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Plants are producers of many secondary metabolites with biological activities like alkaloids, terpenes, lignans, tannins, and phenolic compounds which can be used in the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Because of the complex chemical structure, these compounds are difficult to synthesize at an industrial level. Thus, using appropriate extraction methodologies to obtain extract rich in these phytochemicals is crucial. In this context, infusion, maceration, percolation, and soxhlet are currently used traditional extraction methodologies to produce drug from medicinal plants. However, to improve the extraction performance, other innovative techniques like ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, and supercritical fluid extraction have been developed in the recent years. The parameters and procedures of these techniques play an important role in the extraction performance and yield of these metabolites. This chapter aims to present and compare extraction procedures of phytochemicals from medicinal plants as well as describe some trends in the natural compounds biology to improve the production of the secondary metabolites from medicinal plants.
The purpose of this communication is to describe the unique features of the investigative protocols of both MAPEC and Hygia Chronotherapy Trial and to discuss in detail the advantages, limitations, and potential implications of their findings, both for the diagnosis and management of true arterial hypertension that we propose must be defined according to ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)-based criteria. In particular, the recommended approach for diagnosis and follow-up of hypertension derived from the findings of MAPEC and Hygia Chronotherapy Trial entails baseline 48-h ABPM assessment for both proper diagnosis of true arterial hypertension and establishment of the eventual need of therapeutic intervention, plus follow-up by periodic 48-h ABPM assessment, specifically for evaluation of timed treatment efficacy and safety.
Summary 1. There is growing evidence that sexually mature but morphologically juvenile males of Atlantic salmon (precocious or mature male parr) actively participate in reproduction and, therefore, in the genetic composition of the populations of this species. The impact of mature male parr on the effective population size ( N e ) of such populations has been previously studied under experimental settings, but no studies have been performed directly on natural populations. 2. Continuous monitoring and sampling of all sea returns is possible in the Lérez River (northwest of Spain). From demographic data on variances of reproductive success and genetic data from six microsatellite marker loci we carried out parentage assignment and assessed the impact of male parr on demographic and genetic estimates of N e in two consecutive years. 3. Our results reveal that: (i) approximately 60% of the total sire paternity is attributable to mature parr; (ii) mature parr decrease the variance of reproductive success of males by a threefold factor and increase the effective population size of males by a 10‐fold factor; (iii) however, they do not substantially affect the variance of reproductive success and the effective size of females; (iv) mature parr increase two‐to threefold the overall effective size of the population but the ratio N e / N , where N is the population size including or not mature parr in each case, is not affected.
Circadian (8/24 hours) variations in serum nitric oxide (NO), total tissue factor pathway inhibitor (T-TFPI), and E-selectin levels were studied in healthy adults and in subjects with type II diabetes. We postulated a possibility a functional relationship between them because vascular endothelium is the primary site of their synthesis and functions. NO is released by the action of eNO synthase isoform and modulates physiologic responses (e.g., vascular dilation, relaxation, increasing blood flow, inhibition of platelet and white blood cell adhesion); T-TFPI, a coagulation inhibitor, is also released from endothelial cells, and is bound to plasma lipoproteins and to glycosaminoglycans; E-selectin is expressed on endothelial cells after activation by inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α) and elevated levels have been reported in a variety of pathologic conditions, including diabetes. We found that obese diabetic subjects had greater mean concentrations of NO and E-selectin than healthy men, 39.25 versus 12.71 μM and 81.51 versus 26.03 ng/mL, respectively. The T-TFPI levels were essentially similar in both groups of men, 47.10 versus 48.76 ng/mL. We observed that the time of peak concentrations of T-TFPI and E-selectin was similar to the timing of NO trough levels, suggesting a possible functional relationship. It may be hypothesized, therefore, that the higher concentrations of NO, unbalanced by increases in T-TFPI and E-selectin, may result in increased vascular wall uptake of lipoproteins in diabetic subjects, who are at greater risk than healthy men for developing diffuse atherosclerosis.
