Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) introduced in the 1960s and widely used as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic. In its acid form, the solubility of 21 mg/L greatly limits its bioavailability. Since the bioavailability of a drug product plays a critical role in the design of oral administration dosage, this study investigated the enzymatic esterification of ibuprofen as a strategy for hydrophilization. This work proposes an enzymatic strategy for the covalent attack of highly hydrophilic molecules using acidic functions of commercially available bioactive compounds. The poorly water-soluble drug ibuprofen was esterified in a hexane/water biphasic system by direct esterification with sorbitol using the cheap biocatalyst porcine pancreas lipase (PPL), which demonstrated itself to be a suitable enzyme for the effective production of the IBU-sorbitol ester. This work reports the optimization of the esterification reaction.

Arthrospira platensis, known as spirulina, is a cyanobacterium with multiple nutritional benefits, as it contains substantial amounts of proteins, fatty acids, and pigments. However, the production of this microalga has faced significant challenges, primarily related to the cost and composition of the required culture medium for its optimal growth. This study focused on optimizing two nitrogen sources (urea and potassium nitrate) to maximize the growth of A. platensis and the production of phycocyanin, a photosynthetic pigment of significant commercial value. Optimization was performed using the response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design (CCD). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to validate the model, which revealed that the different concentrations of urea were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for biomass and phycocyanin production. However, potassium nitrate (KNO₃) showed no significant influence (p > 0.05) on the response variables. The RSM analysis indicated that the optimal concentrations of KNO₃ and urea to maximize the response variables were 3.5 g L⁻¹ and 0.098 g L⁻¹, respectively. This study offers valuable perspectives for the efficient production of A. platensis while reducing production costs for its cultivation on a larger scale.

La presente investigación está ligada al mejoramiento y racionalización de las prácticas medicinales populares que utilizan plantas de la Amazonía ecuatoriana. Este proyecto parte con la investigación de los usos medicinales de plantas que fueron evidenciados en la experiencia docente con los estudiantes Achuar y Shuar, becarios de la Carrera de Tecnología de los Recursos Biológicos Amazónicos y colectadas con ellos en cuatro zonas de la provincia de Morona Santiago. El resultado fue la creación de dos herbarios didácticos en la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana con alrededor de 1.000 especies vegetales colectadas.

Vaccinium floribundum Kunth (QUPS Herbarium accession number 4803), commonly known as mortiño, is characterized by its high concentrations of bioactive compounds, particularly polyphenolic compounds, which play a significant role in its biological activity. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of anthocyanins after identifying and quantifying them using differential pH, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a fluid extract. Its biological activity was evaluated with antioxidant assays (ABTS and DPPH), which yielded antioxidant activity values of 833.47 μg/mL (ABTS) and 1418.01 μg/mL (DPPH). The anti-inflammatory activity, evaluated using membrane stability (MS) assays under thermal stress, showed maximum inhibition percentages of 32.31% and 34.26% for the anthocyanidins (cyanidin and delphinidin) at 1 μg/mL, with 92.56% inhibition in a 1000 μg/mL extract. Similarly, an additive effect was observed from the anthocyanins and flavonoids in the extract. Furthermore, antimicrobial evaluations using antibiograms and microplate dilution methods against urinary tract infection (UTI) pathogens demonstrated significant inhibition of Staphylococcus saprophyticus (50% extract, MIC = 3125 μg/mL, 55.29% inhibition), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (50% extract, MIC = 12500 μg/mL, 71.45% inhibition), Escherichia coli (50% extract, MIC = 12500 μg/mL, 35.04% inhibition), and Candida tropicalis (100% extract, MIC = 6250 μg/mL, 12.88% inhibition). Our findings suggest that the mortiño extract contains substantial levels of anthocyanins, with cyanidin being the predominant anthocyanin. Both anthocyanins and anthocyanidins exhibited significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity, supporting the potential therapeutic value of mortiño in addressing oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbial infections.

Vaccinium floribundum, belonging to the Ericaceae family, was evaluated for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties due to its high anthocyanin content. The objective of this study was to determine the content of anthocyanins present in the fluid extract of V. floribundum, as well as to evaluate its antimicrobial activity in the prevention of UTIs, establishing the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Staphylococcus saprophyticus ATCC 15305, a causative agent of urinary tract infections. The study was conducted at the Life Sciences Laboratories of the Salesian Polytechnic University, beginning with the preparation of 20 % and 50 % ethanolic extracts from fruits harvested in the Province of Cotopaxi, Sigchos Canton; the assays were performed in vitro. The concentration of total phenols was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, yielding 537.26 mg AG/100 mL for the 20 % extract and 621.04 mg AG/100 mL for the 50 % extract. In the quantification of total anthocyanins, 11.6391 mg/L was obtained for the 20 % extract and 43.63 mg/L for the 50 % extract, respectively. Subsequently, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the percentage of inhibition were evaluated for the extracts against S. saprophyticus; the MIC was 390.63 μg/mL for both extracts, with 88.42 % inhibition for the 20 % extract and 88.44 % for the 50 % extract. Using thin-layer chromatography (TLC), the retention factors (Rf ) were 0.42 (cyanidin 3-O-glucoside), 0.62 (malvidin), and 0.86 (cyanidin). In conclusion, the 20 % and 50 % ethanolic extracts of V. floribundum exhibit antimicrobial activity against S. saprophyticus.