Metabolic Profile Changes in Mangalarga Marchador Horses Subjected to A Hypercaloric Diet Evaluated by Proton NMR Spectroscopy.

The incidence of equine metabolic syndrome, a condition that results in endocrinopathic laminitis, is increasing worldwide. Although it is well known that the development of this syndrome depends on imbalances in energy metabolism and genetic traits, its pathophysiology remains unclear. Hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) is a powerful tool used to compare metabolic profiles and to discriminate metabolites in living beings. The aim was to apply this technology to detect blood biomarkers candidates in horses that were previously demonstrated to developed metabolic changes when subjected to induced obesity. Nine Mangalarga Marchador horses received a hypercaloric diet for 5 months and serum metabolomic analysis was performed before, during, and after the diet period. The 1H NMR results were subjected to multivariate analysis and NMR analysis allowed to identify six compounds (alanine, threonine, choline, α-glucose, ß-glucose, and creatinine), and observe the increasing choline level over the assessment period in four animals. A hypercaloric diet altered the metabolic profile of horses, with an individual bias in the time at which these changes occurred. This study is the first to describe metabolomic compounds in Mangalarga Marchador horses subjected to a hypercaloric diet rich in non-structural carbohydrates.

Strychnos pseudoquina and Its Purified Compounds Present an Effective In Vitro Antileishmanial Activity.

The development of new and cost-effective alternative therapeutic strategies to treat leishmaniasis has become a high priority. In the present study, the antileishmanial activity of Strychnos pseudoquina St. Hil. was investigated and pure compounds that presented this biological effect were isolated. An ethyl acetate extract was prepared, and it proved to be effective against Leishmania amazonensis. A bioactivity-guided fractionation was performed, and two flavonoids were identified, quercetin 3-O-methyl ether and strychnobiflavone, which presented an effective antileishmanial activity against L. amazonensis, and studies were extended to establish their minimum inhibitory concentrations (IC50), their leishmanicidal effects on the intra-macrophage Leishmania stage, as well as their cytotoxic effects on murine macrophages (CC50), and in O+ human red blood cells. The data presented in this study showed the potential of an ethyl acetate extract of S. pseudoquina, as well as two flavonoids purified from it, which can be used as a therapeutic alternative on its own, or in association with other drugs, to treat disease evoked by L. amazonensis.

Bioguided isolation of myricetin-3-O-ß-galactopyranoside with antinociceptive activity from the aerial part of Davilla elliptica St.-Hil.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Davilla elliptica St.-Hil. (Dilleniaceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Brazil to treat inflammatory processes, to relieve pain, as diuretic, gastro- and hepatoprotective agents. AIM OF THE STUDY: To undertake the fractionation of the ethanolic extract from Davilla elliptica leaves guided by an antinociceptive assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antinociceptive activity was evaluated through the formalin test in mice. Extract fractionation was performed by percolation through silica gel and partition between immiscible solvents, followed by successive column chromatography over Sephadex LH-20 and preparative RP-HPLC. Structure elucidation of the isolated compound was accomplished by spectroscopic data. RESULTS: The EtOAc and MeOH fractions derived from the crude extract reduced significantly the licking time in the late phase of the formalin test. The bioguided fractionation of the MeOH fraction resulted in the isolation of myricetin-3-O-ß-galactopyranoside, which produced significant inhibition on nociception induced by formalin (ID50=0.26 mg/kg; p.o.). CONCLUSIONS: These results point out that myricetin-3-O-ß-galactopyranoside contributes for the antinociceptive effect of Davilla elliptica extract, a constituent considerably more potent than diclofenac, employed as reference drug.