Metabolite Profiling of Pleurotus ostreatus Grown on Sisal Agro-Industrial Waste Supplemented with Cocoa Almond Tegument and Wheat Bran.

Pleurotus ostreatus is an edible fungus with high nutritional value that uses industrial and agricultural lignocellulosic residues as substrates for growth and reproduction. Understanding their growth metabolic dynamics on agro-industrial wastes would help to develop economically viable and eco-friendly biotechnological strategies for food production. Thus, we used UHPLC/MS/MS and GNPS as an innovative approach to investigate the chemical composition of two strains of P. ostreatus, coded as BH (Black Hirataki) and WH (White Hirataki), grown on sisal waste mixture (SW) supplemented with 20 % cocoa almond tegument (CAT) or 20 % of wheat bran (WB). Metabolite dereplication allowed the identification of 53 metabolites, which included glycerophospholipids, fatty acids, monoacylglycerols, steroids, carbohydrates, amino acids, and flavonoids. This is the first report of the identification of these compounds in P. ostreatus, except for the steroid ergosterol. Most of the metabolites described in this work possess potential biological activities, which support the nutraceutical properties of P. ostreatus. Thus, the results of this study provide essential leads to the understanding of white-rot fungi chemical plasticity aiming at developing alternative biotechnologies strategies for waste recycling.

Support vector machine and PCA for the exploratory analysis of Salvia officinalis samples treated with growth regulators based in the agronomic parameters and multielement composition.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of different growth regulators on the mineral and total phenolic contents of Salvia officinalis. The samples received the applications of salicylic acid (AS); gibberellic acid (GA3); abscisic acid (ABA) and solution without regulators (control). The exploratory evaluation of the samples was carried out through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In addition, has been used supervised learning methods with support vector machine (SVM) algorithms to classify the samples. The phenolic and total flavonoid contents were higher in the plants treated with the regulators. The element found in the highest concentration in Salvia officinalis was N. Plants sprayed with ABA showed higher concentrations of N, K, and Mn; Fe and Al were higher with ABA and gibberellin application, while the application of AS provided the highest accumulation of P. The application of plant regulators improves the nutraceutical properties of Salvia officinalis.

Edible coatings in post-harvest papaya: impact on physical-chemical and sensory characteristics.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the physical-chemical and sensory attributes of two papaya varieties (Aliança and Golden THB) (Carica papaya L.) coated with different solutions of manioc starch and clove essential oil (Syzygium aromaticum L. Merr. et Perry). Four different treatments were studied in papaya fruits at ripening stage 1: T0 (control); T1 (fruits coated with a solution of manioc starch); T2 (fruits coated with clove essential oil at 0.175 mL L-1); T3 (solution of manioc starch with clove essential oil-0.175 mL L-1). The physical-chemical and sensory analyses were conducted in the fruits at ripening stage 5. The edible coatings did not influence the physical-chemical characteristics of the two varieties. Those fruits coated with manioc starch reported a good sensory acceptance not differing statistically from the control fruits in the majority of the attributes studied. By evaluating the purchase intention regarding the variety Aliança, all the treatments reported good levels of acceptance, with higher scores in the option "would certainly buy". After the sensory evaluation, treatment T3 reported a purchase intention of 80%. It was concluded that the edible coatings did not influence the physical-chemical characteristics of the fruits, however, they influenced the sensory acceptance of the tasters. For the variety Aliança, the application of treatment T3 is recommended, while for Golden THB, treatments T1 and T2 are recommended due to their similarity to the control.

Insecticidal Properties of Ocimum basilicum and Cymbopogon winterianus against Acanthoscelides obtectus, Insect Pest of the Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.).

The bean weevil, Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), causes severe post-harvest losses in the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. The control of this insect is still poor and involves the use of conventional insecticides. There is an increasing demand in the search for new active substances and products for pest control towards reduction of adverse effects on human health and the environment. The protection of grains with alternative products, such as essential oils, is a possible alternative to meet the needs described above. Therefore, this investigation evaluated the applications of basil, Ocimum basilicum, and citronella, Cymbopogon winterianus, essential oils for A. obtectus control. These essential oils significantly reduced the bean weight losses and the number of beans damaged by A. obtectus at higher doses than 60 or 120 µL/sample. The number of holes per bean did not differ between the doses of basil essential oil, not even at the dose of 60 µL, while it was higher at 120 µL, probably due to a lower capacity of movement of the insects treated with this dose and/or the oil's direct or indirect effects on the insects. Basil and citronella oils exhibited similar patterns of insecticidal activity over the insect, both directly in adult insects or indirectly over bean seeds. These essential oils affected the development of A. obtectus since the greatest doses applied on beans decreased the emergence of the bean weevil. The results prove the insecticidal capacity of the tested essential oils and hence their potential as active substances against A. obtectus in environmentally low risk pest control strategies. Supplementary trials should be conducted under real storage conditions.

Atividade antimicrobiana do óleo essencial de Ocimum americanum e Ocimum basilicum sobre periodontopatógenos / Antimicrobial activity of essential oil of Ocimum americanum and Ocimum basilicum against periodontopathogens

Na doença periodontal, a resposta imune ao desafio microbiano resulta em ativação de osteoclastos e reabsorção do osso alveolar, culminando com a perda do dente. Deste modo, a busca por compostos com atividade antimicrobiana torna-se relevante no controle da formação do biofilme dental. Com o crescente aumento da resistência bacteriana aos antimicrobianos, o descobrimento de novas drogas seria uma ferramenta útil e neste cenário as plantas medicinais são alternativas promissoras. No presente estudo a atividade antimicrobiana de óleos essenciais extraídos de folhas e flores de Ocimum americanum e Ocimum basilicum foi avaliada frente aos periodontopatógenos Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (ATCC 43717), Fusobacterium nucleatum (ATCC 25586), Porphyromonas gingivalis (ATCC 33277) e frente ao micro-organismo Bacteroides fragilis (ATCC 25285). O método de macrodiluição em tubos foi utilizado para determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) e concentração bactericida mínima (CBM). Foram registrados menores valores de CIM (0,00625 mg.mL-1 a 0,0125 mg.mL-1) frente a bactéria P. gingivalis, sendo os maiores valores ( <3,2 mg.mL-1) registrados para A. actinomycetemcomitans. Estas concentrações foram consideradas bactericidas quando a CBM foi avaliada. A composição química dos óleos mostrou a presença de linalol e metil cinamato, compostos com reconhecida atividade antimicrobiana, o que poderia explicar os resultados encontrados. Este trabalho mostrou que as plantas medicinais do gênero Ocimum estudadas foram capazes de inibir o crescimento microbiano, especialmente de P. gingivalis, apresentando, portanto, potencial biotecnológico para uso na área de odontologia

In Periodontal disease, the immune response to microbial challenge results in osteoclast activation and alveolar bone resorption, leading to tooth loss, so the search for chemical compounds with antimicrobial activity is relevant to control biofilm formation. With the increasing of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the discovery of new drugs would be a useful tool, and in this scenario the medicinal plants are promising alternatives. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of essential oils extracted from leaves and flowers of Ocimum americanum and Ocimum basilicum was evaluated against the periodontopathogens Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (ATCC 43717), Fusobacterium nucleatum (ATCC 25586), Porphyromonas gingivalis (ATCC 33277) and against the bacteria Bacteroides fragilis (ATCC 25285). The macrodilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). There were recorded lower values of MIC (0.00625 mg.mL-1 to 0.0125 mg.mL-1) against P. gingivalis, and the highest values (<3,2 mg.mL-1) were recorded for A. actinomycetemcomitans. These concentrations were considered bactericidal when MBC was assessed. The chemical composition of the oils showed the presence of linalool and methyl cinnamate, compounds with proven antimicrobial activity, which could explain the results. This project showed that medicinal plants studied were able to inhibit microbial growth, especially against P. gingivalis, presenting therefore biotechnological potential for use in dentistry

Essential oils and isolated compounds from Lippia alba leaves and flowers: antimicrobial activity and osteoclast apoptosis.

In the present study, essential oils extracted from the leaves and flowers of Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. (L. alba) were analyzed for their antimicrobial activity and their effects on osteoclasts. The periodontal pathogens, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans; ATCC 43717), Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum; ATCC 25586) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis); ATCC 33277) were used in antimicrobial activity assays for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), whereas Bacteroides fragilis (B. fragilis; ATCC 25285) was used as the control microorganism. Osteoclast (OC) apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL assay and Fas receptor expression was detected by immunocytochemistry. The analysis of antimicrobial activity revealed that P. gingivalis had the lowest MIC values, whereas A. actinomycetemcomitans had the highest. L. alba essential oils were found to be toxic to human cells, although the compounds, carvone, limonene and citral, were non-toxic and induced apoptosis in the OCs. This study demonstrates that L. alba has potential biotechnological application in dentistry. In fact periodontal disease has a multifactorial etiology, and the immune response to microbial challenge leads to osteoclast activation and the resorption of the alveolar bone, resulting in tooth loss.