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The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from leaves of Anaxagorea brevipes was analysed by gas chromatography fitted with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Thirty one components were identified, representing around 75.7% of total oil. The major components were β-eudesmol (13.16%), α-eudesmol (13.05%), γ-eudesmol (7.54%), guaiol (5.12%), caryophyllene oxide (4.18%) and β-bisabolene (4.10%). The essential oil showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and yeast with the MIC values between 25.0 and 100 μg/mL. The highest antiproliferative activity was observed for the oil against MCF-7 (breast, TGI = 12.8 μg/mL), NCI-H460 (lung, TGI = 13.0 μg/mL) and PC-3 (prostate, TGI = 9.6 μg/mL) cell lines, while against no cancer cell line HaCat (keratinocyte) the TGI was 38.8 μg/mL. The oil exhibited a small antioxidant activity assessed through ORAC-FL assay (517 μmol TE/g). This is the first report regarding the chemical composition and bioactivity of A. brevipes essential oil.

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Chemical investigation of Sinningia warmingii (Gesneriaceae) tubers lead to the isolation of two new dimeric naphthoquinone derivatives, named warmingiins A and B, besides six known compounds, aggregatin E, aggregatin F, tectoquinone, halleridone, cleroindicin B, and cornoside. All compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis, mainly nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS), and comparison with the literature. The structure of the warmingiin A, which is an artifact of warmingiin B, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract and fractions of S. warmingii was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, C. dubliniensis, C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis. All samples were inactive.

Extreme environments Morrope and Bayovar Salt lagoons, several ecosystems and microhabitats remain unexplored, and little is known about the diversity of Actinobacteria. We suggest that the endemic bacteria present in this extreme environment is a source of active molecules with anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiparasitic properties. Using phenotypic and genotypic characterization techniques, including 16S rRNA sequencing, we identified these bacteria as members of the genera Streptomyces, Pseudonocardia, Staphylococcus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas. Actinobacteria strains were found predominantly. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 13 Actinobacteria clusters of Streptomyces, the main genus. Three Streptomycetes, strains MW562814, MW562805, and MW562807 showed antiproliferative activities against three tumor cell lines: U251 glioma, MCF7 breast, and NCI-H460 lung (non-small cell type); and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Escherichia coli ATCC 10536, and the multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii AC-972. The antiproliferative activities (measured as total growth inhibition [TGI]) of Streptomyces sp. MW562807 were 0.57 μg/mL, for 0.61 μg/mL, and 0.80 μg/mL for glioma, lung non-small cell type, and breast cancer cell lines, respectively; the methanolic fraction of the crude extract showed a better antiproliferative activity and could inhibit the growth of (U251 (TGI = 38.3 μg/mL), OVCAR-03 (TGI = 62.1 μg/mL), and K562 (TGI = 81.5 μg/mL)) of nine tumor cells types and one nontumor cell type. Extreme enviroments, such as the Morrope and Bayovar Salt saloons are promising sources of new bacteria, whose compounds may be useful for treating various infectious diseases or even some types of cancer.