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The hypoglycemic effects of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts from fruits and seeds of Byrsonima crassifolia were evaluated by oral administration to normoglycemic and streptozotocin-induced severe diabetic rats (SD). The anti-diabetic effect was examined by blood glucose, triglycerides, lipid peroxidation, total cholesterol levels in the serum, glycogen content of liver and skeletal muscles, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels. The most active extracts were obtained with hexane. Hexane and chloroform extracts from fruits and seeds of Byrsonima crassifolia increased the levels of SOD, GSH, GSSG and CAT, hepatic glycogen content, glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and the plasma insulin levels. They also decreased glucokinase (GK) and TBAR (thiobarbituric acid assay). In conclusion, Byrsonima crassifolia possesses significant antihyperglycemic properties after 4 h of a single oral dose. It can also improve hyperlipidemia and hyperinsulinemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Both extracts exhibited significant inhibitory activity against AGEs (advanced glycation end products) formation with IC(50) values ranging from 94.3 to 138.7 μg/ml. Therefore, B. crassifolia can be considered as a potential safe anti-diabetic agent.

Background:The hypoglycemic effects of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of leaves of Azadirachta indica (AI) were evaluated by oral administration in streptozotocin-induced severe diabetic rats (SD).Materials and Methods:The effect of chronic oral administration of the extract for 28 days was evaluated in streptozotozin diabetic rats. Lipid peroxidation, glycogen content of liver and skeletal muscles, insulin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels were determined. In addition, advanced glycation end product formation (AGEs) was evaluated.Results:The most active extracts were obtained with chloroform. Chloroform extract from AI shows increased levels of SOD, GSH, GSSG and CAT, hepatic glycogen content, glucose-6-phosphatase and insulin plasma levels, which also decreased the glucokinase (GK), lipid peroxidation and insulin resistance. The chloroform extract exhibited significant inhibitory activity against advanced glycation end product formation with an IC50 average range of 79.1 mg/ml.Conclusion:Azadirachta indica can improve hyperlipidemia and hyperinsulinema in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats and, therefore, AI can be potentially considered to be an antidiabetic-safe agent.

In Mexican traditional medicine the orchid Prosthechea michuacana is highly valued as a food and in the treatment of various human diseases, including drug-related renal disease. Methanol, hexane, and chloroform extracts of bulbs of P. michuacana were studied in the cisplatin-induced renal injury model in rats. Results showed that treatment with cisplatin induced significant elevations in concentrations of blood urea and serum creatinine and in lipid peroxidation. Treatments with methanolic extract (200, 400 and 500 mg/kg) increased levels of biochemical markers of renal injury like reduced glutathione, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase and inhibited the increases in blood urea and serum creatinine concentrations and lipid peroxidation induced by cisplatin. Hexane and chloroform extracts did not show any effect. The results obtained in the present study indicate that this orchid can be a potential source of natural nephroprotective activity.

healthy, young-looking skin. Moisturizing products have therefore aimed to influence the constitutive levels of natural moisturizer factor (NMF) and/or the formation of the skin lipid barrier. In humans, keratinocyte differentiation is influenced by sex hormones, in particular positively by estrogen and negatively by testosterone. It has been noted that postmenopausal women experience a decline in estrogen levels and a concomitant drop in skin moisturization. In our previous nearinfrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy work on human skin, we noted that skin moisturization was influenced by gender, age, psychological stress and lifestyle habits such as alcohol consumption and smoking. Many of these also affect the level of sex hormones. We therefore re-evaluated NIR spectra from which we had already assessed the levels of skin moisturization in human volunteers to determine their levels of estrogen and testosterone non-invasively. We subsequently built mathematical models to link skin moisture content to the levels of these sex hormones. In this way, we were able to establish the importance of sex hormones in skin moisturization. In men, skin moisturization levels are linked to their estrogen levels, whereas in females, skin moisturization levels are linked to both estrogen and testosterone concentrations. From the medical literature, it is known that smoking is associated with increased testosterone and reduced estrogen levels, which suggests that people that smoke are characterized by less hydrated skin as well as by increased testosterone levels. On the other hand, pregnant females that have significantly elevated estrogen to progesterone ratios, i.e. their increase in estrogen level exceeds their increase in testosterone levels, also often remark that their skin is well hydrated, confirming the link between sex hormone levels and skin moisturization. For them, we found a good correlation coefficient for skin moisturization levels and their estrogen to testosterone ratio. This work does not, however, answer question of a causeand-effect relationship between the two. Increased levels of estrogen can either directly increase skin moisture levels or do so via a positive effect on skin barrier formation. It does, however, reveal once again the existence of a connection between our body (the skin) and our brain. Synthesis of sex hormones is regulated via the pituitary gland in our brain and it can therefore be argued that skin moisturization is directly or indirectly regulated via our brain. As many other factors like smoking and alcohol consumption actually influence estrogen levels in our blood, the influence of our brain on maintaining a skin moisture homeostasis may actually be much more pronounced than hitherto assumed.The incorporation of unstable cosmetic actives such as retinol into formulations requires methods of stabilization to ensure their long-term activity and efficacy. A delivery system entrapping lipophilic vitamins such as retinol and tocopherol based on chitosan coacervation with negative polymers ...