Microwave-assisted extraction of volatile oils (MAE) potentially offers a more efficient and bio-sustainable method than conventional extraction by Clevenger apparatus (CE). This study aimed to optimise the MAE of the volatile oil from Pterodon emarginatus fruits and characterise the volatile compounds. A 2³ full-factorial central composite design and response surface methodology were used to evaluate the effects of time (min), moisture (%) and microwave power (W) on the extraction yield. The process optimisation was based on the desirability function approach. The reaction time and moisture conditions were standardised in these analyses. The volatile oil composition was analysed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in order to compare techniques extractions influences. Microwave irradiation showed excellent performance for extraction of the volatile oil from Pterodon emarginatus and there were some advantages in compare to conventional method with respect to the time (14 times), energy (6 times), reagents amounts and waste formation. About chemical composition presents significant differences with the type of extraction. Caryophyllene (25.65%) and trans-α-bisabolol (6.24%) were identified as major components in MAE sample while caryophyllene (6.75%) and γ-elemene (7.02%) are the components with higher relative percentage in CE samples. The microwaves assisted process shown an increase of economic interested compounds present in volatile oil.

Treatments that increase the germination potential and vigor of Glycine max seedlings are continuously being stimulated, with the aim of achieving a higher percentage of emergence and better performance in the field. Considering the relationship of tryptophan with germination-associated phytohormones, this study tested the hypothesis that exogenous supply of tryptophan to soybean seeds can affect germination, physiological vigor, and the accumulation of primary and oxidative metabolism molecules in seedlings. Soybean seeds were exposed to soaking solutions containing different concentrations of the amino acid (0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 µM), and the seedlings were evaluated at three time periods, at 8 h after sowing (HAS), and 5 and 14 days after sowing (DAS). Treated seeds showed better germination fitness and seedlings showed greater vigor, and these parameters increased with increasing concentrations of tryptophan. In the initial hours and days of germination process evaluation (14 HAS and 5 DAS), the activities of starch metabolism enzymes (α- and β-amylase) tended to be higher, resulting in increased contents of sucrose, reducing sugars, and total soluble solids at 8 DAS, constituting an important metabolic effect for seedling growth. On the other hand, the induction of germination and vigor promoted by exogenous tryptophan in soybean seedlings occurred by stimulating the metabolic pathways of oxidative stress, resulting in increased concentrations of H₂O₂, malondialdehyde, and proline in the tissues. Additionally, it led to increased activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase. These parameters were responsive to increasing supplied concentrations of tryptophan. Thus, the metabolic stress in soybean seeds induced by auxin seems to be an important inductive pathway for germination and vigor of G. max seeds.

Studies have previously shown that anthracene and naphthalene derivatives serve as compounds for trapping and chemically generating singlet molecular oxygen [O₂(¹Δ_g)], respectively. Simple and efficient synthetic routes to anthracene and naphthalene derivatives are needed, for improved capture and release of O₂(¹Δ_g) in cellular environments. Because of this need, we have synthesized a dihydroxypropyl amide naphthlene endoperoxide as a O₂(¹Δ_g) donor, as well as five anthracene derivatives as O₂(¹Δ_g) acceptor. The anthracene derivatives bear dihydroxypropyl amide, ester, and sulfonate ion end groups connected to 9,10-positions by way of unsaturated (vinyl) and saturated (ethyl) bridging groups. Heck reactions were found to yield these six compounds in easy-to-carry out 3-step reactions in yields of 50–76%. Preliminary results point to the potential of the anthracene compounds to serve as O₂(¹Δ_g) acceptors and would be amenable for future use in biological systems to expand the understanding of O₂(¹Δ_g) in biochemistry.

Fipronil is a pyrazole insecticide used to control undesirable insect populations. Due to its large-scale application, there is the potential for surface waters’ contamination, with toxic action for non-target organisms, and consequent impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Planarians are potential non-target aquatic invertebrates to these insecticides. They are widespread in tropical freshwaters and have been proposed as good candidates to assess the toxic effects of freshwater systems contaminated by insecticides. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the sublethal concentrations of a fipronil-based insecticide that may affect the planarian physiology. After chronic exposure to Regent 800 WG^®, a significant decrease in locomotor velocity (LOEC—6.25 mg·L⁻¹), regeneration of the auricles and photoreceptors (LOEC—3.13 mg·L⁻¹), and reproduction (fecundity—LOEC 12.5 mg·L⁻¹) were observed. The results of our study demonstrate that long-term exposure to a pyrazole insecticide can compromise non-target aquatic invertebrates while reinforcing the need for a better investigation of complementary parameters (such as behavior, regeneration, and reproduction) for a more accurate risk assessment of commercial pesticide toxicity in freshwater systems.

Brazil has a privileged position as a leader in the integral use of vegetable biomass because it has the largest biodiversity on the planet. Adding value to a refinery is associated with the treatment and disaggregation of the biomass components. There are processes applied to biomass fractionation to remove or break the layers of lignin and hemicellulose, which allows enzymes to access cellulose more easily. In view of this a great diversity of technological routes can be used, and alternative techniques that have been developed such as the use of the natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES). Thus, the objective of the present work was to perform the fractionation of the bark biomass from E. urograndis species into two fractions: cellulose rich fraction (CRF) and lignin rich fraction (LRF) using NADES. In this process three conditions were applied for biomass fractionation: conventional heating at 100ºC, microwave radiation with power of 600W and 1000 W, and room temperature at 25ºC. The percentages obtained through conventional heating were 72,25% of CRF, 27,75% of LRF; 72,54% of CRF with microwave radiation at a power of 1000W, 27,46% of LRF. The techniques used for characterization of CRF were: Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) for crystallinity analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For characterization of LRF the techniques were used: UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy. The use of NADES a low cost, sustainable organic solvent combined with microwave radiation proved to be efficient for biomass fractionation.