Berry maturation and ripening significantly influenced the concentrations of sugars and organic acids the most in the skin and pulp, but did not significantly affect the concentrations of fatty acids and minerals in the 'Isabel' grape. Our findings also suggest an optimal harvest time in terms of levels of the nutrients. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Human nasal mucosa biopsy samples were studied by biochemical and histological methods to determine whether the concentration of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity (CGRP-LI) as a marker of sensory nerves was dependent on the activity of neutral endopeptidase-like enzyme (NEP-LE). Mucosal samples from the middle turbinate were obtained from 32 patients undergoing functional endoscopic nasal surgery for non-allergic chronic rhinosinusitis. The degree of symptoms related to nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea and headaches was recorded. The number of inflammatory cells in each biopsy sample was evaluated by conventional histopathological examination. CGRP-LI was measured by radioimmunoassay. The activity of NEP-LE was evaluated in vitro using [3H] Leu5-enkephalin as substrate. A good correlation was observed between increased concentrations of CGRP, abundant inflammatory cells and the intensity of symptoms (R2 = 0.80). A low activity of NEP-LE was associated with a high concentration of both inflammatory cells and CGRP, suggesting that NEP-LE activity was reduced during inflammation. These observations further support the hypothesis that reduced degradation of sensory neuropeptides could be involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of non-specific chronic rhinosinusitis.

No abstract

BACKGROUND: Grape berries exhibit various beneficial health effects due to the potent antioxidant roles of their phenolic compounds. A new Vitis vinifera grape cultivar (Karaerik) grown in Turkey has attracted growing interest due to its antioxidant phenolic compounds, which have still not been investigated. The phenolic/anthocyanin profile needs to be investigated to ascertain its potential health benefits and market value in the region. The present study therefore involves a detailed characterization of the anthocyanin composition of 'Karaerik' grape berries in conjunction with a determination of the antioxidant capacity value of the phenolics present in the skin and the whole berry. RESULTS: Total phenolic compounds (average 8.56 and 2.88 g gallic acid equivalent kg −1 fresh weight) and anthocyanin (7.48 and 1.66 g mv-3-glc equivalent kg −1 fresh weight) contents varied significantly in the skin and whole berry. Malvidin-based anthocyanins made the highest contribution to the pigment content of the berry. Accordingly, the major anthocyanin in the skin (average 42.08 mol%) and whole berry (39.98 mol%) was malvidin-3-glucoside (mv-3-glc). In addition, we found strong evidence of the occurrence of sometimes reported malvidin-3-pentoside and particularly of the not previously reported feruloyl derivative of malvidin-3-(6 ′′ -feruloyl)-glucoside (mv-3-ferglc) for V. vinifera grapes.CONCLUSION: The current study is the first report to profile the anthocyanins of the grape with a detailed description of the rare and novel anthocyanin in V. vinifera grapes. The berry is also a potential source of phenolics/anthocyanins with a high antioxidant capacity value and is worthy of comparison with other V. vinifera grapes.

We studied 32 pati ents with insulin-dependent diab etes mellitus to determine how their rate ofmucoc iliary clearance and their levels ofnasal and oral pH compared with those of 10 nondiabetic contro ls and how these rhinologic measurements varied within different subsets ofdiab etic patients. A lthough wefo und very f ew statistically significant differences in all our comparisons, we did fi nd that nasal mucociliary clearance and oral pH levels in the diabetic patients were significant ly differe ntfro m those of healthy subj ects. Fro m the Dep artment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Med ic ine, Atat ilrk Unive rsity, Erzurum, T urkey (Dr. Muk adder Ayse Se limoglu); the Dep art ment of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medic ine, Atatilrk Uni versity, Erz urum, Tu rkey (Dr. Erol Se limoglu); and the Depart ment of Internal Medi ci ne, Facult y of Medicine, Atatlirk University, Erzururn, T urkey (Dr. Kurt).