Residues of Citrus sinensis (L) Osbeck as agents that cause a change in antioxidant defense in plants / Resíduos de Citrus sinensis (L) Osbeck como agentes que causam uma alteração na defesa antioxidante em plantas

This work aimed to verify the allelopathic potential of the extract of Citrus seeds, for the purpose of adding a sustainable value to the fruit seeds toward their use as industrial residues. The extract was obtained with a Soxhlet apparatus by using hexane, chloroform, and methanol as solvents. The hexane extract of the Citrus seeds primarily consisted of linoleic acid (36.6%), followed by α-linoleic acid (25.3%), oleic acid (17.8%), palmitic acid (9.7%), and estearic acid (3.3%). The analysis results indicate that the oil is similar to those used in the cosmetics and food industries and has an economic value from its industrial application. In addition, the use of the oil causes changes in the oxidant balance, germination, and growth of plants...

Este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar o potencial alelopático do extrato de sementes de Citrus, com o objetivo de agregar valor sustentável para a semente de frutas para a sua utilização como resíduo industrial. O extrato foi obtido com aparelho de Soxhlet, utilizando hexano, clorofórmio e metanol como solventes. O extrato hexânico das sementes de Citrus constituiu principalmente por ácido linoleico (36,6%), seguido por ácido α-linoleico (25,3%), ácido oleico (17,8%), ácido palmítico (9,7%) e ácido esteárico (3,3%). As análises indicam que o óleo é semelhante aos utilizados na indústria de cosméticos e de alimentos, tem valor econômico para a utilização na indústria e seu uso provoca alterações no equilíbrio oxidativo, germinação e crescimento...

Compositional studies and Biological activities of Perovskia abrotanoides Kar. oils

BACKGROUND: Current study has been designed to evaluate the chemical composition of essential and fixed oils from stem and leaves of Perovskia abrotanoides and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of these oils. RESULTS: GC-MS analysis of essential oil identified 19 compounds with (E)-9-dodecenal being the major component in stem and hexadecanoic acid in leaves. In contrast, GC-MS analysis of fixed oil showed 40 constituents with α-amyrin the major component in stem and α-copaene in leaves. The antioxidant activity showed the highest value of 76.7% in essential oil from leaves in comparison with fixed oil from stem (45.9%) through inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system. The antimicrobial assay tested on different microorganisms (e.g. E. coli, S. aureus, B. cereus, Nitrospira, S. epidermis, A. niger, A. flavus and C. albicans) showed the higher inhibition zone at essential oil from leaves (15.2 mm on B. cereus) as compared to fixed oil from stem (8.34 mm onS. aureus) and leaves (11.2 mm on S. aureus). CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed the fact that essential oil analyzed from Perovskia abrotanoides stem and leaves could be a promising source of natural products with potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, as compared to fixed oil.

Topical anti-inflammatory action of Caryocar villosum oil (Aubl) Pers.

The piquia (Caryocar villosum (Aubl.) Pers.) has drawn the attention of the scientific community for its potential as an oilseed crop species. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo the topical anti-inflammatory activity of fixed oil from Caryocar villosum (Aubl.) Pers. – OCV. To evaluate anti-inflammatory activity, the following assays were used in rats: a) granuloma assay (cotton-pellet), b) carrageenan-induced paw edema and c) vascular permeability assay. Gas chromatography analysis from the OCV, transesterified with a BF3-methanol sample, showed the following fatty acid esters to be major compounds of this species: methyl hexadecanoate (32%), methyl octadecanoate (29%) and methyl (E)-octadecanoate (29%). The ED50 calculated from the granuloma assay was 531 mg/kg. In the granuloma assay, rat model of carrageenan-induced paw edema and vascular permeability of histamine test, groups treated with a topical dose of 531 mg/kg OCV showed significant differences (p < 0.05, analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a multiple comparison Student-Newman-Keuls test) when compared to the control groups treated with distilled water. Thus, a 531 mg/kg dose of OCV elicited a topical anti-inflammatory effect in rats, and the fatty acid esters identified in the fixed oil from Caryocar villosum participate in the detected topical anti-inflammatory activity because compounds with this characteristic are capable of modulating acute and chronic inflammatory responses.

Composição química do óleo fixo de Croton cajucara e determinação das suas propriedades fungicidas / Chemical composition of the fixed oil of Croton cajucara and its antifungical properties

Este trabalho objetivou a obtenção de óleos fixos (OF) das cascas do caule de Croton cajucara via percolação [seguido de fracionamento em coluna cromatográfica (CC)] e fluido supercrítico (FS, gás CO2), bem como a avaliação das propriedades fungicidas de OF obtido pelo procedimento CC. Os óleos OF-CC e OF-FS apresentaram rendimentos significativamente diferentes; houve maior rendimento (3,14 por cento) de OF obtido no processo convencional (OF-CC), versus 1,2 por cento de OF-FS. A fração F1 após esterificação, bem como as frações não-esterificadas F2, F3 e F4 (obtidas de OF-CC seguido de outro fracionamento em CC) foram analisadas por CG-FID e CG-EM. A identificação da composição química de OF-CC foi feita por comparação com dados da biblioteca Wiley, bem como pela comparação de índices de kovats. A presença de sesquiterpenos foi comprovada na fração F1, onde o a-copaeno (20,1 por cento) e cipereno (21,8 por cento) foram os componentes majoritários (70 por cento de percentual sesquiterpênico total). A fração F2 mostrou sesquiterpenos minoritários mais oxigenados, incluindo o linalol. Na fração F3 foram observados ácidos graxos, misturas de esteróis e os diterpenos bioativos trans-crotonina, cis-cajucarina B e trans-cajucarina B, onde 40 por cento do total desta fração, foi composta de esteróis e diterpenos; e na fração F4 foram observados majoritariamente os isômeros cis e trans-cajucarina B. O efeito biológico de OF-CC foi avaliado no desenvolvimento in vitro dos fungos fitopatogênicos Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani e Sclerotium rolfsii propagados em meio de cultura Batata-dextrose-agar (BDA). A resposta fisiológica, variou de acordo com o tipo de fungo testado, tendo sido observado que o OF-CC (0,2 mg.mL-1) apresentou efeito fungistático no controle micelial dos fungos testados, sendo que o gênero de fungo Fusarium oxysporum foi o que sofreu efeito inibitório mais estável.

This paper focused on the separation of the fixed oil (FO) from the stem bark of Croton cajucara obtained from the conventional approach extraction with organic solvents [followed by chromatography column (CC)] and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE, carried out with CO2) and also, on the antifungical properties of the FO obtained by CC procedure (FO-CC). The FO contents were 3.14 percent for FO-CC versus 1.20 percent in the FO-SFE process. The esterified fraction F1 and non-esterified fractions F2, F3 and F4 obtained from FO-CC after a new CC procedure were analyzed by HRGC-MS. The identification of the chemical composition of FO-CC was made by comparison with MS literature data, computer matching with the Wiley library and by comparison of their kovats indices with the literature. Fraction F1 showed 70 percent of sesquiterpene components, among them a-copaene (20.1 percent) and ciperene (21.8 percent) as major compounds. Fraction F2 was rich in minor oxygenated sesquiterpenes, among them linalool. Meanwhile fraction F3 showed fat acids, steroids and the bioactive clerodane type-diterpene trans-crotonin, cis-cajucarin B (c-CJC-B) and trans-cajucarin B (t-CJC-B). Fractions F3 and F4 showed as major constituents c-CJC-B and t-CJC-B with 40 percent of the total contents. The biological effect of the FO-CC was evaluated in the in vitro development of the phytopatogen fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii. Significant inhibitory effect of the tested fungi (at 0.2 mg.mL-1 dosage) were proved.