A metabolomic study of Gomphrena agrestis in Brazilian Cerrado suggests drought-adaptive strategies on metabolism.

Drought is the main factor that limits the distribution and productivity of plant species. In the Brazilian Cerrado, the vegetation is adapted to a seasonal climate with long- and short-term periods of drought. To analyze the metabolic strategies under such conditions, a metabolomic approach was used to characterize Gomphrena agrestis Mart.

Hydroalcoholic Extract of Solanum lycocarpum A. St. Hil. (Solanaceae) Leaves Improves Alloxan-Induced Diabetes Complications in Mice.

Background: Solanum lycocarpum is a medicinal plant used in Brazil with hypoglycemic activity by its fruits use. However, the fruits production is restricted in some periods of the year, differently of leaves.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of S.

Oral gallic acid improves metabolic profile by modulating SIRT1 expression in obese mice brown adipose tissue: A molecular and bioinformatic approach.

Aims: The aim of the presente study was to examine the effects of oral gallic acid (GA) administration on the brown adipose tissue of obese mice fed with high-fat diet. New mechanisms and interactions pathways in thermogenesis were accessed through bioinformatics analyses.

Main Methods: Swiss male mice were divided into four groups and fed during 60 days with: standard diet, standard diet combined with gallic acid, high-fat diet and high-fat diet combined with gallic acid.

Gallic acid modulates phenotypic behavior and gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by interfering with leptin pathway.

Gallic acid is a polyphenolic compost appointed to interfere with neoplastic cells behavior. Evidence suggests an important role of leptin in carcinogenesis pathways, inducing a proliferative phenotype. We investigated the potential of gallic acid to modulate leptin-induced cell proliferation and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

Evaluation of the antineoplastic activity of gallic acid in oral squamous cell carcinoma under hypoxic conditions.

The purpose of the current study was to develop and test a theoretical model that could explain the mechanism of action of gallic acid (GA) in the oral squamous cell carcinoma context for the first time. The theoretical model was developed using bioinformatics and interaction network analysis to evaluate the effect of GA on oral squamous cell carcinoma. In a second step to confirm theoretical results, migration, invasion, proliferation, and gene expression (Col1A1, E-cadherin, HIF-1α, and caspase-3) were performed under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

Ontogenetic and temporal variations in herbivory and defense of Handroanthus spongiosus (Bignoniaceae) in a Brazilian tropical dry forest.

We compared the richness and abundance of free-feeding herbivore insects (sap-sucking and leaf-chewing), leaf herbivory damage, leaf toughness and total phenolic content between two ontogenetic stages (juvenile and reproductive) of Handroanthus spongiosus (Rizzini) S. O. Grose (Bignoniaceae) throughout the rainy season in a Brazilian seasonally dry tropical forest.

Enzyme characterisation, isolation and cDNA cloning of polyphenol oxidase in the hearts of palm of three commercially important species.

Heart of palm (palmito) is the edible part of the apical meristem of palms and is considered a gourmet vegetable. Palmitos from the palms Euterpe edulis (Juçara) and Euterpe oleracea (Açaí) oxidise after harvesting, whereas almost no oxidation is observed in palmitos from Bactris gasipaes (Pupunha). Previous investigations showed that oxidation in Juçara and Açaí was mainly attributable to polyphenol oxidase (PPO; EC 1.

Polyphenoloxidase activity in coffee leaves and its role in resistance against the coffee leaf miner and coffee leaf rust.

In plants, PPO has been related to defense mechanism against pathogens and insects and this role was investigated in coffee trees regarding resistance against a leaf miner and coffee leaf rust disease. PPO activity was evaluated in different genotypes and in relation to methyl-jasmonate (Meja) treatment and mechanical damage. Evaluations were also performed using compatible and incompatible interactions of coffee with the fungus Hemileia vastatrix (causal agent of the leaf orange rust disease) and the insect Leucoptera coffeella (coffee leaf miner).