O presente trabalho avaliou a composição fitoquímica e as atividades antioxidantes e citotóxicas do extrato etanólico do fruto de Vitex gardneriana Schauer. Dessa forma, para responder os objetivos propostos no presente trabalho foram realizados testes fitoquímicos para detectar a presença de metabolitos secundários, através de testes qualitativos com formação de precipitados, detecção e identificação de compostos realizados por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Performance, e quantificação de polifenóis totais utilizando o reagente de Folin-Ciocalteu. O ensaio antioxidante ocorreu pela determinação da captura de radicais livres (DPPH), já o teste de toxicidade executado foi o bioensaios de Artemia Salina. Quanto aos testes fitoquímicos revelaram a presença de alcalóides, saponinas, taninos, ácido clorogênico e polifenóis totais. Para o ensaio antioxidante, o extrato da fruta apresentou uma capacidade de captura do radical DPPH obrigatoriamente entre as concentrações de 500 a 3,9 μg mL-1. Em relação ao ensaio de toxicidade, o material testado não mostrou ação citotóxica em Artemias salina. Assim, é possível concluir que o extrato etanólico tem ação antioxidante, devido à presença dos seus constituintes químicos.
Background: Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global health challenge that has led researchers to study alternatives to conventional antibiotics. A promising alternative is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), produced as the first line of defense by almost all living organisms. To improve its biological activity, the conjugation of AMPs is a promising approach. Objective: In this study, we evaluated the N-terminal conjugation of p-Bt (a peptide derived from Bothrops Jararacuçu`s venom) with ferrocene (Fc) and gallic acid (GA). Acetylated and linear versions of p-Bt were also synthesized to evaluate the importance of N-terminal charge and dimeric structure. Methods: The compounds were obtained using solid-phase peptide synthesis. Circular dichroism, vesicle permeabilization, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity studies were conducted. Results: No increase in antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli was observed by adding either Fc or GA to p-Bt. However, Fc-p-Bt and GA-p-Bt exhibited improved activity against Staphylococcus aureus. No cytotoxicity upon fibroblast was observed for GA-p-Bt. On the other hand, conjugation with Fc increased cytotoxicity. This toxicity may be related to the membrane permeabilization capacity of this bioconjugate, which showed the highest carboxyfluorescein leakage in vesicle permeabilization experiments. Conclusion: Considering these observations, our findings highlight the importance of adding bioactive organic compounds in the N-terminal position as a tool to modulate the activity of AMPs.
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