Aqueous Bark Extract of Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hill) Ravenna Protects against Glucose Toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Plants are widely used in folk medicine because of their pharmacological properties. Ceiba speciosa, popularly known as paineira-rosa or tree-of-wool, is a species found in the Northwest of Rio Grande do Sul, being native of the upper Uruguay River, Brazil. The tea obtained from the stem bark is employed in folk medicine to reduce cholesterol, triacylglycerides, and glucose levels. However, there are no studies in the literature proving its efficacy or the safety of its use. For this study, we used Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal model considering its advantages for risk assessment and pharmacological screenings. For the toxicological tests, C. elegans N2 (wild type) was treated with the aqueous extract of the stem bark of C. speciosa (ECE) at the first larval stage (L1) at concentrations of 5, 25, 50, and 250 µg/mL. To evaluate biological activities, we challenged the extract for oxidative stress resistance in the presence of paraquat (0.5 mM), H2O2 (1 mM), and against glucose-induced toxicity. Our results demonstrated that ECE did not alter survival rate, pharyngeal pumping, and reproduction of the nematodes. The extract was not able to protect the nematodes against the toxicity induced by prooxidants. Notably, ECE protected against glucotoxicity by increasing worms' life span and by reducing glucose levels. On the other hand, ECE treatment did not reduce lipid accumulation induced by exogenous glucose feeding, as observed in worms which lipid droplets were tagged with GFP. Based on our results, we believe that the extract is indeed promising for further studies focusing on carbohydrates metabolism; however, it needs to be carefully evaluated since the extract does not seem to modulate lipid accumulation.

Preliminary in vitro assessment of the potential toxicity and antioxidant activity of Ceiba speciosa (A. St.-Hill) Ravenna (Paineira)

ABSTRACT The bark tea of Ceiba speciosa, a tropical tree of the Malvaceae family, is used in the Northwestern Region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, to reduce blood cholesterol levels. However, there are no scientific data on the efficacy and safety of this plant. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and toxic potential of bark extracts of C. speciosa. We performed a preliminary phytochemical analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and evaluated the oxidative damage to proteins and lipids, the radical scavenging effect, and genotoxicity of the lyophilized aqueous extract (LAECs) and the precipitate obtained from the raw ethanol extract (Cs1). The phytochemical profile demonstrated the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. The LAECs and Cs1 prevented damage to lipids and proteins at concentrations of 50 and 10 µg/mL. They also showed a scavenging effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-pricril-hydrazyl (DPPH) radicals in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, no genotoxic effect was observed at concentrations of 10, 5 and 2 µg/mL in the Comet assay. The present study is the first evaluation regarding the characterization of C. speciosa and its safety, and the results demonstrate its antioxidant potential and suggest that its therapeutic use may be relatively safe.

Contributing factors for farm workers' exposure to pesticides in the west of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil / Fatores contribuintes para a exposição de trabalhadores rurais a pesticidas no Oeste de Santa Catarina, Brazil

Pesticide overuse is highly harmful to human health and has become a serious public health issue in developing countries, Brazil included. Current study collects and evaluates data on toxicity risk to farmers exposed to pesticides in Marema, a municipality in the west of the Brazilian southern state of Santa Catarina. The sectional, descriptive and observational study comprises a questionnaire with open and closed questions. Retrieved data showed that farmers with low educational level need understandable information to raise their awareness on the use of pesticides, starting from an effective assistance at purchase and in management till the disposal of empty containers. Data show that farmers undergo regular exposure risks to pesticides and traditional practices corroborate for the increase in the environmental damage and health problems.

Nos países em desenvolvimento como o Brasil, o uso excessivo de pesticidas tem resultado em prejuízos à saúde humana, o que reflete em sério problema de saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo foi coletar e avaliar dados sobre o risco de toxicidade em agricultores expostos a agrotóxicos no município de Marema, localizado no Oeste de Santa Catarina, região Sul do Brasil. A pesquisa foi conduzida por um estudo descritivo, transversal e observacional por meio de questionário com perguntas abertas e fechadas, com o total de 100 amostras no município. Os dados obtidos demonstram que os agricultores, que possuem baixo nível de educação formal, necessitam de informações compreensíveis e conscientizadoras sobre o uso de agrotóxicos, incoando por uma efetiva assistência, desde sua aquisição e manejo até o destino final das embalagens vazias. Todos os dados nos levam a sugerir a presença de constante risco de intoxicação por agrotóxicos junto aos agricultores, uma vez que suas práticas corroboram para a instalação de danos ambientais e problemas de saúde.