RESUMO:Espécies de Acacia são tradicionalmente utilizadas para o tratamento de diversas patologias. Estudos quimiotaxonômicos têm relacionado o gênero Acacia como fonte de compostos fenólicos, os quais apresentam propriedades biológicas diversas. Este trabalho destaca a atividade antioxidante de Acacia podalyriifolia. Esta planta é originária da Austrália e amplamente cultivada no Sul do Brasil como ornamental. O material vegetal (fl ores) foi seco à sombra, submetido à extração com etanol, seguido de partição com hexano, diclorometano e acetato de etila. A triagem fi toquímica realizada no extrato etanólico bruto e nas suas frações, demonstrou a presença de compostos fenólicos e fl avonóides. A determinação do conteúdo fenólico foi realizada com o reativo Folin Ciocalteau, verifi cando ser a fração acetato de etila (FAE) a que apresentou a maior concentração (338,5 mg de ácido gálico/g de FAE). Na avaliação da atividade captadora de radical, empregando o radical livre DPPH, a fração acetato de etila demonstrou atividade antioxidante mais elevada (IC 50 = 3,22 μg/mL de FAE).Unitermos: Acacia podalyriifolia, antioxidante, compostos fenólicos.ABSTRACT: "Determination of the phenolic content and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of Acacia podalyriifolia A. Cunn. ex G. Don, Leguminosae-mimosoideae". Acacia species are usually used as treatment for several diseases. Chemotaxonomic studies have related the Acacia genus as a source of phenolic compounds, which present several biological properties. This work emphasizes the antioxidant activity of Acacia podalyriifolia. This plant is natural from Australia and vastly cultivated in the South of Brazil as ornamental feature. The plant material (fl owers) was shadow-dried and submitted to the extraction with ethanol, followed by partition with hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. The phytochemical screening performed in the ethanol crude extract and in its fractions showed the presence of phenolic compounds and fl avonoids. Determination of the phenolic content was performed with the Folin Ciocalteau reagent. It was found out that the ethyl acetate fraction (FAE) was the one that displayed the biggest concentration (338,5 mg of gallic acid/g of FAE). In the evaluation of the radical scavenging activity, using the free radical DPPH, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest antioxidant activity (IC 50 = 3,22 μg/mL from FAE).

No abstract

Melipona marginata is an endangered species of stingless bee from Brazil that produces honey with particular physicochemical features and a remarkable exotic flavor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report devoted to exploring the medicinal potential of this honey. Thus, the aim of this paper was to investigate the potential anti-inflammatory activity of honey extract from M. marginata on skin inflammation. The honey sample was classified as a monofloral honey of Mimosa scabrella. The presence of 11 phenolic compounds as kaempferol and caffeic acid was detected using the high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-UV-ESI-MS) method. The anti-inflammatory activity was measured using a 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced ear edema model of inflammation in mice. The topical application of the M. marginata honey extract (1.0 mg/ear) was able to reduce ear edema with an inhibitory effect of 54 ± 5%. This extract decreased the myeloperoxidase activity in 75 ± 3%, which suggests a lower leucocyte infiltration that was confirmed by histological analysis. This extract also provided a reduction of 55 ± 14% in the production of reactive oxygen species. This anti-inflammatory activity could be due to a synergic effect of the phenolic compounds identified in the honey sample. Taken together, these results open up new possibilities for the use of M. marginata honey extract in skin disorders.

The antibacterial activity of plant extracts obtained from Bixa orellana L., Chamomilla recutita L., Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil., Malva sylvestris L., Plantago major L. and Rheum rhaponticum L. has been evaluated against two reference strains and eleven clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori. All the plant species chosen are used in popular Brazilian cuisine and folk medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Initial screening was made by the disk diffusion test and then minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by the agar dilution method. The results presented in this work demonstrated that among the plant preparations analyzed, B. orellana L., C. recutita L., I. paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. and M. sylvestris L. were capable of inhibiting the in vitro growth of H. pylori.

TermoesTabilidade de processos exTraTivos de Nasturtium officinale r. br., brassicaceae por sisTema soxhleT modificado João luiz de souza carvalho, miriam machado cunico, Josiane de fátima Gaspari dias*, marilis dallarmi miguel e obdulio Gomes miguel Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Av. Prefeito Lothário Meissner, 3400, 80210-170 Curitiba -PR, BrasilRecebido em 6/12/07; aceito em 26/9/08; publicado na web em 2/2/09 TERM-STABILITY OF EXTRACTIVE PROCESSES FROM Nasturtium officinale R. Br., BRASSICACEAE FOR SOXHLET MODIFIED SYSTEM. This work had as objective verified the term-stability of the Soxhlet modified system with analytical and pharmacothecnical application in extractive processes of Nasturtium officinale. It has proven that the process is thermo-stable. The analysis with analytical have determined 3.606 mg g -1 in chlorogenic acid and 11.813 mg g -1 in rutin (extract 1:20 w/v) and with pharmacotecnical 3.427 mg g -1 in chlorogenic acid and 11.278 mg g -1 in rutin (extract 1:6 w/v). The income of the pharmacothecnical process was inferior to the analytical, suggesting that the pharmacothecnical process would need of at least the double of time in each extraction system.