Resumo Vernonanthura polyanthes (Spreng.) A.J. Vega & Dematt. (Asteraceae), conhecida como “assa-peixe”, tem sido utilizada na medicina popular para o tratamento de várias doenças, como bronquite, pneumonia, hemoptise, tosse persistente, abcessos internos, afecções gástricas e cálculo renal. Além disso, alguns estudos já demonstraram que espécies do Gênero Vernonia apresentam atividade antifúngica. Devido à relevância biológica dessa espécie, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar os efeitos citotóxico, genotóxico, antigenotóxico e antifúngico do extrato aquoso das folhas de V. polyanthes em células somáticas de Drosophila melanogaster ou contra Candida spp. O extrato aquoso da planta não apresentou atividade citotóxica, genotóxica e antigenotóxica nas condições experimentais testadas usando o teste de recombinação e mutação somática em asa (SMART-asa). No entanto, quando o extrato foi associado com a doxorrubicina, utilizada neste trabalho como controle positivo, o potencial mutagênico da doxorrubicina foi potencializado, aumentando o número de mutações em células somáticas de D. melanogaster. Por outro lado, nenhuma atividade inibitória contra Candida spp. foi observada utilizando o extrato aquoso das folhas de V. polyanthes por meio do método de difusão em ágar. Mais estudos são necessários para desvendar os componentes presentes no extrato aquoso das folhas de V. polyanthes que possam contribuir para potencializar a genotoxicidade da doxorrubicina.

Abstract Vernonanthura polyanthes (Spreng.) A.J. Vega & Dematt. (Asteraceae), known as “assa-peixe”, has been used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of various diseases such as bronchitis, pneumonia, hemoptysis, persistent cough, internal abscesses, gastric and kidney stone pain. Moreover, some studies demonstrated that species of Genus Vernonia present antifungal activity. Due to the biological relevance of this species, the aim of this study was to investigate the toxic, genotoxic, antigenotoxic and antifungal potential of V. polyanthes leaves aqueous extract in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster or against Candida spp. The aqueous extract of the plant showed no toxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic activity in the experimental conditions tested using the wing somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART/wing). However, when the extract was associated with doxorubicin, used in this work as a positive control, the mutagenic potential of doxorubicin was enhanced, increasing the number of mutations in D. melanogaster somatic cells. In the other hand, no inhibitory activity against Candida spp. was observed for V. polyanthes leaves aqueous extract using agar-well diffusion assay. More studies are necessary to reveal the components present in the V. polyanthes leaves aqueous extract that could contribute to potentiate the doxorubicin genotoxicity.

Besides high industrial development, Brazil is also an agribusiness country. Each year about 330 million metrics tons (Mg) of biomass residues are generated, requiring tremendous effort to develop biomass systems in which production, conversion and utilization of bio-based products are carried out efficiently and under environmentally sustainable conditions. For the production of biofuels, organic chemicals and materials, it is envisaged to follow a biorefinery model which includes modern and proven green chemical technologies such as bioprocessing, pyrolysis, gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and other catalytic processes in order to make more complex molecules and materials on which a future sustainable society will be based. This paper presents promising options for valorization of Brazilian agroindustrial biomass sources and residues originating from the biofuel production chains as renewable energy sources and addresses the main aspects of the thermochemical technologies which have been applied.

This paper discusses the feasibility of the use of ionic liquids as catalysts in the biodiesel production field, describing some studies already published in the literature on this theme. Ionic liquids are regarded as a new generation of catalysts in the chemical industry, with several uses in different commercial segments. However only a few publications involving this topic can be found in the literature addressing the manufacture of biodiesel from vegetable oils or animal fats. Through the analysis of the data generated in the studies reviewed, it is possible to affirm that ionic liquids present great potential as catalysts for biodiesel production, but there are some challenges to be faced, such as the production of ionic liquids with low cost, easy recovery and with the possibility of reutilization of the catalyst for several cycles.