Oleum Hyperici, the oil extract of St. John’s Wort (SJW), is one of the oldest folk remedies, traditionally used in the topical treatment of wounds, bruises, ulcers, cuts, burns, hemorrhoids and also as an antiseptic. Considering the advantageous characteristics of emulsion applications, in the present study we have formulated three O/W creams containing 15% (w/v) of SJW oil extract as an active ingredient. The aim was to estimate dermatological application of the prepared creams for the abovementioned indications. The extracts were prepared according to the prescriptions from traditional medicine, however with different vegetable oils used as an extractant, namely: Olive, palm and sunflower oil. The investigated O/W creams demonstrated significant antiinflammatory effects in an in vivo double-blind randomized study, using a sodium lauryl sulphate test. Both skin parameters assessed in the study (electrical capacitance and erythema index), were restored to the baseline value after a seven-day treatment with the tested creams. Almost all investigated SJW oil extracts and corresponding creams displayed the same antimicrobial activity against the most of the investigated microorganisms with obtained minimal inhibitory concentrations values of 1,280 µg/mL, 2,560 µg/mL or >2,560 µg/mL.

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Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, a gram-negative coccobacillus, which has been detected in a wide range of animal species, mostly domestic ruminants, but also in wild mammals, pets, birds, reptiles, arthropods (especially ticks), as well as in humans. Although the exposure to domestic animals in rural areas is regarded as the most common cause of the disease in humans, recent studies have shown that the role of pets in the epidemiology of Q fever has been increasingly growing. Although the primary route of infection is inhalation, it is presumed that among animals the infection circulates through ticks and that they are responsible for heterospecifi c transmission, as well as spatial dispersion among vertebrates. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and prevalence of C. burnetii in ticks removed from stray dogs, as well as to examine the distribution of tick species parasitizing dogs on the territory of Belgrade city. A PCR protocol targeting IS1111 repetitive transposon-like region of C. burnetii was used for the detection of C. burnetii DNA in ticks and the results were confi rmed by sequence analysis. In total, 316 ticks were collected from 51 stray dogs - 40 females (78.43%) and 11 males (21.57%). Three species of ticks were identifi ed: Rhipicephalus s anguineus (72.15%), Ixodes ricinus (27.53%) and Dermacentor reticulatus (0.32%). Out of 316 examined ticks, C. burnetii DNA was detected only in the brown dog tick R. sanguineus, with a total prevalence of 10.53% (24/228) . The high prevalence of C. burnetii in R. sanguineus, which is primarily a dog tick, indicates the importance of dogs in the epidemiology of Q fever in the territory of Belgrade.

The multiresistance of bacteria to antibiotics, as well as the lack of new antibiotics on the market encouraged the research of antibacterial activity of non-antibiotic substances including plant extracts. During the previous decades, it has been proven that extracts of certain plants have a strong antibacterial activity, but their clinical use was limited due to the presence of organic solvents. However, plant extracts obtained by the process of supercritical fluid extraction contain no traces of solvents, and the latest researches have established that they do have antibacterial effects on some gram-positive bacteria. This comparative study included extracts of Common Mullein, Angelica and Echinacea obtained by means of supercritical fluid extraction, Soxlet extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction. The study of their antibacterial activity was performed on some strains of Staphylococcus, Enterobacter cloacae and E. coli isolated from clinical material of human and animal origin. A referential strain of S. aureus ATCC 25923 was included in the research. In the study broth macrodilution method was applied by which the MIC values of extracts were determined. The Angelica extract obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction had the strongest antibacterial activity, i.e. the lowest MIC value of 40 μg/mL for S. epidermidis strain. The Angelica extract obtained by supercritical fluid extraction also showed substantial antibacterial activity to all Staphylococcus strains included in this study, with the MIC values of 320 to 640 μg/mL. The extracts of Echinacea and Common Mullein obtained by supercritical fluid extraction, as well as of Echinacea extract obtained by Soxlet extraction showed no antibacterial activity since the MIC values of these extracts were 2560 μg/mL or >2560 μg/mL for all bacterial strains icluded in the study