Regulatory effect of atopic allergic reaction by Carpopeltis affinis

The Antibacterial Activities and Characterizations of Biosynthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles, and Their Coated with Alginate Derived from Fucus vesiculosus

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have many advantages for nano-biotechnologists due to their intense biomedical applications. ZnO-NPs are used as antibacterial agents, which influence bacterial cells through the rupture of the cell membrane and the generation of reactive free radicals. Alginate is a polysaccharide of natural origin due to its excellent properties that are used in various biomedical applications. Brown algae are good sources of alginate and are used as a reducing agent in the synthesis of nanoparticles. This study aims to synthesize ZnO-NPs by using brown alga Fucus vesiculosus (Fu/ZnO-NPs) and also to extract alginate from the same alga, which is used in coating the ZnO-NPs (Fu/ZnO-Alg-NCMs). The characterizations of Fu/ZnO-NPs and Fu/ZnO-Alg-NCMs were determined by FTIR, TEM, XRD, and zeta potential. The antibacterial activities were applied against multidrug resistance bacteria of both gram-positive and negative. The results obtained in FT-TR showed there are some shifts in the peak positions of Fu/ZnO-NPs and Fu/ZnO-Alg-NCMs. The peak at 1655 cm^-1, which assigned amide I-III, is present in both Fu/ZnO-NPs and Fu-Alg-ZnO-NCMs; this band is responsible for bio-reductions and stabilization of both nanoparticles. The TEM images proved the Fu/ZnO-NPs have rod shapes with sizes ranging from 12.68 to 17.66 and are aggregated, but Fu/ZnO/Alg-NCMs are spherical in shape with sizes ranging from 12.13 to 19.77. XRD-cleared Fu/ZnO-NPs have nine sharp peaks that are considered good crystalline, but Fu/ZnO-Alg-NCMs have four broad and sharp peaks that are considered semi-crystalline. Both Fu/ZnO-NPs and Fu/ZnO-Alg-NCMs have negative charges (-1.74 and -3.56, respectively). Fu/ZnO-NPs have more antibacterial activities than Fu/ZnO/Alg-NCMs in all tested multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. Fu/ZnO/Alg-NCMs had no effect on Acinetobacter KY856930, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Enterobacter aerogenes, whereas there was an apparent effect of ZnO-NPs against the same strains.

Biological activities of two macroalgae from Adriatic coast of Montenegro

In the present investigation the acetone extracts of macroalgae Ulva lactuca and Enteromorpha intestinalis were tested for antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of tested samples on DPPH and superoxide anion radicals, reducing the power of samples and determination of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds in extracts. As a result of the study, U. lactuca extract was found to have a better free radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 623.58 μg/ml) than E. intestinalis extract (IC50 = 732.12 μg/ml). Moreover, the tested extracts had effective ferric reducing power and superoxide anion radical scavenging. The total content of phenol in extracts of U. lactuca and E. intestinalis was 58.15 and 40.68 μg PE/mg, while concentrations of flavonoids were 39.58 and 21.74 μg RE/mg, respectively. Furthermore, among the tested species, extracts of U. lactuca showed a better antimicrobial activity with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 0.156 to 5 mg/ml, but it was relatively weak in comparison with standard antibiotics. Bacillus mycoides and Bacillus subtilis were the most susceptible to the tested extracts. Contrary to this Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium purpurescens were the most resistant. Finally, cytotoxic activity of tested extracts was evaluated on four human cancer cell lines. Extract of E. intestinalis expressed the stronger cytotoxic activity towards all tested cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 74.73 to 155.39 μg/ml.

The severe adverse reaction to vitamin k1 injection is anaphylactoid reaction but not anaphylaxis

The severe adverse reaction to vitamin K₁ injection is always remarkable and is thought to result from anaphylaxis. Paradoxically, however, some patients administered vitamin K₁ injection for the first time have adverse reactions. Using beagle dogs, the present study tested the hypothesis that the response to vitamin K₁ is an anaphylactoid reaction. The results showed that serious anaphylaxis-like symptoms appeared in beagle dogs after the administration of vitamin K₁ injection for the first time. The plasma histamine concentration increased, and blood pressure decreased sharply. After sensitization, dogs were challenged with vitamin K₁ injection and displayed the same degree of symptoms as prior to sensitization. However, when the vitamin K₁ injection-sensitized dogs were challenged with a vitamin K₁-fat emulsion without solubilizers such asTween-80, the abnormal reactions did not occur. Furthermore, there was no significant change in the plasma immunoglobulin E concentration after vitamin K₁ challenge. Following treatment with vitamin K₁ injection, the release of histamine and β-hexosaminidase by rat basophilic leukemia-2H3 cells as well as the rate of apoptosis increased. The Tween-80 group displayed results similar to those observed following vitamin K₁ injection in vivo. However, the dogs in the vitamin K₁-fat emulsion group did not display any abnormal behavior or significant change in plasma histamine. Additionally, degranulation and apoptosis did not occur in rat basophilic leukemia-2H3 cells. Our results indicate that the adverse reaction induced by vitamin K₁ injection is an anaphylactoid reaction, not anaphylaxis. Vitamin K₁ injection induces the release of inflammatory factors via a non-IgE-mediated immune pathway, for which the trigger may be the solubilizer.

Antiallergic benefit of marine algae in medicinal foods

The prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis has increased during the past two decades and contributed a great deal to morbidity and an appreciable mortality in the world. Until now, few novel efficacious drugs have been discovered to treat, control, or even cure these disorders with a low adverse-effect profile. Meanwhile, glucocorticoids are still the mainstay for the treatment of allergic disease. Therefore, it is essential to isolate novel antiallergic therapeutics from natural resources. Recently, marine algae have received much attention as they are a valuable source of chemically diverse bioactive compounds with numerous health benefit effects. This contribution focuses on antiallergic agents derived from marine algae and presents an overview of their potential application in medicinal foods for the treatment of allergic disorders.

KIOM-79 inhibits high glucose or AGEs-induced VEGF expression in human retinal pigment epithelial cells

We evaluated whether KIOM-79, a mixture of extracts obtained from Puerariae lobata, Magnolia officinalis, Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Euphorbia pekinensis, could inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells cultured under high glucose (HG, 25mM) or S100b (a specific ligand of the receptor for advance glycation end products (RAGE), 5microg/ml). In this study, the effect of KIOM-79 on HG or S100b-induced VEGF expression was investigated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, RT-PCR, ELISA, and Western blot on human RPE cells. The MTT assay (p<0.01) revealed that KIOM-79 (up to 1mg/ml) had no effect on cell growth. HG or S100b induced an increase in expression of VEGF at both mRNA and protein levels (p<0.05; p<0.01 versus control). The increase in VEGF expression by HG or S100b was dose- and time-dependently prevented by KIOM-79 (p<0.05 versus 25mM glucose; p<0.01 versus S100b). Also, KIOM-79 inhibited protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha/beta(alpha) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. Our results demonstrate that KIOM-79 can inhibit VEGF expression via inhibition of the MAPK and PKC pathway.