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Copyright of Advances in Biochemistry / Postepy Biochemii is the property of Polish Biochemical Society / Acta Biochimica Polonica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Advances in Biochemistry / Postepy Biochemii is the property of Polish Biochemical Society / Acta Biochimica Polonica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Annales Academiae Medicae Silesiensis is the property of Medical University of Silesia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cancer is one of the most serious problems facing modern medicine. Research on new methods of treating this disease is being conducted. Existing methods are increasingly effective, but they also have risks to human health. The attention of scientists is focused on compounds of natural origin, as they are less toxic to human body than traditional chemotherapeutics. They are also much more accessible and their production is much less complex and expensive. There are several natural compounds with anticancer potential. In this article, we present three groups of potential therapeutic importance - polyphenols, brassinosteroids, and flavonoids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The plants of Alpinia genus have been used in traditional medicine in Vietnam. They are perennial plants used for many decades to treat several ailments including pain, cold, stomach-ache or inflammation. Objective: The aim of this study was to isolate new metabolites from the Alpinia genus and report the chemical constituents from the rhizomes of A. blepharocalyx K. Schum. and their anti-inflammatory activity. Methods: The dried material was extracted using the maceration with methanol at a room temperature. The methanol extract was applied to column chromatograph to obtain purified compounds. The compounds were tested for their anti-inflammatory activity. Results: Chemical constituents from rhizomes of A. blepharocalyx showed six compounds, including 4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenoxy-ß-D-{3"-O-[4-hydroxy-3'-methoxy (benzoate)]}-glucopyranoside (1), desmethoxyyangonin (2), trans-resveratrol (3), zerumbone (4), bisdemethoxycurcumin (5), and demethoxycurcumin (6). These compounds may have potentials as anti-inflammatory agents. Compounds 1-6 showed moderate inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 7.66-14.06 µM. Conclusion: The rhizomes of A. blepharocalyx included bioactive compounds that could be used in food supplements as a natural anti-inflammatory agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of State & Society / Państwo i Społeczeństwo is the property of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, AFM Publishing Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Advances in Biochemistry / Postepy Biochemii is the property of Polish Biochemical Society / Acta Biochimica Polonica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Phyllanthus niruri L. (PnL) is a herbaceous plant containing flavonoid quercetin and can be used as an immunomodulator to prevent Covid-19. However, the flavonoid content and yield of herbs extract were not maximized. Therefore, PnL herbs were planted in various harvest periods and application of NPK-chitosan nanopolymer fertilizer to estimate these parameters. Objectives: Determine the effect of NPK-chitosan nanopolymer fertilizer and harvesting age on herb extracts also determine the grouping pattern and correlation between responses based on FTIR-ATR spectral pattern using a chemometric approach. Methods: Each group consisted of 50 plants. The formulation of NPK-chitosan nanopolymer fertilizer based on the dose of NPK consisting of the first dose is 15.5 grams/group, the second dose is 31 grams/group, and the third dose is 7.5 grams/group. Grouping of differences in harvesting age for plants consisted of 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the plant (WAP). Extraction used ultrasound-assisted extraction, and data were analyzed using a chemometric approach. Results: Extract with the highest yield was found in second harvest time and third doses of fertilizer (W2D3) which is 9.73 %, and the highest TFC obtained in an extract with second harvest time and first doses of fertilizer (W2D1) is 17.34 mg QE/g. Total flavonoid content and extract yield were influenced by functional groups at wavenumbers 3486.77-3157.12 cm-1 (1); 1740.96-1670.34 cm-1 (3); 1425.02-1272.62 cm-1 (5); 1257,753-1138,81 cm-1 (6); 1131.38-945.53 cm-1 (7); 711.36-529.23 cm-1 (8). Conclusions: The results showed that harvest time and fertilizer dose affected the growth parameters of PnL, total flavonoid content, and yield of extract. Functional groups in IR spectra also have positive and negative correlations with total flavonoid and yield extract responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dziki bez czarny (Sambucus nigra L.) jest jedną z najczęściej użytkowanych roślin zielarskich na świecie. W medycynie ludowej surowce czarnego bzu stosowane były przede wszystkim jako środki napotne, przeciwgorączkowe i moczopędne. Współcześnie udowodniono również działanie przeciwbakteryjne, przeciwwirusowe, przeciwdepresyjne, przeciwnowotworowe i hipoglikemizujące oraz obniżające stężenie tłuszczu i lipidów ekstraktów z bzu czarnego. Skład chemiczny kwiatów i owoców bzu czarnego jest zmienny i podlega różnym czynnikom zmienności (genetyczne, ontogenetyczne, środowiskowe, pozbiorcze). Kwiaty bzu czarnego zawierają flawonoidy, kwasy fenolowe, olejek eteryczny, kwasy organiczne, cukry i związki mineralne, podczas gdy w owocach dominują antocyjany. Bogaty skład chemiczny surowców bzu czarnego oraz ich silna aktywność biologiczna stwarzają duże możliwości zastosowania w produkcji farma­ceutycznej, spożywczej i kosmetycznej.

Copyright of Annales Horticulturae is the property of University of Life Sciences in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Advances in Biochemistry / Postepy Biochemii is the property of Polish Biochemical Society / Acta Biochimica Polonica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Agronomy Science is the property of University of Life Sciences in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zywnosc is the property of Polish Society of Food Technologists - Scientific Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rośliny z rodziny Lamiaceae są cenione jako gatunki lecznicze i przyprawowe. Celem badań było określenie zawartości związków fenolowych ogółem, flawonoidów, garbników i olejku eterycznego oraz aktywności antyoksydacyjnej liści, łodyg i ziela bazylii oraz melisy, jak również korelacji pomiędzy aktywnością antyoksydacyjną a zawartością związków aktywnych. Wykazano silne właściwości antyoksydacyjne liści i ziela bazylii oraz liści melisy. Stwierdzono również, że istnieje silna korelacja pomiędzy dużą zawartością flawonoidów, kwasów fenolowych oraz garbników a aktywnością antyoksydacyjną surowca bazylii i melisy oraz że zawartość olejku eterycznego jest pozytywnie skorelowana z aktywnością antyoksydacyjną bazylii i melisy.

Three-part beggarticks herb (Bidens tripartita L.) is a relatively unknown pharmaceutical and cosmetic raw material. This plant contains large amounts of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins and coumarins. The extract from the three-part beggarticks has excellent antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, nourishing and regenerating properties for the skin, and also soothes irritations and accelerates wound healing. The article presents the current review of scientific publications on the composition and biological properties of extracts from Bidens tripartita herb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Agricultura is the property of University of Technology & Life Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Southern sweet-grass is a perennial grass distributed through north-eastern Europe. In Poland, this rare, partially protected plant grows wild in well-lit coniferous or mixed forests. Its leaves, rich in coumarin compounds, are used for aromatization of alcohols. Taking into account high demand on this raw material and decrease in the number of southern sweet-grass populations it is recommended to introduce the plant into cultivation systems. In this study 12 populations of southern sweet-grass were selected and assessed in terms of their cultivation usefulness. The presence of associated plant species growing on its natural sites was investigated as well as light irradiance on those stands. The species was found in 3 types of forest communities. Air dry mass of leaves per plant varied in analyzed populations from 1.73 to 11.07 g. They were significantly diversified in the total content of coumarins (0.36–0.96%), flavonoids (0.09–0.26%) and polyphenolic acids (0.13–0.29%). The diversity concerning the content of coumarin, a quality indicator of leaves, was even higher. The content of this compound varied from 52.03 to 275.74 mg/100 g d. m. Among the analyzed populations, the most interesting seem to be population No. 12 (Jedwabno) and population No. 10 (Ruciane) characterized with relatively high mass of leaves and the highest content of the identified active compounds, including coumarin.

Hypertension is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Therapy requires modifying the diet and lifestyle in order to reduce body weight. The role of flavonoids in reducing blood pressure also seems interesting. Flavonoids are plant compounds. The main classes of flavonoids are flavons, isoflavons, flavonols, flavanols, flavanones, and anthocyanins. Numerous epidemiological studies have reported that a higher intake of flavonoids in a diet is associated with a decreased risk of hypertension. One of the mechanisms by which flavonoids can help to reduce blood pressure is their activity as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Various flavonoids have a different ability to inhibit ACE, which is dependent on their chemical structure. The ACE inhibitor activity is associated with three structural elements of flavonoids: the catechol group on the B-ring, C2-C3 double bond and the cetone group in C4 at the C-ring. Flavonoids may exhibit ACE inhibitor activity because of compete with the substrate (competitive inhibition). One of the studies showed that flavonoid activity, as an ACE inhibitor, may be dependent on the ACE genotype (I/I, I/D, D/D). The vasodilatory properties of flavonoids can help lower blood pressure. Authors of numerous studies have shown that these properties are associated with different mechanisms, e.g. activation of potassium channels, regulation of extracellular and intracellular Ca2+ level, stimulation of nitric oxide synthase and increased synthesis of nitric oxide. Based on the studies presented in this paper, it can be concluded that flavonoids may play an important role both in preventing hypertension and in supporting its treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum, Hypericaceae) is a ruderal plant commonly found in Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and in the north of Africa on dry, sunny meadows, fields and in bright forests. In Poland it is common throughout the area. The main ingredients are flavonoids (rutoside, quercitin, isoquercetin), naphthodianthrones (hypericin, pseudohypericin), phloroglucinol derivatives (hyperforin). St. John's wort is a medicinal plant known since antiquity and widely used thanks to its biological properties. Currently, herbal infusions are used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, while the ethanolic extracts containing hypericin and hyperforin influence the central nervous system and act as an auxiliary in the treatment of moderate states of depression. Already in the days of Paracelsus (1493-1541) St. John's wort was used in neurological and psychiatric diseases such as neuralgia, anxiety, and depression. Currently, the plant, after years of oblivion, regains its lost position as a valuable healing agent. The aim of the research was to determine the profile of active compounds and to compare the composition of the herb Hyperici herba depending on the place of harvest. The analysis of the raw material collected from two natural sites has not shown that the place of harvest has a significant impact on the profile of active compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plon oraz skład chemiczny surowców zielarskich podlegają różnym rodzajom zmienności. Przedstawione badania miały na celu porównanie wielkości i składu chemicznego plonu surowca krwawnika pospolitego i wrotyczu pospolitego, pochodzącego z uprawy i ze stanu naturalnego. Wykazano, że rośliny pochodzące z uprawy odznaczają się większym plonem świeżego i powietrznie suchego ziela oraz większym plonem ziela otartego niż pochodzące ze stanu naturalnego. Kwiatostan i ziele krwawnika zbierane z roślin dziko rosnących odznaczają się istotnie większym udziałem olejku eterycznego (średnio 0,5%) niż pochodzące z uprawy (średnio 0,3%). Zawartość olejku eterycznego i flawonoidów u wrotyczu związana jest przede wszystkim ze zbieranym organem rośliny.

W latach 2014–2016 w warunkach klimatyczno-glebowych środkowej Lubelszczyzny przeprowadzono doświadczenie polowe, którego celem było określenie wpływu systemów uprawy (konwencjonalnego i ekologicznego) oraz trzech biopreparatów aplikowanych dolistnie (Herbagreen Basic, Bio-algeen, EM Farming) na plonowanie i jakość surowca rumianku pospolitego. Oznaczono wysokość roślin, liczbę kwiatostanów na roślinie, ogólny plon surowca oraz zawartość w surowcu olejku eterycznego i flawonoidów. Udowodniono, że tradycyjna (system konwencjonalny) uprawa rumianku wpływała na poprawę cech biometrycznych i zwiększenie produkcyjności rośliny, jak również stymulowała poprawę cech jakościowych w porównaniu z uprawą ekologiczną. Biopreparaty miały niewielki wpływ na analizowane cechy. Tendencję korzystnego działania na formowanie ilościowych i jakościowych cech rumianku pospolitego zaobserwowano w przypadku stymulatora wzrostu Bio-algeen. Nawóz dolistny Herbagreen Basic, a zwłaszcza efektywne mikroorganizmy (EM Farming) miały neutralny bądź negatywny wpływ na analizowane parametry rumianku pospolitego.

Badania prowadzono w latach 2010 i 2012 w celu określenia wpływu odmiany na wzrost, plon i skład chemiczny surowca nagietka lekarskiego. Obiektem badań były rośliny 3 odmian nagietka: ‘Pacific Persimon Beauty’, ‘Radio Brzoskwiniowy’ i ‘Santana Słomkowożółty’, różniące się intensywnością barwy kwiatów. Badane odmiany nagietka charakteryzowały się istotnym zróżnicowaniem pod względem średniej wysokości rośliny i średnicy kwiatostanu oraz porównywalnym plonem surowca. Średni plon świeżej i powietrznie suchej masy koszyczków wynosił odpowiednio: 9,7 i 1,6 kg · 100 m–2. Stwierdzono zróżnicowany udział kwiatostanów pełnych w ogólnej ich liczbie, który był najkorzystniejszy u odmiany o kwiatach żółtych (‘Santana Słomkowżółty’). Badane rośliny nagietka gromadziły średnio w 100 g powietrznie suchej masy kwiatostanów 2,03 g karotenoidów ogółem. Udział β-karotenu w karotenoidach ogółem wynosił średnio 61,3%. Istotnie najwięcej karotenoidów ogółem i β-karotenu stwierdzono w 100 g masy surowca odmiany ‘Radio Brzoskwiniowy’ (odpowiednio: 2,29 i 2,00 g). Zawartość flawonoidów w badanym surowcu mieściła się w zakresie od 0,10 do 0,36%, w zależności od odmiany.

Anthocyanins, one group of flavonoids, widely occur in vascular plants. The natural structural form is glycosides or acylglycosides of anthocyanidins. Anthocyanins produce a wide range of colours such as red, blue, purple and black in many flowers, vegetables and fruits, and they have been used as natural food colourants. However, anthocyanin containing products are susceptible to color deterioration during processing and storage. Nevertheless, their bright colors, water solubility that allows their incorporation into aqueous systems and a number of health benefits, such as, improved visual acuity, and anticancer and antiviral activities make them important and attractive objects for study. Anthocyanins can be used not only as food and beverage additive to obtain attractive natural coloration, but also for generating pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. This publication is a review work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polska zajmuje czołowe miejsce w Europie w uprawie roślin zielarskich. Jednym z ważniejszych gatunków uprawnych jest nagietek lekarski, mający szerokie zastosowanie w przemyśle farmaceutycznym, kosmetycznym i spożywczym. Celem przeprowadzonego doświadczenia było zbadanie wpływu zróżnicowanego zagęszczenia roślin (20, 40, 60 i 80 roślin na m2) na ich wybrane cechy morfologiczne oraz plony i jakość koszyczków kwiatowych nagietka lekarskiego. Najwięcej koszyczków kwiatowych (zarówno pod względem liczby, jak i masy) w przeliczeniu na pojedynczą roślinę stwierdzono przy zagęszczeniu 20 szt. · m-2. Natomiast najwięcej koszyczków kwiatowych w przeliczeniu na jednostkę powierzchni zanotowano w obiekcie o zagęszczeniu 40 szt. · m-2, w którym uzyskano także największy plon surowca. Wzrastające zagęszczenie roślin nie miało istotnego wpływu na wielkość koszyczków (z widoczną jednak tendencją do zmniejszania ich średnicy). Zwiększające się zagęszczenie roślin powodowało spadek zawartości olejku eterycznego, nie miało natomiast wpływu na poziom flawonoidów.

Quercetin is a plant flavonoid phytochemical exhibiting a broad spectrum of properties i.a. antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. However, the effect of quercetin is not clear. This compound at low concentrations can stimulate proliferation of human cells, so it can be a potential drug in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and in high concentrations, it induces apoptosis thereby eliminating the infected or abnormal cells and can serve as a potential anticancer drug with wide clinical application. Action of quercetin can be explained by its interference with cellular enzymes, receptors, transporters and signalling system. Due to its widespread occurrence in the plant world, it is an integral component of the human diet. The dietary quercetin occurs most often in the form of β-glycosides connected mostly with rutinose, rhamnose and glucose. Depending on the nutritional habits, the daily intake of flavonoids, including quercetin, ranges from 3 to 70 mg. Epidemiological studies confirm an inverse correlation between the consumption of flavonoids and the incidence of lifestyle diseases and tumor formation. Published data indicate that consumption of foods rich in flavonoids reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Thus, flavonoids - including quercetin - seem to be an interesting pro-health agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supplement of dietary according to many definitions and explanations is a product designed to complement the deficiency of a normal diet. In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, these preparations approved for distribution in Polish Republic must have been complied with the relevant standards and meet certain requirements. Nowadays, with the development of pharmacology and broadening of knowledge, the term "dietary supplement" ceases to be just seen as something that has to make up the shortfall. Increasingly these products have become an indispensable element in the treatment process on an equal footing are used in therapy or even replace the previously used drugs. Such a formulation is the product sold under the form of capsules for convenient application. The form of the capsule not only improves the quality of the reception, but also reduces the absorption time in the gastrointestinal tract. The supplement consists of: an extract of butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus), hesperidin and L-ascorbic acid. This formulation exhibits antioxidant activity, seals the inner membrane blood vessel; anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory. But the main effect is to improve the tonus of venous vessel wall and the efficiency of the venous valves. Therefore that product, works in the treatment of chronic venous disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoids are considered very efficient radical scavengers and found in almost every plant. Antioxidant activities of flavonoids and a few popular kinds of bee honeys were investigated using absorbance spectroscopy. Spectral methods are powerful tools for the study of biologically active compounds and allow measurements of low concentrated substances under physiological conditions. Quercetin, naringenin, catechin, 3-hydroxyflavone were studied during the reaction with the 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·). The results suggest that quercetin and catechin are better antioxidants than vitamin C. Among the analyzed honeys buckwheat honey exhibited the strongest antioxidant properties. Kinetic studies of the radical-scavenging activity were also performed. One can observe that popular vitamin C reduces free radicals instantly after adding to the solution, while flavonoids cause rather an exponential decay in concentration of the free radicals in the solutions. Our results show that adding of CuCl2 to the solution of DPPH and quercetin did not influence the level of antioxidant capacity of quercetin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been growing interest in substances with antioxidative properties, which reduce or prevent harmful effects of free radicals on living tissues, and inhibit aging processes and the development of certain diseases. The objective of this paper is to review new methods of obtaining antioxidants of plant origin and new trends in research aiming to improve their quality and profitability on an industrial scale. Among the issues discussed, there are the methods that use techniques of plant and microbial genetic engineering. A brief description of antioxidants and natural sources of their occurrence is also presented in this paper. In view of the fact that the biosynthesis of flavonoids and isoflavonoids is probably the best-known metabolic pathway of natural plant products, the review of achievements of recent years in the field of metabolic engineering was shown with the example of flavonoids. The modifications of flavonoid biosynthetic pathways were related to changes in the expression level of structural or regulatory genes, silencing of competitive genes or modifying catalytic properties of enzymes using techniques of protein engineering. The paper also presents the achievements of microorganism engineering in the field of application of fermentation processes as a source of specific flavonoid compounds, which was possible by designing the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway in cells of microorganisms such as the bacterium E. coli or S. cerevisiae, baker’s yeast. Both approaches can be used in the production of flavonoids attractive in terms of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Elementology is the property of Journal of Elementology - issued by Polish Magnesium Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During recent 10 years, numerous biological, clinical and epidemiological studies have been aimed at explaining the health-related role of natural plant polyphenols (i.e. fla-vonoids and stilbens) in human health. The consequences of some polyphenols effects are effective protection and reduction of the risk of many disorders (e.g. cardiovascu-lar, neurodegenerative and cancer diseases) which were initiated by reactive free radicals. The polyphenols action results from their antioxidant activity leading to decrease in the level of reactive oxygen species and reactive carcino-genic metabolites. The studies of several scientific groups and of our team indicate that natural plant flavonoids and stilbens contained in vegetables, fruits and herbs modulate, by epigenetic mechanism, expression of tumour suppressor genes, encod-ing proteins that participate in regulation of intracellular signal pathways, inhibition of cell cycle and/or in stimulation of proapoptotic genes. Thus, natural bioactive compounds which inhibit cancer cell growth, invasive capacities, and metastases can be efficacious in both cancer therapy, cancer prevention and stimulation of the anticancer drugs effects. The present article includes scientific knowledge about sources of the plant flavonoids and stilbens, their chemical structure, bioavaibility and anitioxidant properties. There are also explained the compounds epigenetical mechanism of the anticancer actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some eye's disorders lead to blindness and are one of a many consequences of chronic hyperglycemia due to diabetes. An opacification of the lens induced by an accumulation of sorbitol is a one of the most important cause of diabetic cataract. Aldose reductase (AR) is a enzyme which convert glucose or galactose into sorbitol in polyol path. Some plant-derived substances inhibit aldose reductase in vitro. A some selected plants and it's flavonoid compounds with inhibitory activity on aldose reductase are described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Elementology is the property of Journal of Elementology - issued by Polish Magnesium Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many toxic or carcinogenic substances reveal their harmful properties only when activated to a compound with high affinity to nucleophylic groups, which are present in proteins and nucleic acids. After binding to DNA these compounds may induce carcinogenic mutation of genetic material. Increased activation or reduced detoxication of potentially carcinogenic xenobiotics disturbs cellular equlibrium and leads to carcinogenesis. Flavonoids and furanocoumarines contained in grapefruit juice were known to inhibit activity of many enzymes and were shown to inhibit in vitro activity of isoenzyme CYP2D6 with genetically induced polymophism. The aim of this work was to assess the significance of grapefruit juice flavonoids and furanocoumarines as chemopreventive factors against toxic and carcinogenic activity of xenobiotics with genetically determined metabolism by determining their influence on cytochrome P450 isoenzyme CYP2D6 activity. Material and metod. The trial included 32 healthy volunteers taking in grapefruit juice (16), orange juice (8) or fresh water (8). Oxidative phenotype and genotype were determined by analytic methods. Phenotype tests conducted prior to and after commencement of 5 days long intake of correspondingly grapefruit juice, orange juice or water revealed differences in metabolic ratio (MR) values among groups. Results. Grapefruit juice drinkers had mean value of metabolic ratio (MR) increased by 34%. Conclusions. Our investigation have shown that regular grapefriut juice consumption may be cosidered only as supportive measure against toxic and carcinogenic influence of environmental factors and industrial polution such as combustion gases, cigarette smoke and other toxic substances, particularly in patients with high risk of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]