Propolis Standardized Extract (EPP-AF®), an Innovative Chemically and Biologically Reproducible Pharmaceutical Compound for Treating Wounds

The aim of this study was to develop a formulation, containing the propolis standardized extract (EPP-AF®), which can assist in the healing of skin lesions. To achieve this objective the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of the propolis extract was determined. The final product was subjected to in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical evaluation. The broth macrodilution method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts and formulations against the microorganisms most commonly found in burns, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wistar rats with puncture wounded skin were used to evaluate the wound healing properties of propolis. The results of chemical and biological characterization demonstrated the batch-to-batch reproducibility of the standardized extract which is an unprecedented result. The antimicrobial and wound healing activity of the pharmaceutical studied showed the best results when samples contain 3.6% propolis, suggesting that this is the most promising composition

Strong Electronic Identification: Survey & Scenario Planning

The deployment of more high-risk services such as online banking and government services on the Internet has meant that the need and demand for strong electronic identity is bigger today more than ever. Different stakeholders have different reasons for moving their services to the Internet, including cost savings, being closer to the customer or citizen, increasing volume and value of services among others. This means that traditional online identification schemes based on self-asserted identities are no longer sufficient to cope with the required level of assurance demanded by these services. Therefore, strong electronic identification methods that utilize identifiers rooted in real world identities must be provided to be used by customers and citizens alike on the Internet. This thesis focuses on studying state-of-the-art methods for providing reliable and mass market strong electronic identity in the world today. It looks at concrete real-world examples that enable real world identities to be transferred and used in the virtual world of the Internet. The thesis identifies crucial factors that determine what constitutes a strong electronic identity solution and through these factors evaluates and compares the example solutions surveyed in the thesis. As the Internet become more pervasive in our lives; mobile devices are becoming the primary devices for communication and accessing Internet services. This has thus, raised the question of what sort of strong electronic identity solutions could be implemented and how such solutions could adapt to the future. To help to understand the possible alternate futures, a scenario planning and analysis method was used to develop a series of scenarios from underlying key economic, political, technological and social trends and uncertainties. The resulting three future scenarios indicate how the future of strong electronic identity will shape up with the aim of helping stakeholders contemplate the future and develop policies and strategies to better position themselves for the future

Brazilian Green Propolis: Anti-Inflammatory Property by an Immunomodulatory Activity

The immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities of green propolis extracts from Apis mellifera were investigated using acute and chronic inflammation models. Swiss mice were anesthetized and a cotton pellet granuloma was implanted in subcutaneous tissue. Then the mice were divided into six groups and received apyrogenic water or different propolis extracts by oral route (5 mg/kg). According to the treatment the groups were designated as E1A, E1B, E10, E11, and E12. The control group received apyrogenic water. The treatment was performed by six days when the mice were killed. The blood and the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were collected to measure the leukocyte recruitment. In acute pulmonary inflammation, Balb/c mice received lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli by intranasal route for three days. Concomitantly the mice received by oral route apyrogenic water (control) or E10 and E11 propolis extracts. BAL was performed to assess the inflammatory infiltrate and cytokine quantification. The results showed that the E11 extract has anti-inflammatory property in both models by the inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines and increase of anti-inflammatory cytokines suggesting an immunomodulatory activity

The employment of chemiluminescence to quantify the penetration of the açai extract antioxidant components in the skin

A exposição excessiva às radiações UV é capaz de limitar a capacidade dos sistemas de defesa antioxidante em nosso organismo, provocando o estresse oxidativo. Assim, extratos vegetais ricos em compostos antioxidantes são fortes candidatos a serem veiculados em formulações tópicas para a prevenção ou tratamento dos danos causados pela RUV na pele. Dentre a gama de extratos vegetais com atividade biológica, o extrato de açaí, fruto da espécie Euterpe olerecea Mart., tem se destacado por apresentar grande quantidade de antioxidantes na sua composição. Geralmente, a quantidade de ativos que consegue penetrar na pele é pequena, exigindo métodos analíticos muito sensíveis. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o emprego do método de quimioluminescência para a quantificação da penetração dos componentes do extrato de açaí na pele por medida da atividade antioxidante. Os resultados mostraram que o IC50 do extrato de açaí para o ensaio de inibição da quimioluminescência gerada no sistema xantina/luminol/xantina oxidase foi de 0,63 ?g/mL. Além disso, a quantificação do extrato de açaí utilizando esse método foi possível para porcentagens de inibição obtidas até o valor de 60%. Ainda, esse método mostrou-se preciso e exato na determinação da porcentagem de inibição da quimioluminescência do extrato de açaí na concentração próxima a IC50, sendo essa inibição não influenciada pelos componentes das diferentes formulações estudadas. No entanto, o uso da quimioluminescência como um método de quantificação da penetração de componentes antioxidantes de extratos hidrossolúveis torna o processo de extração desses componentes da pele um fator importante, no qual a escolha do solvente extrator é um ponto crítico. Assim, o solvente extrator escolhido para a realização dos estudos de penetração/retenção cutânea foi metanol:água (80:20), visto que esse solvente foi capaz de extrair os componentes antioxidantes do extrato de açaí sem retirar grande quantidade dos compostos inerentes da pele com atividade antioxidante. Por fim, a determinação da inibição da quimioluminescência gerada no sistema xantina/luminol/xantina oxidase mostrou-se um método importante na medida da atividade antioxidante de extratos na pele. Ainda, esse método foi eficaz na quantificação do extrato de açaí nos estudos de penetração/retenção com célula de difusão vertical, apesar de todos os erros inerentes desse método.The excessive exposure to UV radiation is able to decrease the antioxidant defense systems in the skin leading to the oxidative stress. Thus, plant extracts, rich in antioxidant compounds, are strong candidates to be added in topical formulations for the prevention or treatment of UV radiation induced damages. Among the range of plant extracts with biological activity, the extract of açai, fruit of the Euterpe olerecea Mart. species has become known due to the considerable amount of antioxidants in its composition. Generally, the amount of active compounds that can penetrate in the skin is low requiring sensitive analytical methods. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the use of chemiluminescence assay for the quantification of the penetration of açai extract components in the skin by measuring the antioxidant activity. The results showed an IC50 value of 0.63 ?g/mL for the antioxidant activity determined by chemiluminescence assay using the xanthine/luminol/xanthine oxidase system. Moreover, the quantification of acai extract using this method was possible for percentages of inhibition obtained until the 60% of inhibition value. Additionally, this method proved to be precise and accurate in determining the percentage of chemiluminescence inhibition of acai extract at concentrations values close to the IC50 value. Additionally, it was observed that the inhibition was not influenced by the different components of the formulations studied. However, the use of chemiluminescence assay to quantify the penetration of water-soluble extract antioxidant components makes the extraction process of these components from the skin an important step in which the selection of the extractor solvent is a critical point. In the present study it was selected methanol:water (80%) as an organic extractor solvent which was able to extract the antioxidant components of the acai extract without removing large amounts of inherent compounds of the skin with antioxidant activity. Finally, the determination of the chemiluminescence generated in the xanthine/luminol/xanthine oxidase system inhibition showed to be an important method for the measurement of the antioxidant activity of plant extracts in the skin. Still, this method was effective in quantifying the acai extract in cutaneous penetration/retention studies using vertical diffusion cells despite all the intrinsic errors of this used method

Propolis Standardized Extract (EPP-AF®), an Innovative Chemically and Biologically Reproducible Pharmaceutical Compound for Treating Wounds

The aim of this study was to develop a formulation, containing the propolis standardized extract (EPP-AF&#174;), which can assist in the healing of skin lesions. To achieve this objective the antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of the propolis extract was determined. The final product was subjected to in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical evaluation. The broth macrodilution method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts and formulations against the microorganisms most commonly found in burns, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wistar rats with puncture wounded skin were used to evaluate the wound healing properties of propolis. The results of chemical and biological characterization demonstrated the batch-to-batch reproducibility of the standardized extract which is an unprecedented result. The antimicrobial and wound healing activity of the pharmaceutical studied showed the best results when samples contain 3.6% propolis, suggesting that this is the most promising composition.</p

Preparation and thermal characterization of inclusion complex of Brazilian green propolis and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin

The propolis produced in Southeastern Brazil is known as green propolis (BGP) because of its color and the most important plant source is Baccharis dracunculifolia. Several authors reported biological activities such as anti-ulcer, anti-inflammator, antimutagenic, antifungal/antibacterial, antileishmanial/antiplasmodial for the BGP. For this reason, BGP has been extensively employed in food and beverages, thus helping improve health and preventing diseases. Some authors related that the biological activities of BGP are mostly due to its high levels of prenylated rho-coumaric acids derivatives, mainly artepillin C. The inclusion complex between Brazilian green propolis (BGP) with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) was prepared and its characterization was investigated by different analytical techniques (X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry) and suggesting that propolis was molecularly dispersed in the HP-beta-CD matrix. The increasing solubility of chemical constituents was determined using quantitation methods for total flavonoids and polyphenols. Furthermore, it was developed a method for the quantitation and identification of the main compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography in order to evaluate the increasing water solubility of each constituent in aqueous BGP extract (aromadendrin, isosakuranetin, and artepillin C). The antioxidant activity was evaluated by chemical assay 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Evaluation of a Propolis Water Extract Using a Reliable RP-HPLC Methodology and In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy and Safety Characterisation

Since the beginning of propolis research, several groups have studied its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. However, most of these studies have only employed propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) leading to little knowledge about the biological activities of propolis water extract (PWE). Based on this, in a previous study, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of PWE. In order to better understand the equilibrium between effectiveness and toxicity, which is essential for a new medicine, the characteristics of PWE were analyzed. We developed and validated an RP-HPLC method to chemically characterize PWE and PEE and evaluated the in vitro antioxidant/antimicrobial activity for both extracts and the safety of PWE via determining genotoxic potential using in vitro and in vivo mammalian micronucleus assays. We have concluded that the proposed analytical methodology was reliable, and both extracts showed similar chemical composition. The extracts presented antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, while PWE demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and more efficacious for the most of the microorganisms tested than PEE. Finally, PWE was shown to be safe using micronucleus assays

Quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersions: Preparation, thermal characterization and antioxidant activity

Quercetin is a flavonoid very well studied and has already entered clinical trials emerging as prospective anticancer drug candidate. In addition, quercetin has being reported to its free-radical scavenging activity and suggests potential uses for the prevention and treatment of pathologies as atherosclerosis, chronic inflammation, and others. However, quercetin is sparingly soluble in water, which may be responsible for its limited absorption upon oral administration. The solid dispersion of quercetin with polyvinylpyrrolidone Kollidon(A (R)) 25 (PVP K25) suggests an interesting way to increase quercetin solubility, antioxidant activity, and consequently bioavailability. Then, the purpose of this study was to prepare solid dispersions of quercetin with PVP K25 and evaluate their thermal characterization, antioxidant activity and quercetin improvement solubility. For this purpose, quercetin-PVP K25 solutions were dried and quercetin-PVP K25 solids were obtained. The formation of quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion was evaluated by solubility studies, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), and antioxidant activity. It was observed that PVP K25 was able to provide quercetin clear aqueous solutions and that quercetin solubility was increased in a PVP K25 concentration dependent manner, improving solubility even 436-fold the pure quercetin. The results obtained with XRD, FT-IR, DSC, and TG demonstrated possible quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion formation. Besides, the antioxidant activity of the quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersions dissolved in aqueous solution and pure quercetin dissolved in methanol showed IC50 value of 0.61 +/- A 0.03 and 1.00 +/- A 0.02 mu g/mL, respectively, demonstrating that the solid dispersions presented a significant increase in antioxidant activity (P < 0.05). Putting results together, it was possible to conclude there was the formation of quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP