In face of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 , the management of patients with cardiovascular risk factors and/or disease is challenging. The cardiovascular complications evidenced in patients with COVID-19 derive from several mechanisms, ranging from direct viral injury to complications secondary to the inflammatory and thrombotic responses to the infection. The proper care of patients with COVID-19 requires special attention to the cardiovascular system aimed at better outcomes.The analysis of 44,672 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan has evidenced an overall case-fatality rate of 2.3%; however, among those with preexisting comorbidities, the casefatality rate was higher: 10.5% for CVD, 7.3% for diabetes and 6% for hypertension. 8 In addition, cardiovascular complications due to COVID-19, such as myocardial injury (20% of the cases), arrhythmias (16%), myocarditis (10%), heart failure (HF) and shock (up to 5% of the cases), have been reported. [9][10][11] This review was aimed at aiding healthcare professionals (clinicians, emergencists, cardiologists and intensivists) involved in the care of patients with COVID-19, proposing an

No abstract

Croton sphaerogynus is a shrub from the Atlantic Rain Forest in southeastern Brazil. A lyophilized crude EtOH extract from leaves of C. sphaerogynus, obtained by maceration at room temperature (seven days), was suspended in methanol and partitioned with hexane. The purified MeOH phase was fractionated over Sephadex LH-20 yielding five fractions (F1–F5) containing flavonoids, as characterized by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS analyses. The antiproliferative activity of the crude EtOH extract, MeOH and hexane phases, and fractions F1–F5 was evaluated on in vitro cell lines NCI-H460 (nonsmall cell lung), MCF-7 (breast cancer), and U251 (glioma). The MeOH phase showed activity (mean log GI50 0.54) higher than the hexane phase and EtOH extract (mean log GI50 1.13 and 1.19, resp.). F1 exhibited activity against NCI-H460 (nonsmall cell lung) (GI50 1.2 μg/mL), which could be accounted for the presence of flavonoids and/or diterpenes. F4 showed moderate activity (mean log GI50 1.05), while F5 showed weak activity (mean log GI50 1.36). It is suggested that the antiproliferative activity of the crude EtOH extract and MeOH phase is accounted for a synergistic combination of flavonoids and diterpenes.

The avian circadian system is composed of the retina, the mammalian homolog region of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SNC), and the pineal gland. The retina, itself, displays many rhythmic physiological events, such as movements of photoreceptor cells, opsin expression, retinal reisomerization, and melatonin and dopamine production and secretion. Altogether, these rhythmic events are coordinated to predict environmental changes in light conditions during the day, optimizing retina function. The authors investigated the expression pattern of the melanopsin genes Opn4x and Opn4m, the clock genes Clock and Per2, and the genes for the key enzymes N-Acetyltransferase and Tyrosine Hidroxylase in chicken embryo dispersed retinal cells. Primary cultures of chicken retina from 8-day-old embryos were kept in constant dark (DD), in 12-h light/12-h dark (12L:12D), in 12L:12D followed by DD, or in DD in the absence or presence of 100 µM glutamate for 12 h. Total RNA was extracted throughout a 24-h span, every 3 h starting at zeitgeber time 0 (ZT0) of the 6th day, and submitted to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) followed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) for mRNA quantification. The data showed no rhythmic pattern of transcription for any gene in cells kept in DD. However under a light-dark cycle, Clock, Per2, Opn4m, N-Acetyltransferase, and Tyrosine Hydroxylase exhibited rhythmic patterns of transcription. In DD, 100 µM glutamate was able to induce rhythmic expression of Clock, strongly inhibited the expression of Tyrosine Hydroxylase, and, only at some ZTs, of Opn4x and Opn4m. The neurotransmitter had no effect on Per2 and N-Acetyltransferase transcription. The authors confirmed the expression of the protein OPN4x by immunocytochemistry. These results suggest that chicken embryonic retinal cells contain a functional circadian clock, whose synchronization requires light-dark cycle or glutamate stimuli.

Croton belongs to the Euphorbiaceae genus, one of the major Angiosperms families, and is widely distributed throughout the world, especially in the tropics. In this study, the hydroalcoholic extract (70% EtOH) of Croton echinocarpus leaves afforded two alkaloids: corydine and norisoboldine, and their structures were established by spectroscopic data interpretation (UV, IR, NMR and LREIMS). Both alkaloids displayed significant in vitro anti-HIV potential, inhibiting 40% of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase enzyme activity at a concentration of 100 μg mL -1 of norisoboldine and 450 μg mL -1 of corydine. Corydine showed IC 50 of 356.8 μg mL -1 , while norisoboldine was more efficient on inhibiting the RT activity, showing IC 50 of 153.7 μg mL -1 .

Hyptis Jacq. (Lamiaceae) has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases around the world. However, Harley and Pastore in 2012 proposed a new circumscription for this large genus, reducing its number of species, but supporting its monophyly. Hyptis and Peltodon were used as keywords, and triage of articles was performed using genus delimitation sensu Harley and Pastore. Only 29 species have some type of record in the literature for their medicinal use and chemical description, corresponding to 20% of the 148 species. Most cited biological activities were the antioxidant activity, reported for 9% of the species, and the antifungal activity reported for 5% of the species. For 11% of the species was described the essential oil composition, while non-volatile compounds were reported for only 6% of them. Terpenes, flavonoids, and caffeic acid derivatives are the most reported compounds for this genus. Only 8% of the species are reported as medicinal, with potential as antibacterial and antiparasitic, pointing to relevance of Hyptis to bioprospecting studies, especially in South America and Africa. However, there is a lack of studies regarding isolated compounds concerning their toxicology and efficacy, important information to achieve the production and the effective use of Hyptis as a herbal medicine.

Since the early days of medicine, chemical substances derived from animals, plants, and microorganisms have been used for treatment of various diseases. Among these, products derived from plants have dominated the pharmacopoeias for thousands of years, providing an inexhaustible source of medicinal resources. Croton L. is the second largest genus of Euphorbiaceae, comprising about 1300 species of trees, bushes, and herbs. Croton sphaerogynus Baill. belongs to the same clade of Croton cajucara Benth, used in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to characterize the antioxidant activities of extracts and isolated flavonoids obtained from leaves of C. sphaerogynus. Chemical composition of leaf extracts and its fractions (flavonoid contents) and in vitro antioxidant properties were examined. Two flavonoids were isolated: quercetin 3-O-methyl ether and kaempferol 3-O-methyl ether. Antioxidant activity was higher, especially for fractions composed mainly by quercetin 3-O-methyl ether compared to crude extract and other fractions. For those fractions, EC 50 values were found to be close to the ones presented by quercetin when they were analyzed for their radical scavenging activities.

No abstract