Chemical Composition and Anti-Candida Activity of Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. Essential Oils Obtained by Different Distillation Processes

A comparative study on essential oils extracted from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. from Italy is reported. Two extraction procedures were investigated: hydrodistillation and steam distillation, carried out as a continuous and fractionated procedure. Fresh and dried plant material from two harvests was used. The hydrodistillation method yielded a higher amount of essential oil. The dried plant was significantly richer in essential oil per kg of starting plant material. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of 112 samples showed that the essential oils belong to the piperitenone oxide-rich chemotype. In addition, piperitenone, p-cymen-8-ol, and limonene were among the most abundant compounds in the different samples. A higher amount of piperitenone oxide was obtained by hydrodistillation, while steam distillation gave a higher percentage of piperitenone and limonene. The essential oils were characterized for their anti-Candida albicans activity; higher potency was observed for the samples rich in piperitenone oxide, with MIC values ranging from 0.39 to 0.78 mg·mL-1 (0.039% and 0.078% p/v). The results of this work provide a deep insight into the methodology of essential oil extraction and the associated chemical variability of M. suaveolens Ehrh. Some of the essential oils are potent against C. albicans and could be considered for potential use in therapy.

In Vitro Antioxidant and In Vivo Antigenotoxic Features of a Series of 61 Essential Oils and Quantitative Composition-Activity Relationships Modeled through Machine Learning Algorithms

The antioxidant activity of essential oils (EOs) is an important and frequently studied property, yet it is not sufficiently understood in terms of the contribution of EOs mixtures' constituents and biological properties. In this study, a series of 61 commercial EOs were first evaluated as antioxidants in vitro, following as closely as possible the cellular pathways of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Hence, EOs were assessed for the ability either to chelate metal ions, thus interfering with ROS generation within the respiratory chain, or to neutralize 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and lipid peroxide radicals (LOO•), thereby halting lipid peroxidation, as well as to neutralize 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid cation radicals (ABTS•+) and hydroxyl radicals (OH•), thereby preventing the ROS species from damaging DNA nucleotides. Showing noteworthy potencies to neutralize all of the radicals at the ng/mL level, the active EOs were also characterized as protectors of DNA double strands from damage induced by peroxyl radicals (ROO•), emerging from 2,2'-azobis-2-methyl-propanimidamide (AAPH) as a source, and OH•, indicating some genome protectivity and antigenotoxicity effectiveness in vitro. The chemical compositions of the EOs associated with the obtained activities were then analyzed by means of machine learning (ML) classification algorithms to generate quantitative composition-activity relationships (QCARs) models (models published in the AI4EssOil database available online). The QCARs models enabled us to highlight the key features (EOSs' chemical compounds) for exerting the redox potencies and to define the partial dependencies of the features, viz. percentages in the mixture required to exert a given potency. The ML-based models explained either the positive or negative contribution of the most important chemical components: limonene, linalool, carvacrol, eucalyptol, α-pinene, thymol, caryophyllene, p-cymene, eugenol, and chrysanthone. Finally, the most potent EOs in vitro, Ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata (Lam.)) and Ceylon cinnamon peel (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl), were promptly administered in vivo to evaluate the rescue ability against redox damage caused by CCl4, thereby verifying their antioxidant and antigenotoxic properties either in the liver or in the kidney.

Effect of Different Soil Treatments on Production and Chemical Composition of Essential Oils Extracted from Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Origanum vulgare L. and Thymus vulgaris L

The aim of the study was to investigate how essential oil production and associated chemical composition and related biological activity could be influenced by different cultivation treatments and distillation methods. Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel), Origanum vulgare L. (oregano) and Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme) were cultivated in absence of any fertilizer (control) and in presence of three different fertilizers: a chemical one with augmented mineral phosphorus and potassium, a second added with hydrolyzed organic substance and mineral phosphorus and potassium (organic-mineral) and a third one treated with a high content of organic nitrogen of protein origin (organic). The plants were subjected to steam distillation using two modalities, recycled and continuous, to obtain 32 essential oil samples. Chemical composition analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; in vitro antimicrobial activity was evaluated using a broth microdilution method. In general, the recycled distillation method appeared to have a slightly higher yield than the continuous method. The "mineral" and "organic-mineral" treatments resulted in a higher yield compared to the "organic" or "control" treatments, and this was particularly evident in the recycled method. The "control" plants had a lower yield of essential oils. Anethole (13.9-59.5%) and estragole (13.4-52.2%) were the main constituents of the fennel oils; p-cymene and its derivatives carvacrol and thymol were the main constituents of the oregano and thyme samples. The antimicrobial activity of the thyme oils on Staphylococcus aureus ranged from 0.31 to 0.16% (v/v); a lower effect of the oregano samples and no activity of the fennel samples were observed. The essential oils failed to inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.

In Vivo Antiphytoviral and Aphid Repellency Activity of Essential Oils and Hydrosols from Mentha suaveolens and Foeniculum vulgare to Control Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus and Its Vector Aphis gossypii

In recent years, natural compounds have gained attention in many fields due to their wide-range biological activity. In particular, essential oils and their associated hydrosols are being screened to control plant pests, exerting antiviral, antimycotic and antiparasitic actions. They are more quickly and cheaply produced and are generally considered safer for the environment and non-target organisms than conventional pesticides. In this study, we report the evaluation of the biological activity of two essential oils and their corresponding hydrosols obtained from Mentha suaveolens and Foeniculum vulgare in the control of zucchini yellow mosaic virus and its vector, Aphis gossypii, in Cucurbita pepo plants. The control of the virus was ascertained with treatments applied either concurrently with or after virus infection; choice tests were performed to verify repellency activity against the aphid vector. The results indicated that treatments could decrease virus titer as measured using real-time RT-PCR, while the experiments on the vector showed that the compounds effectively repelled aphids. The extracts were also chemically characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Mentha suaveolens and Foeniculum vulgare hydrosol extracts mainly comprised fenchone and decanenitrile, respectively, while essential oils analysis returned a more complex composition, as expected.

A global analysis of the impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime

The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings show that the stay-at-home policies were associated with a considerable drop in urban crime, but with substantial variation across cities and types of crime. Meta-regression results showed that more stringent restrictions over movement in public space were predictive of larger declines in crime.

Cimetidine treatment of reflux esophagitis in children: an Italian multicentric study

The effectiveness of cimetidine (30-40 mg/kg/day) was evaluated in 32 children with gastroesophageal reflux disease complicated by esophagitis who entered a random double-blind trial for 12 weeks. Esophagitis was diagnosed in all patients by endoscopy with biopsy. Seventeen patients (age, mean +/- SD: 21.7 +/- 37.65 months) received cimetidine (c-pts), and 15 (age, mean +/- SD: 29.03 +/- 39.73 months) received a placebo (p-pts). All patients received intensive postural therapy. Based on clinical and endoscopic (and histologic) data, 12 c-pts and three p-pts were healed (p less than 0.01), the condition of four c-pts and three p-pts had improved (not statistically significant), and the condition of one c-pt and nine p-pts had worsened (p less than 0.01). Both clinical and esophagitis scores significantly decreased only in the c-pt group, as compared with p-pts. Improvement of esophagitis was seen in all (100%) of c-pts with mild or moderate esophagitis versus 57.14% of p-pts (p less than 0.01) and in 87.5% of c-pts with severe esophagitis as compared with 25% of the p-pt group (p less than 0.01). We conclude that cimetidine is an effective agent for treatment of reflux esophagitis in children. Although gastroesophageal reflux disease in infancy has a naturally self-limited course with conservative care (thickened feedings and posture adjustment), extensive pharmacologic therapy is needed in the presence of esophagitis.

Effects of the composition and caloric value of infant formulas on intake and hormone levels

Seventy-six normal full-term infants have been observed from birth to the fourth month of life. Thirty-six were breast-fed; the others were fed four different feeds (conventional or adapted formulas) containing different amounts of calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrate. The control mechanism of volume intake appears to be well functioning in infants fed human milk and adapted formulas providing conventional calorie concentrations. The other formulas were associated with either a high BUN or high base insulin concentrations. It is concluded that uncontrolled amounts of milk should be fed only to breast-fed infants and those receiving adapted formulas but not to those fed formulas that provide high calorie or protein concentrations.

[Constant flow enteral feeding with an elemental diet in the treatment of severe protracted diarrhea in early childhood]

The enteric nutrition with constant flow (ENCF) with elemental and semielemental diets is a very useful therapeutic approach in the management of severe and protracted diarrhoea in young infants. It can be proceeded or not by a period of total parenteral nutrition according to age of the patient, the entity and duration of the diarrhoea and the degree of the malnutrition and the presence or not of an infection. The indication of the enteric alimentation with a constant flow has been done in cases of severe diarrhea prolonged more than 14 days without response to the traditional dietetic treatment and/or a state of malnutrition with weight - 2 SD with respect to the average of the age/height ratio and/or a plasma proteins less than or equal to 4.5 g% and an albuminemia less than 2.8 g%. The casuistry is made up of 19 cases, from the age of 1 month to 20 month. The duration of the treatment was between 13 and 123 days. The enteric alimentation was done with elemental or semielemental diet with an osmolarity of 320 m OSM/C. freshly preparated; each of the ingredients could be modified independently one from the other. The decision to modify qualitatively and quantitatively the diet is always the consequence of a daily evaluation of the nutritional needs of the child and at the same time of the digestive tolerance valued according to precise clinical and biological criteria. The results obtained were: arrest of diarrhoea in 90% of the cases (17/19), continuation of diarrhoea in 10% (2/19) and death in 1 case. The weight increase was obtained in 90% of the cases (M = 13.2 gr./die). The Authors discuss the criteria to decide 1) if a period of TPN had to proceed the ENCF, 2) the more adapt components to utilize for elemental and semielemental diet, 3) the modality of practial realization, 4) the criteria of clinical and biological supervision, 5) the possible mechanical and metabolical complications. The Authors conclude that the ENCF with elemental and semielemental diets is an important progress in the therapeutic approach in serious and protracted diarrhoea in young infants. The knowledge of the problem, a careful clinical and biological supervision are the best methods to obtain the maximum and the minimum risks of mechanical and metabolical complications.

[Exclusive parenteral nutrition via a peripheral vein in the treatment of severe protracted diarrhea in early childhood. Personal experience and clinical contribution]

Total peripheral parenteral nutrition (T.P.P.N.) in the treatment of prolonged serious diarrhea in infancy is discussed. T.P.P.N. was employed for a period from 7 to 38 days in 18 particular diarrhoic infants with a good result in the 89%. Authors stress out conditions to obtain the best tolerance to glucidic, protidic and lipidic components. Limits of this therapy are related, overall, to the impossibility to deal with it for more than 3 weeks. When hyperbilirubinemie, respiratory failure and sepsis are present T.P.P.N. isn't prudentially to be used.

Diet and antibody response to vaccinations in healthy infants

Antibody responses to poliovirus, diphtheria, pertussis, or tetanus vaccine were compared in five groups of infants. The 62 infants had been brought up on breast milk or on one of four types of artificial feed in the first five months of life. The types of artificial feed varied in quality and quantity of protein; they were high or low protein cow's milk, an adapted formula (with a casein/albumin ratio of 40/60), and a formula based on soy flour. After the age of 5 months, all infants were put on the same diet. The general pattern of antibody responses as determined by antibody levels when the infants were 5 and 8 months old was that those fed on breast milk or high-protein cow's milk had adequate and sustained antibody responses; those fed on the adapted formula had a high but temporary response; and those fed on low-protein cow's milk or the soy-based formula had poor responses.

Potential complications in the use of wheat bran for constipation in infancy

A commercially available wheat bran preparation has been given to six infants between the ages of 6 and 16 months suffering from constipation not due to metabolic or anatomic causes. In all infants, normal bowel movements reappeared after a month of a diet containing bran. After a month on this diet, we observed the following: a decrease in blood levels of calcium, phosphate, and trace elements; an increase in fecal excretion of biliary salts and cholesterol; and an appearance of predominantly proteolytic fecal flora over the saccharolitic flora. These findings, especially the first one, indicate that bran preparations should be used in infancy with extreme caution because of possible side effect on the patient's nutritional status and growth. If bran is used, blood levels of minerals should be repeatedly checked in order to prevent the appearance of vitamin D-dependent rickets and the depletion of trace elements.