Multifunctions of Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer: a highly nutritious food and a source for bioactive compounds

A study with Pleurotus sajor-caju was conducted to: evaluate the nutritional and chemical composition of the fruiting bodies; optimize the preparation of bioactive phenolic extracts; and characterize the optimized extract in terms of bioactive compounds and properties. P. sajor-caju revealed an equilibrated nutritional composition with the presence of hydrophilic (sugars and organic acids) and lipophilic (tocopherols and PUFA) compounds. p-Hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric and cinnamic acids were identified in the extract obtained with ethanol (30 g/l ratio) at 55 °C for 85 min. This extract showed antioxidant properties (mainly reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition), antibacterial activity against MRSA and MSSA and cytotoxicity against NCI-H460, MCF-7 and HeLa. Furthermore, as the extract showed capacity to inhibit NO production in Raw 264.7 macrophages, molecular docking studies were performed to provide insights into the anti-inflammatory mechanism of action, through COX-2 inhibition by the phenolic acids identified.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and for L. Barros and R. Calhelha contracts. T.C. Finimundy thanks CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil (CAPES fellow, process number 88881.134581/2016-01). To Xunta de Galicia for financial support for the post-doctoral researcher of M.A. Prieto.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antimicrobial films containing green synthesised zinc oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Synthetic biomaterials have been vastly investigated for different biomedical applications such as wound healing adhesives, implant devices and drug delivery systems. The effort on this field of study promoted the development of novel medical treatments and therapies leading to a significantly enhancement on people’s health and life expectancy. However, infections are still one of the main complications related to the use of these materials

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles: a review of the synthesis methodology and mechanism of formation.

Zinc oxide is of significant importance for many industries due to its versatile properties, which have been enhanced with the production of this material in the nanoscale. Nonetheless, the increase in concerns related to environmental impact has led to the development of eco-friendly processes for its production. Recent interest in obtaining metal and metal oxide nanoparticles using biological approaches has been reported in the literature. This method was termed ‘green synthesis’ as it is a less hazardous process than chemical and physical synthesis methods currently used in the industry to obtain these nanomaterials. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been successfully obtained by green synthesis using different biological substrates. However, large scale production using green synthesis approaches remains a challenge due to the complexity of the biological extracts that poses a barrier onto the elucidation of the reactions and mechanism of formation that occur during the synthesis. Hence, the current review includes a summary of the different sources of biological substrates and methodologies applied to the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and the impact on their properties. This work also describes the advances on the understanding of the mechanism routes reported in the literature.ye

Apoptosis induction by Pleurotus sajor-caju (Fr.) Singer extracts on colorectal cancer cell lines

Pleurotus sajor-caju (PSC) is an edible mushroom used in food supplements, presenting antitumor properties through induction of cell death pathways. The PSC potential against colorectal cancer was analyzed by exposing HCT116wt cells to different PSC extracts. The PSC n-hexane extract (PSC-hex) showed the highest cytotoxicity effect (IC50 value 0.05 mg/mL). The observed cytotoxicity was then associated to apoptosis-promoting and cell cycle-arrest pathways. PSC-hex was able to induce apoptosis related to breakdown of mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS generation. The absence of cytotoxicity in HTC116-p53 and HTC116-Bax cells, alongside with an increase in p53, Bax and Caspase-3 expression, and decrease in Bcl-2 expression, supports that the proapoptotic effect is probably induced through a p53 associated pathway. PSC-hex induced cell cycle arrest at G2/ M in HCT116wt without cytotoxicity in HTC116-p21 cells. These findings suggest that a p21/p53 cell cycle regulation pathway is probably disrupted by compounds present on PSC-hex. Identification of the major components was then performed with ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol representing 30.6% of total weight. In silico docking studies of ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β against Bcl-2 were performed and results show a credible interaction with the Bcl-2 hydrophobic cleft. The results show that PSC-hex can be used as supplementary food for adjuvant therapy in colorectal carcinoma.The authors thank Dr. Larsen (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) for the gift of HCT116-Bax, HCT116-p21 and HCT116-p53 cells. The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and L. Barros contract. T.C. Finimundy thanks CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil (CAPES fellow, process number 88881.134581/ 2016–01). This work is supported by a grant from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundaçãoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adipose tissue-derived stem cell autologous grafts: a new approach to application in the treatment of burn victims and reconstructive plastic surgery

In Brazil, 1 million burn accidents occur annually, and subsequent wound infections account for 75% cases of deaths among these patients, in addition to inducing deformities in the affected areas. Therefore, the aim of this study was to discuss the current status of mesenchymal stem cells, with an emphasis on adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), in combination with plasma gel, glue fibrin, and membranes (scaffold). The use of gels and membranes supports cell growth, and aims at potential application in reconstructive plastic surgery for the treatment of burn patients or individuals requiring skin grafts. This study explores and discusses the role of mesenchymal stem cells, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, glue fibrin, plasma gel, and the scaffold. This research collected information from the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and PubMed. A considerable number of articles have been published on burn treatment. However, there is little research on burn treatment with ADSCs, glue fibrin, plasma gel, and scaffold. An ADSC autograft combined with a biological dressing is promising in reconstructive plastic surgery for the treatment and recovery of burn patients or individuals with other injuries that require skin grafts. These features can reduce pain and aid in drying of the lesion, thus promoting neovascularization and wound reepithelialization

Red propolis extract associated to platelet-rich plasma and stromal cells with focus in cell therapy and functional tissue regeneration

Abstract The use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSC) have been investigated as a form of wound healing enhancement. The objective of this work was to evaluate the association of red propolis (RP) and PRP as inducers of ADSC for application in tissue regeneration. Adipose tissue post-collection and post-cryopreservation was isolated with type II collagenase, characterized by flow cytometry, and differentiated into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipose cell. The viability of ADSC was evaluated when exposed to different concentrations of RP using the MTT and trypan blue assay. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide (AO/EB) was performed to evaluate cell death events. Horizontal migration methods were investigated in ADSC using autologous and homologous PRP associated with RP (PRP/RP). All assays were processed in triplicate. Flow cytometry and cellular differentiation showed that type II collagenase was effective for isolating ADSC post-collection and post-cryopreservation. RP extracts at concentrations of up to 50 μg.mL-1 presented no cytotoxic effects. Association of PRP and RP at 25 and 50 μg.ml-1 influenced ADSC migration, with total closure on the seventh day after exposition. The results here presented could stimulate proliferation of ADSC cells that may contribute directly or indirectly to the reconstructive process of tissue regeneration

Overview of sterilization methods for UHMWPE through surface analysis

The sterilization process is essential for the use of biomaterials in the human body in order to avoid contamination. However, the effect of such required pretreatment on the surface must be also evaluated since some modifications may cause a shortened lifespan of this material or changes in properties of interest. Moreover, improvements in sterilization techniques may even enhance properties while the surface is cleaned. The thorough understanding of the effect that the sterilization processes have on the surface of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), widely used biomaterial in orthopedic joint prosthesis, is, therefore, a key study since some modifications during traditional sterilization could be a major problem for patients who have undergone arthroplasty surgery. This work brings a comprehensive study on sterilization techniques already available and extensively used (hydrogen peroxide plasma, ethylene oxide, steam autoclave) and a comparison with results obtained for recently developed cold plasma-based sterilization technique. The effects of the processes have been extensively compiled by data obtained for thermal analysis, nanoscale wear and friction, physicochemical, topographical, wettability, and in vitro cytotoxicity experiments. An overall outlook on the set of samples points out to cold plasma oxidation (CPO) being an adequate and potential candidate for improving wear resistance, while maintaining thermal stability and a restrained adhesion of L929 cells, provoked by its hydrophilicity and larger surface area

Biflorin: an o-naphthoquinone of clinical significance

Biflorin is an o-naphthoquinone with proven cytotoxic effects on tumor cells showing antimicrobial, antitumor and antimutagenic activities. Biflorin is an isolated compound taken from the roots of the plant Capraria biflora L. (Schrophulariaceae), indigenous of the West Indies and South America, which is located in temperate or tropical areas. This compound has shown to be strongly active against grampositive and alcohol-acid-resistant bacteria. It has been efficient in inhibiting the proliferation tumor cell lines CEM, HL-60, B16, HCT-8 and MCF-7. Recently, SK-Br3 cell line was treated with biflorin showing important cytotoxic effects. In this article, information related to the first structural characterization studies are presented, as well as the latest reports concerning the biological activity of this molecule

Pharmacological perspectives from Brazilian Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae): antioxidant, and antitumor in mammalian cells

ABSTRACT Salvia officinalis (Lamiaceae) has been used in south of Brazil as a diary homemade, in food condiment and tea-beverage used for the treatment of several disorders. The objective of this study was to characterize chemical compounds in the hydroalcoholic (ExtHS) and aqueous (ExtAS) extract from Salvia officinalis (L.) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and by high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF MS/MS), evaluate in vitro ability to scavenge the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+), catalase (CAT-like) and superoxide dismutase (SOD-like) activity, moreover cytotoxic by MTT assay, alterations on cell morphology by giemsa and apoptotic-induced mechanism for annexin V/propidium iodide. Chemical identification sage extracts revealed the presence of acids and phenolic compounds. In vitro antioxidant analysis for both extracts indicated promising activities. The cytotoxic assays using tumor (Hep-2, HeLa, A-549, HT-29 and A-375) and in non-tumor (HEK-293 and MRC-5), showed selectivity for tumor cell lines. Immunocytochemistry presenting a majority of tumor cells at late stages of the apoptotic process and necrosis. Given the results presented here, Brazilian Salvia officinalis (L.) used as condiment and tea, may protect the body against some disease, in particularly those where oxidative stress is involved, like neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation and cancer