The Lyophilization Process Maintains the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Royal Jelly

The alternative use of natural products, like royal jelly (RJ), may be an important tool for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RJ presents a large number of bioactive substances, including antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we carried out the chemical characterization of fresh and lyophilized RJ and investigated their antibacterial effects with the purpose of evaluating if the lyophilization process maintains the chemical and antibacterial properties of RJ. Furthermore, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of the main fatty acid found in RJ, the 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA). Chromatographic profile of the RJ samples showed similar fingerprints and the presence of 10H2DA in both samples. Furthermore, fresh and lyophilized RJ were effective against all bacteria evaluated; that is, the lyophilization process maintains the antibacterial activity of RJ and the chemical field of 10H2DA. The fatty acid 10H2DA exhibited a good antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative and complementary treatment for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae

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

Study of chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of different propolis and evaluation in eukaryotic cell culture

A própolis é uma resina elaborada por abelhas que há anos tem sido utilizada na medicina popular devido as suas atividades biológica sendo que estas são atribuídas principalmente aos compostos fenólicos. Apesar disto, o mecanismo de ação da própolis permanece obscuro e a maioria dos estudos de atividade antimicrobiana realizados utilizaram métodos clássicos in vitro, que embora confirmem esta ação, não explicam como ela ocorre. Neste estudo foram avaliadas as características físico-quimicas dos extratos de própolis verde, dourada, vermelha e extrato padronizado comercial (EPP-AF®). Também foi verificada a atividade antibacteriana destes extratos contra Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25.923, Streptococcus pneumoniae ATCC 49.619 e Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 10.031 utilizando metodologia de microdiluição em caldo e avaliação em cultura de células eucarióticas. Finalmente, foi avaliada a influência do extrato de própolis verde em concentrações bactericidas na morfologia das bactérias citadas. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que todos os extratos possuem grande quantidade de compostos fenólicos, entretanto a própolis vermelha apresentou melhor atividade antimicrobiana para todas as bactérias avaliadas, com concentração bactericida mínima entre 0,19 - 0,77mg/ml . Apesar disto, o extrato de própolis vermelha foi o mais instável, havendo perda significativa dos flavonoides, uma das principais substâncias pertencentes aos compostos fenólicos relacionados à atividade antimicrobiana. Além disso, verificouse que o extrato de própolis não influenciou na adesão e invasão bacteriana em células de carcinoma de laringe humano (HEp-2). As morfologias das bactérias tratadas com própolis avaliada por microscopia eletrônica de varredura evidenciou lise na superfície das bactérias gram-positivas e alteração morfológica na gramnegativa. A partir dos dados obtidos foi possível caracterizar diferentes extratos de própolis e confirmar a sua atividade antimicrobiana. Além disso, embora o mecanismo de ação não tenha sido completamente elucidado, os resultados indicam que ele está relacionado a danos estruturais provocados pela própolis e não a uma ação direta na adesão e invasão bacteriana nas células eucarióticasPropolis is a resin produced by bees used since antiquity in folk medicine because of biological properties, especially due to phenolic compounds. However, the mechanism of action of propolis is unknown and the majority of studies on antimicrobial activity were based on in vitro classical methods that confirmed this action, but do not explain how. This present work compared the chemical composition of green, golden, red and commercial extract of propolis (EPP-AF®). Also antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Streptococcus pneumoniae ATCC 49619 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 10031. Microdilution method and cell culture experiments were carried out. Finally, it evaluated the influence of bactericidal concentration of green propolis on the morphology of bacteria. The results indicated there were high levels of phenolic compounds in all extracts, however red propolis presented the best antimicrobial activity against all bacteria studied, with bactericide concentration in the range of 0.19 - 0.77mg/ml. Nevertheless, red propolis extract was the most unstable, with significant loss of flavonoids, one the main substances associated with antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, the extract of propolis did not influence the adhesion and invasion of bacteria in human larynx carcinoma cell (HEp-2). The study of scanning electron microscopy of bacteria treated with propolis showed cell lysis in the grampositive and morphological changes in the gram-negative bacteria. This study contributed to characterize and confirm antimicrobial activity of different propolis extracts. Although the mechanism of action was not completely elucidated, the results indicate that the antimicrobial activity is associated with bacterial cell damage by propolis and it is not due to influence direct of propolis on bacterial adhesion and invasion of the eukaryotic cells

The Lyophilization Process Maintains the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Royal Jelly

The alternative use of natural products, like royal jelly (RJ), may be an important tool for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RJ presents a large number of bioactive substances, including antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we carried out the chemical characterization of fresh and lyophilized RJ and investigated their antibacterial effects with the purpose of evaluating if the lyophilization process maintains the chemical and antibacterial properties of RJ. Furthermore, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of the main fatty acid found in RJ, the 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA). Chromatographic profile of the RJ samples showed similar fingerprints and the presence of 10H2DA in both samples. Furthermore, fresh and lyophilized RJ were effective against all bacteria evaluated; that is, the lyophilization process maintains the antibacterial activity of RJ and the chemical field of 10H2DA. The fatty acid 10H2DA exhibited a good antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative and complementary treatment for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae

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