The chestnut industry generates a large amount of by-products. These agro-industrial wastes have been described as potential sources of phenolic compounds with high bioactive potential. Therefore, we aimed to extract the phenolic compounds from chestnut by-products and assess their antioxidant potential and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against multidrug resistant bacteria. The individual phenolic compounds in the ethanolic extracts of chestnut shell, inner shell, bur, and leaves were characterized by HPLC-DAD/electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS. The antioxidant properties were determined by DPPH and ABTS assays. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the antimicrobial susceptibility was performed using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method against 10 bacterial strains. The major phenolic compounds identified in the extracts were trigalloyl-HHDP-glucose, gallic acid, quercetin, and myricetin glycoside derivatives. All chestnut by-products presented promising antioxidant activity in both assays, with leaf samples the ones presenting the highest antioxidant capacity. The inner shell’s extract was effective against all Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria; nevertheless, all extracts showed antibacterial activity. Staphylococcus epidermidis showed susceptibility to all extracts while none of the extracts was able to suppress the growth of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis. Chestnut by-products are a source of phenolic compounds with prominent antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Nevertheless, further studies should be conducted to assess the correlation between phenolic compounds and the bioactivities obtained.

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The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Richmond Compulsive Buying Scale has good validity and reliability.

ResumoObjetivos: descrever resistência antimicrobiana e sorotipos de cepas de pneumococo.Métodos: durante 57 meses, foi conduzida uma vigilância de cepas invasivas de pneumococo de pacientes com idade <20 anos. O pneumococo foi identificado pelos testes de solubilidade da bile e optoquina. A resistência à penicilina foi avaliada com o disco de oxacilina (1µg) e, para as cepas não suscetíveis, foi determinada a concentração inibitória mínima. Provas de difusão de disco e de microdiluição em placa foram utilizadas para avaliação da resistência a outros antimicrobianos. Reação de Neufeld-Quellung foi realizada para sorotipagem.Resultados: dos 70 pacientes, 57,1% eram do sexo masculino. A mediana da idade foi 1,92 anos (média 3,19 + 3,66 anos, variando de um mês a 19,5 anos), tendo 52,9% e 81,4% dos pacientes idade <2 anos e <5 anos, respectivamente. As cepas foram isoladas do sangue (91,4%), liquor (2,9%), líquidos pleural (2,9%), peritonial (1,4%) ou de abscesso (1,4%), de pacientes com pneumonia (77,1%), febre sem sinais localizatórios (10,0%), meningite (4,3%) e outros diagnósticos (8,6%). Resistência foi detectada à penicilina (20,0%), ao sulfametoxazol-trimetoprim (65,7%), à tetraciclina (21,4%), à ofloxacina (6,3%), à eritromicina (5,7%) e à clindamicina (2,9%). Não houve resistência ao cloranfenicol ou à vancomicina. Entre as cepas não suscetíveis à penicilina, resistência absoluta foi detectada em uma, a mesma que apresentou resistência intermediária à cefotaxima. Os sorotipos mais freqüentes foram: 14 (22,9%), 5 e 6A (10,0% cada), 6B e 19F (8,6% cada), 9V, 18C e 23F (5,7% cada). Das cepas resistentes à penicilina, 71,4% pertenciam ao sorotipo 14, 14,3% aos sorotipos 6B e 19F (cada).Conclusões: das 70 cepas, 67,2% têm sorotipos incluídos na vacina pneumocócica heptavalente conjugada, assim como estão incluídos todos os sorotipos que apresentaram resistência à penicilina.J Pediatr (Rio J) 2003;79(3):209-14: Streptococcus pneumoniae, resistência antimicrobiana, sorotipos, doença invasiva, criança, adolescente. AbstractObjectives: describe the antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of pneumococcal strains.Methods: in a 57-month period, a laboratory-based surveillance of invasive pneumococcal strains from patients aged < 20 years was conducted. Pneumococcus was identified by means of tests for solubility in bile and optochin. Pneumococcal resistance to penicillin was screened by 1µg oxacillin disc and minimal inhibitory concentration was determined for the strains not susceptible to penicillin. Disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods were used for surveillance of resistance to other antimicrobials. Pneumococci were serotyped by means of the Neufeld-Quellung reactions.Results: of 70 patients, 57.1% were males. The mean age was 1.92 yrs (mean 3.19 + 3.66 yrs, range 1 month to 19.5 yrs); 52.9% and 81.4% were < 2 yrs and < 5 yrs, respectively. The strains were isolated from blood (91.4%), CSF (2.9%), pleural (2.9%), peritoneal (1.4%) and abscess (1.4%) fluids from patients with pneumonia (77.1%),...

Chitosan, a natural polysaccharide, has been previously proposed as an elicitor in plants to prevent pathogen infections. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of chitosan solution and chitosan nanoparticles treatment applied on the grapevine variety Sousão with respect to the phenolic composition, antioxidant potential and antibacterial activity of its individual grape components. Grapevine plants of selected lines were sprayed with chitosan solution and chitosan nanoparticles, and ethanolic extracts of stems, seeds and skins were prepared from grapevines treated and not treated with chitosan. Total phenolic, anthocyanin and tannin contents were studied, and the identification of the individual phenolic compounds was performed by HPLC-DAD. The antimicrobial susceptibility method was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Overall, there was small increase in the concentration of phenolic compounds, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in grape components treated with chitosan solution. Seed extracts showed the highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The studied individual components obtained from chitosan-treated grapevines could represent an added value due to the increased antioxidant and antibacterial potentials. The phenolic compounds found in components may be used in food and pharmaceutical industries as natural food preservers and antibiotic adjuvants.

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The emergence of antibiotic-resistance in bacteria has limited the ability to treat bacterial infections, besides increasing their morbidity and mortality at the global scale. The need for alternative solutions to deal with this problem is urgent and has brought about a renewed interest in natural products as sources of potential antimicrobials. The wine industry is responsible for the production of vast amounts of waste and by-products, with associated environmental problems. These residues are rich in bioactive secondary metabolites, especially phenolic compounds. Some phenolics are bacteriostatic/bactericidal against several pathogenic bacteria and may have a synergistic action towards antibiotics, mitigating or reverting bacterial resistance to these drugs. Complex phenolic mixtures, such as those present in winemaking residues (pomace, skins, stalks, leaves, and especially seeds), are even more effective as antimicrobials and could be used in combined therapy, thereby contributing to management of the antibiotic resistance crisis. This review focuses on the potentialities of winemaking by-products, their extracts, and constituents as chemotherapeutic antibacterial agents.

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