Separate treatments comparison showed that artichoke leaf tincture is very potent antioxidant with beneficial effects in early stages of atherosclerosis. Since atorvastatin and constituents of ALTINC probably have different mechanisms of action, simultaneous use of both therapies could be beneficial but should be further investigated since our results showed that ALTINC is less effective when used in combination with atorvastatin.

Abstract:The aim of the present study was to optimize a chromatographic method for the analysis of atorvastatin (acid and lactone forms), ortho-and para-hydroxyatorvastatin by using an experimental design approach. Optimization experiments were conducted through a process of screening and optimization. The purpose of a screening design is to identify the factors that have significant effects on the selected chromatographic responses, and for this purpose a full 2 3 factorial design was used. The location of the true optimum was established by applying Derringer's desirability function, which provides simultaneously optimization of all seven responses. The ranges of the independent variables used for the optimization were content of acetonitrile in mobile phase (60-70%), temperature of column (30-40 °C) and flow rate (0.8-1.2 mL min −1). The influences of these independent variables were evaluated for the output responses: retention time of first peak (p-hydroxyatorvastatin) and of last peak (atorvastatin, lactone form), symmetries of all four peaks and relative retention time of p-hydroxyatorvastatin. The primary goal of this investigation was establishing a new simple and sensitive method that could be used in analysis of biological samples. The method was validated and successfully applied for determination of atorvastatin (acid and lactone forms) and its metabolites in plasma.

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Context: Polyphenols and flavonoids in artichoke leaf tincture (ALT) protect cells against oxidative damage.Objectives: We examined ALT effects on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage and lipid profiles in rat plasma and gene expression in rat aorta [haemeoxygenase-1 (HO1), haemeoxygenase-2 (HO2), NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX-4), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)].Materials and methods: Eighteen male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups (n = 6/group): The control group (CG) was fed with standard pellet chow for 11 weeks; the AD group was fed for a similar period of time with pellet chow supplemented with 2% cholesterol, 3% sunflower oil and 1% sodium cholate. The ADA group was fed with pellet chow (for 1 week), the atherogenic diet (see above) for the following 4 weeks and then with ALT (0.1 mL/kg body weight) and atherogenic diet for 6 weeks. According to HPLC analysis, the isolated main compounds in ALT were chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin and rutin.Results: Normalized HO-1 [0.11 (0.04–0.24)] and MCP-1 [0.29 (0.21–0.47)] mRNA levels and DNA scores [12.50 (4.50–36.50)] were significantly lower in the ADA group than in the AD group [0.84 (0.35–2.51)], p = 0.021 for HO-1 [0.85 (0.61–3.45)], p = 0.047 for MCP-1 and [176.5 (66.50–221.25)], p = 0.020 for DNA scores. HO-1 mRNA was lower in the ADA group than in the CG group [0.30 (0.21–0.71), p = 0.049].Conclusions: Supplementation with ALT limited the effects of the atherogenic diet through reduced MCP-1 expression, thereby preventing oxidative damage.

Summary.A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantification of atorvastatin, ortho-hydroxyatorvastatin, para-hydroxyatorvastatin, and atorvastatin lactone in rat plasma. Solid-phase extraction was used for preparation of samples. Rosuvastatin was chosen as an internal standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved on ZORBAX Eclipse C 18 Analytical, 4.6 × 100 mm (3.5 μm) column with a gradient mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 0.1% acetic acid, at a flow rate of 400 μL min −1 . The column was kept at constant temperature (25 °C), and autosampler tray temperature was set at 4 °C. The following selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions were selected: (m/z, Q1 → Q3, collision energy) atorvastatin (559.47 → 440.03, 22 eV), atorvastatin lactone (541.36 → 448.02, 19 eV), orthohydroxyatorvastatin (575.20 → 440.18, 20 eV), para-hydroxyatorvastatin (575.54 → 440.18, 20 eV), and rosuvastatin (482.25 with selected combination of two fragments 257.77, 31 eV, and 299.81, 35 eV) in positive ion mode. The method was validated over a concentration range of 0.5-20 ng mL −1 for ortho-hydroxyatorvastatin and para-hydroxyatorvastatin and 0.1-20 ng mL −1 for atorvastatin and atorvastatin lactone with excellent linearity (r 2 ≥ 0.99). This method demonstrated acceptable precision and accuracy at four quality control concentration levels. The detection limits were 0.1 and 0.13 ng mL −1 for orthohydroxyatorvastatin and para-hydroxyatorvastatin, respectively, and 0.05 ng mL −1 for atorvastatin and atorvastatin lactone. All analytes were found to be stable at examined conditions. Validated method was applied for determination of atorvastatin and its metabolites in plasma of experimental animals.

Parametri lipofilnosti (logP) su određeni za trinaest sintetisanih β-hidroksi-β-arilalkanskih kiselina primenom reverzno fazne tečne hromatografije. Ispitivanje je urađeno na derivatima kojima je tokom prethodnih istraživanja okarakterisana antiinflamatorna aktivnost i pretpostavljena je potencijalna selektivnost prema inhibiciji ciklooksigenaze-2. Oktadecilmodifikovani (C-18) silikagel je predstavljao stacionarnu fazu, a korišćene su četiri mobilne faze u kojima je variran udeo metanola. Hromatografski su testirana jedinjenja sa poznatim logP vrednostima (aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproksen i fenantren) i sintetisana jedinjenja. Na osnovu retencionog vremena za svako standardno i sintetisano jedinjenje izračunate su vrednosti logk (logaritam faktora kapaciteta). Odsečak na y osi grafika zavisnosti logk od udela metanola u mobilnoj fazi za svako jedinjenje predstavlja vrednost logK w (vrednost retencionog faktora za hromatografski sistem u kome je sadržaj organske komponente nula) za dato jedinjenje. Konstruisan je grafik zavisnosti logP za standardna jedinjenja od njihovih eksperimentalno dobijenih logK w vrednosti i uspostavljena je linearna zavisnost. Interpolacijom logK w sa grafika su očitane vrednosti logP za sintetisana jedinjenja. Dobijene vrednosti su u opsegu od 2,901 do 3,847. Za predviđanje logP vrednosti korišćeni su računarski programi: AlogPS, Molinspiration, MarvinSketch i KOWWIN. Najbolja korelacija između eksperimentalno određenih i predviđenih rezultata je u programu KOWWIN (R 2 =0,8864), što čini ovaj program pogodnim za predviđanje logP vrednosti ovog tipa jedinjenja.

Kratak sadržajU radu je dat prikaz ispitivanja uticaja temperature i svetlosti na stabilnost montelukasta u rastvorima (standardne supstance, tabletama za žvakanje i filmom obloženih tableta) koji se pripremaju u rutinskoj analizi u toku postupka ispitivanja prisustva srodnih supstanci. Sadržaj montelukasta i nastalih degradacionih proizvoda praćen je primenom RP-HPLC metode u definisanim vremenskim intervalima (0, 24 i 48h kada je u pitanju temperatura, odnosno 0 i 12h kada je u pitanju svetlost). Rezultati ispitivanja uticaja temperature, kao spoljašnjeg faktora nestabilnosti, ukazuju da su analizirani rastvori standarda montelukasta, tableta za žvakanje i filmom obloženih tableta stabilni u prihvatljivim granicama. Sadržaj montelukasta se kreće od 98 % -100 % što zadovoljava farmakopejske zahteve, kao i zahteve specifikacije proizvoda. Pojedinačne i ukupne nečistoće su u dozvoljenim granicama. Prisustvo fotoreaktivnih funkcionalnih grupa u strukturi montelukasta uslovilo je nastanak fotodegradacionih proizvoda u količinama koje su izvan granica definisanih u monografiji montelukasta, kao i granica definisanih u specifikaciji gotovog proizvoda. Do fotodegradacije dolazi već u toku prvih 12 h. Porast sadržaja MOK-3 sulfoksida i nečistoće sa relativnim retencionim vremenom oko 0,76 zabeležen je u sva tri ispitivana uzorka. U vremenskom intervalu od 12 h uočen je porast sadržaja navedenih nečistoća 8-40 puta u poređenju sa vrednostima u početnom vremenu ispitivanja.