Giuseppe Valacchi

Mucuna pruriens (Fabaceae) is an established herbal drug used for the management of male infertility, nervous disorders, and also as an aphrodisiac. It has been shown that its seeds are potentially of substantial medicinal importance. The ancient Indian medical system, Ayurveda, traditionally used M. pruriens, even to treat such things as Parkinson's disease. M. pruriens has been shown to have anti-parkinson and neuroprotective effects, which may be related to its anti-oxidant activity. In addit

The aim of this brief review is to summarize the recent literature on the effect of ozone (O3) on cutaneous tissues. Recently it has been reported that a chronic contact with O3 can be deleterious for the skin. Our group and others have shown a progressive depletion of antioxidant content in the stratum corneum and this can then lead to a cascade of effects resulting in an active cellular response in the deeper layers of the skin. Using an in vivo model we have shown an increase of proliferative

Living organisms are continuously exposed to environmental pollutants. Because of its critical location, the skin is a major interface between the body and the environment and provides a biological barrier against an array of chemical and physical environmental pollutants. The skin can be defined as our first defense against the environment because of its constant exposure to oxidants, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation and other environmental pollutants such as diesel fuel exhaust, cigarette

Inflammation is a complex systemic response evolved to cope with cellular injury, either due to infectious agents or, in general, with sporadic events challenging tissue integrity and function. Researchers involved in different fields have the tendency to look at the inflammatory response with different angles, according to their specific interest. Established its complexity, one of the most evident features of the inflammatory response is the generation of a pro-oxidative environment due to the

Exposure to air pollutants has been previously associated with respiratory viral infections, including influenza, measles, mumps, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus. Epidemiological studies have also suggested that air pollution exposure is associated with increased cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-associated mortality, although the molecular mechanisms by which pollutant exposure affects viral infection and pathogenesis of COVID-19 remain unknown. In this review, we suggest p

Ozone is well recognized as a bactericidal agent and its beneficial effect on wound healing could be a consequence of this property. Because ozone itself does not penetrate the cells but immediately reacts with polyunsaturated fatty acids, its effects should be the results of oxidative reaction. For this reason, ozonated oils could be a way to deliver ozone messengers to the skin. This paper evaluated the therapeutic effects of three different grades of ozonated sesame oil in acute cutaneous wou

A chronic increase of oxidative stress is typical of serious pathologies such as myocardial infarction, stroke, chronic limb ischemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type II-diabetes, age-related macular degeneration leads to an epic increase of morbidity and mortality in all countries of the world. The initial inflammation followed by an excessive release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) implies a diffused cellular injury that needs to be corrected by an inducible expression of t

It appears that reinfusion of ozonated blood, by enhancing release of NO, may induce vasodilation in ischemic areas and reduce hypoxia.

Scavenger Receptor B1 (SR-B1), also known as HDL receptor, is involved in cellular cholesterol uptake. Stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the skin, is composed of more than 25% cholesterol. Several reports support the view that alteration of SC lipid composition may be the cause of impaired barrier function which gives rise to several skin diseases. For this reason the regulation of the genes involved in cholesterol uptake is of extreme significance for skin health. Being the first shi

The scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-B1) plays an important role in meditating the uptake of HDL-derived cholesterol and cholesteryl ester in the liver and steroidogenic tissues. In addition to being ubiquitous, SR-B1 is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor in many tissues, though the mechanism by which SR-B1 does this is unclear. Other than its role as an HDL receptor, SR-B1 is also involved in pathogen recognition; its expression can be modulated by lipopolysaccharide and oxidative s

Mangiferin is a natural glucosyl xanthone with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, making it suitable for protection against cutaneous diseases. In this study ethosomes and transethosomes were designed as topical delivery systems for mangiferin. A preformulation study was conducted using different surfactants in association with phosphatidylcholine. Vesicle dimensional distribution was monitored by photon correlation spectroscopy, while antioxidant capacity and cytotoxicity were respecti