Gênero Pimenta: aspectos botânicos, composição química e potencial farmacológico Pimenta genus: botanical aspects, chemical composition and pharmacological potential

A família Myrtaceae possui representantes de grande interesse medicinal e o gênero Pimenta é um dos que merecem destaque. A maioria das espécies desse gênero é nativa da América Central, com exceção da Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) L. R. Landrum, nativa nas regiões centro-oeste e sudeste do Brasil. O presente estudo teve como objetivo revisar aspectos botânicos, químicos e farmacológicos descritos na literatura sobre o gênero Pimenta. Os dados foram obtidos de artigos originais e revisões indexadas nas bases Periódicos Capes, ISI Web of Knowledge, Bireme e SciELO. As espécies desse gênero podem ser arbustivas ou arbóreas, possuem pelos unicelulares, folhas usualmente coriáceas, inflorescência em dicásio ou panícula e são distinguidas, principalmente, pela estrutura do ovário. As propriedades farmacológicas são conferidas, principalmente, pelos óleos essenciais que são constituídos, na maioria, por derivados fenilpropanóides, monoterpenos, aldeídos monoterpênicos e alcoóis monoterpênicos. Dentre as propriedades farmacológicas apresentadas por espécies desse gênero destacam-se as anti-hipertensivas, anti-inflamatórias, analgésicas, antimicrobianas e antioxidantes. Das quinze espécies de Pimenta conhecidas, a Pimenta dioica (L.) Merrill e a Pimenta racemosa (Miller) J. Moore são as espécies de maior importância econômica e, por esse motivo são as mais estudadas do ponto de vista químico e farmacológico.The family Myrtaceae has representatives of great medical interest, and the genus Pimenta deserves attention. Most species of this genus are native to the Central America, except Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) L. R. Landrum, which is native to the Central-West and Southeast Brazilian Regions. This study aimed to review botanical, chemical and pharmacological aspects described in the literature for Pimenta genus. Information was obtained from original papers and reviews indexed in the databases "Periódicos Capes", ISI Web of Knowledge, "Bireme" and SciELO. This genus can present shrubs or trees, which have unicellular hairs, usually coriaceous leaves and dichasium or panicle inflorescence, and are mainly distinguished by the ovary structure. The pharmacological properties are mostly due to essential oils, mainly consisted of phenylpropanoid, monoterpene, monoterpenic aldehyde and alcohol derivatives. Among these properties, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimicrobial and antioxidant ones are highlighted. Of the fifteen known Pimenta species, Pimenta dioica (L.) Merrill and Pimenta racemosa (Miller) J. Moore have the greatest economic importance and consequently have been the most chemically and pharmacologically studied

Multibiomarker interactions to diagnose and follow-up chronic exposure of a marine crustacean to Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS)

Integrated compensatory responses of physiological systems towards homeostasis are generally overlooked when it comes to analysing alterations in biochemical parameters indicative of such processes. Here an hypothesis-driven multivariate analysis accounting for interactive multibiomarker responses was used to investigate effects of long-term exposure of Carcinus maenas to Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS). Adult male crabs were exposed to low and high post-spill levels of acrylonitrile (ACN) or aniline (ANL) for 21d. Bioaccumulation, feeding behaviour, and biomarkers related to mode-of-action (MoA) (detoxification, neurotransmission and energy production) were evaluated over time. Distinct temporal patterns of response to low and high exposure concentrations were depicted, with a main set of interactive multibiomarker predictors identified for each HNS (five for ACN and three for ANL), useful to follow coupled evolvement of biomarker responses. ACN caused peripheral neurotoxic effects coupled with enhanced biotransformation and significant oxidative damage particularly relevant in gills. ANL elicited alterations in central neurotransmission affecting ventilation coupled with very low levels of oxidative damage in gills. Results indicate chronic toxicity data are determinant to improve HNS hazard assessment if the aim is to obtain reliable risk calculations, and develop effective predictive models avoiding overestimation but sufficiently protective. Accounting for multibiomarker interactions brought otherwise overlooked information about C. maenas responses and MoA of ACN and ANL. Accounting for biomarker interactions drastically improves the quality of the model to diagnose toxic effects. © 2018 ElsevierThis article is a result of INNOVMAR - Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources (reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035), ECOSERVICES, supported by NORTE2020, PORTUGAL2020 Partnership Agreement, through ERDF . This work was partially funded by Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2013 through FCT and ERDF

Data for the analysis of interactive multibiomarker responses of a marine crustacean to long-term exposure to aquatic contaminants

The data presented herein relates to the article entitled “Multibiomarker interactions to diagnose and follow-up chronic exposure of a marine crustacean to hazardous and noxious substances (HNS)” (Abreu et al., 2018). Multibiomarker approaches, including molecular, biochemical, physiological and behaviour parameters, are recognised as valuable and cost-effective to employ in integrated chemical and biological effects monitoring of aquatic contamination. Many biomarkers assessed in such programmes share common physiological pathways, showing concomitant or interdependent responses, which can reflect in increased energy costs related to physiological acclimation. Though, routine single biomarker data analysis, and exploratory principal component analysis, limit information obtained from the data collected and their functional interpretation. Ultimately, this influences the type of management actions taken to protect an affected ecosystem. This article presents data employed to develop an analytical approach accounting for multibiomarker interactions. The method was useful to diagnose and follow-up long-term exposure of the marine green crab (Carcinus maenas) to Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS). © 2018 The AuthorsThis article is a result of INNOVMAR - Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources (reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035), ECOSERVICES, supported by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was partially funded by Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2013 through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and ERDF . Isabel Oliveira Abreu was supported by a FCT Ph.D grant (SFRH/BD/115529/2016). Transparency documen