Veronica

The lack of an effective anti-viral agent and the emergence of drug-resistant strains dictate a real need for discovery of novel therapies able to ameliorate viral infections. In this regards, medicinal plants and natural products offer safe and inexpensive platforms for discovery of efficient and novel anti-viral agents. We have investigated the potential anti-viral activities of Veronica persica Poir.  as a medicinal plant against herpes simplex viruses (HSVs). In vitro screening of the ethanol plant extract against HSV-1 and HSV-2 infected Vero cells revealed the extract to show a dose-dependent inhibitory activity against both virus strains. After fractionation of the extract by a stepwise methanol gradient and evaluation of each fraction, the 80% methanol fraction displayed a pronounced inhibitory activity against the herpes viruses. The highest antiviral activity was observed when the Vero cells were treated with the extract both during and after infection by viruses. Moreover...

"In his De visione Dei, Nicholas of Cusa addresses two aspects of divine vision: my desire to see God and God’s capacity to see
me. The latter aspect is distinguished by absolute power: God’s gaze is all-seeing. To explain this peculiar power Cusa
introduces what he calls the figure of an ‘omnivoyant’. This is a portrait with its eyes turned towards the spectator so that the
gaze of the depicted person appears to follow the spectator. This paper shows how this optical effect determined the choice
of the full-face view as the characteristic way to represent the divine in Renaissance painting, and how inscriptions on the
frames of a series of portraits of Christ attributed to Jan van Eyck reveal that the use of this effect was deliberate and in
accordance with theological doctrine."

Estudio sobre la leyenda urbana de Verónica y el ritual asociado a la misma.

In the first part of this paper we examine a corpus  of legends, unpublished in their majority, related to the spectre of mirrors, usually named Veronika, in contemporary Spanish folklore.

The analysis includes a general overview on the superstitions related with mirrors (in particular their relationship with the world of the dead) as well as connotations made with the name Veronika.  Behind the diversity of the accounts, it is possible to detect the presence of a series of persistent features in these legends: the premature death of a young woman, the occasional confusion between spaces which, in the normal order of things should remain close-by and related but nonetheless distinct from each other.

The analysis of these legends — which are markedly etiological—  leads to the analysis of rituals used for the invocation of this spirit: this analysis will occupy the second part of this paper, in the next issue of Estudos de Literatura Oral.

A primeira parte deste artigo foi publicada no número anterior (nº 7/8) da E. L. O. Nesta segunda parte, são examinados vários testemunhos (na sua maioria inéditos) sobre a evocação de um espírito feminino dos espelhos, chamado Verónica na literatura oral espanhola. A análise revela a existência de cinco variantes do ritual: a simples enunciação do nome do espectro; a evocação por meio de uma tesoura e um livro (geralmente, a Bíblia); por meio de um espelho; por meio de tesoura e espelho; ou por meio de tesoura, livro e espelho. O estudo examina a relação deste ritual com as lendas etiológicas analisadas na primeira parte do artigo, assim como a finalidade do rito. Por fim, propõe-se uma interpretação de Verónica como símbolo da passagem da infância à adolescência através da menarca e da primeira experiência sexual.

The publication of a considerable volume containing the Acts of two congresses which were held in Wien and Würzburg, about the images of Christ both of Eastern and Western origins, reopens the discussion regarding such images, especially the so-called acheiropoieta, that is "not made by human hands". A special mention goes to the Image of Camuliana, the Mandylion of Edessa, the Veronica, the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello. Some studies are excellent, but once again the evidence is partially distorted by the fervent believers in the authenticity of the Shroud.

The illusion of omnivoyance (also called the Mona Lisa effect) as an embodiment of mysterious powers is suited for the representation of the Supreme Being in any religion, but its central position in Christian art may be due to the fact that the Christian god is defined as all-seeing. The conscious use of this effect throughout the Middle Ages is testified to not only by the systematic use of the full-face view in representations of divinity but also by the inclusion of inscriptions that emphasise God’s absolute nature in the same way as omnivoyance does.

The typical Renaissance portrait is seen in profile or three-quarters profile. The frontal view is very rarely used for this kind of painting. In contrast, a survey conducted by the author demonstrates that portraits of Christ from the same period very often show him frontally. What is the reason for this difference between secular and holy portraits? It is obvious that seeing a face en face is different from seeing that face in profile, but is this due to the frontal orientation of the face or is it, rather, due to facial symmetry's bio-psychological impact (a product of millions of years of evolution) on the beholder? This question will be approached using methods from cognitive psychology.

"The Iconography of the Veronica in the Region of Lombardy: 13th–14th Centuries"

A significant number of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century representations of the Veronica have emerged in the Lombardy area. Three appear in frescoes in as many churches; two, in manuscripts. All five images seem to be consistent within the ecclesiastic diocese of Milan. Moreover, Saint Veronica is always shown holding the revered veil. The fresco in the church of Saint Veronica in the town of Santa Maria Hoè, dated between the third-last and the penultimate decade of the thirteenth century, is one of the most ancient depictions of this iconography. Most of the images cited here are devotional; only the miniatures might be considered more narrative than devotional. One stands out in particular: the depictions in a Psalter, Hymnarium and Martyrologium of Saint Veronica handing the veil to two presbyters. This miniature might be considered a unicum in iconography as well, in that there is nothing like it in either the visual arts or the hagiography of Saint Veronica and the venerated veil.


Článek Stefana Candianiho se soustředí na rozšířenost ikonografie roušky s Kristovou tváří – zvané Veraikon – v oblasti Lombardie během třináctého a čtrnáctého století. Podrobnější bádání ukazuje, že se na území Lombardie nachází poměrně velký počet těchto znázornění. Veraikon je možné najít na třech freskách: v kostele Santa Veronica ve městě Santa Maria Hoè, v dnes již neexistujícím chrámu San Giovanni in Conca v Miláně a v kostele San Vincenzo à Galliano poblíž Cantù. Dále se objevuje ve dvou rukopisech pocházejících z okolí Milána (Berlín, Kupferstichkabinett, 78 c 16; Milán, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, L 58 sup.). Zdá se, že tato zobrazení pocházející z oblasti milánské diecéze vykazují shodné rysy. Rouška s Kristovou tváří není nikdy znázorněna samotná, ale vždy ji drží sv. Veronika, která ji ukazuje věřícímu. V milánské diecézi bylo uctívání sv. Veroniky velmi rozšířené a freska v kostele Santa Veronica v Santa Maria Hoè je jedním z nejstarších vyobrazení této ikonografie. Předchází i slavnou sochu z kostela Notre-Dame d’Écouis (v departementu Eure v Normandii), datovanou do desátých let čtrnáctého století, přesněji mezi roky 1311 a 1315. Ikonografie fresky v kostele sv. Veroniky se opakuje bez výraznějších změn (kromě detailu krku v Hoè) na ostatních dvou freskách, bohužel vážně poškozených. Všechna tato zobrazení jsou převážně devocionální, pouze u miniatur můžeme mluvit o narativním charakteru. To se týká především znázornění svaté Veroniky podávající roušku s Kristovou tváří dvěma klerikům (Berlín, Kupferstichkabinett,
78 c 16). Klerici jsou pravděpodobně kněží ze Svatého Petra v Římě a obraz tak představuje přinesení roušky do chrámu. Tuto miniaturu můžeme považovat za ikonografické unicum, neboť se zdá, že ve výtvarném umění či v hagiografii světice a uctívané roušky žádný podobný příklad neexistuje. Další miniatury se nacházejí v poslední části spisu Evangelica Historia (Milán, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, L 58 sup.), kde můžeme spatřit hned tři vyobrazení: sv. Veroniku ukazující roušku s Kristovou tváří Volusianovi, sv. Veroniku a Volusiana přijíždějící do Říma, a sv. Veroniku ukazující roušku Tiberiovi. Žena je vždy znázorněna zepředu a neobrací se k ostatním postavám v příběhu, což může být výsledkem miniaturistovy snahy o soulad s tradiční ikonografií – ukázat Kristovu tvář v jasné a ústřední pozici.

The amount of DNA per chromosome set is known to be a fairly constant characteristic of a species. Its interspecific variation is enormous, but the biological significance of this variation is little understood. Some of the characters believed to be correlated with DNA amount are alpine habitat, life history and breeding system. In the present study, the aim is to distinguish between direct causal connections and chance correlation of the amount of DNA in the genus Veronica. Estimates of DNA amount were analysed for 42 members of Veroniceae in connection with results from a phylogenetic analysis of plastid trnL-F DNA sequences and tested correlations using standard statistical tests, phylogenetically independent contrasts and a model-based generalized least squares method to distinguish the phylogenetic effect on the results. There appears to be a lower upper limit for DNA amount in annuals than in perennials. Most DNAC-values in Veroniceae are below the mean DNA C-value for annuals...

External flavone aglycones in the overground parts of Veronica chamaedrys L. (Scrophulariaceae) have been analysed by isocratic reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Luteolin, apigenin, luteolin-3'-methyl ether and scuterallein-6,4'-dimethyl ether have been identified. The latter compound is a new flavonoid identified in Veronica genus.

With more than 6500 species of native seed plants on the Balkans and almost a third of them endemic, the Balkan Peninsula is known to be a place for diversification and formation of new species and an important refugium during the Ice Ages. One plant group, which exemplifies this well, is the genus Veronica (Plantaginaceae, formerly Scrophulariaceae). Four groups from this genus (V. subg. Stenocarpon; V. subg. Chamaedrys; V. subg. Pseudolysimachium, V. alpina-complex) display putative tertiary relict species, speciation within Pleistocene refugia and Pleistocene or Holocene speciation by hybridization and polyploidization on the Balkan Peninsula. I here review earlier published results for these groups and present new data. DNA sequence analyses from the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) and plastid genome (trnLF region) were examined so as to shed more light on the relationship of the species from the Balkans. In addition, AFLP fingerprints were used to study V. subg. Pseudolysimachium, ...

Red or purple coloration of leaf margins is common in angiosperms, and is found in approx. 25 % of New Zealand Veronica species. However, the functional significance of margin coloration is unknown. We hypothesized that anthocyanins in leaf margins correspond with increased phenolic content in leaf margins and/or the leaf entire, signalling low palatability or leaf quality to edge-feeding insects. Five species of Veronica with red leaf margins, and six species without, were examined in a common garden. Phenolic content in leaf margins and interior lamina regions of juvenile and fully expanded leaves was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. Proportions of leaf margins eaten and average lengths of continuous bites were used as a proxy for palatability. Phenolic content was consistently higher in leaf margins compared with leaf interiors in all species; however, neither leaf margins nor more interior tissues differed significantly in phenolic content with respects to margin colo...

External flavone aglycones in the overground parts of Veronica chamaedrys L. (Scrophulariaceae) have been analysed by isocratic reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Luteolin, apigenin, luteolin-3'-methyl ether and scuterallein-6,4'-dimethyl ether have been identified. The latter compound is a new flavonoid identified in Veronica genus.

This brief study was published in the exhibition catalogue 'Teresa de Jesús, maestra de oración' (Ávila and Alba de Tormes, 2015). It deals with a sumptuous early 17th century reliquary preserved in the Carmelite convent of Calahorra (La Rioja). This reliquary encloses one of the few authorised copies of the controversial relic of Veronica's veil, venerated since the Middle Ages in the Vatican, ordered by pope Paul V in 1617 and executed by canon Pietro Strozzi. Other copies of this group are now in Bologna, Vienna, Chiusa Sclafani and Madrid.

Neuroprotective potential of V. teucrium and V. jacquinii methanol extracts was analyzed. Chemical analysis of investigated extracts showed the presence of phenolic acid derivatives, flavonoids and one secoiridoid. The detected flavonoids derived from flavones (luteolin and isoscutellarein in V. jacquinii; apigenin, isoscutellarein and luteolin in V. teucrium) and flavonol (quercetin in V. jacquinii). Acteoside was the dominant compound in V. jacquinii, while plantamajoside and isoscutellarein 7-O-(6'''-O-acetyl)-β-allosyl (1'''→2''')-β-glucoside were the major phenolics in V. teucrium. Additionally, the antineurodegenerative activity was tested at concentrations of 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and tyrosinase (TYR) assays. The inhibition of both enzymes was achieved with the investigated extracts, ranging from 22.78 to 35.40% for AChE and from 9.57 to 16.38% for TYR. There was no statistical difference between the activit...

Leishmania major is an intracellular parasite generally responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), one of the most encountered skin diseases especially in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Current treatment options are not ideal, due to unwanted side effects and increasing resistance and availability is often limited in developing countries. Medicinal plants continue to attract attention because of their beneficial effects in the prevention or/and accelerating the healing process of various diseases. In this study, in vitro and in vivo susceptibility of L. major to Veronica persica Poir. extract, a medicinal plant with many applications, has been evaluated. Antileishmanial activity of plant extract was investigated both on cultured L. major promastigotes and in mice challenged with L. major. Animals were divided into three groups including control (without any treatment), test (treated with plant extract) and glucantime (the reference drug) treated groups. After treatments,...