Two wild and three cultivated blueberry varieties ('Elliot' , 'Bluecrop' and 'Duke') from Romania were analyzed comparatively in order to determine the total polyphenols, total anthocyanins, total flavonoids content and measuring the antioxidant activity using three different single electron transfer-based assays, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (ABTS), ferric reducing ability (FRAP), 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazil radical scavenging capacity (DPPH) and one hydrogen atom transfer-assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Total polyphenols content ranged from 424.84 -819.12 mg GAE/100 g FW, total flavonoids ranged from 84.33-112.5 mg QE /100 g FW and total anthocyanins ranged from 100.58-300.02 C3GE/100g FW. The anthocyanins were separated and quantified using RP-HPLC-DAD. In Vaccinium myrtillus, petunidin-3-glucoside and delphinidin-3-glucoside have the highest contribution to the anthocyanin content while in Vaccinium corymbosum, peonidin-3-galactoside represent the major anthocyanin. Except for ORAC assay (r=0.765), all antioxidant activity values obtained were highly correlated with total polyphenol content (0.923≤ r ≤0.986). Wild blueberries had higher total polyphenols content and also antioxidant activity compared with cultivated ones.
Diabetes has become the most common metabolic disease worldwide. In particular, type 2 diabetes is the most commonly encountered type of diabetes, which is characterised by the inability of the organism to respond to normal levels of circulating insulin, also called insulin resistance. Current antidiabetic therapy is based on synthetic drugs that very often have side effects. For this reason, there is a continuous need to develop new and better pharmaceuticals as alternatives for the management and treatment of the disease. Natural hypoglycaemic compounds may be attractive alternatives to synthetic drugs or reinforcements to currently used treatments. Their huge advantage is that they can be ingested in everyday diet. Recently, more attention is being paid to the study of natural products as potential antidiabetics. This mini review of the current literature is structured into three main sections focused on: (a) plant extracts, (b) plant biomolecules, and (c) other natural molecules that have been used for their antidiabetic effects. Potential molecular mechanisms of action are also discussed.
Viscum album L. is a medicinal plants used for many years as a remedy in the traditional medicine and in complementary cancer therapies. We investigated the influence of some host trees: Acer campestre (VAA), Fraxinus excelsior (VAF), Populus nigra (VAP), Malus domestica (VAM), and Robinia pseudoacacia (VAR), on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of leaves and stems from V. album, as well the influence of the solvent (water and ethanol) used for extraction on biological activity. HPLC with photodiode array detector analysis of bioactive compounds from leaves and stems of mistletoes (V. album) hosted by five differents trees was performed. Antioxidant activities, determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), (Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) methods were compared with the quantification of total phenolics using the Folin -Ciocalteu reagent. V. album hosted by Fraxinus excelsior (VAF), recorded the highest level of total phenolic acids (108.64 µg/g dry matter) while the mistletoe hosted by Malus domestica (VAM) had the lowest level of total polyphenols (39.37 µg/g dry matter). In general, higher antioxidant activity was detected in the alcoholic than in the aqueous extracts. The values obtained for total phenolics in both, aqueous and ethanol extracts, decreased in the order: VAR > VAF > VAP > VAA > VAM. The mistletoe stem extracts contained lower levels of phenolics, as compared to leaves, in both solvents. Our results suggest that mistletoe extracts possess significant antioxidant activities that may be due to their bioactive compounds content, suggesting that this plant may be an important source of natural products with chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities.
Plasmonic nanoparticles can be used as building blocks for the design of multifunctional systems based on polymeric capsules. The use of functionalised particles in therapeutics and imaging and understanding their effect on the cell functions are among the current challenges in nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine. The aim of the study was to manufacture and characterize polymeric microstructures by encapsulating plasmonic gold nanoparticles in biocompatible matrix of sodium alginate. The gold nanoparticles were obtained by reduction of tetracluoroauric acid with sodium citrate. To characterize the microcapsules, UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy, optical and confocal microscopy experiments were performed. In vitro cytotoxicity tests on HFL-1 cells were also performed. The capsules have spherical shape and 120 μm diameter. The presence of encapsulated gold nanoparticles is also shown by confocal microscopy. In vitro tests show that the microcapsules are not cytotoxic upon 24 h of cells exposure to microcapsules concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 25 capsules per cell. The obtained microcapsules of sodium alginate loaded with plasmonic gold nanoparticles could potentially be considered as release systems for biologically relevant molecules.
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