Browsing by Author "Pinto, Diana C. G. A."
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- An overview of Salicornia genus : the phytochemical and pharmacological profilePublication . Isca, Vera M. S.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.; Silva, Artur M. S.Salicornia L. (Chenopodiaceae) is a genus of annual, apparently leafless halophytic herb that have articulated and succulent stems. The Salicornia species comprise the most salttolerant land plant and frequently occur in saline areas. The use of glasswort as food is referred by the forensic palynology as a reality at least from 550 years ago. Nowadays it is much appreciated as a gourmet product in Europe but particularly in Asian countries, where is used in fresh salads and pickles. Some of the Salicornia species display applications on folk medicine (for treatment of bronchitis, hepatitis and diarrhea) and showed important biological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and cytotoxic activities. The phythochemical studies on this genus reported the presence of fatty acids, sterols, saponins, chlorogenic acid derivatives, alkaloids, flavonoids and other kind of phenolic compounds.The purpose of this review is to highlight the advances in Salicornia genus knowledge by presenting its biological and medicinal applications, phytochemical studies and the relationship between the isolated compounds with the described biological and/or medicinal properties.
- Antioxidant activity evaluation from Artemisia gorgonum extractsPublication . Rodrigues, Neidy; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Silva, Helena; Pereira, M. LourdesArtemisia gorgonum (Asteraceae) known as “losna or lorna” is used in Cape Verde in traditional medicine to treat inflammation, fever and gastroenteritis. The antioxidant activity of methanol, 70% ethanol, chloroform-methanol and chloroform extracts from A. gorgonum leaves was evaluated using the DPPH assay and the results presented.
- Bio-Guided Optimization of Cystoseira abies-marina Cosmeceuticals Extraction by Advanced TechnologiesPublication . Rosa, Gonçalo P.; Peixoto, Andreia F.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo; Seca, Ana M. L.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.Cystoseira abies-marina (reclassified as Gongolaria abies-marina) is a brown seaweed species rich in meroterpenoids, presenting interesting antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, there is still a lot to uncover regarding the bioactive potential of this species, as evidenced by the lack of records of antiaging activities from Cystoseira abies-marina, making this macroalga an excellent candidate for studies of its cosmeceutical potential. Ultrasound-(UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) are advanced sustainable technologies that are very efficient in enhancing bioactive compound extraction. Applying these extraction techniques to a new biological matrix often calls for optimizing the parameters toward the best extraction yield. Since Cystoseira abies-marina is a new matrix for both UAE and MAE techniques, the present work proposes the optimization of the extraction process, using a novel approach: instead of only focusing on increasing the yield, the goal of this work is to determine the parameters for UAE and MAE that lead to extracts with better antiaging activities. For this bio-guided approach, several Cystoseira abies-marina extracts were prepared by UAE and MAE under varying conditions of solvent, time, and algae/solvent ratios. Their antiaging activities were then determined, and all the results combined to unveil the conditions yielding extracts with higher cosmeceutical potential. Using statistical tools, it was found that, for UAE, the best conditions were ethyl acetate, 15 min, and a ratio of 1:4, which led to an extract with high yield, and causing the strong inhibition of tyrosinase and elastase. In turn, ethanol, 10 min, and a ratio of 1:4 were the best conditions for MAE, leading to the extract with the best antioxidant activity. The results show that the proposed bio-guided approach was effective in obtaining extracts with high cosmeceutical potential, unveiling the possibility of modulating an extract’s activity by changing the extraction method.
- Biomedical applications of Inula speciesPublication . Pinto, Diana C. G. A.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Silva, Artur M. S.The vast genus Inula includes species used in traditional medicine, for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, diabetes, hypertension, and also as bactericides, among other applications. Some corroboration of these ethnopharmacological applications was attempted, for instance crude extracts activity has been evaluated and the main bioactive secondary metabolites have been identified as sesquiterpene lactones. The reported activities include anti-tumour/cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activity just to mention a few. […].
- Chemical Composition and Phytopharmaceuticals : An Overview of the Caulerpa and Cystoseira GeneraPublication . Rosa, Gonçalo P.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo; Seca, Ana M. L.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.In recent years, macroalgae attracted increasing attention from many industries of diverse branches such as plastics, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food. This interest is due to the diverse chemical composition existing within the various macroalgae classes, which offer the possibility of finding a wide array of primary and secondary metabolites with exciting properties and great potential for pharmacological applications. Caulerpa spp. and Cystoseira spp. produce a wide array of exciting compounds that have been isolated and showed a broad range of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiprotozoal, antitumor, cytotoxic activities, among others. These compounds present high biomedical potential, constituting natural structures that could serve as scaffolds for designing novel leads for pharmacological purposes. However, Caulerpa and Cystoseira species and their cosmetic potential are still understudied, which shows a great research opportunity.
- Compounds identified on hexane and dichloromethane extracts of Salicornia ramosissimaPublication . Isca, Vera M. S.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.; Silva, Artur M. S.; Silva, HelenaSalicornia ramosissima J. Woods (common purple glasswort) is an annual halophyte, widely distributed in the salt marsh of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), that belongs to the Salicornia L. genus (Chenopodiaceae).[4] Although phytochemical studies genus on this genus report the presence of compounds which are well-recognized for their biological activities, such as flavonoids, chromones and alkaloids,[3] too little is known about secondary metabolites on purple glasswort. In our previous work we were able to isolate and identify ethyl o-hydroxycinnamate, (E)-fatty alcohol ferulic acid and scopoletin from the dichloromethane extract of S. ramosissima aerial parts. The structure and spectroscopic characterization of some secondary metabolites isolated from dichloromethane crude extract also will be presented and discussed.
- Cosmeceutical Potential of the Green Macroalga Caulerpa ProliferaPublication . Rosa, Gonçalo P.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.The present cosmeceutical industry has been gradually shifting its interest from products based on synthetic compounds to macroalgae-based products due to their interesting antiaging properties but also to their lower cytotoxicity and allergens content. Molecules isolated from macroalgae already showed potential as either active cosmetic ingredients or key elements for the consistency of the cosmetic formulation. In this regard, it is of foremost importance to keep studying the chemical composition of different algal species, aiming to find new compounds with cosmeceutical potential. […].
- The current status of bioactive metabolites from the genus JuniperusPublication . Seca, Ana M. L.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.; Silva, Artur M. S.The genus Juniperus (family Cupressaceae) is one of the most numerous genera of the conifers (there are 102 accepted Latin binominal names). The plants are evergreen shrubs or trees, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere from the sea level to above timberline. Some Juniperus species are frequently used in medicinal purposes, for example Juniperus communis L. is used traditionally to cure tuberculosis while Juniperus oxycedrus L. is used in Turkey as a folk remedy in the treatment of diabetes. The richness of Juniperus species in essential oils and secondary metabolites type diterpenes, flavonoids and lignans contributes to its use in the folk medicine. Details on the most recent and relevant pharmacological studies on the bioactive secondary metabolites isolated from Juniperus species will be summarized and thoroughly discussed.
- Cystoseira abies-marina life cycle : comparative study of its polar profile by RP-HPLC-DAD-MSPublication . Seca, Ana M. L.; Lopes, Diana; Gouveia, Vera L. M.; Silva, Artur M. S.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.Macroalgae, are largely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Cystoseira abies-marina (S.G. Gmelin) C. Agardh is a brown macroalgae (Phaeophyta) which belongs to Cystoseira genus and is distributed in the Mediterranean, Macaronesian Region and the coast of Africa. In the Azores lslands, it grows abundantly in the intertidal zone where it is pioneer and attains large size. Since intertidal seaweeds are exposed to extreme stress conditions (temperatura, UV, water levei) in addition to herbivory and fouling, they develop protective mechanisms, some of which involve the biosynthesis of metabolites with properties that may be useful to man (e.g. natural antioxidants, antifouling agents, novel UV sunscreens). The dichlormethane extract of C. abies-marina from Azares was studied revealing the presence of meronorditerpenoids with cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. In this research the antioxidant activity and chemical composition of the ethyl acetate fraction of C. abies-marina methanolic extract was studied. C. abies-marina was collected in two phases of its life cycle üuvenile phase and mature phase). […].
- Determination and comparison of the chemical composition of Calendula L. species growing in Continental PortugalPublication . Faustino, Maria V.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Silveira, Paulo; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.The flora of Continental Portugal includes three species of Calendula L. (Calendula officinalis L., C. arvensis L., C. suffruticosa Vahl), one of which comprises three subspecies (C. suffruticosa subsp. algarbiensis (Boiss.) Nyman, C. suffruticosa subsp. lusitanica (Boiss.) Ohle and C. suffruticosa subsp. cinerea (Ohle) P.Silveira & A.C.Gonç.). C. officinalis is recognised for its medical properties and its chemical composition has been widely studied (Muley, B. P., et al. J. Pharm. Res. 2009, 8, 455; Safdar, W., et al. Int. J. Cell Mol. Biol. 2010, 1, 108). Nevertheless, little is known about the chemical composition of C. arvensis and even less regarding the different subspecies of C. suffruticosa. Therefore, the present study aims the elucidation of these plants’ chemical composition and to compare and identify differences and/or similarities among them. […].