Resveratrol-Loaded Attalea funifera Oil Organogel Nanoparticles: A Potential Nanocarrier against A375 Human Melanoma Cells.

This study aimed to evaluate Attalea funifera seed oil with or without resveratrol entrapped in organogel nanoparticles in vitro against A375 human melanoma tumor cells. Organogel nanoparticles with seed oil (SON) or with resveratrol entrapped in the seed oil (RSON) formed functional organogel nanoparticles that showed a particle size <100 nm, polydispersity index <0.3, negative zeta potential, and maintenance of electrical conductivity. The resveratrol entrapment efficiency in RSON was 99 ± 1%. The seed oil and SON showed no cytotoxicity against human non-tumor cells or tumor cells. Resveratrol at 50 µg/mL was cytotoxic for non-tumor cells, and was cytotoxic for tumor cells at 25 µg/mL. Resveratrol entrapped in RSON showed a decrease in cytotoxicity against non-tumor cells and cytotoxic against tumor cells at 50 µg/mL. Thus, SON is a potential new platform for the delivery of resveratrol with selective cytotoxic activity in the treatment of melanoma.

Copaiba Oil-Loaded Polymeric Nanocapsules: Production and In Vitro Biosafety Evaluation on Lung Cells as a Pre-Formulation Step to Produce Phytotherapeutic Medicine.

Copaiba oil has been largely used due to its therapeutic properties. Nanocapsules were revealed to be a great nanosystem to carry natural oils due to their ability to improve the bioaccessibility and the bioavailability of lipophilic compounds. The aim of this study was to produce and characterize copaiba oil nanocapsules (CopNc) and to evaluate their hemocompatibility, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity. Copaiba oil was chemically characterized by GC-MS and FTIR. CopNc was produced using the nanoprecipitation method. The physicochemical stability, toxicity, and biocompatibility of the systems, in vitro, were then evaluated. Β-bisabolene, cis-α-bergamotene, caryophyllene, and caryophyllene oxide were identified as the major copaiba oil components. CopNc showed a particle size of 215 ± 10 nm, a polydispersity index of 0.15 ± 0.01, and a zeta potential of -18 ± 1. These parameters remained unchanged over 30 days at 25 ± 2 °C. The encapsulation efficiency of CopNc was 54 ± 2%. CopNc neither induced hemolysis in erythrocytes, nor cytotoxic and genotoxic in lung cells at the range of concentrations from 50 to 200 µg·mL-1. In conclusion, CopNc showed suitable stability and physicochemical properties. Moreover, this formulation presented a remarkable safety profile on lung cells. These results may pave the way to further use CopNc for the development of phytotherapeutic medicine intended for pulmonary delivery of copaiba oil.

Will curcumin nanosystems be the next promising antiviral alternatives in COVID-19 treatment trials?

The COVID-19 has become of striking interest since the number of deaths is constantly rising all over the globe, and the search for an efficient treatment is more urgent. In light of this worrisome scenario, this opinion review aimed to discuss the current knowledge about the potential role of curcumin and its nanostructured systems on the SARS-CoV-2 targets. From this perspective, this work demonstrated that curcumin urges as a potential antiviral key for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 based on its relation to the infection pathways. Moreover, the use of curcumin-loaded nanocarriers for increasing its bioavailability and therapeutic efficiency was highlighted. Additionally, the potential of the nanostructured systems by themselves and their synergic action with curcumin on molecular targets for viral infections have been explored. Finally, a viewpoint of the studies that need to be carried out to implant curcumin as a treatment for COVID-19 was addressed.

Use of Natural Products in Asthma Treatment.

Asthma, a disease classified as a chronic inflammatory disorder induced by airway inflammation, is triggered by a genetic predisposition or antigen sensitization. Drugs currently used as therapies present disadvantages such as high cost and side effects, which compromise the treatment compliance. Alternatively, traditional medicine has reported the use of natural products as alternative or complementary treatment. The aim of this review was to summarize the knowledge reported in the literature about the use of natural products for asthma treatment. The search strategy included scientific studies published between January 2006 and December 2017, using the keywords "asthma," "treatment," and "natural products." The inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) studies that aimed at elucidating the antiasthmatic activity of natural-based compounds or extracts using laboratory experiments (in vitro and/or in vivo); and (ii) studies that suggested the use of natural products in asthma treatment by elucidation of its chemical composition. Studies that (i) did not report experimental data and (ii) manuscripts in languages other than English were excluded. Based on the findings from the literature search, aspects related to asthma physiopathology, epidemiology, and conventional treatment were discussed. Then, several studies reporting the effectiveness of natural products in the asthma treatment were presented, highlighting plants as the main source. Moreover, natural products from animals and microorganisms were also discussed and their high potential in the antiasthmatic therapy was emphasized. This review highlighted the importance of natural products as an alternative and/or complementary treatment source for asthma treatment, since they present reduced side effects and comparable effectiveness as the drugs currently used on treatment protocols.

Determinação do perfil fitoquímico e avaliação das atividades biológicas de extrato da espécie Scleronema micranthum da família Bombacaceae / Determination of the phytochemical profile and evaluation of biological activities of extract of species Scleronema micranthum in the Bombacaceae family

As plantas medicinais são usadas desde a antiguidade para tratar diversas doenças e, têm subsidiado a pesquisa farmacêutica na descoberta de novos agentes biologicamente ativos. Neste contexto, foi realizada a prospecção fitoquímica, a avaliação das atividades citotóxica, antimicrobiana e antioxidante do extrato etanólico obtido das folhas da espécie Scleronema micranthum Ducke (Bombacaceae), conhecida popularmente como cedrinho. Os resultados obtidos na prospecção fitoquímica sugerem a presença dos componentes metabólicos leucoantocianidinas, flavonoides, saponinas e fenóis. As moderadas atividades citotóxica e antioxidante estabelecidas para o extrato bruto, podem despertar o interesse das empresas farmacêuticas em razão da pesquisa por novos agentes antitumorais e anti-inflamatórios oriundos da Floresta Amazônica. Deste modo, os resultados obtidos neste estudo representam uma clara oportunidade para gerar benefícios econômicos e estimular a competitividade da indústria farmacêutica nacional, a partir da prospecção de novos agentes bioativos aplicados ao controle de doenças de importância para a saúde pública.(AU)

Medicinal plants are used since ancient times to treat various diseases and have subsidized pharmaceutical research in the discovery of new biologically active agents. In this context, we evaluated the phytochemical prospection, the cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the ethanolic extract obtained from the leaves of the species Scleronema micranthum Ducke (Bombacaceae), popularly known as "cedrinho". The results achieved in this phytochemical prospection suggest the presence of leucoanthocyanidins, flavonoids, saponins and phenols, as metabolic components. The moderate cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the crude extract can arouse the interest of pharmaceutical companies in search of new antitumor and anti-inflammatory agents derived from the Amazon Rainforest. We hope the results obtained in this study indicates a clear opportunity of generating economic benefits and boosting the competitiveness of the national pharmaceutical industry, prospecting new bioactive agents to control diseases of public health importance.(AU)