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Lepidopterism caused by caterpillar contact is considered a public health problem around the world. The local and systemic responses of this pathology include short- and long-term inflammatory events. Although the proteolytic activity of the venoms from caterpillars is strongly associated with an inflammatory response in humans and murine models, fast and acute symptoms such as a burning sensation, itching, and pain should be related to the presence of low-weight hydrophilic molecules which easily influence cell metabolism. This investigation reports on the 1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) profiling of the venom from the larva of Hylesia continua, a caterpillar linked to frequent cases of lepidopterism in the northern highlands of Puebla, Mexico. According to one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) NMR data, the venom of H. continua contained 19 compounds with proven pain-inducing activity (i.e., acetic acid, lactic acid, formic acid, succinic acid, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, ethanol, and glutamate), inflammatory activity (i.e., cadaverine, putrescine, and acetoin), as well as natural immunosuppressive activity (i.e., O-phosphocholine and urocanic acid). The levels of the 19 compounds were calculated using quantitative-NMR (qNMR) and extensively discussed on the basis of their toxic properties which partially explain typical symptoms of lepidopterism caused by the larvae of H. continua. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation reporting a complex mixture of small molecules with inflammatory properties dissolved in the venom of a lepidopteran larva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinsonia aculeata L. (Caesalpiniaceae), native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southwestern USA and northern Mexico, has been introduced and successfully propagated in Jordan within the Greening the Desert Project. No phytochemical or biological studies have been carried out with this species grown in Jordan. The hydrodistilled essential oils of P. aculeata, from the fresh leaves and flowers (fully grown and at the pre-flowering stage), as well as their spontaneous emitted volatiles, were determined by Solid-Phase-Micro-Extraction (SPME), and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Water and ethanol extracts were screened by LC-MS and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities on two colorectal- (Caco2 and HCT116) and two breast cancer- (MCF7 and T47D) cell lines. The monoterpene trans- ocimene appeared as the major compound of the aroma profile of all the studied organs while the hydro-distilled oils contained larger percentages of non-terpenoid volatile substances. LC-MS analyses of the water extract of the aerial parts revealed the presence of sixteen compounds, with 4-methylumbelliferone, succinic acid, vitexin, and hyperoside being the major identified compounds. In the ethanol extract of the aerial parts eleven compounds were identified, with iso-orientin and chrysoeriol-7-glucoside as the major compounds. Biologically, the water extract of the P. aculeata showed promising antiproliferative activity against the four tested cell lines with IC 50 s ranging between 17.5 and 77 μg/mL. Findings encourage future studies to isolate the water extract components of P. aculeata to investigate their anticancer activities against different cancer cell lines and to consider it as a complementary therapy for colorectal cancer. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) were collected at two sites located in the urban area of the city of Cuernavaca (Morelos) during a season when a large number of forest fires occurred. Three dicarboxylic acids (malonic, glutaric and succinic) and levoglucosan were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF) and soluble potassium (K+) was analyzed by ion chromatography. The concentration of PM2.5 increased on the days when the highest number of forest fires occurred. A strong correlation was observed between levoglucosan and K+, confirming the hypothesis that both are tracers of biomass burning (r = 0.57, p < 0.05). Levoglucosan (average 367.6 ng m−3, Site 2) was the most abundant compound, followed by succinic acid (average 101.7 ng m−3, Site 2), glutaric acid (average 63.2 ng m−3, Site 2), and malonic acid (average 46.9 ng m−3, Site 2), respectively. The ratio of C3/C4 concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 1.2, with an average of 0.8, which suggests great photochemical activity in the Cuernavaca atmosphere. The ratio of K+/levoglucosan concentrations (0.44) indicates that open fires are the main source of these tracers. The positive correlations between PM2.5 and levoglucosan and succinic and malonic acids suggest that such compounds are contributing to secondary organic aerosol particle formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]