Antioxidant properties and xanthine oxidase inhibitory effects of Tamus communis L. root extracts.

This study was conducted to search for xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors from the root extracts of Tamus communis L. traditionally used in folk medicine in Algeria. Root extracts with different solvents were screened for purified milk xanthine oxidase inhibition.

The spontaneous mechanical activity of the circular smooth muscle of the rabbit colon in vitro.

The spontaneous mechanical activity of the proximal, middle and distal colon of the rabbit shows in vitro two types of contractions: phasic contractions with low amplitude and high frequency, giant contractions (GCs) with high amplitude and low frequency. Both patterns of contractions did not present differences according to the region. Investigations on the neural control of giant contractions in the middle colon gave the following results.