The Lyophilization Process Maintains the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Royal Jelly.

The alternative use of natural products, like royal jelly (RJ), may be an important tool for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RJ presents a large number of bioactive substances, including antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we carried out the chemical characterization of fresh and lyophilized RJ and investigated their antibacterial effects with the purpose of evaluating if the lyophilization process maintains the chemical and antibacterial properties of RJ. Furthermore, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of the main fatty acid found in RJ, the 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA). Chromatographic profile of the RJ samples showed similar fingerprints and the presence of 10H2DA in both samples. Furthermore, fresh and lyophilized RJ were effective against all bacteria evaluated; that is, the lyophilization process maintains the antibacterial activity of RJ and the chemical field of 10H2DA. The fatty acid 10H2DA exhibited a good antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative and complementary treatment for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae.

Antimicrobial Brazilian Propolis (EPP-AF) Containing Biocellulose Membranes as Promising Biomaterial for Skin Wound Healing.

Among remarkable discoveries concerning propolis, such as antifungal, antiviral, and antioxidant activities, its anti-inflammatory, and mainly its antibacterial, properties deserve special attention when skin wound healing is concerned. Based on this and knowing the distinctive performance of bacterial (BC) membranes on wound healing, in this work it is proposed to demonstrate the potent antimicrobial activity and wound healing properties of a novel propolis containing biocellulose membrane. The obtained propolis/BC membrane was able to adsorb propolis not only on the surface, but also in its interstices demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and thermogravidimetric assays. Additionally, the polyphenolic compounds determination and the prominent antibacterial activity in the membrane are demonstrated to be dose dependent, supporting the possibility of obtaining propolis/BC membranes at the desired concentrations, taking into consideration its application and its skin residence time. Finally, it could be suggested that propolis/BC membrane may favor tissue repair in less time and more effectively in contaminated wounds.

Evaluation of a Propolis Water Extract Using a Reliable RP-HPLC Methodology and In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy and Safety Characterisation.

Since the beginning of propolis research, several groups have studied its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. However, most of these studies have only employed propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) leading to little knowledge about the biological activities of propolis water extract (PWE). Based on this, in a previous study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of PWE. In order to better understand the equilibrium between effectiveness and toxicity, which is essential for a new medicine, the characteristics of PWE were analyzed. We developed and validated an RP-HPLC method to chemically characterize PWE and PEE and evaluated the in vitro antioxidant/antimicrobial activity for both extracts and the safety of PWE via determining genotoxic potential using in vitro and in vivo mammalian micronucleus assays. We have concluded that the proposed analytical methodology was reliable, and both extracts showed similar chemical composition. The extracts presented antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, while PWE demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and more efficacious for the most of the microorganisms tested than PEE. Finally, PWE was shown to be safe using micronucleus assays.

Montagem e padronizaçäo do radioimunoensaio do ACTH plasmático / Mounting and standardization of radioimmunoassay of plasmatic ACTH

Esta investigaçäo compreendeu a padronizaçäo da extraçäo e do radioimunoensaio do ACTH plasmático, ainda näo realizados no Brasil. A extraçäo foi feita com ácido silícico ativado com posterior deadsorçäo com ácido clorídrico/acetona. O RiE utilizou um anticorpo central contra a seqüência 11-24 do ACTH e o padräo de marcaçäo e das curvas padröes foi o ACTH (1-39) humano sintético. Os resultados permitiram as seguintes conclusöes: a. na extraçäo do ACTH do plasma através do ácido silícico, a maior perda ocorreu na fase de adsorçäo e pouco nas outras fases, sendo que em 22 extraçöes consecutivas a recuperaçäo final foi em média 60,7%; b. as curvas padröes extraídas foram paralelas às curvas em tampäo, e os extratos näo modificaram os blanks ou o zero, indicando ausência de interferências inespecíficas da extraçäo do RiE; c. O RiE ralizado com pré-incubaçäo de 67 horas apresentou uma sensibilidade média de 3,3 pg/tubo (7,7 pg/ml plasma). Os coeficientes de variaçäo intra-ensaio estiveram entre 6,3 e 12,3%, e o interensaio foi de 18,3%. A replicaçäo, no intervalo de 13 a 4.260 pg/ml, apresentou um coeficiente de correlaçäo de 0,99. No conjunto, concluímos que o RiE do ACTH padronizado neste trabalho é confiável, podendo ser utilizado em diagnóstico e pesquisa