Biomedical subjects

Carles Codina

Publications and source records attributed to Carles Codina.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Galanthamine pattern in Narcissus confusus plants.

Galanthamine is an Amaryllidaceae-type alkaloid with acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity which is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The distribution of galanthamine and four other alkaloids in different organs of Narcissus confusus plants, as well as the variations occurring during the ontogenic cycle of this plant species, was studied. The five alkaloids were found to be present in all the organs at every stage, with the exception of haemanthamine in senescent flowers. The highest amount of alkaloids occurred in the bulb at the emerging stage, galanthamine being the most abundant, reaching a concentration of up to 2.5 % referred to dry weight.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed2003

Alkaloids from Eucharis amazonica (Amaryllidaceae).

Thirteen alkaloids have been isolated from dried bulbs and leaves of flowering Eucharis amazonica (Amaryllidaceae). The alkaloids, 7-methoxyoxoassoanine, 6-O-methylpretazettine and apohaemanthamine, are reported for the first time from a natural source.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed2002

Comparison between the radical scavenging activity and antioxidant activity of six distilled and nondistilled mediterranean herbs and aromatic plants.

Thirty-six different extracts of six herbs and aromatic plants (fennel, common melilot, milfoil, lavandin cv. Super, spike lavender, and tarragon) were evaluated for their radical scavenging activity by the DPPH*, NBT/hypoxanthine superoxide, and *OH/luminol chemiluminescence methods, and for their antioxidant activity by the beta-carotene blenching test. The total phenolic content was also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The plant material included cultivated plants and their wastes after being distilled for essential oils. Both remarkably high phenolic content and radical scavenging activities were found for the ethyl acetate and dichloromethane fractions among the different plant extracts. In general, the distilled plant material was found to exhibit a higher phenolic content as well as antioxidant and radical scavenging activities than the nondistilled material. Ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts, and even some crude extract, of both distilled and nondistilled plants exhibited activities comparable to those of commercial extracts/compounds, thus making it possible to consider some of them as a potential source of antioxidants of natural origin.

Acetates↗

PubMed2002

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of some Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and Narcissus extracts.

Amaryllidaceous plants produce pharmacologically active alkaloids, galanthamine being the most interesting for its use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease as a cholinesterase inhibitor. The aim of this work was to test 23 pure Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and 26 extracts from different species of the genus Narcissus for their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity using galanthamine as a reference. Only seven alkaloids, belonging to the galanthamine and lycorine skeleton types, exhibited such an effect, sanguinine being the most active, even more than galanthamine. All the extracts with the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity contained galanthamine except that of N. assoanus, a lycorine type alkaloid-bearing species.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed2002

[Drug related problems as a cause of hospital admission].

BACKGROUND: The goals of the present study were: a) to identify and characterize drug-related problems (adverse drug reactions, non-compliance and intentional overdose) leading to admissions to our hospital (Hospital Clínic) through the Emergency Department, b) to know the most frequently involved medications, c) to identify risk factors for hospital admissions due to drug-related problems, and d) to determine the avoidability of these admissions. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Prospective study carried out from August 1999 to November 1999 and from January 2000 to May 2000. The study included 1,800 admissions corresponding to 1,663 patients. RESULTS: Including definitive, probable and possible cases, 215 hospital admissions (11.9%) were drug-related ones. Of these cases, 108 (50.2%) corresponded to adverse drug reactions, 100 (46.5%) to dose-related therapeutic failures (mainly non-compliance) and 7 (3.3%) corresponded to intentional overdose. When 'possible' cases were excluded in order to achieve a better defined causative relationship, drug-related admissions dropped to 139 (7.7%). According to Schumock and Thornton criteria, 68.4% hospital admissions due to drug-related problems were considered 'avoidable'. Most avoidable admissions were due to non-compliance, absence of preventive therapy and inappropriate monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital admissions due to drug-related problems are frequent and often preventable.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Alkaloids from Narcissus angustifolius subsp. transcarpathicus (Amaryllidaceae).

Seven alkaloids have been isolated from fresh bulbs of Narcissus angustifolius subsp. transcarpathicus (Amaryllidaceae). Nangustine, reported here for the first time, is the first 5,11-methanomorphanthridine alkaloid with a C-3/C-4 substitution. The structure and stereochemistry of this new alkaloid, as well as those previously known, have been determined by physical and spectroscopic methods. Spectroscopic data of pancracine have been completed. The in vitro assay activity against the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani and Plasmodium falciparum was carried out with the compounds nangustine and pancracine.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed2002

A dinitrogenous alkaloid from Cyrtanthus obliquus.

The ethanolic extract of bulbs of Cyrtanthus obliquus (L.f.) Ait yielded the new dinitrogenous alkaloid obliquine (1), 3S, 4aS, 11S, 10bS-3,4,4a,13,11,5,6-heptahydro-5[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]-3-methoxy-13-methyl-[1,3-dioxolo[4,5-g]indolo[3,3a-c]-isoquinolin-12-one, together with the five known structures 11alpha-hydroxygalanthamine, 3-epimacronine, narcissidine, tazettine and trisphaeridine. All structures were established using 1D and 2D NMR techniques and HREIMS. The alkaloids were tested for cytotoxicity against two mammalian cell lines and did not show activity at concentrations up to 100 microg/ml.

Alkaloids↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of the five major alkaloids in Narcissus confusus.

A novel, fast and precise method, combining solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is described for the quantitative determination of five alkaloids (galanthamine, N-formylnorgalanthamine, haemanthamine, homolycorine and tazettine/pretazettine) from bulbs of wild Narcissus confusus, a high galanthamine-containing plant species growing in the Iberian Peninsula.

Alkaloids↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Reflections on betalactam antibiotics administered by continuous infusion].

Numerous studies on continuous intravenous infusion of betalactam antibiotics have indicated that this could be a useful strategy for treating nosocomial infections as well as exacerbations of pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis and episodes of febrile neutropenia. From the pharmacodynamic viewpoint, betalactam antibiotics have a time-dependent behavior. Thus, the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic index that best correlates with therapeutic efficacy appears to be the time during which free antibiotic concentrations remain above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the infecting microorganism. Continuous infusion of betalactams successfully optimizes this pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic index. Furthermore, some studies have shown that this therapeutic strategy may be favorable economically.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗