SILAE special issue: Italo-latin american ethnoknowledge and research on medicinal plants

Ethnomedicine (SILAE, www.silae.it) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. The fundamental objective of SILAE is to promote research and development into the use of medicinal and food plants in different countries of the World. SILAE welcomes and actively seeks opportunities to work cooperatively, activating and intensifying scientific relations between countries and between SILAE members. Since SILAE was founded (1990) its objective has been set to contribute to the close examination of the themes of great interest and actuality in the context of the relationships between Latin America and the European Union. In addition to this, SILAE aimed to individualize new ways of collaboration between its member countries and other European as well as Asiatic countries to sign accords with intergovernmental organizations. SILAE proposes to establish contacts with Scientific Communities, Universities, and Research Centres for the pursuit of medicinal and food plants knowledge. Moreover SILAE_live, the one-to-one live Chat and Messenger on our website (www.silae.it), is the first scientific chat on the web and is a developed tool to engage the interest and imagination of the public and for helping nonscientists to understand and enjoy scientific discoveries and the scientific processes. In addition to organizing membership activities, SILAE publishes the SILAE Special Issues, as well as many scientifi c newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy is publishing a special issue that contains a selection of papers that were presented at the XIX SILAE Congress (Cagliari, Italy, September, 6-10, 2010). For the Conference, 292 SILAE Special Issue: Italo-Latin American Ethnoknowledge and Research on Medicinal Plant

Nanoparticle-based receptors mimic protein-ligand recognition

The self-assembly of a monolayer of ligands on the surface of noble metal nanoparticles dictates the fundamental nanoparticle\u2019s behavior and its functionality. In this combined computational\u2013experimental study, we analyze the structure, organization, and dynamics of functionalized coating thiols in monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). We explain how functionalized coating thiols self-organize through a delicate and somehow counterintuitive balance of interactions within the monolayer itself and with the solvent. We further describe how the nature and plasticity of these interactions modulate nanoparticle-based chemosensing. Importantly, we found that self-organization of coating thiols can induce the formation of binding pockets in AuNPs. These transient cavities can accommodate small molecules, mimicking protein-ligand recognition, which may explain the selectivity and sensitivity observed for different organic analytes in NMR chemosensing experiments. Thus, our findings advocate for the rational design of tailored coating groups to form specific recognition binding sites on monolayer-protected AuNPs

Development of an Enriched Polyphenol (Natural Antioxidant) Extract from Orange Juice (Citrus sinensis) by Adsorption on Macroporous Resins

Orange (Citrus sinensis) juice contains a high amount of antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols and vitamins. The aim of this work was to develop an adsorption procedure for the quantitative recovery of polyphenols from fresh orange juice. Different macroporous resins have been selected to evaluate their affinity for phenolic compound in order to purify the antioxidant compounds from the orange juice. The main compounds of orange juice were firstly characterized using an UPLC-UV-HRMS to define the metabolite profile, and subsequently three different types of adsorbent (XAD-2, XAD-4, and XAD-16N) were tested to concentrate these bioactive compounds. The time of contact was selected based on kinetic studies, and subsequently the adsorption and elution conditions were optimized in order to maximize the recovery of phenolic compounds to obtain an extract rich of bioactive compounds. Lastly, antioxidant capacity of the orange juice extract of selected macroporous resin, obtained under optimized conditions, was determined by in vitro antioxidant assays

Core proteome mediated therapeutic target mining and multi-epitope vaccine design for Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative spiral-shaped bacterium that infects half of the human population worldwide and causes chronic inflammation. In the present study, we used the art of computational biology for therapeutic drug targets identification and a multi-epitope vaccine against multi-strains of H. pylori. For drug target identification, we used different tools and softwares to identify human non-homologous but pathogen essential proteins, with virulent properties and involved in unique metabolic pathways of H. pylori. For this purpose, the core proteome of 84 strains of H. pylori was retrieved from EDGAR 2.3 database. There were 59,808 proteins sequences in these strains. Duplicates and paralogous protein sequence removal was followed by human non-homologous protein miningPathogen essential and virulent proteins were subjected to pathway analysis Subcellular localization of the virulent proteins was predicted and druggability was also checked, leading to 30 druggable targets based on their similarity with the approved drug targets in Drugbank. For immunoinformatics analysis, we selected two outer membrane proteins (HPAKL86_RS06305 and HPSNT_RS00950) and subjected to determined immunogenic B and T-Cell epitopes. The B and T-Cell overlapped epitopes were selected to design 9 different vaccine constructs by using linkers and adjuvants. Least allergenic and most antigenic construct (C-8) was selected as a promiscuous vaccine to elicit host immune response. Cloning and in silico expression of the constructed vaccine (C-8) was done to produce a clone having the desired (gene) vaccine construct. In conclusion, the prioritized therapeutic targets for 84 strains of H.pylori will be useful for future therapy design. Vaccine design may also prove useful in the quest for targeting multi-strains of H. pylori in patients

Phenolic constituents levels in cv. Agria potato under microwave processing.

Phenolic compounds have long been associated with flavour and colour characteristics of fruits and vegetables and actually attract a great interest due to their health protecting properties. In this work, the influence of different power input of microwave baking on the amount of protocatechuic acid (1), tryptophan (2), chlorogenic acid (3), neo-chlorogenic acid (4), and cryptochlorogenic acid (5) marker compounds left over in peeled and not-peeled potatoes (Solanum tuberosus L., Agria cultivar) was assessed. A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with diode-array detection (DAD) was used to identify and quantify compounds 1e5. Other tubers were used to perform analysis of raw potato (control) and traditional baking potatoes products (boiled potatoes). Dielectric behavior of the irradiated tubers was also investigated to emphasize if microwaves treatments are suitable for food processing in terms of nutritional factor preservation. The main results of this work consist on the relevance of the water contents in potato matrixes during the baking processes since these have a crucial role to keep lossy features, to avoid thermal damages and to preserve antioxidant. The best compromise in terms of short baking time and reduced water and phenolic losses is obtained using 500 W as power input

Inhibition of human platelet aggregation in vitro by standardized extract of Wendtia calycina

Wendtia calycina (Griseb.) Griseb., Vivianiaceae, is a Paraguayan herbaceous plant commonly known as burrito. Our previous study indicated that burrito leaves are a very good source of phenylpropanoid glycosides, principally verbascoside. From W. calycina leaves, a standardized, water-soluble extract rich in phenylpropanoid glycosides (WSE) has been developed on an industrial scale to be used as a food supplement, cosmetic, phytomedicine, and ingredient of different formulations. In this study, we investigated the effect of the WSE on human platelet aggregation in vitro induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP), epinephrine (EPN), collagen (COL) or arachidonic acid (AA). WSE, concentration-dependently, inhibited ADP and EP-induced human platelet aggregation (IC50 were 0.82±0.15 mg/mL and 0.41±0.02 mg/mL, respectively). It did not inhibit collagen-induced platelet aggregation, thus suggesting a selectivity for the ADP-induced platelet activation pathways

Stoke Prevention in Diabetes

Diabetes and ischemic stroke are common disorders that often arise together. Diabetics are at 1.5 to three times the risk of stroke compared with the general population and the associated mortality and morbidity is greater than in those without this underlying condition. Importantly, the relation between disturbed glucose metabolism and cerebrovascular disease is not restricted to acute ischemic stroke. Diabetes is also associated with more insidious ischaemic damage to the brain, mainly manifesting as small-vessel disease and increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. This paper shows the epidemiologic relationships of stroke in type 2 diabetes and suggest that rigorous assessment and treatment of associated risk factors can substantially reduce the risk of stroke in patients with diabetes

A new cineol derivative, polyphenols and norterpenoids from Saharan myrtle tea (Myrtus nivellei): Isolation, structure determination, quantitative determination and antioxidant activity

Abstract The phytochemical profile of decoction and infusion, obtained from the dried leaves of M. nivellei, consumed as tea in Saharan region, was characterized by UHPLC-PDA-HRMS. Fourteen compounds were characterized and, to confirm the proposed structures a preparative procedure followed by NMR spectroscopy was applied. Compound 3 (2-hydroxy-1,8-cineole disaccharide) was a never reported whereas a bycyclic monoterpenoid glucoside (2), two ionol glucosides (1 and 12), a tri-galloylquinic acid (4), two flavonol glycosides (5 and 9), and a tetra-galloylglucose (7), were reported in Myrtus spp. for the first time. Five flavonol O-glycosides (6, 8, 10–11, and 14) togheter a flavonol (13) were also identified. Quantitative determination of phenolic constituents from decoction and infusion has been performed by HPLC-UV-PDA. The phenolic content was found to be 150.5 and 102.6 mg/g in decoction and infusion corresponding to 73.8 and 23.6 mg/100 mL of a single tea cup, respectively. Myricetin 3-O-β-d-(6″-galloyl)glucopyranoside (5), isomyricitrin (6) and myricitrin (8) were the compounds present in the highest concentration. The free-radical scavenging activities of teas and isolated compounds was measured by the DPPH assay and compared with the values of other commonly used herbal teas (green and black teas). Decoction displayed higher potency in scavenging free-radicals than the infusion and green and black teas

Inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pdr5p by a natural compound extracted from Brazilian Red Propolis

Abstract: Multidrug resistance of cancer cells and pathogenic microorganisms leading to the treatment failure of some forms of cancer or life-threatening bacterial or fungal infections is often caused by the overexpression of multidrug efflux pumps belonging to the ATP-binding cassette transporters superfamily. The multidrug resistance of fungal cells often involves the overexpression of efflux pumps belonging to the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) family of ABC transporters. Possibly the best-studied fungal PDR transporter is the multidrug resistance transporter Pdr5p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Some research groups have been searching for new inhibitors of these efflux pumps in order to alleviate resistance. Natural products are a great source for the discovery of new compounds with biological activity. Propolis is a complex resinous material collected by honeybees from exudates and buds of certain plant sources and this material is thought to serve as a defense substance for bee hives. Propolis is widely used in traditional medicine and is reported to have a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties. Literature reported some biological functionalities of propolis, such as antibacterial, antiviral, fungicidal, antiinflammatory and anti-carcinogenic activities. The chemical composition of propolis is qualitatively and quantitatively variable. Components isolated from methanolic extract of red Brazilian propolis (Alagoas, Northeast of Brazil) are isoflavonoids (including pterocarpans, isoflavans, isoflavones), flavanones and polyprenylated benzophenones. In this work we demonstrated the effects of five different isolated compounds on the ATPase activity of Pdr5p. Out of all five substances tested, only BRP-1 was able to completely abolish the enzymatic activity while others worked as positive modulators of the enzyme activity. BRP-1also inhibited the efflux of Rhodamine 6G from yeast cells overexpressing Pdr5p. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Brazilian propolis could be a source of promising compounds that can alleviate the MDR phenomenon, particularly in some fungi, where it could be used as an adjuvant for the treatment with azoles