Preparation, characterization and in vitro thrombolytic activity of a novel streptokinase foam.

Vascular thrombosis is a potentially fatal disease. Thrombolysis represents an efficient therapeutic option, although it still presents intrinsic bleeding risks. In order to minimize this problem, intra-thrombus injections, alone or associated with some kind of mechanical thrombectomy, have been used. In this work, a new approach to thrombolysis is presented, where the preparation, characterization and in vitro thrombolytic activity of a novel streptokinase foam are reported. Foams were prepared by mixing albumin solution with CO2 at different volume ratios. Foam stability and apparent viscosity were the parameters used to characterize the foams. The volume ratio between CO2 and albumin solution that yielded the samples with the best properties was used to prepare the thrombolytic foams, where streptokinase was used as the thrombolytic agent. The thrombolytic effect of this foam was assessed in vitro by delivering it intra-thrombus and the results were compared with those of the foam without streptokinase as well as those of a regular streptokinase solution. Both foam stability and viscosity increased as the ratio of CO2:albumin solution increased and the 3:1 ratio was used to incorporate streptokinase. The in vitro thrombolytic activity study revealed that the streptokinase foam caused a 46.6 % of thrombus lysis after 30 min of experiment against 21 and 31 % of those of the foam without streptokinase and the regular streptokinase liquid solution, respectively. Thus, the use of CO2:albumin foam enhanced the in vitro thrombolytic effect of streptokinase, which indicates its potential as a novel vehicle for carrying and delivering streptokinase to targeted thrombi.

Development and Validation of a Simultaneous RP-HPLCUV/DAD Method for Determination of Polyphenols in Gels Containing S. terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae).

Topical gels containing extracts of Schinus terebinthifolius have been used to treat bacterial vaginosis. It has been reported that this species has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcerogenic properties, which can be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds. In this work, a sensitive and selective reversed-phase HPLC-UV/DAD method for the simultaneous assay of six polyphenols that could be present in S. terebinthifolius was developed. The method was shown to be accurate and precise. Peak purity and similarity index both exceeded 0.99. Calibration curves were linear over the concentration range studied, with correlation coefficients between 0.9931 and 0.9974. This method was used to determine the polyphenol content of a hydroalcoholic extract and pharmacy-compounded vaginal gel. Although the method is useful to assess the 6 phenolic compounds, some compounds could not be detected in the products. SUMMARY: A sensitive, selective, accurate and precise reversed-phase HPLC-UV/DAD method for the simultaneous assay of six polyphenols in S. terebinthifolius Raddi Abbreviations used: RP-HPLC-UV/DAD: Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatograph with Ultraviolet and Diode Array Detector, HPLC: High Performance Liquid Chromatograph, HPLC-UV: High Performance Liquid Chromatograph with Ultraviolet Detector, ANVISA: Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency, LOD: Limit of detection, LOQ: Limit of quantitation.

Influência dos Processos de Autoclavação e Microondas Sobre a Carga Microbiana e Teor de Polifenóis e Taninos Totais das Cascas de Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi

A espécie Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, conhecida como aroeira da praia, é utilizada na medicina tradicional para o tratamento de lesões e úlceras de pele e mucosas, infecções do sistema respiratório, digestivo e geniturinário. Sendo um dos maiores problemas enfrentados pela indústria de fitoterápicos a contaminação microbiana das matérias-primas, este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influência dos processos de autoclavação e microondas sobre a contaminação microbiológica e teor de taninos e flavonóides totais do pó e de extratos hidroalcoólicos de aroeira. Os extratos foram obtidos por maceração na proporção de 1:10 de planta/solvente com álcool a 40%, 50%, 60% e 70%. Os métodos microbiológicos utilizados foram o de contagem de microrganismos em placa por pour plate e o da pesquisa de patógenos, analisando em triplicata cada uma das amostras. Nos pós autoclavados houve apenas crescimento bacteriano (0,12 x 102 UFC/g). No processo por microondas ocorreu crescimento para bactérias (0,50 x 102 UFC/g) e fungos (0,10 x 102 UFC/g). Os pós quando não tratados, apresentaram maior crescimento de bactérias (3,68 x 102 UFC/g) e fungos (0,26 x 102 UFC/g). Os extratos tratados com álcool apresentaram menor contaminação microbiana. O processo de esterilização por autoclave não acarretou redução de polifenóis e taninos totais.