Separation of underivatised triterpene acids by capillary supercritical fluid chromatography.

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with flame ionisation detection was used for the separation of some underivatised triterpene acids such as betulinic, oleanolic, polpunonic and ursolic acids. Supercritical fluid chromatography showed advantages over capillary gas chromatography since derivatisation was not required and separation was obtained in less than 15 min with high efficiency and good resolving power.

Isolation and HPLC quantitative analysis of flavonoid glycosides from Brazilian beverages (Maytenus ilicifolia and M. aquifolium).

Aqueous infusions of Brazilian Maytenus leaves are used as beverages, foodstuffs, and phytomedicines. Previously, we isolated two new flavonoid tetrasaccharides from the infusion of Maytenus aquifolium leaves that showed antiulcer activity. In this investigation a new flavonoid tetrasaccharide, kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->6)-O-[alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl (1-->3)-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1-->2)]-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (3), was isolated, together with kaempferol tri- and disaccharides and quercetin trisaccharides from the aqueous infusion of Maytenus ilicifolia leaves. All structures were elucidated by ES-MS and NMR spectroscopic methods. The quantitative analysis of the flavonoid glycosides from Maytenus ilicifolia and M. aquifolium has been performed by HPLC.

Pesticide residues in medicinal plants and phytomedicines.

Pesticides, which are mainly applied on crops for the protection of plants against a range of pests, have been found in crude medicinal plants as well as in infusions, decoctions, tinctures and essential oils. This fact has caused concern in various segments of society and scientific investigation has been demanded to assess the health hazards more accurately. The present review covers more than 30 years (1963-1998) of published methods of analysing pesticide residues in medicinal plants, with special emphasis on the relevance of these matrices, the legislation, the risks involved in using material containing uncontrolled amounts of residues and the possible effects of technological factors on the proportion of pesticide transferred from the raw material to the end product.

Antibiotic 26-deoxylaidlomycin isolated from Streptomyces sp. Ar386 from Brazilian soil.

An actinomycete strain (Ar386) was isolated from the soil of the Araraquara region, SP, Brazil. The strain, named Streptomyces jacareensis, formed irregular rayed, rugose, grayish-white mycelium with sinuous, branched hyphae carrying rare isolated spores; assimilated glucose, galactose, inositol, ribose, maltose, sucrose, melibiose and starch but not mannitol, rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, lactose and raffinose; and contained LL-diaminopimelic acid in its cell wall. An antibiotic active against Gram-positive bacteria, which was characterized as being 26-deoxylaidlomycin and which may have application against poultry coccidiosis, was isolated from cultures of the strain. This was the first isolation of this antibiotic from a microorganism of the genus Streptomyces and also the first isolation of this antibiotic in Brazil.