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Biomedical subjects

B Somoza

Publications and source records attributed to B Somoza.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Isolation of vasodilatory active flavonoids from the traditional remedy Satureja obovata.

In the course of screening natural products for smooth muscle relaxant properties, the effects of constituents of Satureja obovata var. obovata (Lamiaceae) on vascular reactivity experiments were studied. Bioassay-guided fractionation led to pure vasodilator compounds, identified by spectroscopic methods as the flavonoids: naringenin, eriodictyol, and luteolin. The relaxant effects induced by different extracts and fractions obtained on KCl (80 mM) and noradrenaline (NA) (10(-6) M) induced contractions on isolated rat aorta were selected as bioassay procedures. The sustained contraction induced by NA (10(-6) M) and K+ (80 mM) were relaxed by luteoline (98.7 +/- 0.7%; 40.30 +/- 2.4%), naringenin (12.41 +/- 1.8%; 3.05 +/- 0.3%), and eriodictyol (67.48 +/- 3.3%; 17.93 +/- 2.1%) each at the dose of 5 x 10(-5)M, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Lipids and lipoproteins in 13--18-year-old Venezuelan and American school children. Within- and cross-cultural comparisons.

Plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and anthropometric measurements were assessed in 996 Venezuelan school children (ages 13--18 years) (441 in private, 555 in public schools, Merida, Venezuela) with cross-cultural comparisons to 419 13--18-year-old American school children from suburban Cincinnati, Ohio. Although there were no systematic differences in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride between public and private Venezuelan school children, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were higher and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels lower in public than private school children. Within Venezuelan schools, and between sex, female children had consistently higher total plasma cholesterol, marginally higher HDL-C, and appreciably higher LDL-C than males. There were no consistent cross-sectional changes in lipids and lipoproteins in Venezuelan school children with age. Within sex, cross-cultural comparisons with Cincinnati school children revealed 2 major, consistent differences; Venezuelan children had higher fasting plasma triglyceride and lower HDL-C levels, not attributable to systematic differences in Quetelet index, laboratory methodology, subject selection, or sampling technique. Total plasma cholesterol and HDL-C were similar for Venezuelan and Cincinnati school children. Maintenance of comparable LDL-C but lower HDL-C levels by Venezuelan children into adulthood might, speculatively, be associated with augmented risk for coronary heart disease.

Adolescent↗