The Ethyl Acetate Extract of Leaves of Ugni molinae Turcz. Improves Neuropathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease in Female APPswe/PS1dE9 Mice Fed with a High Fat Diet

The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by impairment in cognitive performance in aged individuals. Currently, there is no effective pharmacological treatment that cures the disease due to the lack of knowledge on the actual mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis. In the last decades, the amyloidogenic hypothesis has been the most studied theory trying to explain the origin of AD, yet it does not address all the concerns relating to its development. In the present study, a possible new preclinical treatment of AD was evaluated using the ethyl acetate extract (EAE) of leaves of Ugni molinae Turcz. (synonym Myrtus ugni Molina Family Myrtacea). The effects were assessed on female transgenic mice from a preclinical model of familial AD (APPswe/PS1dE9) combined with a high fat diet. This preclinical model was selected due to the already available experimental and observational data proving the relationship between obesity, gender, metabolic stress, and cognitive dysfunction; related to characteristics of sporadic AD. According to chemical analyses, EAE would contain polyphenols such as tannins, flavonoid derivatives, and phenolic acids, as well as pentacyclic triterpenoids that exhibit neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. In addition, the treatment evidenced its capacity to prevent deterioration of memory capacity and reduction of progression speed of AD neuropathology

Método CLAE-UV y CLAE-IES-MS para la identificación de triterpenoides anti-inflamatorios de los extractos de Ugni molinae

El objetivo de este trabajo fue establecer un método analítico para determinar la presencia de los triterpenoides responsables de la actividad anti-inflamatoria  de las hojas de Ugni molinae (murtilla). Fueron preparados los extractos seriados de EtOAc (EAE) y etanólico (TEE) desde sus hojas, obteniendo desde el  TEE por primera vez una sub-fracción rica en triterpenoides (TF). Se demostró la actividad anti-inflamatoria tópica del TF por el modelo de edema de oreja  de ratón inducida por TPA (43,3% a 1 mg/oreja), la cual fue comparada con las de los EAE (83,1 ± 3,2%) y TEE (78,3 ± 11,8%) determinadas en nuestros  estudios previos. Dichos extractos fueron caracterizados en sus triterpenoides por CLAE-UV y CLAE-IES-MS. Demostramos que el TF contiene  triterpenoides responsables en parte de la actividad anti-inflamatoria, entre ellos, los ácidos madecásico y maslínico, reportados por primera vez para esta  especie. Se informan además las DE50 para los ácidos madecásico y alfitólico

Comparative study of anti-inflammatory activity and qualitative-quantitative composition of triterpenoids from ten genotypes of Ugni molinae

The aim of this study was to assess the differences in qualitative-quantitative composition of triterpenoids and total phenolic contents, together with anti-inflammatory activity of Ugni molinae leaves obtained from ten genotypes. The ethyl acetate (EAE) and ethanol extracts (ETE) were obtained and analyzed. The plant genotypes were grown under same soil and climate conditions and under same agronomic management; the leaves were also harvested under the same conditions. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by mice ear edema induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) at a single dose of 200 mg/kg BW of each extract. Composition of triterpenoids and total phenolic contents was determined by HPLC-DAD and Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. Ugni molinae leaves of different plant genotypes exhibited significant differences in regard to their anti-inflammatory activity, as well as in qualitative-quantitative composition of triterpenoids and total phenolic content

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Estrous cycle disruptor effect of an ethanolic extract from Buddleja globosa leaves and its main component (verbascoside) Efecto disruptor del ciclo estral de un extracto etanólico de hojas de Buddleja globosa y de su componente principal (verbascósido)

The estrous cycle disruptor effect of an ethanolic extract (EMATst) from Buddleja globosa leaves and standardized in its main component (verbascoside) was determined in rats after the subcutaneous administration of EMATst. Binding of EMATst and verbascoside to the estrogen receptor (ER) of EMATst and verbacoside was also measuredestablished. EMATst produced a significant alteration inof the estrous cycle only at the highest dose (10-5 M), which could be attributed to an antiestrogenic effect. The Bbinding of EMATst and verbascoside to the ER was competitive and occurred in concentrations 1000 times greater than that of 17β-estradiol. © 2014

Inhibition of beta-amyloid Aggregation of Ugni molinae Extracts

The beta-amyloid peptide (1-42) is a molecule capable of aggregating into neurotoxic structures that have been implicated as potential etiological factors of Alzheimer's Disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibition of beta-amyloid aggregation of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts obtained from Ugni molinae leaves on neurotoxic actions of beta-amyloid aggregates. Chemical analyses were carried out with the extracts in order to determine their phenolic profile and its quantification. Both extracts showed a tendency to reduce neuronal deaths caused by beta-amyloid. This tendency was inversely proportional to the evaluated concentrations. Moreover, the effect of EAE and ETE on beta-amyloid aggregation was studied by fluorimetric T Thioflavin assay and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM); the extracts showed a modulation in the aggregation process. Partly, it is believed that these effects can be attributed to the polyphenolic compounds present in the extracts.Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) 21130380 Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 1130155 1170929 Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDAP 15130011 Fondequip, Chile EQM17011

III Congreso latinoamericano de plantas medicinales “Antonio Brack Egg” : desde la etnobotánica hasta la nanotecnología

El presente documento recoge el resumen presentado en el III congreso latinoamericano de plantas medicinales, donde se expuso el trabajo realizado con el Grupo de Investigación en Química de Medicamentos, sobre el uso de la medicina tradicional; plantas como la Cordia dentata Poir (uvita), Boraginaceae, que es una especie vegetal nativa de América central, ampliamente distribuida en algunas regiones de Colombia. Se caracteriza morfológicamente por la forma dentada de sus hojas, y por su fruto blanco de mesocarpio mucilaginoso (Trópicos, 2015). Entre sus usos folclóricos en comunidades colombianas destaca su aplicación como antitusígeno, antibacteriano, y antiparasitario.Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación [CO] Colciencias1107-569-33684Aislamiento y purificación de compuestos con potencial actividad antileishmanial a partir de Cordia dentada Poir. y Heliotropium indicum L.n