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Author describes one case of septic metrothrombophlebitis and acute renal failure in pregnant woman as a result of spontaneous abortion. He discusses some clinical criteria of developing complications and proposes adequate therapeutic line of behaviour.     

Comparison of free amino acids and volatile components in three fermented milks

Free amino acids (FAAs) and volatile components were analysed in commercial samples of yoghurt and Actimel^® drink as well as laboratory‐made kefir. The lysine and cysteine were the principal amino acids and accounted for about 70% of the total FAAs in all the samples. However, the amino acid profiles in the different fermented milk products differed: on the whole values for most of the amino acids were observed to be significantly higher in the Actimel^® samples. A total of 50 volatile components were identified. The largest number of volatiles were found in the kefir. Ethanol, 2,3‐ butanodione and 3‐hidroxybutan‐2‐one were the most prevalent volatile components, with ethanol significantly higher in the kefir samples.     

CHANGES IN NITROGEN FRACTIONS AND FREE AMINO ACIDS DURING RIPENING OF SPANISH DRIED BEEF "CECINA"

The changes in nitrogen fractions (total nonprotein nitrogen -NPN-, amino acid nitrogen, peptide nitrogen and volatile basic nitrogen) and free amino acids during the ripening of "cecina" (a Spanish dried beef product) were tracked. The amount of total NPN, amino acid nitrogen and volatile basic nitrogen increased during processing, while peptide nitrogen decreased in the last stage. An increase was observed in all amino acids except taurine. In the final product, the most abundant free amino acids were leucine-isoleucine mixture, lysine and proline-methionine mixture. Taking into account the concentrations of the most abundant amino acids detected in cecina and the taste thresholds described for L-amino acids in water, it appears that several amino acids i.e. lysine, alanine, valine and glutamic acid, could contribute to the flavor of this meat product.     

Effect of dipyrone, L-NAME and L-arginine on endotoxin-induced rat paw edema

Paw edema was induced in male Wistar rats (200-250 g) by intraplantar (ipl) administration of 2.5 micrograms endotoxin (Etx). Etx, like carrageenin, produced two distinct edema formation phases, an early phase (75 min) followed by a late phase (7 h). We showed that the edema formation in the early phase was antagonized by dipyrone (80 mg/kg, i.p.) and indomethacin (1 mg/kg, i.p.) by 52% and 55%, respectively, and that the late phase was resistant to these drugs. These results suggest that in the early phase prostaglandins appear to be involved in the process. However, the activation of the kinin cascade leading to the release of other mediators may be involved in the increase of edema in the late phase. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether the release of nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the mechanism of endotoxin-induced rat paw edema during the late phase, using N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (50 micrograms, ipl) as inhibitor of NO synthase and L-arginine (1 mg, ipl) as substrate of NO synthase. The paw edema induced by Etx was inhibited by L-NAME by 56% and increased by L-arginine by 81%. Furthermore, L-arginine given in combination with L-NAME completely reversed the inhibition of Etx-induced edema produced by L-NAME. These results support the hypothesis that in the late phase NO production is associated with the edema evoked by Etx.