Abstract Poorly water-soluble drugs, such as the antifungal drug griseofulvin (GF), exhibit limited bioavailability, despite their high membrane permeability. Several technological approaches have been proposed to enhance the water solubility and bioavailability of GF, including micellar solubilization. Poloxamers are amphiphilic block copolymers that increase drug solubility by forming micelles and supra-micellar structures via molecular self-association. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the water solubility increment of GF by poloxamer 407 (P407) and its effect on the antifungal activity against three Trichophyton mentagrophytes and two T. rubrum isolates. The GF water solubility profile with P407 revealed a non-linear behavior, well-fitted by the sigmoid model of Morgan-Mercer-Flodin. The polymer promoted an 8-fold increase in GF water solubility. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR Roesy) spectroscopy suggested a GF-P407 interaction, which occurs in the GF cyclohexene ring. These results were supported by an increase in the water solubility of the GF impurities with the same molecular structure. The MIC values recorded for GF ranged from 0.0028 to 0.0172 mM, except for T. Mentagrophytes TME34. Notably, the micellar solubilization of GF did not increase its antifungal activity, which could be related to the high binding constant between GF and P407.

ABSTRACT Griseofulvin (GF) and terbinafine (TF) are commonly used drugs to treat dermatophytosis, a fungal infection of the skin. Today there is an increase in drug resistance to these antifungals which highlight the need for alternative synergistic therapies. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of GF and TF were determined against fungi clinical isolates from local hospitals with values ranging 0.03-2.0 µg mL-1 and 0.24-4.0 µg mL-1, respectively. A checkboard test was used to determine the combination of GF:TF which could induce an additive effect against the fungi isolates Multidrug-resistant isolates showed susceptibility after treatment with 16:2 µg mL-1 GF:TF. An MTT assay further verified that GF and TF combinations have greater additive effect against pathological and multidrug-resistant isolates than antifungals alone. Herein we disclose GF:TF combinations that could constitute as a possible new anti-dermatophyte therapy.

Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) is a vine widely distributed throughout the South-American rainforest. Many studies investigating the chemical composition of cat's claw have focused on the pentacyclic (POA) and tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids (TOA), quinovic acid glycosides (QAG), and polyphenols (PPH). Nevertheless, it is still uncertain how environmental factors affect chemical groups. The aim of this work was to better understand the influence of environmental factors (geographic origin, altitude, and season) on cat's claw chemical composition. Stem bark, branches and leaf samples were extracted and analyzed by HPLC-PDA. The data obtained were explored by multivariate analysis (HCA and PCA). Higher amounts of oxindole alkaloids and PPH were found in leaves, followed by stem bark and branches. No clear relationship was verified among geographic origin or altitude and chemical composition, which remained unchanged regardless of season (dry or rainy). However, three oxindole alkaloid chemotypes were clearly recognized: chemotype I (POA with cis D/E ring junction); chemotype II (POA with trans D/E ring junction); and chemotype III (TOA). Thus, environmental factors appear to have only a minor influence on the chemical heterogeneity of the cat's claw wild population. Nevertheless, the occurrence of different chemotypes based on alkaloid profiles seems to be clear.

Cat's claw oxindole alkaloids are prone to isomerization in aqueous solution. However, studies on their behavior in extraction processes are scarce. This paper addressed the issue by considering five commonly used extraction processes. Unlike dynamic maceration (DM) and ultrasound-assisted extraction, substantial isomerization was induced by static maceration, turbo-extraction and reflux extraction. After heating under reflux in DM, the kinetic order of isomerization was established and equations were fitted successfully using a four-parameter Weibull model (R² > 0.999). Different isomerization rates and equilibrium constants were verified, revealing a possible matrix effect on alkaloid isomerization.

Entre as diversas atividades biológicas relatadas para as saponinas, merecem destaque aquelas relacionadas ao aumento da resposta imune e a ruptura das membranas dos eritrócitos. No desenvolvimento de vacinas, ambas as propriedades exercem atividades antagônicas, contudo, as informações sobre as relações estrutura-atividade são relativamente escassas e, às vezes, conflitantes. O presente trabalho visa contribuir no estabelecimento das relações estruturais envolvidas com as atividades imunoadjuvante e hemolítica de saponinas triterpênicas. Para isso, foram selecionadas vinte saponinas de estrutura triterpênica, isoladas das espécies Aesculus hippocastanum, Dolichos lablab e Glycine max. A relação entre grupamentos substituintes do anel triterpênico e as atividades biológicas foi estudada mediante análise de agrupamentos e análise de componentes principais. Os resultados confirmam a importância da presença de açúcares em C-3 para a atividade hemolítica. Porém o efeito causado pela presença de uma hidroxila em C-16, de CH2OH em C-17, de uma acetila em C-22 e de um grupamento acila em C-21 sobre essa atividade parece ser mais acentuado. Já a presença de uma hidroxila em C-21, de uma metila em C-17 e de dois açúcares ligados à aglicona parece ser determinante para a atividade imunoadjuvante. Além disso, observa-se a existência de uma relação inversa entre as atividades hemolítica e imunoadjuvante.

Among the various biological activities reported for saponins, those related with increase immune response and the destruction of the membrane of red blood cells deserve attention. In the development of vaccines, these properties exert antagonistic activities. However, the information about the structure-activity relationships is relatively scarce and sometimes contradictory. This paper aims to contribute to the establishment of structural relations involved with the hemolytic and adjuvant activities of triterpenic saponins by the analysis of the different groups linked to aglycone, with the use of multivariate statistical techniques. For this, we had twenty triterpenic saponins previously isolated from Aesculus hippocastanum, Dolichos lablab. and Glycine max species. Their adjuvant and hemolytic activities are available in the literature. These saponins were analyzed as groups linked to the triterpenic ring and biological activities resulting in an array of date that was submitted to cluster analysis and principal components analysis. The results confirm the importance of sugars in C-3 for hemolytic activity. However, the effect caused by the presence of a hydroxyl in C-16, CH2OH in C-17, acetyl in C-22 and acyl in C-21 on the hemolytic activity seems to be more important. On the other way, the presence of a hydroxyl in C-21, a methyl in C-17 and two sugars linked to aglycone seem determinant for adjuvant activity. Moreover, there is an inverse relationship between adjuvant and hemolytic activities in the set of saponins analyzed.