Rickettsioses are arthropod-borne diseases caused by parasites from the Order Rickettsiales. The most prevalent rickettsial disease in Brazil is Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF). This work intends the molecular detection of those agents in ectoparasites from an endemic area of BSF in the state of Espírito Santo. A total of 502 ectoparasites, among them Amblyomma cajennense, Amblyomma dubitatum (A. cooperi), Riphicephalus sanguineus, Anocentor nitens and Ctenocephalides felis, was collected from domestic animals and the environment and separated in 152 lots according to the origin. Rickettsia sp. was detected in pools of all collected species by amplification of 17 kDa protein-encoding gene fragments. The products of PCR amplification of three samples were sequenced, and Rickettsia felis was identified in R. sanguineus and C. felis. These results confirm the presence of Rickettsia felis in areas previously known as endemic for BSF, disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii. Moreover, they show the needing of further studies for deeper knowledge of R. felis-spotted fever epidemiology and differentiation of these diseases in Brazil.

In this study, proteins extracted from laticifer cells of three plants were examined by electrophoresis, mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and characterized in respect of proteolytic, chitinolytic and anti-oxidative activities by means of zymography and colorimetric assays. Acidic proteins with molecular masses between 12.5 and 74.5 kDa predominated in laticifers of P. rubra. This profile was not found in laticifers of C. grandiflora and E. tirucalli. The later was poor in respect of proteins. Strong anti-oxidative activity of superoxide dismutase (E.C. 1.15.1.1) was detected in P. rubra and C. grandiflora latices, and to a lesser extent ascorbate peroxidase (E.C. 1.11.1.1) and isoforms of peroxidase were seen. Catalase (E.C. 1.11.1.6) was detected only in laticifer cells of C. grandiflora. Chitinase (E.C. 3.2.1.14) was the sole activity found in laticifer cells of E. tirucalli, but was also detected in the other latices. The strong proteolytic activity of C. grandiflora was shown to be shared by at least three distinct cysteine proteinases (E.C. 3.4.22.16). Serine, aspartic and metaloproteinases were not detected. In laticifer cells of P. rubra, four proteinases were detected, including cysteine and serine types. This study reports new protein data of laticifers from plants that have been poorly investigated in this respect and contributes to the understanding of biochemical and functional aspects of laticifers in plants

This study investigated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of mango peel and pulp on oxidative damage in a naproxen-induced gastric injury rat model. The extracts were assessed for antioxidant activity (ABTS and FRAP methods), and the phenolic profile was investigated with UPLC-QToF-MS^E. Gastric damage was evaluated in vivo by assessing the membrane lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde (MDA) content), myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme activity, and glutathione (GSH) content. Mango peel and pulp contained high contents of bioactive compounds, particularly phenolics (69.50–5.287.70 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), carotenoids (651.30–665.50 μg/100 g), and vitamin C (21.59–108.19 mg/100 g). UPLC-QToF-MSE analysis identified 17 phenol compounds, including gallotannins, glycosylated flavonoids, and xanthone. The hydroalcoholic extracts of mango peel and pulp (LPe and LPu, respectively) significantly reduced the MPO activity and MDA content. In addition to preventing naproxen-induced GSH decline, LPe (30 mg/kg) and LPu (10 mg/kg) restored its content to normal levels. LPe and LPu neutralized the oxidizing agents triggered by naproxen and reduced the severity of gastric lesions owing to their antioxidant properties.