Vegetal diamine oxidase (vDAO), an enzyme proposed to relieve symptoms of histaminosis, shows better reactivity with histamine and aliphatic diamines, as well as higher enzymatic activity than DAO of animal origin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the enzyme activity of vDAO from germinating grains from Lathyrus sativus (grass pea) and Pisum sativum (pea), and to verify the presence of a neurotoxin, β-N-Oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), in the crude extract obtained from their seedlings. A targeted liquid chromatography–multiple-reaction monitoring mass spectrometry method was developed and used to quantify β-ODAP in the analysed extracts. An optimized sample preparation procedure, involving protein precipitation with acetonitrile followed by mixed-anion exchange solid-phase extraction, allowed for high sensitivity and good peak shape for β-ODAP detection. The Lathyrus sativus extract exhibited the highest vDAO enzyme activity of the extracts, followed by the extract from pea cultivar Amarillo from the Crop Development Centre (CDC). The results have also shown that even though β-ODAP was present in the crude extract from L. sativus, its content was far below the toxicity threshold (300 mg of β-ODAP/kg body/day). CDC Amarillo showed 5000-fold less β-ODAP than the undialysed L. sativus extract. It was concluded that both species can be considered as convenient sources of vDAO for potential therapeutic use.

The role of the retention strength of Cu0 and Ag0 nanoparticles on the induced antibacterial properties of montmorillonite and cellulose-supported polyol dendrimer against Escherichia coli DH5α and Bacillus subtilis 168 was comparatively investigated.

Metal-loaded porous matrices based on clay and cellulose materials displayed appreciable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli DH5α and Bacillus subtilis 168. BoltornTMH20 polyol dendrimer supported by montmorillonite and cellulose turned out to be effective porous matrices for Cu0 and Ag0 nanoparticles dispersion. The resulting organoclay and polyol-coated cellulose were found to stabilize Cu0 and Ag0 nanoparticles through their terminal hydroxyl groups. This was explained in terms of Lewis Acid-Base interaction between the electron pair of the oxygen atom belonging to the terminal hydroxyl and metal species as supported by XPS data. The metal retention strength was found to correlate with the antibacterial activity, surface basicity and hydrophilic character. These findings are of great importance, because they open promising prospects for vegetal fibers and clay-supported drugs to treat dermatological and gastro-intestinal infections.

Metal-loaded porous matrices based on clay and cellulose materials displayed appreciable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli DH5α and Bacillus subtilis 168. BoltornTMH20 polyol dendrimer supported by montmorillonite and cellulose turned out to be effective porous matrices for Cu0 and Ag0 nanoparticles dispersion. The resulting organoclay and polyol-coated cellulose were found to stabilize Cu0 and Ag0 nanoparticles through their terminal hydroxyl groups. This was explained in terms of Lewis Acid-Base interaction between the electron pair of the oxygen atom belonging to the terminal hydroxyl and metal species as supported by XPS data. The metal retention strength was found to correlate with the antibacterial activity, surface basicity and hydrophilic character. These findings are of great importance, because they open promising prospects for vegetal fibers and clay-supported drugs to treat dermatological and gastro-intestinal infections.