Chemical Characterization and Bioactivity of Commercial Essential Oils and Hydrolates Obtained from Portuguese Forest Logging and Thinning

Essential oils (EOs) and hydrolates (Hds) are natural sources of biologically active ingredients with broad applications in the cosmetic industry. In this study, nationally produced (mainland Portugal and Azores archipelago) EOs (11) and Hds (7) obtained from forest logging and thinning of Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus pinaster, Pinus pinea and Cryptomeria japonica, were chemically evaluated, and their bioactivity and sensorial properties were assessed. EOs and Hd volatiles (HdVs) were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. 1,8-Cineole was dominant in E. globulus EOs and HdVs, and α- and β-pinene in P. pinaster EOs. Limonene and α-pinene led in P. pinea and C. japonica EOs, respectively. P. pinaster and C. japonica HVs were dominated by α-terpineol and terpinen-4-ol, respectively. The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH, ORAC and ROS. C. japonica EO showed the highest antioxidant activity, whereas one of the E. globulus EOs showed the lowest. Antimicrobial activity results revealed different levels of efficacy for Eucalyptus and Pinus EOs while C. japonica EO showed no antimicrobial activity against the selected strains. The perception and applicability of emulsions with 0.5% of EOs were evaluated through an in vivo sensory study. C. japonica emulsion, which has a fresh and earthy odour, was chosen as the most pleasant fragrance (60%), followed by P. pinea emulsion (53%). In summary, some of the studied EOs and Hds showed antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and they are possible candidates to address the consumers demand for more sustainable and responsibly sourced ingredients.     

Chemical Approach to the Optimization of Conditions Using HS-SPME/GC–MS for Characterization of Volatile Compounds in Eugenia brasiliensis Fruit

Grumixama (Eugenia brasiliensis Lam.) is a native fruit of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, belonging to the Myrtaceae family, which designatesthe most significant number of species with food potential. It stands out due to its phytochemical characteristics because of the presence of polyphenols and volatile organic compounds. Volatile compounds are substances released by foods that give off an aroma and influence flavor. Solid-phase microextraction is a technique that allows for low-cost, fast, and solvent-free extraction, has an affinity for numerous analytes, and is easily coupled to gas chromatography. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the efficiency of different fibers of SPME (solid-phase microextraction) in the extraction of volatile organic compounds from grumixama pulp; optimize a method for extraction time, temperature, and sample weight; and to determine the characteristic volatile profile of this fruit. For the extraction of volatile compounds, three fibers of different polarities were used: polar polyacrylate (PA) fibers, divinylbenzene/carboxyne/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) semipolar fibers, and polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB). Fourteen volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified by DVB/CAR/PDMS, six by PA, and seven by PDMS/DVB through solid-phase microextraction in the headspace mode (SPME-HS). Considering the total number of compounds identified, regardless of the fiber used, and the optimization of the method, Eugenia brasiliensis presented sesquiterpene fractions (85.7%, 83.3%, and 85.7% of total VOCs) higher than the monoterpene fractions (14.3%, 16.7%, and 14.3%) for DVB/CAR/PDMS, PA, and PDMS/DVB, respectively in its composition. In addition, it was possible to verify that the fiber DVB/CAR/PDMS presented a better efficiency due to the larger chromatographic area observed when the grumixama pulp was subjected to conditions of 75 °C, 2.0 g, and an adsorption time of 20 min.     

Copper acetylacetonate anchored onto amine-functionalised clays

Copper (II) acetylacetonate was immobilised directly onto two clays, laponite (Lap) and K10-montmorillonite (K10), and after their amine functionalisation with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). All the materials were characterised by nitrogen adsorption isotherms at -196 degrees C, elemental analysis, TG-DSC, XRD, and IR spectroscopy. The K10-based materials were also characterised by XPS. The APTES-functionalised K10 showed higher copper loading than K10, indicating that the clay functionalisation enhanced the complex immobilisation; on the contrary, in Lap-based materials higher metal content was obtained by direct complex anchoring, probably due to the delaminated nature of Lap which induced the particles aggregation on functionalisation with APTES. All the results pointed out that the Cu complex was anchored onto the amine-functionalised clays by Schiff condensation between the amine groups of anchored APTES and the carbonyl groups of the acetylacetonate ligand, whereas direct immobilisation proceeded mostly through interaction between the metal centre and the clay surface hydroxyl groups.     

A computational study on the interaction of the nitric oxide ions NO+ and NO- with the side groups of the aromatic amino acids

The interaction of the nitric oxide ions NO+ and NO- with benzene (C6H6) and the aromatic R-groups of the amino acids phenylalanine (Phe), tyrosine (Tyr), histidine (His), and tryptophan (Trp) have been examined using the DFT method B3LYP and the conventional electron correlation method MP2. In particular, the structures and complexation energies of the resulting half-sandwich Ar...NO+/- and sandwich [Ar...NO...Ar]+/- complexes have been considered. For the Ar...NO+ complexes, the presence of an electron rich heteroatom within or attached to the ring is found to not preclude the cation...pi bound complex from being the most stable. Furthermore, unlike the anionic complexes, the pi...cation...pi ([Ar...NO...Ar]+) complexes do not correspond to a "doubling" of the parent half-sandwich.     

Laccase–polyazetidine prepolymer–MWCNT integrated system: Biochemical properties and application to analytical determinations in real samples

Bioelectrochemical properties of Trametes versicolor Laccase (TvL) and Trametes hirsuta Laccase (ThL) immobilized by using polyazetidine prepolymer (PAP) onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) screen printed electrode (SPE) surface, have been studied with several redox mediators by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The efficient entrapment of laccase in the PAP layer was confirmed by determination of both kinetic parameters (maximum current and Michaelis–Menten apparent constant) and analytical performances by chronoamperometry. The Laccase-modified MWCNTs electrode provides an effective biosensor for determination of polyphenols and catecholamines in real matrices; performances of the considered biosensors for real samples analysis are also compared and discussed.     

Factorial analysis of the trihalomethanes formation in water disinfection using chlorine

The factors that affect trihalomethane (THM) (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, chlorodibromomethane and bromoform) formation from the chlorination of aqueous solutions of hydrophobic fulvic acids (FA) were investigated in a prototype laboratorial simulation using factorial analysis. This strategy involved a fractional factorial design (16 plus 5 center experiments) of five factors (fulvic acids concentration, chlorine dose, temperature, pH and bromide concentration) and a Box Behnken design (12 plus 3 center experiments) for the detailed analysis of three factors (FA concentration, chlorine dose and temperature). The concentration of THM was determined by headspace analysis by GC-ECD. The most significant factors that affect the four THM productions were the following: chloroform-FA concentration and temperature; bromodichloromethane-FA concentration and chlorine dose; chlorodibromomethane-chlorine dose; and, bromoform-chlorine dose and bromide concentration. Moreover, linear models were obtained for the four THM concentrations in the disinfection solution as function of the FA concentration, chlorine dose and temperature, and it was observed that the complexity of the models (number of significant factors and interactions) increased with increasing bromine atoms in the THM. Also, this study shows that reducing the FA concentration the relative amount of bromated THM increases.     

Novel peptide foldameric motifs: a step forward in our understanding of the fully-extended conformation/3(10)-helix coexistence

The fully-extended, multiple C(5), conformation or 2.0(5) helix is a very appealing peptide secondary structure, in particular for its potential use as a molecular spacer, as it is characterized by the longest elevation (as high as 3.62 ?) between the α-carbon atoms of two consecutive α-amino acids. Despite this intriguing property, however, it is only poorly investigated and understood. Here, using a complete series of C(α,α)-diethylglycine (Deg) homo-oligopeptide esters to the pentamer level, we exploited the properties of a fluorophore and a quencher, synthetically positioned at the N- and C-termini of the main chain, respectively, to check the applicability of the fully-extended conformation as a rigid molecular spacer. The fluorescence study was complemented by FT-IR absorption and NMR conformational investigations. The X-ray diffraction structures of selected compounds are also reported. Unfortunately, we find that, even in a solvent of low polarity, such as chloroform, in this peptide series an equilibrium does take place between the fragile fully-extended conformation and the 3(10)-helical structure, the latter becoming more and more stable as the main chain is elongated. Since the Deg homo-peptide esters lacking any terminal aromatic group, previously investigated, are known to adopt a stable fully-extended conformation in chloroform solution, we tend to attribute the 3D-structure instability observed in this work to the presence of multiple aromatic rings in their blocking groups.     

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of gallic acid in Alchemilla vulgaris, Allium ursinum, Acorus calamus and Solidago virga-aurea by chip-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography

This study presents the results obtained from qualitative and quantitative analysis of gallic acid from hydro-alcoholic extracts (methanol, ethanol) of plants from Plantae regnum. Plant qualitative analysis was performed using a novel mass spectrometric (MS) method based on fully automated chip-nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) high capacity ion trap (HCT) while quantitative analysis was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These methods were applied to Alchemilla vulgaris — common lady’s-mantle (aerial part), Allium ursinum — bear’s garlic (leaves), Acorus calamus — common sweet flag (roots), Solidago virga-aurea — goldenrod (aerial part). Obtained results indicated that methanol extracts (96%, 80%) have a gallic acid content ranging between 0.0011–0.0576 mg mL⁻¹ extract while the ethanol extracts (96%, 60%) exhibit a gallic acid concentration that varies between 0.0010–0.0182 mg mL⁻¹ extract.      

Novel betulin derivatives inhibit IFN-γ and modulates COX-2 expression

Abstract

Betulin (BE) is a pentacyclic triterpenes, obtained from natural sources and with several biological activities described, such as anti-tumoral and anti-inflammatory activities. The BE esterification at hydroxyl group (C-3 and C-28) resulted in five new ester derivatives with different numbers of carbons or halogens (chlorine and fluorine). Among these BE derivatives, two (2a e 2c) were able to significantly decrease IFN-g (*p?=?0.0391; **p?=?0.0156) and 2c modulated the expression of COX-2 better than Dexamethasone (DEXA). Regarding to cytotoxic assay, the best results were obtained for BE without modifications, with emphasis on tumoral cell lines Raji and MCF-7. The derivatives 2a and 2c showed immunomodulation activity (for the cytokines IFN-g). The presence of chorine in BE seems to be important for the ability of modulate COX-2 expression, since the ester chloride derivative 2c at 100?μM is more powerful inhibitor of COX-2 than DEXA.     

Dual Amperometric Immunosensor for Improving Cancer Metastasis Detection by the Simultaneous Determination of Extracellular and Soluble Circulating Fraction of Emerging Metastatic Biomarkers

This paper reports the development of a dual immunosensor using magnetic microcarriers (MBs) and amperometric transduction at dual screen‐printed carbon electrodes (SPdCEs) for the simultaneous determination of two biomarkers: interleukin‐13 receptor α2 (IL‐13Rα2) and E‐cadherin (E‐CDH), with both extracellular and soluble fraction; oncogenic and tumor suppressor markers, respectively, of great relevance in metastatic processes. The implemented methodology involved the formation of sandwich‐type immunocomplexes using specific capture antibodies immobilized onto carboxylic acid magnetic microbeads (HOOC‐MBs), and biotinylated detector antibodies labeled with streptavidin?horseradish peroxidase conjugates (Strep‐HRP). The amperometric detection was performed by addition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of hydroquinone (HQ) as the redox mediator. The dual immunosensing platform provided linear calibration ranges suitable for the determination of both biomarkers in liquid and solid clinical specimens as well as excellent selectivity against other cancer biomarkers. This simple handling dual bioplatform was applied to the determination of the soluble and extracellular fraction of the target biomarkers in serum and paraffined‐embedded tissues from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients diagnosed at different tumor grade. The obtained results reveal great potential of this configuration to improve the reliability in diagnosing metastatic CRC.