Abstract:The Acanthaceae family is an important source of therapeutic drugs, and the ethnopharmacological knowledge of this family requires urgent documentation as several of its species are near extinction. Justicia is the largest genus of Acanthaceae, with approximately 600 species. The present work provides a review addressing the chemistry and pharmacology of the genus Justicia. In addition, the biological activities of compounds isolated from the genus are also covered. The chemical and pharmacological information in the present work may inspire new biomedical applications for the species of Justicia, considering atom economy, the synthesis of environmentally benign products without producing toxic by-products, the use of renewable sources of raw materials, and the search for processes with maximal efficiency of energy.

Abnormal multiplication of oral bacteria causes dental caries and dental plaque. These diseases continue to be major public health concerns worldwide, mainly in developing countries. In this study, the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Vitex agnus-castus leaves (VAC‒EO) collected in the North of Brazil against a representative panel of cariogenic bacteria were investigated. The antimicrobial activity of VAC-EO was evaluated in terms of its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values by using the broth microdilution method in 96-well microplates. The chemical constituents of VAC-EO were identified by gas chromatography (GC‒FID) and gas chromatography‒mass spectrometry (GC‒MS). VAC‒EO displayed some activity against all the investigated oral pathogens; MIC values ranged from 15.6 to 200 μg/mL. VAC-EO had promising activity against Streptococcus mutans (MIC= 15.6 μg/mL), Lactobacillus casei (MIC= 15.6 μg/mL), and Streptococcus mitis (MIC= 31.2 μg/mL). The compounds 1,8-cineole (23.8%), (E)-β-farnesene (14.6%), (E)-caryophyllene (12.5%), sabinene (11.4%), and α-terpinyl acetate (7.7%) were the major chemical constituents of VAC‒EO. VAC-EO displays antimicrobial activity against cariogenic bacteria. The efficacy of VAC-EO against S. mutans is noteworthy and should be further investigated.

BackgroundLycnophora pinaster is used by the traditional Brazilian medicine for the treatment of inflammations. Anti-inflammatory activity of Lycnophora pinaster was investigated for extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds of their aerial parts. The hexane extract (HE) provided α-amyrin, lupeol, mixture of α-amyrin and lupeol, mixture of 3-O-acetyl-lupeol and 3-O-acetyl-pseudotaraxasterol, and mixture of the steroids stigmasterol and sitosterol. The aqueous extract (WE) provided a fraction containing alkaloids (AF) and another one containing phenolic compounds (PF).MethodsThe crude hexane extract obtained from aerial parts of L. pinaster was submitted to chromatographic fractionation. The fractionation of PF was performed by preparative HPLC analysis, providing the flavonoid quercetin. The extracts, fractions, and compounds isolated from L. pinaster were tested to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity by experimental model of impact injury, followed by transdermal application of gels with these samples. The application of the gels was performed using phonophoresis in rat paws after induction of muscle injury. Histological analysis was based on scores assigned by the capacity of decreasing the lesion.ResultsHE and WE exhibited anti-inflammatory activity. Some fractions, triterpenes, and steroids also reduced the inflammatory infiltrates caused by muscle injury. Lupeol promoted a significant reduction of inflammation. Quercetin also provided significant results, promoting the greatest decreases in muscle injury.ConclusionThe results of this work suggest that topical application of triterpenes, steroids and flavonoid significantly decreases the inflammatory process generated by muscle injury. The transdermal application using phonophoresis in rat paws of gel with lupeol and quercetin attenuates the inflammation.

The ethanol extract from stem bark of Sacoglottis uchi Huber (popularly known as "uchi" in the Amazon Region) was submitted to chromatographic fractionation. The dichloromethane fractions provided the pentacyclic triterpene 3-oxo-friedelin (1). The dichloromethane:methanol fractions provided the pentacyclic triterpenes pseudotaraxasterol (2), lupeol (3), α-amyrin (4), betulin (5), and methyl 2β,3β-dihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oate (6) and a mixture of the steroids sitosterol (7) and stigmasterol (8). Their chemical structures were determined by NMR spectroscopy and comparison with spectroscopic data from the literature. All compounds are described for the first time in this species. KEYWORDS: Humiriaceae, medicinal plants, Amazon Region, triterpenesTriterpenos pentacíclicos e esteróides da casca do uchi (Sacoglottis uchi, Humiriaceae) RESUMO O extrato etanólico da casca do caule de Sacoglottis uchi Huber (conhecida popularmente como "uchi" na Amazônia) foi submetido a fracionamento cromatográfico. As frações eluídas com diclorometano forneceram o triterpeno pentacíclico 3-oxofriedelina (1). As frações em diclorometano:metanol forneceram os triterpenos pentacíclicos pseudotaraxasterol (2), lupeol (3), α-amirina (4), betulina (5) e 2β,3β-di-hidroxi-urs-12-en-28-oato de metila (6), além de uma mistura dos esteróides sitosterol (7) e estigmasterol (8). Suas estruturas químicas foram determinadas por espectroscopia de RMN e comparação com os dados espectroscópicos descritos na literatura. Todas as substâncias isoladas são descritas pela primeira vez nesta espécie.

Abstractγ-Radiation provides an effective alternative method to reduce or eliminate microbial contamination of medicinal herbs and other plant materials. However, a search in the literature is important to describe the effects of γ-radiation on the content and integrity of secondary metabolites from plants. The present work provides a review of the effects of γ-radiation on extraction yields and chemical composition of essential oils isolated from roots, rhizome and cortex, leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers, and whole plant. In addition, this review describes the effects of γ-radiation on terpenes. The informations in the present work may assist in research about essential oils and dose of γ-radiation that is able to biologically decontaminate without causing chemical changes in secondary metabolites. These reports in the literature can describe the behavior of many of these metabolites when subjected to various doses of radiation.

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O gênero Psidium é pertencente à família Myrtaceae e compreende importantes espécies botânicas, destacando-se a goiabeira (Psidium guajava L.). O óleo essencial (OE) desta espécie já conduziu diversos trabalhos científicos devido a sua composição química e propriedades farmacológicas, destacando-se a sua ação antifúngica e atividades antimicrobianas. Neste trabalho, duas variedades de Psidium, Psidium guajava var. pomifera (Paluma) e Psidium guajava var. pyrifera (Kumagai), foram coletadas em diferentes localidades do município de Itacoatiara – AM, o OE das folhas foram avaliadas quanto à composição química e atividade antimicrobiana. A extração do óleo essencial foi realizada por hidrodestilação em aparelho do tipo Clevenger durante 4 horas, as análises quantitativas e qualitativas foram executadas por cromatografia gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massa. As atividades antimicrobianas foram avaliadas utilizando o teste in vitro sobre a inibição do crescimento bacteriano de Escherichia coli (Migula 1895) Castellani e Chalmers 1919, Salmonella sp e Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach 1884 e do crescimento micelial dos fitopatógenos Candida albicans (C.P. Robin) Berkhout 1923 e Candida parapsilosis (Ashford) Langeron & Talice 1932. A composição química revelou a presença dos monoterpenos: D_limoneno, α-pineno, 1,8 – cineol, e dos sequiterpenos: trans-nerolidol, trans-cariofileno, óxido de cariofileno e α-Humuleno como constituintes majoritários nas amostras avaliadas. Em relação aos testes biológicos realizados foi possível observar atividade antimicrobiana em todas as cepas estudadas. Diante dos resultados, conclui-se que óleos essenciais destas variedades de P. guajava apresentam atividades promissoras e podem ser consideradas como nova fonte de compostos bioativos antimicrobianos.