Metabolite Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Some Species of Genus Scutellaria Growing in Bulgaria.

Until now, the interest to plants from genus Scutellaria in Bulgaria has been focused mainly on the terpenes in them. The purpose of this study is to enrich the information on the composition of the Bulgarian Scutellaria species in terms of both polyphenolic content as well as primary metabolites such as mono-, oligosaccharides and organic acids. An aerial part of three Scutellaria species growing in four low mountain regions of Southern Bulgaria was used. The flavonoids scutellarin, baicalin, baicalein, wogonin, wogonoside, luteolin, chrysin and a caffeoyl phenylethanoid glycoside-verbascoside have been identified via HPLC in different extracts from Scutellaria altissima, Scutellaria albida and Scutellaria galericulata. The antioxidant activity of the extracts has been evaluated. The Scutellaria altissima from Mezek and Scutellaria galericulata from Parvenets we studied, which are the richest in flavonoids (represented mainly by baicalin, scutellarin and wogonoside), show the highest Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. Hydroxyl Radical Averting Capacity of Scutellaria albida from Mezek and Scutellaria altissima from Bachkovo is the most pronounced, probably due to the content of scutellarin and luteolin and chrysin, respectively. Antioxidant activity of aqueous, methanolic and 70% and 96% ethanol extracts were also determined by the electrochemical method.

Study of total antioxidant activity of human serum blood in the pathology of alcoholism.

The total antioxidant activity (TAA) of human serum blood of patients suffering from alcoholism was tested by cathode voltammetry with a model process of oxygen electroreduction. A known spectrophotometrical method was used for comparison. As results the total antioxidant activity of serum blood of patients with alcoholism was estimated by voltammetry during therapy in hospital. It was shown the TAA of serum blood of patients in pathology before and after treatment is lower than that one of healthy people. However, during the process of 10 days of alcoholism treatment the TAA coefficient increases. The relationship between the coefficient of total antioxidant activity of human serum blood and the stage of treatment was detected.

Study of OH radicals in human serum blood of healthy individuals and those with pathological schizophrenia.

The human body is constantly under attack from free radicals that occur as part of normal cell metabolism, and by exposure to environmental factors such as UV light, cigarette smoke, environmental pollutants and gamma radiation. The resulting "Reactive Oxygen Species" (ROS) circulate freely in the body with access to all organs and tissues, which can have serious repercussions throughout the body. The body possesses a number of mechanisms both to control the production of ROS and to cope with free radicals in order to limit or repair damage to tissues. Overproduction of ROS or insufficient defense mechanisms leads to a dangerous disbalance in the organism. Thereby several pathomechanisms implicated in over 100 human diseases, e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, physiological disease, aging, etc., can be induced. Thus, a detailed investigation on the quantity of oxygen radicals, such as hydroxyl radicals (OH(•)) in human serum blood, and its possible correlation with antioxidant therapy effects, is highly topical. The subject of this study was the influence of schizophrenia on the amount of OH(•) in human serum blood. The radicals were detected by fluorimetry, using terephthalic acid as a chemical trap. For all experiments the serum blood of healthy people was used as a control group.