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Leptocarpha rivularis is a native South American plant used ancestrally by Mapuche people to treat gastrointestinal ailments. L. rivularis flower extracts are rich in molecules with therapeutic potential, including the sesquiterpene lactone leptocarpin, which displays cytotoxic effects against various cancer types in vitro. However, the combination of active molecules in these extracts could offer a hitherto unexplored potential for targeting cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of L. rivularis flower extracts on the proliferation, survival, and spread parameters of gastric cancer cells in vitro. Gastric cancer (AGS and MKN-45) and normal immortalized (GES-1) cell lines were treated with different concentrations of L. rivularis flower extracts (DCM, Hex, EtOAc, and EtOH) and we determined the changes in proliferation (MTS assay, cell cycle analysis), cell viability/cytotoxicity (trypan blue exclusion assay, DEVDase activity, mitochondrial membrane potential MMP, and clonogenic ability), senescence (β-galactosidase activity) and spread potential (invasion and migration assays using the Boyden chamber approach) in all these cells. The results showed that the DCM, EtOAc, and Hex extracts display a selective antitumoral effect in gastric cancer cells by affecting all the cancer parameters tested. These findings reveal an attractive antitumoral potential of L. rivularis flower extracts by targeting several acquired capabilities of cancer cells.

The cancer-preventive agent Resveratrol (RSV) [3,5,4′-trihydroxytrans-stilbene] is a widely recognized antioxidant molecule with antitumoral potential against several types of cancers, including prostate, hepatic, breast, skin, colorectal, and pancreatic. Herein, we studied the effect of RSV on the cell viability and invasion potential of gastric cancer cells. AGS and MKN45 cells were treated with different doses of RSV (0–200 μM) for 24 h. Cell viability was determined using the Sulphorhodamine B dye (SRB) assay. For invasion assays, gastric cells were pre-treated with RSV (5–25 μM) for 24 h and then seeded in a Transwell chamber with coating Matrigel. The results obtained showed that RSV inhibited invasion potential in both cell lines. Moreover, to elucidate the mechanism implicated in this process, we analyzed the effects of RSV on SOD, heparanase, and NF-κB transcriptional activity. The results indicated that RSV increased SOD activity in a dose-dependent manner. Conversely, RSV significantly reduced the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB and the enzymatic activity of heparanase in similar conditions, which was determined using ELISA-like assays. In summary, these results show that RSV increases SOD activity but decreases NF-kB transcriptional activity and heparanase enzymatic activity, which correlates with the attenuation of invasion potential in gastric cancer cells. To our knowledge, no previous study has described the effect of RSV on heparanase activity. This article proposes that heparanase could be a key effector in the invasive events occurring during gastric cancer metastasis.

Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) is a fungal epidemic disease that has been affecting coffee trees around the world since the 1980s. The early diagnosis of CLR would contribute strategically to minimize the impact on the crops and, therefore, protect the farmers’ profitability. In this research, a cyber-physical data-collection system was developed, by integrating Remote Sensing and Wireless Sensor Networks, to gather data, during the development of the CLR, on a test bench coffee-crop. The system is capable of automatically collecting, structuring, and locally and remotely storing reliable multi-type data from different field sensors, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and multi-spectral cameras (RE and RGN). In addition, a data-visualization dashboard was implemented to monitor the data-collection routines in real-time. The operation of the data collection system allowed to create a three-month size dataset that can be used to train CLR diagnosis machine learning models. This result validates that the designed system can collect, store, and transfer reliable data of a test bench coffee-crop towards CLR diagnosis.

Table grapes (Vitis vinifera) are affected by botrytis bunch rot and summer bunch rot, the latter a complex disease caused by Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus spp., Penicillium expansum and Rhizopus stolonifer. To search for biocontrol alternatives, a new bioproduct composed of Gluconobacter cerinus and Hanseniaspora osmophila, a consortium called PUCV-VBL, was developed for the control of fungal rots in table grapes. Since this consortium presents new biocontrol species, the effect of their VOCs (volatile organic compounds) was evaluated under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The VOCs produced by the PUCV-VBL consortium showed the highest mycelial inhibition against Botrytis cinerea (86%). Furthermore, H. osmophila was able to inhibit sporulation of A. tubingensis and P. expansum. VOCs’ effect in vivo was evaluated using berries from Red Globe, Thompson Seedless and Crimson Seedless grapes cultivars, demonstrating a mycelial inhibition by VOCs greater than 70% for all evaluated fungal species. The VOC identification of the PUCV-VBL consortium was analyzed by solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GCMS). A total 26 compounds were identified, including 1-butanol 3-methyl, propanoic acid ethyl ester, ethyl acetate, phenylethyl alcohol, isobutyl acetate and hexanoic acid ethyl ester. Our results show that VOCs are an important mode of action of the PUCV-VBL biological consortium.

Agricultural activity has always been threatened by the presence of pests and diseases that prevent the proper development of crops and negatively affect the economy of farmers. One of these pests is Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), which is a fungal epidemic disease that affects coffee trees and causes massive defoliation. As an example, this disease has been affecting coffee trees in Colombia (the third largest producer of coffee worldwide) since the 1980s, leading to devastating losses between 70% and 80% of the harvest. Failure to detect pathogens at an early stage can result in infestations that cause massive destruction of plantations and significantly damage the commercial value of the products. The most common way to detect this disease is by walking through the crop and performing a human visual inspection. As a result of this problem, different research studies have proven that technological methods can help to identify these pathogens. Our contribution is an experiment that includes a CLR development stage diagnostic model in the Coffea arabica, Caturra variety, scale crop through the technological integration of remote sensing (through drone capable multispectral cameras), wireless sensor networks (multisensor approach), and Deep Learning (DL) techniques. Our diagnostic model achieved an F1-score of 0.775. The analysis of the results revealed a p-value of 0.231, which indicated that the difference between the disease diagnosis made employing a visual inspection and through the proposed technological integration was not statistically significant. The above shows that both methods were significantly similar to diagnose the disease.

Candida is a genus of yeasts and is the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. However, only a few antifungal drugs are currently available for the treatment of Candida infections. In the last decade, terpenophenols have attracted much attention because they often possess a variety of biological activities. In the search for new antifungals, eight carveoylphenols were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic analysis. By using the broth microdilution assay, the compounds were evaluated for antifungal activities in vitro against four human pathogenic yeast, and structure&ndash, activity relationships (SAR) were derived. Noteworthy, in this preliminary study, compounds 5 and 6, have shown a significant reduction in the growth of all Candida strains tested. Starting from these preliminary results, we have designed the second generation of analogous in this class, and further studies are in progress in our laboratories.

A series of novel oxyalkylchalcones substituted with alkyl groups were designed and synthesized, and the antioomycete activity of the series was evaluated in vitro against Saprolegnia strains. All tested O-alkylchalcones were synthesized by means of nucleophilic substitution from the natural compound 2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone (1) and the respective alkyl bromide. The natural chalcone (1) and 10 synthetic oxyalkylchalcones (2–11) were tested against Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia australis. Among synthetic analogs, 2-hydroxy,4-farnesyloxychalcone (11) showed the most potent activity against Saprolegnia sp., with MIC and MOC values of 125 µg/mL (similar to bronopol at 150 µg/mL) and 175 µg/mL, respectively; however, 2′,4′-dihydroxychalcone (1) was the strongest and most active molecule, with MIC and MOC values of 6.25 µg/mL and 12.5 µg/mL.

Laureliopsis philippiana (Looser) R. Schodde (Monimiaceae) is a native tree widespread in the forest areas in the south of Chile and Argentina, known for its medicinal properties and excellent wood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of L. philippiana leaf and bark essential oils (EOs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and to quantify its anti-oomycete activity, specifically against Saprolegnia parasitica and S. australis. Only six components were identified in leaf EO, 96.92% of which are phenylpropanoids and 3.08% are terpenes. As for bark EO, 29 components were identified, representing 67.61% for phenylpropanoids and 32.39% for terpenes. Leaf EO was characterized mainly by safrole (96.92%) and β-phellandrene (1.80%). Bark EO was characterized mainly by isosafrole (30.07%), safrole (24.41%), eucalyptol (13.89%), methyleugenol (7.12%), and eugenol (6.01%). Bark EO has the most promising anti-Saprolegnia activity, with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) value of 30.0 µg/mL against mycelia growth and a minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) value of 50.0 μg/mL against spores, for leaf EO, the MIC and MFC values are 100 and 125 µg/mL, respectively. These findings demonstrate that bark EO has potential to be developed as a remedy for the control of Saprolegnia spp. in aquaculture.