The antigenotoxic and chemopreventive effect of Aloe barbadensis Miller (polysaccharide fraction) on benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)-DNA adducts was investigated in vitro and in vivo. Aloe showed a time-course and dose-dependent inhibition of [3H]B[a]P-DNA adduct formation in primary rat hepatocytes (1x10(6) cells/ml) treated with [3H]B[a]P (4 nmol/ml). At concentrations of 0.4-250 microg/ml aloe, the b...

RWRWRW-NH2 (MP196) is an amphipathic hexapeptide that targets the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane and inhibits cellular respiration and cell wall synthesis. In previous studies it showed promising activity against Gram-positive bacteria and no significant cytotoxicity or hemolysis. MP196 is therefore used as lead structure for developing more potent antibiotic derivatives. Here we present a more...

Systemic anthrax manifests as toxemia, rapidly disseminating septicemia, immune collapse, and death. Virulence factors include the anti-phagocytic gamma-linked poly-d-glutamic acid (PGA) capsule and two binary toxins, complexes of protective antigen (PA) with lethal factor (LF) and edema factor. We report the characterization of LF, PA, and PGA levels during the course of inhalation anthrax in ...

Chronic Helicobacter pylori disease is reduced with Allium vegetable intake. This study was designed to assess the in vivo anti-H. pylori potential of a variety of garlic substances. The garlic materials all showed substantial but widely differing anti-H. pylori effects against all strains and isolates tested. The MICs (range, 8 to 32 microg/ml) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) (r...

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites widely distributed in plants. This study aims to extract the phenolics in Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and study its cytotoxic effect on human Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HepG2). Using Fast Blue BB, the crude phenolic extract of VCO yielded 25.54 ppm gallic acid equivalence per 0.5 mg/ml sample. The antioxidant capacity of the phenolic extract gave an IC50...

BACKGROUND Circulating nucleosomes are elevated in the blood of patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases. Here, we investigated the nature and the dynamics of their release in functional cell studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Leukemia blasts were exposed to the intrinsic inducers of apoptotic cell death, cytosine arabinoside (AraC; 10 μg/ml) and etoposide (50 μg/ml), and cell death mar...

An effective method for the determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in human plasma is described that utilizes a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure and gas chromatography-positive ion chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-PCI-MS). The method has been used to study the stability of plasma GHB under several storage conditions. Following the extraction with acetonitrile, GHB an...

The toughness of a polymer glass is determined by the interplay of yielding, strain softening, and strain hardening. Molecular-dynamics simulations of a typical polymer glass, atactic polystyrene, under the influence of active deformation have been carried out to enlighten these processes. It is observed that the dominant interaction for the yield peak is of interchain nature and for the strain...

Health effects of cocoa flavonols depend on their bioavailability, which is strongly influenced by the food matrix and the degree of flavanol polymerization. The effect of milk on the bioavailability of cocoa flavanoids considering phase II metabolites of epicatechin has been the subject of considerable debate. This work studies the effect of milk at the colonic microbial metabolism level of th...

10 volumes of Luria–Bertani (LB) medium containing Tet and Kn and grown to saturation. To begin the third positive selection, a 25 ml GMML culture containing Tet, Kn, and 1 mM pIF, pAF, pCF, or OAY was inoculated with cells from the negative screen (100 μl, pelleted and resuspended in GMML). After incubation for 3 h at 37°C, Cm was added to a final concentration of 75 μg/ml, and cells were grow...