Chemical Constituents and Antileishmanial and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils from Scheelea phalerata.

Scheelea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng (Arecaceae) is a palm tree found in the Brazilian cerrado. There are no topics related to volatile oils from S. phalerata leaves in the literature. This work determines its chemical composition and evaluates the biological activity under two different seasonal conditions (dry and rainy seasons). The dry essential oil yield was 0.034 ± 0.001% and the rainy essential oil yield was 0.011 ± 0.003%. Both essential oils presented different qualitative and quantitative compositions (99.4 and 98.5%). The main constituents of the dry essential oil were phytol (36.7%), nonadecane (9.7%), linolenic acid (9.1%), (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (4.2%), and squalene (4.0%). The main constituents of the rainy essential oil were phytol (26.1%), palmitic acid (18.7%), hexan-1-ol (15.6%), (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (9.7%), and oleic acid (4.0%). The antileishmanial activity against promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis was observed only for the rainy season essential oil (IC50 value of 165.05 ± 33.26 µg mL-1). A molecular docking study showed that alcohols exert a paramount efficacy and that the action of some essential oil compounds may be similar to that of amphotericin B. Still, only the essential oil from the dry season showed moderate antibacterial activity against S. sanguinis (MICs 200-400 µg mL-1). The cytotoxicity against Vero cells was identical (>512) for both essential oils. The novel data here for both chemical characterization and biological activity, in particular, evidence that the action of these compounds is similar to that of amphotericin B, provide valuable information to the drug-discovery field.

Polymeric blends of hydrocolloid from chia seeds/apple pectin with potential antioxidant for food packaging applications.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant, mechanical and physical properties of a new film-based polymeric blend of hydrocolloids obtained from the aqueous extraction of chia seeds (source antioxidants) and apple pectin. The individual matrices films were brittle and rigid with poor mechanical properties. The blends formulations contributed to improved mechanical properties regarding workability and resistance. The antioxidant results showed the potential hydrocolloid from chia seeds as natural source of antioxidant in these polymeric films. The formulation 3 (14(hydrocolloid):41(pectin):25(glycerol):20(glutaraldehyde) displayed well thermal, mechanical, morphological and antioxidant properties, suggesting their great potential for food packaging.

Bioassay-guided fractionation and antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of Cassia bakeriana extracts

ABSTRACT The antimicrobial potential of extracts of bark and leaves of Cassia bakeriana Craib, Fabaceae, against aerobic and anaerobic oral bacteria was evaluated by the microdilution broth method. For crude ethanol extracts and organic fractions tested, the bark dichloromethane phase showed a significant antibacterial effect, with MIC values ranging from 12.5 to 100 µg/ml for most of the microorganisms tested. Thus, a bioassay-guided fractionation of this fraction was performed. This fractionation led to isolation of the 1,8-dihydroxy-anthraquinone-3-carboxylic acid, also known as cassic acid or rhein. It is the first time that this bioactive anthraquinone has been isolated from this plant. Rhein exhibited good selectivity and high activity against anaerobic microorganisms, with MIC values ranging between 3.12 µg/ml (11.0 µM) and 25 µg/ml (88.0 µM). These results were considered very promising since the most active samples and rhein showed greater selectivity against oral microorganisms than toxicity to Vero cells.

Atividade antioxidante de extratos de folhas de ora-pro-nóbis (Pereskia aculeata Mill. ) usando métodos espectrofotométricos e voltamétricos in vitro / Antioxidant activity of ora-pro-nobis (Pereskia aculeata Mill. ) leaves extracts using spectrophotometric and voltammetric assays in vitro

Atualmente tem crescido a busca por plantas como fontes naturais de antioxidantes. Plantas com esta propriedade podem ser utilizadas para melhorar a qualidade de alimentos, seja para fins nutritivos ou de conservação, como também para a prevenção de doenças relacionadas ao aparecimento de radicais livres. A Pereskia aculeata Mill. (Ora-pro-nóbis) é uma espécie da família Cactaceae e suas folhas são consumidas por muitas pessoas. Neste contexto, este trabalho estudou o teor de fenóis totais (método Folin-Ciocalteau) e de proantocianidinas (vanilina sulfúrica), correlacionando-os com a atividade antioxidante (radical DPPH, sistema b-caroteno/ácido linoleico e voltametria por pulso diferencial) de extratos em acetona 80%, etanol 70% e água das folhas da espécie P. aculeata Mill., apresentando o extrato em acetona 80% maior teor de fenóis totais e proantocianidinas. Com relação à atividade antioxidante frente ao radical DPPH, o extrato em acetona 80% se apresentou ligeiramente melhor que o em etanol 70%. A técnica de voltametria por pulso diferencial mostrou que o extrato em acetona 80% apresenta constituintes com maior potencial redutor que o extrato em etanol 70%. Os dados obtidos a partir da voltametria corroboram com os resultados obtidos pelo método tradicional de DPPH. Os extratos em etanol 70% e em água apresentaram melhor atividade antioxidante pelo sistema b-caroteno/ácido linoleico, o que sugere a presença de outra classe de compostos que atuam na inibição do b- caroteno. Portanto, as folhas da espécie Pereskia aculeata podem ser consideradas como fonte potencial de compostos antioxidantes.

Currently, the search for plants as natural sources of antioxidants has been growing because they can be used to improve the nutritive or preservation properties of food, as soon as for the prevention of diseases related to free radicals. The Pereskiaaculeata Mill. (Ora-pro-nóbis,) is a specie of Cactaceae family and its leaves are consumed by many people. In this context, this paper studied the total phenols (Folin-Ciocalteu) and proanthocyanidins (vanillin sulfuric) correlating with the antioxidant activity (DPPH, b-carotene/linoleic acid system and differential pulse voltammetry) of extracts of 80% acetone, 70% ethanol and water of Pereskiaaculeata Mill. leaves. The 80% acetone extract showed higher total phenols and proanthocyanidins. Regarding to the antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenger, the 80% acetone extract was slightly better than 70% ethanol extract. The differential pulse voltammetry technique displayed that the 80% acetone extract presented constituents with greater reducing potential than the ones presented in 70% ethanol extract, what can corroborate the results obtained. The 70% ethanol and water extracts has shown better antioxidant activity by b-carotene/linoleic acid system, what probably suggests the presence of another compounds classes that are responsible for the inhibition the b-carotene. Therefore, the Pereskiaaculeata Mill. showed that its leaves may be considered as a potential source of antioxidant compounds.

A gestão ambiental nas organizações como nova variável estratégica / Environmental management in organizations as new strategic variable

O presente artigo tem como objetivo discutir a Gestão Ambiental como uma variável importante a ser inserida no planejamento estratégico das organizações, tendo em vista o contexto globalizado, que inclui o movimento ecológico, a mudança no perfil dos consumidores e as pressões dos movimentos sociais por uma melhor performance das organizações. Está dividido em cinco partes, sendo que a primeira aborda a importância do movimento ambientalista como resultado de um processo de construção histórica; a segunda, aborda como a questão ambiental impactou nas organizações; a terceira aborda as formas de reações das organizações frente à questão ambiental; a quarta explica como implantar um sistema de gestão ambiental nas organizações e a quinta discute como o psicólogo pode contribuir com a implantação, por meio da sensibilização, desenvolvimento de gestores, formação de pessoal e facilitador de mudança cultural. (AU)

This article was made to discuss the insertion of the environmental management as an important variable to configure in a strategic planning for the organizations, considering that the global context includes the ecological movement, the consumers and stakeholders’ changes and the pressure of social movements seeking for better performances for organizations. It is composed by five sections: the first one discuss the ecological movement as a result of a historical process; the second one discuss about the insertion of this variable into the organizations; the third one presents the reactions of the organizations to this movement; the fourth one presents the steps to implant environmental programs in organizations and the fifth one discuss how the organizational psychologist can work with this variable in organizations, contributing to implantation, development of managers, training and facilitating cultural changing. The final discussion is about the organizational psychologists to work with this new variable into organizations and Universities to develop researches on ecological management. (AU)

Estreptococos beta-hemolíticos e doença reumática cardíaca em crianças no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil / Beta-hemolytic streptococci and rheumatic heart disease in children of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Foram analisadas informaçöes bacteriológicas e clínicas de 972 crianças, com idades variando de 6 a 13 anos, provenenientes de três comunidades com diferentes níveis sócio-econômicos, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. A distribuiçäo dos grupos sorológicos de estreptococos beta-hemolíticos isolados de orofaringe indicou que entre as amostras obtidas de crianças procedentes de família de baixa renda, 94,5 por cento näo pertenciam ao grupo A. Nos escolares de nível sócio-econômico médio, 41,6 porcento das amostras foram identificadas como sendo grupo A. As amostras de estreptococos do grupo G representaram aproximadamente a metade do total de amostras näo pertecentes ao grupo A(B,C,G e näo grupável), independente do nível sócio-econômico considerado. Do total de crianças examinadas, 198 (20,3 por cento) apresentavam cardiopatias reumáticas. Dessas, 130 (95,6 por cento) foram lesöes miocárdias e 68 (34,5 por cento) lesöes valvulares. Nos casos de valvulopatias, o envolvimento da válvula mitral foi o mais frequente. Os estreptococos do grupo A foram isolados em 8 por cento das crianças com cardiopatias reumáticas. A amigdalectomia e o uso de antibióticos näo modificaram as frequências de isolamento dos estreptococos e da presença de cardiopatia reumática