Antifungal drugs belong to few chemical groups and such low diversity limits the therapeutic choices. The urgent need of innovative options has pushed researchers to search new bioactive molecules. Literature regarding the last 15 years reveals that different research groups have used different approaches to achieve such goal. However, the discovery of molecules with different mechanisms of action still demands considerable time and efforts. This review was conceived to present how Pharmaceutical Biotechnology might contribute to the discovery of molecules with antifungal properties by microbial biotransformation procedures. Authors present some aspects of (1) microbial biotransformation of herbal medicines and food; (2) possibility of major and minor molecular amendments in existing molecules by biocatalysis; (3) methodological improvements in processes involving whole cells and immobilized enzymes; (4) potential of endophytic fungi to produce antimicrobials by bioconversions; and (5) in silico research driving to the improvement of molecules. All these issues belong to a new conception of transformation procedures, so-called “green chemistry,” which aims the highest possible efficiency with reduced production of waste and the smallest environmental impact.

O efeito antibiótico de extrato aquoso de própolis, em várias concentrações, foi avaliado para cinco espécies de bactérias fitopatogênicas. Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis e Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli foram completamente inibidas em meio de cultura contendo 10% de extrato de própolis. Erwinia chrysanthemi foi parcialmente inibida, enquanto Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci se mostrou insensível ao extrato, desenvolvendo colônias idênticas àquelas observadas em meios livres de própolis. Concentrações menores não foram suficientes para exercer um efeito antimicrobiano desejável sobre as bactérias pertencentes a todas as espécies testadas. Resultados idênticos foram obtidos quando própolis foi incorporado ao meio antes ou após a autoclavagem, demonstrando que a substância ativa presente no extrato não é termosensível. Foi demonstrado, portanto, o uso potencial do própolis como antibiótico para o controle de bactérias fitopatogênicas.

BACKGROUND The use of bioreactors that mimic industrial reality is essential if knowledge transfer is desired. This is particularly important once filamentous microbes face harsh conditions hindering the formation of biofilms in some types of bioreactors and thus diminishing their ability to perform biotransformation or production of secondary metabolites. Airlift bioreactors can circumvent such problems; however, the lack of consensus regarding riser and downcomer partition persists. The use of golden ratio is a possibility to be considered. Our proposition was to evaluate the hydrodynamic performance and mass transfer in split‐rectangle‐internal loop airlift bioreactors (SRILAB) using a golden ratio partition. RESULTS In a general way, results revealed that a partition of Ar/Ad1.618 presents better and more desirable characteristics than Ad/Ar1.618 for linear liquid velocity (UL), mixing time (tM), gas holdup (ϵG), and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (kLa). Such behavior was observed even when the SRILAB operated under different linear gas velocities (UG) regimens (0.5–1.5 vvm) and Newtonian and non‐Newtonian bulk fluids. CONCLUSION Such results support the idea of using the golden ratio as riser‐to‐downcomer partitioning parameter in airlift bioreactors. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

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Dysbiosis is characterized by a disruption of bacterial homeostasis and may be associated with various skin diseases. Acne is a multifactorial inflammatory disease with a robust microbial component and numerous correlations with dysbiosis states. Furthermore, various factors are recognized as triggers for skin dysbiosis, including the use of certain cosmetics. Based on these arguments, we hypothesized that the use of photoprotective formulations could trigger dysbiosis and the occurrence of acne manifestations. To verify this assumption, six volunteers between 19 and 23 years of age, meeting all the inclusion criteria, received two applications a day of a non-commercial sunscreen formulation developed with the sun filters ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl salicylate, methyl anthranilate, and octocrylene dispersed in a base gel, with an estimated protection factor of 28.8. The pure base gel was used as a control. The samples were applied to an area delimited by a standard template (15 cm2) in an amount corresponding to 30 mg (2 mg cm2) for ten days. At two points in time, pre- and post-sample applications, the facial skin surface was swabbed to collect extracted DNA and processed to verify divergent degrees of 16S RNA coding sequences. The data obtained allowed us to determine the abundance of different bacterial entities at the genus and species levels. The results showed that key species of the acne process, such as Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, seem to tolerate the evaluated formulation well, not being significantly affected by the formulation, suggesting no interference of its use concerning dysbiosis induction.