The methanolic extracts, infusions, decoctions and hydrosols of six plants were investigated for their total phenolic contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities: Mentha piperita (Peppermint), Thymus vulgaris (thyme), Melissa officinalis (lemon balm), Ocimum basilicum (basil), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) and Salvia officinalis (sage) (Lamiaceae). Total phenolic contents were determ...

The contractile protein myosin II is ubiquitous in muscle. It is widely accepted that animals express tissue-specific myosin isoforms that differ in amino acid sequence and ATPase activity in order to tune muscle contractile velocities. Recent studies, however, suggested that the squid Doryteuthis pealeii might be an exception; members of this species do not express muscle-specific myosin isofo...

OBJECTIVES Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that is thought to result from an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. Although osteoporosis itself has no symptoms, osteoporosis caused by osteoclasts leads to an increased risk of fracture. Here we examined the effects of cornus officinalis on receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL)-mediated osteoclast different...

A study on morphological, structural and biochemical composition of Sepia officinalis and Loligo vulgaris statoliths and statocyst endolymph was undertaken with the aim of determining the major factors affecting the deposition process of statolith formation and to clarify the cause for the poor definition of the growth increments in S. officinalis statoliths. It is suggested that the different ...

Activities of the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR) were measured in the cephalopods Sepia officinalis and Lolliguncula brevis. Maximal enzyme activities were higher in gill tissue than in the mantle musculature of both species. Activities were generally lower in tissues of L. brevis than in S. officinalis. Co...

To investigate the protective effects of squid ink in chemotherapy, BALB/c mice were used as animal models of injuries induced by cyclophosphamine, a well known chemotherapeutic drug. The mice were randomly divided into five groups with the same number of males and females in each group. At the end of the experiment, animals were sacrificed to investigate organ indexes and antioxidant ability o...

BACKGROUND The cephalopod mollusk Sepia officinalis can be considered as a relevant model for studying reproduction strategies associated to seasonal migrations. Using transcriptomic and peptidomic approaches, we aim to identify peptide sex pheromones that are thought to induce the aggregation of mature cuttlefish in their egg-laying areas. RESULTS To facilitate the identification of sex pher...