Post-operative epidural haematoma as complication of overconsumption of dried fruit in lumbar spinal surgery: a case report and review of the literature.

Purpose: Mebos, a traditional South Africa confection consisting of dried, pulped, and sugared apricots, is rich in fibre and vitamins, but also contains salicylic acid, flavonoids, and citric acid. We report a case of postoperative surgical site bleeding in a healthy patient who consumed approximately 2 kg of mebos per day prior to his elective spinal surgery.

Methods: The clinical course of a previously healthy 54-year-old male patient with cauda equina syndrome secondary to lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent surgical intervention with subsequent bleeding into the surgical site is discussed.

Essential Oil Composition and Traditional Uses of , a Poorly Known Medicinal Plant from Namaqualand, South Africa.

South Africa has a rich history of medicinal plant species and their documented uses as traditional medicines, and is also home to three well-known, blue-flowered sage species of ethnobotanical importance. The Namaqualand () has so far remained unstudied and apparently overlooked. Our study is the first to report on the essential oil chemistry of this medicinally relevant species and provide a comparison with the other two (well-studied) closely related Cape ( and ).

Corrigendum: Mass spectrometry metabolomics and feature-based molecular networking reveals population-specific chemistry in some species of the genus.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.

Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics and Feature-Based Molecular Networking Reveals Population-Specific Chemistry in Some Species of the Genus.

The genus has been of medicinal importance in southern Africa for millennia and (Aizoaceae), one of eight species in the genus has gained pharmaceutical importance as an anxiolytic and anti-depressant due to the presence of mesembrine alkaloids. is used for the manufacture of herbal teas, dietary supplements and other phytopharmaceutical products. This study aimed to provide a metabolomic characterization of and its sister species as these are not easy to distinguish using morphology alone.

Profiling the Production of Antimicrobial Secondary Metabolites by J194 Under Different Culturing Conditions.

Species from the genus endosymbiotic bacteria of nematodes, produce several antibacterial and antifungal compounds, some of which are anti-parasitic. In this study, we report on the effect growth conditions have on the production of antimicrobial compounds produced by J194. The strain was cultured in aerated and non-aerated broth, respectively, and on solid media.

Oligomerisation of tryptocidine C, a Trp-rich cyclodecapeptide from the antimicrobial tyrothricin complex.

Tryptocidine C (TpcC, cyclo[D-Phe-Pro-Trp-D-Trp-Asn-Gln-Trp-Val-Orn-Leu]) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide in the tyrothricin complex produced by a soil bacterium, Brevibacillus parabrevis. Electrospray mass spectrometric studies reveal the oligomerisation of TpcC into dimers and higher oligomers, analogous to tyrocidine C (TrcC, Trp replaced by Tyr). Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS) further confirms the formation of stable peptide dimers and tetramers with diameters of 2.

Pharmacokinetics of Para-Aminosalicylic Acid and Its 2 Major Metabolites: A Potential Relationship to the Development of Gastrointestinal Intolerance.

Para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS), often the last drug remaining for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis, is notorious for causing gastrointestinal intolerance; however, the cause of PAS intolerance is uncertain. The objective of this study was to assess relationships between peak concentrations of PAS administered as a granular slow-release enteric coated formulation, and its metabolites acetyl-PAS and glycine-PAS, and intolerance. PAS and its metabolites were measured in 29 adult patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis at Brooklyn Hospital, Cape Town, randomized to receive granular slow-release enteric-coated PAS 4 g twice daily or 8 g once daily for 1 week, followed by the alternative regimen.

An Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Study on the "In Vacuo" Hetero-Oligomers Formed by the Antimicrobial Peptides, Surfactin and Gramicidin S.

It was previously observed that the lipopeptide surfactants in surfactin (Srf) have an antagonistic action towards the highly potent antimicrobial cyclodecapeptide, gramicidin S (GS). This study reports on some of the molecular aspects of the antagonism as investigated through complementary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry techniques. We were able to detect stable 1:1 and 2:1 hetero-oligomers in a mixture of surfactin and gramicidin S.

High-throughput analysis of 19 endogenous androgenic steroids by ultra-performance convergence chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

11-Oxygenated steroids such as 11-ketotestosterone and 11-ketodihydrotestosterone have recently been shown to play a putative role in the development and progression of castration resistant prostate cancer. In this study we report on the development of a high throughput ultra-performance convergence chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPC(2)-MS/MS) method for the analysis of thirteen 11-oxygenated and six canonical C19 steroids isolated from a cell culture matrix. Using an Acquity UPC(2) BEH 2-EP column we found that UPC(2) resulted in superior selectivity, increased chromatographic efficiency and a scattered elution order when compared to conventional reverse phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC).

Manipulation of the tyrothricin production profile of Bacillus aneurinolyticus.

A group of non-ribosomally produced antimicrobial peptides, the tyrocidines from the tyrothricin complex, have potential as antimicrobial agents in both medicine and industry. Previous work by our group illustrated that the more polar tyrocidines rich in Trp residues in their structure were more active toward Gram-positive bacteria, while the more non-polar tyrocidines rich in Phe residues had greater activity toward Plasmodium falciparum, one of the major causative pathogens of malaria in humans. Our group also found that the tyrocidines have pronounced antifungal activity, dictated by the primary sequence of the tyrocidine.

Survey of South African fruit juices using a fast screening HILIC-MS method.

Adulteration of fruit juices--by the addition of sugar or other less expensive fruit juices as well as preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colours--was tested for by using a developed screening method. The method employs hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS) using electrospray ionisation in the negative mode and ultraviolet light detection. Different fruit juices can be differentiated by the content of marker compounds like sorbitol, certain phenolic molecules and their saccharide profile.

Nitrogen supply and abiotic stress influence canavanine synthesis and the productivity of in vitro regenerated Sutherlandia frutescens microshoots.

Environmental stresses can significantly alter the synthesis of both primary and secondary metabolites, resulting in medicinal plants with unpredictable biological activity. Here, in vitro shoot cultures of the medicinal plant Sutherlandia frutescens were used to study the impact of three abiotic stresses (nitrogen availability, drought and salinity), primarily on l-canavanine synthesis. This compound, a non-protein amino acid, is amongst those metabolites linked to the health benefits of Sutherlandia extracts.

Evidence of symbiosis between the soil yeast Cryptococcus laurentii and a sclerophyllous medicinal shrub, Agathosma betulina (Berg.) Pillans.

The interaction between a common soil yeast, Cryptococcus laurentii, and a slow-growing medicinal plant adapted to low-nutrient soils, Agathosma betulina (Berg.) Pillans, was studied. C.