Phytoecdysteroids: Quantification in Selected Plant Species and Evaluation of Some Effects on Gastric Smooth Muscles.

Phytoecdysteroids (PEs) are naturally occurring steroid compounds, that have recently gained significant attention, due to their diverse biological activities and high therapeutic potential. The aim of the present study was to quantify some PEs including 20-hydroxyecdysterone (20-HE), ponasterone A (PA), and turkesterone (TU) in selected plant foods and extract. Furthermore, the effects of 20-HE, TU, and extract, were investigated with in vitro methods using isolated smooth muscle tissues.

Cardio- and Vasoprotective Effects of Quinacrine in an In Vivo Rat Model of Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

This study aimed to investigate the cardioprotective effect of quinacrine in an in vivo model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. A 30-min regional myocardial ischemia followed by a 2-h reperfusion was modeled in anesthetized Wistar rats. Starting at the last minute of ischemia and during the first 9 min of reperfusion the rats in the control (n=8) and experimental (n=9) groups were injected with 0.

Dimeric Bis-Benzimidazole-Pyrroles DB2Py(n) - AT-Site-Specific Ligands: Synthesis, Physicochemical Analysis, and Biological Activity.

Its broad spectrum of biological activity makes benzimidazole a fundamental pharmacophore in pharmaceutics. The paper describes newly synthesized AT-specific fluorescent bis-benzimidazole molecules DB2Py(n) that contain a pyrrolcarboxamide fragment of the antibiotic drug netropsin. Physico-chemical methods using absorption, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectra have shown the ability of bis-benzimidazole- pyrroles to form complexes with DNA.

Advanced technique of myocardial no-reflow quantification using indocyanine green.

The post-ischemic no-reflow phenomenon after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is observed in more than half of subjects and is defined as the absence or marked slowing of distal coronary blood flow despite removal of the arterial occlusion. To visualize no-reflow in experimental studies, the fluorescent dye thioflavin S (ThS) is often used, which allows for the estimation of the size of microvascular obstruction by staining the endothelial lining of vessels. Based on the ability of indocyanine green (ICG) to be retained in tissues with increased vascular permeability, we proposed the possibility of using it to assess not only the severity of microvascular obstruction but also the degree of vascular permeability in the zone of myocardial infarction.

toxins impact on rat colon smooth muscle reactivity.

Aim: The present study was conducted in an attempt to find possible direct mechanisms of action of Clostridium difficile toxins A and B (TCdA and TCdB) on contractility of isolated rat intestinal smooth muscles, as the contractive pathways affected by the toxins and responsible for motility disorders remain unclear.

Materials And Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were used in our experiments. Longitudinal smooth muscle (SM) preparations of proximal colon were isolated and their contractile activity was isometrically registered.