Antioxidant activity of a catechol derived from abietic acid     

Justino GC  Correia CF  Mira L  Borges Dos Santos RM  Martinho Simões JA  Silva AM  Santos C  Gigante B 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2006,54(2):342-348

The demand for novel effective antioxidant-based drugs has led to the synthesis and evaluation of the antioxidant potential in several molecules derived from natural compounds. In this work the in vitro antioxidant activity of an abietic acid-derived catechol (methyl 11,12-dihydroxyabietate-8,11,13-trien-18-oate, MDTO) was evaluated. This substance, possessing important biological properties, is similar to carnosic acid, a natural antioxidant from rosemary or sage leaves. Aiming to understand the antioxidant activity of MDTO, the energetics of its O-H bond, using time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry (TR-PAC), was investigated. On energetic grounds it is predicted that MDTO is a good free radical scavenger, although its activity is lower than that of quercetin, a very effective antioxidant, which was used for comparison. In agreement with these predictions, the DPPH(*) and ABTS(*+) radical scavenging activities are lower than those of quercetin. In addition, MDTO also reacts with HOCl, a powerful proinflammatory oxidant produced by activated neutrophils, and protects liposomes against iron-ascorbate-induced oxidation. The discussion of these results foresees potential applications of MDTO as an antioxidant.  相似文献   

Can spleen aspirations be safely used for the parasitological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniosis? A study on assymptomatic and polysymptomatic animals     

Barrouin-Melo SM  Larangeira DF  de Andrade Filho FA  Trigo J  Julião FS  Franke CR  Palis Aguiar PH  Conrado dos-Santos WL  Pontes-de-Carvalho L 《Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)》2006,171(2):331-339

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of spleen aspiration as a sampling technique for the parasitological detection by culture and microscopy of Leishmania (chagasi) infantum. Two hundred and nine domiciled dogs from an endemic area for visceral leishmaniasis in Bahia State, Brazil, were studied. Most dogs (87%) were seropositive for anti-L. chagasi antibodies by ELISA. Clinical signs of disease were recorded and the animals monitored during and after spleen puncture in order to detect possible complications associated with the procedure. From a total of 257 splenic punctures in the 209 animals, only three minor events occurred, with no significant consequence for the animals and no association with risk factors. Leishmania was isolated from 149/180 (83%) seropositive dogs, and from 6/26 (23%) seronegative animals. The procedure did not cause adverse side effects or unnecessary suffering and confirmed the diagnosis in a large percentage of dogs. We conclude that spleen aspiration can be considered an effective and safe procedure for the definitive diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniosis.  相似文献   

Ascorbic acid levels of aqueous humor of dogs after experimental phacoemulsification     

De Biaggi CP  Barros PS  Silva VV  Brooks DE  Barros SB 《Veterinary ophthalmology》2006,9(5):299-302

Phacoemulsification has been successfully employed in humans and animals for lens extraction. This ultrasonic extracapsular surgical technique induces hydroxyl radical formation in the anterior chamber, which accumulates despite irrigation and aspiration. In this paper we determined the total antioxidant status of aqueous humor after phacoemulsification by measuring aqueous humor ascorbic acid levels. Mixed-breed dogs (n = 11; weighing about 10 kg) with normal eyes as determined by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, applanation tonometry, and indirect ophthalmoscopy had phacoemulsification performed in one eye with the other eye used as a control. Samples of aqueous humor were obtained by anterior chamber paracentesis before surgery and at days 1, 2, 3, 7, and 15 after surgery. Total aqueous humor antioxidant status was inferred from the capacity of aqueous humor to inhibit free radical generation by 2,2-azobis (2-amidopropane) chlorine. Ascorbic acid concentrations were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography with UV detection. Protein content was determined with the biuret reagent. Statistical analysis was performed by anova followed by the paired t-test. Total antioxidant capacity was reduced from 48 to 27 min during the first 24 h with a gradual increase thereafter, remaining statistically lower than the control eye until 7 days postoperatively. Reduced levels of ascorbic acid followed this reduction in antioxidant capacity (from 211 to 99 microm after 24 h), remaining lower than the control eye until 15 days postoperatively. Protein concentration in aqueous humor increased from 0.62 mg/mL to 30.8 mg/mL 24 h after surgery, remaining statistically lower than the control eye until 15 days postoperatively. Paracentesis alone did not significantly alter the parameters measured. These results indicate that after phacoemulsification, the aqueous humor ascorbic acid levels and antioxidant defenses in aqueous humor are reduced, indirectly corroborating free radical production in the anterior chamber as a result of phacoemulsification. The inflammatory process consequent to the surgical procedure demonstrated by increased protein content in aqueous humor can also contribute to free radical production and ascorbic acid consumption.  相似文献   

Infectious bursal disease virus-induced immunosuppression exacerbates Campylobacter jejuni colonization and shedding in chickens     

Subler KA  Mickael CS  Jackwood DJ 《Avian diseases》2006,50(2):179-184

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of food-borne bacterial gastroenteritis in humans in the United States. Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes an immunosuppressive disease in young chickens. To analyze a possible role of IBDV-induced immunosuppression in colonization and shedding of C. jejuni, two experiments were conducted. In both experiments, group 1 consisted of noninoculated control chickens, groups 2 and 3 were inoculated with varying doses of C. jejuni, and groups 4 and 5 were inoculated initially with IBDV followed by doses of C. jejuni similar to groups 2 and 3. Campylobacter jejuni was recovered from the cloaca and cecum, but not the small intestines, from all chickens in groups 2 and 3. In groups 4 and 5, C. jejuni was recovered from the small intestines, cecum, and cloaca from all chickens. The amount (colony-forming units/sample) of C. jejuni recovered from chickens in groups 4 and 5 was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the amount recovered from chickens in groups 2 and 3; and C. jejuni was also present sooner in these groups than in groups 2 and 3. Bursa samples from chickens in groups 4 and 5 were significantly smaller (P < 0.05) than in the other groups. Additionally, real-time polymerase chain reaction results for IBDV were positive in groups 4 and 5 and negative in all other groups. This study indicated that IBDV infection exacerbated colonization and shedding of C. jejuni, presumably through the immune suppression this virus causes in chickens. It highlights the need for further investigation into the role of immunosuppression in preharvest control strategies for food-borne disease-causing agents.  相似文献   

Antineoplastic activity of selected constituents of Duguetia glabriuscula     

Matos MF  Leite LI  Brustolim D  de Siqueira JM  Carollo CA  Hellmann AR  Pereira NF  da Silva DB 《Fitoterapia》2006,77(3):227-229

The cytotoxic effects of seven constituents isolated from Duguetia glabriuscula were evaluated against Hep2 human larynx carcinoma cells. The cytotoxicity exhibited by beta-sitosterol was as strong as that of cis-platin. (+)-Alloaromadendran-10,14beta-diol caused inhibition of cellular growth with IC50 values lower than 25 microg/ml, a feature that was considered as revealing significant activity. Polycarpol showed borderline cytotoxicity, whereas the other compounds were inactive.  相似文献   

Biochemical composition and indigestible oligosaccharides in Phaseolus vulgaris L. seeds     

da Silva Fialho L  Guimarães VM  de Barros EG  Moreira MA  Dos Santos Dias LA  de Almeida Oliveira MG  José IC  de Rezende ST 《Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)》2006,61(2):87-89

Common beans have a high nutritional value, but contain galactooligosaccharides (GO), which cause flatulence and intestinal discomfort in humans. The biochemical composition of ten bean cultivars was determined to select those of high protein and low GO contents. The cultivars varied in carbohydrate (47.02-60.17%), GO (3.12-5.71%), protein (22.17-33.50%), lipid (1.13-1.81%), moisture (11.42-12.93%) and ash contents (4.08-5.61%). 'Mexico 222' presented the highest alpha-galactosidase activity. Protein and GO contents were positively correlated. 'Perry Marrow' combined high protein and low GO concentrations, indicating it can be used in improvement programs aiming at high-quality cultivars for human consumption.  相似文献   

GOAnnotator: linking protein GO annotations to evidence text     

Francisco M Couto  Mário J Silva  Vivian Lee  Emily Dimmer  Evelyn Camon  Rolf Apweiler  Harald Kirsch  Dietrich Rebholz-Schuhmann 《Journal of Biomedical Discovery and Collaboration》2006,1(1):19

  相似文献   

Environmental factors at different spatial scales governing soil fauna community patterns in fragmented forests   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Pedro Martins da Silva  Matty P. Berg  Artur R. M. Serrano  Florence Dubs  José Paulo Sousa 《Landscape Ecology》2012,27(9):1337-1349

Spatial and temporal changes in community structure of soil organisms may result from a myriad of processes operating at a hierarchy of spatial scales, from small-scale habitat conditions to species movements among patches and large-sale landscape features. To disentangle the relative importance of spatial and environmental factors at different scales (plot, patch and landscape), we analyzed changes in Collembola community structure along a gradient of forest fragmentation, testing predictions of the Hierarchical Patch Dynamics Paradigm (HPDP) in different European biogeographic regions (Boreal, Continental, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Alpine). Using variance partitioning methods, based on partial CCAs, we observed that the independent effect of environmental processes was significantly explaining Collembola community variance in all regions, while the relative effect of spatial variables was not significant, due to the observed high levels of landscape heterogeneity along the gradient. Environmental factors at the patch and plot scales were generally significant and explained the larger part of community changes. Landscape variables were not significant across all study sites. Yet, at the landscape level, an increase in forest habitat and proximity of forest patches were showed to have an indirect influence on local community changes, by influencing microhabitat heterogeneity at lower spatial scales in all studied regions. In line with HPDP, large-scale landscape features influenced spatio-temporal changes in soil fauna communities by constraining small-scale environmental processes. In turn, these provided mechanistic understanding for diversity patterns operating at the patch scale, via shifts in community weighted mean of Collembola life-forms occurring in local communities along the fragmentation gradient.  相似文献   

Heart rate variability parameters of myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs with and without heart failure obtained using 24-hour Holter electrocardiography     

Oliveira MS  Muzzi RA  Araújo RB  Muzzi LA  Ferreira DF  Nogueira R  Silva EF 《The Veterinary record》2012,170(24):622

Time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) parameters and the correlation between echocardiography and Holter examinations in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) were determined. Holter examination was also performed at different time frames: an entire 24-hour period, a four-hour period during sleep, and a four-hour period while awake. Ten healthy (control group) and 28 MMVD dogs, 15 with and 13 without heart failure, were evaluated. The SDANN (sd of the mean normal RR intervals for all five-minute segments during 24-hour Holter) and pNN(50) (percentage of differences between adjacent normal RR intervals that are >50 ms computed over 24-hour Holter) variables were significantly lower in the dogs with MMVD heart failure. The differences in HRV between the groups were only detected during the 24-hour evaluation period (P<0.05). There were high correlations (canonical analysis) between Holter and echocardiography examinations when considering pNN(50), SDANN, and LA/AO (left atrial to aortic root ratio) (r=0.92; P<0.05), indicating that both are important in evaluating MMVD dogs. SDANN and pNN(50) are measures of parasympathetic control of the heart, and thus, it is possible to infer that the MMVD dogs exhibit parasympathetic withdrawal during the development of heart failure.  相似文献   

Tifton hay, soybean hulls, and whole cottonseed as fiber source in spineless cactus diets for sheep     

Suellen Brandão de Miranda Costa  Marcelo de Andrade Ferreira  Ricardo A. Silva Pessoa  Ângela Maria Vieira Batista  Alenice Ozino Ramos  Maria Gabriela da Conceição  Luiz Henrique dos Santos Gomes 《Tropical animal health and production》2012,44(8):1993-2000

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effect of three different sources of fiber (tifton hay, soybean hulls, and whole cottonseed) in spineless cactus diets for sheep in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. Twenty-one sheep in finishing phase with indeterminate breed, non-castrated, and with initial weight of 18.90?±?1.07 kg were randomly distributed to individual stalls where they were confined for the duration of the experiment. The intakes of dry and organic matter, total carbohydrates, and total digestive nutrients were not influenced (P?>?0.10) by the different fiber sources (1.10, 0.97, 0.73, and 0.80 kg/day, respectively). However, sheep which received the whole cottonseed diet were characterized by a lower (P?<?0.10) intake of crude protein and neutral detergent fiber and greater (P?<?0.10) intake of ether extract (0.11, 0.29, and 0.048 kg/day, respectively). The different sources of fiber resulted in similar times spent feeding (P?>?0.10), although the rumination time was greater for tifton hay (P?<?0.10) (429.05 min/day). The digestibility coefficient of dry and organic matter differed between the treatments (P?<?0.10), with the soybean hull diet showing a higher level of digestion (83.23 and 86.72 %, respectively). The whole cottonseed diet gave the smallest digestibility coefficient of crude protein (68.95 %) and greatest for ether extract (85.94 %). The daily weight gain of animals fed on whole cottonseed was significantly lower (P?<?0.10). On the basis of these findings, we recommend the use of tifton hay or soybean hulls as important additional source of fiber in forage spineless cactus diets for sheep in finishing phase.  相似文献