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Antitumor activities of invasive allien species from the Azores
Publication . Bettencourt, Ana; Pereira, Joana M.; Costa, Ana C.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo
GC- and UHPLC-MS Profiles as a Tool to Valorizate the Red Alga Asparagopsis armata
Publication . Lesenfants, Marie L.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Silva, Artur M. S.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.
Asparagopsis armata is considered a biological invader and this red alga is in the last few years one of the worst nightmares for Azores coast biodiversity. So efforts to find an economically valuable application are welcome. In this context biological evaluations of its extracts, such as anti-aging, antioxidant and anticholinesterasic activities, were recently presented [1,2]. Naturally, the knowledge of this species chemical composition is utmost importance not only to find some valuable utilization but also to discovery its mechanisms of defence that can explain its invasive behaviour. In our effort to contribute to this problem solution we establish the GC-MS and UHPLC-MS profiles of both the non-polar and polar extracts. The main compounds in the lipophilic extract were palmitic acid and 1-monopalmitin and brominated compounds dominate both extracts. The detailed results will be presented and discussed in the presentation.
Anti-aging activity of Lobophora variegata ethanolic and methanolic extracts and their fractions
Publication . Rosa, Gonçalo P.; Costa, Ana C.; Medeiros, D.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo
Seaweed have promising applications within food, cosmetic and health industries, which led to an increased interest in studying these organisms [1]. In several coastal areas, thousands of tons of macroalgae are cast on beaches and shorelines and it would be very interesting if this biomass could be managed, allowing the extraction of added-value compounds. In this context, polar extracts (methanol and ethanol) of a macroalgal beach cast sample mainly composed of “Lobophora variegate” were prepared and the anti-aging and antioxidant activities were evaluated. The preliminary results showed interesting results, and thus these crude extracts were then fractionated sequentially by their solubility in dichloromethane, acetone and ethyl acetate, resulting in 4 semi-pure fractions each, which were also tested. Fractions A1.1.1 and A1.2.3 were very good tyrosinase inhibitors (IC₅₀ = 37.87 and 24.01 μg/mL, respectively) and fractions A1.1.2 and A1.2.2 presented very good inhibition of elastase (IC₅₀ = 44.76 and 20.86 μg/mL, respectively). However, none of the fractions was active against collagenase. These results show that further purifications of these fractions can lead to the isolation of bioactive added-value compounds.
GC-MS profile of Calendula L. species : a comparative analysis
Publication . Faustino, Maria V.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Silveira, Paulo; Silva, Artur M. S.; Pinto, Diana C. G. A.
Determination and comparison of the chemical composition of Calendula L. species growing in Continental Portugal
Publication . 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. […].
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
5876
Funding Award Number
UID/QUI/00062/2013