Smoking is one of the most important leading death cause worldwide. From a toxicological perspective, cigarette smoke serves hazards especially for the human being exposed to passive smoke. Over the last decades, the effects of natural compounds on smoking-mediated respiratory diseases such as COPD, asthma, and lung cancer have been under investigation, as well as the mechanistic aspects of disease progression. In the present study, the protective mechanism of eucalyptol (EUC), curcumin (CUR), and their combination on BEAS-2B cells were investigated in vitro to understand their impact on cell death, oxidative cell injury, and inflammatory response induced by 3R4F reference cigarette extract (CSE). According to the present findings, EUC, CUR, and their combination improved cell viability, attenuated CSE-induced apoptosis, and LC3B expression. Further, CSE-induced oxidative damage and inflammatory response in human bronchial epithelial cells were remarkably reduced by the combination treatment through modification of enzymatic antioxidant activity, GSH, MDA, and intracellular ROS levels as well as nitrite and IL-6 levels. In addition, nuclear translocation of Nrf2, a regulatory protein involved in the indirect antioxidant response, was remarkably up-regulated with the combination pre-treatment. In conclusion, EUC and CUR in combination might be a potential therapeutic against smoking-induced lung diseases through antioxidant and inflammatory pathways and results represent valuable background for future in vivo pulmonary toxicity studies.

Phytochemical investigations on the EtOH extract of Clematis viticella led to the isolation of six flavonoid glycosides, isoorientin (1), isoorientin 3′-O-methyl ether (2), quercetin 7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (3), quercetin 3,7-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (4), manghaslin (5) and chrysoeriol 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), one phenylethanol derivative, hydroxytyrosol (7), along with three phenolic acids, caffeic acid (8), (E)-p-coumaric acid (9) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (10). The structures of the isolates were elucidated on the basis of NMR and HR-MS data. All compounds were isolated from C. viticella for the first time. Compounds 7 and 8 showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at 100 μM by reducing the release of NO in LPS-stimulated macrophages comparable to positive control indomethacin. Compounds 3 and 7 exhibited anti-inflammatory activity through lowering the levels of TNF-α while 1, 3 and 5 decreased the levels of neopterin better than the positive controls.

Electrolyzed water (EW) is a widely used disinfectant agent with high oxidation–reduction potential (ORP). Although EW has been used in many areas, such as food hygiene, agriculture, and animal husbandry, the studies presented in the literature are not enough to clarify the toxic effects of EW. The aim of this study is, therefore, to produce EWs at different pH, ORP, and chlorine concentrations and to assess their safety in terms of toxicology. At the beginning of the study, the antimicrobial activity of the EW types with respect to bacteria and fungus was investigated. EWs below pH 7 were all effective in inactivating Enterococcus hirae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans completely. In vitro studies of cell cultures revealed that different concentrations of EWs were not cytotoxic for the L929 cells under 10- to 80-fold dilutions. In addition, it has been determined that produced EWs did not have irritation potential, according to the in vitro EpiDerm^™, reconstituted skin irritation test in the frames of biocompatibility tests. For the mucous membrane irritation test, the hen’s egg test-chorioallantoic membrane experiment was performed, and EWs were found to have no eye irritation. In conclusion, it has been shown that produced EWs with antimicrobial efficacy were found to be safe for skin and eye according to in vitro biocompatibility study studies. Thus, the establishment of a technological infrastructure for the EW production and the use of produced EW as an effective disinfectant in the food, medical, and agricultural areas should be encouraged.

Over the last decade, electrolyzed water (EW) produced by salt and tap water has gained importance due to its antimicrobial effects. Regarding to chlorine-based compounds, EW also used in post-harvest safety of food processing and sterilization of surfaces. The latest studies suggested that EW might act as wound healing agent due to anti-infective and cell proliferative properties. In this study, we evaluated acute contact cytotoxicity in L929 mice fibroblast cells and wound healing activity of EWs in vitro. In addition, mutagenic activity was evaluated by Ames test with and without metabolic activation by S9 fraction and the stability profile of freshly prepared EWs has been followed up. According to the results, strong acid (StAEW) and mixed EW (MEW) showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity due to possible high HOCl concentration, while slightly acidic and catholyte EW (CEW) were not cytotoxic even applied directly for 30 sec. Further, StAEW and CEW showed a significant increase in L929 cell migration in scratch assay. Likewise, with/ without metabolic activation, neither of EWs had shown mutagenic profile in TA 98 and TA100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium. Follow-up of ORP (oxidation-reduction potential), pH and FCC (free chlorine concentration) showed that temperature and light were important storage conditions to maintain a stable profile particularly for ORP and FCC, which are the most important indicators for biological activity of EW. According to the present findings, it can be suggested that particularly StAEW, may represent a valuable wound healing agent with an achievable, economical and easy production system when stored under proper conditions.