Antibacterial Fractions from Erodium cicutarium Exposed-Clinical Strains of Staphylococcus aureus in Focus.

Followed by a buildup of its phytochemical profile, Erodium cicutarium is being subjected to antimicrobial investigation guided with its ethnobotanical use. The results of performed in vitro screening on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans strains, show that E. cicutarium has antimicrobial activity, with a particular emphasis on clinical S. aureus strains-both the methicillin sensitive (MSSA) and the methicillin resistant (MRSA) S. aureus. Experimental design consisted of general methods (the serial microdilution broth assay and the agar well diffusion assay), as well as observing bactericidal/bacteriostatic activity through time (the "time-kill" assay), investigating the effect on cell wall integrity and biofilm formation, and modulation of bacterial hemolysis. Observed antibacterial activity from above-described methods led to further activity-guided fractionation of water and methanol extracts using bioautography coupled with UHPLC-LTQ OrbiTrap MS4. It was determined that active fractions are predominantly formed by gallic acid derivatives and flavonol glycosides. Among the most active phytochemicals, galloyl-shikimic acid was identified as the most abundant compound. These results point to a direct connection between galloyl-shikimic acid and the observed E. cicutarium antibacterial activity, and open several new research approaches for future investigation.

Perceptions and attitudes of community pharmacists toward professional ethics and ethical dilemmas in the workplace.

BACKGROUND: Formal training in pharmacy ethics is relatively new in Croatia, and the professional code of ethics is more than 20 years old. Very little is known about how practicing pharmacists implement ethical considerations and relevant professional guidelines in their work. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to provide the first description of the perceptions and attitudes of Croatian community pharmacists toward ethics in pharmacy practice, how often they face certain ethical dilemmas and how they resolve them. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 252 community pharmacists, including community pharmacists and pre-licensing trainees, was conducted in Zagreb, Croatia. This group accounts for 18% of licensed pharmacists in Croatia. The survey questions included four sections: general sociodemographic information, multiple-choice questions, pre-defined ethical scenarios, and ethical scenarios filled in by respondents. RESULTS: More than half of pharmacists (62.7%) face ethical dilemmas in everyday work. Nearly all (94.4%) are familiar with the current professional code of ethics in Croatia, but only 47.6% think that the code reflects the changes that the pharmacy profession faces today. Most pharmacists (83.3%) solve ethical dilemmas on their own, while nearly the same proportion (75.4%) think that they are not adequately trained to deal with ethical dilemmas. The pre-defined ethical scenarios experienced by the largest proportion of pharmacists are being asked to dispense a drug to someone other than the patient (93.3%), an unnecessary over-the-counter medicine (84.3%), a generic medicine clinically equivalent to the prescribed one (79.4%), or hormonal contraception over the counter (70.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate a need to improve formal pharmacy ethics education and training in how to assess ethical issues and make appropriate decisions, which implies the need for stronger collaboration between pharmacists and their professional association. Our results also highlight an urgent need to revise and update the Croatian code of ethics for pharmacists.

Peer groups splitting in Croatian EQA scheme: a trade-off between homogeneity and sample size number.

BACKGROUND: Laboratory evaluation through external quality assessment (EQA) schemes is often performed as 'peer group' comparison under the assumption that matrix effects influence the comparisons between results of different methods, for analytes where no commutable materials with reference value assignment are available. With EQA schemes that are not large but have many available instruments and reagent options for same analyte, homogenous peer groups must be created with adequate number of results to enable satisfactory statistical evaluation. We proposed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)-based test to evaluate heterogeneity of peer groups within the Croatian EQA biochemistry scheme and identify groups where further splitting might improve laboratory evaluation. METHODS: EQA biochemistry results were divided according to instruments used per analyte and the MANOVA test was used to verify statistically significant differences between subgroups. The number of samples was determined by sample size calculation ensuring a power of 90% and allowing the false flagging rate to increase not more than 5%. When statistically significant differences between subgroups were found, clear improvement of laboratory evaluation was assessed before splitting groups. RESULTS: After evaluating 29 peer groups, we found strong evidence for further splitting of six groups. Overall improvement of 6% reported results were observed, with the percentage being as high as 27.4% for one particular method. CONCLUSIONS: Defining maximal allowable differences between subgroups based on flagging rate change, followed by sample size planning and MANOVA, identifies heterogeneous peer groups where further splitting improves laboratory evaluation and enables continuous monitoring for peer group heterogeneity within EQA schemes.

Association Between Serum Vitamin D Level and Glaucoma in Women.

The aim of the study was to determine whether serum vitamin D level is lower in female patients with glaucoma as compared with control group. The mechanism by which vitamin D reduces intraocular pressure is not fully clarified. Almost all tissues possess vitamin D receptor (VDR). The mice lacking VDR (VDR knockout mice) have greatly contributed to the understanding of the general vitamin D physiologic function. VDR has been found in some ganglion layer cells, external and internal nuclear layers of retina, and in retinal pigment epithelium, while VDR epitopes have also been found in the ciliary body epithelium, pointing to the role of this protein in eye physiology. The 1,25(OH)2D3 modulates expression of the genes involved in the regulation of intraocular pressure in non-human primates. Extracellular matrix can be remodeled by 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment. Actin disruption can lead to cell morphology alteration, trabecular meshwork relaxation and intraocular pressure reduction. This observational cross-sectional study included 90 female glaucoma subjects aged 45-55 and 50 glaucoma free female subjects as control group. Results of a pilot study conducted in 20 glaucoma subjects and 20 control subjects are presented below. All study subjects underwent history taking, complete ophthalmologic examination and serum vitamin D determination. The mean serum vitamin D level was 32.31 nmol/L in glaucoma patients and 64.17 nmol/L in control subjects. Serum vitamin D level was statistically significantly lower in glaucoma patients as compared with control group (p<0.05).

Morphological, genetic and phytochemical variation of the endemic Teucrium arduini L. (Lamiaceae).

Analysis of the morphological traits of leaves, genetic variability (analyzed by AFLP) and chemical composition of essential oils (analyzed by GC-MS) was conducted on eleven populations of the endemic Illyric-Balcanic species Teucrium arduini L. in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Average blade length and width ranged from 20.00 to 31.47mm and from 11.58 to 15.66mm, respectively. Multivariate analysis (PCA, UPGMA) of morphological traits distinguished two continental Bosnian populations from the remaining populations. AFLP analysis separated the investigated populations into two groups based primarily on geographical distance. Essential oil analysis showed a total of 52 compounds, with two chemotypes distinguished based on the essential oil profile. The first was a sesquiterpene chemotype, with ß-caryophyllene, germacrene D or caryophyllene oxide as the major compounds, while the second was an oxygenated monoterpene chemotype, with pulegone and piperitone oxide as the main components. The Mantel test showed a stronger correlation between the morphological traits and AFLP than between the essential oil profile and AFLP. The test also showed a stronger association between the essential oil profile and geographical position than between the morphological traits and geographical position.

Simultaneous RP-HPLC-DAD separation, and determination of flavonoids and phenolic acids in Plantago L. species.

A rapid reversed-phase (RP) high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed and applied for simultaneous separation, and determination of flavonoids and phenolic acids in eight Plantago L. taxa (P. altissima L., P. argentea Chaix, P. coronopus L., P. holosteum Scop. ssp. depauperata Pilger, P. holosteum ssp. holosteum, P. holosteum ssp. scopulorum (Degen) Horvatic, P. lagopus L., and P. maritima L.) growing in Croatia. Chromatographic separation was carried out on Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 using gradient elution with a H2 O (pH 2.5, adjusted with CF3 COOH) and MeCN mixture at 30°. The contents of analyzed phenolic compounds (% of the dry weight of the leaves, dw) varied among examined species: rutin (max. 0.024%, P. argentea), hyperoside (max. 0.020%, P. lagopus), quercitrin (max. 0.013%, P. holosteum ssp. holosteum), quercetin (max. 0.028%, P. holosteum ssp. scopulorum), chlorogenic acid (max. 0.115%, P. lagopus), and caffeic acid (max. 0.046%, P. coronopus). Isoquercitrin was detected only in P. argentea (0.020%), while isochlorogenic acid content was below limit of quantification in all investigated species. Multivariate analyses (UPGMA and PCA) showed significant differences in contents of investigated polyphenolic compounds between different Plantago taxa. Accordingly, investigated substances might be employed as chemotaxonomic markers in the study of the complex genus Plantago.