When replicating U937 cells were incubated with up to 80 microM concentrations of the in vitro inhibitor of eicosanoid biosynthesis, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), DNA synthesis measured by labeling with [3H]thymidine was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. No reduction in cellular viability occurred, as judged by exclusion of trypan blue, unaltered release of 51Cr-labeled p...

A number of recent studies have illustrated the active role of food/natural components in the prevention of chronic diseases and in the improvement of the quality of life. In the present study, we aimed to obtain and characterize certain extracts from Vitis vinifera L., Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Curcuma longa L., focusing on their antioxidant effects in vitro. Three vegetal extracts were ob...

Background: Septic acute kidney injury (AKI) causes high mortality in critical care units, and no effective therapy exists in clinical treatment. In the current study, water and ethanol extracts of Hydrangea paniculata (HP), a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, were used to test its renoprotective effects in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced murine model of septic AKI. Methods: C57BL/6 mice ...

Ninety potential chemopreventive agents were screened using 6 theme prevendon-assodated biochemical end points. These compounds were tested using rodent (tracheal epithelial or liver) cells and human cells [neonatal foreskin fibroblasts, bronchial epithelial cells, or human leuke nile cells (HL-60)]. The effects measured were: (a) Inhibition of 12-0tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-fnduced ...

For the first time, a pale amorphous coumarin derivative, 5-methoxyl aesculetin (MOA), was isolated from the dried bark of Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance (Oleaceae). MOA modulates cytokine expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages, but the precise mechanisms are still not fully understood. We determined the effects of MOA on the production of inflammatory mediators and ...

General phytochemical screening of the aqueous extract of fruits of Solanum xanthocarpum (Solanaceae) revealed the presence of steroids, terpenes, phenolic compounds, saponins, fatty acids, alkaloids. Fractionation of aqueous extract and activity guided isolation resulted in isolation of two white crystalline powder which were subjected to physical, chemical and spectral identification using IR...

A soluble (100,000 x g supernatant) methyltransferase catalyzing the transfer of the methyl group of S-adenosyl-L-methionine to catechols was present in cell extracts of Streptomyces griseus. A simple, general, and rapid catechol-based assay method was devised for enzyme purification and characterization. The enzyme was purified 141-fold by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and successive chr...

east of China. It has long been used as a traditional crude drug for the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis. Previous investigations of the whole plants of E. lanulata have yielded kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol 3-O-Lrhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-L-rhamnoside, 6,7-dihydroxycoumarin and maoyancaosu. More than 30 types of cytokines and growth factors have been identified as ligan...