ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of essential oils obtained from branchlets of male and female trees as well as fruits of Juniperus foetidissima Willd., Cupressaceae, from Iran. For this purpose, essential oils of J. foetidissima were phytochemically analyzed and different concentrations of them were tested in five oxidative systems: 1) low-density lipoprotein oxidation; 2) linoleic acid peroxidation; 3) red blood cell hemolysis; 4) hemoglobin glycation; and 5) insulin glycation assays. In all employed systems, antioxidant effects were observed from the three tested oils though in varying degrees. The most promising activities of the oils were observed against hemoglobin and insulin glycation. Antioxidant activities of the oils did not appear to be dose-dependent. In addition, no consistent superiority in antioxidant effects was observed from a single oil in different assays. In view of the current results, J. foetidissima branchlet and fruit oils could be regarded as effective natural products with anti-glycation activity.
ABSTRACT
Background: Perinatal asphyxia is a major cause of neurologic morbidity and mortality in infants. Objective: Determine the serum level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in neonates with perinatal asphyxia and its relation to the severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and short term neurological outcome. Methods: Serum IL-6 levels were measured at birth, and at 24 and 48 hour post-partum in 37 consecutive uninfected neonates with peri-natal asphyxia and 45 randomly selected healthy newborns. Results: Serum IL-6 concentrations in the infants who developed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy was 43 folds higher compared to values in the normal infants (p < 0.001) and 1.9 folds higher as compared to infants with asphyxia who did not subsequently develop hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (p <0.001). Serum IL-6 concentrations were also related to the degree of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and neurologicaldevelopmental outcomes at the time of discharge. Conclusion: Serum levels of IL-6 increased in neonates with asphyxia, and this was most pronounced in neonates with adverse outcomes.