Characterization of Portuguese honey from Castelo Branco region according to their pollen spectrum, physicochemical characteristics and mineral contents.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality of 16 honey samples from Castelo Branco region (Portugal). Twelve are monofloral from and . The mean values obtained for physicochemical parameters were: 3.

European marketable grain legume seeds: Further insight into phenolic compounds profiles.

Twenty-nine mature raw varieties of grain legume seeds (chickpeas, field peas, faba beans, common vetch and lupins) produced in Europe were investigated for their phenolic profile by means of high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). To the best of our knowledge, this study reported for the first time the phenolic composition of mature raw seeds of chickpea type Desi, field pea and common vetch. Phenolic acids were predominant compounds in chickpeas, field peas and common vetch compared to flavonoids, whereas the opposite was observed for lupin seeds.

Digestive Gland from Aplysia depilans Gmelin: Leads for Inflammation Treatment.

The exploitation of marine organisms for human nutritional and pharmaceutical purposes has revealed important chemical prototypes for the discovery of new drugs, stimulating compounds isolation and syntheses of new related compounds with biomedical application. Nowadays, it is well known that inflammatory processes are involved in many diseases and the interest in the search for marine natural products with anti-inflammatory potential has been increasing. The genus Aplysia belongs to the class Gastropoda, having a wide geographical distribution and including several species, commonly known as sea hares.

Neuroprotective effect of steroidal alkaloids on glutamate-induced toxicity by preserving mitochondrial membrane potential and reducing oxidative stress.

Several evidences suggest that enhanced oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis and/or progression of several neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time whether both extracts from tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) leaves and their isolated steroidal alkaloids (tomatine and tomatidine) afford neuroprotective effect against glutamate-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this protection.

Fast determination of bioactive compounds from Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. leaves.

Lycopersicon esculentum leaves, usually considered as a by-product of tomato production, present several bioactive compounds of interest for industries like food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics. Nevertheless, before industrial application, suitable methods to identify and quantify those metabolites should be developed. In this study agitation with aqueous methanol was used for phenolic compounds extraction.

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization multi-stage mass spectrometric screening of an insect/plant system: the case of Spodoptera littoralis/Lycopersicon esculentum phenolics and alkaloids.

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization multi-stage mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n)) is considered to be a very valuable tool for the characterization of compounds found in trace amounts in natural matrices, as their previous isolation and clean-up steps can be avoided. Micro-scale separation increases the potential of this analytical technique, allowing the determination of compounds in reduced samples. Spodoptera littoralis represents a major challenge to Solanaceae plants, as it is one of the most deleterious pests.

Lycopersicon esculentum seeds: an industrial byproduct as an antimicrobial agent.

Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato) fruit is a widely studied matrix. However, only few works focus their attention on its seeds, which constitute a major byproduct of the tomato processing industry. In this study the antimicrobial potential of ten different tomato seed extracts from "Bull's heart" and "Cherry" varieties were analyzed against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative (Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium) bacteria and fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichophyton rubrum).

Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) seeds: new flavonols and cytotoxic effect.

In this study, seeds of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. were analyzed by HPLC/UV-PAD/MS(n)-ESI. Fourteen flavonoids were identified, including quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin derivatives, with 13 of them being reported for the first time in tomato seeds.

Screening of antioxidant phenolic compounds produced by in vitro shoots of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC.

The phenolic compounds produced by in vitro shoots of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC were screened by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS.

In vitro cultures of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC: potential plant bioreactor for antioxidant phenolic compounds.

In this work were studied the phenolic composition of in vitro material (shoots, calli, and roots) of Brassica oleracea var. costata and its antioxidant capacity. Samples were obtained in different culture medium, with distinct supplementations to verify their influence on those parameters.

Inflorescences of Brassicacea species as source of bioactive compounds: A comparative study.

Two Brassica oleracea varieties (B. oleracea L. var.

Screening of antioxidant compounds during sprouting of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC.

The changes in antioxidant compounds of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC seeds were monitored during the first twelve days of seedling development.

[Assessment of the correlation between hemoglobin concentration and the echographic measurement of biventricular outer diameter in anemic fetuses of isoimmunized women].

Objective: To assess whether a significant correlation exists between the echographic measurement of biventricular outer diameter and the pretransfusional serum concentration of fetal hemoglobin and whether that echographic measurement can be used as a noninvasive marker of fetal anemia.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out comprising 65 cordocenteses performed in 36 anemic fetuses of mothers with isoimmunization to the Rh antigen. The biventricular outer diameter (BOD) was obtained by M-mode evaluation.