ABSTRACT
Terpenoids, also named terpenes or isoprenoids, are a family of natural products found in all living organisms. Many plants produce terpenoids as secondary metabolites, and these make up a large part of essential oils. One of most important characteristic is that the compounds are volatile, have odor and can be used in a variety of applications in different industrial segments and traditional medicine. Brazil has a rich and diverse flora that can be used as a source of research for obtaining new molecules. Within the Brazilian flora, it is worth mentioning the Caatinga as an exclusively Brazilian biome where plants adapt to a specific series of weather conditions and therefore become a great storehouse of the terpenoid compounds to be described herein. Fungal infections have become increasingly common, and a great demand for new agents with low toxicity and side effects has thus emerged. Scientists must search for new molecules exhibiting antifungal activity to develop new drugs. This review aims to analyze scientific data from the principal published studies describing the use of terpenes and their biological applications as antifungals.
Subject(s)
Oils, Volatile , Terpenes , Terpenes/pharmacology , Terpenes/metabolism , Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Brazil , Oils, Volatile/pharmacology , PlantsABSTRACT
This work aimed to assess the effect of the probiotic strain, Lactobacillus plantarum, on the levels of leptin, IGF-1 and their receptors on the hepatopancreatic tissues of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and then correlate fish growth performance and gut microbiological parameters. Fish juveniles (±23g) were reared in a recirculation system with constant aeration and temperature (25°C). They were distributed into six polyethylene tanks (45L) and fed twice a day at 5% of the tank biomass with the respective diets: control (commercial diet without probiotic) and supplemented with L. plantarum inoculum (1 x 108 CFU mL-1), both in triplicate. After 30 days of feeding, L. plantarum-fed fishes showed greater weekly growth rate, final weight, and feed conversion rate, in addition to higher count of lactic-acid bacteria and lower count of pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal tract, when compared to the control group. The immunostaining intensity for IGF-1 and leptin hormones was lower after L. plantarum supplementation than in the control group, with no change in the level for receptors. This reduction could implicate important changes in fish metabolism and homeostasis.(AU)
O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da cepa probiótica Lactobacillus plantarum sobre os níveis de leptina, IGF-1 e seus receptores no tecido hepatopancreático de tilápia-do-nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) e correlacionar com o desempenho zootécnico e os parâmetros microbiológicos intestinais dos peixes. Juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo (±23g) foram distribuídos em seis tanques de polietileno (45L) conectados a um sistema de recirculação, com aeração e temperatura constantes (25°C). Os peixes foram alimentados duas vezes ao dia, a 5% da biomassa do tanque, com as respectivas dietas: controle (dieta comercial sem probiótico) e suplementada com L. plantarum (1 x 108 UFC mL-1), ambas em triplicata. Após 30 dias de cultivo, os peixes alimentados com L. plantarum apresentaram maiores ganho de peso semanal, peso final e conversão alimentar, bem como maior contagem de bactérias ácido-láticas e menor contagem de bactérias patogênicas no trato intestinal das tilápias alimentadas com dieta probiótica, em comparação ao grupo controle. A intensidade da imunomarcação para os hormônios IGF-1 e leptina foi menor com a suplementação de L. plantarum do que no grupo controle, sem alterar os níveis de seus receptores. Essa redução pode implicar mudanças importantes no metabolismo e na homeostase dos peixes.(AU)
Subject(s)
Animals , Cichlids/growth & development , Hepatopancreas/chemistry , Lactobacillus plantarum , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Animal Feed , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I , Dietary Supplements , LeptinABSTRACT
Este estudo objetivou avaliar o desempenho do crescimento e o consumo de água de alevinos de tilápia-do-nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) criados em tecnologia de Biofloco (BFT) e no sistema tradicional. Alevinos de tilápia-do-nilo foram divididos em dois tratamentos: peixes criados em BFT e em sistema convencional. Os peixes foram alimentados três vezes ao dia, com 6% da biomassa corporal. O oxigênio dissolvido e a temperatura foram mensurados duas vezes ao dia; o total de sólidos suspensos, o pH, a alcalinidade, a amônia, o nitrito, o nitrato e o fosfato foram monitorados duas vezes por semana. Após 42 dias, avaliou-se o desempenho do crescimento da tilápia-do-nilo. A temperatura (25,1 e 21,7°C), a alcalinidade (37,1 e 16,9mg L -1 ), o nitrito (48,4 e 0,0mg L -1 ) e o nitrato (134,3 e 0,0mg L -1 ) foram maiores no BFT do que no sistema convencional. A sobrevivência (95,80 e 100,00%), a conversão alimentar (1,00 e 1,39), a conversão alimentar de todos os insumos (1,14 e 1,39) e o volume de água para produzir 1,0 T de peixe (128,21 e 23.934,42m³) foram menores, assim como a proteína, a eficiência (2,24±0,21 e 1,58±0,31) e a produtividade (7,77±1,39 e 0,61±0,07kg.m -3 ) foram maiores para o BFT do que para o sistema convencional. A tilápia-do-nilo criada em BFT apresenta dados produtivos iguais e/ou melhores que os obtidos em sistemas tradicionais, consumindo menos volume de água.(AU)
Subject(s)
Animals , Water Consumption (Environmental Health) , Cichlids/growth & development , Fisheries , Animal Feed , Diet/veterinary , Efficient Water UseABSTRACT
1. 2C-H [2-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine] (pD2 = 6.74), TMPEA [2,(2,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine] (pD2 = 5.83), 2C-D [2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethylamine] (pD2 = 5.06), homoveratrylamine [DMPEA, 2-(4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine] (pD2 = 4.46) and homopiperonylamine [MDPEA, 2-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)ethylamine] (pD2 = 4.19), elicit concentration-dependent contraction of the isolated rat thoracic aorta. 2. At 9.9 x 10(-6) M, 2C-N [2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-nitrophenyl)ethylamine] behaves as a competitive antagonist to serotonin in this preparation. 3. Considering previous results with the structurally related 2C-B [2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine], weak or partial agonistic activity or antagonism of aortic contraction appears to be related to psychedelic properties reported in humans for phenylethylamines.
Subject(s)
Aorta, Thoracic/drug effects , Aorta, Thoracic/ultrastructure , Phenethylamines/pharmacology , Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1/drug effects , Receptors, Serotonin/drug effects , Animals , In Vitro Techniques , Kinetics , Male , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Vasoconstrictor Agents/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common human ovarian pathologies affecting women of reproductive age. Despite extensive investigation, the etiology of PCOS remains poorly understood. Experimentally, a PCO-like syndrome can be induced in rodents by a single dose of the long-acting estrogen, estradiol valerate (EV). We have used this model to examine the possibility that PCOS is associated with derangement of the sympathetic control of the ovary. The release of newly incorporated norepinephrine (NE) from ovarian nerve terminals in response to transmural stimulation of the gland increased significantly before the formation of cysts (30 days after EV injection) and remained elevated at the time when cysts form (60 days). The increase in evoked NE release was accompanied by an augmented NE content and enhanced incorporation of [3H]NE into ovarian tissue; both of these changes had been initiated by 30 days after EV treatment and became unambiguous at the time of cyst formation. The overall increase in ovarian sympathetic outflow suggested by these alterations in catecholamine homeostasis was accompanied by a thecal cell-interstitial tissue selective down-regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors; the beta-adrenergic receptor concentration in these sympathetically innervated ovarian compartments was significantly lower in PCO than during the estrous phase of the estrous cycle, a time at which the beta-adrenergic receptor concentration reaches its lowest levels in normal cycling ovaries. Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was found to increase only when expressed per mg ovary, but not in absolute terms (i.e. per total ovary), suggesting regulation of enzyme activity by the enhanced catecholamine content. The results demonstrate that an activation of the sympathetic neurons innervating the ovary precedes the development of cysts in EV-induced PCOS and raise the possibility that a derangement of sympathetic inputs to the ovary contributes to the etiology of PCOS.
Subject(s)
Ovary/innervation , Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/physiopathology , Sympathetic Nervous System/physiopathology , Animals , Estradiol/analogs & derivatives , Estradiol/pharmacology , Estrus/drug effects , Female , Norepinephrine/metabolism , Organ Size/drug effects , Osmolar Concentration , Ovary/pathology , Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/chemically induced , Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/pathology , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Receptors, Adrenergic, beta/metabolism , Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase/metabolismABSTRACT
1. 2C-B [2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethylamine] elicits concentration-dependent contraction of the rat thoracic aorta (apparent pD2 = 4.55). The maximal contraction (Emax) attained with 2C-B is less than that produced by either norepinephrine (NE) or serotonin (5-HT). 2. Pretreatment with either prazosin (5 x 10(-9) - 10(-8) M) or ketanserin (5 x 10(-9) - 10(-8) M) leads to decreased slopes and Emax in the 2C-B dose-response curves. 3. 2.82 x 10(-5) M 2C-B potentiates the response to low concentrations of NE; 5 x 10(-5) M 2C-B shows similar behaviour, but with reduced Emax. At 10(-6) M 2C-B acts as a competitive 5-HT antagonist; at 2.8 x 10(-5) M, however, it behaves like a non-competitive 5-HT antagonist. 4. Removal of the endothelial lining from the aortal rings only shifts the 2C-B dose-response curve to the left. 5. These results suggest that 2C-B behaves as a partial agonist toward both alpha 1-adrenergic and 5-HT2 serotonergic receptors. The endothelium only seems to act as a diffusional barrier to the drug.
