The rises of toxic effects caused by pesticides are of concern. However, Brazilian legislation still needs scientific subsides to improve the water quality requirements. This can be attributed in part to the few existing studies showing the occurrence and levels of multi-residue pesticides. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the presence and the residue-levels of pesticides in surface, ground and drinking water of Tibagi River micro-basin in Paraná State, Brazil. Data obtained over a year for the physical-chemical parameters, screening and quantification, made by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), confirmed the contamination by several pesticides. Alarming concentrations of diuron and imazethapyr in a permanent preservation area and in groundwater were observed. The absence of legislation for most pesticides under study makes difficult the prohibition of their use and the control of their residue-levels on the environment. The results draw attention to further discussion and engagement around the pesticide regulations.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a fatal disorder in most cases and is the most common cancer in young patients. ALL features an uncontrolled proliferation and maturation arrest of lymphoid progenitor cells (lymphoblast) in the bone marrow. An increase of reactive species production occurs in ALL with an involvement of oxidative stress (OS) and cellular damage. However, there is a lack of information about variations in young patients. The biomarker widely used to measure the OS is the main product of lipid peroxidation, the malondialdehyde (MDA). This biomarker, when evaluated by a chromatographic method and the data analyzed by multivariate analysis with other biochemical parameters of ALL patient charts, shows the distinction of healthy and ALL patients, and a great correlation with the risk of disease.

ABSTRACT Diuron is one of the most widely herbicide used worldwide, which can undergo degradation producing three primary metabolites: 3,4-dichlorophenylurea, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea, and 3,4-dichloroaniline. Since the persistence of diuron and its by-products in ecosystems involves risk of toxicity to environment and human health, a reliable quantitative method for simultaneous monitoring of these compounds is required. Hence, a simple method without preconcentration step was validated for quantitation of diuron and its main metabolites by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Separation was achieved in less than 11 minutes using a C18 column, mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and water (45:55 v/v) at 0.86 mL min-1 and detection at 254 nm. The validated method using solid-liquid extraction followed by an isocratic chromatographic elution proved to be specific, precise and linear (R2 ˃ 0.99), presenting more than 90% of recovery. The method was successfully applied to quantify diuron and their by-products in soil samples collected in a sugarcane cultivation area, focusing on the environmental control.

As lactonas sesquiterpênicas (LS), guaianolídeo (11,13-deidrocompressanolídeo) e partenolídeo (4α,5β epóxi-germacra-1-(10),11-(13)-dien-12,6α-olideo), encontradas em Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip, mostraram significativa atividade in vitro contra Leishmania amazonensis. Desta forma, um novo método para a determinação simultânea das LS foi desenvolvido e validado. Para a separação, empregou-se cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência acoplada a arranjo de diodos (HPLC Alliance e2695-2998 PDA, λ 210 nm), com gradiente linear de fase (A) água acidificada H3PO4 0,1% (pH 2,8) e fase (B) acetonitrila, em diferentes proporções, na vazão de 1,2 mL min-1 com coluna XBridge C8 (4,6 × 100 mm, 3,5 µm, 35 ºC). O método mostrou resolução (> 1,5), seletividade, linearidade (coeficiente de correlação > 0,99), precisão (desvio padrão relativo de 2,2%) e exatidão (recuperação > 98%); apresentando 52,55 µg mg-1 de guaianolídeo e 566,05 µg mg-1 de partenolídeo na fração diclorometânica do extrato hidroalcoólico de Tanacetum parthenium. O método apresenta potencial uso no controle da qualidade e desenvolvimento de novos fitofármacos, uma promissora alternativa no tratamento da leishmaniose.

The sesquiterpene lactones (SL), guaianolide (11,13-dehydrocompressanolide) and parthenolide (4α,5β-epoxy-germacra-1-(10),11-(13)-dien-12,6α-olide), found in Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip, showed in vitro significant activity against Leishmania amazonensis. In this way, a new method for the simultaneous determination of SL was developed and validated. For separation, it was employed high performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array detector (HPLC Alliance e2695-2998PDA, λ 210 nm) with linear gradient of phase (A) acidified water 0.1% H3PO4 (pH 2.8) and phase (B) acetonitrile, in different proportions, at a flow rate of 1.2 mL min-1 with XBridge C8 column (4.6 × 100 mm, 3.5 µm, 35 ºC). The method showed resolution (> 1.5); selectivity, linearity (coefficient of correlation > 0.99), precision (relative standard deviation of 2.2%) and accuracy (recovery > 98%); presenting 52.55 µg mg-1 of guaianolide and 566.05 µg mg-1 of parthenolide in the dichloromethane fraction of the hydroalcoholic extract of Tanacetum parthenium. The method presents potential use in quality control and development of new phytochemicals, a promising alternative in the treatment of leishmaniasis.