Tea from Phyllanthus niruri L., Phyllanthaceae, aerial parts is commonly used by Brazilian folk medicine for its benefits on the treatment of genitourinary disorders, for what the polyphenolic compounds are mainly responsible. The yield of such compounds may be influenced by several variables related with the plant growth. The effects of planting periods and harvesting conditions are investigated in this work, including four different seasons. The cultivation was characterized by dry mass yield of aerial parts, and the effect of pruning was analyzed. Leaves, stems and their mixtures were analyzed after drying and milling. Loss on drying and water soluble extractives were used as physical parameters for quality control. Flavonoid content and gallic acid were chosen as chemical markers for this work. The spectrophotometric trial based on the aluminum chloride complexes was applied to evaluate the total flavonoids content. Gallic acid contents were measured from the water extractive solutions by high-performance liquid chromatography. The pruning caused a positive influence on the amount of leaves and stems. The highest flavonoids and gallic acid contents were found in the leaves, which were developed over the summer and the winter, respectively, both from the second harvesting (after pruning). Chomatographic profile by HPLC was characterizes by the presence of gallic acid and two other major peaks (not identified substances), which relation was peculiar to each aerial part. In conclusion, these results suggest that even under less favorable climatic conditions, in winter, the pruning seems to cause a strong influence over the P. niruri polyphenolics production. Indeed, the total flavonoids content, as well as the HPLC profile, can be used as indicative parameters of the ratio of leaves and stem in the vegetal raw material.

A simple and fast method for determination of 40 basic drugs in human plasma employing gas-chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection was developed and validated. Drugs were extracted from 800 µL of plasma with 250 µL of butyl acetate at basic pH. Aliquots of the organic extract were directly injected on a column with methylsilicone stationary phase. Total chromatographic run time was 25 min. All compounds were detected in concentrations ranging from therapeutic to toxic levels, with intermediate precision CV% below 11.2 and accuracy in the range of 92-114%.

CONTEXTO: A Cannabis sativa (cannabis, maconha, marijuana) é uma droga de abuso com efeitos psicoativos e potencial terapêutico bastante conhecidos. Um grande número de canabinoides foi sintetizado na tentativa de excluir ou minimizar os efeitos psicotrópicos e mantendo as aplicações terapêuticas. Os canabinoides sintéticos representam o mais recente avanço das designer drugs. OBJETIVOS: Este trabalho busca trazer informações sobre a utilização de canabinoides sintéticos como drogas de abuso emergentes, principalmente sob a forma de spice ou herbal blends. MÉTODOS: Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica na base de dados PubMed utilizando os descritores de assunto "synthetic cannabinoids", "spice", "legal highs", "herbal blends", "psychosis cannabis" e suas combinações. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados canabinoides sintéticos nos produtos Spice, confirmando que os incensos herbais realmente surgiram como drogas de abuso emergentes. CONCLUSÃO: Não está claro se a utilização de canabinoides sintéticos e de Spice é uma moda passageira ou se irá se estabelecer em nossa sociedade. No entanto, o fenômeno das designer drugs, especialmente canabinoides sintéticos, representa um desafio presente para o sistemas de saúde no mundo globalizado, tornando-se necessária a pesquisa clínica e forense desses produtos.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis sativa (cannabis, marijuana) is a drug of abuse with well known psychoactive effects and therapeutic potential. A large number of cannabinoids chemically similar to Δ9-THC, the main active metabolite of marijuana, were synthesized in an attempt to exclude or minimize the psychotropic effects, maintaining the therapeutic potential. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to review of the use of synthetic cannabinoids as emerging drugs of abuse, especially in the form of spice or herbal blends. METHODS: A bibliographic search was performed in PubMed employing the terms "synthetic cannabinoids", "spice", "legal highs", "herbal blends", "psychosis cannabis" and cross references. RESULTS: A number of synthetic cannabinoids can be found in Spice products, confirming that herbal incense emerged as new drugs of abuse. DISCUSSION: It is unclear whether the use of synthetic cannabinoids and Spice is a fad or will be established as common practice in our society. However, the phenomenon of designer drugs, especially synthetic cannabinoids, will remain a challenge to health authorities in the globalized world, requiring additional clinical and forensic research.