Plant Extracts in Skin Care Products

Currently, in the cosmetic industry, there is an increasing interest in natural extracts, particularly plant extracts. The inclusion of antioxidants in topical formulations may contribute to minimize skin oxidative stress, which has been associated with aging. Many herbal agents used in cosmetics have been selected by a process of ‘trial and error’ and, thus, are used on the basis of experience rather than of experimental investigation. Nevertheless, there is now a growing scientific evidence that plants possess a vast and complex arsenal of active ingredients able not only to calm or smooth but also to actively restore, heal, and protect the human skin. In addition, plant extracts may contain compounds with antimicrobial or other beneficial properties, influencing the formulation of natural and non-chemical cosmetic products. The public trend towards natural and sustainable products is ongoing. Although the term “plant extract” inherently purports their beneficial and benign properties, these products could have adverse reactions in individuals. Therefore, it is essential to ensure quality and safety of these extracts in cosmetic products before embarking on the more arduous task of ensuring efficacy

Coccinellídeos associados ao olival da Beira Interior

Com o objectivo de obter informação sobre as espécies de coccinelídeos associadas ao olival da Beira Interior, em 2003 e 2004 efectuaram-se amostragens em dois olivais considerados 401 representativos das condições da região. As amostragens decorreram entre Maio e Outubro de cada um dos anos, a uma periodicidade aproximadamente quinzenal, tendo consistido no batimento de dois ramos por árvore em cada uma de 25 árvores seleccionadas ao acaso por olival e data. A quase totalidade das capturas (96,3% em 2003 e 93,2% em 2004), obteve-se entre o início de Julho e o início de Outubro, quando se interromperam as amostragens. Os exemplares capturados identificaram-se como pertencendo a I 5 espécies, isto é: Chilocorus bipustulotus L, Exochomus nigromoculotus (Gze.), Exochomus quodripustulotus L, Plotynaspis luteorubro Gze., Stethorus punctillum Ws.), Scymnus (Scymnus) abietis (Paykull.), Scymnus (Scymnus) apetzi Muls., Scymnus (Scymnus) interruptus Gze., Scymnus (Pu/Jus) mediterraneus Khnz., Scymnus (Pullus) subvillosus Gze., Nephus (Bipunaotus) bisignotus Boheman, Coccinello septempunaoto (L.), Propyloea quotuordecimpuntocto (L), Rhyzabius laphontae (Biaisd.) e Rhyzobius litura Fabr. A espécie capturada em maior número, em qualquer dos olivais e anos de estudo, foi S. interruptus, que representou 61,3% do total de exemplares obtidos

Quintessence and tachyon dark energy models with a constant equation of state parameter

In this work we determine the correspondence between quintessence and tachyon dark energy models with a constant dark energy equation of state parameter, $w_e$. Although the evolution of both the Hubble parameter and the scalar field potential with redshift is the same, we show that the evolution of quintessence/tachyon scalar fields with redshift is, in general, very different. We explicity demonstrate that if $w_e \neq -1$ the potentials need to be very fine-tuned for the relative perturbation on the equation of state parameter, $\Delta w_e/(1+w_e) \ll 1$, to be very small around the present time. We also discuss possible implications of our results for the reconstruction of the evolution of $w_e$ with redshift using varying couplings.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, published version with two extra references include

Hardy kiwifruit leaves (Actinidia arguta): an extraordinary source of value-added compounds for food industry

The present study reports for the first time the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as well as the in vitro radical scavenging activity and intestinal cell effects of A. arguta leaves extracts. Extractions were carried out under water, water:ethanol (50:50) and ethanol. The highest antioxidant activity were obtained in alcoholic extract (IC50 = 53.95 ± 3.09 μg/mL for DPPH; 6628.42 ± 382.49 µmol/mg dry weight basis for FRAP) while the phenolic profile confirmed by HPLC analysis revealed highest amounts of phenolic acids (hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives) and flavonoids (flavan-3-ol and flavonols derivatives). An excellent scavenging activity against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species were determined for all extracts as well as no adverse effects on Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells in concentrations below 100 μg/mL and 1000 μg/mL, respectively. These results highlight the potentialities of hardy kiwi leaves valorization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhancement of nutritional and bioactive compounds by in vitro culture of wild Fragaria vesca L. vegetative parts

[EN] In vitro culture emerges as a sustainable way to produce bioactives for further applicability in the food industry. Herein, vegetative parts of Fragaria vesca L. (wild strawberry) obtained by in vitro culture were analyzed regarding nutritional and phytochemical compounds, as well as antioxidant activity. These samples proved to have higher content of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, soluble sugars, organic acids (including ascorbic acid) and tocopherols (mainly a-tocopherol) than wild grown F. vesca, as well as containing additional phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity of hydromethanolic extracts could be correlated with the content of different phenolic groups and other compounds (sugars and organic acids). It was demonstrated that in vitro culture could enhance nutritional and bioactive compounds of Fragaria vesca L. plants, providing a very interesting biotechnological tool for potential food applications

In vitro dry matter and cell wall fractions of three genotypes of sunflower ensiled with additives

Ensilaram-se três genótipos de girassol (M734, Rumbosol 91 e variedade V2000), enriquecidos no material original com: 0,5% de uréia (U); 0,5% de carbonato de cálcio (CC); 0,5% de uréia mais 0,5% de carbonato de cálcio (U+CC); inoculante bacteriano comercial (IB) comercial e sem aditivo que serviu como silagem testemunha (T). Foram utilizados silos de laboratório de PVC, abertos com 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 e 56 dias de ensilados, sendo determinados fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra em detergente ácido (FDA), lignina e digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca (DIVMS). As silagens de Rumbosol 91 apresentaram valores superiores aos dos genótipos V2000 e M734 nos dias de abertura para FDN, FDA e lignina. Os aditivos não promoveram alterações nos constituintes da parede celular. A silagem T não apresentou diferenças entre os genótipos quanto à DIVMS no decorrer do processo fermentativo, sendo os valores do último dia de abertura (56) de 51,0%, 49,1% e 48,9% de DIVMS para os genótipos M734, V2000 e Rumbosol 91, respectivamente. Não houve diferença entre as silagens com aditivos e a silagem testemunha com a evolução do processo fermentativo quanto à DIVMS. Os aditivos utilizados não melhoraram as silagens de girassol quanto às características avaliadas e, apesar de os genótipos apresentarem digestibilidade in vitro semelhantes, o Rumbosol 91 apresentou maiores teores de constituintes da parede celular.Three sunflower genotypes (M 734, Rumbosol 91 and V2000 variety) enriched with 0.5% of urea (U); 0.5% of calcium carbonate (CC); 0.5% of urea plus 0.5% of calcium carbonate (U + CC); commercial bacterial inoculate (BI); and without any additive, used as control silage (T) were ensiled in PVC silos and opened after 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days to determine the neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (FDA), lignin and dry matter in vitro digestibility (DMIVD). The Rumbosol 91 genotype silage showed higher NDF, ADF and lignin than V2000 and M734 genotypes. The additives did not promote changes in the cell wall constituents. No statistical differences among silages of the genotypes for DMIVD were observed during the fermentative process. The DMIVD at 56 days were 51.0, 49.1 and 48.9% for silage of M734, V2000 and Rumbosol 91 genotypes, respectively. No difference between silages with additives and control (T), during the fermentative process for DMIVD was observed. The additives did not improve sunflower silages. The genotypes showed similar in vitro digestibility, and the Rumbosol 91 genotype showed high compound of cell wall constituent

Experiências de irrigação em cítrus, na Baixada Fluminense. I. Efeitos da irrigação sobre pomares de laranjas Piralima e Lima

Irrigation experiments were conducted beginning in the 1960/61 season in Piralima and Lima sweet orange orchards cultivated on Red Yellow Podzolic Soils of the Itaguaí series, situated in the "Baixada Fluminense". The effects of irrigation pratices were studied during winter time. The water supplementation to the soil varied from 50 mm to 325 mm for each irrigation season. After four years of investigation with the Piralima variety (1960/61 to 1963/64), and six years with the Lima variety (1965/66 to 1970/71), it was observed that the irrigation at the 50 mm monthly level was the one that presented the best results for the first variety, resulting in an average increase of 37 fruits per tree during four years. Concerning the Lima sweet orange, without chemical fertilization and irrigated at the different water levels, there were no significant differences in the 1965/66 and 1966/67 seasons. However, in the 1965/66 season, irrigation at the 50 mm water level resulted in an increase of 139 fruits over the controle and 78 fruits over the 25 mm monthly water supplementation. In the 1967/68 and 1968/69 seasons the association of a uniform chemical fertilization (NPK 8-4-8) of 2 kg per tree at the monthly level of 50 mm resulted in a significant increase of 136 fruits over the controle, for the agricultural year of 1967/68. There was no reaction to the double and quadruple chemical fertilization concerning fruit production and its pomological qualities, and no correlation between the different water levels in the 1969/70 and 1970/71 seasons.Experimentos de irrigação foram conduzidos a partir do ano agrícola 1960/61, em pomares situados em solo Podzólico Vermelho-Amarelo, da série "Itaguaí", na Baixada Fluminense, procurando-se estudar os possíveis efeitos da prática irrigatória, realizada apenas durante os meses de inverno, sobre o comportamento das variedades de laranjas Piralima e Lima. O esquema experimental empregado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com dez repetições, e o sistema de irrigação, o de aspersão sob copa ("under tree"). As suplementações de água ao solo variaram de 50 a 325 mm por estação de rega. Após quatro anos de investigações com a variedade Piralima (1960/61 a 1963/64) e de seis anos com a variedade Lima (1965/66 a 1970/71), verificou-se que, para a primeira variedade, a irrigação com a dotação de 50 mm mensais foi a que melhor resultado apresentou, propiciando um acréscimo médio, em quatro anos, de 37 frutos por árvore. Quando o índice de precipitação pluvial durante o inverno totalizou apenas 30 mm, como aconteceu no ano agrícola 1963/64, a irrigação antecipou o início da floração da variedade Piralima de, aproximadamente, 40 dias; todavia, tal fato foi julgado de pouco interesse, visto que, não só as chuvas normais de 30 anos, na região, para a citada estação, atingem a 153 mm, como também tal antecipação só foi registrada uma vez no espaço de 10 anos. Com relação à variedade Lima, constatou-se falta de significância entre as dotações de água usadas nos dois anos (1965/66 e 1966/67) em que o experimento não foi adubado, apesar de, em 1965/66, a dotação básica (50 mm mensais) ter fornecido aumento de 139 frutos relativamente à testemunha, e esta, 78 frutos a mais que a dotação mínima (25 mm mensais). Já nos dois anos seguintes (1967/68 e 1968/69), em que a irrigação foi associada a uma adubação uniforme de 2 kg por árvore (NPK, 8-4-8), verificou-se que a melhor dotação foi a de 50 mm mensais, com um aumento de 136 frutos em relação à testemunha, isto no ano agrícola 1967/68, resultado significativo. Finalmente, foi observada falta de reação às adubações em doses duplas e quádruplas da mesma formulação supracitada, efetuadas, respectivamente, nos anos de 1969/70 e 1970/71, bem como às diferentes dotações de água empregadas, na produção de frutos e nos vários objetivos pesquisados na análise pomológica, esta realizada com frutos colhidos no ano agrícola 1969/70

Sympatho-Vagal Dysfunction in Patients with End-Stage Lung Disease Awaiting Lung Transplantation

Although the literature demonstrates that cardiac autonomic control (CAC) might be impaired in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, the interplay between CAC and disease severity in end-stage lung disease has not been studied yet. We investigated the effects of end-stage lung disease on CAC through the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) among patients awaiting lung transplantation. Forty-nine patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation (LTx; 19 men, age 38 \ub1 15 years) and 49 healthy non-smoking controls (HC; 22 men, age 40 \ub1 16 years) were enrolled in a case-control study at Policlinico Hospital in Milan, Italy. LTx patients were divided into two groups, according to disease severity evaluated by the Lung Allocation Score (LAS). To assess CAC, electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration were recorded at rest for 10 min in supine position and for 10 min during active standing. Spectral analysis identified low and high frequencies (LF, sympathetic, and HF, vagal). Symbolic analysis identified three patterns, i.e., 0V% (sympathetic) and 2UV% and 2LV% (vagal). Compared to HCs, LTx patients showed higher markers of sympathetic modulation and lower markers of vagal modulation. However, more severely affected LTx patients, compared to less severely affected ones, showed an autonomic profile characterized by loss of sympathetic modulation and predominant vagal modulation. This pattern can be due to a loss of sympathetic rhythmic oscillation and a subsequent prevalent respiratory modulation of heart rate in severely affected patients