Extractions of apple pectins from apple pomace were performed using an experimental design with 2² factorial. The extractor agent was 5 % (w/v) citric acid and the variables were time (30, 50 and 80 min) and temperature (50, 75 and 100 °C). The best yield (16.8 %) was obtained using higher temperatures (100 °C; 80 min). Monosaccharide composition of the pectic fractions was similar to others already described

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

No abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential and fatty acid profile of gabiroba (Campomanesia xanthocarpa Berg) seeds. In order to obtain the extract, the seeds were dried, crushed, and subjected to sequential extraction by maceration and percolation in a modified soxhlet extractor using solvent polarity gradient composed of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and alcohol, respectively. The extraction time was six hours. The ethanol extract showed the highest antioxidant potential, given by the EC50 value and the amount of total phenolic compounds. High amounts of unsaturated fatty acids were found in the oil studied, especially the oleic acid.

Galactomannans and xyloglucans can be isolated from seeds with relatively high purity and yield; they are water soluble, non-toxic, and biocompatible. These polymers have broad spectra of potential use in medicine, from drug delivery systems to biological response modifiers. The biological activity of polysaccharides is intrinsically linked to their structural aspects. In general the chemical modification of galactomannans and xyloglucans, e.g., sulfation and complexation with oxovanadium, potentiate effects such as cytotoxicity against tumor cells, leishmanicidal activity, and activation of macrophages to release proinflammatory mediators. The wide range of seeds and structural variety favor the isolation of galactomannans and xyloglucans. This allows derivatives to be obtained with targeted properties and activity enabling their use in new applications in the biomedical area.

No abstract

No abstract

Certain polysaccharides and their derivatives have been used in different applications including in medicine. As biological response modifiers, activities as immunomodulator, antitumor and antileishmanial are researched. Leishmaniasis is a very epidemiologically important disease and the World Health Organization (WHO)classifies it as a neglected disease. In mammal hosts, the Leishmania parasites live inside mononuclear phagocytes, which impair the action of drugs. The pentavalent antimonials sodium stibogluconate and meglumine antimoniate make up the primary treatment for leishmaniasis, which is associated with serious side effects and resistance to antimony. Since the survival of Leishmania parasites in the host cells is associated with the immune system modulation, compounds able to activate these cells to produce cytotoxic mediators could have great potential of promoting leishmanicidal effects. Therefore, immunomodulation is considered a promising strategy to cure leishmaniasis with fewer side effects. The polysaccharides that activate macrophages for proinflammatory activity have been studied aiming at leishmanicidal effect. When complexed with vanadium, galactomannans, arabinogalactans, and xyloglucans, polysaccharides had greater leishmanicidal effects and were more effective than the antimonials currently used in leishmaniasis treatment. Polysaccharides of various sources have been the target of study for applications in technological, food, and pharmaceutical industries and medicine [1,2] . In addition to the studies with native polymers, different types of chemically modified polysaccharides, including the complexation with metals aiming at different applications, has been investigated [3] . The complexation of carbohydrate biopolymers with different metals is facilitated mainly due to the presence of hydroxyl groups in these polymers and, in some instances, the presence of charged groups such as carboxyl or sulfate [4][5][6][7][8] .Vanadium exhibits several important biological effects [9,10] and has been suggested to be an excellent target for antiparasitic purposes, including antileishmanial action [11][12][13][14] .Plant polysaccharides have received great interest in medicine mainly due to their availability, low cost, and low toxicity [15] . Many of these biopolymers are biological response modifiers, in particular able to modulate macrophages to produce immunomodulatory mediators like cytokines and nitrogen and oxygen radicals such as nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion, respectively. These mediators are involved in activities such as antitumoral [15,16] , antimicrobial, and antileishmanial [11,13,18,19] . The action of polysaccharides on macrophages occurs by the interaction of these polymers with specific receptors on the cell surface. In addition to complement receptor 3 (CR3), scavenger receptor (SR), dectin-1, manose, fucose, β-glucans, Toll-like receptors RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTMacrophage 2015; 2: e746. doi: 10.14800/Macrophage.746; © 2015 by Guilhermina Rodrigues Noleto, et al.Page 2 of 5 ...