From Extraction to Stabilization: Employing a 2² Experimental Design in Developing Nutraceutical-Grade Bixin from <i>Bixa orellana</i> L.

Bixin is the main carotenoid found in the outer portion of the seeds of Bixa orellana L., commercially known as annatto. This compound is industrially employed in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food formulations as a natural dye to replace chemical additives. This study aimed to extract bixin from annatto seeds and obtain encapsulated bixin in a powder form, using freeze-drying encapsulation and maltodextrin as encapsulating agent. Bixin was extracted from annatto seeds employing successive washing with organic solvents, specifically hexane and methanol (1:1 v/v), followed by ethyl acetate and dichloromethane for subsequent washes, to effectively remove impurities and enhance bixin purity, and subsequent purification by crystallization, reaching 1.5 ± 0.2% yield (or approximately 15 mg of bixin per gram of seeds). Bixin was analyzed spectrophotometrically in different organic solvents (ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, dimethylsulfoxide, chloroform, hexane), and the solvents chosen were chloroform (used to solubilize bixin during microencapsulation) and hexane (used for spectrophotometric determination of bixin). Bixin was encapsulated according to a 22 experimental design to investigate the influence of the concentration of maltodextrin (20 to 40%) and bixin-to-matrix ratio (1:20 to 1:40) on the encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and solubility of the encapsulated powder. Higher encapsulation efficiency was obtained at a maltodextrin concentration of 40% w/v and a bixin/maltodextrin ratio of 1:20, while higher solubility was observed at a maltodextrin concentration of 20% w/v for the same bixin/maltodextrin ratio. The encapsulation of this carotenoid by means of freeze-drying is thus recognized as an innovative and promising approach to improve its stability for further processing in pharmaceutical and food applications

Estágio reprodutivo, histologia e morfometria sazonal do testículo de Dermanura cinerea (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) em fragmento de Mata Atlântica no Litoral Sul de Pernambuco, Brasil

RESUMO Esse estudo analisou o estágio reprodutivo, a histologia e a morfometria dos testículos de Dermanura cinerea (Gervais, 1856) em fragmento de Mata Atlântica no Litoral Sul de Pernambuco. Os espécimes foram capturados por redes de neblina e as coletas ocorreram mensalmente, ao longo de duas noites consecutivas, durante 18 meses. Os dados meteorológicos foram agrupados em meses chuvosos e secos. Foram utilizados 18 espécimes adultos, os quais foram classificados em machos com testículos descendentes e não descendentes. Para as análises histológicas, os testículos foram coletados, fixados e processados seguindo a técnica histológica de rotina. As lâminas obtidas foram coradas por Hematoxilina-Eosina. Nas análises morfométricas foram mensuradas a área de ocupação do compartimento tubular e intertubular, quantificados o número de células de Leydig, de Sertoli, de espermatócitos e de espermátides alongadas. Os dados morfométricos foram submetidos às análises estatísticas. Dermanura cinerea apresentou maior atividade de produção espermática em meses secos e maior produção hormonal em meses chuvosos. Essas informações estão relacionadas também com o padrão reprodutivo das fêmeas e com a elevação nos índices pluviométricos, já que é um fator determinante na mediação da disponibilidade alimentar das espécies frugívoras, como D. cinerea em área de Mata Atlântica de Pernambuco

In Vitro and In Vivo Wound Healing and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Babassu Oil (Attalea speciosa Mart. Ex Spreng., Arecaceae)

Babassu (Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng., Arecaceae) is a palm tree endemic to Brazil and found mainly in the borders of Amazon forest, where the harvesting of its fruits is an important source of income for more than 300,000 people. Among the communities of coconut breakers women, babassu oil is used in culinary, as fuel, and mostly as medicinal oil for the treatment of skin wounds and inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo the wound healing effects of babassu oil. In vitro, babassu oil increased the migration of L929 fibroblasts, inhibited the production of nitric oxide by LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages, and increased the levels of INF-γ and IL-6 cytokines production. In vivo, babassu oil accelerated the healing process in a full-thickness splinted wound model, by an increase in the fibroblasts number, blood vessels, and collagen deposition in the wounds. The babassu oil also increased the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the wound site and showed an anti-inflammatory effect in a chronic ear edema model, reducing ear thickness, epidermal hyperplasia, and myeloperoxidase activity. Thus, these data corroborate the use of babassu oil in folk medicine as a remedy to treat skin wounds