Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Acute Toxicity Of Pereskia aculeata, In Zophobas morio Larvae.

Pereskia aculeata has been widely investigated due to its anti-inflammatory potential. Among the metabolites found in this species are the phytosterols beta-sitosterol (ß-SIT) and stigmasterol (STIG). The objective of the study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and toxicity activities of the hexane partition of P. aculeata (PHEX), as well as ß-SIT and STIG. PHEX was prepared and the phytosterols were quantified. In terms of toxicity against L929 fibroblast cells, PHEX showed toxicity up to 200 µg/mL; STIG and ß-SIT showed toxicity up to 25 µg/mL. PHEX inhibited 66 % of nitric oxide radicals, while STIG and ß-SIT inhibited 33.73 % and 34.94 %, respectively. In an anti-inflammatory test against Zophobas morio larvae, all samples significantly reduced hemocyte levels. Additionally, the LD50 values were calculated: 229.6 mg/kg for PHEX, 101.5 mg/kg for STIG, and 103.8 mg/kg for ß-SIT. In conclusion, the study indicates that the phytosterols present in PHEX may contribute to its anti-inflammatory activity.

Fruits as nutraceuticals: A review of the main fruits included in nutraceutical patents.

Fruits have relevant usefulness in the elaboration of nutraceutical compositions and, as it is considered a "natural medicine", its market has been growing exponentially each year. Fruits, in general, contain a large source of phytochemicals, carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, peptides and antioxidants that are of interest to be prepared as nutraceuticals. The biological properties of its nutraceuticals can range from antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-Alzheimer, antiproliferative, antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, among others. Furthermore, the need for innovative extraction methods and products reveals the importance of developing new nutraceutical compositions. This review was developed by searching patents of nutraceuticals from January 2015 until January 2022 in Espacenet, the search database of the European Patent Office (EPO). Of 215 patents related to nutraceuticals, 43% (92 patents) were including fruits, mainly berries. A great number of patents were focused on the treatment of metabolic diseases, representing 45% of the total patents. The principal patent applicant was the United States of America (US), with 52%. The patents were applied by researchers, industries, research centers and institutes. It is important to highlight that from 92 fruit nutraceutical patent applications reviewed, 13 already have their products available on the market.

Recent patent applications in beverages enriched with plant proteins.

Recently, many consumers have been adding plant-based beverages to their diets, due to different reasons. The addition of plant proteins to enrich these products in order to make them more nutritionally balanced has become a trend, mainly because of their lower prices and reduced environmental damage. Thus, the aims of the present patent review are to discuss the potential of, and challenges posed by, plant proteins to the beverage industry, as well as to check market trends, focused on raw materials and beverage types. Based on the results, pea, rapeseed, bean, peanut, chickpea, lentil, hempseed, sunflower seed, and cottonseed were among the most often addressed raw materials. Furthermore, this enrichment process is not limited to create products that mimic dairy, therefore expansion in plant proteins used to enrich carbonated beverages, sports drinks, or even juices is expected to happen. Thus, plant-derived proteins have been promising to high-quality beverage production, as well as to ensure food security, animal welfare, and low environmental impacts.

Evaluation of cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of Solanum lycocarpum fruits glicoalkaloid extract in V79 cells.

Solanum lycocarpum St.-Hil (Solanaceae) is a hairy shrub or small much-branched tree of the Brazilian Cerrado, popularly known as "fruit-of-wolf". Considering that the induction of chromosomal mutations is involved in the process of carcinogenesis, and that S. lycocarpum is often used in folk medicine, it becomes relevant to study its effect on genetic material. In this sense, the aim of present study was to determine the possible cytotoxic, genotoxic and antigenotoxic potentials of S. lycocarpum fruits glycoalkaloid extract (SL) in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (V79 cells). The cytotoxicity was evaluated by the colony forming assay, apoptosis and necrosis assay, Trypan blue exclusion dye method and mitotic index. Genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential were evaluated by comet and chromosomal aberrations assays. Four concentrations of SL (4, 8, 16 and 32 µg/mL) were used for the evaluation of its genotoxic potential. The DNA damage-inducing agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS, 22 µg/mL) was utilized in combination with extract to evaluate a possible protective effect. The results showed that SL was cytotoxic at concentrations above 32 µg/mL by the colony forming assay. For apoptosis and necrosis assay, the concentration of 64 µg/mL of SL showed statistically significant increase in cell death by apoptosis and necrosis, while the concentrations of 128 and 256 µg/mL of SL demonstrated statistically significant increase in cell death by necrosis, compared with the control group. Analysis of cell viability by Trypan blue exclusion indicated >96% viability for treatments with concentrations up to 32 µg/mL of SL. No significant differences in MI were observed between cultures treated with different concentrations of SL (4, 8, 16 and 32 µg/mL) alone or in combination with MMS and the negative control, indicating that these treatments were not cytotoxic. The comet and chromosomal aberrations assays revealed that SL does not display genotoxic activity. Moreover, the different concentrations of SL showed protective effect against both genomic and chromosomal damages induced by MMS.