Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Extratos padronizados para o tratamento de doenças crônicas: Arrabidaea spp

The project aimed to standardize extracts to treat most prevalent chronic diseases in our population. The specie investigated was Arrabidaea brachypoda (Bignoniaceae), genus of which are reported various pharmacological activities. Leaves and barks of the roots were dried in an oven. The obtained powders were percolated each part with 70% ethanol v / v, the mixture was filtered and concentrated on rotaevaporator. The extracts were subjected to clean-up cartridges Sep-Pak reverse phase and analyzed by HPLC-PDA. The chromatographic profiles showed that both are rich in phenolic substances. Fractionation of the extract of the roots provided novel compounds 7, 6 of them rare dimeric flavonoids, being a majority of them in the extract. This substance served as a marker for standardization of the extract. Fractionation of leaf extract provided 13 substances, 10 of them reported here for the first time in this species. Rutin is a majority in this extract and was used as a marker for standardization of the same. Biological assays showed that extracts and compounds of A.brachypoda possess anti-inflammatory activity, anti-gastric ulcer and anti-protozoa. This project resulted in two international patent applications.O projeto teve como objetivo padronizar extratos para tratar doenças crônicas mais prevalentes na população brasileira. A espécie investigada foi Arrabidaea brachypoda (Bignoniaceae), gênero do qual são relatadas várias atividades farmacológicas. Folhas e cascas das raízes foram secas em estufa. Os pós obtidos de cada parte foram percolados com etanol 70% v/v, a mistura foi filtrada e concentrada em rotaevaporador. Os extratos obtidos foram submetidos a clean-up em cartuchos Sep-Pak de fase reversa e analisados por HPLC-PDA. Os perfis cromatográficos mostraram que ambos são ricos em substâncias fenólicas. Fracionamento do extrato das raízes forneceu 7 substâncias inéditos dentre eles 6 flavonóides diméricos raros, sendo um deles majoritário no extrato. Esta substância serviu de marcador para padronização do extrato. Fracionamento cromatográfico do extrato das folhas forneceu 13 substâncias, 10 delas relatatas aqui pela primeira vez na espécie. A rutina é majoritária nesse extrato e foi usada como marcador para padronização do mesmo. Ensaios biológicos demonstraram que os extratos e substâncias de A.brachypoda possuem atividade anti-inflamatória, anti-úlceras gástricas e anti-protozoários. Este projeto resultou em dois pedidos de patentes internacionais

Phenolic isomers from plantago catharinea leaves: Isolation, identification, quantification and in vitro antioxidant activity

In this study we isolated two polyphenolic acids of m/z 639, called catharinol A and catharinol B, from Plantago catharinea L. (Plantaginaceae) leaves. Although presenting very similar structures, catharinol A showed higher antioxidant activity when compared with gallic acid and quercetin standards. These compounds are position isomers and present in their chemical structure the rare sugar D-allose. Molecules with similar constitution are known to have important biological activities such as antitumor and immunosuppressive. These compounds were isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and characterized by mass spectrometry (FIA-ESI-IT-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This work is the first study on the chemical composition of P. catharinea and encourages the production of Plantago species as a good source of bioactive molecules

Gastroprotective Effects Of Hydroethanolic Root Extract Of Arrabidaea Brachypoda: Evidences Of Cytoprotection And Isolation Of Unusual Glycosylated Polyphenols

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The hydroethanolic root extract of Arrabidaea brachypoda, from Bignoniaceae family, a Brazilian me-dicinal plant, demonstrated significant in vivo gastroprotective effects using different in vivo assays. The activity was evaluated in several models of experimental gastric ulcer in rats (absolute ethanol, gluta-thione depletion, nitric oxide depletion, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, pylorus ligation and acetic acid). Using 300 mg/kg (p.o.) the extract significantly reduced gastric injury in all models. In depth phytochemical investigation of this extract led to the isolation of two previously undescribed phenyl-ethanoid glycosides derivatives and seven unusual glycosylated dimeric flavonoids. The structures were elucidated using UV, NMR and HRMS analysis. Absolute configuration of the dimeric flavonoids was performed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.13593105Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP) [2009/52237-9, 2014/03728-8, 2012/01868-1]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Addendum: de Souza Mesquita, L.M., et al. Modulatory Effect of Polyphenolic Compounds from the Mangrove Tree Rhizophora mangle L. on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Insulin Resistance in High-Fat Diet Obese Mice. Molecules, 2018, 23, 2114

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Modulatory Effect of Polyphenolic Compounds from the Mangrove Tree Rhizophora mangle L. on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Insulin Resistance in High-Fat Diet Obese Mice

No scientific report proves the action of the phytochemicals from the mangrove tree Rhizophora mangle in the treatment of diabetes. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effects of the acetonic extract of R. mangle barks (AERM) on type 2 diabetes. The main chemical constituents of the extract were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flow injection analysis electrospray-iontrap mass spectrometry (FIA-ESI-IT-MS/MS). High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were used as model of type 2 diabetes associated with obesity. After 4 weeks of AERM 5 or 50 mg/kg/day orally, glucose homeostasis was evaluated by insulin tolerance test (kiTT). Hepatic steatosis, triglycerides and gene expression were also evaluated. AERM consists of catechin, quercetin and chlorogenic acids derivatives. These metabolites have nutritional importance, obese mice treated with AERM (50 mg/kg) presented improvements in insulin resistance resulting in hepatic steatosis reductions associated with a strong inhibition of hepatic mRNA levels of CD36. The beneficial effects of AERM in an obesity model could be associated with its inhibitory α-amylase activity detected in vitro. Rhizophora mangle partially reverses insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis associated with obesity, supporting previous claims in traditional knowledge

Anti-Mac-1 selectively inhibits the mouse and human type three complement receptor

Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) 1 have proven to be of great value in identifying the cellular lineages and subsets that give rise to the diversity of the immune system. Recently, interest has focused on the use of such antibodies to evaluate macrophage heterogeneity (1-5), and these reagents have added measurably to the information attained using heterospecific antisera (6). The first and perhaps best characterized of these antibodies, the rat anti-mouse M1/70 (anti-Mac-i) MAb, defines an antigen containing two polypeptides of 170,000 and 95,000 mol wt found on the surface of mouse macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), and natural killer cells (1, 2, 7). The M1/70 MAb cross-reacts with human cells. Mac-1 has the same distribution in humans as in the mouse (8). To date, no function has been attributed to this antigen. The difficulty in ascribing function to antibody-defined cell surface structures has been a characteristic of studies on differentiation and cell type-specific antigens. Current evidence indicates that cells of the myeloid lineage (mononuclear phagocytes and PMNL) bear two distinct cell surface receptors for fragments of activate