Volatile compounds of Nectandra salicina (lauraceae) from Costa Rica and their cytotoxic activity on cell lines

The chemical composition of the volatiles of Nectandra salicina growing wild in Costa Rica was determined by capillary GC/FID and GC/MS. Thirty-seven and forty-two compounds were identified in the leaf and branch oils respectively corresponding to about 92.6 and 86.2% of the total amount of the oils. The major components of the leaf oil were: atractylone (14.6%), viridiflorene (10.1%), α-pinene (9.4%), β-caryophyllene (7.2%), α-humulene (7.0%), δ-cadinene (6.1%), β-pinene (6.0%) and germacrene D (5.8%). The major components of the branch oil were: atractylone (21.1%), germacrene D (10.7%), viridiflorene (7.9%) and 7-epi-α-selinene (5.0%). When the oils were tested on different cell lines, all the LD50 values were higher than 150 µg/mL, with values very similar for the leaf and branch oils. Low toxicity could be explained by antagonistic effects among the main compounds present in the oils.

Reações de organocatálise com aminas quirais: aspectos mecanísticos e aplicações em síntese orgânica

The philosophy of organocatalysis is based on the utilization of organic compounds to catalyze organic transformations without the intervention of metals. This area has attracted much attention of the synthetic chemistry community on the last years, which can be confirmed by the explosion of published papers dealing with this subject. Phosphorus compounds, urea and thiourea derivatives, alkaloids, guanidine derivatives, for example, have already been used as organocatalysts. In this review we have focused on the use of chiral amines as organocatalyst. We have also chosen some outstanding examples to demonstrate the potentiality of this strategy in the synthesis of natural products and biologically active compounds.

Volatile compounds from Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. Growing in southeast coast of Brazil

Chemical composition of leaf volatiles of Rosmarinus officinalis and Baccharis dracunculifolia cultured in Southeast of Brazil has been characterized by GC/MS after simultaneous distillation-extraction. The main components in volatiles of these species showed in common α-pinene, myrcene, 1,8 cineole and camphor. Camphor was the major component among volatiles of B. dracunculifolia and R. officinalis with concentrations exceeding 25%. B. dracunculifolia volatiles possessed more sesquiterpenes (21.4%) than R. officinalis (16.7%), such as caryophyllene (1.9%) and α-humulene (0.4%). Lower concentrations of nerolidol and spathulenol were achieved in volatiles of B. dracunculifolia. Considering both species, there was a predominance of monoterpenes.

Antifungal iridoids, triterpenes and phenol compounds from Alibertia myrciifolia Sprunge Ex. Schum

The new iridoid glucoside 10-O-vanilloyl-geniposidic acid has been isolated from the aerial parts of Alibertia myrciifolia along with hydroxyhopanone, 3α,22-dihydroxyhopane, ursolic acid, luteolin-3´,4´-dimethyl ether, caffeic acid and geniposidic acid. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by means of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral analyses. The antifungal activities of the iridoids 10-O-vanilloyl-geniposidic acid and geniposidic acid were evaluated against the phytopathogenic fungi strains Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium solani and Aspergillus niger.

Aromatic compounds from three Brazilian Lauraceae species

Phytochemical investigations on three Brazilian Lauraceae species from the Cerrado region of São Paulo State, Ocotea corymbosa (Meins) Mez., O. elegans Mez. and Persea pyrifolia Nees & Mart. ex Nees resulted in the isolation of flavonoids, an ester of the 4-O-E-caffeoylquinic acid, an aromatic sesquiterpene besides furofuran lignans. This is the first chemical study on the leaves of Ocotea elegans and O. corymbosa as well as the first report of non-volatile compounds from Persea pyrifolia.

Efficient synthesis of benzothiazine and acrylamide compounds

This article describes the synthesis of the new (2Z)-2-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-6-nitro-4H -benzo[1,4]thiazin-3-one, (2Z)-2-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-methyl-6-nitro-4H-benzo[1,4]thiazin-3-one, (2Z)-6-amino-2-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4H -benzo[1,4]thiazin-3-one, (2Z)-6-butylamino-2-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-methyl-4H-benzo[1,4]-thiazin-3-one and (2E)-N-alkyl-N-(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-3-phenylacrylamides and the spectroscopic data. The arylidenebenzothiazine compounds were prepared using the Knoevenagel condensation with substituted benzaldehydes in the presence of sodium methoxide in DMF. The presence of a nitro substituent in the 4-position, water and a slightly acid reaction medium in this condensation caused the rupture of the benzothiazine ring and subsequent formation of the phenylacrylamide compounds. A crystallographic data was presented for (2E)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-N-dodecyl-N -(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl) acrylamide.

Caldensinic acid, a benzoic acid derivative and others compounds from Piper carniconnectivum

A benzoic acid derivative - caldensinic acid; E-phytyl hexadecanoate; β-sitosterol and stigmasterol mixture and phaeophytin a were isolated from the aerial parts of Piper carniconnectivum. The structures of these compounds were established unambiguously by IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR analysis.

Steroidal and phenolic compounds from Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell and evaluation of cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities

Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell belongs to the family Malvaceae and is popularly known as "malva roxa" or "malvavisco". The phytochemical study of the hexane, CHCl3 and EtOAc phases from the crude ethanol extract of S. paniculatum led to the isolation of six compounds: a mixture of β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, 4-methoxy-3-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-methoxy-3-hydroxybenzaldehyde, N-trans-feruloyltyramine and kaempferol-3-O-β-D-(6''-E-p -coumaroyl) glucoside. The structural identification of the compounds was made on the basis of spectroscopic methods such as IR, ¹H and 13C NMR with the aid of including two-dimensional techniques, besides comparison with literature data. The β-sitosterol and stigmasterol mixture showed a significant anti-inflammatory activity.

In vitro study of antioxidant and scavenger properties of phenolic compounds from Lychnophora species

This paper describes the antioxidant effects of thirteen phenolic compounds isolated from plants of the genus Lychnophora. Two assays were performed to evaluate these effects: a cellular test that measured the luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence produced by neutrophils stimulated with opsonized zymosan and a cell-free test involving horseradish peroxidase-H2O2-luminol. In both assays, the antioxidant activity of the phenolic compounds was dependent on their concentration and chemical structure. Our results suggest that the ability of phenolic compounds from Lychnophora species to scavenge and inhibit the generation of ROS may be a mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory activity of extracts from Lychnophora spp.

Estratégias para a síntese de γ-alquilidenobutenolídeos

α,β-unsaturated lactones possessing an alkylidene appendage group at the γ-position, are frequently termed γ-alkylidenebutenolides. Over the past decades, an increasing number of these compounds have been isolated from various natural sources. Members of this class of substances vary greatly in structural complexity and functionality. Besides that, many of them have been shown to display a wide range of biological activities. The γ-alkylidenebutenolides has attracted the attention of the organic synthetic chemists resulting in the development of a variety of process to synthesize them. This article review is concerned with the different approaches that can be utilized to prepare γ-alkylidenebutenolides.

Foam-forming properties of Ilex paraguariensis (mate) saponin: foamability and foam lifetime analysis by Weibull equation

Saponins are natural soaplike foam-forming compounds widely used in foods, cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. In this work foamability and foam lifetime of foams obtained from Ilex paraguariensis unripe fruits were analyzed. Polysorbate 80 and sodium dodecyl sulfate were used as reference surfactants. Aiming a better data understanding a linearized 4-parameters Weibull function was proposed. The mate hydroethanolic extract (ME) and a mate saponin enriched fraction (MSF) afforded foamability and foam lifetime comparable to the synthetic surfactants. The linearization of the Weibull equation allowed the statistical comparison of foam decay curves, improving former mathematical approaches.

Compostos magnéticos moleculares: o desenvolvimento de novos materiais magnéticos nanoestruturados

The development of new magnetic materials has attracted attention of researchers of different areas. In the last decades, a distinguished class of materials emerged in magnetism, in which the magnetic moment is delocalized over molecules. By varying the synthetic conditions it is possible to obtain a large variety of structures and properties using the same starting molecules. These materials have a great scientific appeal due to the possibility of presenting not only magnetic, but also optical or electrical transport properties. In this review we will present an overview of some molecular magnetic compounds, in particular molecular nanomagnets.

Métodos para determinação de atividade antioxidante in vitro em substratos orgânicos

In the literature there are a considerable number of chemical and biochemical tests for evaluation of in vitro antioxidant activities of pure compounds or fractions and organic extracts. These tests are important tools for screening of synthetic and natural bioactive compound as well as they can be employed in food chemistry. This work is a critical review of the main methods employed for in vitro antioxidant determination.

Recentes aplicações sintéticas de compostos orgânicos tricloro(bromo)metila substituídos

This review presents the recent applications of some trihalomethyl carbinols, α,α,α-trihalogenated carbonyl compounds and trichloro(bromo)methyl-containing heterocycles, acting as high versatile synthetic precursors in organic chemistry, based on the last 10 years' literature.

A green synthesis of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds from glyceraldehyde acetonide

The catalytic behavior of Cs-exchanged and Cs-impregnated zeolites (X and Y) was studied using the Knoevenagel condensation between glyceraldehyde acetonide and ethyl acetoacetate in order to produce the corresponding α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound that is an important intermediate for fine chemicals. The influence of reaction temperature, type of zeolite, and basicity of the sites on the catalytic behavior of the samples was evaluated. All zeolites were active for the studied reaction. The formation of the main condensation product was favored at lower reaction temperatures. Products of further condensations were also observed especially for samples that were only dried before catalytic test.