Nowadays, a variety of plants is being investigated with the aim of developing new medicines with improved properties and expanding the range of efficient and safe preparations. Modern studies of representatives of the family Amaranthaceae (Beta vulgaris) have revealed medicinal properties in plants that were used previously only as food. Many medicinal properties are due to the presence of betalains and phenols in the roots and the stems of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L. var. conditiva). Along with this, there is a lack of information on the chemical composition and biological activity of seeds of this species. The purpose of our research was to study the chemical composition of Beta vulgaris seeds and to assess the cytotoxic activity. The research objects: CO2 extracts of beetroot seeds: Thick POCO2 (1), liquid POCO2 (2) and liquid alcohol extract POC2H5. Determination of the component composition of the extract was performed on the gas chromatograph Clarus 580 (PerkinElmer) with the mass spectrometric detector Clarus-SQ. To determine the cytotoxic activity, the marine crustaceans Artemia salina were taken. Based on the results of the analysis of the chemical composition of the thick CO2-extract, 25 compounds were identified and the liquid CO2-extract-11 components were identified. The dominant compounds in both extracts are phenol and creosol. The results of determining the cytotoxic activity allow determining that liquid CO2 extract of beetroot seeds POC2H5 at a concentration of 10 mg/mL exhibits cytotoxicity (68%) and does not exhibit activity at concentrations of 5 and 1 mg/mL; thick CO2 beetroot seed extract POCO2 (1) at all tested concentrations does not exhibit cytotoxicity; liquid alcohol extract of beetroot seeds at all tested concentrations does not exhibit cytotoxicity.
Serotonin as a neurotransmitter (5-HT) plays a crucial role in the cardiovascular system. Serotonin is a humoral system of regulators and modulators of physiological processes. Under pathological conditions, these processes can turn into factors contributing to the development of diseases such as atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, and pulmonary hypertension. The 5-HT4 and 5-HT2B receptors are found in cardiomyocytes. During the embryonic period, serotonin acts as a growth factor and plays an important regulatory role in the crucial period of embryonic development, in particular, a heart of an embryo. Therefore, any interference with this system in the womb can disrupt the normal development of the cardiovascular system. In the given study, there is some data provided to indicate that a change in the serotonin concentration created by the serotonin synthesis and the membrane serotonin transporter blocked in the embryonic period of ontogenesis, affects the inotropic function of the right ventricular myocardium in early postnatal ontogenesis, which is caused by a change in the contraction time in the groups under the experiment. Thus, statistically the response of cardiomyocytes to serotonin is significantly higher in the group with an excess of serotonin and significantly lower in the group with a deficiency of serotonin compared to the control group.
In recent years progress has been evident in studies of the importance of serotonin in the physiological and pathological processes of the body and its mechanisms. The role of the serotonin system in the development of diseases such as atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, and ischemic heart disease is largely discussed. In the myocardium of mammals and humans two types of serotonin receptors (5-HT2 and 5-HT4) have been identified. The activity of the heart is also controlled by the action of catecholamines on the adrenergic receptors of cardiomyocytes. In the implementation of the contraction of cardiomyocytes in the hearts of humans and animals there is also activation of adrenergic receptors, such as β1, β4 and α1A. Serotonin and adrenaline are regulators and modulators of physiological processes in organism, which, under pathological conditions, turn into factors contributing to the development of the disease. In studies on myocardial contractility in vitro in adult rats we found that with an increase in each concentration of serotonin, depending on the dose, a positive inotropic response to the right ventricular myocardium was observed. The effect of serotonin at the last dose on the force of contraction of the right ventricle compared with the first dose increased by 48.3 %. However, with an increase in the dose of epinephrine, the positive inotropic response weakened. At the maximum concentration of 10.0 mM epinephrine, a negative inotropic effect of 10.4 % was observed compared to the previous concentration. Thus, despite the fact that the distribution and functional role of serotonergic receptors in the heart repeats the role of adrenergic receptors, the inotropic response of cardiomyocytes to serotonin and adrenaline is different.
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