oil from Turkey [11] and Nepeta cataria from Lithuania [12] by DPPH and beta-carotene bleaching tests. In this study we characterized for the first time the chemical constituents of the essential oil of Nepeta foliosa, an endemic species of Sardinia Island (Italy), and investigated its antioxidant activity by two “in vitro” systems. In Table 1 are summarized 16 compounds representing 96.4% of the essential oil (yield 0.1% v/w). GC and GC/MS analyses revealed nepetalactone (31.17%) and linalool (15.24%) as the main components, amounting to 46.41% of the total oil. 1,8-Cineole (eucalyptol) (12.54%), β-pinene (8.93%), and geranyl acetate (5.52%) were the other constituents of the essential oil studied.

Antioxidant and antifungal activity of different extracts obtained from aerial parts of Inula crithmoides L.

The total phenolic content, antioxidant and antifungal activities of three Inula crithmoides extracts (n-hexane, methylene chloride and MeOH) were investigated. The methanolic extract showed the highest total phenolic content. In the DPPH assay, the methanolic and hexane extracts exhibited the highest DPPH-radical scavenging activity; in the 5-lipoxygenase assay, the hexane extract showed greater inhibitory effect with an IC50 similar to that of Trolox and ascorbic acid. The antifungal activity of the methanolic extract revealed a higher activity against Phytophtora cryptogea and Alternaria solani.

myo-[3H]-inositol loaded erythrocytes and white ghosts: Two models to investigate the phosphatidylinositol synthesis in human red cells

Human erythrocytes were loaded with myo-[(3)H]-inositol in the presence or absence of cytidine trisphosphate to investigate the synthesis of membrane phosphoinositides in the intact red cell. The addition of cytidylic nucleotides to the loading mixture yielded a four-fold increase in the [(3)H]-labeling of the membranes. The [(3)H]-labeling of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate was distinguished by two chromatographic techniques. Experiments performed on white ghosts demonstrated the presence of CDP-diacylglycerol synthase and phosphatidylinositol synthase. These results and those already reported allow to discuss a possible turnover of the inositol polar head.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of the Essential Oil of Teucrium massiliense L.

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Teucrium massiliense L. was analyzed by GC and GC/MS and the components identified were 34, mainly 3,7-dimethyloctan-2-one (15.2%), butyl 2-methylbutyrate (12.1%), linalool (10.6%), linalyl acetate (7.1%), zingiberene (4.7%), γ-cadinene (4.1%). The anti-oxidant activity of the oil was evaluated by the DPPH test, where the oil showed an effect comparable to Trolox, and by lipid peroxidation test, where the activity of the oil was three time less effective than that of Trolox.