The crystalline structure of mangiferin (¼ 2-b-d-glucopyranosyl-1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxy-9H-xanthen-9-one; 1), a biologically active xanthenone C-glycoside, isolated from the stem bark of Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae), was unambiguously determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystal structure is summarized as follows:, and Z ¼ 2. The structure also shows two molecules in the asymmetric unit cell and five crystallization H 2 O molecules. The packing is stabilized by several intermolecular H-bonds involving either the two symmetry-independent mangiferin molecules 1a and 1b, or the H 2 O ones.

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Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) Br. (Lamiaceae) is an African shrub popularly known as 'cordão-de-frade' in Brazil, traditionally used to treat infection diseases, among other uses. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition of hydroethanolic extracts from L. nepetifolia prepared from stems, leaves, roots and glomerulus, as well as their cytotoxicity, antileishmanial and antimicrobial activities. The chemical composition of the extracts was assessed by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS, whereas the antileishmanial activity was evaluated against promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis. Cytotoxicity was tested on murine macrophages and the antimicrobial activity was investigated by a microdilution assay against several strains of fungi, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The flavonoids apigenin, cirsiliol apigenin-7-Oglucoside, luteolin, luteolin-4'-O-glucoside, luteolin-4'-O-glucoronide and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were identified in tested all extracts. Extracts from leaves and roots showed more potent antileishmanial activity (IC 50 32.90 µg.mL -1 and 57.70 µg.mL -1 , respectively) against amastigotes forms in comparison to the other extracts. The leaf extract inhibited Bacillus cereus and Sthaphylococcus aureus growth (125 µg.mL -1 and 100 µg.mL -1 , respectively), as well as anti-Candida activity (10-125 µg.mL -1 ). The biological effect can be related to the identified flavonoids.Our findings indicate the potential of L. nepetifolia as a source of bioactive compounds for development of new therapeutic options for treating infectious diseases, specially flavonoids.

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Cervical degenerative myelopathy is a common condi tion affecting 2% of all hospital admissions according to a number of studies 1,2 . The two main causes of this condition are cervical spondylosis and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) 3 . Such conditions progress with age and can eventually result in the impairment of mul tilevel segments and multilevel cervical spondylotic mye lopathy (MCSM). ABSTRACT:The laminoplasty technique was devised by Hirabayashi in 1978 for patients diagnosed with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Objective: To describe an easy modification of Hirabayashi's method and present the clinical and radiological results from a five-year followup study. Method and Results: Eighty patients had 5 levels of decompression (C3-C7), 3 patients had 6 levels of decompression (C2-T1) and 3 patients had 4 levels of decompression (C3-C6). Foraminotomies were performed in 23 cases (27%). Following Nurick`s scale, 76 patients (88%) improved, 9 (11%) had the same Nurick grade, and one patient worsened and was advised to undergo another surgical procedure. No deaths were observed. The mean surgery time was 122 min. Radiographic evaluation showed an increase in the mean sagittal diameter from 11.2 mm at pretreatment to 17.3 mm post surgery. There was no significant difference between pretreatment and post-surgery C2-C7 angles. Conclusions:This two-open-doors laminoplasty technique is safe, easy and effective and can be used as an alternative treatment for cases of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy without instability.Keywords: laminoplasty, cervical spondylotic myelopathy, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. RESUMO:A laminoplastia é técnica clássica descrita por Hirabayashi em 1978 para descompressão do canal cervical sem utilizar prótese. A principal indicação é o tratamento da mielopatia espondilotica cervical sem instabilidade. Objetivo: Descrever modificação simples da técnica de laminoplastia clássica de Hirabayashi com resultados clínicos e radiográficos em 5 anos de acompanhamento. Resultados e Método: Foram acompanhados 86 pacientes. Em 80, foi feita descompressão por laminoplastia em 5 níveis (C3-C7); em 3, descompressão em 6 níveis (C2-T1); em 3, descompressao em 4 níveis (C3-C6). Em 23 casos (27%), foi realizada foraminotomia associada a descompressão medular. O acompanhamento dos pacientes foi feito utilizando a escala de Nurick. Em 76 pacientes (88%) houve melhora do grau de Nurick. Não houve mortalidade associada à técnica. O tempo médio do procedimento cirúrgico foi de 122 minutos. Em relação à avaliação radiográfica, houve aumento do diâmetro sagital médio do canal cervical de 11,2mm para 17,3mm. Não houve diferença estatística do ângulo C2-C7 nas avaliações antes e após o procedimento cirúrgico. Conclusão: A nova técnica de laminoplastia descrita no presente estudo foi segura, de fácil execução, efetiva, não utiliza protese e não há instabilidade do canal cervical.Palavras-chave: laminoplastia, mielopatia espondilotica cervical,...

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The radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is a vegetable of the Brassicaceae family cultivated worldwide and has several medicinal properties. Its biological activities are related to various secondary metabolites present in the species, especially phenolics. Thus, the objectives of this study were the chemical analysis and evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the dry extract and fractions of the fodder turnip leaves (R. sativus var. oleiferus Metzg.). Samples were analyzed by mass spectrometry and the antioxidant activity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical method and the reducing power method. Antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar diffusion and microdilution methods. The total phenols were concentrated in the butanol fraction (121.27 mg GAE/g) and the flavonoids were concentrated in the ethyl acetate fraction (98.02 mg EQ/g). The ethyl acetate fraction showed the best antioxidants results, with 83.45% of free radical scavenging and 11.34% of ferric ions reduction. The analysis of antimicrobial activity showed that the dry extract had the highest average zone of inhibition against Bacillus subtilis (18.67 mm). Smaller values of the minimum inhibitory concentration for Micrococcus luteus were, and the ethyl acetate fraction showed a lower minimum inhibitory concentration (0.1 mg/ml) for that microorganism. There was a strong correlation between the antioxidant activity and the content of phenols and flavonoids. The results showed the potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of this extract with the ethyl acetate fraction being most promising for further studies.