In order to obtain better clinical results in anticancer therapies, polychemotherapy or combination therapies are used. For this, the combinations are required to increase the efficacy and reduce the adverse reactions of the associated chemotherapies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, apoptotic and (anti)proliferative potential of two sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Moquiniastrum polymorphum, 11,13-diidrozaluzanin C (1) and gochnatiolide C (2), and their associations with chemotherapeutic agents irinotecan, tamoxifen, cisplatin, 5-fluouracyl and doxorubicin in the tumoral lineage of MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma. The analyses were performed by MTT cytotoxicity assays, drug combination index (CI), apoptosis morphological assay and cell proliferation assay. Treatments were evaluated with short exposure times (4 h), followed or not by recovery in drug-free medium for 24 h. For the cell viability assay the statistical analysis was performed using software INSTAT, and the ANOVA/Tukey test was applied. Combination Indices (CI) was made using CompuSyn software and demonstrated through isoboles. The assays that evaluated cell death and proliferation used statistical analysis SAS 9.4 (Statistical Analysis System), and the procedure adopted was PROC NPAR1WAY. The Wilcoxon test at 5% level was applied for comparing statistical differences. The results demonstrated that the compounds decrease cell viability and increase their action when associated with irinotecan, tamoxifen and doxorubicin (CI < 1 and CI = 1). In periods of 4 h-exposure, the compounds cause cell death by apoptosis and after 24 h, they increase the mean number of cells in programmed cell death, especially when treated with 2. In addition, the association with doxorubicin increases the apoptotic potential induced by tested compounds. Both isolates had effect on the reduction of the number of mitoses, especially when 2 at its highest concentration is associated with doxorubicin. Finally, these compounds are presented as potential agents in chemotherapy combined with doxorubicin, since they trigger the mechanism of apoptosis, which, through the mechanism of action of sesquiterpene lactones, leads to a reduction in toxicity. In addition, the tested compounds have the ability to exert a synergistic action with doxorubicin, possibly by down-regulating the drug resistance mechanisms.

The aim of this tudy was to evaluate corporal and testicular development in wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) from birth to 12 months of age, evaluating body weight, biometric testicular parameters, and gonadosomatic index. Thirty-nine male wild boars from a commercial farm licensed by IBAMA were used in the study. The animals were weighed and assigned to 13 experimental groups. The testes were recovered through unilateral orchiectomy, weighed on an analytical balance and measured for length, width and thickness. Body weight and testicular measures increased with the age, up to 12 months, and were more accelerated in the first and ninth months. Initially the testicular growth pattern, between zero and nine months, followed the body growth, and the gonadosomatic index varied from 0.07 to 0.09%. Between 9 and 11 months, the testicular growth was superior to the body growth, and the gonadosomatic index varied from 0.09 to 0.16%. Finally, after 11 months of age, testicular and body growth had a similar behavior. In conclusion, body weight, testicular biometry, and gonadosomatic index development accelerated in the ninth month.

Consumidores de carne bovina: comportamento e preferências / Beef consumers: behaviour and preferences

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of black sucupira oil (Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth) on nutrient intake, digestibility, rumen variables, and serum biochemistry. Four cannulated crossbred steers [body weight (BW) 450 ± 20 kg] were assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin square design with the treatments: (1) control (CON), without oil; (2) inclusion of 1.25 g oil seed (OS) kg-¹ of dry matter (DM); (3) inclusion of 2.5 g OS kg^-1 of DM; and (4) inclusion of 3.75 g OS kg^-1 of DM. Results showed no significant effect (P > 0.05) of black sucupira oil seed on rumen pH and N-NH₃ levels. However, the inclusion of 2.5 g OS in the diets significantly decreased (P ≤ 0.05) crude protein (CP) and DM digestibility. Differences were noted in the concentrations of isobutyric acid (0.67, 0.81, 0.71, 0.80 mmol L^-1) and isovaleric acid (0.91, 1.14, 1.21, 1.11 mmol L^-1), as well as total volatile fatty acids released in the rumen with OS inclusion. Sampling time significantly affected (P ≤ 0.05) rumen pH and N-NH₃. Thus, it can be concluded that black sucupira seed oil decreases CP intake and digestibility, acting as a temporary nutritional modulator in beef cattle diets.

Fatores relacionados ao consumo da carne de peixe pela população de Campo Grande, MS, Brasil / Factors related to the consumption of fish meat by the population of Campo Grande, MS, Brazil