Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the antifungal, antibiofilm and antiproliferative activities of the extract from the leaves of Guapira graciliflora Mart. The phytochemical characterization of the extract was performed using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The antimicrobial activity of the extract and its fractions was evaluated using the broth microdilution method against species of Candida. The inhibition of C. albicans biofilm was evaluated based on the number of colony-forming units (CFU) and metabolic activity (MTT). The antiproliferative activity of the extract and its fraction was evaluated in the presence of human tumor and non-tumor cells, and the cytotoxicity of the extract was determined on the RAW 264.7 macrophage line – both using the sulforhodamine B method. The phytochemical characterization indicated the presence of the flavonoids rutin and kaempferol. The extract and the methanol fraction exhibited moderate antifungal activity against C. albicans, C. krusei, and C. glabrata, and strong activity against C. dubliniensis. In the biofilms at 24 and 48 hours, the concentration of 12500 µg/mL of the extract was the most effective at reducing the number of CFU s/mL (44.4% and 42.9%, respectively) and the metabolic activity of C. albicans cells (34.6% and 52%, respectively). The extract and its fractions had no antiproliferative effect on the tumor lines tested, with mean activity (log GI50) equal to or greater than 1.71 µg/mL. Macrophage cell viability remained higher than 80% for concentrations of the extract of up to 62.5 µg/mL. G. graciliflora has flavonoids in its chemical composition and demonstrates potential antifungal and antibiofilm activity, with no evidence of a significant change in the viability of human tumor and non-tumor cell lines.

ABSTRACT Exoantigens (exo) from Leptomonas seymouri and Crithidia fasciculata were used in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), showing 100% reactivity with sera from visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, and no reactivity with American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) ones. Our results have indicated that these exoantigens can be applied in the discrimination of VL and ATL cases.

O estudo fitoquímico das raízes de Dahlstedtia glaziovii (Fabaceae) forneceu um novo dibenzoilmetano (glaziovione), juntamente com dezoito compostos conhecidos. Suas estruturas foram determinadas através de métodos espectroscópicos de ressonância magnética nuclear (NMR) 1D e 2D (correlação heteronuclear única quântica, HSQC, e correlação heteronuclear de múltipla ligação, HMBC) e espectrometria de massas de alta resolução (HRMS). A atividade antiproliferativa foi investigada para os extratos, para os dibenzoilmetanos 2'-metóxi-8-(α-α-dimetilalil)-furano-[4",5":3',4']-dibenzoilmetano, 3,4-metilenodioxi-2'-metóxi-8-(α-α-dimetilalil)-furano-[4",5":3',4']-dibenzoilmetano e pongamol, e para as flavonas lanceolatina B, karanjina, pongapina e 3',4'-metilenodioxi-2",2"-dimetilpirano-[5",6":8,7]-flavona. Os dibenzoilmetanos foram mais ativos do que as flavonas. A atividade antimicrobiana foi investigada para os extratos, sendo que estes não se apresentaram ativos.

A phytochemical study of roots of Dahlstedtia glaziovii (Fabaceae) furnished a new dibenzoylmethane (glaziovione), along with eighteen known compounds. Their structures were determined through 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (heteronuclear single quantum coherence, HSQC, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation, HMBC) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) spectral analyses. The antiproliferative activity was investigated for the crude extracts, the dibenzoylmethanes 2'-methoxy-8-(α-α-dimethylallyl)-furano-[4",5":3',4']-dibenzoylmethane, 3,4-methylenedioxy-2'-methoxy-8-(α-α-dimethylallyl)-furano-[4",5":3',4']-dibenzoylmethane and pongamol, and the flavones lanceolatin B, karanjin, pongapin and 3',4'-methylenedioxy-2",2"-dimethylpyrano-[5",6":8,7]-flavone. The dibenzoylmethanes were more active than the flavones.The extracts were evaluated for their antimicrobial effects, but none was shown to be active.

Descrevem-se dois surtos de tripanossomíase por Trypanosoma vivax em bovinos, ocorridos em dois estabelecimentos do alto sertão da Paraíba. Os sinais clínicos, a patologia e a epidemiologia da doença foram estudados no período de maio de 2005 a novembro de 2006.T. vivax foi identificado em esfregaços da capa leucocitária e mediante a reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR). Os animais afetados apresentaram anorexia, depressão, febre, anemia, perda de peso, redução da produção leiteira, cegueira transitória, aborto e sinais nervosos caracterizados por incoordenação motora, salivação, opistótono, nistagno, tetania e bruxismo. Todos os animais que apresentaram sintomatologia nervosa morreram. As alterações macroscópicas observadas em um bovino submetido à necropsia foram aumento de volume dos linfonodos, atrofia serosa dos depósitos de gordura, aumento de volume do baço com evidência da polpa branca, hidropericárdio, além de petéquias e equimoses no epicárdio. Histologicamente havia meningoencefalite. O controle da doença na propriedade com tratamento específico dos casos clínicos com aceturato de diminazene foi eficiente, pois após o tratamento não se verificou mais a presença do parasita em esfregaços sanguíneos nem evidência clínica da enfermidade em até 2 meses após o início do surto. Os fatores epidemiológicos favoráveis à ocorrência dos surtos foram a abundância de vetores mecânicos, como tabanídeos e Stomozys spp., e a entrada, no rebanho, de animais oriundos de propriedades onde ocorreu a doença em questão. Sugere-se que o semi-árido do Nordeste, devido a períodos prolongados de secas e altas temperaturas, é região de instabilidade enzoótica para a tripanossomíase, em conseqüência, provavelmente, ao ambiente desfavorável para o desenvolvimento de vetores durante a maior parte do ano.

Two outbreaks of trypanosomiasis by Trypanosoma vivax, reported in cattle, occurred on two farms located in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. The epidemiology, clinical signs and pathology of the disease were studied from May 2005 to November 2006. T. vivax was identified morphologically and by polymerase chain reaction test (PCR). The affected cattle presented anorexia, depression, fever, anemia, weight loss, reduction in milk production, transitory blindness, abortion and some nervous signs as nystagmus, tetany and bruxism. All cattle that presented nervous signs died. Necropsy findings were enlarged lymph and spleen, serous atrophy of the fat depots, proeminence of the splenic white pulp, hydropericardium and pericardial petechiae and ecchymoses on the epicardium. Histologically there was meningoencephalitis. The treatment of the clinical cases with diminazena aceturate was efficient with clearance of the parasite from the blood or disappearance of clinical signs in up to 2 months after the beginning of the outbreak on the two farms studied. The epidemiologic factors favoring the occurrence of the outbreak were the abundance of mechanical vectors, as tabanids and Stomoxys sp., and the introduction into the herd of cattle from farms where the disease occurred. It is suggested that the semiarid of the Brazilian Northeast is an enzootic instability region for trypanosomiasis due to its prolonged periods of drought and high temperatures, constituting during most part of the year an unfavorable environment for the development of vectors.