This review describes aspects of the Bromeliaceae family dealing the traditional applications, biological activities and distribution of secondary metabolites in distinct subfamilies. Some species are used with medicinal purposed in the treatment of respiratory, diabetes or inflammation diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders. Special emphasis on cycloartane triterpenoids and flavonoids, typical metabolites of this family, are presented. Bromeliaceae is unique amongst the monocotyledons in the frequency and variety of flavonoids with hydroxylation or methoxylation at the 6-position. Other compound classes as steroids, hidroxycinnamic acids, phenylpropane diglycerides, lignans, are presented.

Diffusion coefficients provide uniquely detailed and easily interpreted information on molecular organization and phase structure. They are quite sensitive to structural changes, and to binding and association phenomena, in particular for liquid colloidal or macromolecular systems. This paper describes the principles of diffusion measurements in liquids by pulsed magnetic field gradient spin-echo (PFG-SE) NMR spectroscopy. The important PFG-SE technique known as DOSY is presented and discussed. This is a noninvasive technique that can provide individual multicomponent translational diffusion coefficients with good precision in a few minutes, without the need for radioactive isotopic labelling.

O uso de derivados fosfonatos de dialquila diastereoisoméricos na determinação de excessos enantioméricos através da razão entre os sinais de 31P-NMR anisócronos dos isômeros meso e treo, foi bem sucedido para álcoois secundários (método de Feringa), porém revelou-se ineficiente para álcoois primários com dois ou mais grupos metilênicos entre as hidroxilas e os centros estereogênicos. Observou-se adicicionalmente que era importante obter os espectros acoplados e desacoplados para se certificar dos picos correspondentes aos fosfonatos de dialquila. Entretanto, esta metodologia merece ser aplicada sempre que a quantidade de álcool disponível e sua estrutura não forem fatores limitantes.

The use of diastereomeric alcohol dialkylphosphonate derivatives to determine the enantiomeric excesses via 31P-NMR signal ratios of anisochronous meso and threo isomers was successfully applied to secondary alcohols (Feringa’s method). Expansion of the methodology to primary alcohols possessing the hydroxyl groups thethered to the stereogenic centers by two or more methylene groups proved the method to be inefficent. The comparison between the coupled and decoupled spectra is important in order to identify the signals corresponding to the dialkylphosphonates. Nevertheless the methodology should be applied whenever the amount of the alcohol and its structure are not the limiting factors.