Attenuation of capsaicin-induced acute and visceral nociceptive pain by α- and β-amyrin, a triterpene mixture isolated from Protium heptaphyllum resin

Abstract The triterpene mixture, a-and h-amyrin, isolated from Protium heptaphyllum resin was evaluated on capsaicinevoked nociception in mice. Orally administered a-and h-amyrin (3 to 100 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the nociceptive behaviors-evoked by either subplantar (1.6 Ag) or intracolonic (149 Ag) application of capsaicin. The antinociception produced by a-and h-amyrin against subplantar capsaicin-induced paw-licking behavior was neither potentiated nor attenuated by ruthenium red (1.5 mg/kg, s.c.), a non-specific antagonist of vanilloid receptor (TRPV1), but was greatly abolished in animals pretreated with naloxone (2 mg/kg, s.c.), suggesting an opioid mechanism. However, participation of a 2 -adrenoceptor involvement was unlikely since yohimbine (2 mg/ kg, i.p.) pretreatment failed to block the antinociceptive effect of a-and h-amyrin in the experimental model of visceral nociception evoked by intracolonic capsaicin. The triterpene mixture (3 to 30 mg/kg, p.o.) neither altered significantly the pentobarbital sleeping time, nor impaired the ambulation or motor coordination in open-field and rota-rod tests, respectively, indicating the absence of sedative or motor abnormality that could account for its antinociception. Nevertheless, a-and h-amyrin could significantly block the capsaicin (10 mg/kg, s.c.)-induce

INIBIÇÃO DA INFECÇÃO in vitro DE MACRÓFAGOS POR Leishmania amazonensis POR EXTRATO E FRAÇÕES DE Chenopodium ambrosioides L.

A utilização de espécies vegetais, como Chenopodium ambrosioides L., para o tratamento da leishmaniose na terapêutica tradicional tem despertado interesse na busca de novos compostos mais eficazes e menos tóxicos. Nosso grupo demonstrou as atividades imunoestimuladora e anti-Leishmania in vivo do extrato bruto hidroalcoólico (EBH) de C. ambrosioides e efeito anti-promastigota in vitro do EBH e das suas frações. Neste trabalho, avaliou-se a atividade anti-Leishmania do EBH e suas frações acetato de etila (FAc) e clorofórmica (FCHCl3) em macrófagos infectados in vitro por Leishmania amazonensis. Foram realizados dois modelos: “proflático” e “terapêutico”. No primeiro, macrófagos peritoneais de camundongos Swiss  foram tratados com EBH, FAc ou FCHCl3 nas concentrações de 62,5µg/mL, 125µg/mL e 250µg/mL e, após 4 horas, infectados com formas promastigotas do parasito na razão de 1:10 por 24 horas. No segundo, os macrófagos foram infectados com promastigotas (1:10) e, após 4 horas, tratados com EBH, FAc ou FCHCl3 por 24 horas. Foram então realizados a quantifcação das amastigotas fagocitadas e o cálculo das taxas de infecção. No modelo “proflático”, apenas os macrófagos expostos ao EBH nas maiores concentrações apresentaram  taxas de  infecção  inferiores ao controle negativo. Entretanto, no modelo “terapêutico”, as  três concentrações de EBH e também da FAc reduziram a infecção de macrófagos em relação ao controle negativo, sendo a maior concentração do EBH mais efetiva inclusive que o controle positivo.  Em conclusão, o EBH de folhas de C. ambrosioides e a sua FAc possuem efeito terapêutico anti-Leishmania na infecção in vitro de macrófagos.Descritores: Leishmaniose; Leishmania amazonensis; Chenopodium ambrosioides.AbstractInhibit  of  in  vitro  macrophage  infection  by  Leishmania  amazonensis  by  extract  and  fractions  from Chenopodium ambrosioides L. The use of plant species such as Chenopodium ambrosioides L. for the treatment of leishmaniasis in traditional medicine has aroused interest in fnding new, more effective and less toxic compounds. Our group demonstrated the immunostimulatory and in vivo anti-Leishmania activities of the crude hydroalcoholic extract (HCE) from C. ambrosioides L. and the in vitro anti-promastigote effect of the HCE and its fractions. In this study, we evaluated the anti-Leishmania activity of the HCE and its fractions ethyl acetate (FAc) and chloroform (FCHCl3) in macrophages infected in vitro with Leishmania amazonensis. Two models, “prophylactic” and “therapeutic”, were performed. In the frst, Swiss mice peritoneal macrophages were treated with CHE, FAc or FCHCl3 in concentrations of 62,5μg/mL, 125μg/mL and 250μg/mL and, after 4 hours, infected with promastigote forms in the ratio of 1:10 for 24 hours. In the second model, the macrophages were infected with promastigotes (1:10)  and,  after 4 hours,  treated with HCE, FAc or FCHCl3 for 24 hours. Quantifcation of phagocytosed amastigotes and calculation  of  infection  rates were  then  perfomed.  In  the  “prophylactic” model,  only macrophages  exposed  to  the  highest concentrations of HCE presented  infection  rates  lower  than  the negative  control. However,  in  the  “therapeutic” model,  the three concentrations of both the HCE and FAc reduced the infection of macrophages compared to the negative control, with the highest concentration of HCE being even more effective than the positive control. In conclusion, the HCE from leaves of Chenopodium ambrosioides and its FAc have an anti-Leishmania therapeutic effect on the in vitro macrophages infection.Descriptors: Leishmaniasis. Leishmania amazonensis. Chenopodium ambrosioides

AVALIAÇÃO DA ATIVIDADE ANTI-HIPERTENSIVA DO EXTRATO DE Arrabidaea chica Verlot EM RATOS ESPONTANEAMENTE HIPERTENSOS

A espécie Arrabidaea chica Verlot (Bignoniaceae) é indicada para o tratamento de doenças de pele, cálculos renais, hipertensão arterial sistêmica, e no combate à anemia. Seu extrato etanólico foi quimicamente investigado e avaliado como fator no controle do tônus vascular e pressão arterial, utilizando-se como modelo anéis isolados da artéria mesentérica superior de ratos espontaneamente hipertensos (SHR). Este trabalho reporta o relaxamento concentração dependente da adição cumulativa do EAC no endotélio intacto ou sem endotélio, bem como a avaliação da influência do íon cálcio sobre a resposta do EAC. Os resultados em conjunto encontrados sugerem que o princípio ativo presente em Arrabidaea chica apresenta atividade sobre os mecanismos envolvidos na hipertensão arterial e que sua ação decorre do bloqueio dos canais de cálcio tipo L.Descritores: Arrabidaea. atividade anti hipertensiva.AbstractEvaluation of antihypertensive activity of Arrabidaea chica Verlot extract in rat SHR. The species Arrabidaea Verlot Chica (Bignoniaceae) is indicated for the treatment of skin diseases, kidney stones, high blood pressure, anti-inflammatory and anti-anemia. Its ethanol extract was chemically investigated and evaluated as a factor in the control of vascular tone and blood pressure, using as a model rings isolated superior mesenteric artery of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). This work reports the relaxation concentration dependent and cumulative addition of the EAC in the intact endothelium or without endothelium, as well as evaluating the influence of calcium ions on the EAC’s response. The results found together, suggest that the active ingredient present in Arrabidaea chica shows activity on the mechanisms involved in hypertension and that his action stems from the blockade of L-type calcium channelsDescriptors: Arrabidaea. anti hypertensive activity

Biotransformation of Metal-Rich Effluents and Potential Recycle Applications

In this chapter, it was introduced about the metallurgic effluents, and their potential to be converted into some feasible coproducts for industries. Some possibilities to introduce circular economy in the context of metallurgic effluents, and in the same way, some techniques to promote bioremediation using microorganisms and products from them were also described. Reported studies, as well as some perspectives to use metal-rich effluents in agriculture and soil quality improvement, were also shown. Copper effluents were kept as the main candidate for sustainable use, as a potentially interesting material for circular economy approaches

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

IL-17 Produced during Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Plays a Central Role in Regulating Parasite-Induced Myocarditis

Chagas disease is caused by the intracellular parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This infection has been considered one of the most neglected diseases and affects several million people in the Central and South America. Around 30% of the infected patients develop digestive and cardiac forms of the disease. Most patients are diagnosed during the chronic phase, when the treatment is not effective. Here, we showed by the first time that IL-17 is produced during experimental T. cruzi infection and that it plays a significant role in host defense, modulating parasite-induced myocarditis. Applying this analysis to humans could be of great value in unraveling the elements involved in the pathogenesis of chagasic cardiopathy and could be used in the development of alternative therapies to reduce morbidity during the chronic phase of the disease, as well as clinical markers of disease progression. The understanding of these aspects of disease may be helpful in reducing the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and costs to the public health service in developing countries