Resveratrol is a phenolic phytochemical, with a stilbene backbone, derived from edible plants such as grape and peanut. It is a bioactive molecule with physiological effects on multiple organ systems. Its effects range from the neuroprotective to the nephroprotective, including cardiovascular, neuronal, and antineoplastic responses as a part of its broad spectrum of action. In this review, we examine the effects of resveratrol on the following organ systems: the central nervous system, including neurological pathology such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease; the cardiovascular system, including disorders such as atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy; the kidneys, including primary and secondary nephropathies and nephrolithiasis; multiple forms of cancer; and metabolic syndromes including diabetes. We emphasize commonalities in extracellular matrix protein alterations and intracellular signal transduction system induction following resveratrol treatment. We summarize the known anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and cytoprotective effects of resveratrol across disparate organ systems. Additionally, we analyze the available literature regarding the pharmacokinetics of resveratrol formulations used in these studies. Finally, we critically examine select clinical trials documenting a lack of effect following resveratrol treatment.

Restricting antimicrobial prophylaxis to 48 hours following pediatric cardiac surgery did not increase the incidence of surgical site infection at our institution. Further study is needed to validate this finding and to identify practices that reduce surgical site infections in those with delayed sternal closure.

In this study, a simple and reliable high performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection was developed and validated for rapid determination of coumarin hydroxylase activity in rat hepatic microsomes. Materials and Methods: The chromatographic separation was achieved using Zorbax Eclipse XDB C18 column (150×4.6 mm, 5 μm), which was kept at 40°C. The isocratic mobile phase consisted of methanol and 1% glacial acetic acid mixture (35:65, v/v) with a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. The effluent was monitored at 320 nm using photodiode array detector (PDA). 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone (6-OH CZX) was used as internal standard. Results and Conclusion: The method exhibited good linearity (R 2 >0.999) for both coumarin (COUM) and its 7-hydroxy metabolite (7-OH COUM) over the assayed concentration range (0.025-5.0 μM) and demonstrated good intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy (relative standard deviations and the deviation from predicted values were less than 15%). The detection limits were 0.001 and 0.005 μM for coumarin and 7hydroxycoumarin, respectively. This method was also successfully applied for studying the effect of three phytochemicals on hepatic CYP2A6 activity in rats.