The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of hexane extracts from leaves of Piper auritum (HS). Eight complementary in vitro test methods were used, including inhibition of DPPH· radicals, nitric oxide, superoxide anion, ion-chelating, ABTS, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, β-carotene bleaching and peroxy radical scavenging. The results indicated that HS possesses hig...

Proteins that have been modified by long-term exposure to glucose accumulate advanced glycosylation end products (AGE) as a function of protein age. In these studies, we have characterized the interaction of AGE-protein with mouse peritoneal macrophages, using AGE-modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA, prepared by incubation with glucose) as a probe. AGE-BSA was specifically bound to cells at ...

FAP (familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy) is a systemic amyloid disease characterized by the formation of extracellular deposits of transthyretin. More than 80 single point mutations are associated with amyloidogenic behaviour and the onset of this fatal disease. It is believed that mutant forms of transthyretin lead to a decreased stability of the tetramer, which dissociates into monomers that...