The use of clean technologies in the development of bioactive plant extracts has been encouraged, but it is necessary to verify the cytotoxicity and cytoprotection for food and pharmaceutical applications. Therefore, the objective of this work was to obtain the experimental data of the supercritical sequential extraction of murici pulp, to determine the main bioactive compounds obtained and to evaluate the possible cytotoxicity and cytoprotection of the extracts in models of HepG2 cells treated with H₂O₂. The murici pulp was subjected to sequential extraction with supercritical CO₂ and CO₂+ethanol, at 343.15 K, and 22, 32, and 49 MPa. Higher extraction yields were obtained at 49 MPa. The oil presented lutein (224.77 µg/g), oleic, palmitic, and linoleic, as the main fatty acids, and POLi (17.63%), POO (15.84%), PPO (13.63%), and LiOO (10.26%), as the main triglycerides. The ethanolic extract presented lutein (242.16 µg/g), phenolic compounds (20.63 mg GAE/g), and flavonoids (0.65 mg QE/g). The ethanolic extract showed greater antioxidant activity (122.61 and 17.14 µmol TE/g) than oil (43.48 and 6.04 µmol TE/g). Both extracts did not show cytotoxicity and only murici oil showed a cytoprotective effect. Despite this, the results qualify both extracts for food/pharmaceutical applications.

This chapter reviews plant-based fatty acids as well as their methods of production, applications in the industry, and benefits in treatments of cardiovascular and cerebral diseases, besides being a source of food. The fatty acids obtained from vegetable matrices have been acting as alternatives to the use of lipids of animal origin, due to their limitation in relation to the increase in demand. Thus, plants have been investigated in order to act as sources of fatty acids and assist in the supply of such demands. Vegetable oils represent not only an economical alternative but also a beneficial source of human health.

For bioactivity studies, it is necessary to use products with a high degree of purity, which may influence the cytotoxic effects. Supercritical technology presents itself as an alternative to obtain these products. Therefore, the objective of this work was to obtain the bioactive compounds of oil and pulp of açaí fat-free supercritical technology and evaluate the cytotoxicity of products in MRC-5 and VERO cells in vitro. The açaí pulp was subjected to extraction with supercritical CO₂ to obtain the oil and pulp without fat, under conditions of 323.15 K at 35 MPa, 333.15 K at 42 MPa, and 343.15 K at 49 MPa. The largest yields (51.74%), carotenoids (277.09 µg/g), DPPH (2.55 μmol TE/g), ABTS (2.60 μmol TE/g), and FRAP (15.25 μm of SF/g) of oil and ABTS (644.23 μmol TE/g) of pulp without fat were found in the condition 343.15 K at 49 MPa. The highest levels of compounds phenolics (150.20 mg GAE/g), DPPH (414.99 μmol TE/g), and FRAP (746.2 μm SF/g) of the pulp without fat were found in the condition of 323.15 K to 35 MPa. The fat-free pulp presented high levels of anthocyanins without significant variation in cytotoxicity. The developed process was efficient in obtaining oil rich in carotenoids, and the supercritical technology elucidated an efficient way to obtain açaí fat-free pulp.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, with cardiac arrhythmias being one of the main factors contributing to morbidity. Currently, several established antiarrhythmic medications with proven efficacy are available. However, frequent use of these medications causes adverse effects with medium- and long-term use. This necessitates the development of new medications, preferably of natural origin and with ethnopharmacological relevance. In this sense, Acmella oleracea presents itself as an alternative for the treatment of arrhythmia, considering studies suggesting its cardioprotective effect. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the electrophysiological and antiarrhythmic effects of a supercritical extract of Acmella oleracea (SEAO) in rats. The extract was obtained by supercritical CO₂ extraction at 70 °C and 320 bar, with an extract yield of 9.72 ± 0.26% (db) and a spilanthol yield of 25.91%. The extract was administered intraperitoneally at doses of 10, 15, and 20 mg/kg in two experimental models: (1) assessment of cardiac electrophysiology and (2) epinephrine-induced arrhythmia. Electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters were measured and compared with controls treated with epinephrine and lidocaine. The SEAO group maintained sinus rhythm and preserved cardiac intervals, with a significant reduction in heart rate and R-R interval compared to the epinephrine group. These findings demonstrate that SEAO exerts dose-dependent antiarrhythmic effects comparable to those of lidocaine. The results corroborate the potential use of SEAO as a natural alternative for arrhythmia management, encouraging further pharmacological and clinical studies.

In this work, the thermodynamic data basis and equation of state (EOS) modeling necessary to simulate the fractionation of organic liquid products (OLP), a liquid reaction product obtained by thermal catalytic cracking of palm oil at 450 °C, 1.0 atmosphere, with 10% (wt.) Na2CO3 as catalyst, in multistage countercurrent absorber/stripping columns using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) as solvent, with Aspen-HYSYS was systematically investigated. The chemical composition of OLP was used to predict the density (ρ), boiling temperature (Tb), critical temperature (Tc), critical pressure (Pc), critical volume (Vc), and acentric factor (ω) of all the compounds present in OLP by applying the group contribution methods of Marrero-Gani, Han-Peng, Marrero-Pardillo, Constantinou-Gani, Joback and Reid, and Vetere. The RK-Aspen EOS used as thermodynamic fluid package, applied to correlate the experimental phase equilibrium data of binary systems OLP-i/CO2 available in the literature. The group contribution methods selected based on the lowest relative average deviation by computing Tb, Tc, Pc, Vc, and ω. For n-alkanes, the method of Marrero-Gani selected for the prediction of Tc, Pc and Vc, and that of Han-Peng for ω. For alkenes, the method of Marrero-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb and Tc, Marrero-Pardillo for Pc and Vc, and Han-Peng for ω. For unsubstituted cyclic hydrocarbons, the method of Constantinou-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb, Marrero-Gani for Tc, Joback for Pc and Vc, and the undirected method of Vetere for ω. For substituted cyclic hydrocarbons, the method of Constantinou-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb and Pc, Marrero-Gani for Tc and Vc, and the undirected method of Vetere for ω. For aromatic hydrocarbon, the method of Joback selected for the prediction of Tb, Constantinou-Gani for Tc and Vc, Marrero-Gani for Pc, and the undirected method of Vetere for ω. The regressions show that RK-Aspen EOS was able to describe the experimental phase equilibrium data for all the binary pairs undecane-CO2, tetradecane-CO2, pentadecane-CO2, hexadecane-CO2, octadecane-CO2, palmitic acid-CO2, and oleic acid-CO2, showing average absolute deviation for the liquid phase (AADx) between 0.8% and 1.25% and average absolute deviation for the gaseous phase (AADy) between 0.01% to 0.66%.

Brosimum acutifolium is a large tree with high medicinal and pharmacological value, widely used in folk medicine by some communities in South America and northern Brazil, as a potent antirheumatic, antiarthritic and anti-inflammatory, so this work aims to address the chemical composition and biological activities of the bark of the species, reported in the scientific literature in the last 30 years. Information was collected from the databases such as the Google Scholar, Scientific Electronic library online (Scielo), National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Elsevier, institutional repositories and government websites. The bark of the plant species has a variability of compounds in its composition, such as flavonoids, coumarins, phytosterols, alkaloids and lignoids, representing an important source of phenolic bioactives, which makes it a natural antioxidant. In this research, biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and anticancer activities, were found. The biological properties observed are related to the promotion of human health, and when added to the vast diversity in secondary metabolites present in the bark, it transforms the species into a strong candidate to act as an auxiliary therapeutic alternative in the control and treatment of certain diseases and as an input for the development of bioproducts.