Cytotoxic evaluation and chemical investigation of tomatoes from plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown in uncontaminated and experimentally contaminated soils.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic activity and the chemical composition of the tomato extracts coming from, Pomodoro Giallo and San Marzano Cirio 3, and then to evaluate the potential changes when plants were grown in soils contaminated by cadmium, chromium and lead. Extracts were investigated by UHPLC-HRMS and UV-Vis. Cell viability (CellTiter-Glo Luminescent assay), enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDEFLOUR Assay), cell cycle progression (Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer), apoptosis and necrosis (Annexin V-FITC assay) were evaluated on two gastric cancer (AGS and NCI-N87) and two colorectal cancer (HT-29 and HCT 116) cell lines.

L. fruits showed promising antimutagenic and antigenotoxic activity using both and test systems.

L. is one of the most popular medicinal plants attributed to its beneficial properties on human health. However, few toxicogenetic studies have been carried out.

Microalgal Co-Cultivation Prospecting to Modulate Vitamin and Bioactive Compounds Production.

Microalgal biotechnology is gaining importance. However, key issues in the pipeline from species selection towards large biomass production still require improvements to maximize the yield and lower the microalgal production costs. This study explores a co-cultivation strategy to improve the bioactive compounds richness of the harvested microalgal biomass.

Natural Compounds of Marine Origin as Inducers of Immunogenic Cell Death (ICD): Potential Role for Cancer Interception and Therapy.

Regulated cell death (RCD) has always been considered a tolerogenic event. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) occurs as a consequence of tumour cell death accompanied by the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), triggering an immune response. ICD plays a major role in stimulating the function of the immune system in cancer during chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

New In Vitro Model of Oxidative Stress: Human Prostate Cells Injured with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) for the Screening of Antioxidants.

The antioxidant activity of natural compounds consists in their ability to modulate gene and protein expression, thus inducing an integrated cell protective response and repair processes against oxidative stress. New screening tools and methodologies are crucial for the actual requirement of new products with antioxidant activity to boost endogenous oxidative stress responsive pathways, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) metabolism and immune system activity, preserving human health and wellness. In this study, we performed and tested an integrated oxidative stress analysis, using DPPH assay and PNT2 cells injured with DPPH.

Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown in experimental contaminated soil: Bioconcentration of potentially toxic elements and free radical scavenging evaluation.

Tomato is the most widespread vegetable crop in the world. In Italy, tomatoes are mainly cultivated in the South and in the Campania region, precisely in the area called Agro Nocerino-Sarnese. This flatland is affected by an extreme level of environmental degradation, especially related to the Sarno River, where concentrations of Potential Toxic Elements (PTEs) have been found to be higher than the maximum permitted level.

Antimutagenic, antigenotoxic and antiproliferative activities of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. leaves and stem bark extracts and their phytochemical composition.

In recent years, chronic degenerative diseases such as certain types of cancers, are becoming an evident issue. DNA damage has been for long recognized as a causal factor for cancer development because mutations or chromosomal aberrations affect oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes leading cells to malignant transformation and to the subsequent cancerous growth. Medicinal plants are often used for the prevention or treatment of various diseases with great scientific interest.

Lymphocytes exposed to vegetables grown in waters contaminated by anticancer drugs: metabolome alterations and genotoxic risks for human health.

Wastewater irrigation of crops may be effective to avoid depletion (about 70%) of freshwater resources. However, the use of reclaimed waters containing persistent microcontaminants such as antineoplastic drugs is of high environmental concern. These active compounds may affect human health with potentially severe adverse effects.

Capsaicin in Hot Chili Peppers: In Vitro Evaluation of Its Antiradical, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Activities.

Capsaicin is a spicy capsaicinoid, produced as secondary metabolite by Capsicum fruits. This alkaloid has been used for years in folk medicine for its analgesic and antinflammatory properties although most data is referred to the raw fruit. In this study, the antiradical activity of the pure capsaicin has been studied using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays as well as its antiproliferative activity, using MTT assay, against two human tumour cell lines, the colorectal Caco-2 and the oesophageal OE19 cells.

A New Approach for Improving the Antibacterial and Tumor Cytotoxic Activities of Pipemidic Acid by Including It in Trimethyl-β-cyclodextrin.

Pipemidic acid (HPPA) is a quinolone antibacterial agent used mostly to treat gram-negative infections of the urinary tract, but its therapeutic use is limited because of its low solubility. Thus, to improve drug solubility, natural cyclodextrins (CDs) are used for their ability of including guest molecules within their cavities. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antibacterial activity and the preliminary anticancer activity of HPPA included into Heptakis (2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (TRIMEB) as a possible approach for a new innovative formulation.

Ecotoxic effects of loratadine and its metabolic and light-induced derivatives.

Loratadine and desloratadine are second-generation antihistaminic drugs. Because of human administration, they are continuously released via excreta into wastewater treatment plants and occur in surface waters as residues and transformation products (TPs). Loratadine and desloratadine residues have been found at very low concentrations (ng/L) in the aquatic environment but their toxic effects are still not well known.

2D-NMR investigation and in vitro evaluation of antioxidant, antigenotoxic and estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of strawberry grape.

Strawberry grape is considered beneficial due to its extensive phytochemical properties. To expand the knowledge about the chemical constituents and the biological activities of the whole plant, 2D-NMR investigation has been carried out on pulp, peel, seeds, stalks and leaves. Catechin and epicatechin were identified as the main constituents of the seed extract, quercetin and ferulic acid were detected in the leaves and malvidin and cyanidin glucopyranoside in the peels.

Alpha- and Beta-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes with 5-Fluorouracil: Characterization and Cytotoxic Activity Evaluation.

Cyclodextrins are natural macrocyclic oligosaccharides able to form inclusion complexes with a wide variety of guests, affecting their physicochemical and pharmaceutical properties. In order to obtain an improvement of the bioavailability and solubility of 5-fluorouracil, a pyrimidine analogue used as chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of the colon, liver, and stomac cancers, the drug was complexed with alpha- and beta-cyclodextrin. The inclusion complexes were prepared in the solid state by kneading method and characterized by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffractometry.

Teratogenic effects of five anticancer drugs on Xenopus laevis embryos.

In recent years, the environmental presence of pharmaceuticals - including anticancer drugs - is an emerging issue. Because of the lack of appropriate critical studies about anticancer drug effects in frogs, the aim of the present study was to investigate lethal and teratogenic effects of five anticancer drugs widely used in large quantities, i.e.