[Gastroprotective and antidepressant-like effect of plum pectin (Prunus domestica L.) under water-immobilization stress in laboratory mice].

Stress effects activate the processes of free radical oxidation in the organism, lead to hyper production of reactive radicals and oxidative stress, provoking the development of an inflammatory process in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Pectin polysaccharides together with the enzyme components of the endogenous antioxidant system contribute to the elimination of the imbalance between prooxidants and antioxidants in the tissues of stressed animals and have a gastroprotective and antidepressant-like effect. The aim of the research was to evaluate the gastroprotective, antioxidant and antidepressant-like effect of plum pectin orally administered to white laboratory mice before stressful exposure. Material and methods. In the experiment on white BALB/c mice weighing 20-25 g (90 males, 10 in each group), pectin isolated from fresh plum fruits in an artificial gastric environment was used. It was administered orally to mice 24 h before the onset of stress exposure or behavioral activity asessment. 50 animals were subjected to 5 h of water immersion stress. After this corticosterone concentration in blood plasma, and the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the tissue supernatants of the gastrointestinal tract were determined, and the condition of the gastric mucosa was also assessed. Behavioral activity of experimental mice (n=30) was assessed in the open field and forced swimming tests. Results. The stress effect was accompanied by an increase in plasma corticosterone concentration (more than 3 fold), in the activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase in the tissues of the stomach wall and small intestine (17.9-28.6%) and destructive damage in the gastric mucosa compared with the indices of intact animals. Preliminary oral administration of plum pectin to animals at a dose of 80 mg per 1 kg of body weight helped to reduce the level of corticosterone and the number of stress-induced hemorrhages on the gastric mucosa, normalized the activity of antioxidant enzymes and also decreased the immobility time of mice in the forced swimming test. Preliminary oral administration of plum pectin to animals at a dose of 80 mg per 1 kg of body weight prevented an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, corticosterone in the blood and the development of stress-induced hemorrhages on the gastric mucosa, and reduced the time of immobility of mice in the forced swimming test. Conclusion. Plum fruit pectin pre-administered into mice before stress prevents stress-induced damage in the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, contributing to an increase in the body's resistance to the stress factor. Plum pectin has an antioxidant, gastroprotective and antidepressant-like effect and can be used as an ingredient in functional foods that reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract under stress.

Effects of pectin polysaccharides on leukocyte migration into the oral cavity during exercise.

The effects of pectin polysaccharides on leukocyte migration into the oral cavity during exercise were studied. The migration and hence, counts of neutrophils in the oral cavity increased during exercise. Pectins reduced neutrophil migration into the oral cavity during exercise because of hyperstimulation of their functional activity.

Chemical characterization and anti-inflammatory effect of rauvolfian, a pectic polysaccharide of Rauvolfia callus.

The pectic polysaccharide named rauvolfian RS was obtained from the dried callus of Rauvolfia serpentina L. by extraction with 0.7% aqueous ammonium oxalate. Crude rauvolfian RS was purified using membrane ultrafiltration to yield the purified rauvolfian RSP in addition to glucan as admixture from the callus, with molecular weights 300 and 100-300 kD, respectively. A peroral pretreatment of mice with the crude and purified samples of rauvolfian (RS and RSP) was found to decrease colonic macroscopic scores, the total area of damage, and tissue myeloperoxidase activity in colons as compared with a colitis group. RS and RSP were shown to stimulate production of mucus by colons of the colitis mice. RSP appeared to be an active constituent of the parent RS. The glucan failed to possess anti-inflammatory activity.

[Inhibition of neutrophil adhesion by pectic galacturonans].

The inhibition of the adhesion of neutrophils to fibronectin by the fragments of the main galacturonan chain of the following pectins was demonstrated: comaruman from the marsh cinquefoil Comarum polustre, bergenan from the Siberian tea Bergenia crassifolia, lemnan from the duckweed Lemna minor, zosteran from the seagrass Zostera marina, and citrus pectin. The parent pectins, except for comaruman, did not affect the cell adhesion. Galacturonans prepared from the starting pectins by acidic hydrolysis were shown to reduce the neutrophil adhesion stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (1.625 microM) and dithiothreitol (0.5 mM) at a concentration of 50-200 microg/ml. The presence of carbohydrate chains with molecular masses higher than 300, from 100 to 300, and from 50 to 100 kDa in the galacturonan fractions was proved by membrane ultrafiltration.

Adhesion of human neutrophils to fibronectin is inhibited by comaruman, pectin of marsh cinquefoil Comarum palustre L., and by its fragments.

Earlier, we detected antiinflammatory action of comaruman, pectin of the marsh cinquefoil Comarum palustre L. This effect can be explained by new data concerning inhibition of adhesion of human neutrophils to fibronectin by comaruman and its fragments. The galacturonan backbone fragment of molecular mass >10 kD appears to be the active region of the comaruman macromolecule. Comaruman CP (50-200 microg/ml) was found to decrease adhesion of neutrophils stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 1.625 microM) and by dithiothreitol (DTT, 0.5 mM). The fragments of comaruman CP-H (100 kD), CP-H1 (10-50 kD), and CP-H2 (100 kD) obtained by acidic hydrolysis and representing regions of linear polygalacturonan are shown to inhibit neutrophil adhesion more than the crude pectin. A fragment CP-E (<10 kD) obtained using pectinolysis and representing a branched region of the comaruman macromolecule failed to influence cell adhesion. The parent comaruman CP as well as fragments of its polygalacturonan backbone diminish PMA-initiated generation of oxygen radicals in neutrophils.

[Respiratory function of the blood in the cat in hyperoxia]. / Dykhatel'naia funktsiia krovi koshki pri giperoksii.

The influence of isobaric hyperoxia (99% O2, 760 mm Hg, 3 hours a day for 2 weeks) on the respiratory function of the mongrel adult cats blood was investigated. An increase of the reticulocyte count (by 170%), and a fall of methemoglobin concentration in the blood (by 33%), and a decrease of the affinity of cat hemoglobin oxygen affinity (by 13%)8 and of the cooperation effect of Hill's constant (by 16%) were observed. Dialysis of hemoglobin solutions eliminated the difference in the hemoglobin oxygen affinity of control and experimental animals. The number of hemoglobin fractions and their mobility was found to be unchanged (according to the agar electrophoresis method). A conclusion was drawn that the cat erythrocytes reaction to hyperoxia was a typical autoregulation; on its basis hemoglobin acquired a lesser oxygen affinity under conditions of an excess of this gas.