Search

Paullinia cupana (Kunth), popularly known as guarana, is a plant species from the Amazon Region of Brazil that stands out for being one of the most promising herbal medicines of the Brazilian flora since it has relevant biological properties. However, studies are still needed to use this species as a direct approach to evaluate aspects related to behavior and oxidative stress in invertebrate model animals. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the stimulant and the antioxidant effects of P. cupana in lobster cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea. For that, cockroaches were exposed to a diet separately supplemented by the decoction of P. cupana powder decoction at increasing concentrations of 1, 25, 50 and 100 mg/g for 42 days. Behavioral and biochemical assays were performed, respectively, to assess the locomotor/exploratory performance and oxidative stress marker levels of the cockroaches. They exhibited an outstanding increase in the locomotion performance and in the cell viability content, as well as in the protein and non-protein thiol levels. Moreover, there was a decrease in lipid peroxidation levels and in free Fe2+ ion contents. Together, our results demonstrate the stimulant and the antioxidant capacity of P. cupana by acting positively in behavioral patterns and by regulating oxidative stress markers in lobster cockroach N cinerea. These findings encourage further laboratory analyzes in order to better enlighten the specific mechanisms of action attributed to guarana.

Background: Saline stress is an important environmental factor that limits the productivity of numerous agricultural crops, such as onion (Allium cepa L.), a vegetable present in gardens and used in various ways. Pulegone has been identified as a component that has a large number of biological functions. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pulegone (100 and 500 μg/mL) on the morphological and biochemical changes to onions induced by stressing seeds with NaCl. Method: Soil composition, emergence percentage and its inhibition, emergence speed index (ESI), leaf and root parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, free iron content and chelation/oxidation capacity (Fe2+) were measured following 120 days of treatment. Results: Pulegone was able to significantly improve the changes in ESI caused by saline stress, not restoring other emergence parameters. The leaf size was also improved by the pulegone, which did not affect the morphological changes of the roots. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the use of pulegone is a viable treatment to mitigate the effects of salt stress on A. cepa seeds.

The Triplaris gardneriana Wedd. seeds extract has great therapeutic potential due to numerous biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, which are associated wi...

Background: Scopus is regularly covering Current Drug Metabolism from 2000 onwards. Objective: The major objective is to perform the 1st bibliometric analysis of Current Drug Metabolism (CDM). Methods: The data was retrieved from Scopus in April-May 2020 for detail analysis. Results: The total number of publications was found to be 1551, with 955 reviews (61.57%) and 466 articles (30.05%). From 2000 onwards, we calculated the relative growth rate and doubling time. Based on the number of publications, total 4418 authors, 3235 institutions and 83 countries were directly involved in all publications. M.A. Kamal is the highly productive scientist with fifty-three (53 or 3.73%) publications, King Abdulaziz University is the top university with the highest number of publications (58 or 4.13%) and the USA is the top-ranked country with 365 publications (25.96%). We also provided the h-index, total citations (TC), h-index without self-citations (WSC) and total WSC of the top ten authors, universities and countries. In citations analysis, Prof. Zhou S.F. was the top scientist with the highest (1594) number of citations. In institutional category Department of Drug Metabolism, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, United States, is the top ranked institutes with 654 total citations. While, United States is the top-ranked country with 18409 total citations. In co-words analysis, 3387, 30564 and 17333 terms in titles of the manuscripts, abstracts and keywords were recorded, respectively. This indicated that CDM principally focused on understanding drug development ranging from its efficacy to delivery, metabolism, distribution, safety and mechanism of actions. Similarly, various specific drugs were thoroughly discussed in publications. Various enzymatic, genetics, proteins and cancer-related aspects were also described. For data presentations, we used VOSviewer graphical maps. Conclusion: The data confirm that CDM showed continuous growth in the number of publications and citations. However significant measures are needed to make overall progress and improve the rankings in relevant categories.

Anacardium occidentale (Anacardiaceae), popularly known as cashews, is a vegetable native to South America, consumed worldwide in the food sector. Its leaves and bark are used in the preparation of teas for health maintenance, being indicated in ethnobotanical studies for the treatment of cancer, which is considered a serious public health problem worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the A. occidentale leaf and bark extracts over tumor and normal cells, as well as their in vivo toxicity using the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT method [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazol bromide] in five cell lines (HL-60, NCI-H292, HCT-116, P815 and L929). Toxicity was evaluated by fly mortality rate and negative geotaxis, as well as by oxidative stress markers (Fe2+ quantification, protein and non-protein thiols) in the D. melanogaster model. The chromatographic study was performed by UPLC-QTOF/MS. As a result, 11 compounds present in the A. occidentale leaf extract (LEAo) and 6 compounds in the bark extract (BEAo) were identified, with gallic acid and galloyl hexoside being present in both samples. The bark extract presented a greater cytotoxic activity for HCT-116, HL60 and P815 tumor cells. The extracts also presented a low cytotoxicity with the normal cell line, L929. No changes in the levels of protein and non-protein thiols (NPSH) were observed, whereas a considerable increase in Fe2+ levels was observed in the Fe2+ quantification assays from homogenized flies exposed to the leaf extract in the D. melanogaster assays. However, further in-depth studies need to be carried out to elucidate the mechanisms of action of the extracts and to assess their pharmacological safety.

Since 2009, Scopus database is regularly covering the Arabian Journal of Chemistry (AJC). Ten years of continuous and successful journey motivated us to celebrate its contribution through the 1st comprehensive bibliometric study. For simplicity we will divide the abstract in four (4) parts. In part 1, the publications and citations details are provided. From 2009 to 2019, the total number of publications (TP) were found to be 2134, majorly comprising of research articles (n = 2009/94.14%) and reviews (n = 119/5.57%). The relative per year growth rate (%) from 2009, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the doubling time was calculated. The details of impact per publication (IPP), SNIP, % self cit, citation per document, external cites per document, self-citations and total cites are also provided. In part 2, the lists of top ten (10) authors, institutions and countries are described with total number of publications (TP), h-index, total citations (TC), h-index without selfcitations (WSC) and total WSC. We also discussed and provided the list of top ten (10) most cited documents with TC, WSC and other Scopus metrics like Crossref citation indexes, Mendeley reader and field-weighted citation impact. In 3rd part, various other parameters were presented as visualization map, using VOSviewer. Precisely, the co-authorship, citations and co-citations patterns were described in detail. While, based on the co-words analysis of titles, abstract and authors keywords, we proposed the overall trend of publications in AJC. In part 4, we will specifically mention that in 2019, SCImago journal rank has declared AJC in Q1 (1st Quartile) state while Scopus has ranked it at 22nd (in 281 general chemical engineering journals) and 45th position (in 398 chemistry journals). From Web of Science (after 2009), we also retrieved the data about the journal AJC impact factor, 5 year impact factor, immediacy index and average journal impact factor percentile. The data confirms that AJC showed a continuous growth in the number of publications, citations, impact factor and ranking.

Objective: Considering the limited number of studies that analyze the behavior of plant preparations in human body, this study aimed to characterize the phenolic compounds from Triplaris gardnerian...

Based on the Scopus record, Nitric Oxide journal (NOJ) has completed 25 years of publications. On March 8, 2022, the publication data was retrieved from the Scopus database and analyzed on VOSviewer and R-Studio (Bibliometrix R package/Biblioshiny). NOJ has published 1928 research documents majorly comprising of articles (1611/83.56%) and reviews (210/10.89%). The total citations and h-index were 5629197, respectively. The per year (from 1997 to 2022) publications and citations are presented in this study. We tried to highlight some of the influential researchers, institutes, and countries. In all publications, 7450 authors have contributed with a collaboration index of 0.241. For all authors, we provided descriptive details about their total number of publications (NoP), total citations (TC), h-index, g-index, m-index, citations per paper (CPP), citation per year (CPY), HG Sqrt and Q2Index. Based on each indicator, we highlighted the top five scientists. The research publications (over time) of the top ten authors are also described. Furthermore, the collaboration network of authors is graphically presented. We also provided descriptive details about the most productive institutes. The highest number of documents are published by the University of Sao Paolo (n = 78), Brazil, while in-country sections, USA has the highest number of publications (n = 553) with 21739 citations and 69 h-index. In the same vein, for each era (five years) details about the top five countries are provided. In all publications (n = 1794), 34 European, 3 North American, 13 Asian, 10 South American, 5 Middle East, 8 African and 2 Asia Pacific countries have contributed. Numerical details about the collaboration links of all countries and the per-era contributions of the top ten countries are also provided. Based on the co-words analysis the per era research focus is graphically presented. Descriptive details about the major trends in publication in each era are also provided. We also manually analyzed 160 words that appeared more than thirty thousand (n = 30,000) times and tried to provide a broader overview of research publications. Based on Scopus record, the NOJ ranking is yearly improving and presently (2021-2022) it holds 14th and 17th positions in clinical biochemistry and physiology. The success could be attributed to all researchers, institutes, editors-in-chief, reviewers, editorial boardentire management.

Background: Currently, numerous investigations are ongoing into the interaction of free radicals with biological systems such as lipids, DNA and protein. Methods: In the present work, synthesis, characterization, antioxidant, DNA binding and molecular docking studies of Schiff base ligand and its Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) were evaluated. Results: The metal complexes shown significant dose-dependent antioxidant activities comparable to the classical antioxidants, ascorbic acid and ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The DNA binding constants (kb) were found to be 3.487×10-5M-1, 1.858×10-5M-1, 3.090×10-5M-1, 1.367×10-5M-1 and 9.118×10-5M-1 for Ni(II), Co(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) metal complexes, respectively. Binding constants (Kb) and free energy (∆G) values calculated from molecular docking analysis were found to be in close agreement with experimental results.Conclusion: The obtained results indicate the importance of synthesis complexes as a source of synthetic antioxidants and anticancer drugs.

Phytochemical prospecting was performed by HPLC-DAD. The Inhibitory Concentration of 50% of mortality the microorganisms (IC50) was determined and a cell viability curve was obtained. Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) was determined by subculture in Sabourad Dextrose Agar. The effect of the combination extract/fluconazole was verified by microdilution, with the extracts in subinhibitory concentrations (MFC/16). Caffeic acid was the major compound of both extracts, representing 6.08% in the aqueous extract and 7.62% in the ethanolic extract. The extracts showed a fungistatic effect (MFC ≥ 16,384 μg/mL). The IC50 results demonstrated that the combination of the extracts with fluconazole were more significant than the products tested alone, with values from 4.9 to 34.8 μg/mL for the ethanolic extract/fluconazole and 5 to 84.7 μg/mL for the aqueous extract/fluconazole. The potentiating effect of fluconazole action was observed against C. albicans and C. tropicalis. In C. krusei the aqueous extract had an antagonistic effect.

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a reactive metabolite derived from different physiological pathways. Its production can be harmful to cells via glycation reactions of lipids, DNA, and proteins. But, the effects of MG on mitochondrial functioning and bioenergetic responses are still elusive. Then, the effects of MG on key parameters of mitochondrial functionality were examined here. Isolated rat liver mitochondria were exposed to 0.1–10 mM of MG to determine its toxicity in the mitochondrial viability, membrane potential (Δψm), swelling and the superoxide (O2•-) production. Besides, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation parameters were analyzed by high-resolution respiratory (HRR) assay. In this set of experiments, routine state, PM state (pyruvate/malate), oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), LEAK respiration, electron transport system (ETS) and oxygen residual (ROX) states were evaluated. HRR showed that PM state, OXPHOS CI-Linked, LEAK respiration, ETS CI/CII-Linked and ETS CII-Linked/ROX were significantly inhibited by MG exposure. MG also inhibited the complex II activity, and decreased Δψm and the viability of mitochondria. Taken together, our data indicates that MG is an inductor of mitochondrial dysfunctions and impairs important steps of respiratory chain, effects that can alter bioenergetics responses.

Mercury chloride (HgCl

Dentre as atividades desenvolvidas pelos humanos, a prática da agricultura ocorre a mais de 10 mil anos, e é uma das mais antigas que se tem conhecimento. As inovações tecnológicas nessa área proporcionaram grandes mudanças, e a implantação de novas técnicas de cultivo, como o uso intensivo de agrotóxicos. O uso dos agrotóxicos está cada vez mais presente no cotidiano dos agricultores, o que acaba por desencadear uma situação de dependência, em decorrência da necessidade do controle de pragas nas lavouras. Diante do exposto o objetivo do trabalho foi identificar o nível de conhecimento de agricultores do Distrito de Cuncas, Barro – CE sobre os riscos do uso de agrotóxicos. A coleta de dados envolveu aplicação de questionários estruturados, entre janeiro e fevereiro de 2019. Os resultados demonstraram qua há o uso indiscriminado de agrotóxicos por grande parte dos entrevistados. Observou-se que a grande maioria dos agricultores não sabem identificar a classificação toxicológica dos agrotóxicos. Altas dosagens de agrotóxicos são utilizadas pelos agricultores. As embalagens vazias, são em geral descartadas de forma incorreta no ambiente ou queimadas a céu aberto. Apenas 10% dos agricultores informaram tomar os devidos cuidados para a devolução das embalagens. Agricultores apresentaram sintomas de intoxicação, tais como dor de cabeça, tontura e náusea. Conclui-se que os agricultores possuem, em geral, uma baixa percepção de risco quanto aos efeitos deletérios do uso de agrotóxicos, fazendo-se necessário a adoção de medidas que proporcionem acompanhamento técnico e minimizem os impactos provocados a integridade humana e ambiental.

Background: The objective of the present review is to perform the 1st bibliometric analysis of sleep disorders research. Methods: The data was retrieved from Scopus in July 2020 for detailed analysis. Results: The 1st precise document about the sleep disorder was published in 1945. Till 15th July 2020, a total of 69657 documents were found in the Scopus database. Approximately eighty-two percent (57013/81.87%) of documents are published in the last twenty years (from 2001-2020). We calculated the per-year Growth Rate (GR) of publications (from 2000-onwards). The highest number of documents are published in 2019 (4337/7.90% of 57013) followed by 2018 (4249/7.74% of 57013) and 2017 (3974/7.24% of 57013). The productivity index (PI) for 1950-1960 and 2011-2020 era was found to be 100.21. We also provided the details of the top 50 countries with the maximum number of publications (from 1945 to July 2020). The top three (3) countries are the USA, with 24262 publications (34.83%), followed by UK (5566/8.0%) and Germany (4791/6.87%). We also performed the co-words analysis. Total 956643 (0.95 million) keywords were retrieved from 69657 published documents. After a critical analysis, we categorized them into different groups to show the trend in various domains. In the next phase of the study, only those documents were analyzed, which contained the phrase “sleep disorder” in the titles of the publications. Total 3626 documents were found. We calculated the per-year growth rate (GR). The continental distribution, the list of top twenty authors, sources/journals, departments or institutes, countries and research documents with highest citations are provided. By VOS viewer analysis, 6752, 36511 and 11473 terms in titles of the manuscripts, abstracts, and keywords were recorded, respectively. This may help in describing the overall trend in these publications. Conclusions: The present study provides a detailed list of top authors, departments, countries, sources, and top 20 most cited documents. The co-words analysis may help in describing the trends in the field of sleep disorders.

Since its inception in 1969, Chemico-Biological Interactions (CBI) has persistently published high quality research articles. As part of the journal's golden anniversary (50 years), we performed an electronic search on Scopus to get all publications details. Based on citescore, ranking & percentile, CBI holds 21st position in the top 113 relevant journals (in 2018). CBI also completed publications of 8005 manuscripts in March 2020. The highest documents were articles (6972/87.09%) followed by conference papers (588/7.34%) and reviews (252/3.14%). The maximum number of publications (385) was recorded in 2019, followed by 366 (in 2010) and 336 in 2016. Furthermore, details of the top 50 countries, top 50 authors and top 20 institutes with total publications, h-index, total citations and without selfcitations (WSC) are provided. USA (2371), China (786) and United Kingdom (658) are the top three countries, O'Brien, P.J (48), Maser, E. (45) and Lockridge, O. (35) are the top three authors and Karolinska Institutet (144), Stockholm University (102) & Ministry of Education China (94) are the top three institutes involved in research publications. More than eighty-four thousand (84,000) key words were amassed from scopus and after critical analysis we proposed a common sequence and connectivity. The top 200 articles, 200 reviews and 200 conference papers were analyzed by Vosviewer for various parameters. While, the top three (3) research articles and reviews are briefly described. The bibliometric analyses confirm a noteworthy growth of CBI in research publications and scientometric performance.

Visfatin (Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase) is an adipokine implicated in mediating insulin resistance and exhibiting insulin mimetic effect and therefore represents a druggable target for diabetes therapy. About 3,844 peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists documented in Chembl database were docked with PPARγ and those with binding energy of >−9 kcal/mol having experimental EC50 of 0.1 to 1 nM were selected. The candidate compounds (27) were thereafter docked with visfatin (PDB ID: 4WQ6) using AutodockVina out of which eight compounds that ranked highest in binding energy (when compared with the co-crystallized ligand of visfatin: 3TQ) were selected. Compound 25 exhibited favorable ligand-protein molecular interaction and respected Lipinski’s rule of five and interestingly from the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME)-Toxicity analysis the compound have enhanced pharmacological properties than the current ligand of visfatin. Keywords: Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, Visfatin molecular docking, Type 2 diabetes, Adipokines

Mercury chloride (HgCl2) acts as a bioaccumulator capable of causing numerous neurological and physiological changes in organisms in a negative way. However, rutin has been considered a very effective antioxidant compound in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, as it can neutralize radicals capable of damaging neuronal cells. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate rutin as a neoprotective agent against the damage induced by HgCl2 in Drosophila melanogaster. The exposure of the flies to the agents was carried out in triplicate, and about 150 adult flies were evaluated. To assess the antioxidant action of rutin, MTT, phenanthroline, nitric oxide, total thiols and NPSH tests were carried out in the following concentrations: Control (1500 μL of distilled water), 1 mg/g of HgCl2, 0.5 mg/g of Rutin + HgCl2, 1 mg/g of Rutin + HgCl2, 2 mg/g of Rutin + HgCl2. The locomotion test was verified by negative geotaxis, the result of which showed that flies exposed to HgCl2 had difficulties in flight. The group treated with HgCl2 alone had a high mortality rate, while in combination with different concentrations of rutin, it heard a moderate reduction in the number of deaths, as well as in the negative geotaxis data in which the rutin had a positive effect. An increase in iron (II) levels was observed at the highest concentrations of rutin, while at low concentrations, rutin significantly decreased nitric oxide levels. The HgCl2 + R group (2 mg/g) showed a significant increase in the total thiols content, while for the NPSH all rutin concentrations showed a significant increase in the levels of non-protein thiols. Our results demonstrate that mercury chloride can cause oxidative stress in D. melanogaster. However, the results suggest that rutin has antioxidant and protective effects against the damage caused by HgCl2.

Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poiteau, known as “Bamburral” is a plant widely used in Brazilian folk medicine, however, there are no toxicological studies to ascertain its safety. Thus, we aimed to investigate the phytochemical and toxic effects of essential oil and infusion of the dry leaves of H. suaveolens in Drosophila melanogaster and Artermia salina. The chemical composition of the essential oil was performed by CG-MS, while that of the infused extract was analyzed by HPLC-DAD. The toxicity of the essential oil-OE (3.03–30.3 μg/mL air) to D. melanogaster was performed by means of volatilization; and for infusion (2.5–20 mg/mL), they were submitted to ingestion and then submitted to locomotive activity by means of negative geotaxis. However, for acute toxicity, A. salina cysts were exposed for 24 h to the tested samples (10–1000 μg/mL). Our results demonstrated that OE had three major components: β-Caryophyllene (18.57%), sabinene (15.99%) and spathulenol (11.09%) while the leaf infusion showed caffeic acid as the major component (12.76 mg/g). H. suaveolens leaves infusion was not toxic to the organisms at all the concentrations tested (p > 0.05). However, OE behaved as quite toxic with LC50 of 15.5 and 49.72 μg/mL in D. melanogaster and A. salina, respectively. In addition, OE caused impairment of the locomotor behavior of flies. Therefore, our study indicates that more caution should be taken regarding the dosage and frequent use of H. suaveolens leaf essential oil.

Objective To identify the main chemical classes of compounds from aqueous extract of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (E. contortisiliquum) seed bark and to evaluate its antibacterial activity, as well as its potential to increase the activity of antibiotics against strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Methods Different classes of compounds in the aqueous extract of E. contortisiliquum were evaluated based on the visual changes in the coloration and the formation of precipitate after the addition of specific reagents. The antibacterial activity of the extract and its potential to increase of antibiotic activity of antibiotics drugs, gentamicin and norfloxacin was determined by using the microdilution method. Results Our results demonstrated that the following secondary metabolites were presented in E. contortisiliquum seed bark: flavones, flavonols, xanthones, flavononols, chalcones, aurones, flavones and catechins. The extract itself had very low antibacterial activity against all bacterial strains tested (MIC ≥ 1 024 μg/mL), but there was an increase in the antibiotic activity of gentamicin and norfloxacin when combined in the sub-inhibitory concentration (i.e., MIC/8). Conclusions Our data suggests that E. contortisiliquum seed bark may be an alternative source for new drugs with the potential to increase antibiotic activity against different strains of bacteria.

The association of herbal products with standard antimicrobial drugs has recently gained more attention as a hope to overcome infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Here, we investigated for the first time the antimicrobial (antifungal and antibacterial) activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. echinus against multiresistant strains of bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus) and fungi (C. albicans, C. krusei and C. tropicalis), as well as potential to enhance the activity of antibiotics drugs. In addition, both extract were chemically characterized and their toxicity was assessed in Artemia salina. Our results demonstrate that aqueous extract of R. echinus caused a significant increase in the activity of antibiotics gentamicin and imipenem, while the ethanolic extract strongly enhanced the antibiotic activity of gentamicin, amikacin, imipenem and ciprofloxacin against P. aeruginosa. However, neither the ethanolic nor the aqueous extracts significantly affect the antibiotic activity of the drugs when tested against S. aureus. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts indicated ellagic acid, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid as the major components which can be at least in part responsible for the enhanced activity of antibiotics. None of the extracts showed toxicity in A. salina even at the highest concentration tested (1000 μg/mL). All together, our results suggest that the leaf extract of R. echinus can be an effective source of modulating agents.

Postgraduate programmes around the world are periodically subjected to research performance evaluation through bibliometric indicators. In this research, we characterized and compared the research performance of 15 universities from Northeastern Brazil, in which 13 were among the top Universities of the Latin America.Specifically, total documents, citations and the h-index of each university were retrieved from the Elsevier Scopus database and were analysed not only for historical scientific achievement but also across the period of the past 6 years (2010-2015). Using these bibliometric indicators, we also investigated the performance of programmes at these Universities that have their papers indexed in the Scopus database under the category of "Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceuticals" for the same period.We found that the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) were the most productive institutions, producing 17847 and 15048 documents, respectively. The number of papers published by each of these universities in the past six years represented more than 50% of their entire productivity. With regards to their scientific output in "Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics", UFC showed the highest number of published documents followed by UFPE and the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). UFC received the highest h-index (with and without self-citations) and number of citations and shared their most cited papers with foreign institutions from the USA and Germany. However, papers from UFC were published in journals with lower impact factors (2.322).The present study shows where each of these universities stands and can be helpful in identifying potential collaborators in these areas of knowledge.تخضع برامج الدراسات العليا في جميع أنحاء العالم بشكل دوري لتقييم أداء البحوث من خلال مؤشرات قياس المراجع والمصادر. قمنا في هذا البحث بوصف ومقارنة الأداء البحثي لـ ١٥ جامعة من شمال شرق البرازيل، شملت ١٣ من أفضل الجامعات في أمريكا اللاتينية.تم على وجه التحديد، الحصول على وثائق بكاملها والاقتباسات ومؤشرات مستوى المؤلف لكل جامعة من قاعدة بيانات ”إلسفير سكوبوس“ وتم تحليلها ليس من أجل الإنجاز العلمي فقط، ولكن على مدى السنوات الست الماضية (٢٠١٠-٢٠١٥) أيضا. وباستخدام مؤشرات قياس المراجع والمصادر هذه، قمنا أيضا بالتحقيق في أداء هذه البرامج الجامعية التي تم تصنيف أوراقها في ”سكوبوس“ تحت فئة علم الأدوية، وعلم السموم، والمستحضرات الصيدلانية لنفس الفترة.وجدنا أن جامعة بيرنامبوكو الاتحادية، وجامعة سيارا الاتحادية كانتا المؤسستين الأكثر إنتاجية بوثائق عددها ١٧٨٤٧ و١٥٠٤٨ على التوالي. وتمثل عدد الأوراق التي نشرتها كل من هاتين الجامعتين في السنوات الست الماضية أكثر من ٥٠٪ من كامل إنتاجيتها. وفيما يتعلق بإنتاجهم العلمي في علم الأدوية، وعلم السموم، والمستحضرات الصيدلانية حققت جامعة سيارا الاتحادية أكبر عدد من الوثائق المنشورة تليها جامعة بيرنامبوكو الاتحادية وجامعة بارايبا الاتحادية. كما حصلت جامعة سيارا على أكبر عدد من الاستشهادات وأعلى مؤشرات هيرش للمؤلفين(مع أو من غير الاستشهادات الذاتية)، وشاركت أوراقها الأكثر استشهادا مع مؤسسات أجنبية من الولايات المتحدة وألمانيا. غير أنها نشرت في مجلات ذات عامل تأثير أقل (٢.٣٢٢).تظهر هذه الدراسة أين تقف كل من هذه الجامعات ويمكن أن تكون مفيدة في تحديد المتعاونين المحتملين في هذه المجالات من المعرفة.

Reactive species are produced in biological system because of redox reactions. The imbalance in pro-oxidant and antioxidant homeostasis leads to the production of toxic reactive oxygen and nitrogen species like hydrogen peroxide, organic peroxides, hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anion and nitric oxide. Inactivation of metabolic enzymes, oxidation of biomolecules and cellular damage are some of the prominent characteristics of reactive species. Similarly, oxidative stress has been associated with more than one hundred (100) pathologies such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, pancreatic and liver diseases, joint disorders, cardiac fibrosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, neurological diseases (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disorder, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease), ageing and cancer etc. The toxicity of reactive species is balanced by the integrated antioxidant systems, which include enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Antioxidant therapies or defenses protect the biological sites by removing or quenching the free radicals (prooxidants). Medicinal plants can not only protect the oxidative damage, but also play a vital role in health maintenance and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. This review will provide a valuable discussion of one hundred (100) well known medicinal plants, which may add to the optimization of antioxidants rank. Besides, some of the antioxidant evaluation techniques or mechanisms via which medicinal plants act as antioxidants are also described.

Aging is a universal biological phenomenon affecting all multicellular and probably unicellular organisms, including yeasts and bacteria. Multiple biological theories have been proposed to explain the root causes of aging. One of them is the free radical theory forwarded by Denham Harman in 1950. The fundamental postulate is that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) are the major cause of aging. Various endogenous and exogenous sources are reported to be involved in generation of RONS. The reactive species can damage biomolecules like lipids, protein, and DNA/RNA and ultimately leads to cellular dysfunction and aging. For the purpose, antioxidant supplementation as an effective therapeutic and preventive intervention for aging or aging-related pathologies cannot be neglected. In this chapter a selection of studies about antioxidant supplementation and influence on aging is discussed. The proposed antioxidant mechanism is also briefly described.

Selenium and Mercury are two chemical elements studied in several fields of knowledge due to their chemical properties and interactions. The aim of this study was to analyze the evolution of research activity from 1700 to 2017 on the global trend of these elements, we carried out a bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database. For each keyword accessed (“selenium”, “selenide”, “selenite”, “selenate”, “organoselenium”, “mercury”, “inorganic mercury”, “mercury vapor” and “methylmercury”), we analyzed the publication output, and the top 5 geographic distribution of publications and contributing authors, as well as the top 5 Scopus subject categories where the documents are indexed. The results demonstrated an increase in the number of publication over time for all the keywords. Research about Selenium and its inorganic and organic chemical forms, and Mercury and its inorganic and organic chemical forms were described in approximately 117,000 and 164,000 documents, respectively. United States was the country with the highest number of published documents in all the keywords analyzed. Chemistry, Medicine and Environmental Science were the subject categories with the highest number of documents. Researchers from the United States, China, Japan, Slovenia, and Brazil were in the ranking of the most productive authors. To our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric study on Selenium and Mercury and can be useful to identify potential research groups for scientific collaborations. El selenio y el mercurio son dos elementos químicos estudiados en varios campos del conocimiento debido a sus propiedades químicas e interacciones. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la evolución de la actividad de investigación desde 1700 hasta 2017 sobre la tendencia global de estos elementos, llevamos a cabo un análisis bibliométrico utilizando la base de datos Scopus. Para cada palabra clave a la que se accedió ("selenio", "seleniuro", "selenito", "selenato", "organoselenio", "mercurio", "mercurio inorgánico", "vapor de mercurio" y "metilmercurio"), analizamos el resultado de la publicación, y las 5 principales distribuciones geográficas de publicaciones y autores contribuyentes, así como las 5 principales categorías de temas de Scopus donde se indexan los documentos. Los resultados demostraron un aumento en el número de publicaciones a lo largo del tiempo para todas las palabras clave. La investigación sobre el selenio y sus formas químicas inorgánicas y orgánicas, y el mercurio y sus formas químicas inorgánicas y orgánicas se describieron en aproximadamente 117,000 y 164,000 documentos, respectivamente. Estados Unidos fue el país con el mayor número de documentos publicados en todas las palabras clave analizadas. La química, la medicina y la ciencia ambiental fueron las categorías temáticas con el mayor número de documentos. Los investigadores de los Estados Unidos, China, Japón, Eslovenia y Brasil estaban en el ranking de los autores más productivos. Hasta donde sabemos, este es el primer estudio bibliométrico sobre selenio y mercurio y puede ser útil para identificar posibles grupos de investigación para colaboraciones científicas. Selênio e Mercúrio são dois elementos químicos estudados em vários campos do conhecimento devido às suas propriedades e interações químicas. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a evolução da atividade de pesquisa de 1700 a 2017 sobre a tendência global desses elementos, realizamos uma análise bibliométrica usando o banco de dados Scopus. Para cada palavra-chave acessada ("selênio", "seleneto", "selenito", "selenato", "organosselênio", "mercúrio", "mercúrio inorgânico", "vapor de mercúrio" e "metilmercúrio"), analisamos o resultado da publicação, e as 5 principais distribuições geográficas de publicações e autores contribuintes, bem como as 5 principais categorias de assuntos do Scopus em que os documentos são indexados. Os resultados demonstraram um aumento no número de publicações ao longo do tempo para todas as palavras-chave. Pesquisas sobre selênio e suas formas químicas inorgânicas e orgânicas e Mercúrio e suas formas químicas inorgânicas e orgânicas foram descritas em aproximadamente 117.000 e 164.000 documentos, respectivamente. Os Estados Unidos foram o país com o maior número de documentos publicados em todas as palavras-chave analisadas. Química, Medicina e Ciência Ambiental foram as categorias de assunto com o maior número de documentos. Pesquisadores dos Estados Unidos, China, Japão, Eslovênia e Brasil estavam no ranking dos autores mais produtivos. Para nosso conhecimento, este é o primeiro estudo bibliométrico sobre Selênio e Mercúrio e pode ser útil para identificar grupos de pesquisa em potencial para colaborações científicas.

Background and objectives: Natural products such as essential oils with antioxidant potential can reduce the level of oxidative stress and prevent the oxidation of biomolecules. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant potential of Lantana montevidensis leaf essential oil (EOLM) in chemical and biological models using Drosophila melanogaster. Materials and methods: in addition, the chemical components of the oil were identified and quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the percentage compositions were obtained from electronic integration measurements using flame ionization detection (FID). Results: our results demonstrated that EOLM is rich in terpenes with Germacrene-D (31.27%) and &beta, caryophyllene (28.15%) as the major components. EOLM (0.12&ndash, 0.48 g/mL) was ineffective in scavenging DPPH radical, and chelating Fe(II), but showed reducing activity at 0.24 g/mL and 0.48 g/mL. In in vivo studies, exposure of D. melanogaster to EOLM (0.12&ndash, 0.48 g/mL) for 5 h resulted in 10% mortality, no change in oxidative stress parameters such as total thiol, non-protein thiol, and malondialdehyde contents, in comparison to control (p &gt, 0.05). Conclusions: taken together, our results indicate EOLM may not be toxic at the concentrations tested, and thus may not be suitable for the development of new botanical insecticides, such as fumigants or spray-type control agents against Drosophila melanogaster.

Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used herbicide with no antidote which is implicated in the pathogenesis of the Parkinson's disease. The present study then investigated the potential of caffeic acid (CA), a known antioxidant, cardioprotective and neuroprotective molecule to counteract oxidative stress mediated by PQ. In addition, molecular docking was performed to understand the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of CA against PQ poisoning. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, was exposed to PQ (0.44 mg/g of diet) in the absence or presence of CA (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/g of died) for 7 days. Data showed that PQ-fed flies had higher incidence of mortality which was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, increased free Fe(II) content and lipid peroxidation when compared to the control. Co-exposure with CA reduced mortality and markedly attenuated biochemical changes induced by PQ. The mechanism investigated using molecular docking revealed a strong interaction (−6.2 Kcal/mol) of CA with D. melanogaster transcriptional activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). This was characterized by the binding of CA to keap-1 domain of Nrf2. Taking together these results indicate the protective effect of CA against PQ-induced oxidative damage in D. melanogaster was likely through its coordination which hinders Nrf2-keap-1 binding leading to an increase of the antioxidant defense system.

A utilização e avaliação de ferramentas pedagógicas alternativas na construção de conhecimento pode melhorar significativamente a aprendizagem. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar através de um material já previamente confecionado, a percepção dos alunos licenciandos da Universidade Regional do Cariri (URCA) do Curso de Ciências Biológicas, sobre a ferramenta pedagógica – Gibi “Pulmão e sua turma”. Foi utilizado “gibis ou histórias em quadrinhos” como possível material didático pedagógico, um método simples e viável, que pode ser adaptado a diversos temas do cotidiano, no sentido de poder levar o aluno a uma melhor compreensão do conteúdo da disciplina apresentada durante as aulas. A pesquisa foi realizada com 154 discentes regularmente matriculados no curso de Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Regional do Cariri, CE, Campus Campos Sales-CE e Crato-CE. Para a coleta de dados da pesquisa foi aplicado um questionário semiestruturado e a observação do participante. Os resultados apontaram que o “gibi” como um instrumento pedagógico é lúdico, viável e prático, no sentido de poder levar o aluno a uma melhor compreensão do conteúdo da disciplina; estimula e motiva a curiosidade do aluno como metodologia de ensino, e pode ser aplicado para diferentes níveis de aprendizado. A proposta busca contribuir para a redução e/ou superação das dificuldades identificadas no processo de ensino e aprendizagem.