Campomanesia xanthocarpa, a plant belonging to the Myrtaceae family, is popularly known as gabiroba. Leaves of gabiroba has been popularly used to treat various diseases, including inflammatory, renal, and digestive, among others. Additionally, studies have shown an effect to reduce blood cholesterol levels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of Campomanesia xanthocarpa seed extract in hyperglycemic rats. The results showed that 400 mg/kg of seed extract was able to decrease blood glucose levels and to increase the muscular and hepatic glycogen content as well as to inhibit the sucrase and maltase activity. At doses of 200 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg, the activity of these enzymes was also reduced. In the lipid profile 400 mg/kg produced a decrease in total and LDL cholesterol serum levels; and with 200 mg/kg there was an increase in HDL cholesterol levels. The extract did not present hepatic and renal toxic effects at the different doses tested. The results suggest that the treatment with Campomanesia xanthocarpa seeds extract is useful in reducing glycemia, total cholesterol and LDL levels with potential adjuvant therapeutic in the treatment of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, however, additional pharmacological and toxicological studies are still required.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) is a vector of arboviral diseases such as dengue fever. Currently, the main approach to mosquito control is the application of synthetic insecticides, which can lead to negative environmental impacts and insecticide resistance in mosquito populations. As such, there has been increased interest in developing alternative methods for control of vector populations such as utilizing plant compounds that act as larvicides. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae) essential oils for control of Ae. aegypti larvae. The essential oils of seven Eucalyptus species and hybrids were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The essential oils were further diluted in water with acetone (0.40%) at the following concentrations: 100, 50, 25, and 10 lg ml À1 . Mortality trials were conducted in plastic containers with a solution of ultrapure water and 200 ll of diluted oil for a total volume of 50 ml per treatment. The experiments for each Eucalyptus species/hybrid and concentration were performed in triplicate, using a control containing only water and acetone. Twenty larvae were added to each container and mortality was recorded at 1, 2, 4, and 24 h. The Eucalyptus essential oils showed larvicidal activity in most of the evaluated concentrations, mainly at 50 and 100 lg ml À1 . Eucalyptus benthamii Maiden & Cambage and the hybrid Urograndis displayed the highest larvicidal potential (100% at 24 h) in the 100 lg ml À1 treatment. Larval mortality of Ae. aegypti showed a positive correlation with the compounds c-, o-cymol, o-cymene, terpineol, 3-dodecylfuran-2,5-dione, a-pinene, globulol, and ledol. The most abundant compounds identified in the essential oils were 1,8-cineole and a-pinene. These results highlight the potential of using Eucalyptus essential oils for the isolation of natural larvicidal products.
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