Guatteria friesiana (W. A. Rodrigues) Erkens & Maas (synonym Guatteriopsis friesiana W. A. Rodrigues), popularly known as "envireira", is a medicinal plant found in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon basin that is used in traditional medicine for various purposes. Recent studies on this species have demonstrated antimicrobial activity. In this study, the antitumor activity of the essential oil from the leaves of G. friesiana (EOGF) and its main components ( α-, β-, and γ-eudesmol) were determined using experimental models. In the in vitro study, EOGF and its components α-, β-, and γ-eudesmol displayed cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines, showing IC₅₀ values in the range of 1.7 to 9.4 µg/mL in the HCT-8 and HL-60 cell lines for EOGF, 5.7 to 19.4 µg/mL in the HL-60 and MDA-MB-435 cell lines for α-eudesmol, 24.1 to > 25 µg/mL in the SF-295 and MDA-MB-435 cell lines for β-eudesmol, and 7.1 to 20.6 µg/mL in the SF-295 and MDA-MB-435 cell lines for γ-eudesmol, respectively. In the in vivo study, the antitumor effect of EOGF was evaluated in mice inoculated with sarcoma 180 tumor cells. Tumor growth inhibition rates were 43.4-54.2 % and 6.6-42.8 % for the EOGF treatment by intraperitoneal (50 and 100 mg/kg/day) and oral (100 and 200 mg/kg/day) administration, respectively. The treatment with EOGF did not significantly affect body mass, macroscopy of the organs, or blood leukocyte counts. Based on these results, we can conclude that EOGF possesses significant antitumor activity and has only low systemic toxicity. These effects could be assigned to its components α-, β-, and γ-eudesmol.

Xylopia laevigata, popularly known as "meiú" and "pindaíba", is a medicinal plant used in the folk medicine of the Brazilian Northeast for several purposes. The chemical constituents of the essential oil from leaves of X. laevigata, collected from wild plants growing at three different sites of the remaining Atlantic forest in Sergipe State (Brazilian Northeast), were analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS. The effect of the essential oil samples was assessed on tumor cells in culture, as well on tumor growth in vivo. All samples of the essential oil were dominated by sesquiterpene constituents. A total of 44 compounds were identified and quantified. Although some small differences were observed in the chemical composition, the presence of γ-muurolene (0.60-17.99%), δ-cadinene (1.15-13.45%), germacrene B (3.22-7.31%), α-copaene (3.33-5.98%), germacrene D (9.09-60.44%), bicyclogermacrene (7.00-14.63%), and (E)-caryophyllene (5.43-7.98%) were verified as major constituents in all samples of the essential oil. In the in vitro cytotoxic study, the essential oil displayed cytotoxicity to all tumor cell lines tested, with the different samples displaying a similar profile; however, they were not hemolytic or genotoxic. In the in vivo antitumor study, tumor growth inhibition rates were 37.3-42.5%. The treatment with the essential oil did not significantly affect body weight, macroscopy of the organs, or blood leukocyte counts. In conclusion, the essential oil from the leaves of X. laevigata is chemically characterized by the presence of γ-muurolene, δ-cadinene, germacrene B, α-copaene, germacrene D, bicyclogermacrene, and (E)-caryophyllene as major constituents and possesses significant in vitro and in vivo anticancer potential.

Pain due to administration of local anesthetics is the primary reason for patients' fear and anxiety, and various methods are used to minimize it. This study aimed to measure the degree of pain during administration of anesthesia and determine the latency time and duration of pulpal anesthesia using two anesthetic methods in the maxilla. Materials and Methods: A randomized, single-blind, split-mouth clinical trial was conducted with 41 volunteers who required class I restorations in the maxillary first molars. Local anesthesia was administered with a needleless jet injection system (experimental group) or with a carpule syringe (control) using a 30-gauge short needle. The method of anesthesia and laterality of the maxilla were randomized. A pulp electric tester measured the latency time and duration of anesthesia in the second molar. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the degree of pain during the anesthetic method. Data were tabulated and then analyzed by a statistician. The t-test was used to analyze the differences between the groups for basal electrical stimulation. Duration of anesthesia and degree of pain were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. A 5% significance level was considered. Results: There was no statistical difference in the basal electrical stimulation threshold (mA) and degree of pain between the two methods of anesthesia (p>0.05). Latency time was 2 minutes for all subjects. The duration of pulpal anesthesia showed no statistical difference (minutes) between the two methods (p<0.001), with a longer duration for the traditional method of anesthesia (median of 40 minutes). Conclusions: The two anesthetics methods did not differ concerning the pain experienced during anesthesia. Latency lasted 2 minutes for all subjects; the traditional infiltration anesthesia resulted in a longer anesthetic duration compared with the needleless jet injection.

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