Investigating specialized plant metabolites, traditionally referred to as ‘secondary metabolites’ present in leaf extracts of cashew trees (Anacardium occidentale) resistant and susceptible to anthracnose disease was carried out using metabolomics combined with chemometric tools. We used clones of dwarf-cashew with the following variations of characteristics: resistant and healthy (CCP 76, BRS 226, BRS 189), susceptible and healthy (BRS 265), and another clone also susceptible but affected by the disease (BRS 265). The UPLC-QTOF-MSE (ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry) analysis of the leaves of Anacardium clones allowed us to annotate a total of 39 metabolites. The multiple orthogonal partial discriminant analysis of the least-squares (OPLS-DA) allowed twelve metabolites to be potential biomarkers of differentiation among the clones studied. Namely, the triene-(17:3)-anacardic acid found on CCP 76 and BRS 189 clones, respectively, is the main candidate for biomarker of resistance. While catechin, B-type procyanidin isomers, and procyanidin dimer monogallate identified in BRS 265 are significant potential biomarkers of susceptibility.

The essential oil of Cymbopogon nardus, citronella, has been extensively studied. However, the chemical and biological properties of the ethanolic extract (EE) of C. nardus have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of the EE of C. nardus and its active fraction (FrD). Moreover, the cytotoxic and antifungal properties of these extracts against Candida species with different resistance profiles to conventional drugs were evaluated. The compounds identified in EE were mono-C- and di-C-glycosyl flavones and phenylpropanoid glycosides. Phenylpropanoid glycosides were identified in FrD. EE showed antifungal activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 62. 5 to 500 µg mL-1. FrD was more effective against C. glabrata, as evidenced by the lowest MIC value (15. 6 µg mL-1). EE inhibited yeast growth similar to amphotericin-B, as demonstrated by similar time-kill curves. EE inhibited C. albicans hyphae formation and mature biofilm of C. albicans, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis. The results of the chemical and biological analyses of EE and its fractions provided novel information and may contribute to control of infections caused by Candida species.

Myracrodruon urundeuva (“aroeira-do-sertão”) is a species threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic exploitation. Phytochemical analysis of bark, branch and leaf extracts revealed the presence of several compounds such as flavonoids, phenols, tannins, quercetin derivatives and anacardic acids. Dereplication methodology was performed to tentatively identify 50 compounds analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry operating in MSE mode (UPLC-QTOF-MSE). The extracts exhibited anti-tumor effect in cancer cells HCT-116 (colorectal), SF-295 (glioblastoma), HL-60 (leukemia), and RAJI (leukemia). Also, these results correlate with the principal component analysis (PCA) data that identified three distinct groups indicating, efficiently, metabolic differences between organs of M. urundeuva. Through discriminatory analysis of the orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS-DA), the variable of importance in the projection (VIP) and S-Plot, we were able to determine 30 potential biomarkers. The fingerprint of hydroethanolic extracts was correlated with the cytotoxicity assay and demonstrated a significant difference in the composition of plant extract.

Our study aimed at the development of a method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS) using selected ion monitoring for the simultaneous quantitation of the alkaloids galantamine, pseudolycorine, sanguinine and narciclasine in Amaryllidaceae species (Hippeastrum elegans, Habranthus cf. irwinianus, Hymenocallis littoralis and Griffinia nocturna). The alkaloids were extracted from dried and ground bulbs (100 mg) using liquid-liquid microextraction followed by solid phase extraction in cation exchange cartridges. The quantification method showed good linearity (correlation coefficient, R ≥ 0.9968) and selectivity for a run time of 10 min. All values were within the acceptable limits for recovery (87.5-96.2%), interday (coefficient of variation, CV%, 1.3-8.4%) and intraday precision (CV% 5.7-8.1%), except narciclasine (70%). The limits of detection and quantification were 5-100 and 20-350 ng mL-1, respectively. Our method demonstrated to be rapid, sensitive and reliable, therefore appropriate for being employed in the prospection of new source of galantamine and other alkaloids.

Four new alkaloids, Brazoides A-D, together with three known compounds squalene, β-sitosterol and lupeol, were isolated from leaves of Justicia gendarussa. These structures were established by spectrometric techniques, mainly high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), including comparative analysis with literature values. Structural determination of the compounds, Brazoides A-D, was strengthened by molecular modeling and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to predict the NMR data and compare with the experimental NMR values of these natural products. The new compounds were tested against three human cancer cell lines (glioblastoma, prostate and colon), but none exhibited activity.

ABSTRACT Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C. Sm., Fabaceae, has been widely studied for its medicinal activities. Many neurodegenerative disorders are caused by oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity induced by glutamate and ultimately cell death. This study describes the chemical profile of the ethanolic, hexane, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate extracts obtained from seeds of A. cearensis. The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical profile of extracts obtained from seeds of A. cearensis, as well as their cytotoxicity and neuroprotective effects in cultures of neural PC12 cells. Metabolite profile was performed by GC–MS. PC12 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of the extracts (0.01–2000 µg/ml) and the cell viability was analyzed after 24 and 72 h using an MTT test. For the excitotoxicity assay, PC12 cells were pre-treated with glutamate (1 mM) for 6 h and treated with increasing concentrations (0.1–1000 µg/ml) of the extracts. The chromatographic analysis of the extracts detected various compounds with antioxidant properties, with the majority of peaks corresponding to the isoflavone coumarin. Only the hexane extract showed toxicity after 72 h exposure at the highest concentration (1000 µg/ml). By contrast, all extracts increased the cellular viability of PC12 cells against the toxicity caused by glutamate. Therefore, the extracts from the seeds of A. cearensis showed no toxicity and have neuroprotective potential against neuronal damage induced by glutamate, which may be related to their antioxidant properties.

Four new epimeric spirostanol and furostanol-type steroidal saponins, (25R,S)-5α-spirostan-2α,3β-diol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-galactopyranoside, (25R,S)-5α-spirostan-2α,3β-diol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-galactopyranoside, 26-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(25R,S)-5α-furost-20-ene,2α,3β-diol 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside and 26-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(25R,S)-5α-furost-20-ene,2α,3β-diol 3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-galactopyranoside, in addition to the known (25R,S)-5α-spirostan-2α,3β-diol 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside, were isolated from Cestrum laevigatum. Compounds were submitted to cytotoxic activity assays using colorectal adenocarcinoma (HCT-116), human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60), ovarian carcinoma (OVCAR-8), glioma (SF-295) human cancer cell lines, and the antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Candida parapsilosis, C. albicans, C. krusei, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis.

Abarema cochliacarpos (Gomes) Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Fabaceae, is a native species of Brazil popularly known as "barbatimão", frequently found along the north coast of the state of Bahia. Local communities make an infusion from its stem bark, which is used to treat several diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of A. cochliacarpos extracts in mice Mus musculus. The bark infusion and hydroalcoholic extract were administered nasogastrically into two groups of eight animals (four male and four female each). After 45 days all mice were killed and the livers were collected for further histological analysis. Hepatic steatosis, congestion of the hepatic vessels and medicinal plantspresence of macrophages and lymphocytes infiltrates in the liver, were observed in both steatosis group of animals, additionally animals that received the stem bark infusion presented an accumulation of pigments. None of the animals belonging to the negative control group showed any of the symptoms described above. In conclusion, the hydroalcoholic extract and infusion of A. cochliacarpos stem bark were proven to cause intoxication in mice. The hepatotoxicity of the infusion was more aggressive in females. Further studies are necessary to isolate compounds responsible for the toxic characteristics of A. cochliacarpos.

A cirurgia das malformações arteriovenosas (MAV) e dos cavernomas (angioma cavernoso) na maioria das vezes é indicada após episódios de sangramento. Com o desenvolvimento das técnicas de diagnóstico e cirúrgicas na epilepsia de difícil controle, passou a ser cada vez maior a indicação cirúrgica destas lesões vasculares. Apresentamos nove pacientes com lesões vasculares cerebrais e crises muito frequentes, apesar do tratamento clínico adequado. A faixa etária variou de 12 a 42 anos de idade, com média de 25 anos; houve prevalência no sexo masculino (2:1). A cirurgia consistiu na exérese da lesão em todos os casos. Em quatro casos houve também ressecção da área irritativa perilesional, que foi demostrada pela eletrocorticografia. O estudo anatomopatológico das lesões mostrou cinco casos de cavernoma, três de MAV e um de angioma venoso. Quanto à localização, observamos três lesões no lobo temporal, quatro no frontal e duas na região parietal. O acompanhamento ambulatorial mostrou redução das crises em todos os pacientes, sendo que sete evoluíram sem crises após a cirurgia.

Surgery of arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and of cavernous angiomas (cavernoma) in the majority of cases is indicated subsequently to episodes of bleeding. With the development of techniques for diagnosis and surgery for epilepsy of difficult control, indication for surgery of these vascular lesions has become greater. We present nine patients with cerebral vascular lesions and very frequent crises in spite of adequate clinical treatment. Ages ranged from 12 to 42 years with an average of 25 years; there was a prevalence of the male sex (2:1). Surgery consisted of exeresis of the lesion in all cases and in four there was also resection of the perilesional irritative area shown by electrocorticography. The pathologic study of lesions showed five cases of cavernoma, three cases of AVM, and one case of venous angioma. As to localization, we observed three lesions in the temporal lobe, four in the frontal, and two in the parietal region. Outpatient follow-up showed a reduction in crises in all of the patients, and seven evolved seizure free following surgery.