Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Effects of Prunella vulgaris in Experimental Acute Inflammation.

Prunella vulgaris (PV) is one of the most commonly used nutraceuticals as it has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical composition of PV and its in vivo antioxidant properties. A phytochemical analysis measuring the total phenolic content (TPC), the identification of phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD-ESI, and the evaluation of the in vitro antioxidant activity by the DPPH assay of the extract were performed. The antioxidant effects on inflammation induced by turpentine oil were experimentally tested in rats. Seven groups with six animals each were used: a control group, the experimental inflammation treatment group, the experimental inflammation and diclofenac sodium (DS) treatment group, and four groups with their inflammation treated using different dilutions of the extract. Serum redox balance was assessed based on total oxidative status (TOS), nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total thiols, and an oxidative stress index (OSI) contents. The TPC was 0.28 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL extract, while specific representatives were represented by caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, dihydroxybenzoic acid, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, rosmarinic acid, vanillic acid, apigenin-glucuronide, hesperidin, kaempferol-glucuronide. The highest amount (370.45 µg/mL) was reported for hesperidin, which is a phenolic compound belonging to the flavanone subclass. The antioxidant activity of the extracts, determined using the DPPH assay, was 27.52 mmol Trolox/mL extract. The PV treatment reduced the oxidative stress by lowering the TOS, OSI, NO, and MDA and by increasing the TAC and thiols. In acute inflammation, treatment with the PV extract reduced oxidative stress, with lower concentrations being more efficient and having a better effect than DS.

Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Romanian Carpatina Goats Using SNP Genotyping Data.

Animal husbandry is one of man's oldest occupations. It began with the domestication of animals and developed continuously, in parallel with the evolution of human society. The selection and improvement of goats in Romania was not a clearly defined objective until around 1980. In recent years, with the increasing economic value given to goats, breeding programs are becoming established. In Romania, a few goat genetic studies using microsatellites and mtDNA have been carried out; however, a systematic characterization of the country's goat genomic resources remains missing. In this study, we analyzed the genetic variability of Carpatina goats from four distinct geographical areas (northern, north-eastern, eastern and southern Romania), using the Illumina OvineSNP60 (RefSeq ARS1) high-density chip for 67 goats. Heterozygosity values, inbreeding coefficients and effective population size across all autosomes were calculated for those populations that inhabit high- and low-altitude and high- and low-temperature environments. Diversity, as measured by expected heterozygosity (HE), ranged from 0.413 in the group from a low-temperature environment to 0.420 in the group from a high-temperature environment. Within studied groups, the HT (high temperature) goats were the only group with a positive but low average inbreeding coefficient value, which was 0.009. After quality control (QC) analysis, 46,965 SNPs remained for analysis (MAF < 0.01). LD was calculated for each chromosome separately. The Ne has been declining since the time of domestication, having recently reached 123, 125, 185 and 92 for the HA (high altitude), LA (low altitude), HT (high temperature) and LT (low temperature) group, respectively. Our study revealed a low impact of inbreeding in the Carpatina population, and the Ne trend also indicated a steep decline in the last hundred years. These results will contribute to the genetic improvement of the Carpatina breed.