Prickly Pear Betalain-Rich Extracts as New Promising Strategy for Intestinal Inflammation: Plant Complex vs. Main Isolated Bioactive Compounds.

Recently, many studies have highlighted the health effects of betalains beyond their use as food dyes. The present study investigated betalain-rich extracts with different colors and their main bioactive compounds in order to provide first evidence as a new promising strategy for intestinal inflammation management. Prickly pear betalain-rich extracts, obtained by a QuEChERS method, have been characterized by LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS analysis. The potential role of betanin, indicaxanthin, and prickly pear extracts in counteracting the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory events was evaluated by several in vitro cell-free and cell-based assays. Indicaxanthin and betanin represent the most abundant compounds (≥22.27 ± 4.50 and 1.16 ± 0.17 g/100 g dry extract, respectively). Prickly pear extracts showed the strongest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities with respect to the pure betalains both on in vitro cell-free and cell-based assays, demonstrating the occurrence of synergistic activity, without any cytotoxicity or alteration of the barrier systems. The release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and key inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, and NO) was strongly inhibited by both betalains and even more by prickly pear extracts, which showed a similar and sometimes better profile than the reference compounds trolox and dexamethasone in counteracting the IL-1ß-induced intestinal inflammation.

Massive infection of Cystidicoloides ephemeridarum in brown trout Salmo trutta with skeletal deformities.

We investigated the cause of skeletal deformities found in brown trout from the Aspromonte mountain area in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Toxicological, histopathological and parasitological analyses were carried out on 14 fish with evident macro-morphological alterations from 2 different locations in the same river, and 4 control fish without morphological alterations from a different river (far from the first river but still within the area under study). Histopathological and radiological observations confirmed severe skeletal deformities in the specimens investigated. Parasitological examinations highlighted the presence of the nematode Cystidicoloides ephemeridarum, found only within the gastrointestinal tract of specimens showing deformities. Moreover, a direct correlation between parasite number and fish size was found. Given the low heavy metal levels and the presence of a massive parasitosis in teleosts showing deformities, we postulate a correlation between skeletal deformities and nematode infestation: the parasites caused a serious vitamin and mineral deficiency in the fish, which led to a dysplastic vertebral column. The low calcium levels found in malformed specimens compared with negative controls effectively confirm this hypothesis.

Distribución anual de partos en caprinos del sudoeste de la provincia de Chaco, Argentina / Annual distribution of births in goats in the southwest of the province of Chaco, Argentina

Resumen La distribución de los partos en majadas caprinas a lo largo del año determina el volumen de oferta comercial en la misma. Sin embargo esto podría estar condicionado por el sistema de manejo empleado. Es por ello que el objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la distribución de los partos en hatos de cabras del sudoeste de la provincia del Chaco, Argentina y su relación con el sistema productivo utilizado. El estudio se llevó adelante mediante el relevamiento de 541 nacimientos en 6 establecimientos bajo 2 tipos de manejo: extensivo (n=447) y semi-intensivo (n=93). Los datos fueron tomados en planillas de registros por cada productor caprino. Se realizó un análisis exploratorio y descriptivo mediante el software estadístico Infostat. Se observó que la mayor concentración de los partos ocurrió principalmente en los meses de invierno y otoño en los sistemas extensivos, sin embargo se encontraron diferencias con el sistema semi-intensivo, en donde la ocurrencia de nacimientos fue homogénea a lo largo del año con un leve incremento en los meses de primavera. Se concluye que la distribución de los partos está afectada por el tipo de sistema productivo utilizado, pudiéndose lograr una oferta comercial uniforme a lo largo del año con la intensificación del sistema.

Abstract Annual distribution of births in goats in the southwest of the province of Chaco, Argentina. The distribution of births in goats during the year determines the volume of commercial along the year. However, this could be condicionated by the management system used. Therefore the objective of this work was to evaluate the distribution of births in herds of goats in the southwest of the province of Chaco, Argentina. The study was carried out by surveying 541 births in 6 establishments under 2 types of management: extensive (n= 447) and semi-intensive (n= 93). The data were taken in spreadsheets by each goat producer. An exploratory and descriptive analysis was carried out using the Infostat statistical software. It was observed that the highest concentration of births occurred mainly in the months of winter and autumn in the extensive systems, however differences were found with the semi-intensive system, where the occurrence of births was homogeneous throughout the year with a slight increase in the spring months. In conclusion, the distribution of births is affected by the type of production system used, achieving a uniform commercial offer throughout the year with the intensification of the system.

The problem of misidentification between edible and poisonous wild plants: Reports from the Mediterranean area.

Today, in many European countries, people are looking for wild edible plants to experience new tastes and flavors, by following the new trend of being green and environmentally friendly. Young borage and spinach leaves can be easily confused by inexpert pickers with those of other plants, including poisonous ones, such as Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. (mandrake) or Digitalis purpurea L. (foxglove), common in southern and northern Italy respectively. In the last twenty years, several cases of intoxication by accidental ingestion of mandrake and foxglove have been reported. The purpose of this work was to perform a pharmacognostic characterization of young leaves from borage, mandrake, foxglove and spinach, by micro-morphological, molecular and phytochemical techniques. The results showed that each of the three techniques investigated could be sufficient alone to provide useful information for the identification of poisonous species helping the medical staff to manage quickly the poisoned patients. However, the multi-disciplinary approach proposed could be very useful to asses the presence of poisonous plants in complex matrices, to build a database containing morphological, molecular and phytochemical data for the identification of poisonous species or in forensic toxicology, given their increasingly frequent use due to their low cost and relatively common availability.

Polyphenolic profile and biological activities of black carrot crude extract (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.).

Black carrot (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) is a valuable source of carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins and contains also high amounts of anthocyanins giving the characteristic deep-purple color. These latter compounds are known as natural dyes used in the food and pharmaceutical industry that have recently attracted much attention for their healthful properties. The aim of this work was to investigate for the first time the polyphenolic profile and biological properties of a black carrot crude extract (BCCE) through an in-depth analysis of the main polyphenolic classes evaluating its antioxidant, cytoprotective and anti-angiogenic properties. Twenty five polyphenols were quantified by LC-DAD-FLD-MS/MS analysis (anthocyanins 78.06%, phenolic acids 17.89% and other flavonoids 4.06%) with polyglycosylated cyanidins as major components. In addition, BCCE showed a strong antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity particularly in the hydrogen transfer-based assays (ORAC and ß-carotene bleaching) and a significant increase in the cell viability. Furthermore, BCCE exhibited a strong anti-angiogenic activity at the highest concentration assayed on the chick chorioallantoic membrane (50µg/egg). In conclusion, the obtained results demonstrated the antioxidant, cytoprotective and anti-angiogenic properties of BCCE, which highlight that the higher biological activity of BCCE is probably due to the synergic effects exerted by various polyphenolic classes.