Effect of Ionic Liquid on the Determination of Aromatic Amines as Contaminants in Hair Dyes by Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrochemical Detection

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Geranylation of benzoic acid derivatives by enzymatic extracts from Piper crassinervium (Piperaceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Alchornea glandulosa Ethyl Acetate Fraction Exhibits Antiangiogenic Activity: Preliminary Findings from In Vitro Assays Using Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Anti-inflammatory activity of Alchornea triplinervia ethyl acetate fraction: Inhibition of H2O2, NO and TNF-alpha

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Aromatic compounds from three Brazilian Lauraceae species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Protease inhibition activity of extracts from Salicaceae species from Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Rain Forest and of an enriched fraction of clerodane diterpenes (casearins)

Considerando o uso popular de Casearia sylvestris Sw., Salicaceae, para o tratamento de problemas gástricos e resultados pré-clínicos que mostraram potencial atividade anti-ulcerogênica, foi realizado um screening farmacológico para avaliar a atividade biológica de outras espécies de Salicaceae. Para isso, foi utilizado um ensaio de inibição de proteases como um modelo farmacológico molecular para screening de extratos com atividade anti-ulcerogênica. Os extratos etanólico e aquoso dos galhos e folhas de C. gossypiosperma, C. decandra e C. rupestris mostraram inibição da atividade da pepsina em aproximadamente 50% com a concentração de 1 μg/mL. Curiosamente, C. obliquoa e Flacourtia ramontchi não apresentaram atividade sobre a pepsina, mas seus extratos mais apolares mostraram atividade inibitória sobre a subtilisina. A fração enriquecida de diterpenos clerodânicos mostrou atividade inibitória (42,75%) sobre a pepsina com a concentração de 1 μg/mL, mas não sobre a subtilisina (23,76%). Os resultados obtidos com os extratos e folhas das espécies testadas mostraram um padrão de atividade diferente sobre os dois tipos de proteases, a pepsina e a subtilisina, as quais estão relacionadas com diferentes tipos de atividades biológicas. Ainda mais, os resultados com a fração enriquecida de diterpenos clerodânicos sugerem que estas substâncias podem estar relacionadas com a atividade do extrato bruto de C. sylvestris.

Applications of the hexanic fraction of Agave sisalana Perrine ex Engelm (Asparagaceae): control of inflammation and pain screening

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Antinociceptive effect on mice of the hydroalcoholic fraction and (-) epicatechin obtained from Combretum leprosum Mart & Eich

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from wood pyrolyis in charcoal production furnaces

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in smoke samples from wood carbonization during charcoal production, in both particulate matter (PM) and gaseous phases. Samples were acquired using a medium-volume air sampler at 1.5 m distance from the furnace. Particle-bound PAH were collected on Fluoropore polytetrafluoroethylene filters and gas-phase PAH were collected into sorbent tubes with XAD-2 resin. PAH were extracted with dichloromethane-methanol and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed total emission from the furnace of 26 mu g/m(3) for the 16 PAH and 2.8 mu g/m(3) for the 10 genotoxic PAH (from fluoranthene to benzo[g,h,i]perylene). High emission of 16 PAH in the first 8 h of wood carbonization was detected (64 mu g/m(3); 56% of the total emission). Associated with PM, 11% of the total emission of 16 PAH (in both phases) and 60% of 10 genotoxic PAH were found. Relative ratios (for example, [Phe]/[Phe] + [Ant]) for the PAH of the same molecular weight were obtained and compared with the published data. The concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) were estimated using the list of toxic equivalent factors suggested by Nisbet and LaGoy, 1992. The values of 0.30 and 0.06 mg/m3 were obtained for the total concentrations of BaPeq in PM and gaseous phase, respectively. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and methoxylated phenols in wood smoke emitted during production of charcoal

More than 130 organic substances in dichloromethane-methanol (4: 1) extracts of particulate matter and the gaseous phase from wood burning for the production of charcoal have been identified by capillary gas chromatography coupled with low-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-MS), use of GC retention indices, and comparison with authentic standards. Many of the substances identified are methoxyphenols (derivatives of syringol and guaiacol), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), oxidized PAH (oxy-PAH), and levoglucosan, the last being a monosoccharide derivative from the thermal breakdown of cellulose. The amount of unsubstituted PAH was greater than that of methyl- and dimethyl-substituted homologs.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other selected organic compounds in ambient air of Campo Grande City, Brazil

Fourteen samples of particulate matter and semi-volatile organic compounds were collected during 6 months in the city of Campo Grande, South Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected on Fluoropore PTFE filters and gas-phase PAHs were collected into sorbent tubes with XAD-2 resin. Both types of samples were extracted with a dichloromethane/methanol mixture (4:1 v/v), then the extracts were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. PAHs, oxidized PAH (oxy-PAHs), phenols and methoxyphenols were identified by use of GC retention indices and MS files. The average value obtained for the sum of 15 PAHs was 21.05 ng m(-3) (range: 8.94-62.5 ng m(-3)). The presence of specific tracers and calculations of characteristic ratios (e.g. [Phe]/[Phe] + [Ant]) were used to identify the sources of the emissions of PAHs in the atmospheric samples. Levoglucosan (the anhydride of beta-glucose), retene (1-methyl-7-isopropylphenanthrene) and methoxyphenols (derivatives of syringol and guaiacol) and tracers for wood burning were identified. This study demonstrates that biomass burning from the rural zone is the main source of PAHs and emissions of other substances in the investigated site of Campo Grande. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical reduction of aromatic sulfinic acids in dimethylsulfoxide

The electrochemical reduction of benzenesulfinic, p-toluenesulfinic, and p-nitrobenzenesulfinic acids was studied in dimethylsulfoxide solutions. From cyclic voltammetry experiments, a chemical reaction following the first electron transfer was detected during the reduction process. A cyclic voltammetry technique using ultramicroelectrodes has provided kinetic parameters for the electron-transfer steps, from which it was possible to observe the influence of the ring substituent on the electrochemical reduction. The mechanism of the electroreduction of aromatic sulfinic acids in dimethylsulfoxide depends upon the nucleophilic attack of the radical anion produced on the starting compound during the reduction processes.

Inhibition of hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and TNF-alpha production in peritoneal macrophages by ethyl acetate fraction from Alchornea glandulosa

The effects of Alchornea glandulosa ethyl acetate fraction (AGF) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production in peritoneal macrophages activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) were investigated. Analysis by thin layer chromatography (TLC) of AGF showed several constituents, including flavonoids, which may have anti-inflammatory activity. Inhibitory effects of the fraction in H2O2 and NO production ranged from 8.59 +/- 7.84% to 70.56 +/- 4.16% and from 16.06 +/- 3.65% to 38.73 +/- 3.90%, respectively. The TNF-alpha production was only partially inhibited in the tested concentrations (12.21 +/- 6.23%-15.16 +/- 0.96%). According to these results, it is suggested that AGF has anti-inflammatory activity. This medicinal plant may have therapeutic potential in the control of inflammatory disorders.