Estudo Da Atividade Antioxidante Do Óleo Essencial De Alecrim (Rosmarinus Officinalis L) No Tratamento Ao Estresse Oxidativo Na Doença De Alzheimer

O óleo essencial de alecrim (Rosmarinus offininalis L) pode ser utilizado na prevenção do Alzheimer em decorrência da sua composição química, especialmente compostos terpênicos que atuam pela sua ação antioxidante ou pela inibição da acetilcolinesterase (AChE), que retarda a hidrólise catabólica da acetilcolina com o intuito de compensar a escassez da mesma nos terminas sinápticos. Esse trabalho teve o objetivo de extrair e determinar a atividade antioxidante do óleo essencial de alecrim. Primeiramente extraiu-se o óleo essencial do material botânico de alecrim por hidrodestilação em destilador do tipo Clevenger. A determinação da capacidade antioxidante foi realizada em triplicata pelo método de radical livre utilizando o reagente 2,2-difenil-1-picril hidrazil (DPPH). O rendimento obtido na extração do óleo essencial de alecrim foi de 0,42%. O resultado obtido para a atividade antioxidante do óleo essencial de alecrim foi satisfatório, sendo a capacidade de redução de DPPH em 30 minutos de 87,21%±0,25. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o óleo essencial de alecrim pode ser utilizado no tratamento da doença de Alzheimer, visto que o mesmo pode atuar inibindo o stress oxidativo, a principal causa para o desenvolvimento de doenças neurodegenerativas. Deve-se considerar, entretanto, a composição do óleo essencial visto que os fatores ambientais e de cultivo podem influenciar na capacidade antioxidante do mesmo. Rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus offininalis L) can be used in the prevention of Alzheimer's due to its chemical composition, especially terpenic compounds that act by its antioxidant action or by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which delays the catabolic hydrolysis of acetylcholine in order to compensate the lack of it in the synaptic terminals. This work aimed to extract and determine the antioxidant activity of rosemary essential oil. First, the essential oil was extracted from the rosemary botanical material by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger distiller. The antioxidant capacity was determined in triplicate by the free radical method using the reagent 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH). The yield obtained from the extraction of rosemary essential oil was 0.42%. The result obtained for the antioxidant activity of rosemary essential oil was satisfactory, and the DPPH reduction capacity in 30 minutes was 87.21%±0.25. The results obtained indicate that rosemary essential oil can be used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, since it can act by inhibiting oxidative stress, the main cause for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the composition of the essential oil should be considered, since environmental and cultivation factors can influence its antioxidant capacity.

Investigation of CuMnOx spinel catalyst for toluene oxidation

CuMnOx spinel catalyst, prepared by the sol-gel method, and characterized by modern techniques such as XRD, BET, H2-TPR, EPR, were used to oxide toluene in the temperature range from 150oC to 400oC . Among, the investigated catalysts as MnO2, CuO, and CuMnOx, the CuMnOx showed the highest catalytic activity. It converted 100% toluene to CO2 at 250oC in excessed oxygen conditions. The higher catalytic performance of CuMnOx than MnO2, CuO because of its higher specific surface area and its lower reduction temperature. The results also implied that the interaction between Cu and Mn could improve the reduction capacity of CuMnOx catalyst. In summary, the CuMnOx catalyst is a promising catalyst for toluene treatment.

Preliminary Test of the Reduction Capacity for the Intestinal Adsorption of Skatole and Indole in Weaning Piglets by Pure and Coated Charcoal

To reduce the risk of boar taint, intact male piglets are immuno- or surgically castrated. One alternative is reducing skatole by adding skatole reducing or adsorbing substances to the boars’ diet. Charcoal with a high capacity for adsorbing skatole and indole in vitro (tested before, data not shown) was fed to the boars to test the hypothesis that a fat coating prevents the unspecific adsorption of charcoal before entry into the large intestine while increasing skatole adsorption. Twelve male and six female weaning piglets with initial body weights of 7.74 ± 0.75 kg were fed for 18 (or 19) days with either 2% pure (untreated) charcoal or 4% coated (50% charcoal + 50% fat-coating) charcoal or no charcoal. After euthanasia, skatole and indole were quantified in caecum and colon chyme. Skatole and indole contents in caecum chyme were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the group fed with coated charcoal (33 ± 4.2, 7 ± 2.8 µg/gDM, respectively) than in the group fed with pure charcoal (51 ± 7.3, 14 ± 3.0 µg/gDM) or with no charcoal (73 ± 12.6, 15 ± 1.7 µg/gDM). Similar effects were obvious for colon chyme. The results indicate that a fat coating of charcoal might prevent unspecific adsorption in the small intestine and might consequently lead to a higher adsorption capacity for skatole and indole in the large intestine, as skatole and indole concentrations in the chyme of caecum and colon were approximately 50% lower in the piglets who received coated charcoal.

Computational and Pharmacological Studies on the Antioxidant, Thrombolytic, Anti-Inflammatory, and Analgesic Activity of Molineria capitulata

Molineria capitulata is an ornamental plant that has traditionally been used to treat several chronic diseases. The present study was designed to examine the antioxidant, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities of a methanolic extract of M. capitulata leaves (MEMC) using both experimental and computational models. Previously established protocols were used to perform qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening in MEMC. A computational study, including molecular docking and ADME/T analyses, was performed. The quantitative phytochemical analysis revealed the total phenolic and flavonoid contents as 148.67 and 24 mg/g, respectively. Antioxidant activity was assessed by examining the reducing power of MEMC, resulting in absorbance of 1.87 at 400 µg/mL, demonstrating a strong reduction capacity. The extract exhibited significant protection against blood clotting and showed the highest protein denaturation inhibition at 500 µg/mL. In both the acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin-induced paw-licking models, MEMC resulted in significant potential pain inhibition in mice. In the computational analysis, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, orcinol glucoside, curcapital, crassifogenin C, and 2,6-dimethoxy-benzoic acid displayed a strong predictive binding affinity against the respective receptors. These findings indicated that M. capitulata possesses significant pharmacological activities to an extent supported by computational studies.

Evaluating the Antioxidants, Whitening and Antiaging Properties of Rice Protein Hydrolysates

Plant-derived protein hydrolysates have potential applications in nutrition. Rice protein hydrolysates (RPHs), an excellent source of proteins, have attracted attention for the development of cosmeceuticals. However, few studies have reported the potential application of RPH in analysis, and this study examined their antioxidant activities and the inhibitory activities of skin aging enzymes. The results indicated that the total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations were 2.06 ± 0.13 mg gallic acid equivalent/g RPHs and 25.96 ± 0.52 µg quercetin equivalent/g RPHs, respectively. RPHs demonstrated dose-dependent activity for scavenging free radicals from 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 42.58 ± 2.1 mg/g RPHs] and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (IC50 = 2.11 ± 0.88 mg/g RPHs), dose-dependent reduction capacity (6.95 ± 1.40 mg vitamin C equivalent/g RPHs) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (473 µmol Trolox equivalent/g RPHs). The concentrations of the RPH solution required to achieve 50% inhibition of hyaluronidase and tyrosinase activities were determined to be 8.91 and 107.6 mg/mL, respectively. This study demonstrated that RPHs have antioxidant, antihyaluronidase, and antityrosinase activities for future cosmetic applications.

The pest kill rate of thirteen natural enemies as aggregate evaluation criterion of their biological control potential of Tuta absoluta

Ecologists study how populations are regulated, while scientists studying biological pest control apply population regulation processes to reduce numbers of harmful organisms: an organism (a natural enemy) is used to reduce the population density of another organism (a pest). Finding an effective biological control agent among the tens to hundreds of natural enemies of a pest is a daunting task. Evaluation criteria help in a first selection to remove clearly ineffective or risky species from the list of candidates. Next, we propose to use an aggregate evaluation criterion, the pest kill rate, to compare the pest population reduction capacity of species not eliminated during the first selection. The pest kill rate is the average daily lifetime killing of the pest by the natural enemy under consideration. Pest kill rates of six species of predators and seven species of parasitoids of Tuta absoluta were calculated and compared. Several natural enemies had pest kill rates that were too low to be able to theoretically reduce the pest population below crop damaging densities. Other species showed a high pest reduction capacity and their potential for practical application can now be tested under commercial crop production conditions.

Can the Behavioural Spillover Effect Affect the Environmental Regulations Strategy Choice of Local Governments?

Combined with the characteristics of the Chinese environmental regulation supervision system and evolutionary game theory, the spillover effect of local governments’ investment behaviour has been incorporated into their payment function to study the influence of spillover on the strategy choice of local governments and enterprises. The results show that (1) the spillover effect is one of the reasons for distortions in the implementation of environmental regulations. Whether the influence of the spillover effect on the probability of local governments choosing the strategy of strict supervision is positive or negative depends on the environmental benefit of the local government’s environmental protection investment. (2) Increasing the reward for the enterprise’s complete green technology innovation behaviour is conducive to improving the probability of the enterprises choosing the strategy of complete green technology innovation, while it reduces the probability of local governments choosing the strategy of strict supervision. Increasing punishment for enterprises’ incomplete green technology innovation behaviour is conducive to improving the probability of enterprises choosing the strategy of complete green technology innovation, but its impact on the probability of local governments choosing the strategy of strict supervision is uncertain due to the limitations of many factors. (3) Enterprises’ emission reduction capacity is positively related to the probability of the enterprises choosing the strategy of complete green technology innovation and is negatively related to the probability of local governments choosing the strategy of strict supervision. The research conclusions provide a new explanation for the distorted enforcement of environmental regulations from the perspective of the spillover of local governments’ investment behaviour.