Genotoxic evaluation, secondary metabolites and antioxidant capacity of leaves and roots of Urera baccifera Gaudich (Urticaceae).

In addition to phenolics, flavonoids, flavonols, alkaloids and condensed tannins, our tests identified the antioxidant and genotoxic properties in the crude extract (CE) and fractions of Urera baccifera (Urticaceae) roots and leaves. Oxalic acid (OA) content was determined by HPLC-DAD, which presented high values in the roots (1.82 ± 0.21, 1.79 ± 0.22 and 1.38 ± 0.15 mg/g in butanolic, CE and ethyl acetate fraction, respectively). OA caused a 30.7% reduction in the leucocyte proliferation, followed by butanolic fractions of roots (24.15%) and leaves (23.28%). The mitotic index was lower in butanolic fractions of leaves (8.7%) and roots (8.3%), similar to the OA index, which was 6.0%. The DNA damage index in cultured leukocytes was observed for OA (19.33) and butanol fraction treatments (22.67 and 16, respectively, for leaves and roots). Antioxidant capacity (DPPH and TBARS) was moderated, which was confirmed by the low phenolic, flavonol and flavonoid contents in both parts of the plant.

Controle microbiológico de drogas vegetais comercializadas na região central do Rio Grande do Sul / Microbiological control of medicinal drugs commercialized in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a qualidade microbiológica de 40 amostras de matérias-primas de fitoterápicos coletadas de farmácias de manipulação da região central Rio Grande do Sul. Foram realizados os testes de contagem de microrganismos viáveis e pesquisa e identificação de patógenos, ambos de acordo com a Farmacopéia Brasileira. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que há presença de microrganismos nas amostras, entretanto, em nenhuma delas, o valor de UFC g-1 ultrapassou o limite estabelecido para fitoterápicos na Farmacopéia Britânica, tanto para bactérias como para fungos. No teste de pesquisa e identificação de patógenos comprovou-se que não havia a presença de Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp, Staphylococcus aureus e Escherichia coli, nas amostras analisadas. As amostras estão aptas a serem comercializadas, pois todas estavam dentro dos limites especificados, e foram aprovadas pelo teste de controle de qualidade microbiológico.

The aim of this study was to analyze the microbiological quality of 40 samples of raw material for herbal medicines collected from compounding pharmacies in the center of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Count of viable microorganisms and search and identification of pathogens were performed, both according to the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. Results showed that there were microorganisms in the samples; however, in none of them, the value of CFU g-1 was above the limit established for herbal medicines by the British Pharmacopoeia, both for bacteria and fungi. The search and identification of pathogens indicated that there was no Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in the analyzed samples. The samples can be commercialized because all of them were within the allowed limits and were approved in the test for microbiological quality control.