Caffeine and diclofenac are molecules with high human intake, and both belong to the ‘emergent’ class of contaminants. These compounds have been found at different concentrations in many sources of water worldwide and have several negative impacts on aquatic life systems; that is why the search for new alternatives for their removal from aqueous media is of transcendental importance. In this sense, adsorption processes are an option to attack this problem and for this reason, biochar could be a good alternative. In this regard, were prepared six different biochar from fique bagasse (FB), a useless agroindustry by-product from fique processing. The six biochar preparations were characterized through several physicochemical procedures, while for the adsorption processes, pH, adsorption time and concentration of caffeine and diclofenac were evaluated. Results showed that the biochar obtained by pyrolysis at 850 °C and residence time of 3 h, labeled as FB850-3, was the material with the highest adsorbent capacity with values of 40.2 mg g⁻¹ and 5.40 mg g⁻¹ for caffeine and diclofenac, respectively. It was also shown that the experimental data from FB850-3 fitted very well the Redlich–Peterson isotherm model and followed a pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetic for caffeine and diclofenac, respectively.

Thirty crude extracts of eight plants belonging to Asteraceae and two to Rubiaceae families collected at different places from the Regional Natural Park Ucumarí (RNPU), Colombia, were tested for their antibacterial activity against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria and three fungi. Both the antibacterial and the antimycotic activities were tested by the agar well diffusion method. The cytotoxic activity on the same plant extracts was determined through the brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The extracts from the Asteraceae family were more bioactive against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. The extracts of both families studied were bioactive against the fungi Candida albicans and Fusarium solani. In addition, the extracts of Asteraceae species displayed the greatest cytotoxic activities. However, the most important specie in this research was Gonzalagunia rosea Standl (Rubiaceae) because of the strong and moderate activities of the methanol and dichloromethane extracts against C. albicans and F. solani, respectively; as well as the strong cytotoxic activity of the methanol extract. None of these ten plants has previously been reported for their biological activities.

The alkaloids demissidine, dihydrosolacongestidine, solasodine and tomatidine were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods and by comparison with literature data, from the aerial part of Solanum leucocarpum Dunal (Solanaceae) collected at the Regional Natural Park Ucumarí (Colombia). In order to examine topoisomerase I and II activities, the four isolated alkaloids were tested through a mechanism-based bioassay utilizing genetically engineered mutants of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains RS322N, R52Y and RS321. Dihydrosolacongestidine showed selective activity towards RS321 (249.8 μg/mL) strain rather than RS322N (1542.7 μg/mL), most probably indicating activity through inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II. In the same manner, tomatidine displayed activity through DNA topoisomerase II inhibition. Furthermore, solasodine showed DNA-damaging activity. In addition, the same isolated alkaloids were tested for antibacterial activity by using the agar well diffusion method. Solasodine and dihydrosolacongestidine showed MIC values of 62.5 and 125 μg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The isolation of these alkaloids and their biological activities are reported here for the first time for S. leucocarpum.

Emerging contaminants are chemical products that are found in low concentrations, are not regulated by environmental norms, and cause health effects. Among this group of contaminants are parabens, a family of p-hydroxybenzoic acid esters used as preservatives in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food products. Recent research describes parabens as endocrine disruptors that can cause health alterations. Some of the best alternatives for pollutant removal include the adsorption process, which can use materials that are inexpensive, abundant, and susceptible to modifications. In this sense, cellulose can be an option for obtaining materials that can be used in the removal of contaminants. This research investigates the synthesis of benzoic cellulose (MCB) and magnetic cellulose (MCM) as well as its use as an adsorbent for the removal of methylparaben (MP) and butylparaben (BP) from water. Likewise, physicochemical characterization, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), for both cellulose materials was carried out. Moreover, pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, Weber, Morris, and Boyd models were used to investigate the adsorption kinetics. As a result, the pseudo-second-order model was favorable for both modified cellulose and the two parabens assayed. Finally, Freundlich, Langmuir, and Sips adsorption isotherm models were investigated; the Langmuir model was the best for the adsorption isotherm data. The adsorption of methylparaben and butylparaben was in the following order: MCM > MCB. The maximum adsorption capacity of MP and BP for MCM was 9.58 and 12.03 mg g–1, respectively. For instance, the results showed that the modified cellulose adsorbed the parabens physically, which could involve electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, π–π bonding, and hydrophobic interactions.

The hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol extracts of 11 Solanaceae plants collected in Regional Natural Park Ucumarí (RNPU) Colombia were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities through the agar-well diffusion method and for cytotoxic activity by the brine shrimp lethality assay. In general, the methanol plant extracts were more bioactive in the three different tests performed in this work. Under conditions and concentrations of the plant extracts evaluated in this research, the cytotoxic activities against brine shrimp Artemia salina. (Leach) larvae were the strongest compared with the antibacterial or the antifungal activities. The strongest cytotoxic activities were observed with the methanol extracts from Browallia speciosa. Hook (LC₅₀ 0.01 mg/ml) and Deprea glabra. (Standl.) A.T. Hunziker (LC₅₀ 0.01 mg/ml). The three extracts from Solanum deflexiflorum. Bitter (MIC 0.31 mg/ml) and the dichloromethane extract from Solanum leucocarpun. Dunal (MIC 0.31 mg/ml) were more bioactive against the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis.. The methanol extract from Lycianthes synanthera. (Send.) Bitter exhibited good antimycotic activities against Candida albicans. and Fusarium solani. both with a MIC of 0.62 mg/ml.

On a global scale, people have used plants to treat diseases and infections, and this has raised interest on the plant biodiversity potencial in the search of antimicrobial principles. In this work, 75 crude n-hexanes, dichloromethane and methanol extracts from the aerial parts of 25 plants belonging to four botanical families (Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae and Solanaceae), collected at the Natural Regional Park Ucumari (Risaralda, Colombia), were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activities by the agar well dif- fusion method. The antibacterial activities were assayed against two Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, and three Gram-negative ones named, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, the same plant extracts were tested against the yeast Candida albicans and the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium solani. Overall, the plant extracts examined displayed better bactericide rather than fungicide activities. In general, the best antibacterial activity was showed by the plant extracts from the Rubiaceae family, followed in order by the extracts from the Euphorbiaceae and Solanaceae ones. It is important to emphasize the great activity displayed by the methanol extract of Alchornea coelophylla (Euphorbiaceae) that inhibited four out of five bacteria tested (B. Subtilis, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and E. coli). Furthermore, the best Minimal Inhibitory Concentration for the extracts with antifungal activities were displayed by the dichloromethane extracts from Acalypha diversifolia and Euphorbia sp (Euphorbiaceae). The most susceptible fungus evaluated was F. Solani since 60% and 20% of the dichloromethane and methanol extracts evaluated inhibited the growth of this phytopathogenic fungus. The antimicrobial activity of the dif- ferent plant extracts examined in this work could be related to the secondary metabolites contents and their interaction and susceptibility of pathogenic microorganism evaluated. Alrededor del mundo, la gente ha usado las plantas para tratar enfermedades e infecciones, este potencial ha hecho que se incremente el interés en la biodiversidad vegetal como fuente de principios antimicrobianos. En este trabajo, se evaluaron 75 extractos crudos de n-hexano, diclorometano y metanol, obtenidos a partir de la parte aérea de 25 especies de plantas proveniente de cuatro familias botánicas (Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae y Solanaceae), colectadas en el Parque Regional Natural Ucumari (Risaralda, Colombia); los cuales fueron evalua- dos por sus actividades antibacteriana y antifúngica a través del método de difusión en pozo. La actividad antibacteria- na fue ensayada frente a las bacterias Gram-positivas Staphylococcus aureus y Bacillus subtilis, y las Gram- negativas Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli y Pseu- domonas aeruginosa. Adicionalmente, las mismas plantas fueron evaluadas frente a la levadura Candida albicans y los hongos Aspergillus fumigatus y Fusarium solani. En general, las plantas ensayadas mostraron mejor actividad antibacteriana que antifúngica; donde la familia Rubiaceae fue la que presentó mayor actividad antibacteriana, seguida por las familias Euphorbiaceae y Solanaceae. El extracto metanólico de Alchornea coelophylla (Euphorbiaceae) fue el que presentó mejor actividad antibacteriana al inhibir cuatro de las bacteria ensayadas (B. Subtilis, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus y E. coli); y los extractos de diclorometano de Acalypha diversifolia y Euphorbia sp. (Euphorbiaceae) fueron los que tuvieron la menor Concentración Mínima Inhibitoria en la actividad antifúngica. El hongo evaluado más susceptible fue F. Solani, el cual fue inhibido por el 60% y el 20% de los extractos de diclorometano y metanol, respectivamente. Se considera que la actividad biológica de estos extractos, se relaciona con los metabolitos secunda- rios que ellos contienen y las diferentes susceptibilidades de los microorganismos patogénicos evaluados.