Guilherme Barroso Langoni de Freitas

Atividade inibitória do extrato em acetato de etila e hidro destilação de folhas e cascas de Drimys brasiliensis sobre a Candida albicans e sobre o Staphylococcus aureus

Atualmente, cerca de 48% dos medicamentos empregados na terapeutica tem origem, direta ou indiretamente, de produtos naturais, especialmente de plantas. Dentre as plantas com alto potencial medicinal, se destaca a especie Drymis brasiliensis . Extratos orgânicos e aquosos da especie tem sido utilizados na medicina popular e em testes pre-clinicos para o tratamento e prevencao de diversas doencas. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo a avaliacao preliminar do potencial terapeutico da planta, casca e folhas, baseados nos compostos extraidos por extracao em acetato de etila e por hidro destilacao. Estes foram utilizados em testes antimicrobianos contra os patogenos Staphyoccocus aureus e Candida albicans. Nossos resultados revelaram que o extrato obtido por hidro destilacao nao teve acao inibitoria, enquanto que o extrato em acetato de etila demonstrou esta acao em ambos os microrganismos testados.

Formulation, characterization, and in vitro/in vivo studies of capsaicin-loaded albumin nanoparticles

Capsaicin (CAP) is a secondary metabolite with high therapeutic potential. It displays several bioactive properties including hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. However, CAP presents toxicity to healthy cells and poor pharmacokinetic profile, which is characterized by toxic metabolites and short half-life. In this study, CAP-loaded albumin nanoparticles were obtained by the desolvation-coacervation method. The preparation process was optimized by the application of a factorial design. Nanoparticles presented diameter of about 200 nm, quasi-spherical morphology, encapsulation efficiency of 98.3 ± 7.4%, and negative zeta potential. The in vitro release assay demonstrated a biphasic profile, characterized by a fast release over 12 h followed by a prolonged release rate. Nanoencapsulated CAP showed significant antioxidant activity in an in vitro assay which was concentration - and time-dependent. In addition, the in vivo study demonstrated for the first time that both free and nanoencapsulated drug reduced TNF-alpha concentrations in the absence of inflammatory stimuli model. These novel findings indicate that albumin nanoparticles are potential CAP carriers and that this new drug formulation may be useful in several conditions, including cancer, inflammation, and neuropathic pain.

STERILISATION RAISES THE COMMODITIES IN MATRICARIA CHAMOMILLA

Biomédica – Grupo de Pesquisa em Biotecnologia Translacional Faculdade Campo Real Guarapuava-PR. Mestre Programa de Pós-graduação em Química Universidade Estadual do Centro Oeste Guarapuava-PR. Discente –Departamento Física – Universidade Estadual do Centro OesteGuarapuava PR. Doutor, Pós-graduação em Medicina – Universidade Federal do Paraná-Curitiba PR. Doutorando, Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Comparada da Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEL) Coordenador do grupo de Biotecnologia Translacional Faculdade Campo Real.

Evaluation of curcumin toxicity in rats through biochemical and hematological parameters

Curcumin is a natural compound known for hepatic and nephroprotective actions, however, there is little research related to its possible side effects. The research aimed to study hematological, biochemical parameters and histopathology of hepatic and renal tissues to evaluate the effects of curcumin toxicity in male rats. A group of Wistar male rats (n = 10) was orally treated for five days with 100 mg/kg of curcumin diluted in vegetable oil, and the other group (n=10) was treated with vegetable oil (control). Statistical difference was observed in the levels of creatinine, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and red blood cells count between the control and curcumin treated group. However, despite these differences, the values observed were within the normal ranges for of Wistar male rats. Histopathological alterations were not observed. Therefore, our results show that curcumin is relatively non-toxic and, because of its demonstrated pharmacological effects, it can be developed as a promising candidate drug. Key words: Curcumin, toxicity, side effects.

Das enzimas à análise sensorial: relato de aula prática interdisciplinar

In the academic programs of Nutrition, Biochemistry is one of the early disciplines, despite of that it is essential. This course includes practical classes in order to improve understanding and make more effective the teaching content, because it are based on direct observations which can elucidate the molecular reactions that teaching Biochemistry depends. This paper main to present the experience of an interdisciplinary practical class based in enzymes, which includes notions of the disciplines of Sensory analysis, Statistics, Cell biology and Technology in nutrition. The experience proved to be useful and effective, showing that pedagogy of rediscovery is important in disciplines in which required a high level of abstraction of students, e.g. Biochemistry.