Abstract:In the North of Brazil (Pará and Amazonas states) the leaves of the plant Talinum triangulare (popular: cariru) replace spinach as food. From a phytochemical point of view, they are rich in compounds of the group of pheophytins. These substances, related to chlorophyll, have photophysical properties that give them potential application in photodynamic therapy. Human serum albumin (HSA) is one of the main endogenous vehicles for biodistribution of molecules by blood plasma. Association constants and thermodynamic parameters for the interaction of HSA with pheophytin from Talinum triangulare were studied by UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence techniques, and molecular modeling (docking). between HSA and pheophytin occurs mainly by hydrophobic factors. The observed Trp fluorescence quenching is static: there is initial non-fluorescent association, in the ground state, HSA:Pheophytin. Possible solution obtained by a molecular docking study suggests that pheophytin is able to interact with HSA by means of hydrogen bonds with three lysine and one arginine residues, whereas the phytyl group is inserted in a hydrophobic pocket, close to Trp-214.

This first phytochemical study of Talinum triangulare Leach (Portulacaceae), also known as 'cariru', which is a commonly consumed food in Northern Brazil, allowed the isolation and structural determination of four new compounds: one acrylamide, 3-N-(acryloyl, N-pentadecanoyl) propanoic acid (5), and three new phaeophytins named (15(1)S, 17R, 18R)-Ficuschlorin D acid (3(1),3(2)-didehydro-7-oxo-17(3)-O-phytyl-rhodochlorin-15-acetic acid), (13), Talichorin A (17R, 18R)-phaeophytin b-15(1)-hidroxy, 15(2),15(3)-acetyl-13(1)-carboxilic acid (14), and (15(1)S, 17R, 18R)-phaeophytin b peroxylactone or (15(1)S, 17R, 18R)-hydroperoxy-ficuschlorin D (16), together with twelve known compounds, including four phaeophytins (11,12, 15 and 17). The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR, IR, HRESI-MS spectra, including GC-MS, and HPLC-UV analysis, as well as comparisons with the literature data. The CD spectra data analysis were used to define the absolute configuration of phaeophytins 12 (13(2)R, 17R, 18R)-13(2)-hydroxyphaeophytin a, 13 and 16, 15 (15(1)S, 17R, 18R)-3(1),3(2)-didehydro-15(1)-hydroxyrhodochlorin-15-acetic acid δ-lactone-15(2)-methyl-17(3)-phytyl ester and 17 (17R, 18R)-purpurin 18-phytyl ester.

Leukocyte biomarkers, including the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR), monocyte-tolymphocyte-(MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte (PLR) ratios and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) have been associated with severity and mortality of patients with COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of baseline leukocyte biomarkers calculated in the emergency department (ED) with the disease severity and mortality. This was a retrospective cohort study that evaluated 1,535 (mean age 57+18 years) patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the ED of a single reference center. Outcomes were severity, defined as intensive care unit (ICU) admission requirement, and in-hospital mortality. All leukocyte biomarkers were calculated in the ED before the hospital admission. Their ability to predict the severity and mortality was measured using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Severity and mortality were observed in 30.9% and 12.6% of the patients, respectively, and were significantly correlated with NLR, MLR, PLR and SII, but only NLR was independently associated with both outcomes on multivariate analysis. Analysis of ROC curves revealed that NLR (0.78 for severity and 0.80 for mortality) and SII (0.77 for severity and 0.75 for mortality) had the best ability to predict mortality, when compared to other ratios. The highest AUC was observed for NLR, employing cut-off points of 5.4 for severity and 5.5 for mortality. Leukocyte biomarkers, particularly NLR, are capable of predicting the severity and mortality of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and could be important adjunct tools to identify patients in the ED that are more prone to develop adverse outcomes.

Background: Little is known about the significance of liver function tests (LFT) abnormalities in COVID-19 and their impact on disease outcomes. The aims of the study were to evaluate abnormalities of LFT in patients with COVID-19 and their impact on disease severity, mortality, and correlation with leukocyte markers of inflammation.Methods: All patients with COVID-19 admitted to the emergency department (ED) of a single reference center were retrospectively evaluated. Data were collected using an electronic medical database covering the following variables: demographics, baseline complete blood count (CBC) and ratios, neutrophillymphocyte (NLR) and monocyte-lymphocyte ratios (MLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Disease severity was defined by the presence of organ failure (OF) or requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) support. Mortality was considered as patient death during hospitalization.Results: A total of 1,539 subjects (799 women, mean age 57±18 years) with COVID-19 were evaluated.Abnormal AST and/or ALT were seen in 50% of them, with a frequency and magnitude that significantly correlated with leukocyte count and ratios. Both LFT were significantly associated with requirement for hospital and ICU admission and mortality. High AST levels were significantly associated with the presence, number, and types of OFs and in-hospital length of stay (LOS). Elevated ALT was also significantly associated with the aforementioned variables, with the exception of OFs presence, circulatory failure and LOS.Conclusions: LFT abnormalities are frequently seen in COVID-19 patients, reflect SARS-CoV-2 associated inflammation and may predict adverse outcomes. LFT may be useful to aid decision-making in the ED for hospital admission or scheduled outpatient reevaluation.