Tuta absoluta is a pest of importance: quick to disperse and difficult to control due to the cases of resistance to insecticide active ingredients. Thus, studies using essential oils (EOs) to search for new molecules should be intensified. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the toxicity of EOs from Citrus aurantifolia (lime), Citrus aurantium (petitgrain) and Citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) and its major compounds against T. absoluta in a topical application test. Additionally, the demographic parameters of T. absoluta were studied after the topical application of EOs. The median lethal time (LT₅₀) of the population was 12h for the three EOs tested. The median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) was 33.75, 38.78 and 35.05 µg µL⁻¹ for C. aurantifolia, C. aurantium and C. aurantium bergamia, respectively. As found using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) quantification, 44.74% of the EO of C. aurantifolia is α-terpineol, while 55.45% and 58.12% of the EO of C. aurantium and C. aurantium bergamia, respectively, is linalyl acetate. The toxicity of the major compounds was tested at concentrations equivalent to the LC₅₀ of the EOs, that is, 16.2 µg µL⁻¹ for α-terpineol, and 25.8 µg µL⁻¹ for linalyl acetate, using topical application. Both of the major compounds showed less toxicity than the EOs. In the sublethal effects tests, all the EOs negatively affected the demographic parameters of T. absoluta, with a decrease in the duration of larval instars, duration of the pupal period, fecundity, oviposition and viability of the eggs, implying a reduction in the population growth parameters of this pest. The EOs of lime, petitgrain and bergamot are toxic to T. absoluta, and low concentrations cause deleterious effects on the reproductive and population parameters of T. absoluta.

Rosmarinus officinalis belongs to the Lamiaceae family, and its constituents show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antinociceptive, and antibacterial properties. The aim of this study was to develop a topical formulation with R. officinalis extract that had antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. Maceration, infusion, Soxhlet, and ultrasound were used to produce rosemary extracts, which were submitted to antioxidant, compound quantification, cell viability, and antimicrobial assays. Infusion and Soxhlet showed better results in the DPPH assay. During compound quantification, infusion showed promising metabolite extraction in phenolic compounds and tannins, although maceration was able to extract more flavonoids. The infusion and ultrasound extracts affected more strains of skin bacteria in the disk diffusion assays. In the minimum inhibitory concentration assay, the infusion extract showed results against S. aureus, S. oralis, and P. aeruginosa, while ultrasound showed effects against those three bacteria and E. coli. The infusion extract was chosen to be incorporated into a green emulsion. The infusion extract promoted lower spreadability and appropriated the texture, and the blank formulation showed high levels of acceptance among the volunteers. According to the results, the rosemary extract showed promising antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, and the developed formulations containing this extract were stable for over 90 days and had acceptable characteristics, suggesting its potential use as a phytocosmetic. This paper reports the first attempt to produce an oil-in-water emulsion using only natural excipients and rosemary extract, which is a promising novelty, as similar products cannot be found on the market or in the scientific literature.

Vancomycin hydrochloride is a tricyclic glycopeptide that contains amino acids and sugars. This substance is indicated to treat serious infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria by intravenous infusion. The objective of this study was to develop and validate an analytical methodology by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) to determine vancomycin hydrochloride content by assessing the parameters of selectivity, linearity, working range, matrix effect, robustness, precision, and accuracy. The sample used was vancomycin hydrochloride in a vial and analyzes were carried out on HPLC-UV system, with C18 reverse-phase column at 30 °C, pH=4 and diode-array detection (220 nm). The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile and monobasic ammonium phosphate buffer (8:92 v/v), 1 mL min-1 flow, injection volume of 20 μL and 15 minute of run time. The method has been shown to be selective, free from mobile phase interference, diluent and other substances on vancomycin hydrochloride retention time; the method is linear in the range between 25 and 175 µg mL-1; matrix effect showed parallelism between the lines, thus indicating the absence of interference of the matrix constituents in analysis of the compound of interest; the method was robust with drug variations proportional to the deliberate changes caused by the change in the flow rate of the mobile phase and in the column temperature; the method showed accuracy at 25, 50, and 75 µg mL-1 concentrations, showing satisfactory recovery rate after addition of the standard. The analytical methodology described proved to be simple, fast, safe and was considered valid.

Objective To evaluate the behavior of vancomycin solutions in different concentrations (5 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL) and under various temperature conditions (22ºC and 37ºC) at infusion times of zero (T0), two(T2) and four(T4) hours. Methods The experiment simulated clinical practice of vancomycin infusion. Antimicrobials were diluted at 5 and 10mg/mL, studied according to temperature variations (22°C and 37°C), and submitted to analyses immediately after preparation (T0), T2 and T4 hours of environmental exposure. The high-performance liquid chromatography method determined concentration and stability. A total of 108 concentrations and 36 pH measurements were analyzed for mean, standard deviation, ANOVA, and p≤0.05. Results The pH values did not show statistically significant variations during the four hours maintaining the acidic characteristic. There were no significant variations of vancomycin 5mg/mL at 22°C at T0 and T2, but there was a statistically significant concentration reduction at T4(<0.001). For vancomycin at 10mg/mL and 22°C, the active compound had an increase in concentration from T0 to T2, with a further decrease at T4(p=0.006); in 37°C there was a significant in concentration in T2 and T4(p<0.001). Conclusion Vancomycin at 5mg/mL showed significant concentration reduction in the fourth infusion hour. For vancomycin at 10mg/ml, there was an increase in concentration in the first two hours of analysis. There were statistically significant variations in vancomycin concentrations over time and in the experimental situations studied. Despite these variations, all changes remained within the 7% threshold accepted by the European Pharmacopeia, indicating that vancomycin stability is adequate for clinical use under the tested conditions.

In technical-scientific development, mankind has developed different ways of managing pests, diseases and weeds, increasing agricultural production impacting social, economic and environmental aspects. As major grains producer (such as corn, soybeans and beans), the Brazilian State, through the Brazilian agencies as Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) authorize and regulate the use of different pesticides, including Paraquat, to improve and guarantee the production. However, the direct contact and long-term exposure to these substances offer environmental and occupational risks, impacting negatively on the workers, population of neighbor cultures, and environmental health. Considering the potential damages, it is of utmost importance to develop effective analytical methodologies for the biomonitoring and assessment of the level of exposure of farmers and ranchers in direct contact with pesticides. Thus, this work proposed to develop a sensitive and selective analytical method, using the ultra-high efficiency liquid chromatography technique, coupled to mass spectrometry seeking a fast and simple sample preparation for the Paraquat quantification in urine samples. To achieve this, two sample preparations were compared in terms of speed and practicality. The first method (A) used C18 silica as adsorbent to remove the non-polar interferences. The second preparation (B) consisted in direct sample dilution in acetonitrile. Both methodologies used centrifugation under refrigeration to precipitate suspended artifacts. The linearity of the Paraquat detection by the analytical methodology, developed in a HILIC column, was evaluated between 10 to 70 µg L-¹ (r²=0.9911; y=19427x+479868), enabling the matrix evaluation after applying the best sample preparation. The method developed was simple, fast, which makes it useful and efficient for toxicology laboratories routine to monitor the exposure levels of farmers dealing with Paraquat daily.