Physicochemical characterization of herbal drug from bole and solid waste resulting from decortication of Agave sisalana leaves

Only 5% of the whole mass from decortication of Agave sisalana Perrine leaves, which is constituted by a hard fiber, is exploited, while the remaining 95% consisting of solid and liquid wastes is normally discarded by sisal farms. Studies demonstrated the potential of products from A. sisalana in different pharmaceutical applications, but the quality of herbal raw materials is essential to reach the desired specifications of intermediate and final products. The aim of this work was to analyze physicochemical quality parameters of materials and extracts from bole and solid waste from A. sisalana collected in Monteiro, Para\uedba-PB. Materials were dried in a forced circulation oven at 40\ub0C up to constant weight to obtain herbal drugs from bole (HDB) and solid waste (HDSW). Both HDB and HDSW were extracted with distilled water by dynamic maceration at 80\ub0C for 2 hours (7:1 w/v) to obtain the corresponding liquid extracts (HDB-LE and HDSW-LE, respectively). Physicochemical analyses were done according to pharmacopoeia methods either on materials (pH, particle size, density, loss on drying and ash content) or extracts (pH, dry residue, density by pycnometer, \ub0Brix and spectrophotometric scanning at 200-800 nm). Since HDSW had larger particles size than HDB, the fact that the HDSW-LE volume (206.5 mL) was lower than that of HDB-LE (268.0 mL) under the same extraction conditions suggests a direct influence of the extraction protocol on the efficiency, as reported in the literature. Higher values of density (0.55 g.mL-1 \ub1 0.03) and water content (6.62 % \ub1 0.12) for HDSW-LE compared with HDB-LE (0.43 g.mL-1 \ub1 0.01 and 4.33 % \ub1 0.15, respectively) may reflect the larger particle size of HDB. Ash content of HDSW (16.62 \ub1 0.07%) was higher than that of HDB (6.43 \ub1 0.12%), thereby pointing out the presence of impurities resulting from decortication. The extraction efficiency from HDSW (31.5 % \ub1 9.1) was remarkably lower than from HDB (79.3 % \ub1 18.5), likely due to the high content in water-soluble carbohydrates of agave species boles. This inference seems to be confirmed by the higher values of \ub0Brix (5.47 \ub1 0.55) and dry residue (6.14 % \ub1 0.38) for HDB-LE compared with HDSW-LE (2.3 \ub1 0.52 and 2.48 % \ub1 0.16, respectively). Spectrophotometric scanning suggested different compositions of these extracts. The quality control parameters established for A. sisalana in this study could be of some interest to guarantee quality and safety in herbal medicine

Thermogravimetric analysis and spectrophotometric scanning of wastes of Agave sisalana

The aim of this work was to analyze physicochemical parameters of wastes from A. sisalana by termogravimetry (TG) and spectrophotometric scanning (SC). Wastes exhibited similar chemical profiles, in that picks of bagasse were observed at 669, 307 and 271 nm to bagasse and 671 nm, and those of juice at 307 and 271 nm. The decomposition process involved several events of mass loss, and the first stage, occurred in the temperature range of 36\u2013100\ub0C, was due to volatile compounds, mainly water. The initial moisture removals from the herbal grug and the lyophilized juice were 10.6% at 98\ub0C and 7.2% at 96\ub0C, respectively. Mass loss associated with thermal decomposition of fructans, aromatic and stable moieties of lignin and carbonate-rich residue (ash) were observed

Total phenols and flavonoids of wastes from Agave sisalana decortication: a project to revitalize the crop of sisal in the Para\uedba

Only 5% of the decorticated leaves from Agave sisalana is exploited to produce fiber, while the remaining 95%consists of both a solid and a liquid waste (juice) that are normally discarded. The aim of this work was evaluate phytochemical quantitative differences between wastes of decortication from A. sisalana. Solid waste was dried in a forced circulation oven at 40\ub0C and extracted with water at 80\ub0C for 2 h (7:1 w/v) to obtain a liquid extract (HDSW-LE) and liquid waste submitted to lyophilization (LLW). Phenolic compounds were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteau\u2019s reagent and total flavonoids by the aluminum chloride colorimetric method. Wastes exhibited quantitative differences among them. Wastes of A. sisalana may be availed with good perspectives for pharmaceutical industry

Antifungal activity of topical microemulsion containing a thiophene derivative

Fungal infections have become a major problem of worldwide concern. Yeasts belonging to the Candida genus and the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans are responsible for different clinical manifestations, especially in immunocompromised patients. Antifungal therapies are currently based on a few chemotherapeutic agents that have problems related to effectiveness and resistance profiles. Microemulsions are isotropic, thermodynamically stable transparent systems of oil, water and surfactant that can improve the solubilization of lipophilic drugs. Taking into account the need for more effective and less toxic drugs along with the potential of thiophene derivatives as inhibitors of pathogenic fungi growth, this study aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of a thiophene derivative (5CN05) embedded in a microemulsion (ME). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using the microdilution method using amphotericin B as a control. The formulations tested (ME- blank and ME-5CN05) showed physico-chemical properties that would allow their use by the topical route. 5CN05 as such exhibited moderate or weak antifungal activity against Candida species (MIC = 270-540 g.mL-1) and good activity against C. neoformans (MIC = 17 g.mL-1). Candida species were susceptible to ME-5CN05 (70-140 g.mL-1), but C. neoformans was much more, presenting a MIC value of 2.2 g.mL-1. The results of this work proved promising for the pharmaceutical industry, because they suggest an alternative therapy against C. neoformans