The present work aimed to evaluate the healing effect of hydrophilic polymeric resorbable biomembrane scaffolds containing plant extracts obtained from two different species, both popularly known as Stryphnodendron adstringens or Barbatimão. The hydrogel-based scaffolds were characterized and submitted to biological tests using Wistar rats to evaluate their healing capacity. The wound retraction index and the evaluation of the inflammatory process and tissue collagenization were recorded. The extracts showed antioxidant activity with IC50 between 10 and 20 µg/mL (DPPH assay) and 4–6 mmol Trolox/g (FRAP assay). The extract of Stryphnodendron adstringens (SA) presented gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, and O-methylpigalocatechin, while the extract of Abarema cochliacarpa (AC) presented catechin, dimers of procyanidins, di-O-hydroxide, O-deoxyhexosi-hexoside, and epicatechin. The membranes containing SA extract (GELSA) were more rigid, with a more intense color, but less thick, with a more compact structure and few pores. The membranes containing AC extract (GELAC) presented a mechanical profile like the gelatin membrane (GEL), with greater permeability to water vapor. The GELAC and GELSA membranes showed similar thermal degradation profiles. The wounds treated with the membranes containing the extracts obtained high levels of retraction of the wounds with values around 60% and 80% in three and seven days, respectively. These data indicate that the compounds of both species have promising biological activities in the repair process, showing that the extracts accelerated the healing process due to the lower intensity of the inflammatory reaction and the presence of compounds such as catechin and epigallocatechin.

The fruit extracts of Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) are traditionally used as weight-loss products and as appetite suppressants. A component of these extracts is octopamine, which is an adrenergic agent. Weight-loss and adrenergic actions are always related to metabolic changes and this work was designed to investigate a possible action of octopamine on liver metabolism. The isolated perfused rat liver was used to measure catabolic and anabolic pathways and hemodynamics. Octopamine increased glycogenolysis, glycolysis, oxygen uptake, gluconeogenesis and the portal perfusion pressure. Octopamine also accelerated the oxidation of exogenous fatty acids (octanoate and oleate), as revealed by the increase in ¹⁴CO₂ production derived from ¹⁴C labeled precursors. The changes in glycogenolysis, oxygen uptake and perfusion pressure were almost completely abolished by α₁-adrenergic antagonists. The same changes were partly sensitive to the β-adrenergic antagonist propranolol. It can be concluded that octopamine accelerates both catabolic and anabolic processes in the liver via adrenergic stimulation. Acceleration of oxygen uptake under substrate-free perfusion conditions also means acceleration of the oxidation of endogenous fatty acids, which are derived from lipolysis. All these effects are compatible with an overall stimulating effect of octopamine on metabolism, which is compatible with its reported weight-loss effects in experimental animals.

Monteverdia ilicifolia is a Brazilian native plant, traditionally used to treat gastric diseases that are now associated with Helicobacter pylori and are commonly associated with several human diseases. We point out the M. ilicifolia extract as active against H. pylori. The crude extract produced with acetone:water presented the best H. pylori inhibitory activity of all five extracts (MIC 64 µg/mL). The ethyl-acetate fractions from crude extracts produced with ethanol and acetone showed a MIC of 64 µg/mL. Both ethyl-acetate fractions and the crude extract produced with acetone showed an antioxidant capacity of between 14.51 and 19.48 µg/mL in the DPPH assay. In the FRAP assay, two ethyl-acetate fractions (EAF2 and EAF4) presented the antioxidant capacity of 5.40 and 5.15 mM Trolox/g of extract. According to the results obtained from the antioxidant and antibacterial assays, two fractions (EAF2 and nBF5) were analyzed by mass spectrometry and confirmed the presence of monomeric, dimeric, trimeric tannins, and glycosylated flavonoids. Some compounds were tested using bioinformatics to evaluate the best enzyme inhibitors and the molecular interaction between the enzyme and the tested ligands. The presence of these polyphenol compounds could play an important role in antioxidant and inhibitory capacities against H. pylori and can be used to assist in the treatment or prevention of infection by H. pylori.