Wallace Ribeiro Corrêa

Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Properties of the Extract, Tiliroside, and Patuletin 3-O-β-D-Glucopyranoside from Pfaffia townsendii (Amaranthaceae)

Brazilian ginseng, including Pfaffia townsendii, is used in popular medicine as a natural anti-inflammatory, tonic, analgesic, and antidiabetic agent. In this study, we investigated the chemical composition and evaluated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the P. townsendii ethanolic extract as well as the major isolated glycoside flavonoids tiliroside and patuletin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside. Chromatographic techniques and spectroscopic analysis were used for the isolation and identification of the major compounds. The antioxidant potential was determined through DPPH and ORAC-FL assays. The total phenolic content was measured using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined based on a model of paw edema and carrageenan- (Cg-) induced pleurisy. We identified three phenolic acids, one carboxylic acid and two flavonoids, patuletin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and tiliroside. The ethanol crude extracts, partitions and isolated flavonoids (4581 μmol of Trolox equivalents/g of extract in ORAC and a SC50 of approximately 31.9 μg/mL in the DPPH assay) demonstrated antioxidant activity, and the ethanolic extract as well as isolated flavonoids inhibited paw edema induced by Cg and leukocyte migration in the Cg-induced pleurisy model. The extract, tiliroside, and patuletin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside obtained from P. townsendii have therapeutic potential against oxidative stress-related and inflammatory disorders.

Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities and Chemical Profile of Five Amaranthaceae Plants Collected in the South of Brazil

In this study, the antioxidant and cytotoxic activity, the phenolic content and the HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS profile of the ethanolic extracts of five Amaranthaceae plants collected in the south of Brazil were investigated: these were Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. (I), Alternanthera hirtula (Mart.) R.E. Fr. (II), Alternanthera praelonga A. St. –Hil. (III), Froelichia tomentosa (C. Mart.) Moq. (IV) and Pfaffia tuberosa (Spreng.) Hicken (V). The antioxidant potential was determined using the DPPH and ORAC-FL assays. The total phenolic content was measured using the Folin- Ciocalteu reagent. The ethanolic extracts of I, II, IV and V showed high levels of phenolic compounds (3.6-20.0 mg GAE/Kg), as well as high antioxidant activity in both methods. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was investigated in vitro against panel of human cancer cell lines and against VERO control. The extract of V exhibited anti-proliferative activity against all cancer cell lines studied (Total Growth Inhibition, TGI<100 μg/mL), except for VERO cell line (TGI=125.2 μg/ mL). HPLC-UV/DAD and ESI-MS analyses revealed that the extracts investigated appear to contain phenolic acids and flavonoids as main constituents. Findings from this study demonstrated that the extracts of the Amaranthaceae plants from the south of Brazil may be considered as promising sources of antioxidant and anti-proliferative compounds.

ESI-MS fingerprinting of residues of green propolis, and evaluation of their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities

In this study, we evaluated the composition of the residues of subsequent extractions of raw propolis compared to that of the first extraction (EEP) in order to determine the appropriate number of extractions that could be used. Three samples of green propolis, two of them from small apiaries and another from a larger apiary (all with similar composition) were analyzed. The chemical composition of the residues and the crude propolis was evaluated by direct insertion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the negative ion mode (ESI(-)-MS) using a TQD Acquity mass spectrometer. The antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH and ORAC assays, and the antimicrobial activity was studied as well. A comparison of the ESI(-)-MS fingerprints showed that bioactive substances still remain in the residues after one or two extractions. Artepillin C was found to be present in green propolis extract (EEP) and also in the residues; however it was present in lower concentrations. Nevertheless, another important substance, dicaffeoylquinic acid, was only found in the propolis extract and in the first two residues. In the DPPH and ORAC assays, a sequential loss of antioxidant activity was observed. The antimicrobial activity of EEP and extract of the first two residues was investigated in vitro against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and EEP, and the first extract presented inhibition values of 1 mg ml−1 or less. Two sequential extractions of raw green propolis are appropriate to avoid the loss of important chemical components in the residue.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil from the Leaves of Cyrtocymura scorpioides

The genus Cyrtocymura (Asteraceae) comprises six species distributed in South and Central America, mainly in Brazil [1]. Chemically the genus contains sesquiterpene lactones [2, 3] and eudesmane terpenes [3]. Cyrtocymura scorpioides (Lam.) H. Rob. was first described in Brazil. It is widely distributed in South and Central America. The species has been interpreted widely by most taxonomists, with C. cincta, C. lanuginosa, and C. saepia being reduced to their synonymy [4]. In this work, the chemical composition and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of C. scorpioides from Ouro Preto City in Brazil were analyzed and evaluated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the above research work has been conducted. Forty-five components were identified in the oil of C. scorpioides, which represented 89.61% of the total composition of the oil. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (49.89%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (39.36%) dominated the leaf oil composition. The major components of the oil were (E)-caryophyllene (37.0%), caryophyllene oxide (12.5%), (E)-nerolidol (10.4%), -humulene (6.0%), and spathulenol (4.7%). The essential oil of C. scorpioides has no inhibitory effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida tropicalis and Candida glabrata but has inhibitory effect for the other strains. The most susceptible strains were Kocuria rhizophila and Staphylococcus epidermidis with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 62.5 g/mL. Plant Material and Isolation Procedures. The leaves of C. scorpioides were collected in April 2014 from Ouro Preto-MG, Brazil. A voucher specimen (OUPR 27791) has been deposited in the Jose Badini Herbarium, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto-UFOP. The fresh leaves were subjected to hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus for 4 h. The yield of oil was 0.02% (w/w), and the color of the oil was light yellow. The oil was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and stored at –4 C until use. Identification of the Oil Components. The substances presents in the essential oil of C. scorpioides were investigated on a Shimadzu QP-2010 gas chromatograph interfaced to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The following equipment and conditions were used: Phenomenex Zebron ZB-5MS column (30 m 0.25 mm 0.25 m); helium (99.999%) carrier gas at a constant flow of 1.1 mL/min; 1 L injection volume; injector split ratio 1:40; injector temperature 240 C; electron impact mode at 70 eV; ion-source temperature 280 C. The oven temperature was programmed from 100 C (isothermal for 5 min), with an increase of 10 C/min, to 250 C (isothermal for 5 min), and 10 C/min to 280 C (isothermal for 15 min). A mixture of linear normal alkanes was injected under the same experimental conditions as the samples, and identification of constituents was performed by comparing their mass spectral fragmentation patterns with those of the equipment s database (Wiley 7 and Nist 08 libraries) and by using the Kovats Index, calculated for each constituent as previously described [5, 6]. The chemical composition of C. scorpioides oil is described in Table 1.