Combined use of isotopic fingerprint and metabolomics analysis for the authentication of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) extracts.

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, SP) is the most expensive oil source of the pharmaceutical and healthfood market, and its high cost and recurrent shortages have spurred the development of designer blends of fatty acids to mimic its phytochemical profile and fraudulently comply with the current authentication assays. To detect this adulteration, the combined use of isotopic fingerprint and omic analysis has been investigated, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to handle the complex databases generated by these techniques and to identify the possible source of the adulterants. Surprisingly, the presence of fatty acids of animal origin turned out to be widespread in commercial samples of saw palmetto oil.

Marrubium vulgare L. Leave Extract: Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant and Wound Healing Properties.

Several factors contribute in wound generation, e.g., accidental traumas or surgery, and in certain cases, this dermal injury may have a devastating outcome.

[Optimization of the radiographic technic in parotid sialography. Experimental findings and clinical evaluation of the selection of the film-screen combination].

A suitable choice of film-screen combination is certainly the essential condition for achieving diagnostically reliable results together with the benefit of a low dosage for the patient. In parotid sialography, the choice of one particular film-screen combination depends on the different thickness of various glandular areas and on the particular anatomical site of the gland which inevitably causes the superimposition of the thinnest canalicular ducts with the adjacent areas. We have therefore performed an experimental-clinical study in order to evaluate the combination which can guarantee the most elevated diagnostic increase.

[Statistical analysis of individual doses absorbed by occupationally exposed personnel at the Messina University Polyclinic 1975-1984].

A statistical evaluation of the individual monitoring of occupationally exposed workers in the Policlinico Universitario of Messina during the years 1975 divided by 1984 is presented. Collective dose equivalent, average dose equivalent pro capite, ratio of the fraction of the collective dose due to annual doses above 1.5 cSv for the observed distribution to the fraction for the reference distribution and other interesting parameters are analyzed.

[A simple method for the measurement of human gastric emptying: standardization of operative parameters].

The radioisotopic techniques used for the measurement of gastric emptying in man require complex and expensive scintiscanners or gamma-cameras. In this investigation, a simple method utilizing a single and inexpensive detector was evaluated; in addition, the suitability of 99Tcm sulphur colloid as a label for solid meals was assessed. The procedure was found to be accurate and its reproducibility high.

Inhibition of gastric emptying by bombesin in man.

Bombesin, administered by intravenous infusion (5 ng . kg-1 . min-1) for 60 min, significantly delayed gastric emptying of solids in man and strongly potentiated the gastrin response to food.

[The vasoactive effects of captopril (SQ 14225). Preliminary research].

The Authors examined the behaviour of the humeral arterial pressure, of the heart frequency and of the muscular blood flow in inferior limbs. This study was performed before and after treatment with Captopril (SQ 14225), 100 mg per os, a selective inhibitor of the converting enzyme. Both resting blood flow (RBF) and maximal blood flow (NBF) were studied by Xenon 133 clearance.

Caerulein delays gastric emptying of solids in man.

Intravenous administration of caerulein (40 ng/kg) delayed gastric emptying of solids in man. Radiological examinations demonstrated that the peptide causes a marked contraction of the pyloric sphincter and a relaxation of the gastric corpus and fundus. Therefore the effect of caerulein on gastric emptying may be considered as the result of different actions on the distal and proximal stomach.

The effect of bombesin on gastric emptying of solids in man.

Intravenous infusion of bombesin (5 ng.kg(-1). min(-1) significantly delayed gastric emptying of solids in man.

[The dopaminergic system and aldosterone secretion. II. Effect of L-dopa and dexamethasone on aldosterone biosynthesis].

The authors studied the blood aldosterone, cortisol, and kalium levels, the plasma renin activity and the aldosterone urinary excretion following L-Dopa (0,50 g per os) administration in five patients affected by hypertension and six healthy control subjects, before and after the CRF-ACTH system suppression. The observed pattern shows that the aldosterone biosynthesis is inhibited also after the CRF-ACTH system has been suppressed. Therefore the authors conclude that the inhibiting action of L-Dopa on the aldosterone biosynthesis is mediated by the dopaminergic system stimulation.

[Experimental evaluations of ther preferential use of Tc99m and In113m in hepatic scintiscanning].

A hollow perspex dummy was filled with radioactive fluid to simulate the liver, cold nodes being represented by paraffin balls of diameter varying from 2.5 to 4.0 cm, variously located.