Publications by authors named "Luis Pereira-de-Morais"

Article Synopsis
  • Limonene, a compound in essential oils, demonstrates various health benefits like antifungal and antioxidant properties, but its effects can vary based on concentration, showing a biphasic response.
  • The study investigates limonene's impact on rat aorta contractions, revealing it can enhance or inhibit contractions depending on the dose, particularly with phenylephrine.
  • Understanding these dose-dependent effects is crucial for determining safe and effective therapeutic uses of limonene in clinical settings.
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Methyl-eugenol (ME) and eugenol (EUG) are phenylpropanoids with vasodilatory effects. While EUG's vasorelaxant effect in human umbilical artery (HUA) is known, their action in veins is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate ME and EUG in human umbilical vein (HUV).

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Introduction: Citral is a low-toxicity monoterpene that has a vasodilator effect on various smooth muscles, and The present study aimed to evaluate its vasorelaxant effect on umbilical vessels of normotensive parturients (NTP) and with preeclampsia parturients (PEP).

Method: Segments of human umbilical artery (HUA) and vein (HUV) of NTP or PEP were mounted in a bath to record the force of contraction, under tension of 3.0 gf and contracted with the contracting agents: K (60 mM), 5 -HT (10 μM) and Ba (1-30 mM).

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Background: Perillyl alcohol (POH) is a monoterpenoid found in plant essential oils and has been shown to relax murine vessels, but its effect on human vessels remains poorly studied.

Objective: The study aimed to characterize the effect of POH on human umbilical arteries (HUA).

Methods: Rings of HUA were obtained from uncomplicated patients and suspended in an organ bath for isometric recording.

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Background: (,)-farnesol is a sesquiterpene alcohol derived from plants and animals that exhibits pharmacological properties in the cardiovascular system. However, its effects on human umbilical vessels remain unknown.

Purpose: Thus, this study aims to characterize the vasodilatory effect of (,)-farnesol in human umbilical arteries (HUA).

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Introduction: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a disease of high incidence in parturients, that adversely affects both mother and fetus. Although PE prevalence is high, there are few studies on literature describing its etiology or its mechanism of action. Thus, the aim of this study was to elucidate PE-induced alterations of contractile reactivity in umbilical vessels.

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Background: Naturally occurring bioactive compounds have a plethora of biological effects.

Objective: In this study, we examined a pharmacological screening of natural products on the human umbilical artery (HUA).

Methods: HUA preparations were used to follow contractions by KCl (60 mM) and tested at different concentrations (1-5000 μg/mL and μM) of the Lippia alba (EOLa) and Lippia origanoides (EOLo) essential oils, terpenes (citral, limonene perilic alcohol) and phenylpropanoids (eugenol, methyl eugenol).

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is popularly known as lemon balm, with its essential oil (EO) cited for displaying antimicrobial, sedative, and vasorelaxant effects. Yet, its action on isolated human vessels has not been described in the literature. Thus, we evaluated the vasorelaxant effect of essential oil of (EOLa) on human umbilical arteries (HUA) isolated in organ baths.

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The number of arbovirus cases has increased in recent years, demonstrating a need for investing in effective control actions. Among these actions, are strategies using biological control vectors, a field where Wolbachia pipientis has shown itself as useful. Wolbachia pipientis, an obligatory intracellular Gram-negative bacteria, which parasites arthropods naturally or through laboratory-induced infections, is capable of manipulating the reproduction of its host.

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Eugenol (EUG) is a phenylpropanoid widely used in the food and cosmetic industries. It is commonly referred to in the literature by its biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and relaxing in organs of laboratory animals, especially in rodent vessels. However, its vasorelaxant potential in human tissue, has not been investigated.

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Purpose: Alternative methods for the use of animals in research have gained increasing importance, due to assessments evaluating the real need for their use and the development of legislation that regulates the subject. The principle of the 3R's (replacement, reduction and refinement) has been an important reference, such that in vitro, ex vivo and cord replacement methods have achieved a prominent place in research.

Methods: Therefore, due to successful results from studies developed with these methods, the present study aimed to evaluate the myorelaxant effect of the essential oil (EODa) using a coronary artery model, and the toxicity of both the essential oil and its major constituent, α-terpinene, against in toxicity and negative geotaxis assays.

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Caffeic acid is a phenolic compound widely found in commonly consumed foods such as pears, apples and coffee, and is pharmacologically known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic properties. However, its relaxant activity in the aorta, uterus and ileum smooth muscle has not been investigated. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the effect of caffeic acid on smooth muscle from different organs (aorta, uterus and ileum), and the contractions of this different organ were induced by different agonists.

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Carveol is a monoterpene present in the structure of many plant products. It has a variety of biological activities: antioxidant, anticancer and vasorelaxation. However, studies investigating the effect of monoterpenoids on human vessels have not yet been described.

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This study aimed to investigate the myorelaxant action of the Dysphania ambrosioides essential oil (EODa) and its major constituent α-terpinene on tracheal smooth muscle isolated from rats. In tracheal smooth muscle ex vivo, in organ baths, isometric contractions recordings were done in order to evaluated the effect of EODa (1-1000 μg/mL) and α-terpinene (1-3000 μg/mL) on the following parameters: basal tone, contractions evoked by potassium (KCl 60 mM), acetylcholine (ACh 10 μM) or serotonin (5-HT 10 μM). The EODa and its major constituent α-terpinene, did not statistically alter basal tone; however, they induced myorelaxant effects on top of contractions induced by KCl, ACh and 5-HT.

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This research evaluated the anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects of a hydroethanolic extract from the leaves of Annona coriacea (EHFAC) and caffeic acid (CA). Mice were intraperitoneally treated with saline, EHFAC (1, 10, 20 mg/kg) or CA (0.15 mg/kg) and subject to the elevated plus-maze, open field, rota-rod, forced swimming and reserpine-induced akinesia tests.

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