Factors de creixement autòlegs aplicats a les ferides cròniques amb evolució tòrpida

Les ferides cròniques, especialment les de lenta curació, suposen una carga important pels pacients i pels sistemes de salut. És imprescindible investigar en nous tractaments que redueixin el temps de curació d‟aquestes ferides. L‟objectiu d‟aquest projecte, és avaluar l‟eficàcia dels factors de creixement, obtinguts de plasma ric en plaquetes, en la curació o millora de les ferides cròniques. El projecte s‟ha dissenyat com un estudi d‟una sèrie de casos que compara el tractament convencional amb el tractament amb factors de creixement. La variable resultats és la curació o la disminució del àrea de l‟úlcera. El projecte pretén avaluar uns quants pacients consecutius atesos en l‟ unitat de ferides cròniques del nostre hospital. Els subjectes del estudi han de presentar una ferida de més de 3 mesos d‟evolució nul·la o escassa resposta als tractaments habituals. La tècnica de obtenció dels factors de creixement plaquetar no és complexa i es pot realitzar en l‟entorn d‟un hospital de dia. No s‟han comunicat en la literatura efectes secundaris majors de l‟aplicació dels factors de creixement en ferides cròniques.

Lipídios estruturados obtidos a partir da mistura de gordura de frango, sua estearina e triacilgliceróis de cadeia média: I- Composição em ácidos graxos e em triacilgliceróis

The purpose of this study is to analyze the interactions that occur in binary and ternary fat blends between medium and long chain triacylglycerols and their structured lipids obtained by chemical interesterification through the analysis of their physico-chemical properties. The synthesized structured triacylglycerols presented from 14.8 to 58.4% medium chain fatty acids, from 15.7 to 37.2% saturated fatty acids, from 19.2 to 47.5% monounsaturated fatty acids, and from 6.7 to 15.2% essential fatty acids. Chemical interesterification modified the behavior of binary and ternary mixtures and new types of triacylglycerol groups were formed.

Essential oils from leaves of cryptocarya spp from the atlantic rain forest

The essential oils from leaves of four Cryptocarya spp endemic in the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest were obtained by hydrodistillation and shown by GC-MS analysis to contain mono and sesquiterpenes. The major components of the oil of Cryptocarya moschata were linalool (34.3%), a-terpinene (17.0%), g-terpinene (10.4%), 1,8-cineole (5.8%) and trans-ocimene (4.8%), whilst those of C. botelhensis were a-pinene (22.7%), b-pinene (9.2%), trans-verbenol (8.4%), trans-pinocarveol (5.5%) and myrtenal (5.4%). The principal compounds of C. mandioccana oil were b-caryophyllene (13.8%), spathulenol (10.2%), caryophyllene oxide (7.8%), d-cadinene (6.9%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.4%), whilst those of C. saligna were germacrene D (15.5%), bicyclogermacrene (13.8%), spathulenol (11.8%) and germacrene B (5.7%).

Técnicas de extrações e procedimentos de clean-up para a determinação de hidrocarbonetos policílicos aromáticos (HPA) em sedimentos da costa do Ceará

Extraction and clean-up are essential points in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) analysis in a solid matrix. This work compares extraction techniques and clean-up procedures for PAH analysis. PAH levels, their toxicological significance and source were also evaluated in the waters of the Cocó and Ceará rivers. The efficiency of PAH recovery was higher for the soxhlet and ultrasonic techniques. PAH recovery varied from 69.3 to 99.3%. Total PAH concentration (ΣHPA) varied from 720.73 to 2234.76 µg kg-1 (Cocó river) and 96.4 to 1859.21 µg kg-1 (Ceará river). The main PAH sources are pyrolytic processes and the levels were classified as medium so that adverse effects are possible.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Hyptis pectinata (l.) Poit.

Essential oil was extracted from leaves of Hyptis pectinata using hydrodistillation, and its composition determined using GC-FID and GC-MS. Chemical analysis showed that there was a predominance of sesquiterpenes, of which β-caryophyllene (18.34%), caryophyllene oxide (18.00%) and calamusenone (24.68%) were measured for the first time in the genus Hyptis. Twenty-one compounds were identified, and calamusenone was isolated using preparative thin layer chromatography with a silica gel plate (60 PF254). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal microbicidal concentration (MMC) were determined for various pathogenic microorganisms. H. pectinata oil was most effective against Gram (+) bacteria and yeasts.

Antimicrobial and antileishmanial activity of essential oil from the leaves of Annona foetida (Annonaceae)

bicyclogermacrene (35.12%), (E)-caryophyllene (14.19%) and α-copaene (8.19%). The antimicrobial and antileishmanial activities were investigated. The oil showed potent antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans and Rhodococcus equi. The oil also showed significant antileishmanial activity, giving the best results against Leishmania guyanensis. A preliminary cytotoxicity assay for this oil was carried out on hamster and mice (Balb/c) peritoneal macrophages. The results obtained were similar to pentamidine and considered not to be cytotoxic to macrophages.

Database of the Amazon aromatic plants and their essential oils

The aromatic flora of the Amazon has been inventoried for 30 years. In this sense, were made over 500 field trips to collect over 2500 plants and to obtain more than 2000 essential oils and aroma concentrates, all of them submitted to GC and GC-MS. This work led to the creation of a database for the aromatic plants of the Amazon, which catalogs general information about 1250 specimens. The database has allowed the publication of the chemical composition of the oils and aromas of more than 350 species, associated with a larger number of chemical types. The essential oils of many species offer optimum conditions for economic exploitation and use in national and international market of fragrances, cosmetics, agricultural and household pesticides.

Reaction mixtures formed by nitrite and selected sulfa-drugs showed mutagenicity in acidic medium

Nitrite, which is present in preserved meat and can be produced in the oral cavity by reduction of nitrate taken from vegetables, could react in stomach with nitrosatable drugs, giving genotoxic-carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds (NOC). The mutagenicity of reaction mixtures formed by sodium nitrite and selected sulfa-drugs (sulfathiazole, HST; phtalylsulfathiazole, PhST; complex Co(II)-sulfathiazole, Co(II)-ST) in acidic medium was evaluated using the Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay (Ames test), with TA98 and TA 100 strains. The reactions were carried out at room temperature, with a mole ratio [nitrite]/[sulfa-drug] > 1. The three reaction mixtures showed mutagenic effects in the considered range.

Chemical composition and antibacterial activities from the essential oils of myrtaceae species planted in Brazil

The essential oils of seven Myrtaceae species were investigated for its chemical composition and antibacterial activity. The volatile oils were characterized by a high content of monoterpenoids of which 1,8-cineole (88.0, 65.0 and 77.0% for Melaleuca hypericifolia, Callistemon viminalis and Callistemon citrinus respectively), terpinen-4-ol (47.0 and 49.8% for Melaleuca thymifolia and Callistemon polandii respectively) and α-pinene (54.5% for Kunzea ericoides) were the major components. The oil from M. linariifolia was characterized by a high concentration of methyleugenol (87.2%). The oil from Melaleuca thymifolia was the most active, exhibiting high antimicrobial activity against all tested bacteria.

Recovery of manganese and zinc from spent Zn-C and alkaline batteries in acidic medium

The anode and the internal paste of spent Zn-C and alkaline batteries were leached with 2 mol L-1 H2SO4 at 80 ºC for 2 h. Solid/liquid ratio was 1/10 (g mL-1). The leachate was treated with Na2S in order to precipitate Hg, Cd and Pb. Zn was quantitatively isolated at pH 1,5-2 by adding Na2S. Mn can be precipitated at pH close to 7. Na2S may be replaced by oxalic acid. Zn precipitated at pH around 0, whereas Mn was quantitatively recovered at pH > 4. Acidity control is a critical parameter. Na2SO4 and carbon are the end products.

Quantitative structure-retention relationships analysis of retention index of essential oils

Genetic algorithm and multiple linear regression (GA-MLR), partial least square (GA-PLS), kernel PLS (GA-KPLS) and Levenberg-Marquardt artificial neural network (L-M ANN) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention index (RI) and descriptors for 116 diverse compounds in essential oils of six Stachys species. The correlation coefficient LGO-CV (Q²) between experimental and predicted RI for test set by GA-MLR, GA-PLS, GA-KPLS and L-M ANN was 0.886, 0.912, 0.937 and 0.964, respectively. This is the first research on the QSRR of the essential oil compounds against the RI using the GA-KPLS and L-M ANN.

Nanostructured systems containing an essential oil: protection against volatilization

The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of preparing nanocapsules and nanoemulsions using tea tree oil as oily phase aiming to protect its volatilization. The nanostructures presented nanometric mean size (160-220 nm) with a polydispersity index below 0.25 and negative zeta potential. The pH values were 6.43 ± 0.37 and 5.98 ± 0.00 for nanoemulsions and nanocapsules, respectively. The oil content after preparation was 96%. The inclusion of tea tree oil in nanocapsules showed higher protection against volatilization. The analysis of mean size and polydispersity index of formulations presented no significant alteration during the storage time.

Application of GA-PLS and GA-KPLS calculations for the prediction of the retention indices of essential oils

Genetic algorithm and partial least square (GA-PLS) and kernel PLS (GA-KPLS) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention indices (RI) and descriptors for 117 diverse compounds in essential oils from 5 Pimpinella species gathered from central Turkey which were obtained by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The square correlation coefficient leave-group-out cross validation (LGO-CV) (Q²) between experimental and predicted RI for training set by GA-PLS and GA-KPLS was 0.940 and 0.963, respectively. This indicates that GA-KPLS can be used as an alternative modeling tool for quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) studies.

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oils from verbenaceae species: alternative sources of (E)-caryophyllene and germacrene-D

Volatile oils from the leaves of Verbenaceae species Aloysia virgata, Lantana camara, Lantana trifolia, Lantana montevidensis, Lippia brasiliensis and Lippia sericea were investigated for its chemical composition and antibacterial activity. The volatile oils were characterized by a high content of sesquiterpenes of which (E)-caryophyllene (10-35%), germacrene-D (5-46%) and bicyclogermacrene (7-17%) were the major components for all studied species. For the flowers, a higher concentration of monoterpenes was observed for the species L. camara, L. trifolia and L. brasiliensis. These compounds probably act as attractive to specific pollinators. The volatile oils from A. virgata was the most active, exhibiting moderate antimicrobial activity against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli.

In vitro trypanocidal evaluation of pinane derivatives from essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae)

Essential oils of ripe fruits from Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae), obtained using a pilot extractor and a Clevenger apparatus were chemically characterized. Due the high amount of (-)- α-pinene in both oils, this monoterpene was tested against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, showing a moderate potential (IC50 63.56 µg/mL) when compared to benznidazole (IC50 43.14 µg/mL). Otherwise, (-)- α-pinene oxide did not showed anti-trypanosomal activity (IC50 > 400 µg/mL) while (-)-pinane showed an IC50 of 56.50 µg/mL. The obtained results indicated that the epoxydation of α-pinene results to the loss of the anti-parasitic activity while its hydrogenation product, contributed slightly to the increased activity.