BACKGROUND Research was carried out into agricultural and domestic-handicraft uses in folk traditions in the Tyrrhenian sector of the Basilicata region (southern Italy), as it is typically representative of ethnobotanical applications in the Mediterranean area. From the point of view of furnishing a botanical support for the study of local "material culture" data was collected through field int...

In situ hybridization was used to examine cellular differentiation during rat adrenal regeneration, defining zona glomerulosa [cytochrome P-450 aldosterone synthase ( P-450aldo) mRNA positive], zona fasciculata [cytochrome P-450 11β-hydroxylase ( P-45011β) mRNA positive], or zona intermedia [negative for both but 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) mRNA positive]. After unilateral adrenal ...

This paper reports a quick, relatively simple and reproducible technique for obtaining populations of zona fasciculata and zona glomerulosa cells up to 80-90% pure, which can be maintained in vitro for study of adrenocortical cell function. Isolated guinea pig adrenocortical cells were separated on a 1-28% bovine serum albumin/Ca++, Mg++-free buffer gradient (wt/vol at 4% increments) using equi...

Simaan, May, Serge Picard, Jean St-Louis and Michèle Brochu. Functional alteration of dihydropyridinesensitive Ca21 channels in the adrenal glomerulosa of pregnant rats. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 278: E925–E932, 2000.—Our previous work on aldosterone secretion suggested that dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels, one type of voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC), are functionally i...

Angiotensin II increases blood pressure and stimulates thirst and sodium appetite in the brain. It also stimulates secretion of aldosterone from the adrenal zona glomerulosa and epinephrine from the adrenal medulla. The rat has 3 subtypes of angiotensin II receptors: AT1a, AT1b, and AT2. mRNAs for all three subtypes occur in the adrenal and brain. To immunohistochemically differentiate these re...

The rate of aldosterone synthesis by adrenal glomerulosa cells relies on the selective permeability of the glomerulosa cell to K(+) ions. In rodent and bovine adrenal glomerulosa cells, this background potassium current is provided by a two-pore loop potassium (K2P) channel: largely TASK-3 in the rat and TREK-1 in the cow. The nature of the K2P channel in the human adrenal cortex is not known, ...

Both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed in the present research to investigate the pharmacological effects of successive Nepeta cataria extracts on some biochemical parameters in Streptozotocin diabetic rats compared to the currently used drug, Glicalized. These involved some biochemical parameters such as glucose, insulin, carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes; α –amylase, αglucosidase, βg...

Introduction: Antioxidants protect body against the oxidative stress caused by free radicals. This study aims at comparing the antioxidant properties of hydro-alcoholic extract and extract of Nepeta crispa (from its shoot part). Methods: The study was carried out in Lorestan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Both hydro-alcoholic extract and essence of Nepeta crispa were prepared and an...