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.

Os óleos essenciais das folhas, flores e frutos de Myrcia myrtifolia DC foram coletados ao longo dos anos de 2002 e 2003 e foram analisados utilizando CG-DIC e CG-EM. No total foram identificados 28 componentes sendo que o alfa-pineno foi a substância predominante em todas as amostras analisadas apresentando-se em concentrações que variaram entre 61.5 e 90.9%. As propriedades antimicrobianas do óleo essencial das folhas coletadas em outubro de 2002 foram avaliadas contra seis bactérias, duas leveduras e cinco fungos filamentosos sendo mais fortemente ativo contra Microsporum canis e Trichophyton rubrum, ativo contra Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus resistente à meticilina, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans e Aspergillus fumigatus. O óleo ainda mostrou uma toxicidade moderada, LC50 of 479,16 µg mL-1, contra Artemia salina.

This work reports the seasonal variation of the composition of leaf volatile oils and the composition of volatile oils from flowers and fruits of Myrcia myrtifolia DC harvested in the sand dunes of Salvador, Bahia, northeastern region of Brazil between 2002 and 2003. The oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS so that 28 components were identified. alpha-Pinene was predominant in a range from 61.5 to 90.9% in all samples analyzed. The leaf oil collected in October 2002 had their antimicrobial properties tested against six bacteria, two yeasts and five filamentous fungi being active against Staphylococcus aureus, methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus, and showed strongest activity against Microsporum canis and Trichophyton rubrum. The oil displayed moderate toxicity against Artemia salina showing a LC50 of 479.16 µg mL-1.

Ésteres metílicos dos diterpenos ácido ent-pimara-9(11),15-dien-19-óico (1), ácido ent-pimara-7,15-dien-19-óico (2) e ácido ent-pimara-8,15-dien-19-óico (3) foram submetidos a reações de fotooxigenação via formação sensibilizada de oxigênio singlete. Enquanto os compostos 2 e 3 foram totalmente convertidos nos produtos, o composto 1 reagiu apenas parcialmente sugerindo uma influência do impedimento estéreo sobre a ligação dupla endocíclica deste diterpeno. Os produtos de oxidação obtidos, 7alfa,11beta-diidroxipimara-8,15-dien-19-oato de metila (5), 7alfa-hidroperoxipimara-8(14),15-dien-19-oato de metila (6), 7alfa-hidroxi-14-oxopimara-15-en-19-oato de metila (8), 7alfa,9alfa-diidroxipimara-8(14),15-dien-19-oato de metila (9) e 7alfa,14alfa-diidroxipimara-8,15-dien-19-oato de metila (10) são inéditos e suas estruturas foram determinadas pela análise de seus dados espectrais.

Methyl esters of diterpenoids ent-pimara-9(11),15-dien-19-oic acid (1), ent-pimara-7,15-dien-19-oic acid (2), and ent-pimara-8,15-dien-19-oic acid (3) were submitted to photooxygenation reactions with sensitized singlet oxygen. While compounds 2 and 3 were converted to the products, compound 1 reacted only partially, suggesting an influence of the steric hindrance on the endocyclic double bond of 1. The oxidation products obtained, methyl-7alpha,11beta-dihydroxypimara-8,15-dien-19-oate (5), methyl-7alpha-hydroperoxypimara-8(14),15-dien-19 oate (6), methyl-7alpha-hydroxy-14-oxopimara-15-en-19-oate (8), methyl-7alpha,9alpha-dihydroxypimara-8(14),15-dien-19-oate (9) and methyl-7alpha,14alpha-dihydroxypimara-8,15-dien-19-oate (10), are new and their structures were elucidated by spectral data analysis.