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A method for extracting ecdysteroids from Serratula coronata L. for the new phytopreparation Edcysterone-80 is proposed. Experiments on white rats established that this preparation has pronounced adaptogenic, antihypoxic, gastroprotective, and thermoprotective properties. Results of this study can be applied both in basic research and in the development of production technology for the new pharmaceutical preparation based on ecdysteroids of Serratula coronata.Preparations of plant origin that have a broad spectrum of biological activity can be used for prolonged periods without significant side effects. Therefore, they are used more and more not only for treating acute human pathologies but also for prevention and management of several serious chronic diseases. They are not replaced by synthetic drugs but are combined with them for complex therapy.A new drug of plant origin, Ecdysteron-80, is an agent that can supplement the list of such preparations. It contains phytoecdysteroids from Serratula coronata L. (henceforth S. coronata), including 20-hydroxyecdysone ( Fig. 1), which is most often found in plants and exhibits pronounced adaptogenic [1] and hepatoprotective activity [2], in addition to 25S-inocosterone and á-ecdysone. Herein we report a standard method for preparing this drug and its adaptogenic, antihypoxic, gastoprotective, and thermoprotective activity in laboratory animals.

Purpose: To analyze the role of mus-genes repair in system activation P-elements in Drosophila melanogaster induced by a chronic exposure to low doses. Materials and methods: The materials were dysgenic individuals of Drosophila melanogaster with mutations in repair genes (mus101, mus205, mus304, mus308, mus309) and simultaneous transposition of mobile P-elements. The animals were exposed to a chronic irradiation in low doses (0.42 mGy/h). The reaction of animals was analyzed by the DNA damage rate in somatic cells ('Comet assay'), level of dominant lethal mutations, fecundity, and survival rate. Results: The combined action of the systems of post-replication, recombination repair (mus205, mus304), repair of DNA double-stranded breaks (mus304), and of the transposition activity of P-elements after a chronic irradiation in low doses was identified according to every study parameter. The other repair systems and their genes (mus101, mus308, and mus309) responded to action of only one factor (irradiation or mobile elements transposition). Conclusion: The obtained data significantly contribute to the knowledge on a new reaction of the mechanisms of organisms to a chronic irradiation in low doses. ARTICLE HISTORY

Experiments on animals (white rats) showed that "Ecdysterone-80" has a beneficial neurohormonal profile in experimental chronic cardiac failure (CCF), decreasing and in terms of some measures eliminating the hormone-transmitter imbalances characteristic of CCF. In addition, the study compound significantly decreased lethality among the animals and prevented the development of myocardial hypertrophy. These results may be of value for scientific investigations and for the introduction of production technology for a new pharmaceutical agent containing ecdysteroids from S. coronata with marked adaptogenic, gastroprotective, and antihypoxic actions (see communication I), along with cardioprotective properties.