Development of a Chitosan-Based Film from Shellfish Waste for the Preservation of Various Cheese Types during Storage.

The global concern about the use of disposable plastics has fed the research on sustainable packaging for food products. Among the virtuous materials, chitosan emerges as a valid alternative to conventional polyethylene films because of its abundance in nature. In this work, a novel film for food wrapping was developed by exploiting shellfish waste according to a vision of circular economy.

Natural Pigments Production and Their Application in Food, Health and Other Industries.

In addition to fulfilling their function of giving color, many natural pigments are known as interesting bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. These compounds have various applications. In recent times, in the food industry, there has been a spread of natural pigment application in many fields, such as pharmacology and toxicology, in the textile and printing industry and in the dairy and fish industry, with almost all major natural pigment classes being used in at least one sector of the food industry.

Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus and Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) Ball. "berries" from Turkey: comparative evaluation of phenolic profile, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities.

This work aimed to evaluate and compare the phenolic profile and some biological properties of the ripe "berries" methanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus (Joo) and Juniperus oxycedrus L.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of branches extracts of five Juniperus species from Turkey.

Context: Several Juniperus species (Cupressaceae) are utilized in folk medicine in the treatment of infections and skin diseases.

Objective: This work was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of methanol and water branches extracts of Juniperus species from Turkey: Juniperus communis L. var.

Effect of berberine and Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. alkaloid extract on glutamate-evoked tissue transglutaminase up-regulation in astroglial cell cultures.

Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. is a bushy-spiny shrub common on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy), containing various alkaloids with several pharmacological properties.

Citrus bergamia Risso & Poiteau juice protects against renal injury of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats.

The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of treatment with Citrus bergamia juice (1 mL/day, for 30 days) against hypercholesterolemic diet-induced renal injury in rat.C. bergamia juice provoked a significant reduction in the plasma levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL, and an increase in HDL levels, versus hyperlipidemic controls (p < 0.

Relaxing effects of Valeriana officinalis extracts on isolated human non-pregnant uterine muscle.

Objectives: This study investigated the relaxing effects of Valeriana officinalis L. (Valerianaceae) on human uterine muscle. The major uses of this species in Europe are as a sedative and an anxiolytic; it is also used as a spasmolytic to treat gastrointestinal spasm.

The isoflavones mixture from Trifolium pratense L. protects HCN 1-A neurons from oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell death has been implicated in different neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's. Using the Alzheimer's disease-associated hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), we investigated the neuroprotective efficacy of a natural mixture of phytoestrogenic isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, biochanin A and formononetin) from Trifolium pratense L. (Red clover) against oxidative stress-induced cell death in human cortical cell line HCN 1-A maintained in culture.

The phytoestrogenic isoflavones from Trifolium pratense L. (Red clover) protects human cortical neurons from glutamate toxicity.

The endogenous steroid estrogen has been shown to affect neuronal growth, differentiation and survival. Genistein, daidzein and other isoflavones have been shown to mimic the pharmacological actions of the gonadal steroid estrogen with which they have structural similarities. Several studies have looked at the effect of isoflavones in the brain.

Hypolipidemic effects of Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau juice in rats fed a hypercholesterolemic diet.

Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau fruits have been traditionally utilized, in Calabria (Italy), as a popular remedy for their hypolipidemic properties. C. bergamia juice total phenol content (2474.

Biological and analytical characterization of two extracts from Valeriana officinalis.

The anticoronaryspastic and antibronchospastic activities of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Valeriana officinalis L. roots were investigated in anaesthetized guinea-pigs and the results were correlated with the qualitative/quantitative chemical composition of the extracts in order to account for some of the common uses of this plant. The protective effects of orally administered ethanolic and aqueous extracts (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) were evaluated against pitressin-induced coronary spasm and pressor response in guinea-pigs and were compared with those of nifedipine.

Effects of isoflavones from red clover (Trifolium pratense) on skin changes induced by ovariectomy in rats.

Estrogens have a profound influence on skin. The relative hypoestrogenism that accompanies menopause exacerbates the deleterious effects of both intrinsic and environmental aging. Estrogens improve skin in many ways.

Estrogenic activity of standardized extract of Angelica sinensis.

Since ancient times, extracts of plants have been used for women's health to prevent menopausal symptoms. The symptoms of menopause have been attributed to a reduction in the amount of estrogen produced by the ovaries. In this study the estrogenic activity of a commercial standardized extract of the roots of Angelica sinensis, used to relieve climacteric symptoms was evaluated using in vivo tests such as the degree of cornification of vaginal epithelium, uterotrophic assays and serum LH concentration in ovariectomized rats.

In vitro evaluation of oxidative damage from organic solvent vapours on human skin.

Aim of this study is to focus on the cutaneous effects of occupational exposure to the vapours of common organic solvents. Higher incidence of cancer is suspected in subjects exposed to organic solvents characterized by reactive metabolic intermediates, which are assumed to induce oxidative damage on liver, kidney and haematopoietic system. To our knowledge there are no relevant data about the oxidative effect of the organic solvents on skin after exposure to their vapours.

Bronchodilatory effects of the aqueous extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum and gypenosides III and VIII in anaesthetized guinea-pigs.

The bronchodilatory activity of the aqueous extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino leaves was investigated in anaesthetized guinea-pigs and compared with two of its isolated gypenosides (III and VIII). The results showed that the intravenous administration of the decoction of G. pentaphyllum (2.

Evaluation of extracts and isolated fraction from Capparis spinosa L. buds as an antioxidant source.

The antioxidant activity of extracts from Capparis spinosa L. buds was evaluated using different in vitro tests: ascorbate/Fe(2+)-mediated lipid peroxidation of microsomes from rat liver; bleaching of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical; and autoxidation of Fe(2+) ion in the presence of bathophenanthroline disulfonate. The methanolic extract showed strong activities in all of these in vitro tests.