Mutagenic activity promoted by amentoflavone and methanolic extract of Byrsonima crassa Niedenzu

Byrsonima crassa is a plant pertaining to the Brazilian central savannah-like belt of vegetation and popularly used for the treatment of gastric dysfunctions and diarrhoea. The methanol extract contains catechin, tannins, terpenes and flavonoids; both mutagenic potential and antioxidant properties have been ascribed to flavonoids. The mutagenicity of some flavonoids is believed to be associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species and seems to depend on the number and position of hydroxyl groups. In the present study the mutagenic activity of the methanol, chloroform and 80% aqueous methanol extracts, as well as acetate and aqueous sub-fractions, of this medicinal plant were evaluated by Salmonella typhimurium assay, using strains 100, TA98, TA102 and TA97a, and in mouse reticulocytes. The results showed mutagenic activity of the methanolic extract in the TA98 strain without S9, but no mutagenicity to mouse cells in any of the extracts. The acetate fraction showed strong signs of mutagenicity without S9, suggesting that in this enriched fraction were concentrated the compounds that induced mutagenic activity. The aqueous fraction showed no mutagenic activity. The TLC and HSCCC analyses of the acetate fraction with some standard compounds permitted the isolation of the quercetin-3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside, amentoflavone, methyl gallate and (+)-catechin, of which only the amentoflavone exhibited positive mutagenicity to TA98 (+S9, -S9). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Are light traps baited with kairomones effective in the capture of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia intermedia? An evaluation of synthetic human odor as an attractant for phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Byrsonima fagifolia: An integrative study to validate the gastroprotective, healing, antidiarrheal, antimicrobial and mutagenic action

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

Flavonoids and antiulcerogenic activity from Byrsonima crassa leaves extracts

Byrsonima crassa Niedenzu (IK) (Malpighiaceae) is used in Brazilian folk medicine for the treatment of diseases related mainly to gastric ulcers. In this study, we evaluated the potential antiulcerogenic effect of three different extracts obtained from the leaves of Byrsonima crassa namely hydromethanolic (80% MeOH), methanolic (MeOH) and chloroformic extracts (CHCl3). The oral administration (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) of all the extracts reduced the formation of lesions associated with HCl/ethanol administration in mice. The 80% MeOH extract significantly reduced the incidence of gastric lesions by 74, 78 and 92% at doses of 250,500 and 1000 mg/kg, respectively (P < 0.01). The MeOH extract reduced the ulceration by 93 and 99% only at the doses of 500 and 1000 mg/kg (P < 0.01). The lower gastroprotective action (69%) was observed when animals were treated with CHCl3 extract at the dose of 1000 mg/kg (P < 0.01). Phytochemical investigation of Byrsonima crassa afforded five known substances: quercetin-3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside, the biflavonoid amentoflavone, (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin. The presence of these phenolic compounds may probably explain the antiulcerogenic effect of the extracts of Byrsonima crassa leaves. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Application of preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography for the separation of flavonoids from the leaves of Byrsonima crassa Niedenzu (IK)

The methanolic extract of the leaves of the medicinal plant Byrsonima crassa (Malpighiaceae) contain flavonoids with antioxidant activity. They were separated in a preparative scale using high-speed counter-current chromatography. The optimum solvent system used was composed of a mixture of ethyl acetate-n-propanol-water (140:8:80 (v/v/v)) and led to a successful separation between monoglucosilated flavonoids (quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinoside, quercetin-3-O-beta-D-galactoside) and the biflavonoid amentoflavone in only 3.5 h. The purities of quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-arabinoside (95 mg), quercetin-3-O-beta-D-galactoside (16 mg) and the biflavonoid amentoflavone (114 mg) were all isolated at purity over 95%. Identification was performed by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and UV analyses. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Spermiogenesis and sperm ultrastructure in Cichla intermedia with some considerations about Labroidei spermatozoa (Teleostei, Perciformes, Cichlidae)

Spermiogenesis and spermatozoal structure were studied in Cichla intermedia, a primitive species of Neotropical cichlids. The analysis shows that spermiogenesis is characterized by chromatin compaction, flagellum development, nuclear rotation, nuclear fossa formation and residual cytoplasm elimination. In the spermatozoa, the head is round, the nucleus contains highly condensed filamentous clusters of chromatin and an acrosome is absent. The nuclear fossa is slightly eccentric and shows a projection that penetrates into the nuclear outline. The proximal centriole is located in the initial segment of the nuclear fossa. The midpiece and the cytoplasmic channel are long. The mitochondria, about 10 in number, are round or slightly elongated, disposed in two layers around the initial segment of the flagellum. The flagellum has a classical 9 + 2 axoneme and two lateral fins. The data available show that no characteristics of spermiogenesis or spermatozoa are exclusively found in members of the suborder Labroidei. However, three characteristics seem to be exclusively observed in Cichlidae: (1) compact filamentous clusters of chromatin; (2) slightly eccentric nuclear fossa; and, (3) number of mitochondria. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of a class II phospholipase D from Loxosceles intermedia venom

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

Aporphine and bisaporphine alkaloids from Aristolochia lagesiana var. intermedia

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

Triterpenes and antitubercular activity of Byrsonima crassa

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

Determination of Catechin Diastereomers from the Leaves of Byrsonima species Using Chiral HPLC-PAD-CD

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

Avaliação química e da atividade antidiarréica das folhas de Byrsonima cinera DC. (Malpighiaceae)

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

Kinetic and mechanistic characterization of the Sphingomyelinases D from Loxosceles intermedia spider venom

Envenomation by arachnids of the genus Loxosceles leads to local dermonecrosis and serious systemic toxicity mainly induced by sphingomyelinases D (SMase D). These enzymes catalyze the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin resulting in the formation of ceramide-phosphate and choline as well as the cleavage of lysophosphatidyl choline generating the lipid mediator lysophosphatidic acid. We have, previously, cloned and expressed two functional SMase D isoforms, named P1 and P2, from Loxosceles intertnedia venom and comparative protein sequence analysis revealed that they are highly homologous to SMase I from Loxosceles laeta which folds to form an (alpha/beta)(8) barrel. In order to further characterize these proteins, pH dependence kinetic experiments and chemical modification of the two active SMases D isoforms were performed. We show here that the amino acids involved in catalysis and in the metal ion binding sites are strictly conserved in the SMase D isoforms from L. intermedia. However, the kinetic studies indicate that SMase P1 hydrolyzes sphingomyelin less efficiently than P2, which can be attributed to a substitution at position 203 (Pro-Leu) and local amino acid substitutions in the hydrophobic channel that could probably play a role in the substrate recognition and binding. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry profiling of compounds from the infusion of Byrsonima fagifolia Niedenzu

A rapid analytical approach suitable to achieve a comprehensive characterization of the compounds present in the infusion prepared from the leaves of Byrsonima fagifolia Niedenzu (Malpighiaceae), a Brazilian plant used as an infusion to treat gastric disorders, was developed. The method was based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray negative ionisation multistage ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-ITMSn). The main ions in the ESI-ITMS spectra were attributed to a quinic acid core containing from one to five galloyl units. Quercetin derivatives containing one and two sugar moieties as well as galloyl esterification were also detected. These results indicated that HPLC/ESI-ITMSn is easily applicable to infusions of this plant and allows the rapid and direct identification of these compounds in crude plant extracts. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preparative isolation of a novel flavonoid from an infusion of Byrsonima basiloba leaves by high-speed counter-current chromatography

A method for the isolation of three compounds from the infusion of leaves of Byrsonima basiloba A. Juss. by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was developed. This technique led to the separation of a novel compound, quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 3)-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 6)]-beta-D-allopyranoside, and two known compounds quercetin3-O-(X-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 6)-beta-D-galactopyranoside and (+)-catechin in 4 h with purities of over 92%. The structures of the compounds were determined by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and HPLC.