Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (Lecythidaceae) is a South American tree worldwide known for providing the Brazil nuts. In the Amazon Region, B. excelsa is found in monocultures, integrating agroforestries and providing raw materials for food and timber industries. Through the application of an integrative analysis based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, the present study showed that B. excelsa bark biomass residues contain large quantities of ellagic acid (EA) and its derivatives. Qualitatively, five compounds were characterized for the first time in this species. Quantitations were carried out to determine the total amount of these compounds in outer and inner bark tissues. A total of 4.96 and 44.09 g of EA derivatives per kg of dry residues was determined for the outer and inner barks, respectively. Among the EA derivatives, eschweilenol C, ellagic acid and valoneic acid dilactone were the main compounds. These results pointed B. excelsa barks as a valuable biomass residue with potential to be source of health-promoting compounds. Therefore, a potential raw material as source of valuable bioactive phenolic compounds is described herein.

The species Piper ottonoides Yuncker (Piperaceae), known as “joão-brandim”, is a shrub that occurs in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Its roots and leaves are used in traditional medicine as local anesthetic to treat toothache and sore throat. In this study, the structural characterization in mixture of isobutyl amides present in semi-purified fractions from fruits, leaves, stems and roots of P. ottonoides was achieved by employing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques (1H, 1H-1H COSY, 1H-13C HSQC, 1H-13C HMBC, TOCSY and 1H-1H J-RES). The MS fragmentation patterns and the NMR chemical shifts, multiplicities, coupling constants and the signal correlations in the two-dimensional spectra were carefully analyzed also taking into account some key elements of differentiation among the compounds. The data set allowed identifying unequivocally the new amide N-isobutyl-7-(4’- methoxyphenyl)-2E,4E-heptadienamide, which we named ottonoidenamide as well as piperovatine and chingchengenamide A in all parts of the plant, the additional presence of pipercallosine and pipercallosidine in roots and of dihydropiperlonguminine in fruits and leaves. The presence of piperovatine and pipercallosine in P. ottonoides should be associated to its traditional use.

Nanopartículas de sílica (NPs) modificadas covalentemente com uma aminonaftoquinona foram sintetizadas e caracterizadas. A aminopropilsilicagelnaftoquinona (APSGNQ) foi obtida por substituição nucleofílica do grupo metóxi da 2-metóxi-1,4-naftoquinona por NPs modificadas com o grupo aminopropil (APSG). Os espectros de ressonância magnética nuclear de 13C e 29Si no estado sólido confirmaram que a naftoquinona encontra-se ligada covalentemente à aminopropilsilicagel. Como o composto APSGNQ é solúvel em solventes orgânicos comuns, foi possível quantificar o ancoramento da naftoquinona na superfície das NPs modificadas por espectroscopia no ultravioleta-visível (0,56 mmol de naftoquinona ancorada por grama de APSGNQ), por comparação com o espectro do composto análogo 2-aminobutil-1,4-naftoquinona (ABNQ). Os dados das análises elementares indicaram que aproximadamente 8% da propilamina presente na superfície do composto APSGNQ não reagiu com a metóxinaftoquinona. Essas NPs de sílica multifuncionais têm potencial para aplicações médicas.

The synthesis and characterization of silica nanoparticles (NPs) covalently modified with an aminonaphthoquinone are reported. The aminopropylsilicagelnaphthoquinone (APSGNQ) was obtained by nucleophilic substitution of 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone with aminopropylsilicalgel (APSG) NPs. Solid state 13C and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectra confirmed that the naphthoquinone is covalently bonded to APSG. Due to the solubility of APSGNQ in common organic solvents, solution ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy was used to determine the amount of naphthoquinone on the NPs surface (0.56 mmol of incorporated naphthoquinone per gram of APSGNQ) by comparison with the spectrum of 2-aminobutyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (ABNQ). Elemental analysis indicated that about 8% of the surface propylamine remained unreacted in APSGNQ. These multifunctional silica NPs have potential in medical applications.

Neste trabalho foi investigado o ataque nucleofílico sofrido no estado sólido pelo complexo trans-[Ru(NO)(NH3)4{P(OEt)3}](PF6)3, no éster de fósforo coordenado, originando como produto a espécie trans-[Ru(NO)(NH3)4{P(OH)(OEt)2}](PF6)3. A reação foi monitorada e os produtos caracterizados utilizando ressonância magnética nuclear (31P{¹H} CP-MAS NMR e 31P{¹H} NMR), espectroscopia no infravermelho (FTIR), ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR), voltametria cíclica (CV), espectroscopia eletrônica (UV-Vis) e análise elementar. De acordo com os dados experimentais e cálculos de mecânica quântica (DFT), a reação ocorre no estado sólido pelo ataque nucleofílico no éster de fósforo coordenado devido à forte polarização no eixo P III-RuII-NO+ induzida pela presença do ligante nitrosilo. A reação segue o mecanismo tipo Michaelis-Arbusov para hidrólise de ésteres de fósforo. Em solução (pH 7,0), o ataque nucleofílico ocorre nos ligantes NO+ e P(OEt)3, gerando como produtos os complexos trans-[Ru(H2O)(NH3)4{P(OEt)3}]2+ e trans-[Ru(NO)(H2O)(NH3)4]3+ em proporções comparáveis.

The complex trans-[Ru(NO)(NH3)4{P(OEt)3}](PF6)3 undergoes nucleophilic attack on the phosphorus ester ligand in the solid state yielding trans-[Ru(NO)(NH3)4{P(OH)(OEt)2}](PF6)3. The reaction was monitored and the products analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P{¹H} CP-MAS NMR and 31P{¹H} NMR), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electronic spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and elemental analysis. According to experimental data and quantum mechanical calculations (DFT), the reaction proceeds in the solid state by the nucleophilic attack on the phosphorus ligand, promoted by the strong polarization along the P III-RuII-NO+ axis induced by the nitrosyl ligand, and takes place following the Michaelis-Arbusov type mechanism for phosphorus ester hydrolysis. In solution, the nucleophilic attack occurs simultaneously at the nitrosyl and triethylphosphite ligands, yielding trans-[Ru(H2O)(NH3)4{P(OEt)3}]2+ and trans-[Ru(NO)(H2O)(NH3)4]3+ in comparable amounts.

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. e U. guianensis (Aubl.) Gmel., conhecidas como unha-de-gato, são trepadeiras lenhosas nativas das florestas tropicais amazônica e central-americana. As espécies contêm, em diferentes proporções, alcalóides indólicos e oxindólicos, triterpenóides glicosilados, esteróides e proantocianidinas. U. tomentosa é quimicamente identificada pelo perfil e conteúdo de alcalóides oxindólicos, ao passo que U. guianensis não possui um marcador químico efetivo. Nesse trabalho descreve-se o isolamento de canferol-3,7-O-(α)-dirramnosídeo (canferitrina) pela primeira vez em espécies do gênero Uncaria. A triagem para essa substância em folhas, galhos ou cascas das duas espécies por CCD e CLAE-DAD-EM demonstrou a presença de canferitrina apenas nas folhas e galhos de U. guianensis, numa proporção cerca de trinta e seis vezes maior nas folhas do que nos galhos. Estes resultados revelaram a seletividade da U. guianensis em produzir o flavonóide glicosilado, sugerindo esta substância como um marcador químico potencial para a espécie.

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. and U. guianensis (Aubl.) Gmel., known as cat's claw, are large woody vines native to the Amazonian and Central American rainforests. The species contain, in different proportions, indole and oxindole alkaloids, triterpenoid glycosides, sterols and proanthocyanidins. U. tomentosa can be chemically identified by its oxindole alkaloid profile and content, whereas U. guianensis has no satisfactorily established chemical markers. This work describes, for the first time, the isolation of kaempferol-3,7-O-(α)-dirhamnoside (kaempferitrin) in Uncaria species. Screening for this compound in leaves, stems or bark of both species through TLC and HPLC-DAD-MS showed the presence of kaempferitrin only in the leaves and stems of U. guianensis, at a ratio almost thirty six times greater in the leaves than in the stems. These results reveal the selectivity of U. guianensis to produce this bioactive flavonoid glycoside, and suggest this compound as a potential chemical marker for the species.