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A method for adsorption involving banana peel (BP) was studied to remove the pollutant acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in aqueous medium. The results show that bioadsorbent has satisfactory maximum adsorption capacity (2.29 mg/g) for removing this analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug in aqueous solution (pH 7.0) using the Langmuir mathematical model. The tested concentrations of this pollutant were higher than the levels commonly found in the aquatic environment. This and other results suggest the BP as an alternative to ASA removal in water contaminated with pharmaceuticals pollutants.

The neurotoxin MPTP has long been used to create a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Indeed, several MPTP analogues have been developed, including 2'-CH-MPTP, which was shown to induce nigrostriatal DA neuronal depletion more potently than MPTP. However, no study on behavioral and molecular alterations in response to 2'-CH-MPTP has been carried out so far. In the present work, 2'-CH-MPTP was administered to mice (2.5, 5.0 and 10 mg/kg per injection, once a day, 5 days) and histological, biochemical, molecular and behavioral alterations were evaluated. We show that, despite a dose-dependent-like pattern observed for nigrostriatal dopaminergic neuronal death and dopamine depletion, dose-specific alterations in dopamine metabolism and in the expression of dopaminergic neurotransmission-associated genes could be related to specific motor deficits elicited by the different doses tested. Interestingly, 2'-CH-MPTP leads to increased DAT and MAO-B transcription, which could explain, respectively, its higher potency and the requirement of higher doses of MAO inhibitors to prevent nigrostriatal neuronal death when compared to MPTP. Also, perturbations in dopamine metabolism as well as possible alterations in dopamine bioavailability in the synaptic cleft were also identified and correlated with strength and ambulation deficits in response to specific doses. Overall, the present work brings new evidence supporting the distinct effects of 2'-CH-MPTP when compared to its analogue MPTP. Moreover, our data highlight the utmost importance of a precise experimental design, as different administration regimens and doses yield different biochemical, molecular and behavioral alterations, which can be explored to study specific aspects of PD.

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