Validação de um método analítico rápido por CLAE-UV para determinação de cumarina em guaco (Mikania glomerata Sprengel) confirmado com espectrometria de massas / Validation of a rapid analytical method by HPLC for determining coumarin in guaco (Mikania glomerata Sprengel) confirmed with mass spectrometry

RESUMO A espécie Mikania glomerata Sprengel, popularmente conhecida no Brasil como guaco, é amplamente utilizada como expectorante para tratar doenças respiratórias e tem a sua atividade farmacológica atribuída principalmente a cumarina. Os resultados mostraram que o método apresenta linearidade de 0,05 a 0,8 mg mL-1. Ele foi considerado seletivo, exato e preciso. A proposta de um método rápido para determinação de cumarina em extratos de guaco torna-se interessante para a rotina de controle de qualidade industrial, visando à obtenção de medicamentos fitoterápicos padronizados.

ABSTRACT The species Mikania glomerata Sprengel, popularly known in Brazil as “guaco”, is widely used as an expectorant to treat respiratory diseases. Its pharmacological activity is mainly attributed to coumarin. The results showed that the method for determining coumarin presented linearity from 0.05 to 0.8 mg mL-1. It was considered selective, accurate, and precise according to the specific resolution from ANVISA, the Brazilian regulatory agency. The proposal of a rapid method for the determining coumarin in extracts of guaco is interesting for routine industrial quality control in order to obtain standardized, efficient, and safe phytotherapic medicines.

Enhanced peroxisomal ß-oxidation is associated with prevention of obesity and glucose intolerance by fish oil-enriched diets.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of different amounts of omega 3-polyunsaturated fatty acids in diets with normal or high content of fat on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were investigated. DESIGN AND METHODS: Mice were fed for 8 weeks on diets enriched with fish oil or lard at 10% or 60% of energy. Energy balance and energy expenditure were analyzed. Fatty acid (FA) oxidative capacity of the liver and the activity of enzymes involved in this pathway were assessed. RESULTS: Fish oil-fed mice had lower body weight and adiposity compared with lard-fed animals, despite having lower rates of oxygen consumption. Mice fed diets containing fish oil also displayed lower glycemia, reduced fat content in the liver, and improved glucose tolerance compared with lard-fed animals. The fish oil-containing diets increased markers of hepatic peroxisomal content and increased the generation of metabolites derived from FA ß-oxidation in liver homogenates. In contrast, no changes were observed in the content of mitochondrial electron transport chain proteins or carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 in the liver, indicating little direct effect of fish oil on mitochondrial metabolism. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings suggest that the energy inefficient oxidation of FAs in peroxisomes may be an important mechanism underlying the protection against obesity and glucose intolerance of fish oil administration.

Changes in food intake, metabolic parameters and insulin resistance are induced by an isoenergetic, medium-chain fatty acid diet and are associated with modifications in insulin signalling in isolated rat pancreatic islets.

Long-chain fatty acids are capable of inducing alterations in the homoeostasis of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), but the effect of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) is poorly elucidated. In the present study, we fed a normoenergetic MCFA diet to male rats from the age of 1 month to the age of 4 months in order to analyse the effect of MCFA on body growth, insulin sensitivity and GSIS. The 45% MCFA substitution of whole fatty acids in the normoenergetic diet impaired whole body growth and resulted in increased body adiposity and hyperinsulinaemia, and reduced insulin-mediated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. In addition, the isolated pancreatic islets from the MCFA-fed rats showed impaired GSIS and reduced protein kinase Ba (AKT1) protein expression and extracellular signal-related kinase isoforms 1 and 2 (ERK(1/2)) phosphorylation, which were accompanied by increased cellular death. Furthermore, there was a mildly increased cholinergic sensitivity to GSIS. We discuss these findings in further detail, and advocate that they might have a role in the mechanistic pathway leading to the compensatory hyperinsulinaemic status found in this animal model.

Comparison of fatty acid composition in nine organs of the sympatric Antarctic teleost fish species Notothenia coriiceps and Notothenia rossii (Perciformes: Nototheniidae).

Fatty acid (FA) composition of nine organs from two closely related Antarctic fish species, Notothenia coriiceps and Notothenia rossii, was determined through gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. A data set for each species was obtained using major FA profiles from specimens caught in the sea waters of Admiralty Bay during the summer season. The FA profiles for both species are overall similar, but organ peculiarities have been found, which could reflect metabolic specificities and feeding habits between species. With the exception of liver, the most abundant FA in organs was the n-3 polyunsaturated FA. The total n-6 polyunsaturated FAs were minor components in all evaluated organs. Palmitic acid was identified as the major saturated FA, whereas oleic acid was the most represented of the monounsaturated FA in almost all assessed organs of both species. The n-3/n-6 ratios of all organs were higher than 3.5. Differences in individual FA and FA metabolic profiles of some organs observed between N. coriiceps and N. rossii suggest specific requirements in the mobilization, transport, incorporation, and/or catabolism of lipids that were reinforced by differences on some FA ratios expressing the activity coefficient of enzymes implicated on the FA pathway flux.

Pretreatment of sugar cane bagasse for enhanced ruminal digestion.

Crop residues, such as sugar cane bagasse (SCB), have been largely used for cattle feeding. However, the close association that exists among the three major plant cell-wall components, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, limits the efficiency by which ruminants can degrade these materials. Previously, we have shown that pretreatment with 3% (w/w) phosphoric acid, under relatively mild conditions, increased considerably the nutritional value for SCB. However, in this preliminary study, pretreated residues were not washed prior to in situ degradability assays because we wanted to explore the high initial solvability of lowmol-wt substances that were produced during pretreatment. We have now studied the suitability of water-and/or alkali-washed residues to in situ ruminal digestion. Alkali washing increased substrate cellulose content by removing most of the lignin and other residual soluble substances. As a result the ruminal degradability of these cleaner materials had first-order rate constants five times higher than those substrates with higher lignin content (e.g., stem-exploded bagasse). However, alkali washing also increased the time of ruminal lag phase of the cellulosic residue, probably because of hemicellulose and/or lignin removal and to the development of substrates with higher degree of crystallinity. Therefore, longer lag phases appear to be related to low microbial adherence after extensive water and alkali extraction, as Novell as to the slower process of cellulase induction during ruminal growth. The kinetic data on ruminal digestion were shown to be very well adjusted by a nonlinear model. Although pretreatment enhances substrate accessibility, the occurrence of an exceedingly high amount of lignin byproducts within the pretreated material reduces considerably its potential degradability.