In vitro efficacy of the essential oil of Piper cubeba L. (Piperaceae) against Schistosoma mansoni

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Antiulcerogenic Activity of the Essential Oil of Baccharis dracunculifolia on Different Experimental Models in Rats

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

Effect of Artemisia annua L. leaves essential oil and ethanol extract on behavioral assays

Artemisia annua tem sido utilizada tradicionalmente para o tratamento de malária e febre na China devido à presença do princípio ativo, artemisinina. O presente trabalho avaliou a atividade central de do óleo essencial obtido por hidrodestilação e do extrato etanólico bruto de folhas frescas de A. annua em modelo in vivo como parte de um screening farmacológico dessa espécie. Sono induzido por pentobarbital, nado forçado e o ensaio de campo aberto são modelos de estudo conhecidos para o estudo de fármacos sobre depressão induzida. A administração do óleo essencial ou extrato bruto etanólico de A. annua aumentaram o tempo de imobilidade no teste do nado forçado. Por outro lado, diminuíram outros parâmetros no campo aberto, como ambulação, exploração, o ato de lamber as patas ou se lamber. Ambos produtos aumentaram o tempo de sono induzido por pentobarbital, com o óleo essencial apresentando um efeito superior ao do extrato. Pela análise dos resultados, é possível sugerir que tanto o extrato bem como o óleo essencial podem atuar como depressores do Sistema Nervoso Central (SNC).

Genotoxicity and mutagenicity of Rosmarinus officinalis (Labiatae) essential oil in mammalian cells in vivo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

AO-OIL: um middleware orientado a aspectos baseado em uma arquitetura de referência

Middleware platforms have been widely used as an underlying infrastructure to the development of distributed applications. They provide distribution and heterogeneity transparency and a set of services that ease the construction of distributed applications. Nowadays, the middlewares accommodate an increasing variety of requirements to satisfy distinct application domains. This broad range of application requirements increases the complexity of the middleware, due to the introduction of many cross-cutting concerns in the architecture, which are not properly modularized by traditional programming techniques, resulting in a tangling and spread of theses concerns in the middleware code. The presence of these cross-cutting concerns limits the middleware scalability and aspect-oriented paradigm has been used successfully to improve the modularity, extensibility and customization capabilities of middleware. This work presents AO-OiL, an aspect-oriented (AO) middleware architecture, based on the AO middleware reference architecture. This middleware follows the philosophy that the middleware functionalities must be driven by the application requirements. AO-OiL consists in an AO refactoring of the OiL (Orb in Lua) middleware in order to separate basic and crosscutting concerns. The proposed architecture was implemented in Lua and RE-AspectLua. To evaluate the refactoring impact in the middleware architecture, this paper presents a comparative analysis of performance between AO-OiL and OiL

Evolução tectono-estrutural do Campo de Xaréu (Sub-bacia de Mundaú, Bacia do Ceará - NE do Brasil: abordagem multiescala e pluriferramental

The Xaréu Oil Field, located in the center-southern portion of the Mundaú Sub-Basin (eastern portion of the Ceará Basin), is characterized by a main Iramework of NW-trending and NE-dipping faults. The faults in the Xaréu Oil Field, among which the Xaréu Fautt stands out, are arranged according to an extensional-listriclan, rooted on a detachment surface corresponding to the Mundaú Fault, the border fautt of Mundaú Sub-Basin. During the tectonic-structural evolution of the Xaréu Oil Field and the Mundaú Sub-Basin, the Mundaú Fault played a crucial role on the control of the geometry of both compartments. The main carbonatic unit in the Xaréu Oil Field, named the Trairí Member(Paracuru Formation of Late Aptian to Early Albian age), contains the largest oil volume in the field, concentrated in structurally-controlled accumulations. The Trairí Member is composed by a variety of carbonatic rocks (massive, bedded or laminated calcilutites, ostracodites, calcarenites and carbonatic rudites, all of them presenting variable degrees of dolomitization). The carbonatic rocks are interbedded into thick packages of black shales and marls, besides local beds of siliciclastic conglomerates, sandstones, siltnes and argillites. From the spatial association and the genetic relationships between the carbonatic and siliciclastic units, it is possible to group them in three lithofacies associations (Marginal Plain, Ramp and Lacustrine Interior) that, together, were developed in a lacustrine system associated to a marginal sabkha. Structural studies based on drill coresthat sample the Trairí Member in the Xaréu Oil Field allowed to characterize two generations of meso- to microscale structures: the D1 group presents a typical hydroplastic character, being characterized by intra/interstratal to oblique-bedding shear zones. The hydroplastic character related to these structures allowed to infer their development at an early-lithilication stage of the Trairí Member, leading to infer an Early Cretaceous age to them. The second group of structures identified in the drill cores, nominated D2 and ascribed to a Neogene age, presents a strictly brttle character, being typilied by normal faults and slickenfibers of re-crystallized clayminerals, ali olthem displaying variable orientations. Although the present faults in the Xaréu Oil Field (and, consequently, in the Mundaú Sub-Basin) were classically relerred as struetures of essentially normal displacement, the kinematics analysis of the meso-to microscaie D1 struetures in the drill cores led to deline oblique displacements (normal with a clockwise strike-slip component) to these faults, indicating a main tectonic transport to ENE. These oblique movements would be responsible for the installation of a transtensive context in the Mundaú Sub-Basin, as part of the transcurrent to translormant opening of the Atlantic Equatorial Margin. The balancing of four struetural cross-sections ofthe Xaréu Oil Field indicates that the Mundaú Fault was responsible for more than 50% of the total stretching (ß factor) registered during the Early Aptian. At the initial stages of the "rifting", during Early Aptianuntil the Holocene, the Mundaú Sub-Basin (and consequently the Xaréu Oil Fleld) accumulated a total stretching between 1.21 and 1.23; in other words, the crust in this segment of the Atlantic Equatorial Margin was subjeeted to an elongation of about 20%. From estimates of oblique displacements related to the faults, it ws possible to construct diagrams that allow the determination of stretching factors related to these displacements. Using these diagrams and assuming the sense 01 dominant teetonictransport towards ENE, it was possible to calculate the real stretching lactors related to the oblique movement 0 of the faults in the Mundaú Sub-Basin. which reached actual values between 1.28 and 1.42. ln addnion to the tectonic-structural studies in the Xaréu Oil Field, the interpretation of remote sensing products, coupled wnh characterization of terrain analogues in seleeted areas along the northern Ceará State (continental margins of the Ceará and Potiguar basins), provided addnional data and constraints about the teetonic-structural evolution of the oil lield. The work at the analogue sites was particularly effective in the recognition and mapping, in semidetail scale, several generations of struetures originated under a brittle regime. Ali the obtained information (from the Xaréu Oil Field, the remote sensor data and the terrain analogues) were jointly interpreted, culminating with the proposnion of an evolutionary model lor this segment of the Atlantic Equatorial Margin; this model that can be applied to the whole Margin, as well. This segmentof the Atlantic Equatorial Margin was delormedin an early E-W (when considered lhe present-day position of the South American Plate) transcurrent to transform regime with dextral kinematics, started Irom, at least, the Early Aptian, which left its record in several outcrops along the continental margin of the Ceará State and specilically in the Xaréu off Field. The continuous operation of the regime, through the Albian and later periods, led to the definitive separation between the South American and African plates, with the formation of oceanic lithosphere between the two continental blocks, due to the emplacement off spreading centers. This process involved the subsequent transition of the transcurrent to a translorm dextral regime, creating lhe Equatorial Atlantic Oceano With the separation between the South American and African plates already completed and the increasing separation between lhe continental masses, other tecton ic mechanisms began to act during the Cenozoic (even though the Cretaceous tectonic regime lasted until the Neogene), like an E-W compressive stress líeld (related to the spreading olthe oceanic floor along lhe M id-Atlantic Ridge and to the compression of the Andean Chain) effective Irom the Late Cretaceous, and a state of general extension olthe horizontal surface (due to the thermal uplift ofthe central portion of Borborema Province), effective during the Neogene. The overlap of these mechanisms during the Cenozoic led to the imprint of a complex tectonic framework, which apparently influenced the migration and entrapment 01 hydrocarbon in the Ceará Basin

Comparative study of the topical effectiveness of the andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis) and DEET 50% as repellent for Aedes sp

O DEET (N, N-dietil-3-metilbenzamida) é hoje o repelente mais efetivo disponível, porém, seu uso pode apresentar importantes efeitos colaterais tópicos e sistêmicos. Alguns compostos botânicos, como a Andiroba (Carapa guianensis), têm demonstrado propriedades repelentes a um baixo custo e baixa toxicidade. Quatro voluntários hígidos submeteram seus antebraços recobertos com óleo de Andiroba a 100%, DEET 50% (controle positivo), óleo de soja refinado, óleo de Andiroba 15% e na ausência de produtos (controles negativos), diretamente a picadas de fêmeas saudáveis de Aedes sp. Foram aferidos os tempos da primeira e terceira picadas. Os resultados mostraram que a mediana da primeira picada nos antebraços sem produto foi 17.5s e a terceira picada, 40.0s. No óleo de soja, as picadas ocorreram em 60.0s e 101.5s. No óleo de Andiroba 100%, em 56.0s e 142.5s. Com Andiroba 15%, em 63.0s e 97.5s. Usando DEET 50% não houve picadas após 3600s na maioria dos experimentos (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). O óleo de Andiroba 100% comparado ao óleo de soja, antebraço sem produto e óleo de Andiroba 15%, mostrou discreta superioridade (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). Concluímos que o óleo puro de Andiroba apresenta efeito repelente discreto contra picada de Aedes sp., sendo significativamente inferior ao DEET 50%.

Decreased oxidative stress in patients with ulcerative colitis supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids

OBJECTIVE: the potential pathogenicity of free radicals may have a pivotal role in ulcerative colitis. Fish oil omega-3 fatty acids exert anti-inflammatory effects on patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), but the precise mechanism of the action of fish oil on oxidative stress is still controversial. The aim of the present work was to verify the blood oxidative stress in patients with UC and determine whether the association of sulfasalazine to fish oil omega-3 fatty acids is more effective than isolated use of sulfasalazine to reduce the oxidative stress.METHODS:, Nine patients (seven female and two male; me. an age = 40 +/- 11 y) with mild or moderate active UC were studied in a randomized crossover design. In addition to their usual medication (2 g/d of sulfasalazine), they received fish oil omega-3 fatty acids (4.5 g/d) or placebo for 2-mo treatment periods that were separated by 2 mo, when they only received sulfasalazine. Nine healthy individuals served as control subjects to study the oxidative stress status. Disease activity was assessed by laboratory indicators (C-reactive protein, alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein, alpha(1)-antitrypsin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, albumin, hemoglobin, and platelet count), sigmoidoscopy, and histology scores. Analysis of oxidative stress was assessed by plasma chemiluminescence and erythrocyte lipid peroxidation, both induced by tert butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) and by plasma malondialdehyde. Antioxidant status was assayed by total plasma antioxidant capacity (TRAP) and microsomal lipid peroxidation inhibition (LPI). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase erythrocyte enzymatic activities were also determined.RESULTS: No significant changes were observed in any laboratory indicator or in the sigmoidoscopy or histology scores, with the exception of erythrocyte sedimentation rate, which decreased with both treatments. Oxidative stress was demonstrated by significant decreases in TRAP and LPI levels, increased chemiluminescence induced by t-BuOOH, and higher SOD activity in patients with UC. Treatment with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids reverted the chemiluminescence induced by t-BuOOH and LPI to baseline levels but that did not occur when patients received only sulfasalazine. Levels of plasma malondialdehyde, erythrocyte lipid peroxidation, and catalase were not different from those in the control group.CONCLUSIONS: the results indicated that plasma oxidative stress occurs in patients with UC, and there was a significant decrease when the patients used sulfasalazine plus fish oil omega-3 fatty acids. However, there was no improvement in most laboratory indicators, sigmoidoscopy, and histology scores. The results suggested that omega-3 fatty acids may act as free radical scavengers protecting the patients against the overall effect of oxidative stress. (C)Elsevier B.V. 2003.

Modifying Effects of Lemongrass Essential Oil on Specific Tissue Response to the Carcinogen N-Methyl-N-Nitrosurea in Female BALB/c Mice

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

Protective effects of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus STAPF) essential oil on DNA damage and carcinogenesis in female Balb/C mice

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

Cholesterol reduction and lack of genotoxic or toxic effects in mice after repeated 21-day oral intake of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil

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

Evaluation of castor oil-based polyurethane membranes in rat bone-marrow cell culture

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evaluation of Cymbopogon schoenanthus essential oil in lambs experimentally infected with Haemonchus contortus

Hematophagous gastrointestinal parasites cause significant economic losses in small ruminant grazing systems. The growing reports of multi-drug resistant parasites call for intensive research on alternative treatments for anthelmintics to help small ruminants cope with these parasites. Two-month-old lambs with mean body weight (BW) of 22.5 kg were experimentally infected with a multidrug-resistant Haemonchus contortus strain. Infected animals were dosed orally with Cymbopogon schoenanthus essential oil to evaluate its anthelmintic potential. Eighteen animals were allocated into three groups of six animals, and each received one of the following treatments: Group 1 - control (10 mL of water), Group 2 - C. schoenanthus essential oil (180 mg/kg BW); and Group 3 - C schoenanthus essential oil (360 mg/kg BW). Animals received the oil once a day for 3 consecutive days. Lambs were evaluated clinically for blood biochemistry before, at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days after treatment, and then were euthanized to assess the total worm burden. No statistically significant reduction in fecal egg count, packed cell volume or total worm count was observed after treatments. Also, no statistical difference among group means for blood levels of urea, creatinine, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma glutamyl transferase was found. Larval development assay (LDA) and egg hatch assay (EHA) were performed from feces of treated animals at 1, 5, 10 and 15 days after essential oil administration. An inhibition in LDA was observed 1 day after the 3-day treatment in larvae from feces of animals treated with 360 mg/kg essential oil. In conclusion, the essential oil at the doses of 180 mg/kg and 360 mg/kg was safe to sheep, but failed as an anthelmintic treatment when applied to young sheep artificially infected with a multidrug-resistant H. contortus strain. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.