Use of antioxidants in the prevention and treatment of disease.

Considerable interest has risen in the idea that oxidative stress is instrumental in the etiology of numerous human diseases. Oxidative stress can arise through the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or because of a deficiency of antioxidant defenses. Antioxidant deficiencies can develop as a result of decreased antioxidant intake (such as vitamins C and E), synthesis of enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) or increased antioxidant utilization. Insufficient antioxidant enzyme synthesis may in turn be due to decreased micronutrient availability (such as selenium, magnese, copper and zinc). Of those diseases linked with oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease provides the strongest evidence for the protective role of antioxidants. A high consumption of fruit and vegetables, which are good sources of antioxidants, is associated with a lower coronary risk. More specifically, there is evidence of a reduced coronary risk in populations with high blood levels of the antioxidant nutrients, vitamins C and E. Evidence is also accumulating that diabetes, and microvascular complications associated with diabetes, involve oxidative stress and have compromised antioxidant status. In addition, patients who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) also exhibit clear evidence of oxidative stress. Definitive proof for active oxygen formation and oxidative cell damage being causative rather than a result of other underlying these pathologies remains elusive; however, evidence is sufficiently compelling to suggest that antioxidants are potential therapeutic agents in the above conditions.     

Evaluation of antioxidants in Dong quai (Angelica sinensis) and its dietary supplements

The antioxidant activity (AA), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) in Dong quai (DQ, Angelica sinensis) raw materials and dietary supplements (DS) containing this plant were determined using the CUPRAC, FRAP and fluorescence methods. The antioxidant activity for DQ aqueous extracts revealed by CUPRAC was (1330.45 ± 1.30) μmol Trolox equivalent (TE) per 100 g of dry mass (DM), whereas the antioxidant activity as determined by FRAP was (1813.9 ± 2.0) μmol of TE per 100 g of DM. Lower values were noted for the fluorescence method than for CUPRAC and FRAP (ranging from (35.96 ± 0.3) to (304.6 ± 1.4) μmol of TE per 100 g of DM). The highest TPC values were determined for an aqueous extract of DQ ((3330.3 ± 2.3) μmol of TE per 100 g of DM), while TFC for ethanolic extracts of DQ was ((146.50 ± 0.5) mg of quercetin equivalent (QE) per 100 g of DM). Cinnamic acid, isomers of benzoic acid and derivatives of quercetin were analysed by HPLC-PDA. The ferulic acid concentration in an ethanolic extract of DQ was (21.83 ± 0.07) mg per 100 g of DM. Of the flavonols detected, rutin exhibited the highest concentration in ethanolic extract of DQ ((3.32 ± 0.13) mg of QE per 100 g of DM). Other phytochemicals (alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, tannins, steroids, etc.) were identified by phytoscreening colour reaction. The results were analysed by principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis and one-way ANOVA tests.     

Synthesis of monofunctional curcumin derivatives, clicked curcumin dimer, and a PAMAM dendrimer curcumin conjugate for therapeutic applications

Curcumin, the primary active ingredient in the spice turmeric, was converted to reactive monofunctional derivatives (carboxylic acid/azide/alkyne). The derivatives were employed to produce a 3 + 2 azide-alkyne "clicked" curcumin dimer and a poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer-curcumin conjugate. The monofunctional curcumin derivatives retain biological activity and are efficient for labeling and dissolving amyloid fibrils. The curcumin dimer selectively destroys human neurotumor cells. The synthetic methodology developed affords a general strategy for attaching curcumin to various macromolecular scaffolds.     

An HPLC‐UV method for the simultaneous quantification of curcumin and its metabolites in plasma and lung tissue: Potential for preclinical applications

Curcumin, derived from turmeric, has been extensively investigated for its broad spectrum of biological activities. Previously reported HPLC‐UV methods have focussed on analysis of the parent compound. Here, a sensitive HPLC‐UV method was developed and partially validated, then used for the simultaneous determination of curcumin and its glucuronide and sulfate metabolites in plasma and lung tissue from mice. The assay was applied to an in vivo pharmacokinetic study comparing formulated curcumin (Meriva™) with standard curcumin. Plasma levels of glucuronide and sulfate metabolites were 5‐ and 2‐fold higher after Meriva™ administration compared with standard curcumin. In lung tissue, free curcumin was 4‐fold higher following Meriva™ administration vs standard curcumin. This assay represents a rapid, cheap method for simultaneous detection of curcumin and its major metabolites that has applicability in pre‐clinical settings.     

Predicting the efficiency of antioxidants in polymers

The efficiency of antioxidants in polymers is determined by three processes: the chemical reactivity, the physical loss and a minimal effective concentration. In most cases, loss of the stabiliser by physical processes (evaporation, leaching) is more significant than the loss by chemical consumption. In this paper, a model is proposed that relates the protection time of an antioxidant to the migration in a polymer matrix. The parameters that determine the migration, i.e. mobility (D) and solubility (S) are predicted using theoretical modelling. A linear correlation was found between the protection time and the function −S ln(D). In some cases this correlation is better than that of the empirical model proposed by Moisan, ln(S²/D).     

姜黄素类似物的合成及其生物活性的测定

实验合成了姜黄素的Knoevenagel缩合物4-(2-呋喃次甲基)姜黄素C1,氨基硫脲Schiff 碱配体E1,及其Schiff 碱配体的Zn(Ⅱ)配合物D1.采用DPPH法测定了产品清除自由基的能力,结果表明产品C1对DPPH自由基清除率为82.0%.在pH7.2的Tris-Hcl缓冲溶液中,采用紫外光谱和荧光光谱研究了C1与鲱鱼精DNA的相互作用,结果表明,C1与DNA是通过嵌插模式发生相互作用的,其键合常数为Kq =9.31×103.     

Potential oscillations during the electrochemical treatment of white liquor

Potential oscillations during the electrochemical treatment of white liquor are reported on. White liquor in the kraft process is composed mainly of sodium sulfide, sodium hydroxide, and sodium carbonate. Cyclic voltammetry, linear galvanic voltammetry, and galvanostatic techniques are used to characterize the behavior of the potential oscillations. The amplitude of the harmonic potential oscillations is between −150 and 750 mV (SCE). The behavior of the potential oscillations strongly depends on the applied current density, temperature, and mass transfer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is employed to study the origin of the oscillations during the electrochemical treatment of the white liquor on the Ti/Ta₂O₅-IrO₂ electrodes. Negative faradaic impedance is observed in the potential range of the potential oscillation amplitudes, and equivalent circuits are designed to fit the experimental impedance spectra. The potential oscillations are caused by the synergic effect of sulfur formation/removal and oxygen evolution in the high-potential range. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 617–626. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Low-intensity red laser on the prevention and treatment of induced-oral mucositis in hamsters

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of laser phototherapy as preventive and therapeutic regime on induced-oral mucositis in hamsters.DesignThe animals were divided into four groups: preventive cryotherapy, preventive laser, therapeutic laser and therapeutic control group. Mucositis was induced in hamsters by intraperitoneal injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and superficial scratching. All preventive treatment was performed on the right cheek pouch mucosa. The left pouch mucosa was used for a spontaneous development of mucositis and did not receive any preventive therapy. Laser parameters were: λ = 660 nm, P = 30 mW, D = 1.2 J/cm², Δt = 40 s, spot size 3 mm², I = 1 W/cm². Cryotherapy was done positioning ice packs in the hamster mucosa 5 min before 5-FU infusion and 10 min afterward. To study the healing of mucositis, the left pouch mucosa of each of the hamsters in the TLG received laser irradiation on the injured area. Irradiation parameters were kept the same as abovementioned. The control hamsters in the TCG did not receive any treatment. The mucositis degree and the animal’s body mass were evaluated. An assessment of blood vessels was made based on immunohistochemical staining.ResultsThe CG animals lost 15.16% of theirs initial body mass while the LG animals lost 8.97% during the first 5 days. The laser treated animals had a better clinical outcome with a faster healing, and more granulation tissue. The quantity of blood vessels at both LG and CG were higher than in healthy mucosa. Regarding the therapeutic analysis, the severity of the mucositis in the TLG was always lower than TCG. TLG presented higher organization of the granulation tissue, parallel collagen fibrils, and increased angiogenesis.ConclusionThe results suggest that laser phototherapy had a positive effect in reducing mucositis severity, and a more pronounced effect in treating established mucositis.     

Urological malignancies and the proteomic-genomic interface

The urological malignancies, renal, bladder and prostate cancer, account for approximately 16% of all cancer cases. Unfortunately 5-year survival rates are relatively poor, largely a result of many cases not being diagnosed before the tumour has metastasised. There is a clear need for the identification of markers which will allow earlier detection of disease, and predict prognosis and response to therapy. In addition, they may be of use as therapeutic targets. Current advances in molecular biology are allowing the identification of a number of tumour-associated changes which could be of clinical use in the future. However, with the rapid technological advances being made in the field of proteomics, this approach could be integrated with genomics providing a complementary alternative, overcoming disparities between mRNA levels and protein production, and additionally allowing the identification of tumour-associated post-translational modifications. These approaches have already been used to identify novel genes and other cancer-related changes involved in the pathogenesis of urological malignancies. This review describes current progress in the genomic and proteomic study of urological malignancies, and highlights the potential of using proteomic technologies in the study of this group of diseases.     

Voltammetric determination of curcumin in spices

Curcumin is oxidized on a glassy carbon electrode in 0.1 M LiClO₄ in ethanol at the potential 0.74 V. The calibration graph is linear in the range 9.9 × 10^?6?1.07 × 10^?4 M curcumin; the detection limit is 4.1 × 10^?6 M. Curcumin is determined in model solutions. The relative standard deviation does not exceed 0.05. A procedure is proposed for the voltammetric determination of curcumin in spices. It was shown that single extraction by ethanol quantitatively recovers curcumin from spices.     

姜黄素衍生物与类似物的构效关系研究进展

根据目前对姜黄素衍生物与类似物的结构与药理作用的关系的研究现状,论述了姜黄素衍生物与类似物的结构与其抗氧化、抗炎和抗肿瘤的药理作用的关系,包括对姜黄素及其衍生物与类似物的结构修饰与其活性之间的关系的论述。大量的实验结果显示姜黄素衍生物与类似物的药理作用与其结构中所具有的官能团有着密切的关系,这为新药开发提供了一个很好的方向。     

A simple RP-HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of curcumin and its prodrug, curcumin didecanoate, in rat plasma and the application to pharmacokinetic study

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of curcumin and its prodrug, curcumin didecanoate (CurDD), in rat plasma. The analytes were extracted by ethyl acetate following the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate, and separated on a reverse-phase C(18) column using a gradient mobile phase system of acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran-water containing 0.1% formic acid. Detection by UV absorption at 425 nm gave a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 5 and 10 ng/mL for curcumin and CurDD in 50 μL of plasma, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precisions of quality control samples except those at LLOQ were within 15% for curcumin and CurDD, respectively, and the accuracies for both compounds were between 93.9 and 108%. The method was successfully applied to determine plasma concentration-time curves of curcumin and CurDD in rats following intravenous (i.v.) administration of curcumin or CurDD at doses of 1 mg/kg (calculated as curcumin). The results suggested that i.v. dosed CurDD provided sustained plasma levels of curcumin.     

Thermodynamic properties of resveratrol in dimethyl sulfoxide

In this article, the enthalpies of dissolution of resveratrol in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were measured using a RD496-2000 Calvet microcalorimeter at 298.15?K under atmospheric pressure. The differential enthalpy (??_dif H _m) and molar enthalpy (??_sol H _m) of dissolution of resveratrol in DMSO were determined, and the relationship between heat and the amount of solute was also established. Based on the thermodynamic and kinetic knowledge, the corresponding kinetic equation, half-life, ??_sol H _m, ??_sol S _m, ??_sol G _m, the relative partial molar enthalpy (??_sol H _m(partial)) and the relative apparent molar enthalpy (??_sol H _m(app)) of the dissolution process were obtained. The results showed that this study not only provided a simple method for the determination of the half-life for a drug, but also offered a theoretical reference for the clinical application of resveratrol.     

Synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity of resveratrol analogs

Seventeen novel resveratrol derivatives were synthesized. Their anti-inflammatory activities were tested on xylene-induced mouse ear edema. The pharmacological results showed that some compounds have potent anti-inflammatory activities.     

姜黄素类似物合成与体外抗肿瘤活性研究

以芳香醛、4-哌啶酮为原料,Claisen-Schimidt缩合制备3,5-(E)-二亚苄基哌啶-4-酮类化合物.采用MTT法测试目标化合物对人类慢性粒细胞白血病急变细胞K562,人结肠癌细胞SW1 116增殖的抑制活性.化合物1-19的结构经核磁和质谱确证,化合物7、10、11对SW1 116的抑制活性比EF-24强...     

Conjugation and hydrogen bonding in a curcumin analogue

The strongly yellow‐coloured compound 5‐(5‐methyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetra­hydro­furan‐2‐yl)‐1‐phenyl­pent‐4‐ene‐1,3‐dione, C₁₆H₁₄O₃, has different substituents on each side of the dione group. The mol­ecule is essentially planar and the structure indicates a continuous conjugation from the furyl moiety to the carbonyl O atom in the enol group, as well as a strong conjugation within the enol group itself. The enol H atom is bonded to the O atom closest to the furyl group. Weak hydrogen bonds are indicated and comments about the colour of the compound are given.     

Investigation of the interaction between curcumin and nucleic acids in the presence of CTAB

It is found that nucleic acid can enhance the resonance light scattering (RLS) enhancement effect of curcumin (CU) in the presence of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The investigation indicates that in BR (pH 4.3) buffer, both the positive CTAB and negative yeast RNA (yRNA) combine and form a positive large association, then which is bound on the two carbon atoms of the carbonyls of CU through hydrogen bond and hydrophobic force and form CU-CTAB-yRNA ternary complex, resulting in the RLS enhancement of this system. Based on it, a sensitive method for determination of nucleic acids at ngml(-1) is established.     

Spectroscopic studies on the molecular interactions of curcumin and piperine

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly - The diarylheptanoid curcumin is the yellow coloring agent accumulated in the rhizome of the common spice turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). It has...     

Temperature dependence of the fluorescence properties of curcumin

Steady-state and time-resolved techniques were employed to study the nonradiative process of curcumin dissolved in ethanol and 1-propanol in a wide range of temperatures. We found that the nonradiative rate constants at temperatures between 175-250 K qualitatively follow the same trend as the dielectric relaxation times of both neat solvents. We attribute the nonradiative process to solvent-controlled proton transfer. We also found a kinetic isotope effect on the nonradiative process rate constant of ~2. We propose a model in which the excited-state proton transfer breaks the planar hexagonal structure of the keto-enol center of the molecule. This, in turn, enhances the nonradiative process driven by the twist angle between the two phenol moieties.     

Kinetics of ethylbenzene oxy-chemiluminescence in the presence of antioxidants from tissues of the marine invertebrate Eupentacta fraudatrix: Estimating the concentration and reactivity of the natural antioxidants

Extracts from tissues of the holothuria Eupentacta fraudatrix suppress the oxy-chemiluminescence of ethylbenzene in chlorobenzene initiated by azobisisobutyronitrile thermolysis and enhanced by energy transfer to 9,10-dibromoanthracene. The decrease of the chemiexcitation rate in the reaction between peroxyl radicals is caused by radical interception by the antioxidants contained in the extracts. The concentrations of the antioxidants in the extracts and the rate constants of their reactions with peroxyl radicals have been estimated from chemiluminescence kinetics.