A strain isolated from Kombucha tea was isolated and used as an alternative bacterium for the biosynthesis of bacterial cellulose (BC). In this study, BC generated by this novel bacterium was compared to Gluconacetobacter xylinus biosynthesized BC. Kinetic studies reveal that Komagataeibacter rhaeticus was a viable bacterium to produce BC according to yield, thickness and water holding capacity data. Physicochemical properties of BC membranes were investigated by UV-vis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies (FTIR), thermogravimetrical analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were also used for morphological characterization. Mechanical properties at nano and macroscale were studied employing PeakForce quantitative nanomechanical property mapping (QNM) and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), respectively. Results confirmed that BC membrane biosynthesized by Komagataeibacter rhaeticus had similar physicochemical, morphological and mechanical properties than BC membrane produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus and can be widely used for the same applications.

Propolis is a honeybee product with various biological activities, including antidiabetic effects. We previously reported that artepillin C, a prenylated cinnamic acid derivative isolated from Brazilian green propolis, acts as a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) ligand and promotes adipocyte differentiation. In this study, we examined the effect of baccharin, another major component of Brazilian green propolis, on adipocyte differentiation. The treatment of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with baccharin resulted in increased lipid accumulation, cellular triglyceride levels, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, and glucose uptake. The mRNA expression levels of PPARγ and its target genes were also increased by baccharin treatment. Furthermore, baccharin enhanced PPARγ-dependent luciferase activity, suggesting that baccharin promotes adipocyte differentiation via PPARγ activation. In diabetic ob/ob mice, intraperitoneal administration of 50 mg/kg baccharin significantly improved blood glucose levels. Our results suggest that baccharin has a hypoglycemic effect on glucose metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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Topical administration is a simple and comfortable form of cutaneous administration of drugs. However, in this route of administration the drug needs to overcome the barrier posed by the skin to reach an effective concentration. For this reason, many topical formulations are developed with a cationic component. The promotion of absorption occurs due to the disruption of the stratum corneum. But this cationic component has also high irritating potential to the skin. The biotherapics are medicines prepared from a toxic product or etiologic agent, following the homeopathic pharmacopoeia technique, and they are used mainly in cases of hipersensitization. In this experiment, high dilutions (HD) obtained from a cationic formulation were prepared and evaluated considering cell viability in “in vitro” mouse fibroblast (L929) culture cells model by a colorimetric MTT assay. No signs of toxicity were observed, which demonstrates the safety of these HD preparations to the healthy cells. The effectiveness of these HD was also investigated in cells damaged by cationic formulations. The results demonstrated that the HD 30c was the most effective preparation in preventing the cell damage caused by the tested irritating product, increasing cell viability from 56.6% (damaged cells) to 100% (similar to negative control group, p>0.05). These results provide evidence of the positive action of high dilutions against the exposure to a cytotoxic agent.