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Recebido em 14/6/07; aceito em 14/11/07; publicado na web 2/7/08Phytochemical studies of ethyl acetate extracts from the roots and aerial parts of Gypsophila trichotoma revealed the presence of stigmast-7-en-3-ol, stigmasta-7,22-dien-3-ol (spinasterol), ergost-7-en-3-ol, stigmasta-3,5-dien-7-one, β-sitosterol, 22,23-dihydrospinasterone, vitexin, orientin, homoorientin and hyperoside. The structures of the compounds were determined by GC/MS and HPLC analyses.

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This study evaluated the properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(n-butyl acrylate)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PEO-PnBA-PAA) polymeric micelles as carriers for anti-inflammatory drugs (prednisolone and budesonide). The micelles comprising a hydrophobic PnBA core and a PEO/PAA corona showed average diameter less than 40 nm. The size of the drug-loaded micelles did not change during eight hours into media that mimic physiological fluids indicating high colloidal stability. The calculation of Flory-Huggins parameter showed greater compatibility between budesonide and micellar core suggesting its location in the micellar core, whereas prednisolone was located also into the interface layer. This observation correlated further with slower release of budesonide, especially in acid medium (pH = 1.2). The inclusion of budesonide into micelles showed significant protective effect against the cytotoxic damage induced by the co-cultivation of differentiated human EOL-1 and HT-29 cells. This study revealed the capacity of PEO-PnBA-PAA terpolymer as carrier of nanosized micelles suitable for oral delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5- dione) is a natural biological active substance with an antioxidant activity. The ability of curcumin to inhibit the free radical mechanisms can be used in a prevention of diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease. The UV-VIS spectrophotometric and chemiluminescent dynamic methods for determination of antioxidant activity of curcumin were developed. The spectrophotometric method includes investigation of the interaction between DNA, isolated from HL-60 cells, and curcumin. The decreasing of the absorption of curcumin in the presence of HL-60 DNA against the blank sample can be a measurement for some complex formation between curcumin and DNA. The chemiluminescent method involves three tests for detection of luminol - depending chemiluminescence on the base of model systems which generate superoxide, hydroxide and hypochlorite radicals. The strongest decay of chemilunimescence was registered at the highest concentration of curcumin (100 μmol/L)