Wound Healing Effect of Lippia sidoides and Myracrodruon urundeuva Nanogel

Wound healing is a natural regenerative response to tissue injury and the conventional treatments consists of the use wound dressings with local administration of medicines, but, in some cases, are only partially effective and limited by toxicity or ineffective anti-microbial protection. Medicinal plants such as Lippia sidoides and Myracrodruon urundeuva have shown interesting pharmacological activities, allied to this, the association of these medicinal plants and nanotechnology, could mean an advantage in relation to classical approach. This study investigated the effect of a nanogel loaded with Lippia sidoides essential oil and Myracrodruon urundeuva extract (NAA) in an excisional wound healing model in rats. Animals were anesthetized and skin wounds were made using a metal punch. The groups were treated with vehicle, NAA or collagenase gel, for 7, 14 or 21 days and then sacrificed for tissue analysis. NAA did not show acute dermal irritation, further significantly reduced (p<0.05) the final wound area, accelerated the wound contraction and organization of collagen in the group treated for 14 days. The data presented here demonstrate the therapeutic potential for the use of nanotechnology associated with medicinal plants and provides evidence that corroborate with the use of L. sidoides and M. urundeuva as healing medicinal plants.

Maternal exposure to glyphosate-based herbicide causes changes in the vascular function of offspring adult rats

This study analyzed how glyphosate exposure in the gestational period affects vascular function in their offspring, focusing on the influence of age and whether oxidative stress is involved in this effect. To this, pregnant Wistar rats were exposed through drinking water to 0.2% of a glyphosate commercial formulation, and we analyzed the response to acetylcholine and phenylephrine in the aorta from offspring of glyphosate herbicide-based (O-GHB) and controls (O-CON) rats at 3, 6, and 12 months of age. O-GHB groups showed no changes in arterial blood pressure or aorta histological analysis. Relaxation to acetylcholine was reduced in O-GHB than O-CON. Acute TEMPOL increased relaxation to acetylcholine in O-GHB at 6 and 12 months of age. The aorta from O-GHB was hyperactive to phenylephrine only at 6 months of age. Preincubation with N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) increased contraction to phenylephrine more in O-CON than O-GHB. TEMPOL similarly reduced phenylephrine response. This effect was prevented by L-NAME. Results reinforce the concept that oxidative stress during the perinatal period contributes to the development of vascular changes in adulthood. Results also reveal that although no changes in cardiac or histological parameters have been demonstrated, the current levels considered safe for exposure to glyphosate deserve further investigation, especially during pregnancy.

Hypolipidemic potential and safety profile of the ethanolic extract and flour of the peel of Passiflora Cincinnata Mast. (Passifloraceae) in mice

Passiflora cincinnata Mast. is described as a native Caatinga species, used by nutritional and medicinal purposes, although there are still few studies and pharmacological data related to this species. This paper aims to evaluate the safety profile and hypolipidemic potential of the fruit peel of this species in mice. It was analyzed the chemical composition of ethanolic extract (EtOH-Pc) by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS, and the organic and inorganic composition of flour (MF-Pc). Also were evaluated the acute toxicity, the lipid-lowering potential of these samples, through of a pretreatment (oral: 100 and 200 mg/kg), and a single treatment with the same doses, after hyperlipidemic induction with triton WR-1339, using as animal model Swiss Mus musculus mice, besides histopathological analysis. The presence of flavonoids in the extract was confirmed, mainly C-glycosides, and antioxidant minerals and pectin, in flour. No clinical signs of toxicity or death were reported in the study. In the hyperlipidemia study model used, the analyzed substances, at all doses, notably decreased the lipid levels of TC, TG, LDL-c and VLDL-c and increase the HDL-c levels in the induced hyperlipidemic mice (p < 0.05). The results of the histopathological analysis showed that in the group only induced was identified the discrete presence of hepatic steatosis, in 2 animals at the analysis of 24 h, not being visualized in the groups treated with the substances evaluated. The results obtained in the present study suggest a hypolipidemic potential of the extract and flour, obtained from the fruit peel of Passiflora cincinnata Mast.

Investigation of antinociceptive, antipyretic, antiasthmatic, and spasmolytic activities of Brazilian Cannabis sativa L. roots in rodents

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Many studies are performed with the aerial parts of Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae). However, roots remain poorly studied, despite citations in the scientific literature. The C. sativa roots are indicated for the treatment of pain, inflammation, fever, among other health problems.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive, antipyretic, antiasthmatic, and spasmolytic activities of C. sativa roots in experimental models using mice and rats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The chemical composition of the aqueous extract of C. sativa roots (AECsR) was evaluated by LC-MS. The antinociceptive activity was assessed in mice by the induction of writhing with acetic acid, paw licking with formalin, and reactivity in the hot plate test. Fever was induced by the administration of a suspension of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in young rats. The asthmatic activity was performed with ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice with cellular and histological analysis. Finally, the spasmolytic activity was performed using mice isolated trachea. For in vivo studies, the doses were 12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg whereas for in vitro, the concentration of AECsR was 729 μg/mL.

RESULTS

From the LC-MS data, we identified p-coumaroyltyramine, feruloyltyramine canabissativine in AECsR. The extract promoted a reduction of writhing in all tested doses (12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg). Similarly, it reduced the pain in the formalin test at doses of 12.5 and 50 mg/kg (first phase) and 12.5 and 25 mg/kg (second phase). In the hot plate test, the doses of 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg promoted antinociceptive effect at different times, and the lowest dose maintained its action in the analyzes performed at 60, 90, and 120 min after administration. The anti-inflammatory activity of AECsR was observed in the mouse model of asthma, reducing the total leukocyte count in the bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) at a dose of 25 mg/kg, as well as reducing eosinophilia in all tested doses (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg). Histological analysis of lungs stained with H&E and PAS showed a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells in the perivascular and peribronchial region, as well as reduced mucus production.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that AECsR promotes pain control, either by a central or inflammatory mechanism, and has antiasthmatic activity. However, there was no antipyretic or spasmolytic effect.

Multifunctional hydroxyapatite with potential for application in theranostic nanomedicine

Although several materials are being studied for the development of theranostic systems, factors such as high costs, low yield, stability of nanoparticles (NPs) and toxicity-related issues hinder their application in medicine. Thus, this paper introduces the synthesis of a theranostic system composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) functionalized with europium (Eu³⁺) and zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs, resulting in a low-cost material that presents biocompatibility, luminescence, antibacterial activity and whose synthesis method is simple. The Eu³⁺ - doped HAp was obtained through the precipitation method and the functionalization with ZnO occurred in the subsequent stage through the solid-state reaction method. The resulting material, [Ca_9.5Eu_0.5(PO₄)₆(OH)₂@ZnO], was characterized by several techniques where the photoluminescence spectrum exhibited sharp peaks at the 4f^N → 4f^N transitions typical of Eu³⁺ ions, while tests with bacteria proved its antibacterial property. The crystal structure obtained by X-ray diffraction confirmed HAp as the major phase. The multifunctional HAp (HAp:Eu@ZnO) was considered as hemocompatible, exhibiting an in vitro hemolysis ratio of 1.85 (±0.2) %, and its loading potential, tested for two antitumor drugs, showed an adsorption capacity of 43.0 ± 3.6% for 5-Fluorouracil and 84.0 ± 4.0% for curcumin. The cytotoxicity of the system as well as its use as a support for drugs was analyzed through in vitro assays with tumor cells from sarcoma 180 in mice. The results confirmed that HAp:Eu@ZnO is non-toxic to cells and its potential for antineoplastic vectorization is increased by cell internalization due to endocytosis, with up to 39.0% of cancer cell deaths having been observed at the concentrations and period evaluated.

Creation of a contusion injury method for skeletal muscle in rats with differing impacts

Purpose:

To realize a morphological examination of the musculoskeletal tissue, assessing the effect of a contusion method for the production in rat gastrocnemius, comparing the inflammatory responses generated by different impacts.

Methods:

For the analysis of a contusion method, twelve female Wistar rats were distributed into four groups. The lesion was generated by 324 g of mass that was dropped from different predetermined heights for each group (30, 45, 60 and 70 cm).

Results:

In the analysis of musculoskeletal tissue, the response to injury varied according to the mass of the height drop onto the muscle. Only the group that was injured from 70 cm responded with uniform and severe inflammation, whereas the groups 30, 45 and 60 cm showed inflammation in some regions of the tissue with mild and moderate infiltrates.

Conclusion:

The method with the 324-gram mass dropped from a 70-cm height onto the gastrocnemius muscle of rats seems to be the most suitable for the production of muscle injury in these animals after 72 hours, showing an important inflammatory infiltrate.

Gene expression changes associated with myocarditis and fibrosis in hearts of mice with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of heart failure in Latin American countries. About 30% of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected individuals develop this severe symptomatic form of the disease, characterized by intense inflammatory response accompanied by fibrosis in the heart. We performed an extensive microarray analysis of hearts from a mouse model of this disease and identified significant alterations in expression of approximately 12% of the sampled genes. Extensive up-regulations were associated with immune-inflammatory responses (chemokines, adhesion molecules, cathepsins, and major histocompatibility complex molecules) and fibrosis (extracellular matrix components, lysyl oxidase, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1). Our results indicate potentially relevant factors involved in the pathogenesis of the disease that may provide new therapeutic targets in chronic Chagas disease.

Synthesis, docking, and in vitro activity of thiosemicarbazones, aminoacyl-thiosemicarbazides and acyl-thiazolidones against Trypanosoma cruzi

A novel series of thiosemicarbazone and aminoacyl-thiazolidones derivatives were synthesized. Their structure suggests that these compounds could have anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity. Biological evaluation indicates that some of these compounds are able to inhibit the growth of T. cruzi in concentrations non-cytotoxic to mammalian cells. Docking studies were carried out in order to investigate the binding pattern of these compounds for the T. cruzi cruzain (TCC) protein, and these showed a significant correlation with experimental data.