Antiulcer activity of Mauritia flexuosa L.f. (Arecaceae) pulp oil: An edible Amazonian species with functional properties.

Mauritia flexuosa, known as buriti in Brazil, is a widespread palm tree in Amazonia. It has many ethnobotanical uses, including food, oil, and medicine. The oil obtained from buriti's fruit pulp has high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and tocopherols, and is used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries for its antioxidant properties. Many biological activities have been reported for buriti oil, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, chemopreventive, and immunomodulatory. Due to its high content of bioactive compounds, buriti oil is considered a functional ingredient with possible benefits in preventing oxidative stress and chronic diseases, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract. Peptic ulcer disease is a multifactorial disorder, involving lesions in the stomach and duodenum mucosa, which has a complex healing process. In this context, some nutrients and bioactive compounds help the maintenance of gastrointestinal mucosal integrity and function, such as carotenoids, tocopherols, and unsaturated fatty acids, which makes buriti oil an interesting candidate to be used in the prevention and management of gastrointestinal diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the gastroprotective and antiulcer effects of buriti oil and its possible mechanisms of action. Buriti oil reduced the ulcerative area and lipid peroxidation induced by ethanol. The gastroprotective activity of buriti oil partially depends on nitric oxide and sulfhydryl compounds. In acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers, buriti oil accelerated healing and stimulated the formation of new gastric glands. These results demonstrated the potential of buriti oil as a functional ingredient to promote health benefits in the gastrointestinal tract.

Unraveling the antifungal composition of bitter orange decoction against the melon pathogen Fusarium jinanense.

Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) is an important source of essential oils with high antimicrobial activities, however the composition and antifungal potential of the decoction peels is little explored. This study assessed the peel decoction's chemical profile at the secondary metabolism level and its antifungal activity against the melon phytopathogen Fusarium jinanense. The decoction's antifungal potential was investigated using a bioassay-guided fractionation approach based on Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) and LC-HRMS/MS analysis. Coumarins and flavones were the most abundant classes of compounds in the high-value fractions responsible for up to 61% of the mycelial inhibition of F. jinanense. Overall, this study has presented for the first time the chemical composition, the antifungal potential of the decoction of C. aurantium peels and the compounds associated with these results. This strategy can guide the exploration of under-explored food sources and add value to compounds or fractions enriched with bioactive compounds.

Produção de biossurfactantes: manoproteínas intracelulares e soforolipídios extracelulares por Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Biosurfactant production: intracellular manoproteins and extracellular sophorolipids by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

RESUMO Os biossurfactantes apresentam inúmeras aplicações ambientais e são produzidos por diversos microrganismos. Os provenientes da levedura Saccharomyces cerevisiae são pouco estudados para fins ambientais, sendo atóxicos. Objetivou-se o estudo da produção de biossurfactantes intra e extracelular por essa levedura, desenvolvida em meio de cultivo contendo 0,5% de extrato de levedura e 1% de peptona, além de concentrações variadas de sacarose e indutores oleosos - glicerol e óleos de soja e diesel. Os experimentos foram realizados durante 96 horas, e a produção de biossurfactantes foi avaliada diariamente, por meio da redução da tensão superficial e de estabilização de emulsões. O biossurfactante extracelular foi extraído da biomassa obtida, com posterior precipitação e caracterização química por intermédio de espectrometria de massa. As maiores produtividades de emulsificantes extracelulares foram obtidas com glicerol (0,20 UE.h-1) e óleo de soja (0,21 UE.h-1), em 48 horas de cultivo. Em ensaios posteriores, realizados com aumento da concentração de indutor, foi verificado um aumento das produtividades extracelulares para 0,45 UE.h-1 para o glicerol e 0,30 UE.h-1 para o óleo de soja. A maior redução da tensão superficial foi de 9,89%, em 72 horas, para o indutor óleo diesel. A diminuição dessa tensão, aliada ao aumento das atividades emulsificantes, é um importante indicativo da utilização do substrato hidrofóbico pelo microrganismo. O estudo comprova aumento na produção de biossurfactantes extracelulares quando realizada otimização de cultivo. Para a produção dos intracelulares, a necessidade de processo de rompimento celular aumenta os custos do bioprocesso.

ABSTRACT Biosurfactants implicate many environmental applications, being produced by a wide range of microorganisms. Those from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast are still poorly studied for environmental purposes and are non-toxic. The aim of the study was the production of intra- and extracellular biosurfactants by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The yeast was grown in cultured medium containing 0.5% yeast extract, 1% peptone and variable concentrations of sucrose and oily inducers. Inducers used were glycerol, soybean oil and diesel oil. Experiments were conducted for 96 h, and the daily production of biosurfactants was evaluated by reducing surface tension and stabilizing emulsions. Extracellular biosurfactant was extracted from the obtained biomass, with subsequent precipitation and chemical characterization by mass spectrometry. The highest extracellular emulsifier yields were achieved with glycerol inductor (0.20 UE h-1) and soybean oil (0.21 UE h-1) in 48h of cultivation. In later tests performed with increasing concentration of inducer, an increase in extracellular yields was noticed in these experiments (0.45 UE h-1 for glycerol and 0.30 UE h-1 for the soybean oil). The greatest reduction in surface tension was 9.89% in 72 h for diesel oil inducer. The reduction of surface tension combines with the increase of emulsifying activities in an important indicator of the use of hydrophobic substrate by the microorganism. The study confirms an increase in the production of extracellular biosurfactants when optimizing cultivation. The production of intracellular biosurfactants has also been verified, however the process of cellular disruption increases the cost of the bioprocess.