Rodrigo Fabri | UFJF - Federal University of Juiz de Fora (original) (raw)

Papers by Rodrigo Fabri

Hematological change parameters in patients with pressure ulcer at long-term care hospital Altera... more Hematological change parameters in patients with pressure ulcer at long-term care hospital Alterações dos parâmetros hematológicos em pacientes portadores de úlcera por pressão em um hospital de longa permanência

PESQUISAS EM TEMAS DE CIÊNCIAS DA SAÚDE, 2021

HU Revista, 2021

Introdução: O hábito de sucção de chupeta é comum em crianças, sendo este objeto um veículo de co... more Introdução: O hábito de sucção de chupeta é comum em crianças, sendo este objeto um veículo de contaminação e transmissão de microrganismos causadores de doenças, necessitando, dessa forma, de uma correta desinfecção. Objetivo: Avaliar as práticas de desinfecção de chupetas realizadas pelos responsáveis de crianças que tenham ou que já tiveram o hábito de usar chupeta. Material e Métodos: Após a aprovação ética, foi aplicado questionário semiestruturado (12 questões) a pais e avós de crianças que mantinham o hábito da chupeta ou que o interromperam há no máximo dois anos. As questões versaram sobre hábitos de desinfecção de chupetas, acesso a instrução sobre a desinfecção e a profissionais de saúde, incluindo dentistas. A associação entre variáveis categóricas foi estabelecida pelo teste Qui-quadrado e das variáveis contínuas pela correlação de Pearson. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. Resultados: Foram considerados para a amostra 104 questionários. A média de idade dos r...

Journal of Medical Entomology, 2019

Musca domestica L., 1758, is an important mechanical vector of several pathogens for humans and l... more Musca domestica L., 1758, is an important mechanical vector of several pathogens for humans and livestock, making it essential to study new alternatives of more efficient and safer control for this dipteran. This study evaluated the toxicity of the phenylpropanoids eugenol and (E)-cinnamaldehyde on its life stages. A contact test with 10 repetitions (n = 10) was performed for each substance concentration on each post-embryonic immature life stage. Both substances presented insecticidal activity on the immature life stages of the dipteran, and secondary effects on development caused by sublethal concentrations. Larvicidal activity was shown from the 1.25 mg/ml concentration by eugenol and from 2.5 mg/ml by (E)-cinnamaldehyde, and both substances had a 100% larval treatment efficacy (LTE) from the 5mg/ml concentration. For pupal treatment, (E)-cinnamaldehyde differed from the control from the 10 mg/ml concentration (P < 0.05), and both phenylpropanoids caused malformation in adults...

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2011

This study compares the development of Kalanchoe brasiliensis and Kalanchoe pinnata, which are me... more This study compares the development of Kalanchoe brasiliensis and Kalanchoe pinnata, which are medicinal species known as "saião" and "folha da fortuna" that are used interchangeably by the population for medicinal purposes. The experiment consisted of 20 plots/species planted in plastic bags with homogeneous substrate in a randomized design, which grown under light levels (25%, 50%, 70%, full sunlight) at environment temperature, and a treatment under a plastic with greater temperature range than the external environment. It was obtained for K. pinnata a greater plant height, total length of sprouts, stems, production and dry matter content of leaves than that obtained for K. brasiliensis, which achieved higher averages only for the length of lateral branches. The species showed increases in height, which varied in inverse proportion to the light, and it was observed the influence of temperature in K. pinnata. The production and dry matter content of leaves were...

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2022

Centrosema coriaceum Benth belongs to Fabaceae family and have few studies of biological activity... more Centrosema coriaceum Benth belongs to Fabaceae family and have few studies of biological activity and chemical composition. Thus, the aims of this work were to determine chemical profile of the ethanolic extract of C. coriaceum leaves (CCE) by UFLC-QTOF-MS and to evaluate its in vitro biological potential. CCE showed MIC value of 1000 µg/mL against Candida glabrata (fungistatic effect) and high affinity in cell envelope by increasing cell permeability in nucleotide leakage, sorbitol and ergosterol assays. CCE showed antioxidant activity in all assays performed. For the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity activities, CCE, at all tested concentrations, significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and did not decrease J774A.1 cell viability below 70%. Finally, rutin, kaempferol-3O-rutinoside, caffeic acid, and sucrose were identified in CCE by UFLC-QTOF-MS. These results suggest, for the first time, that C. coriaceum has interesting antifungal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Copyright © 2013 Jucélia Barbosa da Silva et al.This is an open access article distributed under... more Copyright © 2013 Jucélia Barbosa da Silva et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The present study evaluated the antioxidant potential of Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae). Dried and powdered leaves were exhaustively extracted with ethanol by static maceration followed by partition to obtain the hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions. Total phenols and flavonoids contents were determined through spectrophotometry and flavonoids were identified by HPLC-DAD system. The antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging activity, TLC-bioautography, reducing power of Fe+3, phosphomolybdenum, and TBA assays. The total phenolic content and total flavonoids ranged from 0.19 to 23.11 g/100 g and from 0.13 to 4.10 g/100 g, respectively. The flavonoids apigenin and luteolin w...

Tópicos em ciências da saúde

Brazilian Journal of Development

Brazilian Journal of Health and Pharmacy

Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a high incidence infection, affecting 75% of adult women. However, mi... more Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a high incidence infection, affecting 75% of adult women. However, microorganisms develop protective mechanisms, so it is important to develop strategies. The aim of the present study was the development of clotrimazole (CTZ) loading nanoemulsion for topical treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. The nanoemulsions (NE-CTZ) were prepared by the phase inversion temperature method and characterized in relation to the average hydrodynamic diameter (Zav), polydispersity index (PdI), Zeta potential (Zp), Encapsulation Efficiency (EE), Mid Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-MIR), morphology, cytotoxicity in fibroblast cell line (NHI/3T3) and antifungal activity against susceptible (ATCC 24433) and multidrug resistant (ATCC 10231) strains of Candida albicans. The Zav of nanoemulsions was approximately 260 nm, with PdI characteristic of monodisperse systems (~ 0.3) and Zp was equal to -26 mV. Nanoemulsions provided high CTZ incorporation (EE ~ 100%) and FT-MIR assays could corroborate the encapsulation of this active. Morphological analysis showed droplets similar in size to those found for Zav and with irregular round shape. In the cell viability assay it was found that for all concentrations tested (4.8- 0.15μg/ mL) nanoemulsion showed lower cytotoxic potential when compared to free drug. Regarding antifungal assays, NE-CTZ showed inhibitory activity against strains tested in the concentration range of 4.8-0.6μg/ mL (referring to CTZ). Therefore, the developed formulation presents promising physicochemical and biological characteristics for use in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis, specially in cases of antifungal resistance to other azole drugs.

Boletim do Centro de Pesquisa de Processamento de Alimentos

Brazilian Journal of Development

Nesse estudo investigamos a adequabilidade da encapsulação do extrato em acetato de etila do ápic... more Nesse estudo investigamos a adequabilidade da encapsulação do extrato em acetato de etila do ápice foliar de Baccharis dracunculifolia(BdAA) (Asteraceae), uma planta medicinal brasileira com promissoras aplicações farmacêuticas, em nanopartículas de quitosana (BdAA-Qui). As nanopartículas foram desenvolvidas pelo método de gelificação iônica e caracterizadas em relação ao diâmetro hidrodinâmico médio (DHm), índice de polidispersividade (IP), potencial zeta (PZ), eficiência de encapsulação (EE), com quantificação do Artepillin C, marcador químico do extrato, por CLAE-DAD, morfologia (por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão – MET) e citotoxicidade em linhagem celular de fibroblastos (L929). As BdAA-Qui apresentaram DHm superior às nanopartículas controle (sem o extrato). Esse pode ser considerado o primeiro indício da ocorrência da encapsulação dos constituintes do extrato na matriz polimérica das nanopartículas. Além disso, o IP obtido apresentou valor próximo a de sistemas monodis...

Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost 50,000 peop... more Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost 50,000 people every day. In recent years, drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria has been commonly reported from all over the world (N’guessan et al., 2007). The abusive and indiscriminate use of antimicrobial compounds over many years is the main factor responsible for the appearance of the phenomenon of bacterial resistance to such compounds (Andremont, 2001). With increased incidence of resistance to antibiotics, natural products from plants could be interesting alternatives (Lu et al., 2007; Mbwambo et al., 2007). Some plant extracts and phytochemicals are known to have antimicrobial properties, and can be of great significance in therapeutic treatments. In the last few years, a number of studies have been conducted in different countries to demonstrate such efficacy (BenoitVical et al., 2006; Senatore et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2007). On the other hand, free radicals are known to be the...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Among all native Brazilian plant species, Plinia cauliflora (DC.) ... more ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Among all native Brazilian plant species, Plinia cauliflora (DC.) Kausel (Jaboticaba), is well known for producing "superfruits", due to their high phenolic content and antioxidant property. The fruit has astringent characteristics, and it is popularly known for the treatment of diarrhea, rash, and intestinal inflammation. However, there are only a few studies on the use of leaves and branches of this species in the literature, mainly to treat oxidative stress and inflammation. AIM OF THE STUDY The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of leaves and branches extracts from P. cauliflora. MATERIAL AND METHODS The phytochemical analysis of P. cauliflora extracts was performed by the total phenolic, flavonoid, and tannin dosage method. Moreover, the compounds were identified by HPLC-MS-Q-TOF. Antioxidant capacity was determined by DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid system, MDA formation, and phosphomolybde...

Medical Mycology

Spilanthol is a bioactive alkylamide from the native Amazon plant species, Acmella oleracea. Howe... more Spilanthol is a bioactive alkylamide from the native Amazon plant species, Acmella oleracea. However, antifungal activities of spilanthol and its application to the therapeutic treatment of candidiasis remain to be explored. This study sought to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of spilanthol previously isolated from A. oleracea (spilanthol(AcO)) against Candida albicans ATCC® 10231™, a multidrug-resistant fungal strain. Microdilution methods were used to determine inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations of spilanthol(AcO). In planktonic cultures, the fungal growth kinetics, yeast cell metabolic activity, cell membrane permeability and cell wall integrity were investigated. The effect of spilanthol(AcO) on the proliferation and adhesion of fungal biofilms was evaluated by whole slide imaging and scanning electron microscopy. The biochemical composition of the biofilm matrix was also analyzed. In parallel, spilanthol(AcO) was tested in vivo in an experimental vul...

Frontiers in Microbiology

Candida tropicalis is one the most relevant biofilm-forming fungal species increasingly associate... more Candida tropicalis is one the most relevant biofilm-forming fungal species increasingly associated with invasive mucosal candidiasis worldwide. The amplified antifungal resistance supports the necessity for more effective and less toxic treatment, including the use of plant-derived natural products. Scopoletin, a natural coumarin, has shown antifungal properties against plant yeast pathogens. However, the antifungal activity of this coumarin against clinically relevant fungal species such as C. tropicalis remains to be established. Here, we investigated the potential antifungal properties and mechanisms of action of scopoletin against a multidrug-resistant C. tropicalis strain (ATCC 28707). First, scopoletin was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography from Mitracarpus frigidus, a plant species (family Rubiaceae) distributed throughout South America. Next, scopoletin was tested on C. tropicalis cultivated for 48h in both planktonic and biofilm forms. Fungal planktonic growth inhibition was analyzed by evaluating minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), time-kill kinetics and cell density whereas the mechanisms of action were investigated with nucleotide leakage, efflux pumps and sorbitol and ergosterol bioassays. Finally, the scopoletin ability to affect C. tropicalis biofilms was evaluated through spectrophotometric and whole slide imaging approaches. In all procedures, fluconazole was used as a positive control. MIC values for scopoletin and fluconazole were 50 and 250 μg/L respectively, thus demonstrating a fungistatic activity for scopoletin. Scopoletin induced a significant decrease of C. tropicalis growth curves and cell density (91.7% reduction) compared to the growth control. Its action was related to the fungal cell wall, affecting plasma membrane sterols. When associated with fluconazole, scopoletin led to inhibition of efflux pumps at the plasma membrane. Moreover, scopoletin not only inhibited the growth rate of preformed biofilms (68.2% inhibition at MIC value) but also significantly decreased the extent of biofilms growing on the surface of coverslips, preventing the formation of elongated fungal forms. Our data demonstrate, for the first time, that scopoletin act as an effective antifungal phytocompound against a multidrug-resistant strain of C. tropicalis with properties that affect both planktonic and biofilm forms of this pathogen. Thus, the present findings support additional studies for antifungal drug development based on plant isolated-scopoletin to treat candidiasis caused by C. tropicalis.

Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Objectives Evaluation of the in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the methanolic extract obtaine... more Objectives Evaluation of the in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the methanolic extract obtained from the aerial parts of Mitracarpus frigidus (MFM) in the infection caused by two Salmonella strains and its chemical fingerprint by UFLC-quadrupole time of flight-MS. Methods The efficacy of MFM was investigated in a classical in-vivo Salmonella infection mouse model. A Salmonella reference strain (ATCC 13311) and a clinical isolate were used to infect mice and then MFM was orally administered during 14 days. At the end of the treatment with MFM, the infection and inflammatory levels were assayed. Key findings MFM treatment showed a significant reduction in mice mortality by Salmonella infection and, also, did not cause alterations in the liver function. Inhibitions of inflammatory and oxidative stress mediators [malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase, and metalloproteinase] were possibly involved in the observed effects. Chlorogenic acid, clarinoside, quercetin-pentosylhexoside, rutin, kae...

Hematological change parameters in patients with pressure ulcer at long-term care hospital Altera... more Hematological change parameters in patients with pressure ulcer at long-term care hospital Alterações dos parâmetros hematológicos em pacientes portadores de úlcera por pressão em um hospital de longa permanência

PESQUISAS EM TEMAS DE CIÊNCIAS DA SAÚDE, 2021

HU Revista, 2021

Introdução: O hábito de sucção de chupeta é comum em crianças, sendo este objeto um veículo de co... more Introdução: O hábito de sucção de chupeta é comum em crianças, sendo este objeto um veículo de contaminação e transmissão de microrganismos causadores de doenças, necessitando, dessa forma, de uma correta desinfecção. Objetivo: Avaliar as práticas de desinfecção de chupetas realizadas pelos responsáveis de crianças que tenham ou que já tiveram o hábito de usar chupeta. Material e Métodos: Após a aprovação ética, foi aplicado questionário semiestruturado (12 questões) a pais e avós de crianças que mantinham o hábito da chupeta ou que o interromperam há no máximo dois anos. As questões versaram sobre hábitos de desinfecção de chupetas, acesso a instrução sobre a desinfecção e a profissionais de saúde, incluindo dentistas. A associação entre variáveis categóricas foi estabelecida pelo teste Qui-quadrado e das variáveis contínuas pela correlação de Pearson. O nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. Resultados: Foram considerados para a amostra 104 questionários. A média de idade dos r...

Journal of Medical Entomology, 2019

Musca domestica L., 1758, is an important mechanical vector of several pathogens for humans and l... more Musca domestica L., 1758, is an important mechanical vector of several pathogens for humans and livestock, making it essential to study new alternatives of more efficient and safer control for this dipteran. This study evaluated the toxicity of the phenylpropanoids eugenol and (E)-cinnamaldehyde on its life stages. A contact test with 10 repetitions (n = 10) was performed for each substance concentration on each post-embryonic immature life stage. Both substances presented insecticidal activity on the immature life stages of the dipteran, and secondary effects on development caused by sublethal concentrations. Larvicidal activity was shown from the 1.25 mg/ml concentration by eugenol and from 2.5 mg/ml by (E)-cinnamaldehyde, and both substances had a 100% larval treatment efficacy (LTE) from the 5mg/ml concentration. For pupal treatment, (E)-cinnamaldehyde differed from the control from the 10 mg/ml concentration (P < 0.05), and both phenylpropanoids caused malformation in adults...

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2011

This study compares the development of Kalanchoe brasiliensis and Kalanchoe pinnata, which are me... more This study compares the development of Kalanchoe brasiliensis and Kalanchoe pinnata, which are medicinal species known as "saião" and "folha da fortuna" that are used interchangeably by the population for medicinal purposes. The experiment consisted of 20 plots/species planted in plastic bags with homogeneous substrate in a randomized design, which grown under light levels (25%, 50%, 70%, full sunlight) at environment temperature, and a treatment under a plastic with greater temperature range than the external environment. It was obtained for K. pinnata a greater plant height, total length of sprouts, stems, production and dry matter content of leaves than that obtained for K. brasiliensis, which achieved higher averages only for the length of lateral branches. The species showed increases in height, which varied in inverse proportion to the light, and it was observed the influence of temperature in K. pinnata. The production and dry matter content of leaves were...

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 2022

Centrosema coriaceum Benth belongs to Fabaceae family and have few studies of biological activity... more Centrosema coriaceum Benth belongs to Fabaceae family and have few studies of biological activity and chemical composition. Thus, the aims of this work were to determine chemical profile of the ethanolic extract of C. coriaceum leaves (CCE) by UFLC-QTOF-MS and to evaluate its in vitro biological potential. CCE showed MIC value of 1000 µg/mL against Candida glabrata (fungistatic effect) and high affinity in cell envelope by increasing cell permeability in nucleotide leakage, sorbitol and ergosterol assays. CCE showed antioxidant activity in all assays performed. For the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxicity activities, CCE, at all tested concentrations, significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and did not decrease J774A.1 cell viability below 70%. Finally, rutin, kaempferol-3O-rutinoside, caffeic acid, and sucrose were identified in CCE by UFLC-QTOF-MS. These results suggest, for the first time, that C. coriaceum has interesting antifungal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities.

Copyright © 2013 Jucélia Barbosa da Silva et al.This is an open access article distributed under... more Copyright © 2013 Jucélia Barbosa da Silva et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The present study evaluated the antioxidant potential of Vernonia condensata Baker (Asteraceae). Dried and powdered leaves were exhaustively extracted with ethanol by static maceration followed by partition to obtain the hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions. Total phenols and flavonoids contents were determined through spectrophotometry and flavonoids were identified by HPLC-DAD system. The antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging activity, TLC-bioautography, reducing power of Fe+3, phosphomolybdenum, and TBA assays. The total phenolic content and total flavonoids ranged from 0.19 to 23.11 g/100 g and from 0.13 to 4.10 g/100 g, respectively. The flavonoids apigenin and luteolin w...

Tópicos em ciências da saúde

Brazilian Journal of Development

Brazilian Journal of Health and Pharmacy

Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a high incidence infection, affecting 75% of adult women. However, mi... more Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a high incidence infection, affecting 75% of adult women. However, microorganisms develop protective mechanisms, so it is important to develop strategies. The aim of the present study was the development of clotrimazole (CTZ) loading nanoemulsion for topical treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis. The nanoemulsions (NE-CTZ) were prepared by the phase inversion temperature method and characterized in relation to the average hydrodynamic diameter (Zav), polydispersity index (PdI), Zeta potential (Zp), Encapsulation Efficiency (EE), Mid Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-MIR), morphology, cytotoxicity in fibroblast cell line (NHI/3T3) and antifungal activity against susceptible (ATCC 24433) and multidrug resistant (ATCC 10231) strains of Candida albicans. The Zav of nanoemulsions was approximately 260 nm, with PdI characteristic of monodisperse systems (~ 0.3) and Zp was equal to -26 mV. Nanoemulsions provided high CTZ incorporation (EE ~ 100%) and FT-MIR assays could corroborate the encapsulation of this active. Morphological analysis showed droplets similar in size to those found for Zav and with irregular round shape. In the cell viability assay it was found that for all concentrations tested (4.8- 0.15μg/ mL) nanoemulsion showed lower cytotoxic potential when compared to free drug. Regarding antifungal assays, NE-CTZ showed inhibitory activity against strains tested in the concentration range of 4.8-0.6μg/ mL (referring to CTZ). Therefore, the developed formulation presents promising physicochemical and biological characteristics for use in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis, specially in cases of antifungal resistance to other azole drugs.

Boletim do Centro de Pesquisa de Processamento de Alimentos

Brazilian Journal of Development

Nesse estudo investigamos a adequabilidade da encapsulação do extrato em acetato de etila do ápic... more Nesse estudo investigamos a adequabilidade da encapsulação do extrato em acetato de etila do ápice foliar de Baccharis dracunculifolia(BdAA) (Asteraceae), uma planta medicinal brasileira com promissoras aplicações farmacêuticas, em nanopartículas de quitosana (BdAA-Qui). As nanopartículas foram desenvolvidas pelo método de gelificação iônica e caracterizadas em relação ao diâmetro hidrodinâmico médio (DHm), índice de polidispersividade (IP), potencial zeta (PZ), eficiência de encapsulação (EE), com quantificação do Artepillin C, marcador químico do extrato, por CLAE-DAD, morfologia (por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão – MET) e citotoxicidade em linhagem celular de fibroblastos (L929). As BdAA-Qui apresentaram DHm superior às nanopartículas controle (sem o extrato). Esse pode ser considerado o primeiro indício da ocorrência da encapsulação dos constituintes do extrato na matriz polimérica das nanopartículas. Além disso, o IP obtido apresentou valor próximo a de sistemas monodis...

Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost 50,000 peop... more Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths, killing almost 50,000 people every day. In recent years, drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria has been commonly reported from all over the world (N’guessan et al., 2007). The abusive and indiscriminate use of antimicrobial compounds over many years is the main factor responsible for the appearance of the phenomenon of bacterial resistance to such compounds (Andremont, 2001). With increased incidence of resistance to antibiotics, natural products from plants could be interesting alternatives (Lu et al., 2007; Mbwambo et al., 2007). Some plant extracts and phytochemicals are known to have antimicrobial properties, and can be of great significance in therapeutic treatments. In the last few years, a number of studies have been conducted in different countries to demonstrate such efficacy (BenoitVical et al., 2006; Senatore et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2007). On the other hand, free radicals are known to be the...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Among all native Brazilian plant species, Plinia cauliflora (DC.) ... more ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Among all native Brazilian plant species, Plinia cauliflora (DC.) Kausel (Jaboticaba), is well known for producing "superfruits", due to their high phenolic content and antioxidant property. The fruit has astringent characteristics, and it is popularly known for the treatment of diarrhea, rash, and intestinal inflammation. However, there are only a few studies on the use of leaves and branches of this species in the literature, mainly to treat oxidative stress and inflammation. AIM OF THE STUDY The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of leaves and branches extracts from P. cauliflora. MATERIAL AND METHODS The phytochemical analysis of P. cauliflora extracts was performed by the total phenolic, flavonoid, and tannin dosage method. Moreover, the compounds were identified by HPLC-MS-Q-TOF. Antioxidant capacity was determined by DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid system, MDA formation, and phosphomolybde...

Medical Mycology

Spilanthol is a bioactive alkylamide from the native Amazon plant species, Acmella oleracea. Howe... more Spilanthol is a bioactive alkylamide from the native Amazon plant species, Acmella oleracea. However, antifungal activities of spilanthol and its application to the therapeutic treatment of candidiasis remain to be explored. This study sought to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of spilanthol previously isolated from A. oleracea (spilanthol(AcO)) against Candida albicans ATCC® 10231™, a multidrug-resistant fungal strain. Microdilution methods were used to determine inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations of spilanthol(AcO). In planktonic cultures, the fungal growth kinetics, yeast cell metabolic activity, cell membrane permeability and cell wall integrity were investigated. The effect of spilanthol(AcO) on the proliferation and adhesion of fungal biofilms was evaluated by whole slide imaging and scanning electron microscopy. The biochemical composition of the biofilm matrix was also analyzed. In parallel, spilanthol(AcO) was tested in vivo in an experimental vul...

Frontiers in Microbiology

Candida tropicalis is one the most relevant biofilm-forming fungal species increasingly associate... more Candida tropicalis is one the most relevant biofilm-forming fungal species increasingly associated with invasive mucosal candidiasis worldwide. The amplified antifungal resistance supports the necessity for more effective and less toxic treatment, including the use of plant-derived natural products. Scopoletin, a natural coumarin, has shown antifungal properties against plant yeast pathogens. However, the antifungal activity of this coumarin against clinically relevant fungal species such as C. tropicalis remains to be established. Here, we investigated the potential antifungal properties and mechanisms of action of scopoletin against a multidrug-resistant C. tropicalis strain (ATCC 28707). First, scopoletin was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography from Mitracarpus frigidus, a plant species (family Rubiaceae) distributed throughout South America. Next, scopoletin was tested on C. tropicalis cultivated for 48h in both planktonic and biofilm forms. Fungal planktonic growth inhibition was analyzed by evaluating minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), time-kill kinetics and cell density whereas the mechanisms of action were investigated with nucleotide leakage, efflux pumps and sorbitol and ergosterol bioassays. Finally, the scopoletin ability to affect C. tropicalis biofilms was evaluated through spectrophotometric and whole slide imaging approaches. In all procedures, fluconazole was used as a positive control. MIC values for scopoletin and fluconazole were 50 and 250 μg/L respectively, thus demonstrating a fungistatic activity for scopoletin. Scopoletin induced a significant decrease of C. tropicalis growth curves and cell density (91.7% reduction) compared to the growth control. Its action was related to the fungal cell wall, affecting plasma membrane sterols. When associated with fluconazole, scopoletin led to inhibition of efflux pumps at the plasma membrane. Moreover, scopoletin not only inhibited the growth rate of preformed biofilms (68.2% inhibition at MIC value) but also significantly decreased the extent of biofilms growing on the surface of coverslips, preventing the formation of elongated fungal forms. Our data demonstrate, for the first time, that scopoletin act as an effective antifungal phytocompound against a multidrug-resistant strain of C. tropicalis with properties that affect both planktonic and biofilm forms of this pathogen. Thus, the present findings support additional studies for antifungal drug development based on plant isolated-scopoletin to treat candidiasis caused by C. tropicalis.

Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Objectives Evaluation of the in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the methanolic extract obtaine... more Objectives Evaluation of the in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the methanolic extract obtained from the aerial parts of Mitracarpus frigidus (MFM) in the infection caused by two Salmonella strains and its chemical fingerprint by UFLC-quadrupole time of flight-MS. Methods The efficacy of MFM was investigated in a classical in-vivo Salmonella infection mouse model. A Salmonella reference strain (ATCC 13311) and a clinical isolate were used to infect mice and then MFM was orally administered during 14 days. At the end of the treatment with MFM, the infection and inflammatory levels were assayed. Key findings MFM treatment showed a significant reduction in mice mortality by Salmonella infection and, also, did not cause alterations in the liver function. Inhibitions of inflammatory and oxidative stress mediators [malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase, and metalloproteinase] were possibly involved in the observed effects. Chlorogenic acid, clarinoside, quercetin-pentosylhexoside, rutin, kae...