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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...

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...

Mercury chloride (HgCl

Plants are considered a rich source of bioactive compounds and an alternative agent for insect control. Among them, representatives of the Lamiaceae family are the best known for this potential, as they produce volatile compounds with insecticidal activities, known as essential oils, as is the case with Ocimum gratissimum. In this way, the present work had as objective, to determine the chemical composition of the oil of the leaves of O. gratissimum and its potential insecticide against the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea. For that, the essential oil was chemically characterized by means of a Gas Chromatograph coupled to a Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS). As for the insecticidal action, nymphs (20 days of age) were used and the fumigation methodology was used in concentrations ranging from 50 to 1000 μg of oil per mL of air. Mortality rates were observed every 12 hours for 1 day. The results showed that the essential oil has insecticidal properties, since it had a median lethal concentration (LC50) of 516 µg/mL. Such property may be related to the heterogeneous composition of the oil, which had 12 terpenic compounds, with 1.8 Cineole being the major compound (30.04%). Thus, the essential oil of O. gratissimum has an insecticidal activity and can be used to fight pests, as in the case of cockroaches. Las plantas se consideran una rica fuente de compuestos bioactivos y un agente alternativo para el control de insectos. Entre ellos, los representantes de la familia Lamiaceae son los más conocidos por este potencial, ya que producen compuestos volátiles con actividades insecticidas, conocidos como aceites esenciales, como es el caso de Ocimum gratissimum. De esta manera, el presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar la composición química del aceite de las hojas de O. gratissimum y su potencial insecticida contra la cucaracha Nauphoeta cinerea. Para esto, el aceite esencial se caracterizó químicamente por medio de un cromatógrafo de gases acoplado a un espectrómetro de masas (CG/EM). En cuanto a la acción insecticida, se usaron ninfas (20 días) y la metodología de fumigación se usó en concentraciones que varían de 50 a 1000 μg de aceite por mL de aire. Las tasas de mortalidad se observaron cada 12 horas durante 1 día. Los resultados mostraron que el aceite esencial tiene propiedades insecticidas, ya que tenía una concentración letal media (CL50) de 516 µg/mL. Dicha propiedad puede estar relacionada con la composición heterogénea del aceite, que presentó 12 compuestos terpénicos, siendo 1.8 Cineol el compuesto principal (30.04%). Por lo tanto, el aceite esencial de O. gratissimum tiene una actividad insecticida y puede usarse para combatir las plagas, como en el caso de las cucarachas. Plantas são consideradas uma fonte rica de compostos bioativos e uma alternativa de agentes no controle de insetos. Dentre elas, as representantes da família Lamiaceae são as mais conhecidas com esse potencial, pois produzem compostos voláteis com atividades inseticidas, conhecidos como óleos essenciais, como é o caso de Ocimum gratissimum. Desta forma, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo, determinar a composição química do óleo das folhas de O. gratissimum e seu potencial inseticida contra a barata Nauphoeta cinerea. Para tanto, o óleo essencial foi caracterizado quimicamente por meio de um Cromatógrafo Gasoso acoplado a um Espectrômetro de Massas (CG/EM). Quanto à ação inseticida, foram utilizadas ninfas (20 dias de idade) sendo empregada a metodologia de fumigação em concentrações variando de 50 a 1000 μg de óleo por mL de ar. As taxas de mortalidade foram observadas a cada 12 horas durante 1 dia. Os resultados apontaram que o óleo essencial apresenta propriedades inseticidas, visto que ele apresentou uma concentração mediana letal (CL50) de 516 µg/mL. Tal propriedade pode estar relacionada à composição heterogênea do óleo, o qual apresentou 12 compostos terpênicos, sendo o 1,8 Cineol o composto majoritário (30,04%). Sendo assim, o óleo essencial de O. gratissimum apresenta atividade inseticida, podendo ser utilizado no combate pragas, como no caso de baratas.

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.

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.

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.

Kingsleya attenboroughi é uma espécie de caranguejo de água doce pertencente à Pseudothelphusidae descrita no município de Barbalha, Ceará. Objetivou-se com o presente estudo entender o grau de conhecimento de moradores de duas comunidades rurais (Sítio Santo Antônio e Farias) do mesmo município sobre K. attenboroughi. Os dados foram obtidos de março a maio de 2018 mediante aplicação de entrevistas abertas e semiestruturadas, recorrendo-se às técnicas usuais de registro etnográfico. Foram entrevistados 30 mulheres e 22 homens, cujas idades variaram de 18 a 93 anos. Os participantes forneceram dados que podem servir de forma mais objetiva a tomada de decisões em relação à preservação do K. attenboroughi na Unidade de Conservação a qual ele ocorre. Os moradores utilizam os córregos de ocorrência da espécie para diversas atividades, como: agricultura, agropecuária, pesca e banho, e passam o conhecimento sobre a espécie de geração para geração. Estas atividades, juntas com um Parque temático aquático, podem ser as principais causas para o seu status de ameaça. Todos os participantes se mostraram preocupados com a diminuição de água nos últimos anos, prejudicando a biodiversidade local. Os informantes sugerem atividades de educação ambiental e maior fiscalização por parte dos órgãos responsáveis pela área.