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The herbal medicine market has grown considerably as an alternative currently used for the application of plants in the treatment of various diseases. In this environment, studies on the bioactivity of essential oils and the search for those that have antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant properties and also oils that can inhibit key enzymes are highlighted. However, research on the use of plants in the pharmaceutical industry, chemical composition of native species and possible biological activities are still scarce. Therefore, studies for the knowledge of native species with therapeutic potential gain great relevance. This study carried out a review of the research already done on essential oils from species with potentially promising biological activities for the contribution of the sustainable use of biodiversity and the relevance of their medicinal potential.

Nos processos de regulação das relações entre a sociedade, os sistemas socioculturais, natureza e o meio ambiente, a gestão de recursos naturais surge como sendo um elemento essencial. Nesta esteira, a perda da diversidade biológica torna-se então um problema crítico para a existência humana, devido ao fato que a extinção de espécies é irreversível representando a perda de um genoma que é único. Estudos para conhecimento das espécies nativas com potencial terapêutico ganham grande relevância. Nesta abordagem encontram-se as pesquisas com extratos e óleos essenciais de espécies nativas. Conhecer a composição química e possíveis atividades biológicas, relacionadas com os extratos e constituintes voláteis advindos de recursos naturais nativos, amplia a possibilidade de criação de protocolos de uso sustentável da biodiversidade. Neste artigo abordou-se a constituição da REBIFLORA – Rede de Bioprospecção e Inovação na Floresta Atlântica, sua atuação nos estados do Paraná e Santa Catarina, visando contribuir para o entendimento acerca da composição química e a atividade biológica, relacionadas às espécies nativas e potencialidade de agregar valor aos produtos da biodiversidade.

Chagas disease infects approximately seven million people worldwide. Benznidazole is effective only in the acute phase of the disease, with an average cure rate of 80% between acute and recent cases. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new bioactive substances that can be effective against parasites without causing so many complications to the host. In this study, the triterpene 3β-6β-16β-trihydroxilup-20 (29)-ene (CLF-1) was isolated from Combretum leprosum, and its molecular structure was determined by NMR and infrared spectroscopy. The CLF-1 was also evaluated in vitro and in silico as potential trypanocidal agent against epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi (Y strain). The CLF-1 demonstrated good results highlighted by lower IC50 (76.0 ± 8.72 µM, 75.1 ± 11.0 µM, and 70.3 ± 45.4 µM) for epimastigotes at 24, 48 and 72 h, and LC50 (71.6 ± 11.6 µM) for trypomastigotes forms. The molecular docking study shows that the CLF-1 was able to interact with important TcGAPDH residues, suggesting that this natural compound may preferentially exert its effect by compromising the glycolytic pathway in T. cruzi. The ADMET study together with the MTT results indicated that the CLF-1 is well-absorbed in the intestine and has low toxicity. Thus, this work adds new evidence that CLF-1 can potentially be used as a candidate for the development of new options for the treatment of Chagas disease. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has the virus that causes the SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has reached a pandemic proportion, with thousands of deaths worldwide already registered. It has no standardized effective clinical treatment, arousing the urgent need for the discovery of bioactive compounds for the treatment of symptoms of COVID-19. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of seasonality on the yield and chemical composition of the essential oils of

Chagas disease infects approximately seven million people worldwide. Benznidazole is effective only in the acute phase of the disease, with an average cure rate of 80% between acute and recent cases. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new bioactive substances that can be effective against parasites without causing so many complications to the host. In this study, the triterpene 3β-6β-16β-trihydroxilup-20 (29)-ene (CLF-1) was isolated from