This review presents an survey to the biological importance of sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) in the fight against four infectious neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)—leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness—as alternatives to the current chemotherapies that display several problems such as low effectiveness, resistance, and high toxicity. Several studies have demonstrated the great potential of some SLs as therapeutic agents for these NTDs and the relationship between the protozoal activities with their chemical structure. Recently, Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) studies have helped increase the knowledge of SLs regarding their mechanisms, the discovery of new lead molecules, the identification of pharmacophore groups and increase the biological activity by employing in silico tools such as molecular docking, virtual screening and Quantitative-Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies.

The objective of this study was to investigate the anxiolytic effects of the essential oil (EO) of Citrus aurantium L. in patients experiencing crack withdrawal. This was developed with internal users in therapeutic communities in Paraíba, Brazil. The test population consisted of 51 volunteers, subdivided into three groups. To elicit anxiety, the Simulated Public Speaking (SPS) method was used. Physiological measures were assessed at specific phases during the experiment using appropriate equipment. Psychological measures of anxiety were assessed using the Trait‐State Anxiety Inventory (IDATE) and the Analog Smoke Scale (HAS). EO was administered by nebulization. The experiment was developed in individual sessions and consolidated to four phases. The results demonstrated that the test subjects in the groups that were given the EO maintained controlled anxiety levels during SPS, when compared to the Control Group (no treatment). Subjects who used the EO also maintained levels of “discomfort” and “cognitive impairment” during SPS. It was concluded that individuals who are experiencing internal crack cocaine withdrawal present high anxiety traits and that nebulization of the EO of Citrus aurantium L. provided an acute anxiolytic effect in crack cocaine users exposed to SPS.

Identifying novel bio markers in gastro intestinal disease is a promising method where a comprehensive analysis of the metabolome is performed. Metabolomics has evolved enormously in the past decade, paving a path in gastro intestinal disease research, especially diseases which lead to high morbidity and mortality. Metabolomics involves identifying metabolites such as anti-oxidants, and amino acids etc., which are screened in the urine, feces and tissue samples. Certain cases employ advanced tools like GC-MS, 1HNMR and GC–MS/SPME which reveal valuable information concerning disease severity and differentiation. In light of escalating health care costs and risky invasive procedures, metabolomics can be chosen as a safe yet precise method for screening diseases like ulcerative colitis, Crohns’ disease, celiac disease, and gastro intestinal cancers. The present review focuses on major advancements in gastro intestinal metabolomics, giving attention to which parameters are assessed, and to recent changes in metabolite analysis.

The genus Cissampelos comprises of 21 species which have a wide global distribution and various pharmacological activities such as analgesic and antipyretic, antiinflammatory, anti-allergic, bronchodilation, and immunomodulation among others. Several compounds, mainly alkaloids with differing biological activities have been isolated from this genus. We will highlight antipyretic activities, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, bronchodilatory, and immunomodulatory activities. In addition, we applied ligand-based-virtual screening associated with structure-based-virtual screening of a small dataset of 63 secondary metabolites from the Cissampelos genus of an in-house data bank, in order to select compounds with potential anti-inflammatory activity. Affinities were observed for hayatine (26), isochondrondendrine (30), pelosine (52), sepeerine (59), and warifteine (63) to the inhibiting enzymes MAPK p38 alpha, PKC beta, PKC theta and PKC zeta. The cissampeloflavone compound (8) alone showed no potential inhibitory activity for PKC zeta, or affinity for the PKC alpha. The compounds can be used as starting points for further studies on structures with potential anti-inflammatory activity.

R - (+) - limonene is a monoterpene found in several plant species. Studies have shown that plants that have this compound has anxiolytic activity. This study aimed to investigate the anxiolytic and toxicological activity in rats after inhalation of R - (+) - limonene for 30 min. For the anxiety tests using Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), concentrations of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0% were determined. From the results, it was observed that the last concentration had achieved anxiolytic effect. Based on these results, it was found by biochemical and hematological tests, toxicity of 5% concentration in the period of 30 days with minor significant changes. In the hematological parameters, MCV, MCH and MCHC values were significant when compared to the control group, but were within the normal range when compared to values found ​​in literature. In the biochemical parameters, changes occurred in AST and LDH levels. Elevated LDH levels can cause destruction of erythrocyte precursor cells in the bone marrow. In turn, AST may be associated to small changes in the liver. Therefore, the results demonstrated an anxiolytic activity with low toxicity at dose of 5% R - (+) - limonene via inhalation for 30 min. Key words: R-(+)-limonene, inhalation, biochemical, hematological, anxiolytic, toxicity.