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The occurrence of insect pests in crops directly affects the yield of plants and grains. This scenario led to the mass investigation of chemical products that overcome these adversities and provide control potential. Nonetheless, over the years, this strategy resulted in high production costs, generation of waste harmful to the environment, and resistance of target insects. The adoption of alternative practices, such as the formulation and production of products of microbial origin, emerges as an encouraging tool compared to control alternatives, indicating a sustainability bias, and allowing a reduction in the risks of human and animal contamination. The purpose of this study was to perform bioprospecting for microbial agents with potential insecticidal effects. The isolated microorganisms were submitted to submerged fermentation, at 28 °C and 120 rpm, for seven days. The fermented broth was filtered using a vacuum pump and centrifuged at 3200× g and 10 °C for 10 min. Initially, 163 microbial agents were collected. Subsequently, a pre-selection of the 50 most promising bioagents was conducted, based on the mortality rates (%) of the applied isolates to target pests. Furthermore, a global mathematical modeling design was created, indicating the best potential microorganisms. Moreover, to stipulate the difference between treatments, dilutions of the fermented broths of each microorganism were conducted (n × 10−5–n × 10−8). Mortality was maximum (100%) for Helicoverpa zea and Euschistus heros. Other encouraging results were indicated in the control of Anticarsia gemmatalis and Chrysodeixis includens (up to 87.5%) and Elasmopalpus lignosellus (up to approximately 83.5%). Fungal isolates were identified as Talaromyces piceae. Among the bacteria, based on sequencing of the 16S ribosomal gene, the isolates were identified as Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Paenibacillus ottowii, and Clostridium sphenoides. The results obtained are relevant to the scientific community and, especially, are interesting for companies that are operating in this field in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annually, amounts of orange waste are directed into the environment. The orange waste oil is a potential source of compounds of interest and alternatives have been explored to highlight their potential. Appropriately, this study investigated the effects of oil extraction processes involving pressurized liquids (PLE) and supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) on orange residues. The results were compared with the standard Soxhlet procedure. The optimization of the operational parameters was established based on the adjustment of different process conditions for pressure (150 and 350 bar), extraction time (20 and 60 min), and temperature (40 and 60 °C). The results indicated that the maximum oil yields for orange peel and pomace were 37.76 % and 43.39 %, respectively, for the PLE approach. The SC-CO2 expressed maximum yields of up to 0.50 % and 0.38 % for peel and pomace, respectively. The GC-MS analysis reported the concentration of bioactive compounds after the distinct extraction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polysaccharides derived from Lentinula edodes exhibit highly desirable bioactivities with significant commercial potential. However, obtaining them has presented challenges due to the complex matrix of natural products. This study aims to address this issue by purifying polysaccharides from expired shiitake mushrooms using a fixed-bed column with activated carbon. Temperature and mobile phase were investigated. Results showed that 40% of the total sugars present in the initial sample can be recovered. Moreover, all assays showed antioxidant activity. In total, five polysaccharides were identified. The monosaccharide composition of all exopolysaccharides (EPS) was composed only of glucose and their respective molecular weights were 4.2 $ \times $ × 104 kDa; 2.5 $ \times $ × 104 kDa; 9.3 $ \times $ × 103 kDa; 2.6 $ \times $ × 103 kDa; and 1.1 $ \times $ × 103 kDa determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. These results demonstrated the potential of shiitake for further exploration and optimization, indicating the possibility of even greater advancements in the extraction process and the commercial feasibility of these valuable compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microextractions have been developed for the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) analysis in biological matrices, including dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The proposed DLLME employed 490 µL of biological sample (whole blood or plasma), which were added 15 mg of NaCl, 10 µL of medazepam as internal standard (10 µg/mL) and 100 µL of 2 M NaOH. This mixture was homogenized by vortex (2800 rpm/10 s) and 400 µL of hexane (extractor solvent) with 600 µL of methanol (dispersing solvent) were added to the sample. After the vortex step (2800 rpm/5 s), an ultrasonic bath for 300 s was employed. Then, this content was centrifuged (10 min/10000 rpm), organic phase was collected and dried under air flow. After, 30 µL of the mobile phase was used for resuspension and 20 µL is injected into LC-DAD. This method was optimized and fully validated according to UNODC and SWGTOX guidelines, reaching limits of detection equivalent to analytical methodologies that employ mass spectrometry (MS). Also, it was applied in real cases involving suspected exposure to TCAs. So, the developed DLLME for the determination of TCAs in whole blood and plasma samples proved to be a simple, reliable, robust and reproducible method that can be used in toxicology and clinical laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Richardia brasiliensis is a species used in folk medicine and rich in active compounds. In this study, the extracts were submitted to UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis and total polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids assays. Besides, it was determined its antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress markers and toxicological profile. Fourteen polyphenols were found and, in the dosages, a slight change in the concentrations in each extract was observed. Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the responses were different in the methods used. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation, and NO, however total ROS remained unchanged. The cells remained more than 90% viable and the extracts did not cause damage to single strands of DNA, with the exception of the crude autumn and spring extracts at 500 µg/mL. The results found in this study suggest that extracts are potentially toxic to human leukocyte cells in high concentrations; however, more studies should be performed in different cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers increasingly prefer and seek functional beverages, which, given their characteristics, provide important bioactive compounds that help prevent and treat chronic diseases. Mead is a traditional fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey solution. The aging process of mead with oak chips is innovative and bestows functional characteristics to this beverage. Thus, in this study, we sought to develop and characterize a novel functional beverage by combining the health benefits of honey with the traditional aging process of alcoholic beverages in wood. Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed in mead using oak chips at different toasting levels and aged for 360 days. LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the chemical profile of different meads. Over time, the aging process with oak chips showed a higher total phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity. Eighteen compounds belonging to the classes of organic acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins were identified in meads after 360 days. Our findings revealed that the addition of oak chips during aging contributed to p-coumaric, ellagic, abscisic, and chlorogenic acids, and naringenin, vanillin, and tiliroside significantly impacted the functional quality of mead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruellia angustiflora (Acanthaceae) is known as flower-of-fire, and its leaves are traditionally employed to promote wound healing. This study was aimed at extracting and characterizing the chemical constituents of the extracts of R. angustiflora obtained by ultrasound-assisted and supercritical fluid extractions, and subsequently investigate their antioxidant potential and cyto-genotoxicity. The extract obtained by ultrasound (UAE-EtOH) was characterized by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS), and the extract obtained via supercritical fluid (SFE-CO2) by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The antioxidant potential was verified by the antiradical activity against the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and the cyto-genotoxicity evaluation to test cell viability and DNA damage was performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) cultures. The SFE-CO2 extract presented some fatty acids, triterpenes, tetraterpenes, tocopherols and phytosterols. The UAE-EtOH extract contained phenolic acids and flavonoids, and showed the highest antioxidant capacity. Neither extract was genotoxic or cytotoxic at the tested concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Plusiinae subfamily has many polyphagous species, many of which occur in South America. Chrysodeixis includens and Rachiplusia nu are two representatives that mainly occurs in soybeans, cotton, common beans, sunflower and alfalfa.A population genetic study of C. includens and R. nu collected in the Southern Cone of America was performed using a partial COI gene sequencing data and compared with specimens from other American countries.Six haplotypes were identified in C. includens populations of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, organized within a star‐like haplotype network, with the most common haplotype identified as Chin_MC.R. nu populations are more diverse and stable in comparison to C. includens. Populations from Argentina and Uruguay had the highest haplotype diversity, sharing five haplotypes and putatively indicating haplotype exchange.Demographic change analysis suggested a recent population expansion of C. includens over the American continent.Some C. includens haplotypes were country‐specific, suggesting population expansion in the countries where specimens were collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]