Red amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) are pseudocereals with particularly highly regarded nutritional value. Because of the high biological significance of the flavonoids and phenolic acids in these plants, qualitative and quantitative analysis has been performed by HPLC. Extracts from the seeds of two amaranth varieties (A. cruentus v. Rawa and v. Aztek) and quinoa seeds, and their sprouts grown in natural conditions and in the dark were analyzed. The main phenolic acid found both in seeds and sprouts was gallic acid. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and cinnamic acid were also found in the seeds and pcoumaric acid, syringic acid, and ferulic acid in the sprouts. The main flavonoid found in the sprouts was rutin. Vitexin, isovitexin, and morin were also detected in the sprouts, and orientin, vitexin, isovitexin, morin, and traces of hesperidin and neohesperidin in the seeds. Although sprouting conditions (daylight or darkness) had no effect on gallic acid content, light caused an increase in the amount of rutin and darkness resulted in increased amounts of isovitexin and vitexin.

Abstract:The objective of this study was to assess in vitro the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Polish propolis (EEPP) against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates. The combined effect of EEPP and 10 selected antistaphylococcal drugs on S. aureus clinical cultures was also investigated. EEPP composition was analyzed by a High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. The flavonoid compounds identified in Polish Propolis included flavones, flavonones, flavonolols, flavonols and phenolic acids. EEPP displayed varying effectiveness against twelve S. aureus strains, with OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2013, 18 9624 minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) within the range from 0.39 to 0.78 mg/mL, determined by broth microdilution method. The average MIC was 0.54 ± 0.22 mg/mL, while calculated MIC 50 and MIC 90 were 0.39 mg/mL and 0.78 mg/mL, respectively. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the EEPP ranged from 0.78 to 3.13 mg/mL. The in vitro combined effect of EEPP and 10 antibacterial drugs was investigated using disk diffusion method-based assay. Addition of EEPP to cefoxitin (FOX), clindamycin (DA), tetracycline (TE), tobramycin (TOB), linezolid (LIN), trimethoprim+sulfamethoxazole (SXT), penicillin (P), erythromycin (E) regimen, yielded stronger, cumulative antimicrobial effect, against all tested S. aureus strains than EEPP and chemotherapeutics alone. In the case of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and chloramphenicol (C) no synergism with EEPP was observed.

PurposeCurrently, among new psychoactive substances, cathinone derivatives constitute the biggest group, which are mainly classified into N-alkylated, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-alkylated, N-pyrrolidinyl, and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-pyrrolidinyl derivatives. These derivatives are actively being subjected to minor modifications at the alkyl chains or the aromatic ring to create new synthetic cathinones with the goal of circumventing laws. In this review, the new synthetic cathinones that have appeared on the illegal drug market during the period 2014–2017 are highlighted, and their characterization by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry is presented.MethodsVarious key words were used to conduct an extensive literature search across a number of databases, specifically for synthetic cathinones that emerged between 2014 and 2017.ResultsMore than 30 new cathinone derivatives were discovered. The preexisting parental compounds for the new derivatives are also referenced, and their mass spectral data are compiled in a table to facilitate their identification by forensic toxicologists.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the most current review presenting new synthetic cathinones. Political authorities should take measures to implement and enforce generic scheduling (comprehensive system) laws to control the diversely modified synthetic cathinones. Supplementing the existing databases with new findings can greatly facilitate the efforts of forensic toxicologists.

Thiosemicarbazones (TSCs) are an interesting class of ligands that show a diverse range of biological activity, including anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-cancer effects. Our previous studies have demonstrated the potent in vivo anti-tumor activity of novel TSCs and their ability to overcome resistance to clinically used chemotherapeutics. In the current study, 35 novel TSCs of 6 different classes were designed using a combination of retro-fragments that appear in other TSCs. Additionally, di-substitution at the terminal N4 atom, which was previously identified to be critical for potent anti-cancer activity, was preserved through the incorporation of an N4-based piperazine or morpholine ring. The anti-proliferative activity of the novel TSCs were examined in a variety of cancer and normal cell-types. In particular, compounds 1d and 3c demonstrated the greatest promise as anti-cancer agents with potent and selective anti-proliferative activity. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that the chelators that utilized “soft” donor atoms, such as nitrogen and sulfur, resulted in potent anti-cancer activity. Indeed, the N,N,S donor atom set was crucial for the formation of redox active iron complexes that were able to mediate the oxidation of ascorbate. This further highlights the important role of reactive oxygen species generation in mediating potent anti-cancer activity. Significantly, this study identified the potent and selective anti-cancer activity of 1d and 3c that warrants further examination.

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