Benzyl benzoate

Benzyl benzoate is used for treatment of paediatric scabies.

Senna occidentalis (L.) Link and Senna hirsuta (L.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby: constituents of fruit essential oils and antimicrobial activity.[Pubmed:29347835]

Nat Prod Res. 2018 Jan 18:1-4.

Senna occidentalis and S. hirsuta are mostly gathered from the wild for medicinal use and have a disagreeable odour when crushed. The volatile oils isolated from fresh fruits of S. occidentalis and S. hirsuta were subjected to gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and antimicrobial assays. GC and GC-MS analyses permitted the identification of 58 constituents. S. occidentalis oil was dominated by cyperene (10.8%), beta-caryophyllene (10.4%), limonene (8.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (6.8%). The main components of S. hirsuta fruit oil were Benzyl benzoate (24.7%), tau-cadinol (18.9%), 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (14.6%) and beta-caryophyllene (5.1%). S. occidentalis fruit oil exhibited better antimicrobial activity (MIC 78-312 mug/mL) against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger compared with S. hirsuta oil. The compositions and the activities of the fruit essential oils of S. occidentalis and S. hirsuta are reported for the first time.

[In case of pruritus, always consider scabies!].[Pubmed:29292916]

Lakartidningen. 2017 Nov 7;114. pii: ERRI.

In case of pruritus, always consider scabies! Scabies is an itching skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei which affects more than 100 million people worldwide. Regarded as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO, it is a major public health burden in endemic areas. As direct skin-to-skin contact is the main route of transmission family members and sexual partners are often affected. Typical presentation includes a severely pruritic rash with predilection for the extremities and the trunk. Definitive diagnosis relies on microscopic identification of the mites. Future, more efficient, diagnostic methods may include serological testing or PCR for S. scabiei DNA. A Benzyl benzoate and disulfiram based lotion, Tenutex, is the treatment of choice in Sweden with topical permethrin or oral ivermectin being used in certain cases. Scabies is an important diagnosis to consider in all patients presenting with pruritus.

Three-dimensional histochemistry and imaging of human gingiva.[Pubmed:29374186]

Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 26;8(1):1647.

In the present study, 3D histochemistry and imaging methodology is described for human gingiva to analyze its vascular network. Fifteen human gingiva samples without signs of inflammation were cleared using a mixture of 2-parts Benzyl benzoate and 1-part benzyl alcohol (BABB), after being immunofluorescently stained for CD31, marker of endothelial cells to visualize blood vessels in combination with fluorescent DNA dyes. Samples were imaged in 3D with the use of confocal microscopy and light-sheet microscopy and image processing. BABB clearing caused limited tissue shrinkage 13 +/- 7% as surface area and 24 +/- 1% as volume. Fluorescence remained intact in BABB-cleared gingiva samples and light-sheet microscopy was an excellent tool to image gingivae whereas confocal microscopy was not. Histochemistry on cryostat sections of gingiva samples after 3D imaging validated structures visualized in 3D. Three-dimensional images showed the vascular network in the stroma of gingiva with one capillary loop in each stromal papilla invading into the epithelium. The capillary loops were tortuous with structural irregularities that were not apparent in 2D images. It is concluded that 3D histochemistry and imaging methodology described here is a promising novel approach to study structural aspects of human gingiva in health and disease.

A Whole Brain Staining, Embedding, and Clearing Pipeline for Adult Zebrafish to Visualize Cell Proliferation and Morphology in 3-Dimensions.[Pubmed:29386991]

Front Neurosci. 2018 Jan 17;11:750.

The field of macro-imaging has grown considerably with the appearance of innovative clearing methods and confocal microscopes with lasers capable of penetrating increasing tissue depths. The ability to visualize and model the growth of whole organs as they develop from birth, or with manipulation, disease or injury, provides new ways of thinking about development, tissue-wide signaling, and cell-to-cell interactions. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has ascended from a predominantly developmental model to a leading adult model of tissue regeneration. The unmatched neurogenic and regenerative capacity of the mature central nervous system, in particular, has received much attention, however tools to interrogate the adult brain are sparse. At present there exists no straightforward methods of visualizing changes in the whole adult brain in 3-dimensions (3-D) to examine systemic patterns of cell proliferation or cell populations of interest under physiological, injury, or diseased conditions. The method presented here is the first of its kind to offer an efficient step-by-step pipeline from intraperitoneal injections of the proliferative marker, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), to whole brain labeling, to a final embedded and cleared brain sample suitable for 3-D imaging using optical projection tomography (OPT). Moreover, this method allows potential for imaging GFP-reporter lines and cell-specific antibodies in the presence or absence of EdU. The small size of the adult zebrafish brain, the highly consistent degree of EdU labeling, and the use of basic clearing agents, Benzyl benzoate, and benzyl alcohol, makes this method highly tractable for most laboratories interested in understanding the vertebrate central nervous system in health and disease. Post-processing of OPT-imaged adult zebrafish brains injected with EdU illustrate that proliferative patterns in EdU can readily be observed and analyzed using IMARIS and/or FIJI/IMAGEJ software. This protocol will be a valuable tool to unlock new ways of understanding systemic patterns in cell proliferation in the healthy and injured brain, brain-wide cellular interactions, stem cell niche development, and changes in brain morphology.

Terpenoid constituents of cinnamon and clove essential oils cause toxic effects and behavior repellency response on granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius.[Pubmed:29554611]

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2018 Jul 30;156:263-270.

This study evaluated toxic effects, repellency and respiration rate caused by terpenoid constituents of cinnamon and clove essential oils and against Sitophilus granarius L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The lethal concentrations (LC50 and LC90), repellent effect, and behavior repellency response on adults of S. granarius after exposure to six concentrations of each essential oil and terpenoids were evaluated. The chemical composition of the cinnamon oil was also determined and primary compounds were eugenol (10.5%), trans-3-caren-2-ol (10.2%), Benzyl benzoate (9.99%), caryophyllene (9.34%), eugenyl acetate (7.71%), alpha-phellandrene (7.41%), and alpha-pinene (7.14%). In clove essential oil, the primary compounds were eugenol (27.1%), caryophyllene (24.5%), caryophyllene oxide (18.3%), 2-propenoic acid (12.2%), alpha-humulene (10.8%), gamma-cadinene (5.01%), and humulene oxide (4.84%). Cinnamon and clove essential oil was toxic to S. granarius. In toxic terpenoids compounds, eugenol has stronger contact toxicity in S. granarius than caryophyllene oxide, followed by alpha-pinene, alpha-humulene, and alpha-phellandrene. Insects reduced their respiratory rates after being exposed to essential oil terpenoids and avoided or reduced their mobility on terpenoid-treated surfaces. Cinnamon and clove essential oil, and their terpenoid constituents were toxic and repellent to adult S. granarius and, therefore, have the potential to prevent or retard the development of insecticide resistance.

Quorum sensing inhibitors from marine bacteria Oceanobacillus sp. XC22919.[Pubmed:29430942]

Nat Prod Res. 2018 Feb 12:1-5.

In this study, three active compounds isolated from Oceanobacillus sp. XC22919 were identified as 2-methyl-N-(2'-phenylethyl) butyramide (1), 3-methyl-N-(2'-phenylethyl)-butyramide (2) and Benzyl benzoate (3), and were first reported to exhibit the apparent quorum sensing inhibitory activities against C. violaceum 026 and P. aeruginosa. Compounds 1-3 inhibited violacein production of C. violaceum 026 by 10.5-55.7, 11.2-55.7, and 27.2%-95.7%, respectively, and inhibited pyocyanin production of P. aeruginosa by 1.7-50.8, 39.1-90.7, and 57.2%-98.7%, respectively. The azocasein-degrading proteolytic rates of P. aeruginosa were observed by 13.4-31.5, 13.4-28.8, and 11.3%-21.1%, respectively. With respect to elastase, the range of inhibition of activity of compounds 1-3 was 2.1-30.3, 4.2-18.2, and 8.9%-15.7%, respectively. Compounds 1 and 3 also showed a concentration-dependent attenuation in biofilm formation, with the maximum of 50.6% inhibition, and 37.7% inhibition at 100 mug/mL, respectively.