Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Among them, cellular accumulation of AGEs contributes to vascular complications in diabetes. Besides using drugs to lower blood sugar, a balanced diet and the intake of herbal products potentially limiting AGE formation could be considered beneficial for patients’ health. The current paper presents a simple and cheap high-throughput screening (HTS) assay based on AGE fluorescence and suitable for plant extract screening. We have already implemented an HTS assay based on vesperlysines-like fluorescing AGEs quickly (24 h) formed from BSA and ribose under physiological conditions. However, interference was noted when fluorescent compounds and/or complex mixtures were tested. To overcome these problems and apply this HTS assay to plant extracts, we developed a technique for systematic quantification of both vesperlysines (λ_exc 370 nm; λ_em 440 nm) and pentosidine-like (λ_exc 335 nm; λ_em 385 nm) AGEs. In a batch of medicinal and food plant extracts, hits were selected as soon as fluorescence decreased under a fixed threshold for at least one wavelength. Hits revealed during this study appeared to contain well-known and powerful anti-AGE substances, thus demonstrating the suitability of this assay for screening crude extracts (0.1 mg/mL). Finally, quercetin was found to be a more powerful reference compound than aminoguanidine in such assay.

Streptococcus pyogenesplays an important role in the pathogenesis of tonsillitis. The present study was conducted to evaluate thein vitroantibacterial activities of 18 essential oils chemotypes from aromatic medicinal plants againstS. pyogenes. Antibacterial activity of essential oils was investigated using disc diffusion method. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of essential oils showing an important antibacterial activity was measured using broth dilution method. Out of 18 essential oils tested, 14 showed antibacterial activity againstS. pyogenes. Among themCinnamomum verum, Cymbopogon citratus, Thymus vulgaris CT thymol, Origanum compactum, andSatureja montanaessential oils exhibited significant antibacterial activity. Thein vitroresults reported here suggest that, for patients suffering from bacterial throat infections, if aromatherapy is used, these essential oils, considered as potential antimicrobial agents, should be preferred.

Hypertension is characterized by a maintained high blood pressure leading to cardiac complications such as left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis and an increased risk of heart failure and myocardial infarction. This study investigated the cardiac effects of oral administration of Moringa oleifera (MOI) seed powder in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR). SHR received food containing MOI seed powder (750mg/d, 8 weeks) or normal food. In vivo measurement of hemodynamic parameters by telemetry and cardiac structure and function analysis by echocardiography were performed. Histological studies were performed to determine fibrosis and protein expression. MOI treatment did not modify blood pressure in SHR but reduced nocturnal heart rate and improved cardiac diastolic function (reduction of isovolumetric relaxation time and deceleration time of the E wave, increase of ejection volume and cardiac output compared to nontreated SHR). Left ventricular anterior wall thickness, interseptal thickness on diastole, and relative wall thickness were reduced after MOI treatment. Furthermore, we found a significant reduction of fibrosis in the left ventricle of MOI-treated SHR. This antihypertrophic and antifibrotic effect of MOI was associated with increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α and δ, reduced cardiac triglyceride level, and enhanced plasmatic prostacyclins. Our data show a beneficial effect of MOI on the cardiac structure and function in SHR associated with an upregulation of PPAR-α and δ signaling. This study thus provides scientific rational support for the empirical use of MOI in the traditional Malagasy medicine against cardiac diseases associated with blood pressure overload.