Supercritical CO(2) recovery of caffeine from green coffee oil: New experimental solubility data and modeling

The caffeine solubility in supercritical CO(2) Was studied by assessing the effects of pressure and temperature on the extraction of green coffee oil (GCO). The Peng-Robinson(1) equation of state was used to correlate the solubility of caffeine with a thermodynamic model and two mixing rules were evaluated: the classical mixing rule of van der Waals with two adjustable parameters (PR-VDW) and a density dependent one, proposed by Mohamed and Holder(2) with two (PR-MH, two parameters adjusted to the attractive term) and three (PR-MH3 two parameters adjusted to the attractive and one to the repulsive term) adjustable parameters. The best results were obtained with the mixing rule of Mohamed and Holder(2) with three parameters.31613191323Fundacao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [02/07753-0]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TccnologicoFundacao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [02/07753-0

Clinical and Virological Study of Dengue Cases and the Members of Their Households: The Multinational DENFRAME Project

Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease in humans. This disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries and threatens more than 2.5 billion people living in tropical countries. It currently affects about 50 to 100 million people each year. It causes a wide range of symptoms, from an inapparent to mild dengue fever, to severe forms, including dengue hemorrhagic fever. Currently no specific vaccine or antiviral drugs are available. We carried out a prospective clinical study in South-East Asia and Latin America, of virologically confirmed dengue-infected patients attending the hospital, and members of their households. Among 215 febrile dengue subjects, 177 agreed to household investigation. Based on our data, we estimated the proportion of dengue-infected household members to be about 45%. At the time of the home visit, almost three quarters of (29/39) presented an inapparent dengue infection. The proportion of inapparent dengue infection was higher in South-East Asia than in Latin America. These findings confirm the complexity of dengue disease in humans and the need to strengthen multidisciplinary research efforts to improve our understanding of virus transmission and host responses to dengue virus in various human populations

Extraction of fat from fermented Cupuacu seeds with supercritical solvents

Cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum) is a Brazilian Amazonian fruit. The seeds have a high fat content (62%) with characteristics that resemble that of cocoa butter and with potential applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. In this work, new experimental data on the supercritical fluid extraction of fat components from Cupuacu fermented seeds using ethane and CO2 as solvents are reported. The extractions were carried out at 50 and 70 degreesC and pressure ranging from 24.8 to 35.2 MPa. The results revealed ethane to be the most efficient solvent in the removal of fat as compared to CO2. While both solvents were found effective in the removal of Cupuacu fat from the fermented seeds, triglyceride (TG) compositions as measured by HPLC and thermal behavior of extracted products obtained by differential scanning calorimeter revealed little fractionation capacity of either solvent. The lack of fractionation, observed earlier in the fractionation of milk fat is attributed to the similar TG components in Cupuacu fat (C:48-C:56). Solid fraction as well as melting point and enthalpy analyses indicated however slight changes in the saturated/unsaturated TG ratios in the extracted fractions as compared to the original fat. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.27222323

Evaluation of the antiulcerogenic activity of violacein and its modulation by the inclusion complexation with beta-cyclodextrin

The effects of beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) inclusion complexation on the ability of violacein to prevent gastric ulceration in mice were studied. Violacein-betaCD inclusion complexes were prepared in 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratios and analysed by differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffractometry. Violacein previously administered orally at 10 mg/kg significantly reduced indomethacin-induced gastric lesions, as well as 100 mg/kg of cimetidine (positive control). However, betaCD complexation in both molar ratios significantly potentiated the protective action of violacein. In the HCl-ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model, violacein and the 1:2 inclusion complex (10 mg/kg, p.o.) inhibited gastric damage by almost 85%, whereas a 63% reduction was observed for the positive control, lansoprazole, at 30 mg/kg. In contrast, treatment with the 1:1 inclusion complex resulted in almost total disappearance of the antiulcer activity in this model. No significant changes in stress-induced gastric injury were found. In addition, the 1:2 inclusion complex improved the antilipoperoxidant activity of violacein in rat liver cells exposed to t-butyl hydroperoxide, whereas the 1:1 complex was less active than violacein. In summary, the 1:2 betaCD inclusion complex has gastroprotective properties similar to or higher than that of violacein. An increase in mucosal defensive mechanisms and protection against peroxidative damage might be involved.81438739

Main characteristics of subjects with inapparent dengue infections compared to non-dengue-infected subjects among Household members.

<p>*Potential confounders with a P value of less than 0.20 in univariate analysis were retained for the final multivariable analyses. In this table: age, platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, ASAT and IgG at Visit 1.</p>a<p>ASAT: Aspartate amino transferase.</p>b<p>ALAT: Alanine amino transferase.</p><p>Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used for analyses.</p

Characteristics of dengue index cases (DIC, n = 215).

<p>*For 3 subjects infected by DENV-2, data related to IgG status were missing: 2 dengue fever cases and 1 severe dengue case.</p><p>Distribution of DIC is provided by region in relation to the presence of WHO criteria for severe dengue and IgG status during the acute phase.</p

Main characteristics of subjects with inapparent dengue infections compared to symptomatic dengue-infected subjects.

<p>*Potential confounders with a P value of less than 0.20 in univariate analysis were retained for the final multivariable analyses. In this table: weight-based Z-score, platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, ASAT, ALAT and NS1 antigen.</p>a<p>ASAT: Aspartate amino transferase.</p>b<p>ALAT: Alanine amino transferase.</p><p>Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used for analyses.</p

Study design for the inclusion of patients.

<p>A: Step 1, identification of dengue index cases (DIC) and non-dengue-infected cases (NDC). B: Step 2, Identification of household members (HHM).</p