The oil extracted from hemp seeds has significant nutritional and biological properties due to the unique composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids and various antioxidant compounds. The potential of this oil for the prevention of oxidative stress and for the treatment of oxidative-stress-induced ailments is of increasing interest. Most studies of hemp seed oil were conducted in-vitro, meaning we lack information about effects and activity in vivo. In the present study, we evaluated the hypothesis that hemp seed oil at different concentrations improves the oxidative state of D. melanogaster, under non-stress as well as hydrogen-peroxide-induced stress. We analyzed the effects of hemp seed oil on oxidative stress markers and on the life cycle of D.melanogaster under non-stress and hydrogen-peroxide-induced stress conditions. D.melanogaster larvae were exposed to hemp seed oil concentrations ranging from 12.5 to 125 μL/mL. The results revealed that under non-stress conditions, oil concentrations up to 62.5 µL/mL did not induce negative effects on the life cycle of D. melanogaster and maintained the redox status of the larval cells at similar levels to the control level. Under oxidative stress conditions, biochemical parameters were significantly affected and only two oil concentrations, 18.7 and 31.2 µL/mL, provided protection against hydrogen peroxide stress effects. A higher oil concentration (125 μL/mL) exerted negative effects on the oxidative status and increased larval mortality. The tested oil was characterized chemically by NMR, transesterification, and silylation, followed by GC-MS analyses, and was shown to contain polyunsaturated fatty acid triglycerides and low levels of tocopherols. The high levels of linoleic and linolenic acids in the oil are suggested to be responsible for the observed in vivo antioxidant effects. Taken together, the results show that hemp seed oil is effective for reducing oxidative stress at the cellular level, thus supporting the hypothesis. The obtained results point to the potential of hemp seed oil for the prevention and treatment of conditions caused by the action of reactive oxygen species.

A single-institution observational study with 43 newly diagnosed diffuse gliomas defined the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 (IDH1/2) gene mutation status and evaluated the prognostic relevance of the methylation status of the epigenetic marker O⁶-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). Younger patients (50 years with surgical resection and IDH1/2-wildtype diffuse glioma), distinguished 10 (41.6%) methylated samples from 14 (58.4%) unmethylated samples. Finally, significant correlation between OS and methylation status was noticed (p ≈ 0.05). The OS of the hypermethylated group was 9.6 ± 1.77 months, whereas the OS of the unmethylated group was 5.43 ± 1.04 months. Our study recognized the MGMT promoter methylation status as a positive prognostic factor within the described homogenous cohort, although further verification in a larger population of diffuse gliomas is required.

Essential oils (EOs) derived from evergreen conifer trees are recognized as complex sources of agents with various biological activities. In this study, the biological activities of the EOs derived from Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A.Murray bis) Parl. (CLEO) and Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don (TPEO) were investigated. The third instar larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster were used as a model organism to determine the in vivo toxicity, genotoxicity, and antigenotoxicity of five different concentrations of CLEO and TPEO, ranging from 0.19% to 3%. Artemia salina was used for acute toxicity assessment and determination of LC₅₀ after 24 h and 48 h. The antimicrobial activity of the CLEO and TPEO was tested against fourteen bacterial and two fungal strains using the microdilution method. The larvicidal activity and developmental time of D. melanogaster increased as the concentrations of the EOs rose. CLEO and TPEO produced a dose-dependent increase in DNA damage compared with the negative control. Both oils, at concentrations up to 1.5%, demonstrated the ability to reduce the genotoxic effect induced by ethyl methanesulfonate, with a reduction rate exceeding 60%. CLEO and TPEO were highly toxic against Artemia salina nauplii. The results indicate that the tested EOs act as antimicrobial agents against some pathogenic bacteria and fungi. CLEO and TPEO show promising potential as a source of antimicrobial and antigenotoxic agents and as potential biocides against pest insects and arthropods.

Biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) materials are widely employed as bone substitute materials due to their resorption/degradation properties. Inflammation after implantation of such materials represents a prerequisite for bone tissue repair and regeneration but can be also problematic if it is not only transient and if it is followed by fibrosis and scarring. Here, we modified BCP covalently with hyaluronan (HA) and heparin (Hep), glycosaminoglycans that possess anti‐inflammatory properties. Beside the characterization of particle surface properties, the focus was on in vivo tissue response after subcutaneous implantation in mice. Histological analysis revealed a decrease in signs of inflammatory response to BCP when modified with either HA or Hep. Reduced vascularization after 30 days was noticed when BCP was modified with either HA or Hep with greater cellularity in all examined time points. Compared to plain BCP, expression of endothelial‐related genes Flt1 and Vcam1 was higher in BCP‐HA and BCP‐Hep group at day 30. Expression of osteogenesis‐related genes Sp7 and Bglap after 30 days was the highest in BCP group, followed by BCP‐Hep, while the lowest expression was in BCP‐HA group which correlates with collagen amount. Hence, coating of BCP particles with HA seems to suppress inflammatory response together with formation of new bone‐like tissue, while the presence of Hep delays the onset of inflammatory response but permits osteogenesis in this subcutaneous bone‐forming model. Transferring the results of this study to other coated materials intended for biomedical application may also pave the way to reduction of inflammation after their implantation.

Comparative analysis of the conventional methylation-specific PCR (MSP) vs. the quantitative MSP (qMSP) assessment of the O⁶-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status in 34 snap-frozen (SF) glioma samples was performed. The accuracy of the semi-quantitative MSP was compared with the corresponding qMSP semi-quantitative values using two semi-quantitative cut-off values (0—unmethylated and 1—weakly methylated) to discriminate methylated from unmethylated samples. In the case of the cut-off value 0, MSP test showed 80.0% sensitivity and 78.9% specificity compared to the reference qMSP analysis. However, when using the cut-off value 1, the diagnostic accuracy of the MSP test was significantly higher (85.7% sensitivity, 85.2% specificity). Fleiss’ Kappa statistical analyses indicated moderate agreement (Fleiss’ Kappa Coefficient = 0.509; 70.59% agreement) between MSP and qMSP semi-quantitative measurements of MGMT promoter methylation in glioma patients, justifying the conventional MSP use in diagnostics and confirming its high reliability. Further, we aimed to compare the validity of SF and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) glioma samples for MGMT testing. Statistical analyses indicated moderate overall agreement of FFPE glioma samples and SF MSP semi-quantitative measurements (Fleiss’ Kappa Coefficient = 0.516/0.509; 70.0% agreement) and emphasized their low reliability in the assessment of highly methylated MGMT promoter samples.