BacHBerry: BACterial Hosts for production of Bioactive phenolics from bERRY fruits

BACterial Hosts for production of Bioactive phenolics from bERRY fruits (BacHBerry) was a 3-year project funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Union that ran between November 2013 and October 2016. The overall aim of the project was to establish a sustainable and economically-feasible strategy for the production of novel high-value phenolic compounds isolated from berry fruits using bacterial platforms. The project aimed at covering all stages of the discovery and pre-commercialization process, including berry collection, screening and characterization of their bioactive components, identification and functional characterization of the corresponding biosynthetic pathways, and construction of Gram-positive bacterial cell factories producing phenolic compounds. Further activities included optimization of polyphenol extraction methods from bacterial cultures, scale-up of production by fermentation up to pilot scale, as well as societal and economic analyses of the processes. This review article summarizes some of the key findings obtained throughout the duration of the project

Oxidation of Monoterpenes Catalysed by a Water-Soluble Mn-III PEG-Porphyrin in a Biphasic Medium

© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim It is well established that the transformation of abundant and cheap natural products, such as terpenoids, can produce other more valuable compounds. Thymoquinone, which has a commercial value significantly higher than that of its precursors, can be obtained by oxidation of carvacrol and thymol. In this work, a new water-soluble Mn III PEG-porphyrin is reported as catalyst in a water/hexane (1:1) biphasic medium for the oxidation of carvacrol and thymol into thymoquinone. The reactions were performed using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant in the presence of ammonium acetate as co-catalyst, reaching 94 and 78 % of conversion after 5 h of reaction for thymol and carvacrol, respectively. Experiments with oregano essential oil as substrate revealed selective transformation of thymol and carvacrol into thymoquinone. The main advantage of this biphasic system based on a water-soluble catalyst and on substrates and products soluble in hexane, is the straightforward isolation, recovery and recycling of the catalyst by simple phase separation. Recycling studies of the Mn III PEG-porphyrin using thymol as substrate showed high conversion values throughout four catalytic cycles.status: publishe

Perfil dos casos novos de tuberculose notificados em Ribeirão Preto (SP) no período de 2000 a 2006 Profile of new cases of tuberculosis in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, in the period of 2000 to 2006

A Organização Mundial de Saúde estima que um terço da população mundial encontra-se infectada pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sendo que 8-9 milhões de pessoas desenvolvem a doença e, anualmente, 2 milhões vão a óbito por tuberculose, principalmente em países e regiões com condições socioeconômicas precárias. Este estudo descreve o perfil dos casos novos de tuberculose notificados no município de Ribeirão Preto (SP) no período de 2000 a 2006. Utilizou-se um desenho descritivo do tipo coorte. Para a coleta dos dados, foi utilizado o banco de dados Epi-Tb. A forma clínica predominante foi a pulmonar. Verificou-se que 71,7% dos doentes eram do sexo masculino e adultos jovens (20-39 anos). Em relação ao tipo de supervisão, observou-se aumento gradativo da forma supervisionada ao longo do período considerado, exceto no ano de 2003. A coinfecção Tb/HIV mostrou-se superior a 25%, sendo que 12,9% dos doentes não realizaram o teste anti-HIV. Quanto ao resultado de tratamento, a cura variou de 62,7% a 76,7%, a média do abandono foi de 4,3% e óbito por tuberculose foi de 3,9%. Os resultados apresentados contribuem para o conhecimento da situação epidemiológica da tuberculose ao longo dos anos, fornecendo subsídios à tomada de decisões relacionadas principalmente às ações de prevenção e controle da doença no município.<br>The World Health Organization estimates that one third of the world population is infected by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, while 8-9 million of people develop the disease and 2 million die each year due to tuberculosis, especially in countries and regions with precarious socioeconomic conditions. This study describes the profile of new cases of Tuberculosis notified in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, in the period between 2000 and 2006. A cohort descriptive design was used. The database Epi-Tb was used for the data collection. The clinical form predominant was pulmonary. It was verified that 71.7% of patients were male and young adults (20-39 years). Regarding the type of supervision, it was observed that the supervised form presented a progressive increase along the period considered, with exception of 2003. The Tb/HIV co-infection was superior to 25%, while 12.9% of the patients performed the test. Regarding the treatment result, cure varied from 62.7% to 76.7%, the abandonment mean was 4.3% and death by tuberculosis was 3.9%. The results presented contribute for the knowledge of the tuberculosis epidemiological situation along the years studied, providing support to decision making related to prevention actions and control of the disease in the municipality