Searching for new sources of innovative products for the food industry within halophyte aromatic plants: In vitro antioxidant activity and phenolic and mineral contents of infusions and decoctions of Crithmum maritimum L.

Aromatic halophyte plants are an outstanding source of bioactive compounds and natural products with potential use in the food industry. This work reports the in vitro antioxidant activity, toxicity, poly phenolic profile and mineral contents of infusions and decoctions from stems, leaves and flowers of Crithmum maritimum L, an aromatic and edible maritime halophyte (sea fennel). Aspalathus linearis (Burm.f.) Dahlg. (rooibos) herbal tea was used as a reference. Sea fennel's tisanes, particularly from leaves, were rich in phenolic compounds and five of them (p-hydroxybenzoic and ferulic acids, epicatechin, pyrocatechol and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) were here described in C maritimum for the first time. Chlorogenic acid was the dominant phenolic determined. Na was the most abundant mineral in all tisanes followed by Ca and Mg in leaves' tisanes and K in flowers. Sea fennel's samples had a similar antioxidant activity than those from A. linearis, and had no significant toxicity towards four different mammalian cell lines. Altogether, our results suggest that sea fennel can be a source of products and/or molecules for the food industry with antioxidant properties and minerals in the form, for example, of innovative health-promoting herbal beverages.FCT Investigator Programme [IF/00049/2012

Electric field control of exchange bias in multiferroic epitaxial heterostructures

The magnetic exchange bias between epitaxial thin films of the multiferroic (antiferromagnetic and ferroelectric) hexagonal YMnO3 oxide and a soft ferromagnetic (FM) layer is used to couple the magnetic response of the ferromagnetic layer to the magnetic state of the antiferromagnetic one. We will show that biasing the ferroelectric YMnO3 layer by an appropriate electric field allows modifying and controlling the magnetic exchange bias and subsequently the magnetotransport properties of the FM layer. This finding may contribute to pave the way towards a new generation of electric-field controlled spintronics devices.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, submitte

Electroacupuncture reverses ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization and subsequent pERK expression in mice

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) plays a role in neuronal changes induced by repeated drug exposure. Given that electroacupuncture reverses locomotor sensitization induced by ethanol, we investigated whether this effect is parallel to ERK signalling. Mice received daily ethanol (2 g/kg i.p), for 21 d. Electroacupuncture was performed daily, during four (subsequent) days of ethanol withdrawal. the stimulus of 2 Hz or 100 Hz was provided in combinations of two acupoints: Ea1 (ST-36/Zusanli and PC-6/Neiguan) or Ea2 (Du-14/Dazhui and Du-20/Baihui). the specificity of acupoint effects were assessed by the inclusion of additional groups: Ea3 (ST-25/Tianshu - acupoint used for other non-related disorders), Sham1 or Sham2 (transdermic stimulation near the respective acupoints). the control group was only handled during withdrawal and the saline group was chronically treated with saline and handled similarly to controls. At day 5 of withdrawal, each group was divided in two subgroups, according to the presence or absence of ethanol challenge. the animals were perfused and their brains processed for pERK immunohistochemistry. Only Ea1 at 100 Hz (Ea1_100) and Ea2 at 2 Hz (Ea2_2) reversed locomotor sensitization induced by ethanol. Ethanol withdrawal decreases pERK in the dorsomedial striatum. This decrease is not abolished by electroacupuncture. Conversely, ethanol challenge increases pERK in the dorsomedial striatum, infralimbic cortex and central nucleus of amygdala. the specificity of acupoint stimulation to reverse these increases was seen only for Ea2_2, in the infralimbic cortex and dorsomedial striatum. Therefore, behavioural effects of Ea2_2 (but not Ea1_100) depend, at least in part, on ERK signalling.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Neurobiol Lab, Grp Neuronal Plast & Psychiat Disorders, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Div Chinese Med Acupuncture, São Paulo, BrazilFac Med Sci, Dept Physiol Sci, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Neurobiol Lab, Grp Neuronal Plast & Psychiat Disorders, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Orthoped & Traumatol, Div Chinese Med Acupuncture, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2010-03896-7FAPESP: 2007/55458-0Web of Scienc

Conducting interfaces between amorphous oxide layers and SrTiO3(110) and SrTiO3(111)

Interfaces between (110) and (111)SrTiO3 (STO) single crystalline substrates and amorphous oxide layers, LaAlO3 (a-LAO), Y:ZrO2 (a-YSZ), and SrTiO3 (a-STO) become conducting above a critical thickness tc. Here we show that tc for a-LAO is not depending on the substrate orientation, i.e. tc (a-LAO/(110)STO) ~ tc(a-LAO/(111)STO) interfaces, whereas it strongly depends on the composition of the amorphous oxide: tc(a-LAO/(110)STO) < tc(a-YSZ/(110)STO) < tc(a-STO/(110)STO). It is concluded that the formation of oxygen vacancies in amorphous-type interfaces is mainly determined by the oxygen affinity of the deposited metal ions, rather than orientational-dependent enthalpy vacancy formation and diffusion. Scanning transmission microscopy characterization of amorphous and crystalline LAO/STO(110) interfaces shows much higher amount of oxygen vacancies in the former, providing experimental evidence of the distinct mechanism of conduction in these interfaces

Strain tuned magnetoelectric coupling in orthorhombic YMnO3 thin films

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.Orthorhombic YMnO3epitaxialthin films were grown on Nb(0.5%)-doped SrTiO3(001) substrates. Film's thickness was varied to tune the epitaxial strain. Structural and magnetic properties are well correlated, presenting a more pronounced ferromagnetic behavior as the unit cell becomes more distorted. Dielectric properties were investigated as a function of the temperature and magnetic field. The dielectric peak occurring at temperatures below the antiferromagnetic ordering is proved to be magnetoelectric and its amplitude is dependent on the unit cell distortion. These findings allow tailoring ferromagnetic and magnetoelectric properties via epitaxial strain